BookWenches

Interviewed by Bobby

Welcome, Christie! We’re so pleased that you could spend a little time chatting with us today. We of course have a boat load of questions, because we’re incessantly nosey.

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How long have you been writing, and at what point did you decide to pursue professional publication? That “professional” part is a giant step to take. Did it hurt?

I won a writing contest in seventh grade with a cash prize. That was the beginning of my professional writing career. Since then I’ve worked as a newspaper journalist, freelance writer and most recently, a novelist. Moving from non-fiction to fiction has been the most traumatic. It was always so easy for me to get my non-fiction articles and books published. With fiction, it’s so much more subjective.

Tell me a little bit about your other work. Your website mentions editing, photography, and jewelry-making. Eclectic much?

I don’t know if I’m eclectic but I am easily bored. I always have to be working on something. Journalism taught me photography, writing and editing. Currently I’m the editor for a trade publication out of New York City. My jewelry making keeps my hands busy on those long winter nights. I have my jewelry pieces for sale in stores here in Big Bear. Sometimes I make more money from my jewelry sales than I do my royalties.

Your website mentions that you’re involved in both the Sierra Club and your local women’s shelter. Will you share a little bit about that with us?

I’m passionate about the environment and have been a member of the Sierra Club since 1982. It wasn’t until I moved to the small mountain community of Big Bear Lake that I became more active. Now I’m the president of the Big Bear Group and the founder and organizer of our annual Xeriscape Garden Tour. This garden tour won a national award last year for best educational fundraiser. With the grant money from the award, we (my graphic artist husband and I) created a children’s coloring book of wildflowers of the Big Bear Valley.

The women’s shelter up here in Big Bear is part of an organization called DOVES – Domestic Violence Education Services. I used to be a board member on DOVES and volunteered at the shelter.

Tell me the story behind your “Man List.” Sounds interesting…and romantic!

The “Magical Man List” is the fictionalized story of how I conjured up my soul mate. It’s a long story so I’ll just give you the bare bones…I made a list of 65 items that would be part of the perfect man for me. I created a ceremony to activate my list and then waited for the perfect guy to show up. When he did, I began checking off each item until I had checked off 63 out of 65 items. So of course I had to marry the guy. Later I turned the story into a romantic comedy. To hear the whole story go to: http://www.RomanceInTheBackSeat.com and under videos you will find a four minute video of yours truly telling the very funny, real life story of how I met my husband and soul mate, Robbie.

There are lots of cool things about The Magical Man List on my Web site including a place for readers to tell their own “List Story” and hot photos of baseball legend Mike Piazza, who was in the novel.

We adore comedy, especially romantic comedy. What causes you to focus on this genre? You have a talent for making others laugh -- what makes you laugh?

I, too, love to laugh. I want to be touched by the characters in a story but don’t want it to be too sappy. I find that humor—both in life and in fiction—is the perfect reality check. What makes me laugh…my husband makes me laugh every day—sometimes on purpose and sometimes not. A guy with a good sense of humor was high on my Magical Man List.

What kind of writing schedule do you set yourself? Are you regimented and put aside time every day, or do you write in mad bursts of creative passion?

Mad bursts of creative passion. When I’m hot, I’m hot, when I’m not, I’m not. I go with the flow, which means sometimes I’m outlining a novel at two in the morning. When the muse comes a knocking, I always answer the door!

What do you do when the words don’t come? Got a sure-fire cure for writer’s block that you can share?

Because I write when the passion strikes, I rarely have writer’s block. When I do, I usually put the project away for a few days and let my subconscious mind work out the details. Then one morning I’ll wake up and find it has all fallen into place and I can’t wait to get it all down on paper before it vanishes.

So tell me…what makes the perfect man? Is there even such a thing? Are the heroes in your novels perfect men? What makes them human?

First, I think there is no such thing as a universal perfect man. What’s perfect for me, is not going to be perfect for you. That’s the beauty of the “Man List.” Each woman creates her own list of what the perfect man for her would look like. The heroes in my novels are imperfect men, but turn out to be just what the heroine needs.

When you develop your characters, do they usually do what you tell them to do, or do they take off on their own?

I think it’s a little of both. I create them, give them form and a personality but sometimes the things that come out of their mouths surprise even me. My favorite part of any of my novels is the dialogue between characters. When this is flowing, I just do my best to keep up with what everyone is saying.

I just loved Delaney’s three neighbor ladies in “Getting Back to Delaney.” What inspired you to come up with Gwen, Rose, and Amelia? Got to watch that Amelia and her special herbs!

I’m glad you loved my three “fairy-godmother” type characters. I loved them, too. I was inspired by the crazy grandmother, Grandma Mazur in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books.

What is your favorite waste of time?

Watching Survivor and The Amazing Race.

If I were to raid your DVD collection, what would I find? Would I find any particular actor or actress featured repeatedly? Why or why not?

You would find a lot of comedy, some romance, lots of action/adventure like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

Who is your favorite author and why?

When I’m writing I can’t read. It messes up my “voice.” But when I finish a novel I treat myself to a whole stack of books.

I love Janet Evanovich because it makes me laugh out loud. I also like Jennifer Crusie, although my mom thinks my book, “The Write Man for Her” was “better than a book by Jennifer Crusie.” You gotta love your mom!

What are you working on right now – will you give us a sneak peek?

I’m just wrapping up novel number four, “Pandora’s Closet” the story of a young computer whiz, Travis, who is hired by three owners of a clothing company as an admin assistant. In order to keep his job, Travis has to figure out how to keep all three of his very different bosses happy without falling in love with any one of them. The unique twist on this story is that it’s told from Travis’ point of view. Should be laugh out loud funny.

We’ve surely forgotten something, so the last question is open-ended. Is there anything else about yourself that you care to share with our readers?

Sure. I have created three very different stories in my three novels AND a free short story as well. Currently all three books and the short story are available as e-Books. The Write Man for Her is also in print as a trade paperback, with Getting Back to Delaney coming out in print this fall. I hope you will go to my Web site and check out all of my books and download the free short story. Then sign up for my newsletter to keep in touch and be alerted when new books become available. Thanks so much for letting me visit with you and happy reading!

Thanks so much Christie. We wish you the very best of luck, and we can’t wait for your next story to come out!

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If you would like to know more about Christie Walker Bos and her work, please visit her website at http://christiewalkerbos.com . You can find her books available through Cerridwen Press and Amazon.com. Best way to order books is to use the links to the publisher’s site found on Christie’s Web site. To contact the author directly, e-mail her at Christie@ChristieWalkerBos.com