It’s my day to blog, and I was thinking . . . .
But then I did an interview for one of my writer’s groups, and hm . . . .
Anyway, thought I’d throw this out as my words of wisdom today!

When I’m doing interviews, I’m always tempted to change my past because so many people do know the story, and I’d love to make it more interesting. You know, I was actually the child of Hungarian circus performers, and we escaped in a wonderful adventure to the U.S. and I’m secretly a magnificent high-flying trapeze artist when I’m not at the computer. Then again, the truth is that I did love my family, dad was from Stirling, Scotland, mom from Dublin, Ireland, and many of the Florida group actually knew my mom–she was one of the nine founding members of FRW and she acted as secretary for many years. I grew up right here, in the Miami area, and when I went to college, I got as far as Tampa and USF. It was a fantastic school, though. I was a theater major and they had great professors, which is what makes any education. I worked with the theater for the deaf from Galodet, and on a travel study program, spent time studying at the Abbey in Dublin.

That part was great. Now, whenever I see the move Soapdish, I relate to Kevin Kline. I didn’t perform in dinner theater for old folks, just drunks. I did a few commercials (one in which my dog got a higher pay scale than I did, hey, he was cute dog) and my last play was called the Perils of Poor Nellie with the Rhodes Brothers and people were supposed to throw rolls at the villain and yeah on the hero and heroine but those fellows made their main money on alcohol and by the end of the show, the audience was throwing everything on the table at everyone on stage. I believe that thousand island dressing is actually good for your hair, but I did discover that ketchup does nothing for the complexion.

Cut to the family. Even when wearing every condiment known to man, I loved the theater. Nothing is like live theater, in my mind. I didn’t quit because of the steak sauce or the lack of pay in non-union Florida–I stopped because I couldn’t afford to go to work anymore and I had my children because I wanted them and loved them. By number three child, it was too expensive to go to work.

Now here’s the main thing, where I came from, and others as well. I have writing friends with a high school degree, probably some with no degree, and some who have several masters or doctorates. What matters as a writer is one’s ability to tell good stories. (Of course, yes, you have to learn technique or editors and copy-editors will really hate you!) But the ability to tell good stories usually comes from one venue–the love of reading. Every good writer I know has the one thing in common–the obsession, the need, to read. Through everything, I loved to read. What helped to is that sadly and quite truthfully I suck at all house. I can really expend energy and effort to clean, and it will still look like the Vikings just raided. So, I started writing with Writer’s Digest and a lot of desperation. From my years in theater, I had gotten good at the art of rejection. My first story was bought by the now defunct Miami News, my first book–after trial and error, I promise–by Dell’s Ecstasy Line. I had thought when then called at first that someone was playing a joke on me because I didn’t hear back for so long. I actually thought they bought a book and it was immediately on the shelves. I learned that contracts can take forever, and that I wasn’t the next best thing to the hoola-hoop quickly, but I was still on the road that I’m still traveling. There is no end. There are moments of failure, and moments when you when you shine, but you never get off the road. There’s no end to the trying, and there’s always change, in distribution, in venues, in the way books are packaged, and the way they’re sold. I’m delighted to be on the road, and hope that I do get to be on it forever. I actually don’t want to retire–I’m the kind who would like to actually keel over at the keyboard one day. (Quickly and painlessly, of course!)

One of my favorite sayings ever came from John Lennon. “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.” I totally agree with that sentiment. I really don’t know how many books, novellas, and short stories have written. Around one-fifty, I think. I am blessed to write for a house where I’m allowed to change, going from straight suspense, historical romance, vampire, and ghost. Next out is Nightwalker, a murder mystery with shades of the past and a favorite ghost whose name is Johnny Ringo. (He can fix the dice in Vegas.) After that, I’m started something called the Prophesy series which is a count down to the Mayan doomsday prophesy, with all manner of people and alternative beings having to come together along the lines of the Zodiac to prevent the apocalypse. To finish out next year, I’ll have Unhallowed Ground, another in the Harrison Investigation series, and Shannon Drake will have Night of the Wolves, featuring vampire hunters in the wild west. Christmas will bring a lighter story this year about a Revolutionary was soldier who is being hanged by the British, only to discover that his sister, who thinks she’s a witch, magically transports him from the noose in New York City to an ice-encrusted street in twenty-first century Gloucester, Mass, to find himself almost run over by our heroine, returning to her own crazy family for the Christmas festivities. I’m also working on a Nocturne, and I have a story in a the More Than Words anthology for Harlequin, a wonderful program that dedicates money to and honors women who have gone above and beyond to create charities to help others.

My family is the most precious gift I’ve ever received, and I know this because both parents are gone, and I lost my only sister and brother-in-law as well. Jason, Shayne, Derek, Bryee-Annon, and Chynna have created a crazy and eclectic group of wonderful souls, and Dennis and I have my nephew, great-nephew, daughter-in-law and niece-in-law as well. The baby, of course, is the love of all our lives! Friends, too, are the stuff of life–and in writing, I’ve been blessed to make amazing friends. Every now and then I run a tad late with things, but I tend to be very disciplined. But I’m happy to set out on adventures, travel for research and to conferences and really, for just about anything. Life is what we write about, and no, I don’t know any vampires, but our writing is based on our experiences, our knowledge of what makes us and the world tick, and for me, getting out there is as important as being here, at the computer.

I like to give back. I’m honestly not such a great person, just Catholic and Irish and we’re born thinking that God will definitely get you if you’re not semi decent. Still, I have the greatest time in the world when we do the vampire party at RT for AIDS, and New Orleans is a true effort in love, because we have so much fun doing it, and, hopefully, put in our little drop to keep an amazingly historic city afloat. What goes around comes around, so I never did get to be a great Shakespearean actress (or one of any caliber, for that matter!) but I have had a heck of a good time with the shows we put on, being a Killerette, and now, getting going on a new project as well–the Gory Ghouls.

One of the questions asked–when did you know you made it? Okay, I’m still not sure I’ve make it. I love what I do, I’m getting to keep on doing it. I don’t read reviews–if they’re horrible, my friends won’t tell me about them. If they’re good, I’ll get to see them. I’m delighted to be asked for quotes–I often get to read something incredible before anyone else, and that’s pretty cool. It’s a great life; I just wake up grateful every morning. Awards are lovely, of course. I’ve been honored by bookstores and organization, and I am incredibly proud of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. (Chynna was younger; she thought it was a great award, especially since I wasn’t dead yet!) My greatest reward ever has been the fact that I do something I love for a living. Having a nice long list of books under the belt is great, but there’s the thing–we can never stop. We always have to strive to write the next book as our best possible book.

And we all just keep on kicking!

© 2009, Heather Graham. All rights reserved.