MEET STACY HAWKINS ADAMS (Part 2)

Who are your favorite authors?
My reading tastes are eclectic, and I like both fiction and nonfiction authors. I hate naming names, so I’ll give you more than you probably want. Among my favorites are J. California Cooper, Maya Angelou, Anna Quindlen, Max Lucado, Dr. Cornell West, John Grisham and Francine Rivers. Of course, I like many of my contemporaries as well, including Jacquelin Thomas, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, Sherri Lewis, Carleen Brice, Marilynn Griffith, Vikki Johnson, Tia McCollors, Kendra Norman-Bellamy and Claudia Mair Burney. There are too many more to name!

What are your favorite books?
I mostly like women’s fiction that explores some aspect of a character’s personal journey, and mysteries or suspense novels. I also enjoy nonfiction inspirational books and books that offer practical help, such as those written by John Maxwell, Hill Harper and Bill Hybels.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind?
Yes, when I’m nearing the end of a manuscript and feel myself wrapping up all of the loose ends in the story. I love everything produced by CeCe Winans and Smokie Norful, so I often listen to them as I write. I have an older CD by Darius Brooks that features songs that are relevant to the situations my characters typicaly grapple with, so I usually play that as well. Sometimes I sign onto YouTube to find songs that fit a character’s mood or circumstances.

How would you describe your writing style?
That’s a tough question! I guess I’d have to say sincere and straightforward, or approachable and concise. My years in the field of newspaper reporting honed my ability to write short and to the point, and although I have an opportunity to write much longer for my novels, I still find that while I add emotion and delve into the characters’ lives, I write in a clear-cut manner.

Tell us anything about you as a writer that you think might be interesting or unusual.
Readers often ask me if I’ve faced some of the trauma or drama that my characters deal with, but most of the themes I explore in my novels are fictional depictions of experiences I encountered during my 13 years as a full-time journalist. I had opportunities to cover murder trials, interview crime victims, profile battered women and witness a bone marrow transplant and a NASA shuttle launch. I’ve been able to merge these real-life experiences with the fictional “what ifs” to come up with what I hope are compelling stories.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Don’t give up! When I started saying about a decade ago that I was going to write a book, I saw the chuckles and the “Yeah right,” smirks in some folks’ eyes. I allowed those doubts to fuel my persistence. I hope you’ll do the same. My other advice is to stop re-reading and editing what you’ve already written and write FORWARD. Permit yourself to only read one previous chapter of the manuscript to get yourself back into the story. Then keep writing forward, until you finish your book. At least at that point you’ll have a complete manuscript to revise.

Writers are often encouraged to write what they know. Have you found that to be the case with your writing?
As I mentioned earlier, I never write about real people or actual situations in my novels, but I’ve pulled a lot of themes and ideas from my years of meeting individuals from all ways of life, including some of the wealthiest Americans to some of the poorest. Those encounters taught me that everyone has a heart and everyone deserves respect. I try to reflect that in both my positive and negative characters. I also keep abreast of current events and what’s going on around the nation and the world. It always helps to somehow weave news, or incidents from the current day, into your books to make them more realistic.

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For more information about Stacy, visit her at stacyhawkinsadams.com.

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THE SOMEDAY LIST BLOG GIVEAWAY

Stacy Hawkins Adams is the author of four Women’s Fiction books and has contributed to two anthologies. Read the question below to see if you can answer it and provide the name of the book in which it was featured.

What specific surprise does Gabrielle receive from her aunt? In which of Stacy’s books is this revelation featured?

Leave your answer in the comment section. Entries with the correct answer will be entered into a drawing for the The Someday List Blog Giveaway. View the prize package below:
$50 American Express Gift Card
Autographed Copies of all of Stacy’s books: Speak to My Heart, Nothing But the Right Thing, and Watercolored Pearls, and the anthologies The Midnight Clear and This Far By Faith.
20% Discount Coupon from Tywebbin Creations. (May apply to one service)

Join Us for an Hour Long Chat with Stacy on January 30, 2009. We will announce the GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the THE SOMEDAY LIST BLOG TOUR GIVEAWAY during the call. Visit Stacy’s blog for details.

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THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY TODAY!

Continue to visit other stops on The Someday List Blog Tour at:
http://www.stacyhawkinsadams.com/blog