Susan Adrian will be interviewing me this Friday, and today I'm featuring Francesca Miller, one of my critique partners and a kindred spirit in my love of Gothic fiction. 1. Thanks for joining me, Francesca. Tell us about your current book.
My current manuscript is called Mitzi of the Ritz. It’s a look at Los Angeles and the movie industry in 1932, during the Pre-Code era, and is written from the point of view of a sixteen-year-old girl who becomes involved in film. Mitzi represents a lifelong dream for me. I was raised in Los Angeles and have always wanted to write about the city I grew up in. I’m also a bit of a movie buff and at one time or other have visited every movie lot in Hollywood, including the old Columbia Pictures lot before it was torn down. It was fascinating to look at the Jews of Hollywood in a non-academic way and pay homage to their contribution to world culture. I’m still in the rewriting process with Mitzi but entered it in the current Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest and made the quarter finals. The current manuscript is much improved from the one I sent, but I’ve been happy with the feedback so far. Even if it doesn’t go any further, I’m looking forward to the critique of the manuscript from Publishers’ Weekly. 2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent)?
was the big Gothic hit then, and I can’t tell you the number of times Boston Gothic was compared to it; unfortunately, detrimentally compared to it. Often the initial editor liked it, but the second and third one had reservations. It was a learning process, one that will continue even after I get published. I was able to read their comments without tearing up and incorporate them into the newest incarnation. 3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?
I’ve always thought I was born to be a storyteller, so giving up has never been an option. Since I also write non-fiction, which has been published, it keeps me involved in the publishing process and has honed my research skills. I also got very interesting rejections from editors, and I used a number of their comments in the rewrite.
4. How have your goals/dreams changed since you started the process?
My goals have only gotten bigger since I started the process, and writing consumes my life. Once, I simply wanted to have a book published, but now I want to publish a good, well-written work from a different point of view. The task may be difficult, but I think I bring a unique voice to the literary world and have stories people will want to read. I’m willing to look at different genres too. It was an interesting process submitting Mitzi in the contest. The work fit into more than one genre - it’s a mystery, but it’s also a romance, and because of the large amount of research I did, it also falls under historical fiction. The protagonist is only sixteen, and I labored under the misconception that it might be young adult fiction. I stopped second guessing myself and submitted it as a mystery in the general fiction category.
5. What's the piece of advice you wished you knew when you started?
I was so cocksure about my work that I sent it out before it was ready. It was very difficult because I didn’t have someone who had strong editing skills, and sometimes the encouragement of well-meaning friends can be detrimental to a writer. You show it to people who aren’t involved in the publishing game and often get a thumbs-up too early. I’ve been lucky recently to connect with a writer (you) who has been very helpful in her critiques, and it has made me reevaluate my writing process. I’ve also watched as others around me crashed and burned in the process.
For more information about Francesca Miller, including her fabulous "In a Gothic Mood" page, head to FrancescaMiller.com.
Check out these other blogs that are featuring over 70 more writing success stories:
Susan Adrian, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Victoria Schwab, Kirsten Hubbard, Elana Johnson, Dawn Metcalf, Kim Harrington, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins, and Tiffany Schmidt.
I'm back from vacation and ready to drive straight back into the world of vampires with a contest provided by 
and a beautifully illustrated 
.
.The movie was made in the 50s, stars a young Sean Connery, and involves some catchy songs, but it's got one heck of a terrifying second half when a wailing banshee makes an appearance. It makes you think twice about the wind howling outside at night.
Sorry about the delayed announcement of my contest winner. The suburban side of life has been taking over the vampire side.
is Virginia C. Congratulations, Virginia! My daughter pulled your lucky name out of her St. Patrick's Day hat. Thanks to everyone who entered both here and at my 
and 
.
to demonstrate pre-Dracula perceptions of vampires in Victorian England. 
Bite also gives forgotten vampire novels such as Simon Raven's 
?). Vampire manga and LARPs (Live Action Role Playing), which don't always get mentioned in vampire handbooks, have a home in Jackson's book, as well. Rest assured, the vampire heavyweights (Twilight, Dracula, Interview with the Vampire) do get plenty of ink space, so the book will appeal to anyone with an interest in the undead.
In a surprise upset, 
beat out 
for Best Vampire Motion Picture of 2009. Suburban Vampire visitors had a chance to vote for their favorite fanged film of the past year, and Underworld squeaked by New Moon by a small percentage.
, for becoming the first female to ever win an Academy Award for Best Director. The film that earned her the win, 
, also took Best Picture.![Near Dark [Blu-ray]](http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B002MJV7I6&tag=histolover)
Joining me today is 
, "a trippy urban fantasy, an esoteric battle between myth and science told in floods of evocative prose," according to PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY. Berkley just released White's novel on March 2. 
and were experimenting together with personifying our own stumbling blocks. I identified one of my personal demons as this narrow-hipped rock star named “Too Much is Not Enough.” (His name is a U2 lyric, but he’s more Jack Sparrow than Bono.) I was trying to come to grips with an impulse in me that’s somewhere between addiction and consumerism. That demon became the progenitor of both Olivia and Alyx. 
CK: You conducted on-the-ground research in rural Ireland. How does the setting enhance the story you wanted to tell? And what most intrigued you about the locale? 
SW: Ireland’s such an intriguing place! I’d gone for a ten-day driving tour of the country back in 2005, and so when I needed an appropriately mythic place to house my secret underground world, it just seemed appropriate. Irish lore is full of stories about kings under the mountain and hidden treasures (and dangers) beneath the hills. 
SW: I saw a production of Dracula at the local theater when I was a kid and found him very sexy. I remember distinctly, because it worried me. Then Anne Rice came along and showed me I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Which was huge for me. Both specific to vampires, but also by extension to almost every worrisome or aberrant thought I’d had to date or since. No matter what it is, I’m probably not the only one. 
