Interview

Hi Nan and welcome. I am so glad you could join us here at RomanceJunkies. To start, will you please tell us a little bit about your current projects?

HITTING THE HIGH NOTES, a women's fiction work with strong romantic elements, is due for release Feb 1 2010 from CHAMPAGNE BOOKS. Note to readers: this is zany with some dark undercurrents but has satisfactory ending which leaves you, I hope, wanting to read the concluding romance, PESTO PACKIN' MAMA due to be released June 1 2010. For more info, check out http://nandarnold.com/

 

When you begin a new story, what is the first thing you do?  Plot and plan? Name your characters?

I start out  with a stiff drink of Coke and ask myself, are you really ready for this? Of course, I'm not but I plunge in anyway. I don't do character sheets but I've spent time thinking about them before starting. Once they begin chatting to me or each other, then the plot forms. Planning? What's that? Grin. No, I begin with a down and dirty two page synopsis. Very basic. And, I write about 60 or 70 pages to really get to know my characters better. Toss that and start over again and write to the finish.

Are you and early riser or a night owl? When do you do your most creative writing?

 

I'm best between the hours of ten am and two pm. Good luck with that. I'm married and life does interfere. No children at home presently but they do visit. These are my husband’s now-grown girls and their offspring. I am not a mother. You wouldn't want me parenting, trust me.

 

All writers dream of the “call” or “email”.  How did your good news come?  Did you do anything special to celebrate?

 

My good news came via email. I celebrated by opening a Coke (my favorite beverage and by that I mean Classic Coke, not that caffeine-free, sugar-free for me. Why not drink water?) Anyway, I opened my soda--after picking myself off the floor from shock. Then after that ceremonial sip, went screaming to my husband. He was thrilled but when I said there was no six-figure advance, that cooled him off a bit. Then when I mentioned ebooks don't pay any royalty, he kissed me on the head and went off to a nine-hole game of golf. Later, he did buy me a little bouquet of flowers though, with "congratulations" on the ribbon.

 

It seems to happen to everyone…what is your secret tip for dealing with a dreaded rejection letter?

If it has some teeth in it and not the dreaded form letter, I take comments to heart. I had many many many rejections from New York but I rewrote HITTING THE HIGH NOTES, and here we are. Otherwise, I just write something else and hope for the best. 

What is the one thing you’d love to do, but haven’t yet tried?  What about the one thing you’ve done that still amazes you today?

I'd love to write a classic mystery. But alas, the project evades me. What amazes me? That I wrote a 350-page novel and someone wants to publish it. A miracle. I've been down the rocky road of a billion rejections. Another thing that amazes me is really, really good writers go unpublished and others whose writing is not so strong are published. Any creative endeavor is horribly subjective though. So, don't give up.

If you had one day completely free of obligations, how would you most like to spend it?

 

Rarely happens but I'd spend it reading someone else’s hard work! I love to read. And my tastes are eclectic, just finished SHANGHAI GIRLS. Fabulous.

 

I hear you have kitties.  How many reside in the Arnold abode?  Is there one who’s the ruler, or do they all share the duty?

Well, Lulu, the kitty cat rules the roost, or did until recently when we adopted Gizmo from neighbors. He's big, he's bold, and a bully but I adore him. He was supposed to be my husband's cat. My husband walks every day (I TRY to) and Giz would run down the street to greet him. Upshot, once we turned the big white fur ball with blue eyes and red mask into a house cat, it's me he searches out. He's in my lap now. Loves to interrupt me. Adores scampering across the KEYBOARD at the wrong time. Wanting kibble, of course, but I delude myself it's love and he wants my undivided attention.

How did you and your husband meet?  Did you know he was “the one” right away, or did he have to work a bit at convincing you?

 

I'd been an assistant purchasing agent but read an ad and decided to try the other side of the negotiating desk and voila, I was hired by my husband's company. We were both going through divorces so were rather wary, but true love bested all our doubts and we took the plunge. Been blissfully in love (or mostly so) ever since.

 

What is the best way to spend a quiet evening at home?

 

That's easy, hubby watches the telly and I read.

 

How do you describe Nan D. Arnold?  How does Nan D. Arnold’s husband describe her?

Nan has a quirky sense of humor. Hubby loves that she's a good companion and good cook (though miserable baker). I'm not sure which he'd list first. Listen up girls, like country folk say, the kissin' don't last but the cookin' do. Although we still kiss daily. Like a vitamin a kiss and hug takes a gal a long way. 

MORE FUN…

 

Who is the person who has had the biggest influence on your life?  Whom will you pass this “influence” on to?

 

My mother and except for the cats there's no one to take on her feisty personality.

 

When you're at home relaxing, are you a fuzzy slipper or bare-feet kind of person?

 

Personally, I'm a barefoot girl but with cats, beware, there's always the odd hairball or tossed up kibble to avoid and hubby insists I wear shoes so I wear flip-flops or walking shoes (in winter).

What was the first record ever purchased? (single or CD or even album!)

 

Oh, my-- a record and who can remember what it was. I can't. Probably Simon & Garfunkle. Hello Darkness, my old friend..., Bridge over troubled water, etc.

 

And lastly, no interview of a writer would be complete without this question:  what is your favorite comfort food?

 

My husband's mac and cheese. Truly fab-u-lous. He adds a touch of Worstershire and cayenne. Marvelous. I get it on our anniversary.

 

Yummy!  One of my favorites as well…especially this time of year.  Thank you so much, Nan, for spending time with us.  Best of luck with your writing career!

 

By Brooke Wills

Romance Junkies Publishing Editor

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