Q. Where are you from?
A. I'm a born and bred Long Islander, baybee! And no. Despite the way Hollywood sometimes treats us, we don't all talk with Brooklyn or Queens accents. There is a difference!
Q. Tell us a bit about your family.
A. I was the ultimate middle child. I grew up with two much older sisters, two much older brothers, and twin younger sisters. I always felt lost in the crowd growing up, which is probably why so many of my heroines have that trait. So I spent a lot of time on my own and was a voracious reader. My parents had the entire collection of Readers' Digest Condensed Books and I ate up classics like The Count of Monte Cristo and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Even then, I loved the big sweeping historical romances.
Now, however, I'm married for the last twenty-plus years to my best friend, I have two fantastic children, a bionic dog, a cat with a foot fetish and a recently acquired skitten. These days, I'm the center of the crowd, and while it's often exhausting work, I wouldn't trade my own personal chaos for any other life!
Q. When and why did you begin writing?
A. When I was in first grade I had to produce a play with my classmates as performers. The play my teacher assigned me had a hero who had to kiss the heroine at the end. Needless to say, no six year old boy was willing to kiss a girl, even for the starring role. But my teacher told me, as producer, I had to get the play done, no matter what it took. So I rewrote the play, added a dragon that kills the hero and suddenly, everyone wanted the role of hero or dragon. Even boys in other classes lined up to participate! From then on, I knew I wanted to be a writer.
Q. How long does it take you to write a book?
A. It depends upon the book and the amount of research I have to do. Some books flow so easily from my fingers to the keyboard that I can finish 300 pages or so in a few months. Of course, those are the writing jags where the kids eat frozen pizza and wear dirty clothes for a few weeks. And even when I stumble into bed at night, I don't stay there. The book (or my muse, Gertrude) keeps talking to me until I finally get up and head back to the computer to write "...just one more chapter."
Other books can take six months or more, and allow my family the opportunity to actually see me dressed and focused on them for minutes at a time.
I'm constantly editing as I write so it may take me a while to move from one chapter to the next. But the benefit to this madness is that when I finally type The End, I've got a completed manuscript that needs few revisions before I send it out.
Q. Do you ever suffer writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?
A. I do, occasionally go through a dry spell. The first time it happened, I wondered why my muse had abandoned me and how I could get her back. That's when I realized I'd never given her a name. It's hard to call someone back to your side when you haven't bothered to name them in the first place. I opted for Gertrude (Don't ask me why; I have no idea...except maybe it's because it was a name that held no special significance to me--I'd never known a Gertrude so would have no preconceived notions, and I doubted the name would ever show up in one of my books.) Sometimes, Gertrude takes off for a while, but these days, I don't panic. I read, do word puzzles, take a little downtime, catch up on movies and television shows I've missed. Sometimes I even (cringe!) clean the house. Before long, Gertrude and I are in synch again and we're pounding the keys for a new story.
Q. What advice would you give to writers just starting out?
A. Absorb everything you can! Read and write every single day. Join a critique group and a writing group. Don't be afraid of criticism.
Writing is like skiing. No one walks into this business a professional. You want to learn how, you have to start on the bunny slope. And you're never perfect. Even the experts fall occasionally. No matter how many books you've written, keep learning. There's always a new technique, a new idea, a new challenge around the corner.
Most of all, though, believe in yourself and don't give up!
Q. Which is your favorite of the books you've written?
A. Every book is my favorite while I'm writing it. I'm totally in love with my latest WIP, a romantic comedy set in the Afterlife. It's a little dark, a little quirky, and I'm really excited about my main characters. Last month when I was working on revisions to four other manuscripts, I'd find myself re-reading the entire story for each one and thinking, "Oh, my God. This is sooooo good!" You have to allow for a certain amount of ego in this business. Between rejections and critics, you can get pretty banged up. Be your own number one fan (even moreso than your mom).
Q. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
A. I actually have two: Bertrice Small and Nora Roberts. Both ladies are successful in the field, with an endless supply of business savvy. They're both extremely generous to their fans, and always conduct themselves with decorum. I'm a disciple of WWND (What Would Nora Do?). But before Nora, there was Bertrice, the idol of my youth. I'm fortunate to know Bertrice personally and I'm still tickled every time her name pops up on my Caller ID. I've been reading her since my teen years! (And I'm determined to have her adopt me one day. All she has to do is sign on the dotted line. Come on, Bertrice. We can make this work!)
Q. Do you see writing as a long- or short-term career?
A. I am definitely in this for the long haul! Each book I write, I feel my skills grow stronger. And as time goes by, the genre itself changes. I can't wait to see what we'll all be reading ten years from now.
Q. What is romantic to you?
A. I'm a hopelessly romantic sap. I love roses for no reason (even from one of those roadside stands), dancing to special songs, finding greeting cards when I least expect them, movies where the hero does something extraordinary for the heroine, watching a sunset with a glass of wine, and all that sentimental guff. I'll allow you a moment now to reach for the Pepto Bismol before continuing this interview...
Q. Is there a message in your novels that you want readers to grasp?
A. You know, I once attended a workshop on Theme. And I discovered I often come back to the same ideals over and over again. For me, it's about the power of love. Love is our creation, our inspiration, and our salvation. Despite the opposable thumb theory, love is what truly makes us human. Do I really need to tell my readers to grasp that? Somehow I doubt it. But the message is there, nonetheless.
Labels: Gina Ardito, interview, Romance Writing, Writing vs. Real Life
posted by Gina Ardito aka Katherine Brandon at 5:18 AM