Interview with Delia Latham

This week I’m hosting Cynthia Ruchti with They Almost Always Come Home, Martha Rogers with Morning for Dove and Delia Latham with Yesterday’s Promise (an ebook in pdf). If you want to enter the drawings, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (May 16th) evening. Also, Delia Latham be drawing two winners at the end of the tour to win $10 gift certificates to White Rose Publishing. If you enter her drawing on this blog, you will be entered.

Interview with Delia Latham:

1. What made you start writing?

I truly don’t remember a time when I didn’t write, even as a child. But I was definitely bitten by the literary bug in third grade, when I won an essay contest and the prize of a gorgeous pink quilted bed doll. After that, I rarely went anywhere without a notebook and pen—and of course, whatever book I happened to be reading at the time. I wrote anything that came to mind: poems, songs, little stories. Later, I graduated to writing news and magazine articles.

2. How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

I didn’t start writing my first novel until 2005. I can even tell you the month, because I did the lion’s share of the storyline during Nanowrimo’s November marathon.

3. How do you handle rejections?

I won’t even pretend to like them, because I do NOT. But I’ve learned to immediately resubmit the rejected piece somewhere else. If the rejection arrives with suggestions, I consider them, make changes if I choose to, then send it off again. If I let myself sit around and think about rejections, I get terribly depressed. I’ve had only one that nearly put a stop to my career. Looking back at it now, I see how rudely and unprofessionally that particular letter was handled, but at the time, it came close to destroying my desire to even try.

4. Why do you write?

I don’t think I could not write. Early on, I probably did it as a form of expression, because as a child I was terribly shy. Now I do it to entertain, uplift and encourage women—and yes, still somewhat as an outlet. I’m still a bit timid when I first meet people.

5. What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?

Well, I work full time, so “free time” is not really an option. ☺ But if I had free time—and money, of course—I’d love to travel more.

6. What are you working on right now?

I’m working on the second book in a series based around a Christian dating agency.

7. Do you put yourself into your books/characters?

I think we all do, to an extent, though I must admit I didn’t realize that until my son read my first book and told me he distinctly saw me in the heroine. His words shocked me, but when I thought about it, he was right. I’d given Hannah a lot of my own abilities, personality traits and viewpoints.

8. Tell us about the book you have out right now.

Yesterday’s Promise is actually a RE-release of that very first novel—the one I wrote during November 2005. I reclaimed the rights to that book after two years, which placed it in out-of-print status. For various reasons, I was completely bummed about that entire publishing experience, and it took me awhile to decide to pitch the book again. I discovered that finding a publisher for a reprint is even harder than the first time around! I’m excited and grateful that White Rose Publishing was willing to publish this book in electronic format.

9. Do you have any advice for other writers?

Write. Write. And then write some more. Nothing beats experience to hone and sharpen a skill. It’s also important to find a place to do what you do, and make it your own. If you don’t have an actual room all to yourself, claim a corner. A closet. One end of the bar in the kitchen. Write in the garage if you must. But having a place to go, preferably at the same time every day, gives credence to the fact that you are a writer. So hew out a hidey-hole wherever you can find one, and write.

10. How important is faith in your books?

In my opinion, inspirational writing is a ministry, so faith is extremely important. I pray that God uses my words not only to entertain, but to uplift and encourage. That’s what I strive for in everything I write.

11. What themes do you like to write about?

Romance is my stated genre. Most of my books (published and unpublished) are Christian romance. Goldeneyes fits more into the Women’s Fiction category, but there’s still a strong element of romance. Okay, I’ll admit it—I just love love! ☺

12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?

Goldeneyes will always be very close to my heart. It’s set in Weedpatch, the little agricultural community in California where I grew up. Though completely fictional as to storyline, it’s filled with a lot of distinct memories.

Yesterday’s Promise, on the other hand, is special because it was my first published novel. I hope I’ve learned and grown as to technique and style since I wrote this book. (If I’m not learning and growing, I need to find another career.) But I will always love the storyline.

13. What is your writing schedule like?

I’ve recently returned to the work force full time, so I’m still reshaping my schedule. Most of my writing is done late at night or in the wee hours of the morning, when the rest of the world is sleeping. It works for me, because I have no ringing phones or doorbells, no one expecting me to be somewhere else, no interruptions of any kind. I used to try to break from my computer during the weekend, but now that I work Monday through Friday, I’ve started devoting a few hours on Saturday to writing, as well. And I do a lot of “writing” while I’m standing over the kitchen sink, driving down the road, lying in bed, taking a shower, etc. By the time I actually sit down and open up my WIP, I often already have entire scenes worked out in my head. It’s simply a matter of “transcribing” the words to my manuscript.