Originally published here.
Hello, everyone! A little about me -- and it's not all that fascinating, so I'll be brief. I was born in the bootheel of Missouri (Hayti, to be exact) and moved from there when I was two years old to Tulsa, OK where I stuck. In fact, I went to school within a mile radius of my home -- from kindergarten to university! When I was a kid, I rode my bike and skateboard all around the university where I eventually earned my Bachelor's degree. After graduation, I worked as a newspaper reporter before quitting to be a fulltime novelist. That was in the early 1980s and I've been writing books ever since.
When did the writing bug hit you?
My mother introduced me to romance novels and I read them almost exclusively. When I was a kid, I'd "rewrite" TV shows, so I've always been interested in creating stories. I recall reading Mary Stewart's book The Moon Spinners. I loved that book and the movie. On the back of the book was a photo of the author and a short biography. I can vividly recall realizing that this wonderful book was written by a woman -- an English woman who didn't look that different from any other woman. Could I write a book like this one day? Was it possible that I could be like Mary Stewart? A seed was planted at that moment and my dreams nurtured it. Every romance I read after that, I looked at as a textbook. I studied them. I marked on them, noting when the First time the character names were used, the first touch, the first kiss, how dialogue was punctuated, words that were used to denote romance or suspense, the length of the chapters, and how many scenes were in each chapter. I learned how to write romances from the best teachers in the world -- Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Emilie Loring, Janet Dailey and LaVyrle Spencer.
As luck would have it, I met two women who were writers and they urged me to join the local writers' club. I did and then I joined a writers' critique group, which helped me hone my skills. I'm a charter member of the Romance Writers of America and attended the First national conference. However, I'd already had my books accepted by a publisher and I had a literary agent by the time I went to Houston for that conference. I'd read a blind ad in Writers Digest asking for romance manuscripts and I sent one. Turned out to be Simon&Schuster and they were launching their Silhouette romance line. My book was one of the first ones. I wrote several contemporary romances for them after that.
With every book I write, I learn. With every book I read, I aspire. To be a good writer, you must be an excellent reader. I love romances, so that's mostly what I read and I don't limit myself to certain authors. I read about 60 to 75 books a year and a good portion of them are by authors I'd never read before. Right now I'm reading two romances and listening to a third one.
What drew you to Historical Westerns?
LaVyrle Spencer's books are why I started writing historical romances. I fell in love with her books and her impressive writing. I had never been an historical romance reader before I happened upon her books. They were so richly told and the characters were memorable and touching. I wanted to try my hand at them, so I did and Avon Romances bought the first one I submitted (Blazing Embers). Although I hated the title they insisted on, I was thrilled to branch out into historical romance fiction. My title was Hellcat, but they thought that was too offensive. Oh. Well.
Writing westerns still makes me giggle because I never saw myself doing it! When I began writing my first historical, I was amazed that I could conjure up western things. Where had I learned this stuff? I'm a city girl! Then it dawned on me. From the time I was a toddler, I sat in front of a TV and watched Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. I had a rocking chair with Hopalong Cassidy on it! My dad watched every western available as I was growing up and there were a lot of them on TV back then. Bonanza, High Chaparral, Have Gun, Will Travel, Paladin, Gunsmoke, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Maverick, Wagon Train, Laramie, The Rifleman, Rawhide, Bat Masterson, The Virginian, Sugarfoot, The Big Valley, Wyatt Earp, Death Valley Days, Branded, Colt 45 -- to name a few. I watched them all with my parents and sister. Obviously, some of that information settled into my brain and flowed forth when I sat down to write a romance set in the 1800s wild west. It was as if I'd been schooled for a career I didn't see coming!
What about your romantic suspense, what prompted or drove you to write in this genre?
Romantic suspense was something I loved to read, but I didn't think I could write. However, I kept thinking about a story that had paranormal elements. I've been interested in ESP since high school when I met a boy who was gifted in it. He could do amazing things. For example, I could think about something -- an apple -- and he would guess what I was thinking about. He was about 98 percent on target. I had this plot circling in my brain for a decade. I had spoken to three literary agents about it and never received any encouragement to write the book. In fact, they all told me to write something that would sell and that book wasn't it. When indie authors took off on Amazon, I signed with a literary agent and told her about my romantic suspense idea. Again, crickets. But this time I didn't back away from the idea. I wrote the book for my own amusement and to simply get it on paper. It was a fantastic experience for me. For years, I had written what agents and editors wanted me to write. Finally, I was writing for me.
