| Wendy Corsi Staub - February 2008 author of the month |
Dying Breath is the new suspense
book by Wendy Corsi Staub. This
book is set to be released April 29th,
2008. Click on the amazon link to
pre-order a copy of this sure to be hit
thriller!
book by Wendy Corsi Staub. This
book is set to be released April 29th,
2008. Click on the amazon link to
pre-order a copy of this sure to be hit
thriller!
Lily Dale - Believing is another new
book to be released on April 29th,
2008. Wendy is a very busy writer,
and here is brief description of the
book as posted on Amazon.com.
After her tumultuous summer in Lily
Dale, Calla has decided to stay,
hoping to unearth more about her
mother’s untimely death. As she starts
school at Lily Dale High and begins to
explore her relationships with Jacy and
Blue, her visions begin to occur with
greater urgency. There may be a killer
on the loose, and he may be after
Calla for her role in solving his first
victim’s disappearance. Now that Calla
believes in her ability, can she learn to
use it properly before it leads her into
more danger?
book to be released on April 29th,
2008. Wendy is a very busy writer,
and here is brief description of the
book as posted on Amazon.com.
After her tumultuous summer in Lily
Dale, Calla has decided to stay,
hoping to unearth more about her
mother’s untimely death. As she starts
school at Lily Dale High and begins to
explore her relationships with Jacy and
Blue, her visions begin to occur with
greater urgency. There may be a killer
on the loose, and he may be after
Calla for her role in solving his first
victim’s disappearance. Now that Calla
believes in her ability, can she learn to
use it properly before it leads her into
more danger?
We have it!! Wendy Corsi Staub was
able to take some time out of her very
busy schedule to conduct a great
interview with us. Check it out below!!
able to take some time out of her very
busy schedule to conduct a great
interview with us. Check it out below!!
1. What is all-time favorite book (not yours) and why?
These days, I rarely get a chance to read for pleasure, so I look back to my childhood favorites to answer this
question. I’d have to say all nine titles in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder; I practically know them by
heart to this day. Those books—which are autobiographical fiction--were instrumental in my own decision to become
an author. I was inspired knowing that despite hardships and a humble beginning, the heroine, Laura—who after nine
books seemed like a close friend--grew up to become a famous author, which was my own childhood dream. I was a
little obsessed, and my parents encouraged it—I became an expert on her life, and even retraced her family’s travels
when my parents let me (at age 10!) plan a road trip from New York to the Ozarks to visit her home and Mark Twain’s
(another favorite author of mine).
2. I've often wondered why people write under a different name. Why did / do you write under Wendy Markham??
It’s all about branding. I had already gained some notoriety and success as Wendy Corsi Staub—my own name—
with my suspense novels, and I didn’t want to muddy the waters when I was invited by a publisher to try writing chick lit.
That’s when Wendy Markham was born. Readers of a Wendy Corsi Staub novel know by the name on the cover just
what they’re going to find inside: plenty of twists, cliffhangers, and murders. I didn’t want them picking up one of my
novels and finding the characters shoe shopping and gossiping over margaritas. That’s what readers can expect to
find in an early Wendy Markham novel, although she’s (I’ve) branched out into romantic comedy and women’s fiction
as well.
3. Was it or is it difficult to jump from writing Romance to Young Adult to Suspense / Thriller novels?
Really, it’s not difficult for me at all. Just as most people don’t limit themselves to one genre as readers, I enjoy
tapping into different genres as a writer. I’m blessed with being naturally high energy and thus prolific, and tend to
shift gears pretty easily whenever I begin a new project.
4. If you could interview any person, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
It would of course be my mom, who died of breast cancer over two years ago—she was just in her early sixties. We
were really close and I am constantly thinking of things I want to ask her—not just when my kids are sick, or when I
need a recipe, but even things I wish I had thought to find out about her life and our past. I still reach for the phone to
call her almost every day.
