Monday Interview: Cathy Yardley

Tell us a little bit about your background. What did you do before you became a writer?

I've had a ton of day jobs (and still do, occasionally!) before becoming a dedicated writer. I've worked in advertising, at a design house, at an electronics distributor, a healthcare and insurance company, and a ton of really really weird temp gigs. They all are fodder for the books, though!

When did you realise that you wanted to write books, and who or what inspired you?

I tried to fool myself for years, saying that I didn't really want to be a writer, but I kept being drawn to it. When I joined the Romance Writers of America, Ifinally felt like I wasn't this solitary freak. The women of the Los Angeles Romance Authors inspired me most of all.

How did you get your first book published? Did you have a mentor?

I didn't really have one mentor specifically, although again, several authors from the Los Angeles Romance Authors took time out to give me some pointers and
insights on "the biz." Rebecca Forster was one of them. I also had a kick-butt critique group, all of us unpubs. I dedicated my first book to them!

You started out writing romance, and then you segued into writing Chick-lit. What made you come to the decision to write Chick Lit? What were the ups and downs of such a transition?

I had a novel in mind when I started writing romance, but since it was a coming-of-age story about a woman in L.A., I didn't think my romance publisher would
want anything to do with it. This was just before Chick Lit burst onto the scene. Then, I heard
rumblings about a new "City Girls" line that Harlequin was putting out, and that they were looking for books exactly like what I had in mind. It was pure kismet and it was a very positive experience.

This month, Surf Girl School, your first Signature release, hits shelves. Please tell us about the story and how you came up with such a unique premise. Did you personally take up surfing?

No! I wouldn't take up surfing -- I'm more of a hiking girl than a water person. But my Mom took up surfing at the age of 57, and she absolutely adores it. When I heard about how she learned, and I met some other women who were surfing (which has been a male dominated sport), I started to kick around the idea of a stressed-out woman who decides to surf torelax. I'd wanted to revisit the setting from my first book, THE CINDERELLA SOLUTION, and SURF GIRL SCHOOL has many characters and the same locale as that first book. It was a lot of fun to write.

What kind of promotions are you and your publisher doing around the theme of surfing lifestyle portrayed in Surf Girl School?

There are extras in the book, with a surf glossary and a guide to California. I'm not planning anything elaborate, since the book has a category shelf life of30 days. That is the drawback of writing for seriesromance.

Your last book, Couch World dealt with the world of club life and couch surfing, previous books have involved the world of restaurants. Where do you get your ideas? Which comes first for you, plot or character?

Strangely enough, the first thing that comes to me is usually the title. I started kicking around the title "Couch World" with psychiatry in mind, but then it morphed into the club book based on what I knew about transient living. I get a rough idea of a premise from there, and then I try to flesh out a believable character, so I can develop the plot based on the character's goals and personality.

Do you write full time now? What does a typical day as a writer consist of?

I am in a day job, temping, just for a few months, but it's part time. When I write full time, I get up, log a few hours at the computer, work out, eat lunch, thendo "regular life" stuff in the afternoon... bill paying, promotion, online stuff, house cleaning, dog walking. I spend the evening with my husband, just chilling out.

There has been much discussion about plotting vs. writing by the seat of
your pants, which are you?

I am a die-hard, insane plotter. I've just finished writing a non-fiction book called WILL WRITE FOR SHOES: How to write contemporary women's fiction, that will be out next Fall. In it, I include my insanely compulsive plotting system. I will say this though: compulsive or not, it does work very, very well!

Allison and Sean are opposites, in that Allison is a type A personality, and Sean is more laid-back. Do you prefer to write opposites attract stories? How do you feel about the Alpha Male?

I am not really a big fan of the Alpha Male, although it works sometimes for other authors. I write Beta and Omega men, personally. I think there is nothing sexier than a guy with a great sense of humor. I like to write a certain element of opposites attract, because you've got such a great built-in conflict there. Conflict is always the key to a great story.

What is your ultimate goal when it comes to your writing?

Usually, to get the damned thing done. That's not very inspirational, is it? ;) Actually, I want to
write stories that entertain, and to a certain extent, inspire or reassure readers. I love stories that say"don't worry... you're not as screwed up as you think you are, in fact you're just fine."

Critics have been claiming that chick lit is dead for the past several years now. How had the genre changed from when you first wrote L.A. Woman, and where do you see the genre going?

I don't think chick lit is dead. I think it's glutted, certainly, and it's also tranforming and cross-breeding with other aisles in the bookstore, as it were. I think the genre will still buy, but it'll be harder to break out from the crowd. I also think that romance will take on more chick lit "voice" and sensibilities. I cover the different sub-genres and the future of chick lit in my non-fiction. I'm a poster child for Chick Lit, a walking Infomercial. :)

You also write romance as well first for Duets, then for Harlequin Blaze and now for Signature. What do you like about writing romance? And do you plan to continue?

