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AAD Spotlight Interview: Manda Collins
1. Tell us a little about yourself. Well, I live and grew up on the Gulf Coast, and I work as an academic librarian when I’m not writing.
2. Did you dream of writing when you were a little girl or did you dream of other thing like being a ballerina (or world domination, like me)? Nope. Didn’t think of growing up to be a writer at all, though I loved books. I wanted to be a detective like Nancy Drew.
3. Were you always interested in historical romance or did you start out interested in something else?
For me, it’s always been historical romance. I started reading Regency romances when I was in middle school and then I found Jane Austen and I was hooked. I also am very interested in the Victorian period, and that’s what I focused during my time in graduate school.
[note from MK: JANE AUSTEN FTW!!!]
4. What is the first book (doesn’t have to be romance) that you can remember making an impact on you and why did it make such an impact? The Secret in the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene. It was my very first Nancy Drew and my mom and I read it together when I was in the first grade. I loved everything about it.
5. What is your writing process? It’s been different for every book. Something that has remained consistent is that I need to have some kind of outline. Even if it’s just very brief, I need to know what the major conflict is going to be between the hero and the heroine. I need to know the basic beginning, middle and end. It doesn’t even have to be detailed, but I’ve found that if I don’t have a plan when I start out I write myself into corners and waste a lot of time. If I have a plan, I stay on target and am more consistent as I go.
6. How do you approach revising? I generally do one pass of revisions after I finish my first draft. Then I send it out to beta readers and incorporate their suggestions into the manuscript. When that’s finished I send it to my editor and when I receive her editorial notes I do one final round of revisions. There’s an old saying that “writing is re-writing” and I think that for the most part, it’s true. I would never want that first draft of mine to see the light of day, or be seen by anyone but my very close friends or my editor.
7. What authors inspire you? Gosh, so many of them. When I was a college student I used to read and re-read Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn’s bios and dream of getting published right out of school. Of course things didn’t work out that way for me, but I definitely think it’s amazing that they sold so soon after finishing college. I also am constantly amazed by the generosity of some writers. Eloisa James has been very gracious and helpful to lots of up and coming authors. Brenda Novak inspires me with her yearly auction. I could go on and on.
8. What are your top 5 comfort reads? Wow! Great question! In no particular order, Sea Swept by Nora Roberts, Simply Married by Mary Balogh, Much Ado About You by Eloisa James, You Can’t Hide by Karen Rose, Lady Be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
[Note from MK: I love Sea Swept!!]
9. Do you have a day job? If so, do you see yourself being able to (or even wanting to) leave it any time in the future to pursue writing full time? Yes, I do. I’m an academic librarian. I love my job but of course it would be wonderful to pursue writing full time. Not there yet, but I hope in the not too distant future
10. What is your goal as a writer? My goal is to write stories that will take people away from the day to day angst and drama of regular life and provide them with an entertaining and absorbing read.
11. What do you love most about writing? I like the planning stages the most, I think. There can be a lot of discovery during the writing process, but there’s nothing that compares to the giddy excitement of coming up with a new idea and feeling it begin to take shape. It’s wonderful.
12. What do you hate most about writing? I hate knowing that I have to get my words in for the day. Once I get started I’m fine, but actually getting to that point takes a lot of determination because for some reason I always start out wishing I could do something else. Of course once I’m finished I’m always glad that I kept at it.
13. What are you reading right now? Right now I’m reading Shiloh Walker’s If You See Her and A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant.
14. What is most challenging about writing historical romance? Getting the feel for the period right without sacrificing entertainment value or readability.
15. What is your current work in progress? I’m about to dive into my editor’s suggestions for my revision of the third book in the Ugly Ducklings Trilogy, How to Entice an Earl
16. Out of everything that you’ve written, what has been your favorite? I’m not sure I have a favorite yet. How to Romance a Rake was the most challenging emotionally, since it dealt with the heroine’s very serious disability. How to Dance with a Duke was the most fun to write. I don’t think I can choose.
17. Have you published anything that you wish you could go back and re-write? Not yet! Knock on wood!
18. Is there anything else you would like to share with us? Just that I’m very excited to be attending my first ever AAD event this fall. Hopefully I’ll meet a lot of you there!
THIS OR THAT
1. Peanut butter or jelly? Peanut Butter
2. Chips or cookies? Cookies
3. Bacon or sausage? Bacon
4. Print or eBook? E-book
5. Pen or pencil? Pen
6. Print or cursive? Cursive
7. Notebook or computer? Computer
8. Kleenex or handkerchief? Kleenex
9. Zombies or vampires? Vampires
10. Angel or Spike? Spike
Manda Collins spent her teen years wishing she’d been born a couple of centuries earlier, preferably in the English countryside. Time travel being what it is, she resigned herself to life with electricity and indoor plumbing, and read lots of books. An affinity for books led to a graduate degree in English, followed by another in Librarianship. By day, she works as an academic librarian at a small liberal arts college, where she teaches college students how to navigate the tangled world of academic research. A native of coastal Alabama, Manda lives in the house her mother grew up in with three cats, sometimes a dog, sometimes her sister, and more books than strictly necessary.
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