Every author has their own ritual for when they write. Some have to wear a specific pair of Naot shoes. Others have to light a candle, brew coffee, and stir the milk in three times, clockwise. Last week, we reviewed Rolf Hitzer’s debut novel, Hoodoo Sea, which you can buy by clicking on the link above. This week, Mr. Hitzer shares one of his writing rituals with us.

Prior to my decision of writing a novel, I had without a doubt, believed myself to be a normal person. Then I began to realize how annoyed I would become if I didn’t follow a certain procedure every time I sat down to scribble a few words.

Before writing, Hoodoo Sea, I didn’t drink tea. In fact, having a cup of tea was for the elderly or the British people. However, I found myself making a cup of tea each time I prepared myself for a writing session. Why? To this day, I still don’t know. And, I couldn’t have any tea, oh no, it had to be Chamomile Tea with a teaspoon of honey.

At first, I had thought nothing of it, that is, until I had run out of tea bags. Panic surged through me. Where did that feeling come from? I shrugged it off and sauntered down into the basement where my office was. I plunked myself into my chair, and again, became agitated. My focus and concentration became lost like the characters in my novel.

Well, after experiencing that incident I was never without Chamomile Tea again. What I find really bizarre about this is when I had finished, Hoodoo Sea, I stopped drinking tea altogether just like I had before. That is…until I started my second novel.

Macroeconomics is the broadest view but important measure of the economic system. As applied to housing it would address influencing factors such as disposable income, migration, available usable land, interest rates, etc. Macroeconomics in real estate applies to national or regional data. The regional data typically being the MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), what is more currently called the CSA (Combined Statistical Area) or which there are approximately 400 in the US. The MSA or CSA, is often referred to as a “market.”

All this data was available and many eyes were watching so how did all macro data fail? Part of the problem is that most professionals only have access to free or inexpensive data or information. You cannot make better assessments than the data available. Not only is much of the relevant data not free, it is very hard to find. Then integrating the data into meaningful results is a no-trivial task.

In assessing a real estate investment decision, you can examine data from various sources that consider the property itself, the block, the Census Track, the Zip Code, the County, the MSA/CSA, the state, and the country. Certainly the farther and farther you go out, the less relevance and meaning you have in trying to assess any particular valuation.. Any of us in real estate know you can drive around any area beyond a very local area, and see that nothing homogeneous about any city or neighborhood in America. While this is intuitive, you cannot find any free data or readily available data to make a true assessment of a specific local market condition. The more uncertain or unstable the conditions the riskier and evaluation becomes. We have now gone through a time that exposes the weaknesses in the tools we have been using.

I first encountered Colleen Gleason and her wonderful vampire series when someone recommended her work in the comments of this blog. A short time later, she herself commented here, and we’ve exchanged blog comments ever since (though, that’s only been a few months). She is warm, funny, and completely approachable, and even though I confess to not being a particular fan of the regency period, I have become a fan of her series because the themes she addresses are universal, though her approach is completely original. I’m tickled, then, to offer this interview on the very day the third book in the series is being released.

Colleen’s brief bio:

Colleen was born and raised in Michigan, and worked in the health care industry in sales and marketing for more than fifteen years before selling her first book. She currently resides near Ann Arbor with her family and is working on the fifth book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles.

What question are you never, or rarely, asked in interviews, that you really wish people would ask? How would you answer it?

Hmm. I really can’t think of anything that I haven’t been asked. I must have good interviewers.

Conversely, what question are you often asked, that you really don’t like to answer? What don’t you like about that question (no, you don’t have to answer it)?

How are sales/how’s the book doing–mainly because, unless the book hits a best-seller list, it’s pretty hard to tell how a book is really doing (and what does that mean, anyway?) for at least a year. It’s a nebulous question, and there’s not an easy answer.

Who in your life was/is the greatest influence – good or bad – on your writing?

I think my agent had a big hand in helping me to get my writing to a different level. When she first took me on, I was writing well, and that’s why she wanted to work with me. But we had several conversations about–literally about–word choices. Very specific ones, and those conversations helped me to see a fairly simple but effective way to bring my writing to another level. It sounds like such a small thing, but in a way, it was a big thing.

I’ve also been influenced by my favorite authors, because I see their techniques and learn from them, using and adapting to fit my own stories, as far as craft goes.

