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Literary Spotlight: Stuart Woods
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Stuart Woods is the author of 38 suspense and crime fiction novels, 22 of which are on the New York Times Bestseller List. Woods is the recipient of the Edgar and Grand Prix de Literature Policere from the French Academy.
Q: Writing is a solitary craft. From where do you draw your support?
A: I have to do it alone. My Labrador Retriever Fred helps a little by lying with his head on my foot.
Q: There is a symbiotic relationship between what a writer envisions and what his readers expect. How do you strike the balance?
A: I don't write for anyone's expectations but my own.
Q: For those writers who shrink at the sound of ‘revise,’ what advice can you offer?
A: Do it right the first time.
Q: It has been said that your novels have a wicked sense of humor. Does the humor naturally evolve from the character or is it deliberately staged for effect?
A: It arises in the conversations in the dialogue.
Q: Aside from writing the best book one can, what advice can you give writers to help market their work?
A: Writers are bad at marketing, unless they have a background like James Patterson. Leave it to the publisher.
Q: What degree of pressure is placed on a successful author to continue to write two or three books a year? How daunting is the challenge for you?
A: I set my own deadlines and try to write a chapter every day.
Carlotta Holton is the author of Salem Pact and Touching The Dead, and is a member of the National Federation of Press Women and an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association.
Carlotta Holton has just received her second award for Touching the Dead from the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest. Click here to purchase the book.
