Author Deanna Raybourn ~ Interviewed

Biography

A sixth-generation native Texan, Deanna Raybourn graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a double major in English and history and an emphasis on Shakespearean studies. She taught high school English for three years in San Antonio before leaving education to pursue a career as a novelist. SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY is the second novel in the Lady Julia Grey series. Deanna makes her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband and daughter.

What is your current project? Tell us about it.

I am currently researching a mysterious historical novel set in Scotland and Transylvania. It's a brief departure from the Julia Grey series, and I am so excited about it! I love dark and twisty stories, and this one will probably be the darkest and twistiest yet.

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head?

I always wrote, even as a child. I wrote my first novel at 23, and it was fourteen years before I got a book deal. I knew that this publisher was interested, and for about six weeks I could hardly breathe because I felt like this was really my last chance. There had been so many rejection letters, so many "no's", and I was honestly wondering if I should give up the idea of being published. Not writing--I would never give up writing! But I really wondered if it was ever going to happen for me. And then my agent called and told me they didn't want Silent in the Grave; they wanted Silent in the Grave and two others. I remember hanging up the phone and sobbing, just doubled-over and heaving. And I knew my whole life was about to change. I had such a hard time believing it was finally happening that I saved the cork from the bottle of champagne I opened that night. I carried it in my purse for a year, and whenever I doubted that it had really happened, I would look at it because it was tangible proof that I was going to be published.

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work, or struggle in a particular area such as writers block or angst driven head-banging against walls? Please share some helpful overcoming hints that you've discovered.

The first two months after I found out I was going to be published were the most difficult for me as a writer. I had never written to a contract before, never written something I'd already been paid for. I was terrified! But I found my feet again, and I haven't had issues with block since then. I have learned that, for me, it's essential not to start too soon. I need to really let the plot and the research and the characters muddle around in my subconscious for a good long while. And just when I'm getting nervous that my deadline is getting too close is when something just clicks and it's time to begin. When I'm working, I don't get blocked because I work every day without fail--holidays, birthdays, weekends. I try not to travel when I'm writing, and I don't leave the house very much. I stay VERY connected to the work, to the point that I'm usually dreaming about it every night. That makes it really easy to pick up the next day, and really, it's the opposite of being blocked. I can't write fast enough to keep up! At that point, I set a maximum number of pages I will do each day in order not to rush the pacing because I'm so anxious to finish. All of my methods are the result of trial and error--figuring out what works for me.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication? Or to narrow it down further what's something you wish you'd known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

You have to write what you want to read. I spent years trying to get published with books I thought were commercial. Well, they weren't commercial, and I didn't even particularly like them. If I didn't like them, why would anyone else? At my agent's insistence, I took a year off just to read. Then I was able to translate that to what I wanted to write.

What's the best or worst advice (or both) you've heard on writing/publication?

The worst advice writers get is "write what you know" because it's glib and it's limiting. It should be "write what you want to read" because that is the only project you will be excited enough about to bring to life.

What is your favorite source for finding story ideas?

Usually it's an odd little snippet of history, some random fact or arcane bit of trivia that gets overlooked, but for some reason catches my imagination. Then I start playing the "what if" game, and it takes off. I never know where a story is going to come from, and that's part of the whole mysterious creative process I try not to analyze too deeply. It's alchemy, really.

Have you ever had one of those awkward writer moments you'd like to share with us, the ones wherein you get "the look" from the normals? Example, you stand at a knife display at the sporting goods store and ask the clerk which would be the best to use to disembowel a six foot man…please do tell.

Oh, just last week, I went to the library to pick up a batch of books on hold and the librarians were looking at me, DEEPLY concerned. They handed over my books and I said, "Oh, GOOD, the suicide books are here!" They got even more distressed until I explained they were for research. Apparently, they had just shelved the books for me and had been wondering about my emotional health right when I walked up. I'm still not entirely sure they believed me.

Is there a particularly difficult setback that you've gone through in your writing career you are willing to share? Or have you ever been at the point where considered quitting writing altogether?

I would never quit writing. I don't care if even the dog loses interest and has to be bribed with biscuits to listen to my latest chapter, I would never stop. It always strikes me as odd when people mention that I must really enjoy writing or really love my work because my relationship with writing is what Scout describes about reading in To Kill a Mockingbird. You don't love it because you don't love breathing. It's just who you are and it's what you do without thinking. I have always made up stories. I have certainly been at the point of giving up on being published, but just when I would be ready to pack it up, something would always happen to keep me going.

