Hi! I am
Carolyn Howard Johnson, your trusty New Book Review blogger and author of the
multi award-winning HowTo Do It Frugally Series of books for
writers. This blog has heretofore been exclusive for reviews but I
thought I’d do a special series of interviews after I chatted with Jeanie
Loiacono, President of Loiacono Literary Agency – Where ‘can’t’ is not in
our vocabulary! I thought sharing the interviews would
help the many subscribers and visitors to this New Book Review blog, including
authors, reviewers, and, of course, readers who just might find a new favorite
author among the featured books and authors.
So, today
welcome Jeanne
Charters.
After years of working in radio sales and raising four
daughters, Charters became VP of marketing for Viacom TV, then branched-off and
opened her own advertising agency, Charters Marketing, with her husband, Matt.
“He’s the business brain, I’m the creative one.”
The writing bug had bitten a long
time ago, but its effects stayed hidden until it was time.
“People sometimes wonder where a character comes from. ‘When
did you think up Mary Boland anyway?’ I don’t know about all authors, but for
me, Mary Boland was a magical name I heard through my childhood from my mother
and aunts. She was my great-great-grandmother. There were no pictures of her and
no records of her accomplishments, but she came to me in dreams…a young girl
with curly red hair, riding her horse along the Irish seacoast.
“Tell my story,” she whispered.
In her first iteration, she was
the start of a novel called Daughters of Ireland, Mary was the
first in four generations of women. Writing class instructors and published
authors alike told me, “Each of these women deserves her own book.” They were
right. So, I started over and told Mary’s story in Shanty Gold. The next woman’s story
is half written and will be called Lace Curtain.”
Publishing Credits and
Awards
- WNC Woman magazine and website. Jeanne
Charters’ columns under the title, “funny, isn’t it?” have appeared in most
issues for the past twelve years.
- Clothes Lines: A
compilation of women’s writings from across the state and country. Jeanne
Charters was honored to be included by Editors Celia H. Miles and Nancy
Dillingham.
- Funny, isn’t it? Charters’ book of
some of her best columns, illustrated by noted North Carolina artist, Marie
Hudson, of Asheville, NC.
- Broadcasting: Adopt an
Angel for Make-A-Wish…This campaign ran in markets from New York City to Hawaii
for seventeen years. Ms. Charters was the sole writer, producer, and director of
all television and radio commercials and PSA’s relative to it. Over three
million dollars was raised to benefit children with life-threatening
illnesses.
- Awards: Adopt an Angel for
Make-A-Wish...Telly, two consecutive years and the Gold Medal from the New York
State Broadcasters Association for Best Public Service Campaign in the state of
New York.
1.
What is your
genre? Is it fiction or nonfiction? My
novel, Shanty Gold, is historical fiction. It was actually written
as YA, but my agent thought it shouldn't be limited to young adults. I think
she's right.
2.
What made you want to be a writer?
From early childhood, I have always wanted to write novels. Instead, I wrote
poetry and essays because when I grew up, I married, had four kids, split, and
needed to support my children as a single mom. As you probably know, it's tough
to make a living with a first novel.
3.
Of all the authors out there, who
inspired you most? Wow, this is a tough question. If I have to pick one, I
suppose it's Maeve Binchey because she is a consummate Irish novelist, and my
novels are set in Ireland and Boston.
4.
What is your writing style? Do you
outline? Linearly? By scene? Why? Sure wish I could outline. It would save so much
time. But I just can't. I must keep the creative fluid. I know how the book will
begin and end and the rest of it comes to me as I write, often in dreams. Also,
a critique partner and multi-published novelist started outlining; and, frankly,
her latest book seemed predictable to me.
5.
Do you write every day? How much? How
long? I write something every day. It might be a column for WNC Woman or my second novel, Lace
Curtain. However, I could use some discipline in that regard. There's
always so much that needs doing. Like visits to the hospital with my therapy
dog, Bucky. I wouldn't give that up for a Pulitzer.
6.
Do you think reading is as important to
writing for an author? Why? Mixed feelings on this point. I guess it's
important to read other books, which I do, but the prime requisite is sitting
your butt in that chair and writing.
7.
What are some of the things you would
like to share with budding authors? Do what I didn't do. Study writing in
college. Once I started my novel, I had some major catch-up to do (which I did)
at the University of North Carolina. There's all that tacky stuff like
formatting. You couldn't be a brain surgeon without study. Neither can you
become an accomplished writer without study.
8.
Do you have any marketing and
promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to share? Frankly, I'm
not very good at marketing, although I made my living as President of an
Advertising Agency, Charters Marketing. Social media confounds me. I have a
website and write blogs, but I never Tweet. Sorry, Jeanie.
9.
Do you think conferences are beneficial?
If so, what have you learned? Which ones do you frequent? The best
conference I have done was with Writers' Digest in NY. I did an agent pitch
slam. It was a blast. It's great to mingle with other writers, too. I just did
the North Carolina Writers Conference two weeks ago. I learned a lot about
poetry there.
10, Where can we find
you, your books and when is your next event? You can find my novel on Amazon B&N KOBO GoodReads Shelfari IDreamBooks Scribd
As
far as book stores, I've been at Malaprops in Asheville, NC; Mountain Made in
Asheville, NC; Highland Books in Brevard, NC; Blue Ridge Books and News in
Waynesville, NC; The Book Shelf in Tryon, NC; and The Book House in Albany, NY., Mountain Made and Highland Books in Brevard. I am working to get into a store in Boston, Charleston, and Savannah. Learn more at www.jeannecharters.com Facebook LinkedIn Charters Events Represented by Loiacono Literary
Agency, Jeanie Loiacono www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/jeanne-charters
MORE
ABOUT THE SPONSORING AGENT
Jeanie Loiacono, President, Loiacono Literary
Agency
A facilitator of dreams, Jeanie Loiacono represents over eighty authors. Her
forte is mystery, romance, thrillers, historical/military/southern fiction, and
all quality fiction/nonfiction. Her passion is to see her authors
succeed.“There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one of my author’s books and know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to work with some of the most talented writers in the world.” Jeanie.L@llallc.net www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
