Getting to Know Me

This week, I’m part of the Getting-to-Know-You Blogfest, a project from The Romantic Suspense group (#43) in Rachael Harrie’s Platform  Building Campaign. After signing up with this blog, I realized I should have signed up with my Kris Bock blog, since that’s my romantic suspense persona. But I couldn’t figure out how to remove the original link, so I decided I’d better do both!

If you are more interested in my Kris Bock persona, you can see my romantic suspense author answers on my website blog.

Now writing as children’s book writer/writing teacher/journalist Chris Eboch, here are my answers to these questions:

1. Name two authors who inspire you.

How do you choose just two? But as I pondered this question, my friend Molly Blaisdell came to mind. She’s worked so hard for so many years, finding some success with work for hire while working on novel after novel without yet selling one. Her perseverance is an inspiration. Sign up for her Seize the Day blog if you need a weekly dose of positive attitude. I could name a dozen other writing friends who inspire me with their hard work, perseverance, and generosity.

2. How did you start writing in your genre?

I originally thought I wanted to write magazine nonfiction for grown-ups, but it turns out my journalism training is good for writing middle grade novels as well, since they need tight writing and relatively simple language. I wrote my first kid’s book, The Well of Sacrifice, for fun while looking for magazine jobs. It sold and is still used in schools when kids study the Maya. If I hadn’t sold that book, I might’ve gone in another direction, but that convinced me to keep writing for children.

3. You've landed a meeting with your dream agent. Write a one paragraph pitch to sell your novel to him/her. (No more than four sentences)

For The Eyes of Pharaoh, a middle grade mystery set in Egypt in 1177 BC:

When Reya hints that Egypt is in danger from foreign nomads, Seshta and Horus don’t take him seriously. How could anyone challenge Egypt? Then Reya disappears. To save their friend, Seshta and Horus spy on merchants, soldiers, and royalty, and start to suspect even The Eyes of Pharaoh, the powerful head of the secret police.

4. Sabotage or accident- which would put your female lead through and why?

Some of each, including some “accidents” caused by the character’s own bad judgment. My characters often get themselves in trouble by meddling where they’re not wanted. But then, you can’t just let the bad guys win without a fight!

5. Plotter or Pantser? Who are you?

My earlier books were more seat-of-the-pants, but as I’ve learned more about how to construct a novel, I’ve found that brainstorming extensively and outlining in advance saves me time and heartache. But I’ve also used my Plot Arc Exercise to analyze completed drafts and find out where they need work. You can download the Plot Arc Exercise from my Kris Bock website, if you’d like to see how it works, or follow the links under “novel revision” in the list to the right.

Visit more authors from the blogfest through the links here.