Interview Roberta Olsen Major

by

Kay LeGrand

1. Can you tell me a little about yourself?

(Can we skip this one? I don't have much to say about myself. That's why I write stories. :)

2. How long have you been writing and why did you start to write?

I've been writing my whole life. I started writing because my first grade teacher had us write a story about a snowflake, and I pretty much always did what I was told in first grade. The story turned out well, I discovered I liked putting words together, and the rest is history--or, rather, fiction, with occasional digressions into verse, children's plays, book reviews, personal letters and journals, and essays.

3. In what genre do you write most of your work, and why did you choose this genre? Do you write in any other genres?

My January 2005 Wings release is a Young Adult suspense, RESURRECTING ANASTASIA. The protagonist is a teenager who has suffered some losses, and thinks she may have just found a way to reclaim part of a happier past. Resurrecting Anastasia is my fifth YA title for Wings, and will be followed in May by another YA suspense, Deluged, set in the thunderstorm-spattered suburbs of Houston, Texas. I don't know that I necessarily chose to write for teens. The stories came first, and the most appropriate genre followed.

My other five Wings titles are historical fiction, three of which are set in pre-Civil War Texas. Writing historical fiction was a natural progression from my lifelong interest in the past.

4. This is probably a question most people ask--but what comes first for you--character or plot?

A sprout of a plot precedes the character. After the sprout, the character blooms and takes over the entire garden.

5. What's your biggest challenge when writing--hooks, sagging middles, other?

The middle for me is the most treacherous shoal to navigate. One false turn and I'm hung up indefinitely.

6. Do you have a routine for writing? And if you do, can you share it with us?

No routine. My life is too full of variables to get married to a routine. Any attempt to do so leads to bitter recriminations and irreconcilable differences. Instead, I enjoy the fresh spontaneous excitement of flirtation without the time-consuming duties of commitment.

7. How do you set the mood for your writing? Music, candles, wine--or are you one of those people who can write just anywhere?

I do best with peace and quiet, surrounded by reference books, and the occasional index card scribbled with notes from library books.

8. What kind of books do you enjoy reading? And who are your favorite writers? 

My taste runs to quirky middle reader books like Debi Gliori's Pure Dead Magic and Robin McKinley's vampire tale, Sunshine. I also enjoy mystery authors, like Elizabeth George and Anne Perry. I really like Pamela Morsi's Doing Good, and books by Curtiss Ann Matlock. Georgette Heyer is an old favorite, as is Laura Ingalls Wilder. I could go on for another decade or so, but I don't want to become boring. Oops! Too late!

9. Do you spend much time marketing? And what do you feel works best for you?

This is an area at which I am a complete failure. Readers do more promotion of my work than I do.

10. For all those aspiring writers out there who are looking for that magic formula--do you have any suggestions for them?

Learn the marketing angles! Good marketing is, alas, more important than good writing. There are several NY published authors I could point to as proof, but that would be catty.

11. What do you do for fun and relaxation?

Fun? What is this concept "fun"?

12. Is there a secret about yourself that you'd feel comfortable sharing with your readers that maybe not many people know?

Not really. I am, as I said up front, a boring person in real life. All the excitement happens in the realms of my imagination.