Spotlight Author with Rogenna Brewer

Kid’s are back in school and everything is falling back into place at home now that they are back on a schedule. Crazy thing is I’m not doing that “Happy Mom” dance that I usually do when they go back to school. I don’t know what it is this year, I already miss them. I have Rogenna Brewer to keep my company today! ;-) She will be giving one lucky commenter a copy of MITZI’S MARINE. So make sure to stop in, say hi, and ask questions!

Tell us a little bit about yourself Rogenna and what you write.

Hi, Micole! Thanks for having me.

I write long contemporaries for Harlequin Superromance. I’ve been married for too many years to admit to in writing and have three boys somewhere between the ages of adolescents and adulthood.

I’m a working mom and a writer, who has yet to find a way to balance family and writing. Though I keep hoping one day I’ll get it right.

I always knew I wanted to be a writer, I just didn’t know it would be so hard or that the odds were against me. I’m glad I didn’t know any of that when I first started out.

Oh, and once upon a time I was in the Navy. I’ve traveled the globe, even crossed the international dateline without ever needing a passport or stepping outside of US territory.

I hope to remedy that some day. I’m kind of tired of bragging about that.

What do you think makes your writing unique?

I write military heroes and heroines from the perspective of someone who’s actually been there, done that. A lot of my fan mail comes from readers either in the military or with a family member in the military who thank me for getting it right. And if I don’t or if my experience was different from theirs they let me know that too.

Can you share with us what you are currently working on?

I just finished a marriage of convenience story between a single mom who wants desperately to join the Marines and a Navy SEAL struggling bitterly with being medically discharged after losing an eye in Iraq. Needless to say he’s none too happy being the Manny while the wife goes off to war.

The book is called Marry Me, Marine and comes out in February 2011.

I’m on a bit of a wounded warrior kick. The hero in my May 2010 release Mitzi’s Marine lost a leg in Iraq.

To me the real heroes are the men and women who serve.

What is your process? Are you a plan every aspect before you write kind of gal or the one that flies by the seat of her pants and lets the story and its characters take you for a wild ride until THE END?

Process? You mean there are writers that actually have that all figured out?

I have written each and every book by the trial and error and pulling out hair method.

I love the freedom of writing by the seat of my pants. That’s not always possible once you’re published. In order to write under contract I have to submit an outline (or sysnopsis) and chapters.

Sometimes getting those sample chapters polished take you out of the story. And some of my longest and most complete outlines have been my hardest books to write.

What do you do when you get stuck?

Haha. You really do ask the tough questions. Usually, taking a step back is key for me. Letting go of the problem and taking a walk or a shower can get me back on track. Unfortunately I’m usually on deadline when I get stuck with no time to stop and think.

If I try to jump ahead of the problem or work around it I usually make matters worse.

Give us a glimpse into the day in your “writer’s” life?

I’m coming off a deadline, which looked like this… Up at 6am. Day job from 7am-4pm. Home by 5pm. Up in my office until midnight or 2am (with a 5 hour energy break at 7pm—which I would not recommend). Bed. And then start all over again.

Weekends were 16 to 20 hours in a chair.

I was tired all the time. I gained about thirty pounds. This is not a schedule I would recommend.

No matter what I did I could not get even a page an hour. So I had to keep to grueling schedule, which I’m pretty sure compounded the problem, because I was losing ground daily while on deadline.

How long was your road to publication?

April 5th 1995 was my butt in the chair date. That’s the day I made up my mind to sit down and write every day in order to get published. I got the call June 1st 1998.

Did you receive rejection letters during your journey to become published? If yes what is your best advice to someone who’s received their first one?

No, I’m perfect . I’ve never received a rejection letter that read something like, this book is too category. And same book, this book is too single title.

When I won a contest and Supers bought the sequel to that book, I was like, duh. Why didn’t I think of that?

I write long contemporary category romance.

And the rejections haven’t stopped just because I’m published, but they’re usually phone calls or emails from my editor.

Do you have any advice on writing, getting published, or finding an agent?

I’m really bad a picking out agents so no advice from me there. It’s true what they say about a bad agent being worse than no agent.

As far as writing advice; make today your butt in the chair day and write a little something every day.

Thank you, Rogenna. I am so happy you were able to make it by Micole Writes Romance.

Make sure to leave a comment for Regenna to be entered in her giveaway of MITZI’S MARINE! ;-) Thank you for stopping by Micole Writes Romance.

Hugs

Micole