Julianne MacLean (also under the pseudonym E.V. Mitchell) is a USA Today Bestselling author and the author of The Color of Heaven and 14 other books. She has won numerous awards for her romance books. Before we get to the interview and tour of Julianne’s office, here is a book description of The Color of Heaven: Sophie Duncan is a successful columnist whose world falls apart after her daughter’s unexpected illness and her husband’s shocking affair. When it seems nothing else could possibly go wrong, her car skids off an icy road and plunges into a frozen lake. There, in the cold dark depths of the water, a profound and extraordinary experience unlocks the surprising secrets from Sophie’s past, and teaches her what it means to truly live…and love.
Interview with Julianne MacLean
Q. What is your writing day like?
Most weekdays are like this: I wake early, get my daughter off to school, then I make coffee. I sit down at the computer in my family room and answer emails, hang out on Facebook, check what’s happening on Twitter, and add updates to my website. By then it’s 10am. I go for a half-hour run, then shower and eat lunch. I’m not much of a morning writer, so it’s almost 1pm by the time I head downstairs to my office in the farthest corner of the basement. (Want to see what it looks like? Click here for a video tour.)
This part is important: I do not have internet access or email in my office, so when I am writing, there are no distractions. I start out by revising previous pages, (I am a big rewriter). My daughter comes home from school around 3, so I take a break and hang out with her for a while. Then while she does homework, I cook supper. My husband comes home, we all eat dinner together, clean up, hang out, then I go into the dining room off the kitchen and write on my laptop for another hour or two while Stephen and Laura chill, watch tv, etc. I usually stop at 8pm or so. (I aim for 5 new pages per day.) Not every day is exactly like this, because I also take my daughter to dance class five days a week, but somehow I manage to make it all fit around her schedule. This is fairly typical when I’m under deadline.
Q. How long did it take you to sell your first book?
Six years. I wrote five manuscripts and spent that time learning the craft and the business of writing. I joined Romance Writers of America (I highly recommend this to anyone interested in writing romance). I attended romance writing conferences, entered contests and submitted my work everywhere. I received many rejections but never gave up. Persistence is key.
Q. Are your books available as Ebooks?
Yes, all my books are available in Ebook format.
Q. Do you do a lot of research?
Yes, a ton, and I love it. It’s a nice break from filling a blank page. When my creative well is empty, research fills it up.
Q. Do you plot in advance or write by the seat of your pants?
A little of both. Since I moved to St. Martins, I’ve started to write a longer, more detailed synopsis that shows the character’s backstories up front (thanks to my friend Gayle Callen who showed me how to write a better synopsis). This has helped me to figure out more things before I start writing, but the ending always turns out differently than what I planned. Mostly, I have the main plot points outlined, but everything in between depends on how the characters are feeling and reacting on a scene-by-scene basis. Each day is usually a surprise. When I sit down I have a general idea of what’s supposed to happen, but the details and the all-important dialogue are mysteries until I start writing.
Q Do you ever have to change or rewrite your books?
I am always rewriting, Every day I polish what I wrote the day before, and I have a critique partner who reads my full manuscript and offers suggestions before I send it to my editor. Once my editor receives it, she suggests more ways to improve it, and I do another revision. Then it goes to a copy editor at the publisher who does a line edit, and I see it again to make more changes. Lastly, I get to approve the final version just before it goes to print, and even then, I still might find some errors.
Q. How long does it take you to write a book?
I write 30 new pages per week, but then I need time at the end to revise, so about 4-5 months. But it takes me about two months to come up with an idea and flesh it out before I even start writing, so I would say realistically that I can deliver a book about every 7 months.
DBT: THE COLOR OF HEAVEN is a contemporary romance and is released under the pseudonym E.V. Mitchell.
Visit the E.V. Mitchell website for more information.
Visit the website of USA Bestselling Author Julianne MacLean.
Twitter @JulianneMacLean