5. If you could go back in time and solve any mystery for yourself, what would it be?
What a fun question. For me, it’s not a mystery—not in my opinion, anyway, because to me it’s “solved”—but I’m
really curious about the Lizzie Borden case. I’ve read volumes about it and spent some time researching it in Fall
River; I think I may have a subconscious plan to write about the case or work it into a future novel somehow! Having
pored over piles of books, old documents, and transcripts, I’m convinced she was guilty, but I have lingering questions
about the logistics and whether she had an accomplice.
6. Do you have any superstitions that you do before you begin writing or after you finish writing a novel?
No superstitions, but I do have rituals. I can only write on my desktop computer in my home office, and I tend to sit
with my right leg bent under me and my left foot on the chair, knee somewhere around my shoulder. When I’m on a
deadline, which lately is perpetual, I work seven days a week and I like to start early, at around 4:30 a.m., before the
day has left any kind of imprint on my mood, and I need a lot of coffee to fuel myself until early evening, when I knock
off around 6:30-or 7:-00 p.m.
7. How was working with former NYC Mayor Ed Koch?
He was terrific, had a great sense of humor, was very charming yet a commanding presence. He wanted to be as
hands-on as possible, and he is definitely—as you might imagine—a creative thinker and a colorful character! We
have something pretty important in common—we are both passionate about New York City—so we got along really
well.
8. Are we going to see any of your books on the Big Screen or TV mini series soon??
My Lily Dale series was optioned for television and I had several meetings in L.A. with producers and networks but
nothing solid to report yet. I have several other irons in the fire but can’t talk about them yet. Keep your fingers
crossed!
9. What was the worst job you ever had?
I did temp phone work for a marketing company back in the late ‘80s, when I first moved to New York City—the
money was good, the hours were flexible and I was totally broke and trying to make it as a writer. It was fun in the
sense that it was a night job, with a bunch of theatrical types who were all trying to make it on Broadway, on television,
as musicians, etc. When the boss was out we all had fun in the office, though—we laughed a lot, played games,
gossiped—anything to not have to make those horrible calls. We had to cold-call people and ask them a series of
questions, but only one counted: What is your annual household income? That question was buried among the others
so that it wasn’t as noticeable and you could possibly get people to answer it. I can’t believe how many people freely
gave out personal information over the phone to a total stranger—and I hated being the total stranger asking for it!
10. What is on your Ipod right now?
It’s pretty full and the list is eclectic, so here are some of the highlights off the top of my head:, a lot of U2 (I’m a
huge U2 fan!); Dean Martin, Smashing Pumpkins, Elvis, Bic Runga, Kanye West, Mercury Rev (a close friend’s band);
the soundtrack for Sondheim’s SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, which I’m seeing on Broadway next week;
some Christmas music I need to remove now that it’s March; The Office (my favorite show); and the kiddie movie
CARS, which my nine year-old son downloaded for his iPod—it somehow wound up on mine, too and I can’t seem to
get it off!
These days, I rarely get a chance to read for pleasure, so I look back to my childhood favorites to answer this
question. I’d have to say all nine titles in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder; I practically know them by
heart to this day. Those books—which are autobiographical fiction--were instrumental in my own decision to become
an author. I was inspired knowing that despite hardships and a humble beginning, the heroine, Laura—who after nine
books seemed like a close friend--grew up to become a famous author, which was my own childhood dream. I was a
little obsessed, and my parents encouraged it—I became an expert on her life, and even retraced her family’s travels
when my parents let me (at age 10!) plan a road trip from New York to the Ozarks to visit her home and Mark Twain’s
(another favorite author of mine).
2. I've often wondered why people write under a different name. Why did / do you write under Wendy Markham??
It’s all about branding. I had already gained some notoriety and success as Wendy Corsi Staub—my own name—
with my suspense novels, and I didn’t want to muddy the waters when I was invited by a publisher to try writing chick lit.
