A Georgetown University graduate, Anna enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, and the sea. Writing is her addiction, her drug of choice, and what she wants to do all the time. The extraordinary men and women she met during her years as a Navy wife inspire the fabulous heroes and heroines at the center of her stories. When she stays put—which doesn’t happen very often—she lives in Florida with her indulgent husband and two very opinionated cats.
Contact Links
Website: http://www.annadelmar.com
Email: Anna@annadelmar.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anna_del_mar
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/anna_del_mar
Questionnaire:
Thanks
for letting us interrogate you!
Thanks
for inviting me over. I’ve been interviewed before, but I’ve never been
officially interrogated. I hope there’s no waterboarding included. But go
ahead. Do your best.
Can
you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?
I
swear, I tried really hard not to be an author, even if the idea of being a
writer is one of the earliest memories I have. I have these vague recollections
of me somewhere around age three or four, holding a storybook on my lap and
thinking “hey, I love this book. I could tell stories too!”
From
there on, the fight was on. The thought of having to make a living out of
writing terrified me. Maybe that explains why I went for the MBA instead. But
in the end, I couldn’t help myself. I wrote a story. And another one. And
now…well, here I am.
Tell
us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be? I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?
The
perks? I get to work in my pajamas. That’s the big one. Oh, and I get to write
for a living. If you are obsessed with writing like I am, that’s the dream.
The
demands are many. I don’t think that people understand the sheer amount of time
and effort involved. Writing a novel is grueling work! But if you love it, then
you’re right where you want to be. In the end, the biggest perk is doing what
you love.
Which
route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the
nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?
The Asset is published by
Carina Press, an imprint of Harper Collins. I went through the traditional
process, but first, I hired a private editor, Nancy Cassidy from the Red Pen
Coach. She helped polish my novels, encouraged me to seek publication, and then
guided me through the process of finding a publisher. I thought it would be
really difficult, but I was lucky. My queries generated interest and within a
few weeks, I was talking to the senior editor at Carina Press, which had always
been top of my list.
Carina
Press is a classy outfit and they put a lot of time and work into their
manuscript evaluation process. They have a committee of twenty people who
review a submission. To be brought on, those twenty people have to agree that a
novel is a good fit for Carina. Unanimously. I can’t even begin to imagine how
you get twenty people to agree on anything. But they did and I was thrilled.
That’s how I found a home for my Wounded Warrior series, a collection of
stories about strong heroines
struggling to find their place in the world and the brave, sexy, military
heroes who challenge their limits to protect the women they love.
Tell
us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your
book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?
I’m
really lucky. My family is super supportive of my writing. It makes such a huge
difference when the people in your life rally around you to help and encourage
your passions. Yes, I spend an inordinate amount of time writing and taking
care of the business of writing. And yes, I go AWOL for days at a time,
sometimes weeks. But we all keep in touch and my hubby backs me up, so that
we’re never in danger of succumbing to avalanches of dirty laundry or dying
from starvation.
Do your pets actually get their food on time or do
they have to wait until you type just one more word?
My
cats rule this place. If they don’t get fed right at the appointed time the two
of them will team up to jump on my lap and rub against the screen until fur is
sticking all over and my monitor looks as if it’s about to meow. Honestly, I
love animals. I actually wrote a service dog into The Asset, a handsome German shepherd who’s trained to support the
hero in the story. That was such fun. Animals are amazing.
Are your plants actually still alive?
Sadly,
nothing green survives Anna del Mar. But my son found a solution. He gifted me
a Flip Flap, a little plastic plant with make-believe leaves that bounce when
the sunlight hits it. It’s cute. Best of all? It can’t be killed.
In
writing your book, how did you deal with the phone ringing, your family needing
dinner or your boss calling you saying you’re late?
I
ignored all of it and kept writing.
What
was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing
process?
The
craziest thing that happened was when Carina decided to publish not only my
first novel, but all four romances I had written. Awesome. That was epically
insane because it was happening to me. Me!
How
about the social networks? Which ones do
you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?
I
think social media offers alternative ways of communicating with readers,
colleagues and prospective readers. To be honest, I don’t know that anybody
really knows how much social media impact book sales at the end of the day. But
it does help to widen exposure.
The
main challenge with social media is that Facebook, Twitter and the rest can be
a major drain in a writer’s time. Yep. They’re time-suckers. I know a lot of
writers who spend a lot of time on social media, time they could be using to
put down some glorious stories.
For
my part, I just began to setup my social media accounts. I figure I’d start
with Facebook and Twitter and see how it goes. By the way, if you’d like to be
among my inaugural likes and follows, I’d really appreciate it. Here are my
brand new links: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnadelMar/?ref=hl
and https://twitter.com/anna_del_mar.
Book
sales. Don’t you just love them (or lack
of?)? How are you making the sales
happen for you?
Well,
the question is premature, since my book is coming out February 22nd.
My publisher has taken the lead by soliciting reviews, placing advertising and
promoting the novel through numerous marketing strategies. I’ve embarked on a promotion
effort that includes both traditional and innovate marketing strategies and
will take me deep into cyberspace to meet some awesome folks like yourselves.
What
is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?
The
divided state of our country and the world. Why can’t we all set our
differences aside, work on those things we know have to get done, and move
forward for the betterment of mankind?
Okay,
too much sugar for you today! Here’s a
nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch
the waves roll in. Now…can you tell us
what you love about being a published author and how all those things above
doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you
wouldn’t have it any other way?
Well,
since you already said all of that, I won’t repeat it again. But I will thank
you for interrogating—I mean—interviewing me today. I enjoyed talking to you
and I hope that your readers may consider giving The Asset a read. You are all invited to check out my website at www.annadelmar.com. You can preview the
first chapter at: http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/excerpt.html.
And if I can answer any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at
anna@annadelmar.com. Cheers and best
of luck to all of you.
1 comment:
Thank you so much for having me. I enjoyed being interrogated--I mean--interviewed by you!
Post a Comment