And other big influences are my two critique partners, who read everything I write, every week, and really support and motivate me to keep writing. They’re tough, and they know their stuff. I don’t think I’d be here without them.

Do you write in longhand first, or do you compose at the keyboard? Tell us about your preferred pens, ink, paper, or platform and program.

I write everything in Word on my Macbook. Then I transfer it to my iMac and fine-tune it. I write one draft, massaging, muscling it into shape as I write–instead of writing one complete draft, then going back over it. I’m constantly editing/rewriting, tweaking, fine-tuning. At the end of the book, I do make a final pass for things like consistencies…but usually that’s pretty minor, since I’ve been pounding the book into shape all along.

What do you consider a “full day’s work” of writing? Do you measure by number of hours, or number of words? Do you spend time doing mundane chores so that you don’t have to write?

I am a great procrastinator! (I think many writers are.) There are so many other fun things to do on the computer besides write–read/answer fan mails, emails from my editor or agent, blogging, “researching” on the Internet, reading gossip columns (ahem). And if I’m sitting at my computer, I’m at least “at work” even if I’m not working.

So, I usually do a great deal of writing away from my desktop, and on my laptop, in a place where I can’t get internet. I often sit in restaurants and/or coffee shops and put my earphones in and plug away, without distractions.

As for a full day’s work…well, I like to try for 5 pages a day, but at the beginning of the book, I definitely chalk up fewer pages. But I make up for it when I get near the end, sometimes doing 10-20 pages in a day.

What are you reading these days? Or, what types of things do you like to read when you have time?

I read a variety of things, but I generally stay away from books in the genre that I write–namely, at this time, vampire books. I like to have a clean slate in my head when writing, and not worrying about what’s been done before or what hasn’t. It allows me to be freer in a way.

I’m currently reading A Mortal Bane by Roberta Gellis, who wrote The Roselynde Chronicles — one of my all-time favorite series of books. I recently finished Jamaica Inn by Daphne duMaurier and Duchess on fifth Avenue by Ruth Ryan Langan.

Got tunes? What’s flowing from your headphones or speakers while you write?

Lately I’ve been listening to either Michael W. Smith’s praise and worship music, or a party shuffle from my iTunes library.

How do you start a project? Do you begin with a random idea or an urge to cover a topic, or does research inform your choices? Once you’ve got an idea, do you outline, or just write what comes?

Since I’m writing a series now (and in fact, am writing the last book in the series), I’m already in the middle of one long story, so to speak. So I have a better idea of where it’s going than when I start a brand new project. However, even so, I still don’t plot very specifically before I begin. I have a basic idea of where the story is going and what’s going to happen, and I fill in the details as I write. And sometimes, I take a detour, or the book goes in a different direction than I’d planned….but I still end up in the same place.

When I’m starting a brand new idea, I generally sit down and just write–the first chapter or two–and then I sit back and try and figure out who these people are and what they’re doing. Then I write some more and come up with a general synopsis, and away we go!

Describe your ideal book signing. Is it in a large chain bookstore, or a smaller independent one? Is there a café? Do they have food and drinks that tie in with your book? What is the audience like?

Oooh…fun question!

It doesn’t matter to me where the signing is, or whether there’s food or drink (although I’m never one to pass up food OR drink!).

I have no problem speaking in public, especially about things like my books. So a setup where I can talk and take questions from the audience is wonderful for me. I love to have both readers/fans and non-readers, so that the conversation can go in different directions–some specifics about the books, and some in general about writing.

Tell us a bit about your current project. What’s it about? When is it coming out? Is it drastically different from your last work, or continuing a similar theme? What do you want prospective readers to know?

My newest release, The Bleeding Dusk, is out on February 5, and it continues the story of Victoria Gardella Grantworth. It’s the middle book of the five about her, and in many ways, it turns several aspects of the series on its head. I just finished writing the fourth book, When Twilight Burns, which will be out in August 08. And I’m currently writing the fifth and final book about Victoria.

As for prospective readers…the books can be read out of order, but I don’t suggest it, only because it is one long on-going story about Victoria and her struggle to balance her life with her calling as a vampire hunter in Regency England. So I recommend starting with The Rest Falls Away because then you get to see how she grows, changes, matures throughout the series.

One Dance in Paris is my second novel, following A Dangerous Dress.

