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An Interview
With ER!-Today I have the pleasure of picking the brain of one of the true pioneers of the electronic book industry. Connie Crow! Connie, you were published electronically when the industry was but a fetus<g> with Renlow Publishing. That book, Forbidden Weekend, is now available from New Concepts Publishing. Can you tell us a little about Forbidden Weekend and also why you decided to jump into electronic publishing? CC- Forbidden started out as a story for Cosmopolitan Magazine EONS ago and just kept growing to book length. They wanted love stories of older women and younger men . The age gap caused my couple lots of troubles and a 20-year separation before the "happily ever after" happens. CC-No traditional publisher would touch it. They liked it but it didn't fit in any "line" They kept telling me it was a non-traditional love story so I decided to look for a non-traditional publisher. I had a background in computers and the internet and it seemed the logical thing to do. Renlow picked it up in 1995 and it went up in april of 1996. NCP picked it up after it's time on Renlow. It's been up with NCP since May of 1999. So here we are. ER!- You're also the author of Moonlight Fire from Awe-Struck E-Books. What inspired you to tell this story? CC- I love Nebraska history. And Fort Atkinson (the setting for Moonlight Fire) is an easy drive from my house. I just knew there had to be a love story in that history some where with 1500 soldiers, laundresses, families and stuff on the wagon trail road for nearly 6 months. It was a dreadful first year and many of them died. Corinna and Geoffrey survive and grow together through that hard hard first year in the Nebraska territory in 1819. Life was unforgiving on the prairie. I had one publisher tell me the book was compelling, but it was too realistic and grim for their readers? Hello? It's based on the true history of the area. Oh, well. I've always seen Moonlight Fire as the first of a trilogy about the opening of the frontier . There will be two more books based on these characters lives. ER!-Is there a book out there that you're just dying to write but for somereason haven't? CC- There are 6 books out there screaming at me. I have binders started for them all. I'm collecting material all the time. And a 7th heroine introduced herself the other day I saw her picture. I just don't know her story yet. ER!-What would you say has been your biggest writing challenge? CC- Finding the time to write. At one time, I worked full time, sang with a Sweet Adelines chorus, published a doll collecting newsletter for subscribers all over the world and wrote in my spare time. I slowed down this fall, when I broke a bone in my foot tap dancing. I've finally dropped out of chorus and shut down the newsletter after 4 years. I am determined to squeeze in more writing time. ER!-Is there anything out there (in the non-writing world) that you'd like to do, but haven't yet been given the opportunity? CC- One of these days I'm going to learn to play the drums (after I take the flying "Crash course"). ER!-Is there a book that you've written, but we'll never see? Why? CC- AARGH! Yes. I wrote a short one when I was about 9. It was a suspense. It was awful. A sci-fi with shrinking people and everything. No one else EVER saw that. ER!-If you weren't a writer, what would you be doing? CC- I would be busy being a Marketing Coordinator for an engineering firm like I am now. One day I will quit the day job and write full time. ER!-Of all the character's you've written about, who would you say is most like you? And why? CC- None of the characters in either of the two books above are like me. Margaret Amanda Morton, the heroine in Golden Boy (my current work in progress) will be a lot like me. Very intelligent, practical, but with a totally zany, secret inside. She's an auditor by day and a free lance photographer for Eyewire in her spare time. ER!-What's the non-writing world like for you? Is there a husband, a boyfriend, slaves hidden in the basement? Children? CC- How about a husband hidden in the basement? <VBG> For 36 1/2 years. He's my biggest fan. He just bought me a Palm Pilot for Christmas so I can show off my books in that market. No children, but a very large, very spoiled Brittany named Misty. I collided with her a couple of months ago and split my eyebrow wide open. It has not been a good fall around the Crow's Nest. ER!-Many
readers wonder what's going on in an author's head, and
here's the part where we find out<g>. CC-I'm a very intelligent, good natured, practical, space cadet. ER!-(Finish this sentence) On a Saturday night you'll find me... CC- Eating out with hubby and good friends, then shopping til I drop. ER!-If I were a cartoon character I'd be... CC- Katy Keene ( I used to draw clothes for her and submit them to the comic book) ER!-If I could have one wish, I would wish... CC- for continued love and more time with my dear hubby. My mom and gramma were both widowed early. I want lots more time with my guy. ER!-What kind of car do you drive? CC- Toyota Corolla --Peachy-mauvy beige (told you I was practical) ER!-What kind of car do you *want* to drive? CC- Red LeBaron Convertible (and here's the space cadet) ER!-Answer
the following questions as quickly as possible, but feel
free to expand on any of your answers (Hey, it's not a
test).: CC- Hello Dolly ( I love trashy, flashy clothes. In my second life, I'm coming back as Dolly Parton) ER!-Favorite song? CC- Twilight Time--Johnny Mathis (I used it in my book) ER!-Favorite snack? CC- Cheez-It Crackers and Chinese noodle candy ER!-Favorite book? CC- Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. It was the first book I bought for myself. I was about 12 and I used my baby sitting money. I read it 12 times. The hero in that book "is" my husband. I am amazed at how much the character descriptions match the man I married. ER!-Typewriter or computer? CC- COMPUTERS I have three. ER!-Soup or salad? CC- Ham and Bean Soup, with crackers. I don't eat green food. ER!-Pre-planner or blind leap? CC- Pre planner --- day planner addict and now Palm Pilot driver as well. (It's the wolrd's most expensive address book so far) ER!-Turkey burger or steak? CC-
You're kidding, right? I live in Nebraska,
you can't live here and eat anything but steak-- in large
quantities. We only eat turkeys roated
whole ER!-Slacks or jeans? CC- Well, I have to say slacks. Hubby hates jeans. Had to wear too many of them when he was young and doesn't like to see me in them either. ER!-Boxers or briefs? CC- Sorry, I don't wear either one. ER!-Are blondes really more fun? CC- Heavens no. My villianess are always blondes. And so far they've died or been afflicted with dreadful diseases. ER!-Have you ever held anyone hostage? CC- Haven't felt the need (but we do fly an airplane. Isn't that where hostages come from?) ER!-If no, would you? CC- No. Then I would have to stay in one place and watch them. Yuck ER!-Do you believe in love at first sight? CC- Absolutely. Saw my hubby in the library for the first time in November and we were talking marriage before Christmas. Worked for me! ER!-Are aliens real? CC- Certainly. I've been to Devil's Tower. I recognized it long before Richard Dreyfus. ER!-If you could vote members off of Gilligan's Island, who would get the boot first? CC- The rich wife. She drove me NUTS! (and she was a blonde) ER!-If Godzilla and Superman got into a street fight (no weapons allowed), who would win? CC- Godzilla -- the animals have to win once in a while. ER!-What is one thing about you that very few know? CC- I administered CPR to a newborn baby pig. (What a roving reporter won't do for a story) ER!-What is your greatest fear? CC- I'm not going to have enough time to do everything I want to do. ER!-If you could be anyone (dead or alive) who would you be? And why? CC-Sally Rider. I'd love to be an astronaut. I'd be in that bird in a heartbeat. And to walk in space--what a rush! ER!-And finally (and you can take your time on this one:-)), what's next for you? Your next book? Writing venture? Goal? CC-
Next two books -- Golden Boy A contemporary
romantic suspense set in Hawaii and Pompeii's
Bride-- a time travel set in Italy, surrounding the |
