Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books – The Home of the Romance Novel
Today we are welcoming Lisa Scott to the blog! She is touring with Goddessfish promotions to promote her books of short stories, The Flirts and she is here to answer some questions for us.
During this tour she is giving away a $10.00 Amazon GC to a randomly picked commenter. To find more blogs to leave comments on that are part of the tour, click HERE.
I hope you enjoy Lisa’s interview, and stay tuned for some descriptions of her books as well as an excerpt.
Barb – Tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing
Lisa – I’ve always loved writing, and short stories click for me because I’m constantly coming up with story ideas. I worked for almost twenty years in the TV news industry behind the scenes and as a reporter and anchor. While I enjoyed telling the real life stories of intriguing people, I’m having great fun now not having to stick to the facts. When I’m not writing, I work as a voice artist. I’m married with two kids and love writing realistic, funny romances that are sassy and sweet.
Barb – Who are your cheerleaders? Who continues to encourage you to write?
Lisa – I have other writer friends–mostly in cyber space or friends flung across the country–who I turn to when the going gets tough. They’ve been just as excited for my successes as if it had been their own. They understand the triumphs and challenges in a way non-writer friends can’t.
Barb – When you made your first sale, how did you celebrate and with whom?
Lisa – I sold my first novel to Belle Bridge books this fall. My writer’s group bought me flowers and my friends raised a toast at our girl’s night out. (Considering Belle Bridge offered to buy it half an hour after I submitted it, I guess I was too stunned to celebrate at first!)
Barb – What’s the hardest part of writing a book?
Lisa – The first draft. Oh, it’s always awful and I’m convinced I’ve run out of writer steam. 
Barb – What’s your favorite part of writing a book?
Lisa – Revising after that first draft is done. I love polishing it up and creating memorable moments.
Barb – Which scenes were the hardest to write?
Lisa – Sometimes the best stories have really hard moments for your main characters. I hate being mean to my characters. I’ve cringed while writing some scenes. Natalie, in my short story “She’s Hot Now” suffers a very humiliating moment. I hated doing that to her. And the poor prince in “Belle” from Fairy Tale Flirts! has a heartbreaking back story.
Barb – How long did it take you to write your current book ?
Lisa – I find writing short stories so much easier and quicker than novels. I usually finish writing and editing a collection in three months.
Barb – Who is your favorite character in your new release?
Lisa – Oh, sure, which kid is my favorite? I had a lot of fun writing Rose’s character in “Red.” I found myself laughing out loud, which is always a good sign.
Barb – Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
Lisa – Absolutely. Especially during their moments of insecurity. 🙂
Barb – What were the challenges in bringing this book to life?
Lisa – Besides finding time to work on it? Creating modern day love stories inspired by fairy tales without using magic. I hope I created a bit of real life magic in them.
Barb – Do you have an all time favorite book?
Lisa – I love Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series.
Barb – Where can your fans find you ?
Lisa – website
Barb – Where is your work available?
Lisa – Amazon.com, B&N.com, itunes, Sony. My Willowdale Romance series debuts with Belle Bridge books in the fall. The series is southern romantic comedy.
Barb – Anything else you’d like to add?
Lisa – I hope people who’ve never tried short stories will give them a shot! It’s a great way to spend your lunch break or kill an hour while waiting for your kids to finish soccer practice. I’ve heard from many people who thought they wouldn’t like shorter works, and are now new fans begging me to write faster.
Author bio:
Lisa Scott is a former TV news anchor who now enjoys making up stories instead of sticking to the facts. The first book in her Willowdale Romance series will be released by Belle Bridge books in November 2012. In the meantime, she’ll be releasing short stories linked to the Willowdale series, in addition to her Flirts! collections.
When not begging her husband and two kids for a few minutes of peace to write her stories, she works as a voice actor and putters around in her koi pond and garden in upstate NY.
Blurb: Every volume of the Flirts! Collection features five sweet, funny romantic short stories, linked by a loose thread. It all ties up in a fab, fun ending, bringing together characters from all the stories in that collection. Each short story is 8,000-12,000 words long–the perfect length to squeeze in during your lunch break or kids’ practices. Sometimes you need a little love!
excerpt #2 from “The Hot Girl’s Friend” story #! from the Flirts! Collection
We boogied to the hip song of the moment and soon enough, a few gutsy gals left the security of the scattered tables and joined us. Then the drunker of the men crowded the floor, probably wondering if they should shoot for the top and approach Miranda or pick one of us “lesser” girls—like they could flatter us into bed by flirting with us first. For the most part, men at bars are idiots. Newsflash, I know.
“You with the hot chick?” a short, curly-haired guy asked, bumping his hip into mine in some pretense of a dance move.
I bumped back hard enough that he had to catch his balance. “If you mean the tall blonde, yes, I am.”
Out came another bad dance move, with him jiggling his hands like he was shaking a Martini. “She available?”
I shook my head and gave him the bad news. “Not exactly. She starts her prison sentence tomorrow. This is kind of a last hurrah.”
His bushy eyebrows scrunched as he recalculated his plan of attack, not quite ready to give up the chase. Perhaps prison stripes are a turn-on for some guys.
I shrugged. “I suppose she could use a pen pal. Although her ex might be writing to her, too. He seems to have gotten over the whole stabbing thing. You really only need one testicle, right?” I boogied away from him and started getting my excuses ready for the string of men who would soon be lining up to meet the second most appealing woman in the bar—the hot chick’s best friend. Always a good girl to know when trying to make your move. At least, that’s what the men seemed to think.
I’d like to thank Lisa for dropping by and sharing today! If you are interested in entering her giveaway, just leave your email address in the comments section. If you are a book blogger, please fill out my survey – see the link in the Current Giveaways at the top of this page.
Thank you for hosting Lisa today.
Your stories sound so fun. It is a great way to write with those ideas that keep popping up. So many people get ideas and put them away for a while (or forever) while looking for a full length novel idea.
I definitely like the short story and novella lengths. It seems that’s all I have time for. You’re right…It’s nice to get something completed during a lunch hour or while dinner is in the oven. With short stories, I can read one when I have time. Sometimes, with novels, I find that I can’t pick up where I left off. If it’s been too long, I have to start again from the beginning.
catherinelee100[at]gmail[dot]com
Thanks for hosting me today!
And I agree with you Catherine. Sometimes I just don’t have time to commit to a novel. I love shorter length fiction.
Hi Lisa!
You are welcome! Your books look really interesting and I’m hoping to whittle down my TBR pile so that I can fit in your books!
Thanks so much for the visit!
Another new to me author! I just love finding them. Your books look really great. I’d love to be entered for the gc.
Books sound like a fun read, good luck.
r.d1@myfairpoint.net
The excerpt made me laugh & I just could not stop. Clever writing, thank you.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Hi Lisa,
Missed this post yesterday…but, just in case you visit again, I’ll ask you this: Do you ever do major rewrites to your books before turning then into your publisher? Recently another author told me they completely re-wrote the same story twice until they were satisfied and turned it in. Didn’t say if there requests for edits or not….but it made me wonder…is that a case of overthinking something to the point of outsmarting yourself? Is it best to try to get the product perfect or wait for it to come back bleeding with edits?
kareninnc at gmail dot com
Hi Karen, I kind of walk around with the story in my head until I know what it’s about, what they characters are like, and then sit down and write it. I’ve never done major major rewrites to anything. So, it might be different for me. Many authors “write by the seat of their pants” and see where the story takes them. Others, like me, pretty much know where the story’s going to end up. Does that make sense?
I enjoyed the interview. The book sounds very good.