Like Linda Stone, the heroine of One Dance in Paris, I believe deeply in our capacity to reinvent ourselves in fabulous ways, and if that involves jetting off to fabulous places, all the better. Also like Linda (and like Jane Stuart, the heroine of A Dangerous Dress), I am deeply devoted to travel, fashion, and drinking lovely wines and cocktails in exotic locations. I satisfy those cravings in Paris and New York – and now, in my new home of Hawaii – as often as I possibly can. Unlike Linda in One Dance in Paris, I have never danced scandalously on the stage of the Folies Bergère. And, unlike Jane in A Dangerous Dress, I have not met Giorgio Armani.

Yet.

What question are you never, or rarely, asked in interviews, that you really wish people would ask? How would you answer it?
Considering that both my novels are set principally in Paris, I’m surprised nobody’s ever asked me for travel advice. I’ve got a lot of opinions – and if somebody wanted restaurant suggestions, or to know, for instance, where exactly that magical vintage clothing shop on the Left Bank really is, I’d tell them.

Conversely, what question are you often asked, that you really don’t like to answer? What don’t you like about that question (no, you don’t have to answer it)?
People want to know, what’s with the pseudonym? And I just have to say to them, sorry, I really can’t tell you, next question. I think my mistake was acknowledging publicly that it’s a pseudonym. Most readers would be amazed at how many of their favorite writers are … well, somebody else.

Who in your life was/is the greatest influence – good or bad – on your writing?
I took Frank McCourt’s creative writing class in the eleventh grade. That was decades before Angela’s Ashes, so nobody had any idea that he would someday be this amazing success. But I remember, he taught us that if you want to be a writer, you have to write. That sounds obvious, but it’s not. Writers can’t sit around and wait for inspiration. It’s a lot of work, and it requires enormous discipline. And the only way to get better is by doing it a lot. So I learned that from him – and then much later, when he became a huge phenom, that set a pretty inspiring example that it’s possible to make it even if you never managed to be a twenty-something wunderkind.

Do you write in longhand first, or do you compose at the keyboard? Tell us about your preferred pens, ink, paper, or platform and program.
Sometimes I’ll use pen and paper to outline, or make notes – but when it comes to the actual writing of prose, it’s all on the keyboard. Thank you, Hewlett-Packard, and also Microsoft for the ergonomic keyboard I need when I’m cranking under deadline. But if that sounds too much like a commercial, I’ll counteract it by saying that I use Word, but it’s an evil buggy program and I hate it.

What do you consider a “full day’s work” of writing? Do you measure by number of hours, or number of words? Do you spend time doing mundane chores so that you don’t have to write?
I still have a day job, so my “full day’s work” of writing is typically late at night, and, if I’m under serious deadline pressure, on the weekends. I wrote One Dance in Paris literally in just two months to get it in on time – that’s at least five pages a day, every day. And if I skipped a day, I had to make it up the next day, or on the weekend. So I didn’t have the luxury of distracting myself, with mundane chores or anything else, for that matter. Even just remembering, I get exhausted.

What are you reading these days? Or, what types of things do you like to read when you have time?
I just read Patricia Wood’s Lottery, and I’m in the middle of Allegra Goodman’s Kaaterskill Falls. Very, very different books, but both quite wonderful.

Got tunes? What’s flowing from your headphones or speakers while you write?
Nothing. Silence. Total quiet. Sssshhhhhhhhhhh.

How do you start a project? Do you begin with a random idea or an urge to cover a topic, or does research inform your choices? Once you’ve got an idea, do you outline, or just write what comes?
That depends; so far, every project has been different. One Dance came about by kicking ideas around with my editor. Once we had the idea, I wrote a short synopsis – maybe five pages – and I pretty much wrote the book straight from that, without any formal outline. I did have to do some research, though, including reading a very informative but surprisingly dull book on the history of the Folies Bergère. And thank goodness for the Internet, which gives writers instant access to pretty much all the facts we might need.

By contrast, I just finished a screenplay; it took me only a couple of months to write, but before that, I had been cooking the idea for a full two years. And for what I think is going to be my next book project, I’m doing some serious outlining. I can’t tell you why each one is different; it just turns out that way.

Describe your ideal book signing. Is it in a large chain bookstore, or a smaller independent one? Is there a café? Do they have food and drinks that tie in with your book? What is the audience like?
As a pseudonymous author, my ideal book signing would be one that I could actually attend. The ideal audience would be large, enthusiastic, and in possession of substantial amounts of disposable income with which they intended to buy books. Specifically, mine.