That’s when Wendy Markham was born. Readers of a Wendy Corsi Staub novel know by the name on the cover just
what they’re going to find inside: plenty of twists, cliffhangers, and murders. I didn’t want them picking up one of my
novels and finding the characters shoe shopping and gossiping over margaritas. That’s what readers can expect to
find in an early Wendy Markham novel, although she’s (I’ve) branched out into romantic comedy and women’s fiction
as well.
3. Was it or is it difficult to jump from writing Romance to Young Adult to Suspense / Thriller novels?
Really, it’s not difficult for me at all. Just as most people don’t limit themselves to one genre as readers, I enjoy
tapping into different genres as a writer. I’m blessed with being naturally high energy and thus prolific, and tend to
shift gears pretty easily whenever I begin a new project.
4. If you could interview any person, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
It would of course be my mom, who died of breast cancer over two years ago—she was just in her early sixties. We
were really close and I am constantly thinking of things I want to ask her—not just when my kids are sick, or when I
need a recipe, but even things I wish I had thought to find out about her life and our past. I still reach for the phone to
call her almost every day.
5. If you could go back in time and solve any mystery for yourself, what would it be?
What a fun question. For me, it’s not a mystery—not in my opinion, anyway, because to me it’s “solved”—but I’m
really curious about the Lizzie Borden case. I’ve read volumes about it and spent some time researching it in Fall
River; I think I may have a subconscious plan to write about the case or work it into a future novel somehow! Having
pored over piles of books, old documents, and transcripts, I’m convinced she was guilty, but I have lingering questions
about the logistics and whether she had an accomplice.
6. Do you have any superstitions that you do before you begin writing or after you finish writing a novel?
No superstitions, but I do have rituals. I can only write on my desktop computer in my home office, and I tend to sit
with my right leg bent under me and my left foot on the chair, knee somewhere around my shoulder. When I’m on a
deadline, which lately is perpetual, I work seven days a week and I like to start early, at around 4:30 a.m., before the
day has left any kind of imprint on my mood, and I need a lot of coffee to fuel myself until early evening, when I knock
off around 6:30-or 7:-00 p.m.
7. How was working with former NYC Mayor Ed Koch?
He was terrific, had a great sense of humor, was very charming yet a commanding presence. He wanted to be as
hands-on as possible, and he is definitely—as you might imagine—a creative thinker and a colorful character! We
have something pretty important in common—we are both passionate about New York City—so we got along really
well.
8. Are we going to see any of your books on the Big Screen or TV mini series soon??
My Lily Dale series was optioned for television and I had several meetings in L.A. with producers and networks but
nothing solid to report yet. I have several other irons in the fire but can’t talk about them yet. Keep your fingers
crossed!
9. What was the worst job you ever had?
I did temp phone work for a marketing company back in the late ‘80s, when I first moved to New York City—the
money was good, the hours were flexible and I was totally broke and trying to make it as a writer. It was fun in the
sense that it was a night job, with a bunch of theatrical types who were all trying to make it on Broadway, on television,
as musicians, etc. When the boss was out we all had fun in the office, though—we laughed a lot, played games,
gossiped—anything to not have to make those horrible calls. We had to cold-call people and ask them a series of
questions, but only one counted: What is your annual household income? That question was buried among the others
so that it wasn’t as noticeable and you could possibly get people to answer it. I can’t believe how many people freely
gave out personal information over the phone to a total stranger—and I hated being the total stranger asking for it!
10. What is on your Ipod right now?
It’s pretty full and the list is eclectic, so here are some of the highlights off the top of my head:, a lot of U2 (I’m a
huge U2 fan!); Dean Martin, Smashing Pumpkins, Elvis, Bic Runga, Kanye West, Mercury Rev (a close friend’s band);
the soundtrack for Sondheim’s SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, which I’m seeing on Broadway next week;
some Christmas music I need to remove now that it’s March; The Office (my favorite show); and the kiddie movie
CARS, which my nine year-old son downloaded for his iPod—it somehow wound up on mine, too and I can’t seem to
get it off!
