Interview with writer Erica Ridley

Fellow writer Vicki Lane interviewed author Erica Ridley in the October 2007 issue of Words From The Heart for the From The Heart online writing chapter (FTHRW) of Romance Writers of America (RWA).

Erica Ridley, a voracious reader of all things fiction, is a romance author, web developer and graphic designer, and procrastinator (er, I mean blogger) extraordinaire. She likes Gasparilla, tinto de verano, parentheses, Indian food, mountains, laughing with friends, Godiva truffles, costumes, inane analogies, exploring new places, snuggling babies, avoiding yard work, playing House of the Dead (zombies!), and obsessively checking her email when she should be working.

Welcome Erica to FTHRW. We are so excited to have you here with us today.

Q: What was it that made you take the leap into the world of romance fiction?

A: Is it weird if I say Target? I’ve always loved to read, always loved to write, but penning a romance hadn’t occurred to me. I’d been introduced to Johanna Lindsey, Julie Garwood, Judith McNaught and Jude Devereaux maybe a decade earlier (apparently I only read authors with J names *g) but didn’t have the massive HEA collection I do now. So, one day, I was at the store in search of Sue Grafton, Dean Koontz, and Jonathan Kellerman--the latest releases of which it turned out I already had--and ended up walking out with Janet Evanovich and Jennifer Crusie. I was addicted within minutes. I headed to Borders to buy both authors’ complete backlists (I’m a bookslut that way *g) when a cover caught my eye from a New Releases end cap. The book was an early installment in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, and just like that, I was as addicted to quirky Regency-set Historicals as I was to quirky contemporaries.

Q: How long have you been writing?

A: As long as I can remember. I literally cannot recall a time in my life before I knew how to read or write. Granted, all my early prose was patently horrible--I illustrated it all myself, often with sketches of dinosaurs. I stopped writing for several years, from my late teens to mid-twenties. I decided to try again, this time "for real". And I’ve treated writing like a career, not a hobby, ever since.

Q: What triggers your imagination and starts the creative flow?

A: A better question might be, what turns it off! (And the answer would be "nothing." I’m one of Those Types, who take hours to fall asleep at night because I can’t turn off my brain.) In general, my imagination is always running wild. Although I am alternately elated or discouraged just as much as the next writer, I don’t tend to have writers’ blocks. I don’t believe in it. I sit down, and I write. (I don’t always get to keep what I write, but that’s a different story. *g)

Q: Once you capture your idea how do you weave it into a plot?

A: My very favorite way is by story-boarding. Well, first I plotstorm on my own, then with my local CPs or the Manuscript Mavens, and then once I think I have a fair idea of how the story starts and ends, as well as what the major turning points might be, I sit down with a sharpie and a variety pack of colored sticky notes and I make a story board. I blogged about this recently on both my personal blog and the Romantic Inks blog, so I won’t go all long-winded on you about it here, but basically this process allows me to visually see all my plot threads and how they interact. I like to prop my story board up behind my laptop in order to keep it handy while I work. Not just for reference, but also to add/delete/edit/move items at will. Storyboards are a work in progress, much like the story itself.

Q: What are you currently working on?

A: I am currently working on revising Touched, a Regency-set Historical in which the heroine, a twenty-year-old orphan runaway who gets psychic visions from skin-to-skin contact, finds herself entombed in the hero’s dark, sprawling mansion, where a much-reviled earl has turned up dead. The guests are horrified and terrified, convinced that the hero has killed... once again. The heroine must use her gifts and her wits in her attempt to escape with both her life and her heart.

Q: Do you follow a daily quota or any kind of schedule?

A: Yes, actually! When actively writing (I do take a break between books) I wake up early, brush my teeth, start the coffee maker, and head to my computer. I aim for a scene a day. That’s a completely arbitrary goal I’ve set up for myself, since a scene can be anywhere between one page and twenty, but so far it seems to be working. Sometimes I have to settle for half a scene, and sometimes I get in more than one. If I’m revising, not writing fresh, I try to do two scenes per day. And then once I’m done with the day’s writing, I’m done. I can do my regular client work or read or run errands or eat a Hershey bar (er, I mean a healthy, vegetarian omelet) and it’s all guilt-free because I’ve already got my writing in. I used to try and write late at night, once I had all my other stuff done for the day, but what ended up happening was either I ran out of time, or I ran out of brainpower and ended up staring blankly at my monitor until blood seeped from my eyes. Once I decided to make writing a priority, I not only got more done, I was generally happier throughout the day, because I’d started the morning by accomplishing something. Yay!

Q: What can you tell us about your writing style?

A: Hmmm, I’m not 100% sure what you mean by this question. Voice-ish-ly? If that’s what you mean, then the first thing you should know (if you haven’t already guessed) is I’m a big fan of making up words. Like Voice-ish-ly. Actually, I like to think that my writing is fast-paced and laced with humor. (Yes, even the semi-gothic romance between the orphan and the murderer. I swear. *g) The soon-to-be-renamed Trevor & the Tooth Fairy is chock full of wacky, madcap goodness. For that one, I thought up a crazy scenario (the neurophysicist-turned-apprentice-tooth-fairy and the anthropology professor who won’t hand over the freshly-dug teeth) and then had a blast getting my characters in all inds of trouble. I think if you have fun writing what you write, the reader can really tell, and it’s more fun for everyone.

