Marley Gibson Answers Some Key Questions

A little peek at what's to come tomorrow night. Oct 25, 2005 from 9-10PM EDT TKA Chats will host Marley Gibson for a great question/answer session! But I know you can't hold out until then, so I got a few answers out of her early!

1. What are some of your all time favorite books? Why? What have yourrecently read?
Favorite books of all time:
GONE WITH THE WIND -- a masterpiece! Read it the first time in 7th grade
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY -- changed the way I thought about romance heroines OUTLANDER -- another masterpiece at 1,024 pages and I couldn't put it down
THE THORN BIRDS -- epic, tragic, happy, sad, all emotions
ASHES IN THE WIND -- the first romance I ever read, swiped from my sister when I was 11

Recently read:
(SECRET) SOCIETY GIRL by Diana Peterfreund, okay, so it's not out yet, but I'm her CP.UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld, really great, totally bought into the premise
RAINBOW PARTY, didn't live up to the hype
AWAKEN ME DARKLY by Gena Showalter, totally not what I usually read, ate it up like chocolate
Currently reading THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE...really good.

2. When you write, are you a pantzer or a planner?
I am TOTALLY a planner. Couldn't pantz if my life depended on it. I have to *see* my story in my head from beginning to end like a technicolor movie with full orchestration before I can start writing. Then, once I see the whole story, I feel like I'm merely the transcriber getting the images and dialogue out of my head. (You could only tell that to fellow writers.) I type about 85-100 words per minute, so on a good day, I can crank anywhere from 12-20 pages when I'm in the blood fever.

3. A key piece of advice for those attempting to network well?
Get your name out there. Smile. Shake hands. Don't hide and wait to be introduced. Find something to get yourself into a conversation. Compliment them. Try to find something in common. "I love your shoes" or "Oh, I see you're from Tennessee, do you know Janice Lynn?" Share tidbits and funny tales that leave a lasting impression -- "Did I tell you I sat next to Julie Garwood on the way to Reno?" (Long story! ) Being positive, pro-active and memorable will go a long way in this business.

4. If you could meet a character (in any work) who would it be and why?
If I were single, I'd say Jaime Fraser from OUTLANDER. Do I *really* need to explain why? = ) But, honestly, I'd love to sit for hours and have wine with Bridget Jones. Just love her. Love her! She's one of the most realistic, loveable, funny, warm heroines I've ever read.

5. What do you do to help yourself press on when you get "stuck"?
I never really get stuck with writer's block, per se, but I get held up. Life, job, commuting, finding quiet time, getting off IM, getting those pages done that I know are there and need to be done. I literally have to put on the headphones, crank up the Trance, House or Dance music and just escape into my own world for an hour or two so I can be with my characters.

My hubby is very supportive and understanding of my writing time. I also have groups of friends that we report our goals into and we have to be accountable to each other. When I pledge to do certain amounts of work, I feel like I've let them down when I don't live up to my promise. Also, in one small group, we have the Naughty Writer's Fund where we deposit $1 into the cup (my hubby's the keeper of the cup) if we don't fulfill our promised writing goal for that day. At the end of the year, the three of us will take our funds and buy a meal or something for the other two. I'm pleased to say my cup is only sitting at $23 right now.

Okay that's all I could squeeze out for now! Be sure to log on tomorrow night! That Naughty Writer's Fund idea is quite nifty, if I do say so myself!