Author Q&A: Joanne Rock
Author: Trish Milburn
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: October 2002

Q: How did you come to romance writing?

A: Via stints in public relations, promotions, copywriting, teaching English at the college level. . . you name it! I enjoy many different types of writing, so working on my own book seemed like a natural outgrowth of that. And I am very much a romantic at heart, so it was easy to decide in which direction to take my story.

Q: What is your writing schedule like?

A: I strive very hard to keep some sort of structure in my days, but the great thing and the worst thing about writing is that you can pick it up and put it down 10 times in a day. I find myself working on stories at all sorts of odd hours. I do try to capitalize on my natural times of high creativity, however. I'm at my most sharp for a few hours in the morning and often for a couple of hours in the evening. Other than that, it's a free for all!

Q: What thing do you believe beginning writers focus on too much?

A: Getting their first book right. I wish every writer the best in trying to sell their first foray into writing full-length fiction, but it's a scary truth that most authors don't sell that first work. And of those writers who do sell their first books, it's rarely the book that clinches their first sale. This might be disheartening news, but it can also be tremendously freeing! Squeeze every lesson that you possibly can from that first story and then move on. You'll be so much happier with what you bring to a new manuscript.

Q: Why did you choose to write category rather than single title? Do you have plans to write single title as well?

A: I've written many kinds of stories (see above hard-learned lesson). But it was while I was working on a category style book that a big light bulb went off in my head. I could see exactly what I needed to do and I knew how to do it! After years of struggling to find a voice, create engaging pacing, and develop strong characters, it's exciting to feel like you are accomplishing those things. For now, I plan to really enjoy this sense of knowing what I'm doing.

Q: Who are the romance writers you admire most?

A: I adore Susan Elizabeth Phillips for her magnificent stories. I admire Nora Roberts for continuing to give so much time and great press to romance as a whole. I love the wit of Cherry Adair. And I think my critique partner, Catherine Mann, is quite brilliant for not only being able to tell a fast-paced, emotional story, but for being able to articulate how she accomplishes it in a way other writers can really understand.

Q: We constantly hear about how tight the market is. Being a fairly recently published new author, do you buy this? Or do you see plenty of opportunity in the genre for new writers?

A: Editors throughout publishing seem to indicate this is a tight time from what I read in trade magazines, but then again, I've been reading that for years! I think there are always opportunities for the persistent. It helps to keep an ear to the ground and an open mind as well. If you're targeting a particularly difficult area to break into, I think it is helpful if you can be flexible enough to see how you could channel your strengths into another arena, or else target your chosen subgenre by entering contests.

Q: What advice would you give new authors about the business of writing?

A: Be patient. And believe me, it's advice I never enjoy hearing either! But think long term, keep writing through the rejections and through the confusion and the muddle of what-am-I-doing? Don't be afraid to move on to new projects or to write new synopses just to see how a different stories feel. You'll be rewarded with a new confidence in your work and in yourself and while you're at it, you'll fine-tune a voice that is distinctly your own.

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Joanne Rock is the author of seven books for Harlequin Temptation and Blaze. Her most recent releases are Wild and Willing (September Blaze) and Tall, Dark and Daring (October Temptation). Visit her Web site at www.joannerock.com. 

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