Ruby, Unscripted Giveaway!

We are pleased to welcome Cindy Martinusen-Coloma and to talk to her about her life, and her newest book, Ruby Unscripted,

Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

As a child and teenager, I’d make up stories in my head at night with some continuing for weeks or months. I still do this if I can’t sleep, but then I try waking up to write the ideas down.
I started my first novel at age 12. The book was about a girl and her friends seeking underwater treasure. It was very much an Indiana "Jane" type story, and yes, I was the lead in my own story (though with a different name).
Writing was one of many things I wanted to do. Mainly I wanted to be an archeologist or an actress. But as a writer, I’m an archeologist digging up a story and also like an actress playing different roles on the page. I get to live many lives and experiences through the characters.

When I was just out of high school, I became more serious about my writing. It sort of clicked that this was my calling.

My first sale was a play that I wrote and produced for my church. I was so excited! But after that early success, there were years of rejection. I’ve kept most of those rejection letters so that I could further triumph when I received the acceptances. I still have that file and I show it to my writer’s group sometimes.

My first novel sale in 1998 came 8 years after I started pursuing writing and publication. With it, two dreams came true -- my first published novel and the chance to go to Europe (I spent my advance on two research trips to Europe).

Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

I'd love to say that I have a "typical" writing schedule. I’m always trying to work on my discipline. Many writers, myself included, are natural procrastinators. And our creative natures make it hard to do the same exact thing consistently -- or that might be my excuse.

Mornings and late night are my best writing times. A few weeks ago, I was getting up at 3 or 4AM. This worked great, but I’m a natural night owl so I like working until 3 AM usually. This doesn’t work well with the family schedule however. So you can see my dilemma.

Lately, my husband and I have grabbed onto the joys of working at a coffeehouse 2-3 days a week (he’s a web developer and an aspiring writer). I get a lot done when I’m away from the house. I also enjoy the “characters” that come in, the conversations I sometimes overhear, and of course, the coffee!

I set daily word count goals (like 2,000 a day). But when a deadline is approaching, I'll work up to 15 hours a day. Then after the book is done, I have to catch up with life – reorganize the house, do more activities with the family, exercise and catch up with my neglected girlfriends.

Typical? I’m still trying to find that.

Please tell us about your latest novel and what we can expect from your characters.

I’m very excited about this new novel – my first Y/A to be released.

Ruby Unscripted is about a girl who moves from her small conservative hometown in California to an affluent town near San Francisco. It’s a different culture for her. And while it’s a dream come true in many ways, Ruby’s life is suddenly torn in two.

Ruby’s parents are divorced and both remarried with her father still living in her hometown. All of her friends are back home, and the guy she liked for a long time finally says that he likes her too – once she moved away (talk about typical!). There are a lot of exciting things in Marin County, but Ruby struggles to find her place among the wealthy and sophisticated people at her school. She works in her aunt’s coffeehouse/cinema, which includes a lot of foibles and interesting characters – one is a good-looking, mysterious guy who is part of the amateur filmmaking scene.

The characters of Ruby, her little brother Mac, and older brother Carson are definitely inspired by the personalities of my daughter and two sons. The story isn’t about them, but the personalities are definitely similar. That was really fun to write. My youngest son now wants a book written solely about him (the Mac character).

Ruby’s journey includes how we all seek to find “our art” and the challenges of going after our dreams.

What's up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Coming very soon (November), I have another Y/A novel called Beautiful. The novel is about two teen sisters who are complete opposites –Ellie has everything going for her and Megan is much more withdrawn and alone. When a tragedy occurs, the sister’s lives are irrevocably changed. They each have to make some hard decisions about what they want out of life, who they are to one another and what they each believe. They both must explore in their own ways what “being beautiful” is really about.

Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Belief, hard work and perseverance.

Many talented people waste their gifts because they lack these three elements.

My main advice for both aspiring and professional writers is for them to develop strong belief (in their writing and in God), work hard (the hard work never ends in writing), and keep going through rejections, criticism, late nights and characters who come to life and change your book completely.

Thanks so much for joining us here, and wishing you big success with this new book!

For our readers who'd like a chance to win a copy of Ruby, Unscripted, please leave a comment between NOW and Sunday, May 10 at 7 pm PST, to be entered. Best of luck!