Recently I sat down with Bonnie Hearn Hill to talk about her newest young adult novel, Taurus Eyes.
I noticed that you have a background as a newspaper editor. What skills did you learn during that period that have helped you as a fiction writer?
I was fortunate because I both wrote and edited. Doing so on a daily basis made me aware of how different the processes are. Many try to write with "editor brain." If you do that, you'll have a few perfect pages but may have difficulty finishing. My years as a newspaper editor gave me great material and exposed me to ideas, topics and people I wouldn't have encountered any other way. Three of my books are newspaper thrillers.
How and when did you first become interested in astrology? And how did you "get it right," as it were?
Hazel Dixon-Cooper, who writes the Rotten Day humorous astrology books as well as for Cosmopolitan magazine, joined my writing workshop 14 years ago. She is my closest friend and a member of my private critique group. You can't be around Hazel without starting to wonder if Mercury is in Retrograde or if the guy with the great hair is a Leo. She critiqued the astrological information in the book, and I learned right along with Logan, my protagonist.
What made you switch from thrillers to writing Y/A? What do you have in common with your heroine, Logan McRae, and how are you different from her?
As a Gemini, I love variety, and I may well write thrillers in the future. This story and this character could only be told as YA. When the idea came to me, I did some research and found very few YA novels with astrology in them. That's not the case for adult fiction.
As for similarities to Logan. Well, I made her an Aquarius so that she wouldn't be like me. I have a want-to-save-the-world Aquarius moon, but I'm a double Gemini, which means I'm much more outgoing than Logan is. I needed to add some fire to her sign and make her more proactive, so I gave her Aries Rising--thus, the title of the book. Aries is a Fire sign and can be really assertive. One of Logan's best friends is a Gemini, and that gave me an opportunity to poke fun at the less-attractive aspects of my sign.
How is writing Y/A different from writing thrillers? And how is it the same?
When you write character-driven fiction, the genre doesn't really change the process, especially since there's a mystery in each of the Star Crossed stories. The books are a little shorter, and I use only one point of view. Other than that, it's unzip myself, zip up Logan's skin and just write.
I notice you belong to the same crime writing associations I do (MWA, ITW, SINC) and even list them on your website. What advice would you give to aspiring writers regarding being "joiners"?
To beginning writers, don't get clubbed. Many aspiring writers get so involved in a writing group that they neglect their own writing. Once you are published, an association is a fine way to stay connected to other writers and to give back. I was one of the first to join ITW and think it's an amazing, proactive and fun organization. I'll be going to Bouchercon this year (I'm only a few hours from San Francisco), and I was one of the founders and volunteer faculty of Yosemite Writers Conference. I also judge various writing contests and speak to groups.
How are you promoting the Star Crossed series? Is promotion different with YA?
I'm working with the best social media expert I know, and she has done an amazing job scheduling me on teen and mom blogs and helping me with the Star Crossed fan page on Facebook. We're also giving away books to bloggers and holding a drawing for an iPod Touch for Facebook fans. Although it's too soon to determine the impact, I know I'm exposed to more readers this way than I have been in more traditional promotions.
You started your own writing group, The Tuesdays (great name). Do you have any advice for other people looking to start their own group?
The Tuesdays (originally the Tuesday Night Writers) grew out of a class I taught in 1990. The students continued to enroll and publish, and finally, I quit charging, and we formed our own group. Most of those people are now my closest friends. I can't tell you how it happened or how I got so lucky.
Instead of starting a group, I would suggest enrolling in various classes on writing. Find people to whom you can relate and then try getting together. Or you might consider teaching a class the way I did. My first class was Writing for Publication, and I was the substitute teacher. In that first eight-week class, someone sold an article, and I was hooked.
What do you most like about writing? Is there anything you most dislike about it?
I love it all, even when I hate it. I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing.
C.E. Lawrence's debut thriller, Silent Screams, coming out in December, recounts NYPD criminal profiler Lee' Campbell's dark journey into the mind of a serial killer. (Kensington Press). She has just completed the sequel, Scorned, to be released in 2010.