Seriously, I would love to do book signings. Maybe someday. Maybe soon. (See answer to next question.)

Tell us a bit about your current project. What’s it about? When is it coming out? Is it drastically different from your last work, or continuing a similar theme? What do you want prospective readers to know?
Right now, I’m going in a very different direction for what I hope will be my next book. I can’t say much, except that it’s about ballet. And I’d like to publish it under my own name. I’ll probably be talking to my editor and publisher about it in the next few weeks … so wish me luck.

And what would I say to my readers? That’s easy: Thank you. Sincerely.

My personal library includes classics, bestsellers, chick-lit, genre fiction, and movie/tv tie-ins sitting right next to each other on the shelves. One of my favorite authors of the latter is Keith R. A. DeCandido, who is funny, smart, friendly (he agreed to email answers to my questions, after all), and really just a nifty guy. His work in the Star Trek universe is not only some of my favorite in that universe, but also represents some of my favorite reading ever. Last month, he took some time from his busy writing schedule to do an emailed interview, when he could have been working on his martial arts, or spending time on an elliptical machine, or any number of other things. Here’s what he had to say:

Most recently published work (as of 10/06/2007): Star Trek: The Next Generation: Q&A [Bibliotica reviewed this here.]

A brief bio:
Rocketed to Earth as an infant to avoid the destruction of his home planet, Keith R.A. DeCandido was raised by a roving pack of wild librarians, who taught him in their vile and depraved bibliographic ways. A career in publishing was inevitable. He’s perpetrated more than 30 novels on an unsuspecting book-buying public, as well as many short stories, eBooks, nonfiction work, and comic books—most in the realm of media tie-ins, in particular Star Trek and Buffy. He’s also an editor and anthologist, writes articles and web content, and will generally write or edit anything for money—it doesn’t even have to be a lot of money. He’s also a percussionist, currently with the parody band the Boogie Knights.

“How do you make your hair look like that?” To which I’d answer: NOTHING! I just shampoo it once a day and brush it! It’s like this naturally! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Conversely, what question are you often asked, that you really don’t like to answer? What don’t you like about that question (no, you don’t have to answer it)?

“Why should I bother reading your books when they aren’t canon?” People who stress out over what’s “real” in a fictional construct need to be beaten over the head with croquet mallets.

Who in your life was/is the greatest influence – good or bad – on your writing?
God, I don’t think I could narrow it down to one. If I had to pick someone, I’d say P.G. Wodehouse, who wrote the best dialogue on the face of the planet, and I think my greatest strength as a writer is in dialogue, which I think I owe in part to early exposure to Wodehouse.

Do you write in longhand first, or do you compose at the keyboard? Tell us about your preferred pens, ink, paper, or platform and program.

The Laptop Is Life. I hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate! writing by hand. I try to only write by hand when I sign things. (You can imagine what a nightmare it was when I arrived at JFK preparing to fly to San Diego for Comic-Con and discovered that I somehow forgot to pack my laptop—and I had a novel due the next week. I wrote three or four chapters by hand in a notebook, a nightmarish experience I hope never to repeat.) I use Microsoft Word on my Dell Inspiron E1705 laptop.

What do you consider a “full day’s work” of writing? Do you measure by number of hours, or number of words? Do you spend time doing mundane chores so that you don’t have to write?

I could actually afford to spend more time doing mundane chores, but what I consider a full day varies wildly from day to day, and depends on what stage I’m at for a particular project or set of projects, and what those deadlines are. I try to never miss a deadline, and I generally don’t miss them by much.

What are you reading these days? Or, what types of things do you like to read when you have time?

Most of my writing time gets sucked up by reading things I’m editing or things I have to read for research. When I can squeeze in pleasure reading, it’s often a variety of genre material (SF/F, mystery). I also like reading books about baseball. Lately, I’ve been on a George Pelecanos kick, and I’m also a huge Janet Evanovich fan…

Got tunes? What’s flowing from your headphones or speakers while you write?
In 2002, I discovered that I write best to Jethro Tull and Tom Waits. Dunno why, but there it is. I have a “writing” playlist on iTunes that runs when I write, which includes Tull, Waits, Ian Anderson solo material, plus a few other things that work well writing-wise (Robbie Robertson, The Band, Cat Stevens).