Romance Writer in Kenosha…

by Colleen Kappeler

Quite frankly, a meeting between two writers can last a very long time – about three hours non-stop to be exact. I will therefore try to spare you the long, technical discussions and report only on that which will interest my fellow Kenoshans! Actually, scratch that – it’s all fascinating so I’ll tell you everything!!

Carrie Lofty is a Historical Romance writer who moved to Kenosha last summer. Her background is in history and English, with a unique minor in popular culture. She also has a master’s in American History and while her fellow grad students did theses on Russian and military history, Carrie did hers on Jesse James and other popular legends of Old West history. And once you meet her you see that fits her just fine!

As for writing, there’s never been a time when she wasn’t. Carrie began writing Historical Romances in high school – and never stopped. Well, actually she’d stop about 100 pages into each story, but her ideas for them never stopped. She’d just meddle in them constantly and then give up, as many of us do, when she ran out of steam. Then in the summer of 2006 she sat down and wrote an entire book in 80 days. With her first book finished, she was inspired to go on to write more. She marketed that book without success while writing another book that was picked up immediately. She is now 10,000 words shy of finishing its sequel – with a deadline of March.

The book that was picked up is called, What a Scoundrel Wants, and will be put out by Kensington Publishing’s Zebra Debut imprint in December of 2008. It took a month of research and then six months to write. When its sequel is done and submitted, Carrie plans to move on to Futuristic or Sci-Fi Romance. The goal is to keep her writing out there at all times. It can take years for royalties to come back, so she’s got to keep the books flowing. And what is that like? “It’s on my mind all the time,” Carrie says, “I hate that, but I know the end will be good. It’s the process that’s painful.”

Advice from writer Carrie Lofty
How to Keep Writing

SET A SCHEDULE. “I used to wait to feel in the mood to write, and it wouldn’t come. I’d watch movies because that is so much simpler. Self-discipline is the hardest – that and finding a groove.” Carrie says she spends about three hours six days a week on writing. (She takes Sunday off for errands and housecleaning.) Saturdays she devotes to publicity and editing and critiquing work for members of her groups. Monday through Friday she tries to get about 6-7 pages of typed material done each day. “Beginning writers think they can write when they feel like it, but when you have a deadline and goals you need to have a schedule.”

JOIN A GROUP. You have to be selective and choose a group that really meets your needs as a writer, Carrie suggests. Many people will use writing groups as a social opportunity, but if you want to be challenged and improve on your writing, you need to have a group that works for you. Once Carrie realized her genre of Historical Romance she joined the Romance Writers of America (RWA) National group as well as two chapter groups, Chicago North Chapter and the Wisconsin Chapter. She also joined the RWA’s online group: Hearts through History. She is most active in the North Chicago Chapter which meets twice a month. “You read aloud to 30 people and get feedback. It’s the most helpful aspect, and the scariest. But I’m not in it for tea-time!”
Carrie also attends the RWA’s National Conference. It was at the conference last year in Dallas that she met her editor who signed her book. “You get an eight minute pitch session. I gave the editor a 25 word blurb on my book and she asked for the rest. I spent the next two months revising.” The editor, who works for Kensington, an independent publisher, signed her for a two book contract.

READ WITHIN YOUR GENRE. Read, read, and read. Especially read within your genre of choice to find the best fit for you among publishers – and as a way to recharge your creative juices!

Carrie Lofty you have been “exposed”

To learn more about Carrie, or to order her 1st prize winning short story, visit her on the web at www.carrielofty.com