Interview JoEllen Conger

by

Michael J. Davies

1) Tell us a few things about yourself?

Joyce: I love to write, especially with my twin sister. We enjoy being together even if it takes a cyberlink.

Joan: I have been volunteering as an RWA writing contest judge over the past ten years, and this year I have been mentoring three members from RWA’s Historical Cyber-Chapter. I really get excited when one of my people sells her book.

2) What do most enjoy about writing, and conversely, your pet hate about it?

Joyce: My delight is in finding the most expressive phrases, or exacting words to tell the story. I feel a sense of pride when people say I’ve touched their hearts, or made them laugh or cry. My pet peeve would most surely be writers who think crude language and vulgarity is a substitute for good writing.

Joan: Well, I’ve got to twin it on this one. [lol] I like vivid writing with defined descriptions of emotions and locales. And, I try very hard to convince my erotica writers that the skill to write the new salsa genre doesn’t need to be portrayed with street language.

3) How do you start a novel? Single idea, character or what?

Joyce: I keep my ears and eyes open for possible story lines all the time. News stories, a scene I observe on the street, a casual conversation, a picture in a magazine, a snip it from a movie can key an idea for my imagination to mull, twist and spin into a yarn.

Joan: Nothing is sacred when I’m looking for new material. A scene caught on a street corner could become a part of one of our stories. I like to watch for emotional intrigue. However, Return Of The Goddess grew out of the minds of a number of people... including my daughter Makai, who is an avid Fantasy reader. Other than that, I rely upon both Joyce’s and my wild sense of imagination.

4) Who in your life do you write for, apart from yourself?

Joyce: The written word has to fulfill the intent of its purpose. I write using different styles for different genres. Magazine articles, newspaper by lines, romance, fantasy, adventure, lecture notes, training classes, professional or legal documents all have their own distinct guidelines. The idea is to stay true to the project requirements and not to get so lazy or complacent that I interject one style of writing into the requirements for another.

Joan: Twinning it again. Even as I work as a writing judge I feel I must take into account for two voices, that of the genre requirement, and that of the writer. Yes, first I write to satisfy myself, then my family members, and our many readers. Although we write many different genre types, we keep true to our own voice. And yet, even people who know us personally often can’t tell our writing apart.

5) What or who has inspired you in writing?

Joyce: Other than an English teacher during high school days, one of my more recent heroines is (was) the owner of a small publishing house where I worked selecting manuscripts to be honed for publishing. She always had a positive approach to getting the best from her writers. It’s so easy to degrade beginning writers that I admired her ability to inspire them to try even harder for perfection.

Joan: Well, first off I’d say my twin; and then my youngest daughter keeps me in line. [lol] She has me writing another Paranormal Fantasy right now. I couldn’t begin to name all the authors I aspire to. There are so many good ones. But I’d have to include Marian Zimmerman Bradley and Mercedes Lackey as two such women who have inspired me to be a writer.

6) Where do you do most of your writing?

Joyce: I’m lucky to have a small bedroom in our home--all to myself--and two computers. We call it the cyber-room. I share it with "Sugar" a Queensland Heeler who is my constant companion, and two white cats that pass through now and then to sit in my big window to watch to birds outside, or twinkle their claws across my keyboard to add their own ideas to the manuscripts.

Joan: My writing space takes up the whole center of our living room. I live at my desk, where I enjoy all my cyber-friends on email, pay my bills, read off the monitor, visit with guests and family, or watch television without ever leaving my ergonomic chair.

7) Have you a sense of humor?

Joyce: I like to think so. Humor makes life more fun to live. I admire writers who can salt humor throughout their work without detracting from their main theme. After all, a part of good writing is sharing what we think is amusing.

Joan: We really are twins. Yes, I have a very dry sense of humor which some of my fan letters have mentioned. I’m a punster of the worst kind, and I’m told even my son has picked up the dirty habit.

8) Tell us about this book.

Joyce: The challenge of writing fantasy is realizing that while unusual things happen, they still must be developed within the realm of believability for the locale of the story. In this story, two young princesses, opposite in both appearance and characteristics, fall through a magic mirror into the other’s kingdom. Not knowing how to reverse the outcome of the magic spell, they must learn to communicate through mind-linking to overcome the forces of evil which threatens to destroy both realms.

Joan: One of the lessons of this excitingly written story is that one must always hang onto a bit of the aggressive-self because it just may come in handy some day. It’s the part of the individual characteristic that helps us make snap decisions, to respond to emergencies, or to think quickly in a crises. Return Of The Goddess has been published before and the 2000 electronic CD version is on display at a Military History Research Center for our “obvious military background, and brilliant skirmishes.” I didn’t have the heart to tell the curator that we are just two little old ladies writing an adventurous tale.

9) Have you any plans or ideas in your head for the next novel?

Joyce: Not only do I have an intrigue storyline in progress, but I’ve just been hired as a submission editor for a new magazine. I’ll be coaching new submitting writers how to write for a cyber-magazine. I’ve also been given a writing assignment of my own: about The Gray Wolf. I’m already researching and have a first catch line already buzzing through my mind.

Joan: I’m working on two at the moment. One is a lycanthrope, changeling story about a black, twenty pound cat who during the dark of night becomes the heroine’s phantom lover. The second one is the sequel to another book of ours carried at Wings ePress… Queen of Candelore, which is a King Arthur parallel.

10) What are your hobbies? And don’t say writing. Lol!

Joyce: Hobbies: growing roses. I have 50 in my gardens and know each one’s name by heart. Singing alto or tenor in the church choir. Playing with my pets, and humoring my husband of 35 years. Since he allows me to be me, it’s easy to do what he likes to now and then.

Joan: Mentoring aspiring writers, and watching my grand children grow up. I no longer have the privilege of the Siamese pair who used to help me write, nor the husband who passed away in 1999. I enjoy three days a week exercising in a rehabilitation pool, and keeping busy with several other clubs I belong to. And besides writing I do love to talk. [grin]

11) Are there any authors you like and read?

Joyce: Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code was a real joy to read. I like complicated plot lines. And Karen Kay’s Indian Series. She also adds a great deal of interesting information, action and intrigue in her books.

Joan: I must confess that almost everything I read these days are pre-published manuscripts. And yes, I take a perverse secret delight in reading books that are not yet available on the market.

12. What is your great wish in life?

Joyce: My dearest wishes have already come true. To be loved, to have a cozy, and comfortable home, to help others whenever I can, and be to be published. Sharing myself with others enriches my life. It makes me feel worthwhile.

Joan: I’ve already accomplished many of the things I’ve aspired to do. [At 72 I should hope so.] Twinning it again. I’m published, I help people learn to write with skill, I email cyber-friends all over the globe, read pre-published books, own my own home, watch my grand daughters grow, have an income, though not rich, keeps me in bread and butter and pays the utility bills. The only thing I’m lacking is a good-looking guy to share it all with. But, I’m keeping my eyes open for one.