      
      
      
An Interview
With
Melinda Rucker Haynes
ER!-Melinda,
thanks so much for agreeing to be my victim...I mean subject
for one of eBooks Rock!'s first interviews.
You are a whirlwind of talent. Let's see, you have
The Eternal Trust with Hard Shell Word Factory, A Wing
& A Kiss from Dreams Unlimited, Ghostly Acts from
Avid Press, LLC, and then there's the Josh Weston series.
Can you fill us in on anything I've missed, and tell a
little about your most recent release?
MRH-Avid Press has just
launched their VIM young adult line with Ghostly
Acts, which is available now. The Eternal Trust is a
paranormal romantic suspense from Hard Shell that
just received a 4 star review from Romantic Times.
I'm thrilled about that because ET, as I shorthand
it, is a pushing-the-envelope book with an unusual
premise that one reviewer said people will
"either hate it or love it." So far, they
haven't employed the hate word. Wheeew.
ER!-You
write in a number of different genres--Is there one that
you prefer?
MRH-Nope, I have fun in all
of them. I get an idea and go for it, though I've had
agents and editors mention that my work is a bit . .
. diffuse :>)) Hoooha!
ER!-What
are you currently working on? And what's it about?
MRH-I'm working on a romantic
comedy entitled Man-Sitting. And this is what it's
about: Clacy Everton's runaway granny is living in
sin, cooking and cleaning toilets, man-sitting some
geratric playboy in the backwoods of Washington
state. Clancy's determined to bring her granny back
to her affluent country club life in Portland, unwed
and probably very unhappy. But the sexy senior
citizen playboy and his sexier grandson have other
plans for both Nana and Clancy.
ER!-Where
do you get the inspiration for the characters in your
young adult novels?
MRH-They're not exactly every
kid, they're composites of all sorts of kids I've
known and been. :>))
ER!-Aside
from achieving the success of an award winning author,
you're also an Inspiration Guide. Can you explain
exactly what that is for those who are unfamiliar?
MRH-I like to help people
feel good about themselves, give them confidence,
encourage them to experiment and express the real
them. I love to meet them, listen, get to know and
begin to share the truths I know that I believe they
can know too. It's a magical process and all the good
that comes out, comes from inside them. I just
listen, recognize the greatness that is them and help
them to recognize it too.
ER!-I've
used both your Story Compass and the Personal Time Travel
cassette tape, and have found them both extremely helpful
in my writing. "Climbing The Creative
Mountain" is a must have for relaxation (especially
for us mothers). But I was surprised and thrilled
to discover that my three older kids immediately took to
the Story Compass. They thought the crazy
combinations were hilarious. Can you describe for
those who haven't seen one, the purpose of the Story
Compass?
MRH-Story Compass is a
creative development tool that can be used for many
creative projects. It has 3 rotating circles of
different sizes and 16 sections each. I use it in my
Discover the Novel Within workshops. We do a guided
meditation where people are encouraged to think in
different way and be open to their creative centres.
Many discover wonderful story ideas during this
"journey". Then they take the ideas and we
break them down into character types, settings, plots
and write these words on the circles. The circles are
turned and different combinations of characters,
settings and plots come together that are amazing.
The whole idea is to get writers (creative people) to
open up, and listen to their creative selves and to
write a story or create a painting that is truly
unique. Painters, quilters, potters--all sorts
of creative people have used Story Compass to come up
with unusual themes, media or whatever artistic
expressions in unique combinations. It's a great tool
and just using it feels fun and experimental.
ER!-For
those interested in either the Story Compass or your
Personal Time Travel For Writers, how can they get one of
their own?
MRH-Through my website www.melindaruckerhaynes.com
ER!-Many
writers have written since they were young. They
were daydreamers. Avid readers. What about you? Has
your passion to write always been there?
MRH-I used to tell myself
stories--the oral tradition, I guess. My mom told us
stories instead of reading to us. I much prefered her
stories to books, but always wanted more, more, more.
Then when I began to read on my own, but still made
up stories constantly, staring me, of course. I
wrote my first play in 6th grade and stories before
that.
ER!-What
advice would you give to a writer just starting out?
MRH-Write anything,
everything. Don't wait. Write down your great idea or
bit of dialogue or characterization on a paper bag if
you don't have paper with you. And if you don't carry
paper, shame on you! Can't be a writer without
writing stuff. :>)) Otherwise, you're a
thinker only. That's a good thing to be, a must, in
fact, but you have to get it on paper, or it will
become something else. And that great idea of the
moment will escape you or mutate.
ER!-Is
there a book that you've written, but we'll never see?
Why?
MRH-Uh, no. Not a whole book.
I've written starts, but never a whole book that I
haven't published.
ER!-If you
weren't a writer, what would you be doing?
