Exquisite Quills Welcomes Wareeze Woodson
EQ: Welcome to EQ!
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
Wareeze: I am a
native Texan married to my high-school sweetheart for years and years and
years. We have 4 children, 3 boys and 1 girl. They presented us with 8 lovely
grandchildren. Grandchildren are GRAND. We still live in Texas near Houston and
we remain in love with each other after all these years. My husband tells me
I’m beautiful and will always be beautiful to him. After all, romance is the search
for enduring love.
EQ: Tell us a little
bit about your most recent release.
Wareeeze: My debut novel,
Conduct Unbecoming of a Gentleman, released May 2, 2013 is a Regency romance
with a twist of suspense. My second book is due for release March 26, 2014. An
Enduring Love is also a Regency romance. I love romance and happy endings mixed
with intrigue, suspense along with an occasional murder thrown in to keep
things moving.
EQ: What was your
defining moment as a writer?
Wareeze: The most
defining moment for me as a writer happened when I finished my first novel. I
might mention, I wrote it on a typewriter with write-out as the only correction
method I owned. I’m happy to say the typewriter was electric. Of course, that
happened years ago.
The second and most
significant occurrence happened when I opened my email and received the news my
book had been accepted for publication. I ran outside, since my husband was at
the barn, and yelled the thrilling news at him. YEAH!
There was never a
thought of self-publishing in my mind. I needed the validation of being
accepted by an actual publisher.
EQ: Who or what has
had the biggest influence on your writing?
Wareeze: My critique
partners have the biggest influence on my writing. Bless each one of them. They
tell me when something doesn’t click, when there is a misspelled word, when I
use an incorrect passage in a scene besides encouraging me to continue writing.
I deeply appreciate their help. We rip each other’s manuscript to shreds with
marks all over nearly every page. If a partner will not kindly tell you what is
wrong with your work, you can’t correct it.
I even appreciate
the 3 star reviews I received on Conduct Unbecoming of a Gentleman because I
listened and am improving my craft. The 2 stars all complained about the hero
being such a jerk, they couldn’t stand the book. All of those reviewers got the
book when it was free on Amazon. I think some of those reviewers where not open
to the position men held in the early 1800 through 1900. It was truly a man’s
world. I touched a raw spot. Perhaps that is good or maybe not. I’m also
grateful to all of the reviewers that gave me 5 stars and rave reviews. Talk
about a swelled head. It is very gratifying to received praise for your very
hard work.
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EQ: What kinds of
female characters do you prefer to write?
Wareeze: I like to
write about a courageous woman, loyal and certainly nurturing, tender with
gentle hands matching her heart, always accepting what can’t be changed and
moving on. She has a weak moment or two. When I grow up, I want to be that
woman.
EQ: What kinds of
male characters do you prefer to write?
Wareeze: I love
strong men, both physically and emotionally able. Strength of character is
important as well with all the attributes that entails. They must have a few
faults as well. That is the type of person I admire.
EQ: Share a funny or
ironic anecdote.
Wareeze: I am the
first to admit not all agents fall into the category of the first agent I met.
Thank goodness! Surprisingly, even after my unfortunate encounter with that
particular agent, I still found the fortitude to continue writing. I attended a
writer’s conference carrying my five pages for review as requested. All the
victims—I mean writers lined up before one of the three agents present. When it
was my turn, the agent scanned through my pages, looked at me as if I were a
very unpleasant insect he’d found in his cereal that morning and proceeded to
fray be alive with words. He told me I was too fat and unattractive to make it
as a writer. The sneer on his face has been stamped on my best villains
features since that day. Needless to say, I’m still writing. Nana nana booboo.
Find Wareeze Woodson at these places:
website - http://www.wareezewoodson.com/
twitter - twitter.com@wareeze
face book - https://www.goodreads.com/wareeze
blog site: http://regencyquills.com/
Read these titles by Wareeze Woodson:
Conduct Unbecoming of a Gentleman
An Enduring Love—Coming March 26,
2014
3 comments:
Good Lord, that agent was an awful man. I suppose he was cover model gorgeous to feel he had the right to criticize someone else? Anyway, I'm glad you kept on writing.
I enjoyed your interview, Wareeze. I felt the same way about publisher validation. While the trad publishing option has been around a while, feasible self-publishing is relatively new on the scene. How could we compare a few years ago? Now that self-published authors are making the national bestseller lists, we can see self-publishing as a viable option.
As for reviews, we can never understand the mind that leaves disparaging reviews that have little to do with the novel. Perhaps they blur the line between author a bookseller because we're such a consumer culture we don't see the mind that created the novel. They just see a product. I've seen 1-star reviews on books that take too long to load. And that agent...how dare the man? I'll put him in my next villain too.
Best luck. :)
Good morning, Wareeze! I love being on of your critique partners and I'm also grateful to be shredded each week. Thanks for your insightful input and great catches. I love your writing and great characterization. Always deeply conflicted and layered. I'm glad the nasty agent didn't deter you. You can tell me his name and I'll beat him up for you. *hugs* ~JD
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