Blog Tour: Vanessa Barger

Where do you hail from and what do you love most about your hometown?

1. I was born in West Virginia, but we moved a lot when I was kid. Despite going back to visit family at least once a year, I suppose Virginia Beach would be my hometown, since we moved there when I was in the fourth grade and stayed. I think the part I love most about it is two fold. I love the ocean, and couldn’t imagine not living near it now. I also love the laid back, southern friendliness side of it.

• As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? How has that childhood dream affected your career?

1. I wanted to be lots of things. But writer was always at the top of my list. Ever since I won an essay contest in Kindergarten and got to each lunch with Norman Bridwell (The Clifford author).

• Tell us about your latest book.  Do you have anything new in the works and can you tell us a bit about it?

1. The latest published book is Slack Tide. It’s a Young Adult romance about a girl who is the answer to a selkie prophecy. Problem is, the thing reads like she’ll have to die in order to break the curse. Obviously, she sees a problem with that and has to work with the selkie boy she has a crush on to try and change what fate has in store for her.
2. I recently finished a YA that straddles the line between horror and romance called Shame the Devil. I have yet to find a home for it, but we’re working on that. In the meantime, I’ve got a couple new things I’m working on – another YA horror than I’m doing my best to make VERY creepy, and which is turning out to be far more complicated than I had planned. The characters seem to have a mind of their own. There are always a couple of other stories going on in the background, but right now I’m focused on the horror novel.

• Have you ever used contemporary events or stories “ripped from the headlines” in your work?

1. I can’t say I’ve used any headlines (though I do save interesting ones in my writing journal just in case), but I do use events that happen in the high school where I teach as inspiration for scenes, and Shame the Devil was inspired by a couple of the paranormal reality shows that are currently so popular. One host, in particular, was the inspiration for the host of the show in mine.

• Is there anything you find particularly challenging about writing?

1. I find making a writing routine very challenging. As a teacher, I spend a lot of my time working on school stuff, and writing gets done in the random bits of downtime. Every time I try to set a schedule, I fail at it. Miserably. I also find it difficult sometimes to get down words when inspiration strikes. It always seems to come when I am nowhere near pen and paper or can’t stop to do anything about it. Driving, for instance. I finally broke down and bought a digital recorder just for those circumstances. And it seems to have been a good purchase.

• What advice would you give to writers just starting out?

1. Write. All the time. Even if you think it sucks. Sometimes, you just have to get all the cliché, already-done stuff out before the good stuff comes. Don’t worry about editing as you go. If you try to edit as you write, you’ll get bogged down and forget where you were headed.
2. Find a critique group, preferably with people you don’t know. A critique group is one of the best investments of your time I can think of. They give you honest feedback, support, and understanding. The group of ladies I work with now are some of the best on the planet. We have never met, and yet I think I can count them as some of the best people and friends I know. They know when you’re getting lazy, when you’re making the same mistakes over and over and they call you on it. But they also provide support when you have one of those, “Why did I decide to do this?” moments. (And everyone has them.)
3. Last, stick with it. Writing, in general, is not something you make a career of quickly. It takes work and perserverance.

• Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

1. Yes. I think everyone does. But most of the time its of my own making. Sometimes just stepping aside and looking at something else helps. When its really bad, I force myself to do writing prompts everyday. I have a book with guided prompts, but you can just use a picture. I usually set a word count and force myself to complete it. Sometimes what comes out is crap. Sometimes not. But what you writing isn’t as important as making yourself do it. The other thing is to read. One of my critique group members calls it “refilling her word count.”

• Who is your favorite author and why? What books have most influenced your life?

1. Oh man, that’s a hard question. I have so many! But if I had to name top three (sorry!) It would be Shakespeare, Austen, and Tolkien. They make me believe in the English language when I’ve read thirty five papers filled with text-speak.
2. As for specific books, I always loved Hamlet, because of the complex issues and characters and the thousands of ways Shakespeare turns a simple sentence into innuendo, foreshadowing, etc. I also love Tolkien’s LOTR because it’s the perfect example of an author creating a whole other world down to the tiniest detail and making me believe that such a place might exist. And then there’s Pride and Prejudice, because, well, there’s Mr. Darcy. Need I say more? lol

• How did you deal with rejection letters?

1. At first, these were hard. But at this point, I’ve gotten so many that most of the time, they just roll off. I get one, I throw a 30 second pity party, and I move on. There are times when that isn’t true. For instance, recently with one of the things I’ve subbed, I’ve gotten tons of rejections with personalized responses, and none of the things they said were things I could do anything about. It was all a matter of taste. I know those are supposed to be rare and a sign you’re on the right track. But they are also frustrating because they have nothing to do with me or my writing. With those, I moan to my critique group and eat some chocolate.
2. Chocolate, as everyone knows, fixes everything.

• What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

1. I am a huge supporter of a writing journal. I keep at least one going at any given time. They are invaluable to jot notes, one or two lines you think of and want to keep, pictures, headlines, you name it.
2. A computer.
3. Chocolate.
4. Beverage of choice. Mine happens to be tea. Lots and lots of it.

• Where do you as an author draw the line on gory descriptions and/or erotic content?

1. As a YA writer, I don’t have any erotic content. As for gore, that depends on the story. In general, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like a lot of gore. I think too often its used as a shock value thing, and I think you can imply things and make just as much (or more)of an impact. Basically, if it’s essential to the plot, that’s one thing. If I’m describing blood dripping down the wall just to gross you out? Not so much.

• What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

1. Weirdest thing in the name of research? Hmmm… Define weird? Lol. I’ve looked up some strange things on the internet, and taken some polls of friends and neighbors that had them looking at me strangely. But nothing that comes to mind as overly unusual…

• Don’t forget to give us links to your website etc.

1. Thanks!
2. You can find my website at http://vanessabargerwrites.wordpress.com
3. I’m also on Goodreads and on twitter @grumbles13

• Thanks so much for having me!

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