MRH-Talking. But I do that
too. I was punished repeatedly in school for talking
too much. I just had a lot to say. I thought (think)
everything is dang interesting and I've got opinions
. . . I've done a lot of things beside write--typist,
credit reporter, worked in my dad's service station,
collected bills, modeled, raced sailboats, taught
Sunday School--lots of things. I've tried lots of
crafts, too. Enjoyed each and every one of them, but
moved along, moved along. Lots of stuff to see and
experience.
ER!-Is
there anything out there that you'd like to do, but
haven't yet been given the opportunity?
MRH-Nope. I've pretty much
tried out everything I've ever wanted to do.
ER!-What
would you consider your greatest accomplishment?
MRH-Getting to this age,
relatively unscathed and in pretty good health,
learning new stuff everyday. Having adventures. Gotta
say my son is a wonderful accomplishment, but I can't
take credit for that--it's all him. He just came
"fabulous", and I've always said that he's
my reward for some good deed, some sacrifice in a
past life, something like that.
ER!-Describe
yourself in one line:
MRH-OOOOooooo, goody, a runon
sentence about Melinda the funny, fun one who likes
to write, who loves to laugh and who looks for
adventure to have and to write about.
ER!-Of all
the character's you've written about, who would you say
is most like you? And why?
MRH-Maybe my male characters
are more like me . . . though all of my characters
have bits and pieces of my smart mouth or weird
outlook. I do know that my dad usually shows up in my
novels as the wise old sage or the smart alecky old
good guy.
ER!-Many
readers wonder what's going on in an author's head, and
here's the part where we find out<g>
(Finish this sentence) On a Saturday night you'll find
me...
MRH-...With watching the tube
with Bob and the Airedale, eating Doritos with
homemade salsa.
ER!-If I
were a cartoon character I'd be...
MRH-Never an irritating loser
like Wiley Coyote. Sheesh. Though that wretched Road
Runner needs to be hurt real bad...
ER!-If I
could have one wish, I would wish...
MRH-Just once check off
everything on my To Do List for Today. Just one dang
day--is that too much to ask?
ER!-What
kind of car do you drive?
MRH-GMC Jimmy
ER!-What
kind of car do you *want* to drive?
MRH-Jaguar convertible
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):
What's your favorite movie?
MRH-Star Wars trilogy and
Always, though Truly, Madly Deeply is my favorite,
too.
ER!-Favorite
song?
MRH-Gloria (The really old
one---G-l-o-r-i-a Glooorrrria!) Though I do
love the guitar work on CSNY Southern Cross.
ER!-Favorite
snack?
MRH-Doritos and my homemade
salsa.
ER!-Favorite
book?
MRH-Illusions
ER!-Favorite
color?
MRH-Yellow--though I'm liking
red and black these days of my "Asian"
period.
ER!-Typewriter
or computer?
MRH-Micron puter
ER!-Soup or
salad?
MRH-Like to make soup and eat
salad--no iceberg lettuce, if you please.
ER!-Pre-planner
or blind leap?
MRH-Both--I use that detailed
list as a blind fold when I hurl myself of the cliff.
ER!-Turkey
burger or steak?
MRH-Uh, bark on the turkey
burger. Is there anything more disgusting raw than
that? I love rib steak.
ER!-Skirt
or jeans?
MRH-Jeans
ER!-Boxers
or briefs (I can never resist this one<g>)?
MRH-Hmmmm, boxers. Briefs
have always sort of embarrassed me.
ER!-Are
blondes really more fun (or this one)?
MRH-Hey, my blond times are
my most fun times.
ER!-Do you
believe in love at first site?
MRH-Lust at first site, yes.
Love . . . I dunno. If we're talking soul
recognition, yup.
ER!-Are
aliens real?
MRH-Weeellllll, lots of
people say they are real to them, have had
experiences that can't be proven, but were real to
them. Guess I gotta say I can't conjecture about
someone else's experience. Real, smeal--what'd you
learn from the experience, I say.
ER!-If you
could vote members off of Gilligan's Island, who would
get the boot first?
MRH-Gilligan. I don't think
Skipper could whack that dolt too much with that cap.
ER!-And
finally (and you can take your time on this one:-)),
what's next for you? Your next book? Writing venture?
Goal?
MRH-My tapes/CDs are coming
out this month from Sonrisa Corporation and I'll be
adding titles. We're in negotiation for my fiction as
well. Story Compass is in development for software.
The second in the Josh Weston series, A Chance of
Gold, will be released after the first of the year.
Then there's Man-Sitting, oh yeah, and The Bad
McCarty (Billy the Kid helps a geeky good girl go
really, really bad). I'm going to teach an online
writing YA class for Outreach International in June
2001, and I'm the workshop chair for EPIC-Con 2002.
Plus I'm lining up more Discover the Novel Within and
Personal Time Travel workshops. I'm doing three at
the Romantic Times conference in Houston.
My goal--it's that To Do List thing . . .
Remember
to visit Melinda's Website
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