The Getting to Know You Project is intended to introduce RMFW members with short responses to three questions, a photo, and a few social media links if available. If you would like to participate in the project for future months, please email Pat Stoltey at blog@rmfw.org
Travis Heermann
Website: http://www.travisheermann.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Travis-Heermann-Author-155963681137209/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TravisHeermann
1. We know the who (that’s you), so will you give us the what, why, when, where, and how you write?
I write a variety of stuff, leaving no genre unturned. I have a historical fantasy trilogy, a YA supernatural thriller, a science-fiction noir novel I’m shopping, and a horror-western novel debuting in September called Death Wind. The Death Wind original screenplay, co-written with my friend Jim Pinto, gave rise to the novel and won Grand Prize at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, CA, in 2012. I’ve also dabbled in mystery and romance. Am I missing anything?
I write full-time in various capacities, from freelancer to fiction, so my goal is to be writing all the time, even if I don’t always manage it.
The methods I use for composition vary depending on the nature of the piece I’m working on. Sometimes a story seems to demand that I write long-hand first, then transfer to PC. Sometimes I can just crank it out in Scrivener. I can typically finish the first draft of a short story in about a week, with another week or so of reflection and revision. When I’m on a roll, I can do 50k words in a month, so theoretically I could finish a novel in two months, although I have yet to try it.
As for where I work, we recently moved into a house large enough for me to have a private office, and I haven’t had that before, so it will be interesting to see how that works out. Prior to that, and probably still occasionally, I worked in a rotating pool of coffee shops around the Denver area.
The writing bug seized hold of me when I was about twelve, and it’s never been cured. I can’t see myself doing anything else, not anymore, although back in my 20s I tried to deny it for a while. I write because I have to. If I don’t, I get really crabby. You wouldn’t like me when I’m crabby.
2. What is one fun thing few RMFW members know about you?
My family and I just moved back to the States after a year living in New Zealand. During that time, we traveled extensively within NZ, North and South Island, and also in Australia. We made the pilgrimage to several filming sites for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, including Hobbiton and the Weta Workshop. My office door now bears a placard from Bag End saying “No Admittance Except on Party Business.”
3. What is your most favorite non-writing activity, the one that gives you the greatest joy?
That varies, honestly. I love video games (games of all sorts really). I love immersing myself in the experiential and/or strategic thinking of detailed virtual worlds. The Bioshock and Starcraft universes are two of my favorites.
But I also enjoy martial arts. In NZ, I had the good fortune to join a Japanese ju jitsu dojo. I wouldn’t call the training sessions enjoyable–they often involved a great deal of physical pain and exertion–but the feeling of accomplishment gave me a tremendous sense of satisfaction. Over the course of about six months, I achieved the (lowest) rank of white belt, and let me tell you, they do not give those belts away. It’s one of the things I’m proudest of having done in my life.
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Rachel Hoff
Website: http://pencilprincessworkshop.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-hoff-87541644
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachel.hoff.52
1. We know the who (that’s you), so will you give us the what, why, when, where, and how you write?
I write YA sci fi and fantasy because I’m miserable whenever I’m not writing and when I am writing, these are the stories that come to me. My writing time is any time I can wrestle away from handling kids, doing household-chores, and freelance editing, so I write in the early morning or late night, when the kids are at school, or on buses. I write longhand in pencil for first drafts, so those can happen in any clean space. Getting things into the computer usually happens at my desk.
2. What is one fun thing few RMFW members know about you?
As my critique group knows, I lived in China for about a decade before moving to the Denver area five years ago, and my family (husband, two other kids, and I) are now in the process of adopting a teenager from one of the provinces we lived in.
3. What is your most favorite non-writing activity, the one that gives you the greatest joy?
It’s hard to choose, but I think baking is my favorite non-writing or reading activity. I love the way it makes me take my time. I love the texture of dough, and the rhythm of kneading, and the heavenly smell once the bread is in the oven.
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Jennifer Kincheloe
Website: http://www.jenniferkincheloe.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSecretLifeofAnnaBlanc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenkincheloe
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jrkincheloe/
1. We know the who (that’s you), so will you give us the what, why, when, where, and how you write?
I write historical mysteries set in 1900s Los Angeles because no one else was telling the story of the police matrons and female cops who worked for the LAPD back then. They were tough, brilliant, amazing women who transformed law enforcement and were virtually ignored by history. Scotland Yard credits them as creating the first crime prevention program in the world.
Despite the serious subject matter, being serious does not come natural to me, so my books are humorous and light.
I write in bed or at the Botanical Gardens. When I’m in the flow, I write blissfully and constantly (and some days never really get out of bed). When I’m starting a new book, which is terribly difficult for me, it’s painful, my drafts seem hopeless, and it’s very, very slow.
I LOVE revising.
2. What is one fun thing few RMFW members know about you?
I lived for a summer in a remote village in Papua New Guinea where there was no telephone, no mail service, and no roads (not even dirt ones). The only doctor was a shaman. I arrived by flying, driving to where the roads ended, then taking a motorized raft eighteen hours up the Sepik river. The airlines lost our food and luggage, so I wore a beautiful sarong and these neon orange, leopard print men’s briefs that someone gave me. I ate leaves and sago paste. I hunted crocodiles at night from a canoe.
3. What is your most favorite non-writing activity, the one that gives you the greatest joy?
Teaching my kids how to do things, like cooking or replacing toilet seat lids, and seeing them do it; road trips with my husband; hiking alone with my dog; listening to audiobooks; designing research studies and coding statistical analyses.
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Judy Rose
Website: http://www.jrrose.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Judith-Robbins-Rose-ChildrensYA-Author-Candlewick-Press-127997043963855/
1. We know the who (that’s you), so will you give us the what, why, when, where, and how you write?
Though I’ve spent my life writing (print, radio, stage and screen), it is a dream come true to now be writing young adult novels. It’s a challenge—the hardest thing I’ve ever done—and that motivates me. I usually write on my laptop, in my recliner…or whenever the muse comes. I’ve been known to write on napkins and grocery receipts in the car at stop lights.
2. What is one fun thing few RMFW members know about you?
I did standup comedy for a while, at the same time and venues where Roseanne Barr got her start. One of the pros at the Comedy Works in Denver said to me, “If we could take your writing and Roseanne’s delivery, we’d have one really funny person.”
3. What is your most favorite non-writing activity, the one that gives you the greatest joy?
I love working with middle grade students, which is something I didn’t know about myself until I entered the second half of my life. I’ve had a chance to teach acting and writing classes to pre-teens, which is so much fun. Tutoring and mentoring individual students has changed my life.
Thanks to Travis, Rachel, Jennifer, and Judy for participating in these get acquainted Q&A posts.