Romance Junkies Interview

I did an interview with Romance Junkies in March 2006, that is no longer available on their website, but I thought you all might like to read it here, since I think Brooke answered some very fun and thought provoking questions. Thanks Brooke!

Hi, Regina and welcome. I am so glad you could join us here at
RomanceJunkies. To start, will you please tell us a little bit about
your current projects?

Hi Brooke, thank you for the warm welcome, I'm happy to be here. Presently I am working on the first book of a new series I'm starting titled The Keepers of Eternity. It's a time travel/suspense romance. The main character is an ex-Homeland Security Agent turned PI who has "gifts." During the course of some of her work she stumbles on a killer who appears to have the ability to commit murder and then escape to another time period. She along with help from relatives, and a couple of her ancestors goes into the distant past to stop him from killing again. Along the way she meets Alaric, and they fall in love. The only problem is he's from the past and she's not.

I'm also working on a non-fiction work entitled All Our Tomorrows: A Practical Guide to Working With the Spiritual Universe. It may be of interest to those who want to know where I get my spiritual information and some of my ideas for my fiction works.

On days when you are bone tired, but know you must get at least a few
pages done, how do you motivate yourself to get going?

I do a couple of things, first I eat something, I have to have the calories to burn! Then I sit down at my computer open the chapter I'm working on and just start writing. I've learned over the years not to allow my internal editor to take over, and believe me she wants to! I'm usually able to get at least a few pages done using this method. If for some reason I still can't get jump started I'll journal for a bit to see if I can get the juices flowing and that usually does the trick and I'm able to get going with whatever I'm working on.

If you could retrace your path to publication, what would you do
differently?

I would have created my marketing plan about 6 months prior to publication, and I would have done my research on that ahead of time so that I knew what methods worked best. Also, I'd have started sending out copies to be reviewed and requesting reviews before publication rather than waiting until the book was out.

Ever lose a chapter, or horrors! a manuscript, to a computer crash? 
Are you good about backing up your work…or is that something you wish you
were better at?

Oh, yeah. I lost almost the entire manuscript for Getting Out Alive when my laptop crashed. Needless to say I almost had heart failure. Fortunately for me though, I had sent via e-mail all of it except for one chapter to a relative and so was able to get most it back, and I rewrote the missing chapter. After that I learned my lesson, I save everything in two or three places now so that this can't happen again. I wasn't so good at it before, but I am now. One case of almost heart failure was enough to convince me to make sure I had numerous copies.

It seems to happen to everyone…what is your secret tip for dealing with
a dreaded rejection letter?

I remind myself not everyone is going to like my writing style, and just because this person didn't doesn't mean someone else won't. I believe in seeing the glass as half full rather than half empty. I look at the manuscript again, see if I can figure out if I need to rewrite or improve anything and if I do, I do that, and then ship it out again.

What is it about watercolors that draws you over other paint mediums?
What is your favorite subject to paint?

I love how soft watercolors look; there's never any harshness or sharp lines with watercolors. Almost all my watercolor paintings with few exceptions are of things from my dreams. I dream almost exclusively in color and many of the scenes lend themselves very well to being recreated in watercolors.

Woo Hoo!  You step outside and find an envelope with your name on it,
and inside is $5,000!  How are you going to spend it?

Well, the practical side of me would probably want to pay rent ahead for a couple of months. After that I'd probably want to use the rest to help build a nest egg, so I could write full-time for a bit. Also, I'd spend some of it on marketing my books; bookmarks, ads things like that.

If you weren’t pursuing turning writing into a full-time job, what
other career would you love to have?  What is the current day-job that takes
you away from your writing?

At the moment I'm writing full-time, but when I do have a job it's as an Administrative Specialist. If I couldn't be a writer, I think I'd enjoy being a full-time artist. In addition to watercolors I also create Native American beadwork.

How did you meet your husband?  Did you know he was “the one” right
away, or did he have to convince you a bit?

I met my husband in college. I knew he was "the one" the first time I saw him walking up the steps and passing my office, so no he didn't have to convince me. Actually, he was the one who needed a bit of convincing.

What is the most romantic way to spend a cold winter’s evening?

For me it's snuggled up on the couch with my hubby and watching movies we've picked out. If there's a fireplace with a roaring fire that's even better.

How do you describe Regina Paul?  How does Regina Paul’s husband
describe her?

I would describe myself as creative, spiritual, and fun-loving. I can also be stubborn at times. If I believe something is worth fighting for I give it 110%, and it's difficult to get me to change my mind.

My husband is fond of calling me the "random element" in the family, and I think that probably says it all as to how he would describe me.

MORE FUN…

Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions this year?  Have you stuck to
them or have they gone by the wayside?  What is the one you made and
actually kept?

I gave up making New Years Resolutions a long time ago as I can never seem to follow through with them. The closest thing I got to a New Years Resolution this year was deciding I was going to excercise regularly and eat in a more healthy fashion. So far I'm keeping that one going on a week now. Only time will tell if I'll be able to stick to it.

Are you a breakfast person?  Do you like breakfast foods at other times
of the day?

Not really, but I love breakfast foods, and I eat them all times of the day.

Which would be better, and why:  a maid for a day or a day at the spa?

A maid for the day. I hate housecleaning, and I could get a lot of writing done knowing the house was clean. Not having to stop and do chores would be wonderful!

Name the one household chore that should be abolished.  Which one do
you not mind doing at all?

That's easy, cleaning the toilet. Out of all the household chores about the only I don't mind doing is vacuuming.

And lastly, no interview of a writer would be complete without this
question:  what is your favorite comfort food?

That would be chocolate, hands down.