That's how my Mind's Eye series was born. I wrote the first book and it was entirely too long. I'd been writing just for me, remember? It was 600 plus pages and my agent said I had to cut it by half. Eventually, I wrote six books for that series and I never had so much fun writing! I loved every second of it because I loved those characters and all the elements of ESP.
What do you see the differences and the commonalities are in writing traditionally and indie?
Being an indie author is freeing, but it has its drawbacks. Mainly, marketing and distribution. Finding readers for indie authors is an ongoing task. I marvel at those who have thousands and thousands of followers on platforms like Goodreads and Bookbub. I can't even imagine that. I've spent a lot of time marketing my work and I feel I've earned every single reader from those efforts. With mass marketing, the publishers send the books to bookstores and have marketing clout on Amazon, etc. Their authors have a springboard to hundreds and hundreds of sales. For indie authors like me, that isn't in the cards. If we don't spend money advertising, marketing, sending newsletters, participating on Facebook and Twitter, doing blog tours, and on and on, our books sink to the bottom of the Amazon barrel.
What is wonderful about being independent is that I write books I want to write! I parted company with traditional publishers because they were cramming me into a box and I finally said, "Enough! I quit!" Editors at the major romance houses wanted me to write "cowboy/baby/daddy" books and I was sick of it. No matter what synopsis I turned in, they nixed it unless it was "cowboy/baby/daddy" plot. The industry was changing and I wasn't crazy about where it was headed, so I "retired" from the romance writing field for several years. then, out of the blue, I received an email from a literary agent I'd known years ago. She wanted to assist me in putting my backlist on Amazon. I spoke a couple of times with her and signed on the dotted line. I was back in business!
Easier said than done, right? Right.
I didn't have a website or Twitter account. I was barely on Facebook. I had to start all over again and learn how to market my books. My agent helped a lot. Well, she mainly berated me by phone and told me to get off my butt and get serious. It was all up to me to find readers! Yikes. I owe a lot to my agent. She resurrected me.
You also taught fiction writing at the college level, how did you inspire your students?
When I was teaching, every so often a student would approach me and ask in a sad voice, "Do you think I should quit trying to be a writer?" And I would answer in a firm voice, "Yes, please do." Then I would explain, "Look, if all it takes is for me to tell you to quit, then you're not a writer anyway. Writers write because they must. Doesn't matter if anyone reads what I write. I can't not write because I can't stop the stories from popping up in my head."
Sometimes I'm asked where I get my ideas or if I'm afraid I'll run out of stories to tell. Writers know the answers to these questions. I get my ideas from breathing and I'll run out of them when I stop breathing. Are writers born? Yes. Are good writers born? No. As with any profession, you must study your craft. Possessing the desire is only part of the journey to becoming a writer.
What's on the horizon now for Deborah Camp?Next year I'm also releasing a contemporary romance. I'm writing it now and I like how it's turning out. It's a friends-to-lovers plot set in New York City. That is a place I know something about since the love of my life lives there. Yes, I have a long-distance romance, but I'm not worried about it "working out." We've been together for more than 30 years, so it's safe to say that we've got this. I also have three dogs. I work with Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) in Tulsa. And, yes, my dogs are ARF rescues. Slim (a min pin/chihuahua mix from a puppy mill), Mr. Darcy ((a chihuahua) and Mr. Christian Grey (a toy poodle/shih-tzu mix). Mr. Christian Grey fits his name perfectly because he's handsome and a little kinky. Since I never married and don't have children, the dogs are my babies.
These days I spend most of my time in Tulsa, but I'm in New York every few months because my guy shouldn't do all the traveling. I enjoy writing. Some days it is extremely difficult and other days it's so engaging that hours fly by without me being aware of it. If I didn't have to empty my bladder or let the dogs out to empty theirs, I wouldn't move from my chair on those days when the words flow like a mighty river. Mostly, I tell myself that I'm so very lucky to have made my living as a writer all these years. When I quit my newspaper job, I had put back enough money to see me through two years. If I had to go back to a regular job after that, then I would be grateful for those two years. I was able to continue past two years as a novelist and I'm grateful every single day for the pleasure of doing what I love. So few people get to work at something that was a distant dream that miraculously came to fruition. I'm one of the lucky ones. I write about people falling in love. Can it get any better than that?
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