Interview: Charlotte McClain

Today’s interview is with Charlotte McClain, author of Three Alarm Tenant and the newly released Spark of Desire, who speaks of the perfect beta heroes, her writing process and the best marketing tips.

LZ: How did you come up with the idea for Spark of Desire?

CM: The idea for Spark came directly out of writing Three Alarm Tenant. As I was finishing it, I wondered how Jack’s best friend Kevin was going to handle Jack’s transition from freewheeling bachelor to married man considering that Kevin was a confirmed bachelor himself.

While researching Three Alarm Tenant, I’d also come across a few mentions of the difficulties women face in getting into the department and staying in. Not necessarily sexist issues, but things like if you’re at a fire for 12 hours, how do you go to the bathroom? That’s the stuff that fiction is made of for me.

LZ: The burning question, no pun intended (okay, it’s a little intended): What was the answer to “If you’re at a fire for 12 hours, how do you go to the bathroom?”

CM: Well, apparently you either hold it or you start asking around for a place to squat. Did you know that a lot of firemen have mustaches because their noses run while they’re working and they don’t want them running into their mouths. Yeah, um, not so appealing, is it?

LZ: What kind of research did you undergo to write Three Alarm Tenant and Spark of Desire?

CM: I read a ton of books and watched a lot of movies. I also have a friend whose brother is in the Rochester Fire Department. Rochester FD has no idea how helpful they were.

LZ: Spark of Desire is the second of your Lyrical Press-published books to feature a foxy firefighting hero, the other being Three Alarm Tenant. For you, what about firemen makes them such great romantic heroes?

CM: Firefighters (and cops) are the perfect beta heroes for me — good under pressure and ready to throw themselves into danger if there’s a chance they can save somebody. They’re the ultimate caretakers. Plus, firefighters usually know how to cook and clean.

LZ: What part of the writing process is most difficult for you? How do you overcome the difficulty?

CM: Finishing. I’m a pantser, meaning that I don’t know what the story is before I start. I know the characters and maybe a few conversations (which may never make it into the final story anyway), but I don’t know exactly how things are going to proceed. Sometimes the story leaves me high and dry. These characters who I thought were fated for one another, aren’t. I’ve even had instances where one or more of my characters was keeping a big secret from me and the other characters were causing things to get stuck. In that case, I just set the story aside for a few days or weeks (or months) and go back to it later. Then I can usually see what’s wrong and move forward.

I’ve also had life interfere. I was in the middle of writing a menage that has since been published by another publisher when I went to Korea to teach preschool. Ever spend all day with little kids and then try to go home and write smut? Not easy. In that case, I set the story aside for the year I was in Korea and focused on other projects that weren’t so steamy.

LZ: Does your real life ever sneak into your fiction? In what ways?

CM: I believe in the adage “write what you know.” My life is all over my fiction. Three Alarm Tenant was set in my house. The bookstore in Spark Of Desire is the store I worked in. My old apartment is Jessica’s apartment. I even appear as a secondary character. I once took a subway station in Seoul and made it a space station in a sci fi story I wrote. It doesn’t so much sneak as walk in and unpack its bags.

LZ: What lessons have you learned regarding book publishing? What lesson has been the most valuable to you?

CM: Pick your battles with your editor. My editors have all been great, but there have been times whey they wanted me to change something that was near and dear to my heart. Sometimes they were right. Sometimes they weren’t seeing what I was doing. Only negotiation will figure that out. Editors are professionals, but they are also fallible, overworked humans. I try to go by the one-in-10 rule for battle picking. Take nine out of 10 of the changes the editor asks for and only fight for one. To be honest, eight of 10 are usually things that have me smacking my forehead and saying, “Why didn’t I see that?” Then there’s those two that I whine and cry over until I decide one is not worth fighting about. If you fight have every comma, you’ll end up with a reputation of being difficult to deal with. If you fight over nothing, you lose control of your project and may end up with something you’re not proud of. I have gotten notes back on some of my battle points that said along the lines of “Oh, I didn’t see that. I think you need make a bigger deal of it so the reader won’t miss it.”

LZ: What are your writing goals for the rest of 2010?

CM: I have goals and I have hopes. Goals are actionable. I have control of them. Hopes are things I’d like to see, but I can’t control the outcome. For hopes, I hope to publish five titles this year. Spark Of Desire just came out in January, another story is contracted to another publisher and I have a few titles submitted already. I’d also like to land that elusive NY contract. And I want to get my Web site up and running.

Among my goals are finishing three projects. I’m nearly finished with the first one so I’m in good shape for that. I’d also like to be more consistent about blogging. And I plan to test out some new marketing avenues.

LZ: What new marketing avenues are you looking to explore?

CM: I’d like to do more free reads and reading trails. I did one last summer and it was surprising the response I got. I think more consistently and more often would be more better. Plus, I’m always on the look out for opportunities. The best marketing is putting out a new title and I’m hard at work on new books for my current publishers while expanding to one or two new-to-me publishers this year.

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To purchase Spark of Desire from its publisher, Lyrical Press, visit www.lyricalpress.com/spark_of_desire.

For details on or to contact Charlotte McClain, visit charlottemcclain.wordpress.com.