Terry Odell interview

This interview with Terry Odell was published in September 2008. Terry Odell is the author of Finding Sarah and What's In a Name?.

Terry Odell

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Los Angeles, California. Unlike most Angelinos, I was a native, although eventually I moved across the country to Florida.

What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?

I was never one of those "knew I was destined to be a writer from birth" people. I actually got into it by mistake, but since I had no more room on my walls for needlepoint, writing became another creative outlet for me.

Which writers have influenced you the most?

So many … Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for introducing me to Sherlock Holmes and a love of mystery. J.D. Robb for showing me how it can be all about the characters. Barbara Parker for taking the time to mentor my early attempts at writing. I could list ALL the authors on my bookshelves, but there's not room here. I learn something from every one of them, even if it's only, "I can do better than that!"

What kind of things do you write?

I thought I was writing mystery, but my daughter told me I was writing romance. So, I guess I write romantic mystery, although the booksellers insist that the genre is called "romantic suspense". The books I write for Cerridwen Press are released in digital format first, but two of them, Finding Sarah and What's in a Name? are also available in print. I've also written a handful of contemporary romance short stories, which are published by The Wild Rose Press and available in digital format only.

What are you working on now?

Follow up books to my December Five Star Expressions release, When Danger Calls. The first, Where Danger Hides features one of the secondary characters who wanted some page time. And a character from that book, a cocky Aussie, also demanded his story be told. It's a work in progress, as yet untitled.

What is your writing day like?

Get up, post to my blogs if I have an entry for that day. Visit some favorite sites. Once I'm coherent, I take whatever book I'm reading and go to the Y. I find the recumbent bike and a book help clear the brain pathways. Mornings are for re-reading what I wrote the night before, applying feedback from my crit partners, and reading any of their subs for my own feedback. I then figure out what plot points the next scene or scenes have to cover, and figure out how to get there. Sometimes writing is wandering around the house listening to my characters. Sometimes, it's just transcribing whatever they're telling me. But I can't plot more than a few scenes ahead. I know where the book is going, but the route is flexible.

What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?

Discovering things I didn't know about my characters. That Randy played piano. That Graham was a gourmet cook. That Dalton had been married before. Letting characters take the bit and run with it for a while. And then finding that the 'discovery' has already been set up in sub text of the plot, I just wasn't aware of it on a conscious level at the time.

What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?

I really don't get frustrated. It's hard work. Anyone who doesn't know that shouldn't be in the business. But I suppose it would have to be the self-promotion required if you're published by smaller presses and aren't on the NYT bestseller list.

What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience?

I'm not sure "audience" is the right word, because my readers don't usually give me advice when the comment on my books or short stories. But from writing mentors, it would be "You have to find what works for you." There's no real handbook. However you get the words get on the page to tell the story is the way to write.

Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?

I have to like what I'm writing first, especially the characters. There are some genre expectations, but there are no real rules, either. For every 'rule' that says you can't do this, or you have to do that, you can find books that don't fit those restraints.

Do you have a homepage? Do you have any short stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):

My website is http://www.terryodell.com. From there, you can access my blog, get some behind the scenes peeks at how I wrote my stories, read the first chapters for free, and there's a free reads section with some stories that aren't published anywhere else.

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