My guest today is Charlotte McClain, writer of romance, angst and silliness, and a teacher who currently works and resides in the United Arab Emirates. Welcome Charolotte!
Everyone comfy? Good. Let’s talk books!
Anne - I often write while sitting in my car. Parked. In my driveway! I call it my “cone of silence”. My very own writer’s cocoon, if you will. Do you have a unique place to write? Tell us about it.
Charlotte - I have a whole apartment as my cone of silence. Part of my teaching contract states that the school will provide me with an apartment. (You never knew teachers got those kinds of perks, did you?) My school provided me with a three bedroom, two and a half bath apartment for little old me. So the only distractions are the ones I provide. Unfortunately, I'm a gold medalist in procrastination.
Anne - Describe your home office as appears right now. Is this a good or bad thing?!
Charlotte - Messy! Very Messy! You'd thinking living alone I'd be able to control my mess, but when I came back from Jordan two weeks ago I cleaned out my purse of all the mementos I had saved and they are still piled on the corner of my desk – on top of the projects I was working on for school before I went to Jordan! This weekend, I swear, I'll clean everything up and put everything away. I swear.
Anne - Do you belong to any writer’s organizations, critique groups, and/or depend on beta readers?
Charlotte - I belong to several online groups. My globetrotting lifestyle makes face to face meetings difficult. The UAE's internet policies have me blocked from Romance Divas which is one of the most supportive groups of romance writers going, but I still keep up with my Yahoo critique group. Besides them I have several people who read for me and do my dreaded galleys.
Anne - If you could just snap your fingers and go, where would you visit, return to, or move? Why?
Charlotte - Thailand! I loved Thailand when I visited there on vacation. The people, the food, the scenery. I've lived in three countries (outside the US) and I would love to move to Thailand.
Anne - How many books have you written to date? Are you most proud of one in particular? If so, why?
Charlotte - I've written seventeen and published seven with three more either about to come out or under contract. I'm proud of all of them at different times for different reasons. The first Arden FD book with Lyrical Press is the first book I ever finished and I've just signed the contract for number three this last month. The boys in the band in the Touchstone series (Freya's Bower) have developed into really interesting and well rounded characters and ended up spawning an industry because I had to start writing about their rock star friends too. My Weaver's Circle series, also with Lyrical Press, has allowed me to explore life in a small town which is one of the settings I have always loved. For me writing is all about the challenge and every book I've written as started with “I wonder if I could pull that off.”
Anne - What is the hardest part of writing for you?
Charlotte - Galleys. After the book is written and after it's edited, the galleys arrive. That's when all kinds of things start jumping out at me, but I can't change anything at that stage. Very frustrating.
Anne - Are you a glass half-empty or half-full kind of person?
Charlotte - Half full and it's probably half full because I drank the other half and enjoyed it immensely. I'm a terrible Pollyanna.
Anne - Outside of writing, what accomplishment are you most proud?
Charlotte - My teaching. I spend my days teaching kindergarten in the UAE and I love watching my munchkins go from frightened babies who speak no English to confident children who can communicate in two languages.
Anne – Where can readers find you online?
Thanks Anne, for featuring me today. I’d like to offer readers a chance to win a copy of book two of the Weavers' Circle, LONG MEMORY. To enter the draw, leave a comment based on this question: Who's the most unusual character you've ever met in real life? You don't have to name names, but I love to hear about special and unique people.
Anne – A great question, Charlotte. I can't wait to read the comments. Thanks SO much for dropping by. I wish you every success with your new release...and with your travels.
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Are you a romance author? Do you have a recent release?
I'd love to interview you and talk about your book(s).
Email me: annekalbert AT gmail DOT com
& mention “AKA blog feature” in the heading.
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Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteYour work area sounds like mine. Messy. But it works.