PPWC 2014 Q&A - Terese Ramin

Terese Ramin, Editor, Entangled Publishing

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an author/editor?

The defining moment when I realized I wanted to be an author took place when I was 9. I went to school with nuns, and they told us we should all ask St. Anthony to help us find our path in the world, so I did. No matter how many times I "asked" the response was always "be a writer." I took that to heart.

The defining moment that made me realize I wanted to be an editor happened when my husband retired and I needed to supplement the family income. ;-) I've always edited - school with nuns teaches you how to do this in a big way - but the hubs' retirement brought it home to me this way: a professional writer who wants to survive in an ever changing marketplace makes use of every skill she has at her disposal to work within her profession and get paid. So among other things, I took up professional editing.

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

Hmmm... In the morning my creative vice is a cup of coffee (or a latte) and a browse through the internet news. After that it's my Lhasa Apso in my line of sight - so I can make sure he's not finding trouble to get into. Otherwise I'm up checking to see what he's doing and getting No Work Done. He's been my muse for sixteen years (along with every other rescued creature that's come through the door.)

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Madeleine L'Engle or Ray Bradbury. Their work influenced me from the start.

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

At the very first writer's conference I ever attended I got up the courage to have a New York editor read a passage from something I was working on out loud to a group of other writers at a round table. I hadn't even completed my first book at the time. Although I was terribly untried at the time, the editor complimented my work and encouraged me to keep on with it. Later that day I was in the bathroom and another one of the writers at the table dashed up to me and asked for my autograph. I was completely taken aback (read: shocked out of my mind). She told me she wanted it because she knew I would eventually be someone and she wanted the autograph to show her kids as having met me when. That moment was both thrilling and daunting, but it's also the first autograph I ever signed. You always remember your first.

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

Lucy Van Pelt (Peanuts), Elektra, or Natalia Romanova. When "the doctor is in" she's way in and generally helpful, but when she's out, boy howdy! Look out.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

The only road to success is perseverance and practice. Practice your writing as often as possible, thicken your skin against criticism, and realize that you are not your work / your writing. The very act of putting your work in front of another person takes courage. Your willingness to refine that work, to make it better, to understand that editing is not an attack on your baby - that's the mark of the true writer, the true author.

About the Editor: Terese Ramin was born to parents who frequently wondered where she came from. A brush with mortality made her pull up her socks and finally finish her first novel. It won the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award that same year. She is the author of ten romance and romantic suspense novels, numerous short stories, and the creator/editor/author of the charitable collaboration Bewitched, Bothered & BeVampyred. Ramin joined Entangled Publishing as Editorial Director of Ignite (formerly Entangled Suspense) in June 2013. Prior to this she spent eighteen months editing for Crimson Romance and numerous years as an editorial freelancer for private clients. Ignite is the Entangled imprint for romantic suspense/mystery/thriller novels, but Terese will take pitches in all varieties of romance. Her reading tastes are eclectic, ranging from YA to NA to erotica, romance, mysteries, thrillers, SF/F, literary fiction, and non-fiction – and all of the attendant sub-genres. Aside from writing and editing, Terese works as a ghost writer, a book doctor, and a paranormal investigator. Find her on Twitter at @TereseRamin and Facebook Terese Ramin.