Interview Roberta Olsen Major

by

Diana Lee Johnson

1. I can see by your credits with Wings, that you're not "married" to one genre. Can you tell me what attracts you to write in more than one?

I have always been more "story driven" than "genre driven". In fact, a couple of stories started out with me thinking they were one thing and they ended up being categorized as something else entirely. I'm drawn to Historicals simply because I love the "pots and pans" of history and how people might have responded to life's challenges without the distractions of contemporary living. I write YAs because I work with teenagers, I find them infinitely interesting--and I actually remember being one once! My "inner child" is sixteen--an age of angst and anticipation. A wonderful place to revisit--but I wouldn't want to live there!

2. COMPETITION is your October release. What would you like to tell us about the story?

COMPETITION is the YA closest to that inner child to which I was just referring! While it is completely a work of fiction, I had warm memories of my high school buddies and teachers as I wrote. It is the story of Barbara, a pep club drop-out, who gets involved with the high school competitive speech team in general, and three specific team mates: egotistical Ryan, overscheduled Andy, and audacious Kermit.

3. If a fan who has been particularly taken by one of the genres in which you write, historical, for instance, what would you tell them that might interest them in COMPETITION?

Oh, they are nothing alike! But everything I write has humor, so maybe that would be appealing. Still, there are very different audiences for each of my stories. The only "fans" who love and own everything I have ever published are my family members. :-) My historicals each have at least one supporting teenaged character--so I must be thinking about my inner child even when I'm delving into the past. If a reader found those youthful supporting characters interesting, then it wouldn't be too big a leap to jump into the YA books--understanding, of course, that YAs are much less intricate than historicals, and therefore, much quicker reads. The other thing is that COMPETITION is contemporary, while my previous two YAs were fairy tale style fantasies. So even within the YA genre I'm not sticking to one type of story.

4. Do you know your story from beginning to end before you start to write? If so do you plot it out in advance, or do you just "go with the flow" so to speak?

I'm more of a "go with the flow" writer--on the first draft. Then I go back and do a major overhaul as needed. Occasionally I will know where I want to end up--but not precisely how I'm going to get there. The journey itself is the most fun--and frustrating!--part of the writing process.

5. What category does COMPETION fall into? And who do you hope to reach with the story?

As I said, COMPETITION is contemporary YA--targeted to those girls out there who are competing with themselves, their best friends, the school system, in sports or the arts or academics--and trying to figure out where they fit in within the grand scheme of things. Self-esteem is always a huge issue for young women and the character of Barbara is no different in that regard.

6. Do you have other major distractions/vocations/avocations that consume a chunk of your time, like an outside job, family, etc.? In other words, do you have a life outside of writing to contend with, and if so, how do you juggle your time?

Badly! (Juggling my time, that is.) I have major--I should say "Major"!--distractions, as well as a vocation and way too many avocations that devour huge chunks of my time. But I take my writing time "off the top" when possible--early in the morning before the creatures are stirring. If I get back to it later in the day, then I count myself blessed.

7. What is the major thing writing and being published does for you?

Well, the writing part of your question is easy--it gives me this huge cathartic experience (and has saved me a bundle on therapist bills and Prozac over the years!) but the "being published" part is harder to address. There's a verification that comes from being published--and a special joy that comes when a classroom of 5th graders actually moans when you stop reading at the end of a chapter and they want you to go on to the end of the book! But the process of writing is the part I like best. I would write even if the only "books" I ended up with on my shelf were paper folders with pages bound with brads. I don't actually need the accolades--but I enjoy them when they come!

8. Have you ever had to deal with "writer's block?" If so, what has worked for you to get through it? If not, how might you advise others to avoid it, too?

Every writer probably struggles with one form of writer's block or another at some point along the way. I can't write when there's a lot of stress in my personal life--but I don't panic. I know I will write again--when I need to, and when there is more story to tell. I often write myself into corners--but then I just work on a different project for a while. (I usually have four or five things going in various stages of completion at a time.) Advice? Keep writing something--even if it's a letter to a maiden auntie. It's like riding a bicycle--you won't forget how if you set it aside for a while.

9. What other writers hold your interest when you find time to read?

Currently, I am doing what I never dreamed I would do. I am reading the whole canon of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series. I didn't read them when they first came out, so I am "chain reading" them all now. I started in August and am already regretting that the end is near. I belong to a book club, as well, and we are reading THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME this month. I like "gentle" romances--not the really graphic kind. And mysteries--like Anne Perry and Elizabeth George.

10. If God wanted to grant you one wish to do with your writing, what would it be?

Ah, but my wish has already been granted--through Wings!

Thanks for answering my questions, Roberta. Hope they weren't repetitious of other interviews.

No, they weren't. They were thoughtful. I appreciate your taking the time to compose them. It's hard, isn't it? Not interviewing in person, I mean, and without knowing anything about the book being released! Good luck with your October release! Robbin. aka Roberta Olsen Major

See, even at the last moment, I learned she uses a pen name.