Noodler of the Month: Lorelle Marinello

Q. Tell us a little about your writing journey so far.

A. My writing life started with stories for two children's picture books. I've always loved pictures to go long with my stories and have a background in art. I picked up my writing pen mainly so I could do the illustrations. Unfortunately, it was 1980 and the country was in an economic recession. Library budgets were being cut, and teaching jobs in art were rapidly disappearing. The romance book industry was booming, however. I was soaking up a wealth of historical romances. It wasn't until my youngest child was born that I turned back to writing. My first manuscript was an 85,000-word regency suspense. Again, I hit the market at the wrong time. Sadly, the demand for traditional regencies was on a downturn. By that time, I'd been bitten with the writing bug and had started to read contemporary romance and found some wonderfully creative stories in Bantam's Loveswept line. Just after I'd finished my first manuscript targeted for Loveswept, the line was no more. But I discovered I liked writing about small towns and family relationships. When I wrote my third manuscript, a single title Southern romantic suspense, FAIRHOPE, I found my voice and a sub-genre I felt at home in.

Q. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received from another author?

A. It's no secret to those who know me that I'm a big fan of author Jenny Crusie. I think the one thing that has sustained me through a lot of tough rejections over the past year is something she said at a luncheon speech at my local Orange County chapter. She said, "It can't matter to you whether you're published or not. You have to write the books you have to write. Publishing is not part of that. Being published doesn't mean you're a better writer. It just means you're published." I realized that I needed to take my satisfaction from my writing, not an outside goal I had no control over. I must say that the last couple of manuscripts have been a blast to write.

Q. If you could spend an hour picking the brain of anyone, who would it be?

A. This year, I've decided that by hook or by crook I'm going to develop a better understanding of story structure, so I would have to say I'd like to pick the brain of someone who really knows their stuff, like Linda Seger, the screenwriting guru.

Q. What do you feel is your best strength as a writer?

A. Dialogue and secondary characters come pretty easily for me. When the dialogue is popping out of my characters' mouths, writing is so much fun. My secondary characters often bring the humor to the story. I always miss them the most when I finish the book since I put myself in the roll of the heroine, and they are my family, so to speak.

Q. Is there a type of book you'd love to write that you haven't?

A. I've been toying with an idea for a straight women's fiction with two parallel story lines, one in the past and one in the present, which unite in the present. The story has something to do with family secrets and reincarnation and was inspired by my research into my family history and my fascination with my great-grandmother.

Q. What, in your opinion, are the three writing books that no writer should be without?

A. I tend to prefer books that talk about the writing process over how-to books. Thus, BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamont, BECOMING A WRITER by Dorothea Brande, and SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS by Dave King and Renni Brown.

Q. What is your writing process like?

A. I usually begin a project with a situation, a sort of a "what if" question, then the characters start showing up, demanding parts in the story. There are always too many. Once I have the players, scenes start flashing in my head like a movie. Those are usually the main plot points. At this point, I usually sit down and write a brief synopsis and a character list for myself then go back to it as ideas come to me over a period of weeks. When I think I know enough, I write chapter one. As the characters reveal information to me, I make adjustments to my notes. I usually plot in scenes, four or five at a time, working toward the plot points.

Q. Other than writing and reading, what other activities do you enjoy?

A. I love being outdoors in Southern California. Landscaping is my preferred creative release when I'm not writing. I enjoy building stone walls and walkways. The gardening part is the window dressing. I'm an artist by birth so just about anything creative appeals to me - sewing, painting, or drawing.

Q. What is your dream vacation?

A. I'm a homebody at heart. But if I were to go on vacation, I'd like to visit Tuscany and perhaps southern France, with a quick trip to Paris to see the Louvre. And of course the trip would have to include a visit to my favorite city in the world, Bath, England. I spent a glorious, sunny day there in 1981 when the cherry trees were in bloom and have been longing to go back ever since.

 

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