How did you come up with the idea of your Christmas themed book?
Runaway for Christmas, book number four in my Citrus Beach series, started with watching children play at the beach during the Christmas holidays. Down here in Florida we create our own Christmas celebrations. The lack of cold and snow gives it a different feeling than the northern states, so we make Sandmen instead of Snowmen and to us, Santa is often pictured in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts.
For me, children are the most important part of the holiday season, but I realize many children don't get to celebrate the holidays in the traditional sense due to circumstances they can't control. Those two factors led to the birth of my story.
Could you give me a short synopsis on the story for my readers?
A group of runaway children are discovered hiding out in a beach house by the main character Megan Cassidy. The kids scattered but one remains behind. Megan decides to take action and help the little girl. Her decision leads her to discovering the gang of runaways are being exploited.
A bit of Dicken’s theme- you know the characters; Fagin and Bill Sikes- set to modern times. Because it's Christmas, involves children, as well as a cozy ministry, there is little violence. Instead, the book focuses on the characters.
What made you decide to do a Christmas themed book?
I was ready to write the next book in my series and I wanted to do a Christmas book of some sort. I had done one in another series, but it wasn't a mystery and the idea of combining a cozy mystery and the holiday season interested me. The plot just seemed to fall in my lap and the development moved quickly for me. I felt like the book was meant to be written
What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
Spending time with family. Christmas Eve church service, sneaking presents in the house and wrapping and hiding them before anybody can guess what they are (my husband is notorious for guessing) and of course baking. And then there's the constant redecorating of the Christmas tree. This is because my two cats want to get in on the act and think the tree is just one big present for them.
What’s next?
I am currently working on two different series. Both are cozies, but one has a touch of paranormal to it. And of course, they both have animals. I'm always outlining the next book or series. My ideas are abundant even if time isn't. I work on what interests me the most at the time. Rather than finishing off one series completely, I jump from series to series, trying to get at least one book per year done in each of the three series I write.
In November, Lost Voices, book three in the Storm Voices series will be released. This is another Christmas themed book, with romance and a touch of paranormal whimsey. I'm also starting a new series called Mrs. Avery's adventures. Book 1 is written, and I'm in the process of writing the second. These will be released next year.
What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given that you’d like to share?
The best writing tip that I can give is to find a writing buddy or a mentor. Or if you're really lucky, both. It can be lonely and disheartening at times to be a writer; you doubt yourself constantly. But, by having the support of somebody else in the same situation can help you move forward. The writing buddy should be at the same level or maybe slightly above you in the writing process so that you can compare notes and cry on each other shoulder when necessary.
The mentor should be someone who is more experienced in the world of writing. Whether from years of experience or from multiple books already produced. It's also important to find somebody in your own genre. It's difficult to talk to somebody who writes horror novels when you're writing romance.
What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
There are two things I wish I'd known about writing and publishing when I started. The first was how easy it is to use Dragon dictation. I use it for every book I write. For me getting the rough draft out fast is important because it keeps my thoughts flowing and the story moving.
The second thing is to find a good editor. With my first book, I failed to do this, and I still pay the price for it. Because once there's a bad review up is very hard to get rid of it; it takes many good reviews to compensate for one bad review.
Any last words or tips?
Do the very best you can and keep moving forward. You can't constantly look back to your first book wanting to make changes and fix mistakes. You need to move forward and take the lessons you've learned into the next book. And have patience.
Let your books rest for a couple of weeks after you finished it. Do this a couple of times; once before you edit it and once before you publish it. Then go back and read it before you send it off to an editor or push the publish button.
You'd be surprised how much you find by waiting and coming back to the book with a little distance. I find by doing this I'm coming back to the book more as a reader than as a writer. And looking at it with different eyes makes your end results better.
That’s all for today’s interview. If you like to buy any of Victoria’s current books and/or see what’s upcoming, here’s the link to her website!
https://www.VictoriaLKWilliams.com
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