Q: How do you deal with writer's block?

A: Bah, humbug! I sit down and write anyway. Sometimes what I write stays, sometimes it goes. But either way, I wrote. And that is an accomplishment.

Q: What do you like to read?

A: Oh, boy. Everything. I’ll try to limit it to romance... I read Balogh, Crusie, Dodd, Evanovich, Hoyt, Hooper, Quinn, Rowe... The last books I read were Die For Me by Karen Rose, Something Sinful by Suzanne Enoch, and The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt, all three of which I enjoyed. (And Karen’s book just hit the NYT--w00t! Go Karen!) I’ve got about a gazillion books overflowing my To Be Read shelves, many of which I picked up in conference Goody rooms or local signings, and I love it when I find a new author that way. (Ex: the Suzanne Enoch book was one I picked up at National.)

Q: How long have you been a member of FTH? How has it benefited you?

A: I’ve been a member for about a year now. I enjoy the email loops, the workshops, the web site. And everyone at National coveted (er, I mean complimented *g) my pin!

Q: Tell us about any other project, hobbies or interests.

A: Well, I love to travel. If I were independently wealthy, you wouldn’t catch me in the same country for more than a few months at a time. I love languages. I am always trying to learn them, speak them, read them. I practice with total strangers when I have to. (Meaning, they’re stuck in front of me in line at the grocery store, etc. Mua ha haa!) I am a scrapbooker. I like art, both the actual doing and the going to museums etc to see other people’s. I like to dance, love music. Once upon a time, I was a guitarist and the lead singer for a garage band in Cincinnati. (Technically, basement band, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it.) And I like being out in the sun, feeling it on my skin. I’m pretty sure I’m solar powered.

Q: Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for anyone starting out?

A: Don’t give up! Write every day, or as close to it as possible. Take your writing seriously, or nobody else will. Make it a priority. Learn about craft. Be open-minded. Get feedback. Take what helps, ignore what doesn’t. (Seriously. Do not take all suggestions from all persons. And do not discard out of hand every bit of criticism that comes your way. Usually the wise choice is somewhere in the middle.) If you want writing to be a career, treat it like one. And give back! If you can help another writer out, do so. We’re all in this together. Every new reader some writer somewhere draws in with her books is yet another reader in your potential audience. Be helpful. Don’t be snarky to the point of hurting feelings. Don’t be paranoid or whiny or neurotic (if you can help it. *g) And above all, persevere! Writing is fun, but writing is work. It takes effort. It takes time. It takes thick skin. And it takes a true, internally-motivated love of sitting down and doing it.

Q: Can you tell us about any recent contest wins? What are you thoughts on entering contest?

A: Actually, this month I became a triple-finalist in the 2007 TARA Contest. Touched took second place in the Historical category and got a requested full. Trevor & the Tooth Fairy took second place in the Single Title category. And Dorinda & the Demon took first place in the Paranormal category. Exciting stuff!

My opinion on contests is to first and foremost know what you expect to get out of them and enter (or don’t enter) accordingly. If you are entering for feedback, pick a contest known for providing it in the level/manner/quantity you desire. But recognize the feedback for what it is--initial reactions based on a predetermined set of criteria. Contest judges are not your critique partners and should not be expected to re-plot your story for you. (Conversely, they should be expected to provide constructive, non-demoralizing feedback. If this is not the case, do let the contest coordinator know.) If your goal is to get in front of a particular editor, do your research and find out if that particular editor even requests stuff she reads in contests. Some do, and some do not. That might be the smartest $35 you ever spent, or maybe you should’ve spent a fraction of that on a stamp and a query letter. If you know your story rocks and you’re entering for the bling, be sure to pick a contest with good jewelry. Not all contests have prizes for winning, other than the cachet of having won. And above all, do not let contest feedback crush your spirit. Each judge represents one person’s opinion, nothing more. All you need is one agent and one editor to love it--not every judge/agent/editor on the planet.

Q: Please list credits, contests, web site, requests, goals, and any other news.

A: My first two stories also finaled in contests; Unmasked in the 2006 Frontiers in Writing and Witness in the 2006 Golden Rose. And my fourth story, Trevor & the Tooth Fairy, became represented just a few months ago by Lauren Abramo of the Dystel & Goderich literary agency.

My web site is: http://www.ericaridley.com
My personal blog is: http://ericawrites.blogspot.com
My group blog is: http://manuscriptmavens.blogspot.com

Thanks again, Erica for stopping by to visit with us. You have one of the I can’t miss reading it a day blogs. Tip for everyone, if you haven’t checked out her blog go now. Erica has a wealth of information for writers as well as lots of fun.

We can’t wait till your books hit the shelves!

More Writing Articles by Romance Author Erica Ridley

Want to contact Erica? Email: erica [at] erica ridley [dot] com