Did I say fountain pen? I did.  I prefer the physical process of writing. I love it, actually. There’s more emotion, more connection to each word when it’s written by hand. I love the feel of the heavy pen in my hand. I know…how weird. But I can take this with me everywhere. I can write anywhere with pen and paper. Once it is finished, I leave it alone for a week, and then comes the task of transcribing it into the computer. The computer process takes longer that the actually writing of it, but I enjoy that process as well. I love polishing, adding, deleting, making a piece shine. I’ll go back and rewrite two or three more times once it’s done.

After that, I have a copy of it printed at Lulu. I do this for my readers, who then scour through it looking for typos, continuity issues, etc. Lulu has been a godsend because they no longer have to lug around a manuscript box, and I can print a couple out for next to nothing. After that… I fix those errors, write my queries, and away it goes!

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?

You know, I haven’t. I can’t imagine being stumped. That would probably really drive me insane. As for what I do to unleash my creativity? I take walks with my dog, Lucy. When a story really starts to come together, but the ending has me baffled, I get a massage. I’ve worked out several endings laying face down on a massage table.

How was your experience in looking for a publisher? What words of advice would you offer those novice authors who are in search of one?

Do your homework. Don’t send out mass mailings, but choose the houses that are a fit for your work. Polish your query until it’s perfect. Not nearly perfect, but perfect. Queries are so important. What I learned was that the rejections are often a rejection of the query, not the writing or the story itself. I used to tell too much about the story. I thought they wanted a summary of it. Not really. There’s so much more to it, and there are plenty of places to go online for information about how to write a good query. Good queries are hard, but they’re what get your foot in the door.

What type of book promotion seems to work the best for you?

Because I teach and am used to speaking in front of crowds, I’ve been pretty successful with traditional book signings as long as they’re publicized well. I tell a good story. I am not a wallflower, and have had some great life experiences to share, which I do. My students tell me they don’t want to miss my classes because they never know what I’m going to say or do. That’s me in a cracked nutshell.