I think I'll keep writing romance. I am under contract for two more Harlequin categories, one Blaze, one "up in the air." I enjoy love stories and happy endings, and taking what can be a very stale and formulaic genre and twisting it to find a new take. That's a pure creativity rush.

You have a really cool web-site, but I know there aresome authors who
still don't have a web presence. Do you think its possible for new romance
writers to make it without having some kind of presence on the internet?

I think it is possible to "make it" without an internet presence. It's still probably the most cost-effective promotional tool you can use, however, if you're planning on being proactive about your own marketing.

This year, RWA attempted to try to define romance, and it caused a bit of a ruckus among the membership, due to thelimitations of the definitions. What were your thoughts on this, and do you think its possible/necessary to define romance in a way that doesn't exclude other sub-genres?

This is going to sound jaded, but I have learned to ignore RWA-induced furors. Don't get me wrong, I love the RWA. However, I think there are a lot of fragileemotions and high tempers in general in a writing organization, much less one as large as ours is. Ithink that if the RWA is trying to position itself as a heavy hitter like the Mystery Writers or Horror Writers, then yes, they should probably set some boundaries. The other problem, as most Chick Lit authors can tell you, is when you are trying to get romance purists to read "other" subgenres that don't
follow romance's traditional conventions, and worse,trying to GRADE those subgenres in competition, the results are usually disastrous.

You've done workshops across the country, what has it taught you about
being a writer, and do you think that its an effective way of promoting your work?

I love speaking and teaching. If I had more money (and didn't have a husband and kid on the way), I'd speak whereever they let me, barring travel fatigue. I think everyone should write. It's practically my religion. As far as being an effective way of promoting my work, I think it is, although there is a danger of being known more for your speaking than your
novels.

I understand from your bio on the back cover of Surf Girl School that you think that Daria (MTV cartoon) is a positive role model. I loved Daria personally and was sorry they didn't continue it into the college years. Why do you think
she's a role model?

I love Daria! She's that perfect combination of dry intelligence, sardonic humor, tender vulnerability and rock-solid tenacity. She's always her own person, she always speaks her mind and stands up for her principles. Who wouldn't want to be like that?

What was the last movie you saw?

In theaters? I can't even remember! But in general... let's see, I saw "Garden State" on cable.
Beautiful, quirky little movie.

Fav books you've read this year? Why?

William Gibson's PATTERN RECOGNITION. The voice is amazing! It's just... it's so painfully cool, it's ridiculous. And the writing, the detail, is to die for.

You're a native Californian. If you could live anywhere else in the world,
where would you live?

Actually, I'm not a native Californian. My first 11 years were spent in Upstate New York, near
Poughkeepsie. But I do love California. If I could live anywhere else -- FLorence, maybe, or Paris, definitely. Or the Pacific Northwest. I adore all
those trees, and I like rain.

Out of three cities you've lived in CA, which is your favorite and why?

San Francisco... or at least, the SF Bay Area. I have a lot of fond memories, from college, from my early writing days (I'd just moved back up when I got published.) It's beautiful, and the people are stranger.

Name your top five favourite books of all time.

In no particular order... hmmm.
Stephen King's IT,
Jennifer Cruisie's BET ME,
Robert Heinlein's THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS,
Marian Keyes' LAST CHANCE SALOON,
and as I mentioned, William Gibson's PATTERN
RECOGNITION. Of course, this list changes almost hourly. :)

If you could have a one-to-one conversation with a famous historical figure, who would it be with and what would you talk about?

At the moment, I'd say St. Ignatius Loyola, or Vlad the Impaler. I have a paranormal story I've been kicking around, and I'd probably ask lots of questions. :)

What is the number one piece of advice that would you give to aspiring writers out there?

Publishing is not going to give you confidence. Develop, as best you can, a firm, centered sense of
confidence around your own work, one that allows you to take revision and rejection impersonally, and one that motivates you to keep going.

Finally, when's your next book due out, and what's it about?

The next book is probably the non-fiction I mentioned... my next fiction books are a Blaze called
ONE NIGHT STANDARDS due out in Dec '06, and a Red Dress Ink called TURNING JAPANESE out in Jan '07. I'm really excited about that one, particularly -- I got to go to Tokyo to research it, and it's all about manga, those Japanese comics that you see everywhere these days. It's about an American trying to make it as a manga artist. I can't wait for it to come out!

Thanks so much for taking the time out to answer these my very nosy questions!

Well that's all folks for 2005. Coming soon in 2006, hopefully more author interviews. Ciao for now!