Spotlight On AdC's Ms January Deborah Camp

Spotlight On

Deborah Camp

AdC’s Ms. January

 

Deborah Camp Spotlight Interview

 

A lover of romance, Deborah writes both historical and contemporary novels. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A former journalist, her first novel was published as one of the first Silhouette Romances through Simon & Shuster. Most of her historical romances (westerns) were published by Avon Publishing. She now deals with Amazon Direct Publishing. She’s an avid reader and, yes, romances are her favorite genre.

 

Do you have a new book or series?

No.. I’m working on getting more people to read the ones I already have out. Marketing is part of publishing, unfortunately. So I’m taking time to spotlight my current list.

If you were transported to the setting of the book you're currently reading or writing, where would you be?

I would be on the high seas! I’m caught up in pirate romances right now and loving them. I haven’t read those since I was a teenager, so it’s great fun to dive back into them after so long. I don’t think I could write one – I’d have to do a massive amount of research – but I love the descriptions of the ocean, stars, and those sexy pirates!

How do you name your characters?

Names are really important to me. I spend a good amount of time finding just the right names. I try not to have main characters with the same beginning letter – such as David and Diane or Rowdy and Rachel – because your eye tends to see the first letter and your brain fills in the rest, so it can get confusing if you’re a fast reader. I often change the names a few times before I finally land on ones that truly fit the characters. This happens because the characters might change as I begin the story. As they change and evolve, their initial names will often become ill-fitting, so I go back to the naming board! It’s a process, but an important one.

What part of the book was the most fun to write?

Well, I’d like to say the sex scenes, but those are horribly tough to write. After so many books, they can become redundant, so they take a long time for me to perfect. The most fun for me are the first three chapters. That’s when I’m creating the world and the people in it. That first scene is crucial – it determines if people keep reading the book or set it aside to do something else. Therefore, I “start in the middle” of something interesting to hook the reader. The tendency for most of us is to build up to a scene, but that’s the wrong tactic if you’re trying to grab someone’s interest. Instead of writing a scene of a heroine getting ready to go shopping, checking herself in the mirror, getting into her car, driving away from her home, and then getting into a car crash, I start with the car crash.

How much fun do you have coming up with names for your characters and how do you find them?

I look through names at the end of movies and television shows and I look through lists of names on the Internet. There are lists of the most popular names for each decade and those are helpful. I use a lot of my relatives’ names, too. We have some doozies in our family tree. For example, there’s a man named Honey (that’s not a nickname, that’s his name) and I had an Uncle P.A. (Prince Albert).

Where and when would you travel to if you were given a time machine?

I would go to Greece right now. That’s a place I’ve wanted to explore since I saw the Disney film “The Moon Spinners” and I read the book by Mary Stewart.

What do you do when you can’t quite get into writing mode?

I make myself stay put and keep at it. That’s what you do when you’re at any job – just keeping working until it’s quittin’ time. Quittin’ time for me is after I’ve written 10 pages.

What traditions do you believe should be brought back?

Men walking on the street side when they are with a female and standing up from the table when a woman returns to the table. Also, men entering an elevator ahead of a woman and allowing her to leave the compartment ahead of him. I love those considerations. Oh, and men removing their hats when they are indoors. That’s one that really bugs me. Almost no one does it anymore. Guys wear their baseball caps everywhere! Even to weddings, funerals, and to court!

What do you like to do when it’s time to kick back?

I’ve been coloring in adult coloring books. I used to love to do that when I was a kid and I find that it’s still something that relaxes me. I’ve never been artistic and this is the closest I’ve come to creating a picture – other than with words. I used to love embroidering and crocheting, but I don’t do that much anymore. I also watch a lot of TV.

Is there something you’ve always wanted to learn to do?

So many things! I’d love to play the piano by ear. I’d like to learn several different languages. I’d like to learn to ride a cutting horse and rope a steer. The list is long!

 

Please give us the following contact information:

Personal web page:  Deborah-Camp.com

Facebook: Debby.Camp.44

 

 

 

 

...131 ...