Skip to main content

Interview with Shirlee McCoy, part deux

Captain’s Log, Stardate 02.01.2006

Continuing my interview with Shirlee...

CT: What is your most memorable moment as a writer?

SM: I have two. The day I got THE CALL and learned Steeple Hill wanted to buy my first (and second) book. And last summer when my agent called to tell me I'd been asked to take part in a Love Inspired Suspense continuity. That one was a big deal moment because it came just a week after Steeple Hill offered me a three book contract.

CT: When did you first discover that you were a writer?

SM: I've always been a story teller, but I think I discovered I was a writer when I took my first creative writing class. That was in high school.

CT: Writing a novel is ...

SM: like baking bread. It might take a while to do it right, but the results are worth the effort.

CT: What's your greatest writing weakness and how do you overcome it?

SM: I've got a real problem with pacing my stories, so when I'm writing I ask myself questions - Why are the heroine and hero here? What should they be accomplishing in this scene? Is this scene vital to the development of the story, or is it just a filler? Those questions help me keep the story flowing at a good pace.

CT: What's your best writing strength?

SM: I've got a vivid and rather twisted (or so I've been told) imagination.

CT: How do you handle deadline stress? Any advice or tips?

SM: I'm usually frantically polishing my manuscripts a few days before deadline, but I kind of enjoy the trauma...I mean drama of that. Most of the time my manuscript is completed a few weeks before it's due. Then I check and double check things until I know it's got to be mailed. People are so individual it's hard to give tips and advice. What might work for one, won't work for another. One thing I do feel really strongly about is something I mentioned in a previous question - make goals and stick to them. Make sure you build enough time into your writing schedule to meet your deadlines. There's no such thing as getting a manuscript in too early, so strive to finish ahead of schedule.

CT: Most writers struggle with insecurity. How do you retain your confidence as a writer?

SM: Confidence? We're supposed to have that? Seriously, I am my own worst critic. I take comfort in knowing that I'm where God wants me. I don't have to be the best. I only have to be my best. And even when I feel I'm falling behind, not quite doing what I need to, and feeling like the most horrible writer ever published, I know that I'm in His will. In the long run, that's what matters most.

CT: What's the biggest risk you've ever taken as a writer?

SM: Saying I would speak at an RWA chapter meeting this June. I agreed to discuss writing romantic suspense. As if I actually know what I'm doing!

CT: How do you handle writer's block? Do you ever get writer's block?

SM: I do. I just push through it. Sometimes I'll let a scene be something other than what I know it should. Then come back to it the next day with a fresh perspective.

CT: Describe your writing space as it is now, and your fantasy writing space.

SM: Must I? Okay, I've got a cluttered desk sitting against the wall in my kitchen. I use a laptop that has no internet connection so I won't be tempted to play games, check emails, or do hours of research. I sit in a hardbacked chair that isn't all that comfortable. When I'm stumped, I look out the dining room window. We've got woods behind our house. Thick, dark, and very creepy when the moon is just right. What better inspiration could a suspense writer ask for?

My fantasy space - an office with enough room for my writing stuff and all our homeschooling stuff. A cluttered desk with a view of dark, mysterious woods. Walls lined with bookshelves.

CT: Do you have a special verse specifically to inspire your writing?

SM: Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, and not for men.

CT: What's the best writing advice you've ever received?

SM: Write the book of your heart. Then worry about the market.

CT: Thanks for doing the interview! Any parting words?

SM: Yeah, don't be afraid to dream big. God can do so much more than any of us can ask or imagine!

Prayer, Lies and Writing with Brandilyn Collins: Dineen’s posted a rockin’ interview with Brandilyn on her blog. Check it out!

Bible in 90 Days: Day 24. I’m getting the kings mixed up. I’m trying to keep track of who was a good king and who wasn’t. Many of them pleased the Lord but didn’t completely rid their land of all idol worship. A lesson for me, I guess. Sin isn’t to be compromised on. Also, it was really interesting to see the exile of Israel and how the Samaritans came to live in Canaan.

Writing: Well, I did NOT work on my scene worksheet last night because I was tinkering with my website template as per feedback from Dineen, Marilyn and Heather. But TODAY I will work on my scene worksheet. :)

Diet: Had a tough PT session today, then had ramen with vegetables for lunch (600), which is a bit larger a lunch than I’ve had the past couple days. I was full for about 5 hours after that, whereas before I’d be hungry after 3 hours and usually eat another 300-400 calories in a snack. Maybe the small-meals-throughout-the-day type of diet just isn’t for me? I had leftovers for dinner (700), another larger meal, and my calorie count for today is really good so far.

Popular Posts

Lena’s Diamond Shawl – A Free Knitting Pattern from a Regency Spy Novel

In my book, Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster , my heroine Lena is recovering from sickness and uses her favorite shawl to keep warm. 🧵 Click here to download the FREE PDF of the pattern. Here’s the short excerpt from the book that mentions the shawl: 📖 Excerpt from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster Lena still felt a chill as she sat in the sunlight streaming through the window of the Viponds’ drawing room. She was swathed in her favorite lace shawl, a gift from Melinda, who had knit it in Lena’s favorite color, red, along with cream and pink stripes. Tabitha finished pouring the tea and handed her a cup. Lena tried to smile as she took it, but her face felt stiff, like hardened clay. She was an utter failure. Despite all her training as an agent, she’d been undone by a malicious woman and a locked balcony in the rain. Had she given up too quickly? She’d been deterred by the railing, believing it would have broken under her weight. She had also been shivering t...

Writing Goals for 2007

Captain’s Log, Supplemental I considered cheating on my goals for this year, but decided I was being a wimp. So here they are: Here are the goals required by my contract: Book 3 in the series marketing info sheet due March 15th Book 3 manuscript due June 1st Book 1 substantive/line edits due sometime in Jan/Feb Book 1 galleys due sometime after that Book 2 macro edits due sometime in Spring? Book 2 substantive/line edits due, I’m guessing in Summer. Book 3 macro edits due sometime in October, I’m guessing Dang, laid out like that, looks like I’ll be busy. Here are my personal writing goals: Long-term goals: --Complete two manuscripts and a novella by December 31st, 2007 (I have to write the two manuscripts, but I’m trying to push myself and write a third project. I chose a novella since it’s easier than a full novel.) Short-term goals: --Write a short story this year (I keep putting it off because I’m such a perfectionist about it! I think I’ve got to get just the right plot, etc. bef...

Free Christian Romantic Suspense Novels by Camy Tang / Camille Elliot

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Read the beginning of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer

Pride and Prejudice meets Mission: Impossible If you love witty banter, secret agents in cravats, fierce heroines, and slow-burn romance with high-stakes suspense, then welcome to my world of Christian Regency Romantic Suspense! This is the two prologues and chapter one from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer , the first installment in my epic-length historical adventure series. I originally posted this excerpt in weekly parts, but I’ve compiled everything here so you can read it all in one sitting—no need to click through multiple posts. Before the excerpt begins, here’s the back cover description so you know what to expect: ⸻ Part one in a Christian Regency suspense series with slow-burn romance and a supernatural twist She met him again by shooting him. Unmarried after four Seasons of towering over her dance partners, Miss Phoebe Sauber learns she will be cast out of her home when her father remarries. Feeling betrayed by her father and God, she misfires an arro...