Meet the Exquisite Quill Authors


Saturday, March 1, 2014

Author Interview: Wareeze Woodson



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.

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:

Read these titles by Wareeze Woodson:
Conduct Unbecoming of a Gentleman
An Enduring Love—Coming March 26, 2014

3 comments:

Jane Leopold Quinn said...

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.

Rose Anderson said...

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. :)

J.D. Faver said...

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