The delightful Catherine Russell is my guest today. She's here to tells us a little about herself and about her journey toward publication. Cathy writes paranormal romance and, according to her, her drug of choice is vampires.
Welcome, Cathy.
Hi Diane,
Thanks for having me as
a guest on your blog. My name is Catherine Russell, though most of my friends
call me Cathy. I live in the Pacific Northwest, just south of Seattle, in
Tacoma. My home is nestled down near the Puget Sound, close to the Narrows Bridge.
My partner and I have been together going on 24 years this Christmas and we
have one son, who is about to turn 12. He’s our pride and joy.
About
5 years ago I had been enjoying Twilight…yes, I’m a twihard and proud of it…and
had been watching interview after interview of authors who had started out on a
whim. So a thought occurred to me, why couldn’t I? I’d had characters rolling
around in my head for many years, not based on real people but none the less
very real to me. So began my adventure. They chose me to tell their tale. I
picked up a pencil from my son’s study, grabbed a 5 subject binder and started
to put their voices to paper. Yes, I said paper. I have a unique way of
writing; at least I think it’s different. I write it out long hand first, then edit
it as I enter it into my computer. The more I wrote the faster their voices
became. I wrote on my lunch hours (I work full time for a nationally known
health care system) on my breaks, after dinner and lunches were made, late into
the night. Getting up as early as 3 am was not uncommon for me to do in the
early days of my story. After 3 years and a few health crises’ of our own, my
first manuscript was complete. I began the daunting task of finding a
self-publishing company after I met an author in town and she suggested I give
it a try. I choose iUniverise.com and
went through the whole design phase and one round of editing, though I
certainly needed more than one round I ended up using beta readers to help me
finish it.
During
this very hectic time, our son watched me become the author I am today. Both he
and my partner put up with repetitive dinners, grouchy Sunday mornings and
sometimes found me asleep on the keyboard…but they both encouraged me to
continue it. When the day came that I received my first published book from
iUniverse and held it in my hands my son was so proud he jumped up and down,
squealing with delight as I did! He proceeded to go to school the next day and
tell his entire class. I then began the grueling task of self-promotion. I
reached out to local mom & pop book stores, though they weren’t very
interested. As part of my publishing package that I had purchased through
iUniverse, Barnes & Noble plus Amazon carried my book on line. One day
coming back from a small signing in Olympia, I saw a Barnes & Noble from
the freeway and thought…Why not? So I stopped in, spoke with the manager on
duty and sure enough…I had my first signing with B&N 3 weeks later! That
was the beginning of a 2 year run of going up and down western Washington doing
signings, some with other romance writers during a launch party, others doing
events during the spring and then later
on through the holidays. I thought outside the box and did signings at Spirit
Halloween stores that open up only during September and October since my book
is vampire based, the sales were good!
So
far, I’ve completed two out of the 4 that will be the complete Stage Series.
Last September I began looking for a traditional publisher that had open
submissions, hoping at least one might pick up the 2nd book.
Submission after submission I kept trying, hoping to get picked up. I kept my
head up even after rejections came in. Then this past January, I crossed my
fingers one last time. Barking Rain Press, out of Vancouver Washington, had an
open submission period right after the first of the year. I chanced it, sending
not one but both of my manuscripts. I’d discovered most traditional publishers
didn’t want to pick a series up in the middle. After 12 weeks of sitting on
pins and needles, I was rewarded for my patience by having both manuscript
requested for further exam. And another 12 weeks went by and in early May…I got
the e mail that my one of my goals for 2013 became real…they picked up my
series! I’ve started on book 3, Enter Stage Right and am still in love with my
series, though at this point I love both books 1 & 2 equally but for
different reasons. The Stage was my first baby and my playlist still pulls on
my hearts strings tremendously. But writing Exit Stage Left I really sank my
teeth in to my characters, flushing them out a lot, and had a ton of fun.
I
still write quite the same, lunch hours, early mornings and late nights, though
not ‘til midnight anymore…it’s hell getting up at 4:30 for work after that. I
find that I think clearly as my music plays in my ears, blocking out the rest
of the world. The morning sunshine is the best time, my mind is fresh and my
ideas come quickly. I enjoy cross country running, long distances really clear
my mind and I get a ton of unique ideas and scenario’s when I run. Plus it
helps me relax too.
The
most enjoyable part about writing is giving my characters their voices,
building their world and lives. Plus I love being able to make them do things
that I normally wouldn’t be able to do or something totally insane, yet it’s
very real to them. I get lost in the story line sometimes, when the words are
flowing so fast, to the point that I forget where I am and the time…that’s
about when my son’s comes, taps me on my shoulder and says “Mom, it’s time for
bed.” I love him so much…
When
I write I allow the story to grow organically, watching which ideas work and if
not, rethink it. I try not to think too far into the story because then it
becomes over thought and becomes too stiff for me. I’d say my series is
character driven with plot coming as naturally as it flows through them. I hope
that makes since, it does in my head. But I love each of my characters for
different reasons. The main two, Geoffrey Drake and Megan O’Day, are the two
that have been around the longest. The supportive cast was so much fun to
create. And strangely enough, I ended up with multiple sets of twins in this
series, something I didn’t plan on, it just happened and made sense so I kept
that idea.
For
right now, my first book, The Stage, is available on Amazon.com,
Barnes&Noble.com and on iUniverse.com as well. My website is www.thestageseries.com,
where you can watch the teaser trailer video for The Stage that I helped direct
and had my videographer, Nathaniel Jackson produce and I have links on there as
well. I’m on twitter @CathyMRussell plus my series is on Facebook , The Stage
and just recently I’ve added instagram, thestageseries and on Goodreads too. My
followers have self-named themselves as the Loyal Stage Hands and I have
actually created swag in the form of T-shirts for all to order and to wear
proudly. Thanks for having me and I look forward to enjoying more of your work
as well.
I almost forgot to add that
last June, after much due diligence, I was fortunate enough to have my first TV
interview on King5 in Seattle for New Day Northwest with Margaret Larson. It
was a tremendous day and I learned so much and had fun. The link for this
interview is on the home page of my blog if you'd like to enjoy to it.
Blurb for The Stage
Megan is a bit of a social recluse who comes out of her shell,
falling in love with an underground musician, only to discover that he's been
her unseen protector since she was a child. That and the fact that he doesn't
age...ever. Geoffrey Drake is her vampire guardian angel. As their two worlds
collide, she discovers just how dangerous love can be.
Cathy can be found around the Internet at:
Thanks, Cathy, for sharing your story. Best wishes on this series.
