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A Few Minutes with
Teresa Medeiros
By Gayle Trent
Teresa
Medeiros is consistently on the New York Times, Publishers Weekly
and USA Today's bestseller
lists. She's a four-time nominee for the highest award given by
the Romance Writers of America,
the RITA, and winner of the Romantic Times Award for Best Historical
Love and Laughter. Her novel Charming
the Prince received the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence in
the Missed Gem Category. Ms. Medeiros' first hardcover, The Bride
and the Beast (nominated for Best Historical) will be available
in paperback April 2001. Her latest novel, A Kiss to Remember,
is coming in hardcover July 2001. For an excerpt, visit the author's
web site at http://www.home.earthlink.net/~termede/website2001.htm
How
do you construct your books; i.e., do you work up an outline and
go from that; do you prepare extensive character sketches?
I'm a very instinctive
writer. I almost always "get" the characters' names
first, followed by some inkling of their personality. The plot
follows, then I choose the setting and time period that would
best serve as a "frame" for that particular plot. I
don't do extensive character sketches because the characters tend
to tell me things about themselves and their histories as I write.
Sometimes I won't even know they have a particular childhood memory
or fear until I start writing about it. I do an outline by listing
each scene I'm sure about on a separate 4 X 6 index card. It's
important for me to have something on paper or I tend to drift.
I also love the thrill of marking off each scene as I finish it.
But I usually find that each scene leads to three more scenes
I hadn't anticipated.
I
read somewhere that when James Michener "felt something coming
on" he delved into research. Do you do that? Or do you develop
your characters and story line prior to working out the historical
details?
I tend to research
as I go because I never know exactly which details I'll need for
a particular book. I keep a stack of research books at my elbow
all the time while I write and am constantly stopping to thumb
through them. I'm afraid if I tried to research a book before
I started writing, I'd get bogged down in all of those delicious
details and never start the book.
What
does a typical workday for you entail?
I usually get
up around 7 a.m., eat breakfast, watch Guiding Light on tape (my guilty pleasure for the day).
I'm usually at the computer by 9:00 or 9:30. I spend far more
time than I should checking my e-mail.
Then I start working. I tend to review what I've done the day
before first, then move on to new material. I usually work until
2:30 or 3:00 p.m. unless I'm on deadline. When I'm on deadline,
I work nights and weekends playing catching up. (Yes, I was the
obnoxious kid who always did her book report the night before
it was due, but still got an A.)
What
is your greatest writing accomplishment? Greatest
disappointment?
My greatest writing
accomplishment has to be remaining in this capricious business
for almost seventeen years. I know how rare it is for a writer
to get published, much less make a healthy living at it so I'm
very conscious of my blessings.
My greatest disappointment
was probably the fact that fewer readers than usual read my one
western romance Nobody's Darling (April '98). I was extremely
proud of that book. It was a critical darling, winning several
awards, but there are still so many readers out there who simply
won't read westerns. If they gave it a chance, I think they'd
find everything they've come to expect from a "Teresa Medeiros
book" and more.
What
would you say is your inspiration?
God,
my husband, and music. There wouldn't be any books without
that particular combination of ingredients.
When I first
met my husband, I was still dating the obligatory "loser
boyfriend" that every girl must endure. To win my heart and
woo me away from him, Michael wrote a short story for me in which
he and I had to thwart the forces of evil and save the world.
Of course, the story ended with the two of us sharing a romantic
kiss-on the page and in real life! But the beauty of it is that
I had completely lost touch with the part of me that wanted to
be a writer until he handed me that story. So guess what I did-I
rewrote it and handed it back to him. (Hey, he had the fictional
me acting in ways that were completely out of character!) That
was the moment the creative fire in me was rekindled. I started
my first book in January of 1984 and we got married in May. When
I say I couldn't do it without him, I mean it!
If
you weren't a romance writer, what would you be?
A
pastry chef. What can I say-a girl can dream, can't she?
The
Bride and the Beast is your first hardcover release. What has
this development meant to your writing career?
I'd definitely
equate it to a job promotion. The paperback market went a little
soft in the past few years so publishers are constantly looking
for creative ways to expand your readership. The quality
of the books are exactly the same; it's really only the
marketing that's changed. I like the fact that it gives you two
shots at the market-first in hardcover, then in paperback.
Do
you have a favorite book, or one that is more special to you than
the others you've written? If so, which one and why?
Oooh,
that's a tough one-like asking which child is your favorite. I
think I love different books for different reasons. I absolutely
LIVED my first book, Lady of Conquest. While it probably wasn't
as technically proficient as some of my later efforts, it will
always hold a special place in my heart. I was so in love with
the heroes of Heather and Velvet, Thief of Hearts, and Nobody's
Darling. Some books you love because they were easier to write.
Some books you love because they wrung the soul right out of you,
but you finished them anyway.
You
dedicated Breath of Magic to Elizabeth Montgomery who played Samantha
on the classic television series Bewitched. Do you think Harry
Potter is the Samantha for today's generation? Why or why not?
I love Harry
Potter! I'm still crushed because J.C. Penney's isn't making Harry
Potter sheets for king-size beds! Every writer should get down
on their knees and kiss J.K. Rowling's feet for delivering another
generation of readers to our doors. I think every kid has a fascination
with magic. I remember sitting in class in the third grade trying
to levitate a book with my mind instead of paying attention to
the teacher. I absolutely believe that Harry Potter taps into
the same fantasies as Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie. Of course,
those were primarily female fantasies. I'm a little bummed because
I don't think Harry would have succeeded as well if he had been
a Harriet. Girls will read about boys, but boys won't read about
girls.
What's
the best advice you have to offer a fellow writer?
I have to steal
something from Stephen King -- Tell the story. Tell the truth.
And don't ever waste time looking over
your shoulder wondering what someone else will think of it. Quite
frankly, it's none of your business.
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