Interview Roberta Olsen Major

by

Dalia Trevino

1) Your novel's title, The Bottle Of Djinn, sounds intriguing and  exotic.  Where and what time period does the action take place in?

Royal Pains, Book Four: The Bottle Of Djinn is the fourth book in my YA fairy tale series. As such, it is set in a time somewhere in the past in a location that is vaguely Middle Eastern in flavor--though it is not intended to be anywhere (or when) specific to the real world as we know it. This means I took a little bit of research and followed up with a whole lot of imagination.

2) Have you spent any time in the area that your story takes place? If so, did that help you to weave more details into the telling? Or on the other hand, did it make it more difficult as what you wanted to have happen you found wasn't always able to.

The son of a college roommate of mine ended up being stationed in Fallujah last year and my family sent letters and packages to him during his tour of duty. So, while I have never been to the Middle East, I spent a lot of time picturing Jason there, which was one of the things that prompted the writing of the book. The fourth Royal Pains book was actually supposed to be a completely different story with a completely different setting, but this "Arabian Nights-esque" story bubbled to the surface and cut in line, so to speak, and I was very happy with the result.

3) I noticed that you have written and published in the past with a  partner. What do find are the pros and cons of writing on your own as opposed to writing with a partner?

I very much enjoyed writing with my former writing partner. She had a wildly vivid imagination, and that was great stimulation for me when I got stuck. That is one of the big pros of writing with a partner--the sum of your creative energy is greater than its two parts. The biggest con is waiting upon each other's schedules, which was the death blow to our writing together. As for writing alone, the con is having no one to zap me into action, but the pros are legion: freedom to work on whatever I want, with only my own stubborn characters to coax into line.

4) Do you find that your experience with work in libraries aids you in your writing career?

Only insofar as I love books, and as the books pass through my hands, I am attracted to little snippets here and there that sometimes provide a spark for a writing project. The drawback to being a librarian and a writer is in the area of marketing. I am less likely to promote my book to everyone I meet because, as a former librarian, I want the book to be a good "fit" with the reader.

5) How extensive is your research for your novels? Do you complete it all before you begin writing or do you try to leave some for while you in the midst of your writing?

I always have at least a few things I delve into before I plunge into a manuscript, but many times I start digging farther because something has come up during the actual writing process. Often, one thing leads to another.

6) When you are not writing, what genres do you enjoy reading and who are a couple of your favorite authors?

I recently finished rereading Jane Eyre and hoovering Jane Austin's books. I'm very fond of the Janes. :) However, my reading taste is very eclectic. I read a lot of YA stuff, as well as psychological mysteries (Elizabeth George and Anne Perry). And I love Jasper Fforde's Tuesday Next books. They are very witty, off the wall, with a lot of literary references that heighten the fun factor. That's just this year. Who knows what next year will bring?

7) What inspires you to write the stories you put to paper? Is it an event in history or a person who stands out?

Inspiration comes from all around me. Sometimes it's an event that catches my imagination, or a quirk in a person, or a what if. I have no recipe. I'm just blessed to have things surface that I want to explore further through the parameters of a story.

8) Do you set daily goals for yourself in your writing career in regards to how many pages you wish to complete or do you write as the words come to you, some days one page and some days thirty?

I have a very busy life. My writing is like toothpaste; I squeeze it in where I can. If I set daily goals I would never reach them. There are whole months when the only computer time I have is to check my email before I fall into bed like a dead person. Our family has a little easier schedule in the summer, so I try to be more consistently productive then.

9) How did you overcome the dreaded rejection letters received from agents and/or publishers?

I've been fortunate in that most of my rejection letters were constructive. It's hard when it's just a form letter with no clue as to what went wrong, but even those, as I have aged, have not been mortal wounds. I write because I enjoy it. My philosophy is that it's mostly about the journey, the process. The destination (publication) is a happy thing, but it isn't the only reason I write stories.

10) Have you entered your work into any writing contest?  If so what do you find the value of these contest to be?

I have entered writing contests, but I am not a huge fan of them, as they are as subjective as anything else in the writing business. If I am going to submit my work, I'd rather submit it somewhere geared toward publication, rather than to a place where the grand prize is a pat on the back and a blue ribbon.

11) What is your favorite form of research? Travel, books, newspaper, magazine, internet, movies, interviews, etc.

I've used every one of the above-mentioned, but I also do a lot of "research" by listening to my kids and simply watching people interact. While I love poring through books, I confess that I also find Google a very seductive research tool.

12) What would you to tell an aspiring writer not to do when beginning their first novel?

Do not think it will be easy. Don't be afraid of "said"! Too many beginning writers think there is something wrong with a simple tag. Everyone has to "bark" this and "smile" that. Write about what you are passionate about, rather than just about what you know. If you are wildly interested in something, do the research before you plunge in and suddenly discover, fifty pages in to your story, that boys played all the girl parts in Shakespeare's day. Don't read aloud every page as you finish it to whoever will listen to you. Be a little stingy with your work at first. Don't go back and rewrite as you go along. Finish your first draft, rest, then go back and rewrite from the beginning. Then read that second draft to someone. How does it sound out loud? Where is the dialogue clunky? What sentences run on so long that you almost hyperventilate? Then rewrite it again. then submit it. Don't ever ever submit a first draft to a publisher! It shows! And don't be too ambitious at first. Avoid the cast-of-thousands plot, the sweeping-saga-across-twelve-continents setting. And don't ever mentally spend the millions you are going to make as a NY Times best-selling author until you have that good solid third draft in your hands. It wastes too much time that could be better spent on getting your story down on paper.