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Here is Dorothy!
What state
do you live in: Texas
A
Little about yourself:
I
grew up in southern California and found my own romantic hero in
Austin, Texas, where I received a Bachelor of Journalism degree, with
honors, from The University of Texas. After a 35-year corporate
career in marketing and public relations, I am living my
dream—writing historical romances—and residing in central Texas
with my husband (the same wonderful guy) on our beautiful cattle
ranch. Yes, dreams really can come true!
1. & 2.
Is being an Author what you thought you would do with your life?
What made you decide to be an Author? At the University of Texas, I majored in Journalism. After graduating, I worked in marketing/public relations for corporations in Houston and writing was a big part of all my jobs. I primarily wrote annual reports, speeches, news releases, magazine articles, etc. But I always wanted to try writing a novel. Eventually, I just had to try. I had characters in my head who needed their story told. At the time, I was a VP for a major corporation and could only find time to write for a few minutes or hours here and there and it was hard to make significant progress. But I did get my characters and setting fully developed. Almost two years ago, I decided to retire early so that I could begin writing novels full-time. That opportunity has been a real God given blessing and I have loved every minute of it, especially that minute in July of 2014 when I opened the box that held my first book’s proof copy. That’s when I really felt like a writer! What a thrill.
3. What would you tell any new authors that are breaking into the
business?
Most importantly, don’t rush your first novel to print. It will forever represent you, so make sure it’s your best work. Like top athletes, writers must continually train. With each draft, you build more stamina. With each edit, you increase muscle and get rid of fat. With each skill you practice, such as showing not telling, you add beauty and style. Be sure you ruthlessly proof for errors and format the manuscript professionally. And dress for success—invest in a quality book cover designer to produce your cover. Learning how to produce quality manuscripts is not easy or quick. To really shine, a book requires many drafts and countless edits. After writing for more than 30 years, I still have a lot to learn and believe that each of my novels will be better than the last because I am continually learning to become a better writer.
Second,
I would tell new authors to be willing to work long and hard or don’t
even start. There is nothing about publishing novels that’s easy.
Writing is the easiest part for me and, as I’ve said, that takes a
tremendous amount of effort. And, unless you are very computer savvy,
publishing is complicated and time consuming. But marketing is even
harder. I work very long hours, full-time, and still never have
enough time to do all the marketing things I would like to. I say all
that not to discourage you, but to tell you the honest truth. But in
your heart, if you have a great story to tell, by all means tell it.
Just be aware that writing it just the beginning.
The
strangest thing for me is how my characters take over. My
primary approach to writing is to allow the characters to drive the
story. I believe a writer must really get to know their characters. I
would like to be a plotter, but I confess to being a pantser. For
those of you who are new to writing, pantser means writing from the
seat of your pants rather than following a detailed plot outlined in
advance of writing the book. For me, it means plots driven by the
characters. I spent a lot of time initially conceiving the characters
and describing them to myself, both physical characteristics and
personalities. Then, in my head, I put them in a room or situation
and just follow their lead. Strangely, they always seem to know what
to do or say. I guess that’s my subconscious driving them forward,
but it seems to work for me. I often receive compliments on my
characters such as this one from a reviewer on Amazon, “The
author's well-sculpted cast of characters, not only come alive, but
you actually begin to really care about them and want them to succeed
in their journey west. Her evil characters are truly scary and her
good characters are painted gloriously.”
5. What is the hardest part of being an author?
The
competition. Amazon has opened the publishing world up to tens of
thousands of aspiring authors who otherwise would never have been
published. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the
competition has skyrocketed.
6. Do you love what you do?
Absolutely!
Writing is exhilarating for me. Publishing is even more thrilling.
And winning contests and getting 5-star reviews is very rewarding and
encouraging. I love to hear from readers too.
7. Do you have a family?
Yes,
my husband of 38 years and I have two children and two grandchildren.
I love them all dearly.
8. What was your first published work?
WILDERNESS
TRAIL OF LOVE published August 2014.
9. What are you currently working on? Can you share any of it with us?
I
am working on the fourth novel in my American Wilderness Series
Romances. I am a little more than a third of the way through writing
it. Each book in the series is the story of one brother and this book
is about Bear.
10. New release book cover?
I
have not yet had the fourth book cover designed, but I’ll be doing
that soon. Here are the other three:
12. What genres do you write? Historical romance. I love history and I love romance, so it’s the perfect genre for me.
13. Anything else you would like to share?
My
American Wilderness Series Romances, WILDERNESS TRAIL OF LOVE (Book
One) NEW FRONTIER OF LOVE (Book Two), and WHISPERING HILLS OF LOVE
(Book Three), are set in 1797 colonial America. My husband’s
ancestors, who really did journey from the New England area to
Kentucky in the late 18th century, inspired this series. I wanted to
honor these and other first wave settlers of early America by writing
these books. The arduous journeys, brave battles, and daily
sacrifices of these first-wave pioneers should not be forgotten.
Although the books are only inspired by America’s ancestors and are
not based on actual people, I’ve attempted to balance the hardships
of the frontier with amusing, romantic, and vividly compelling
characters that I hope will be very memorable.
14. Give us some unusual fun facts about you.
I
am half Scots (father) and half Italian (mother). My father was an
artist—I think that’s where my creativity comes from. I love
music—especially rock & roll, 60’s, Motown, and some more
contemporary artists. Love Matchbox Twenty’s Overjoyed,
Bon Jovi’s You
Want to Make a Memory,
and anything by Rod Stewart, but especially one of his newer songs,
You
Can’t Stop Me Now. That
song is my writing anthem and inspiration. Listen to the words and
you’ll see why. My favorite thing to do is to sit out on our
terrace, enjoy our great view of the ranch, and listen to music with
my husband while enjoying an adult beverage—usually a Manhattan.
One’s my limit. I also love wine and cooking—which works out well
since we live about an hour from any great restaurants.
15.
Share with us your links. (Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter, Instagram,
Etc)
Facebook:
Dorothy M. Wiley https://www.facebook.com/DoraMayWiley
Twitter:
@WileyDorothy https://twitter.com/WileyDorothy
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/dorothymwiley/
WILDERNESS
TRAIL OF LOVE
- Historical Novel Society (HNS) Editor’s Choice and long listed for the prestigious
2015 HNS Indie Award.
- Readers’ Favorite Five-Star Award 2015
- Finalist in the CFRWA Touch of Magic Contest 2014
NEW FRONTIER OF LOVE
- Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) Quarter-Finalist 2014
WHISPERING HILLS OF LOVE
- BookBzz.com Prize Writer Finalist – Romance 2015
READER
AND REVIEWER COMMENTS:
- "This work has that memorable feel I associate with big historicals (i.e. Lonesome Dove)."
"A deft new writer of intelligent romantic fiction."
"A must read. One of the best books I've ever read."
“Fresh, unblinkingly gritty, & highly readable, her romance novel reads like a classic American adventure story.
"Nothing mindlessly emotional here"
"Skillful, entertaining and sparkly.”
Wiley
received a Bachelor of Journalism, with honors, from The University
of Texas in Austin. After a distinguished 35-year corporate career in
marketing and public relations, she is living her dream—writing
historical romances.
CONTACT
Dorothy through her website www.dorothywiley.com
CONNECT
with Dorothy on:
Twitter
@WileyDorothy
Pinterest
http://www.pinterest.com/dorothymwiley/
WWW.DOROTHYWILEY.COM
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