The RMFW Spotlight is on Angela La Voie, Volunteer Coordinator

Our monthly feature, The RMFW Spotlight, is intended to provide members of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers with more information about our board members as well as featured volunteers. This month we’re pleased to present our Volunteer Coordinator, Angela La Voie.

1. Welcome to the blog, Angela. Tell us what you do for RMFW and why you are involved.

I am the Volunteer Coordinator for RMFW and Colorado Gold. The people in RMFW were so welcoming when I joined. I’d like to help create that same experience for members wishing to share their time and talents with the organization.

2. What is your current WIP or most recent publication, and where can we buy a book, if available?

I’m working on the rewrite of a novel set during the Korean War.

3. We’ve all heard of bucket lists — you know, those life-wish lists of experiences, dreams or goals we want to accomplish– what’s one of yours?

I’ve done several big ones on my list, including climbing a fourteener, completing a sprint-distance triathlon and two half-marathons, even flying in a small aircraft and steering the plane (briefly!). There’s much to be said for achievements. I value the quieter things, too. On a recent visit with my niece, she was asking me questions about my wedding. She was eight at the time and doesn’t remember much even though she was in the wedding party. She’s a teenager now, an aspiring writer, and an Anglophile. She wants to become a tea drinker and lamented that she didn’t remember the high-tea bridal shower at the Brown Palace Hotel (She’s not your typical teen!). I’d love to take her there for high tea. That would involve a cross-country trip for both of us, but it would make for a fun memory.

4. Most writers have an Achilles heel with their writing. Confess, what’s yours?

Learning to trust my instincts about my process has taken time. I tend to draft with a lot of summary to put a footprint in place with as much of the territory that I can see. These sketches let me slow down and have patience to work through the discovery process, the imagery, and the music of the language. As I rewrite, I both layer in detail and strip out everything that rings false. I fought against these tendencies until I learned to allow myself a crummy first draft that’s for me alone to guide my work.

5. What do you love most about the writing life?

I most enjoy the opportunity to continue to evolve—to try new things and dig in deeper.

6. Now that you have a little writing experience, what advice would you go back and give yourself as a beginning writer?

I would tell myself to have faith that all life experiences connect. Journalism taught me how to publish on a daily deadline. Business taught me about marketing, business development, and project management. Although seemingly extraneous to writing, these skills are important to authors today.

7. What does your desk look like? What item must be on your desk? Do you have any personal, fun items you keep on it?

My desk is handcrafted from natural cherry in a simple Shaker style. The color of the wood reminds me of the tropics. My desktop is a rotating gallery of objects that inspire me. Right now, I have some hydrangeas from my garden, a tiny watercolor calendar, a glass bird a friend gave me, and a photo of my husband and me. My mousepad has a collage of family photos. The extension table is stacked with research and drafts of my novel. I’m in the process of piecing together the sections. As long as I have coffee in the morning and a refilled water glass throughout the day, I can work.

8. What book are you currently reading (or what was the last one you read)?

I just started reading What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan.

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Learn more about Angela and her work at her website. She can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.