Joy Avery, Novelist
Blog Tag: The Writing Life
My thanks to Joan Leotta for inviting me to participate in this blog tag. Joan is a story performer and a versatile writer with published works and awards in a variety of genres: essays, feature stories, poetry, short fiction and novels. Her Legacy of Honor Series, published by Desert Breeze, includes “Giulia goes to War,” “Letters from Korea,” and most recently “A Bowl of Rice.” She is working on a fourth in the series. Among her other publications are “Cottonwood Grove” and “A Complete Guide to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.”
Joan can be reached at www.joanleotta.wordpress.com and at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joan-Leotta-Author-and-Story-Performer/188479350973
My answers to the blog tag questions:
What are you working on now? I write feature stories for The Sun News, the Myrtle Beach, S.C. daily, and for South Brunswick and North Brunswick magazines. My stories highlight activities in Brunswick County, N.C. and Horry County, S.C. I am also working on The Terra Lane Trilogy and seeking a publisher. The novels concern women who face overwhelming obstacles, e.g., illiteracy, grief and rape. They must find ways to overcome these obstacles and find their destiny.
How does your work differ from others in its genre? I like to make the writing flow so everyone understands it no matter how complicated the topic is or how complicated the person I’m profiling is.
Why do you write what you do? I love it! I like writing feature stories because I like to listen to what people have to say about themselves, their jobs, their neighborhoods or the topic of the story. I learn so very much. I like writing what I call “issue” novels because it makes people think about obstacles others have to face and how them overcome them.
How does your writing process work? I work on my assignments in the morning—research and interviews. After going over my notes, I decide how much time I need to get the piece done by the deadline. I give myself enough time to let the story sit overnight before I send it in. It’s amazing how much I can improve on it after it rests awhile. I work on my novel in late afternoon and in the evening. I seldom take a day off. I like writing that much!
Now a bit about the two writers who will continue this blog tag.
Joy Avery is a North Carolina native with a passion for penning contemporary romances. Her stories guide readers along the rutted roads of love, delivering them to a gratifying happily ever after. Joy recently self-published her first romance novel, SMOKE IN THE CITI. She is currently hard at work on her next project, HIS UNTIL SUNRISE, a contemporary romance set in fictional Indigo Falls, NC.
Joy is a member of Romance Writers of America and Heart of Carolina Romance Writers. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, cake decorating, pretending to expertly play the piano, driving her husband insane, and playing with her sixteen-pound peek-a-poo and hundred-pound Rottweiler. She can be reached at www.joyavery.com, www.facebook.com/authorjoyavery, www.twitter.com/authorjoyavery and www.goodreads.com/authorjoyavery.
Elsie Elmore, Novelist
Elsie Elmore lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children. She loves the color red, has an appreciation for chocolate and coffee that borders on obsession, and wishes fall temperatures would linger year round.
Elsie is a member of several writing organizations: RWA, SCBWI, and WSW. The Undead:: Playing for Keeps is her debut novel and will be available in September. Find her on the web at www.elsieelmore.com, on Twitter at @ElsieWriter, her blog at elsieelmore.com, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elsieelmorewriter.