What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)

Mary Stewart and M.M. Kaye's suspense novels, anything reissued by Persephone Books, E.M. Delafield's Provincial Lady series, I Capture the Castle, Rebecca, Lonesome Dove, and Monica Dickens' Mariana.

What piece of writing have you done that you're particularly proud of and why?

Silent in the Sanctuary, because it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I had to write to a contract, I had to write to a deadline, I had to revise it heavily--none of which I had done before. But as difficult as it was, I did it. My editor warned me that the second novel is an ordeal by fire, and even though I had written several other novels, this was the second for publication and it was challenging in ways I had never imagined.

Dean Koontz recently shared his take on the concept on "the writer's sacred duty." What comes to your mind at the mention of "the writer's sacred duty?"

The duty to do our best. None of us will ever be perfect, but we should always offer our readers the best of ourselves, and to me that means telling a story that I could not tell any better. When a reader purchases a book, they are saying, "I trust you to entertain me, to take me on a journey, to dazzle me, to bring me into your world." It's my duty, and my honor, to live up to that trust. (Which all sounds very prim, but I honestly believe it.)

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

No, I'm Candide. It's the best of all possible businesses, and honestly, I'm just happy to be invited to the party.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?

Oh, loads of them! The most important is that I want every book to be better than the last. I never want to become relaxed or comfortable as a writer because it's good to be a little scared. If I'm scared it means I'm challenging myself.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

I actually enjoy it all. I love being holed up in my study alone with a book, and I love getting out and doing signings and interviews.

What aspect of writing was the most difficult for you to grasp/conquer? How did you overcome it?

Getting through the sophomore curse was the hardest. I knew there were expectations, huge ones, that had to be met. I had already been paid; I had a limited amount of time. In the end, I just put my head down and wrote. That's always been my solution, and it always works. Even if you have something vile, at least it's on the page and you can work with it.

What is the first thing you do when you begin a new book?

Clean my study. I remove all traces of the previous book, and I make a new collage. Each book gets a three by four foot collage of visual images--character faces, settings, important objects. It gets framed and hung opposite my desk where I can see it all the time.

Writing rituals. Do you have to sit somewhere specific, complete a certain number of words, leave something undone to trigger creativity for the next session? Some other quirk you'd like to share?

I have a tiny pink study where I work--it's something like eight by nine feet, maybe smaller. It's like working inside a cupcake, very girly, but the pink is serene. I write for one to two hours, then stop. It doesn't sound like much, but it's usually seven to ten pages because I write flat out the whole time, typing on my computer. I jot notes to myself that get posted on the walls, so over the course of a book, the walls get very crowded. I also write plot points on enormous sheets of art paper that get taped up. I cross them off as I write them in, so it helps me keep track of where I'm going.

Plot, seat of pants or combination?

Combination, leaning toward pants. I have general plot points I want to hit, and I know where I'm going. HOW I get there is a serendipitious trip.

What is the most difficult part of pulling together a book? Ex. Do you have saggy middles, soggy characters, soupy plots during your first drafts…if so, how do you shape it up?

I tend to juggle--bits of research I want to include, character quirks, lines of dialogue I like--and I don't often refer to my notes. I rely on my memory to pull out what I want when I want it. Surprisingly, it works more often than not, but it is challenging to keep all those balls in the air at one time.

Have you received a particularly memorable reader response? Please share.

My favorite reader note was from a girl who was heading home for a funeral. She bought my book in an airport and read it on the plane, and for a few hours, she forgot why she was going. I was immensely touched that she told me that.

Have you had a particularly memorable peer honor? Please share.

Silent in the Grave has been nominated for an Agatha and two RITA awards from RWA. It's the RWA nomination for Best First Book that really stunned me because I don't write books that fit comfortably into the romance genre. To be honored by them in that particular category was astonishing to me, and extremely gratifying.

How much marketing/publicity do you do? Any advice in this area?

I maintain a mailing list, and I write a daily blog. I also try to leave comments for bloggers who are kind enough to review my books. I never turn down interview requests, and I answer all my reader mail personally. I have recently starting working with Nancy Berland, publicist to the stars, as I call her. I'm budgeting for PR now, and adding more to the budget with each book.

Parting words? Anything you wish we would've asked because you've got the perfect answer?

No, these were great!