Welcome Whispers Publishing author, Theresa Stillwagon!

Really great to have you here today, Theresa - looking forward to getting to know you are a writer as well as reading an excerpt from your latest release, THE GIFT. Over to you!

1) What is your writing routine?
Writing routine? I wish I had one now. Because of some financial problems, I haven’t been able to write at all. I am forming a few plot outlines for a series of stories based on one of my contracted books, though. That’s something.
Usually I try to write new stuff when my husband is working. I need quiet for that. I can do editing and critiques at any time.

2) Which author/s inspire you to write?
I really can’t think of any off hand.

3) Which is your favorite romance subgenre to read? To write?
I love reading romances with a hint of danger in them. I also like romantic suspense and mysteries set in any time period. My favorite subgenre to write is contemporary romances where the heroine is in some type of danger. My longer books always have a bit of suspense in them, but my shorter ones are pure romance.

4) How do you deal with criticism/rejection?
Rejection is a part of a writer’s life. No matter how many years you’ve written or how many books you’ve sold, you will still receive rejections. Some are more critical than others, but you can always find something good within them.
The last rejection I received was so bad I almost gave up writing completely. Almost. I came to my senses quick enough. I figure if I sold one book; I can sell another. (I’ve sold four.) Not every one is going to like my writing.
The right kind of criticism is good for a writer.

5) What do you expect from an editor?
The truth. An honest evaluation of my writing.

6) Tell me about your latest release
The Gift is a short older woman, younger man romance from Whispers Publishing. You can buy it at
http://www.whispershome.com/book_pages/the_gift.html

7) Tease us with a blurb or short excerpt


“I don’t want you to leave yet.”
His fingers caressed down her back and she twisted around toward him. He stepped back at her abrupt move. Frustration narrowed the irises of his eyes now, showing her the man she’d met on the road that day. The strong, capable deputy sheriff had been replaced by the sex-starved man she’d met the day after she settled into her trailer.
“I liked you better the way you were the day we first met.”
His head jerked backward at her comment. “I haven’t changed.”
She ignored his comment. “You were a professional then, stopping to make sure a citizen was all right.”
“Aunt Clara called me.” Bewilderment deepened his voice. “She told me you were in trouble.”
She still ignored him. “The next day you came by with some friends and helped me set up my trailer. You won my friendship then, Ben.”
“I know that.”
“Then you lost it.” She glanced up at him now. “Your whole attitude changed toward me. You scared me.”
His body stiffened. “Scared you? How?”
“No man has ever wanted me like you do,” she whispered. “Not even my husband.” Her heart pounded in her chest as she forced out her words. If she wanted to have a real relationship with this man, she needed to be truthful with him now. And she wanted a real relationship, a complete one. “I don’t know how to take you when we’re alone. It’s safer for me when someone else is around us. I’m not hiding from you because I don’t want to have anything to do with you; I’m hiding because I do. And that frightens me.”
There she’d said it.
“Because I scare you?”
“No, because I scare me.”


8) Which is your favorite character in the book? Why?
Ben’s aunt is my favorite character. She’s a retired lady with a lot of spunk. Her conniving involvement got Dana to finally agree to go out with the long-suffering Ben.

9) What is next for you?
I have a book due out with Desert Breeze Publishing in April, 2011. It’s a western contemporary called Saving Pale Moon. You can find out more about me at
http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-template/TheresaStillwagon/Page.bok

10) What are you working on right now?
I’m working on two separate things. (That is when I can find the time.) One is working out plot synopses for stories set in the same area as Saving Pale Moon, a ranch in Texas. I have three different romances in mind. And I’m also working out subplots for a finished contemporary romance. I’d like to submit this to Avon Publishing.

11) Your biggest piece of advice to aspiring novelists?
Never give up on your dreams. No matter how many rejections you receive, no matter how many people tell you you’ll never make it, keep on writing. You won’t ever get published if you listen to the naysayers. So don’t listen to them.

12) Where can readers find you?
http://www.theresastillwagon.webs.com
http://www.tstillwagon.wordpress.com

Great interview, Theresa! I would love to hear more about Whispers Publishing if you would be kind enough to share - I know very little about them but I what I have heard has been all good!

Questions? Comments?