I'm hosting a duo today, a husband and wife who write individually, but whose collaborative fiction efforts result in Western novels. Judy and Ronald Culp have a book in a continuing series coming out in October. The Search for Justice is available for ordering on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Hastings. Avalon Books is their publisher.Welcome Judy and Ron! How long have you been writing? What made you start?
We started writing as a team in 2001 when we lived in Colorado while both of us worked in day jobs. We spent a lot of time exploring old mining towns in the Arkansas River valley around Leadville, Granite, Fairplay, Buena Vista, and Salida, and the history, scenery, and our imaginations all came together.
When did you sell your first Western?
We sold book one in the Telegraph Series, The Search For Truth, to Avalon Books in 2004 and it was released early in 2005.
What type of writers are you? Do you plan ahead/plot or do you simply fly by the seat of your pants?
Ron: I’m organized and Judy is global. Both: We brainstorm, research and discuss, yell and holler, finally we put together an outline and finally build a long synopsis. Then we begin to write. Soon our characters take over and we go from there. More often than not, our story changes from what we originally envisioned.
How do you choose your characters' names?
We try to choose names commonly in use at the time of our setting. Some come from our family history records, some from friends. For example, a friend was named Diosune, meaning God Unites, and it struck us as apt for one of our characters in The Search For Freedom.
What is your daily schedule like?
We attempt to do detailed daily planning over coffee, and then forget about it within an hour. We write when we can. But while life can get in the way, our current project is never far from our minds. As we go through a day, we think about a situation, a plot twist, a character and how he or she might behave, and when our thoughts are complete it goes onto notes or into the draft.
How do you handle life interruptions?
You’ve got to have a sense of humor and be ready to share a laugh. We know that we are either in the middle of some family crisis or problem, have just finished one,22http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_C3rviwv2sw4/SOEvQrq3rnen we write what we enjoy, but we WRITE.
What other work of yours has been published?
Ron:
“Tuskegee Marine,” November 2005, World War II magazine
The First Black United States Marines, 2007, McFarland & Company
Judy:
“The Three Little Pigs, or Tres Cerditos,” bilingual play, 2002, I. E. Clark Publications
“Jack and the Beanstalk, or Juanillo y la planta de frijoles,” bilingual play, 2002, I. E. Clark Publications
“Dear Journal,” November 2004, Plays Magazine
Both:
The Search For Truth, 2005, Avalon Books
The Search For Freedom, 2007, Avalon Books
The Search For Justice, (release date October) 2008, Avalon Books
"Cavalry Tactics in the Civil War," "The Henry Rifle," Union spy "Sarah Thompson," World War II British entertainer "Vera Lynn," the British "Women's Land Army" in World War II, and "British Signals Intelligence in World War II."
These are part of ABC-CLIO's Military History Series entitled "The United
States at War: Understanding Conflict and Society."
Thank you for the Interview.
Thank you for asking us to do this. For anyone wishing to read more, we have our website:
www.judyandronculp.com
We started writing as a team in 2001 when we lived in Colorado while both of us worked in day jobs. We spent a lot of time exploring old mining towns in the Arkansas River valley around Leadville, Granite, Fairplay, Buena Vista, and Salida, and the history, scenery, and our imaginations all came together.
When did you sell your first Western?
We sold book one in the Telegraph Series, The Search For Truth, to Avalon Books in 2004 and it was released early in 2005.
What type of writers are you? Do you plan ahead/plot or do you simply fly by the seat of your pants?
Ron: I’m organized and Judy is global. Both: We brainstorm, research and discuss, yell and holler, finally we put together an outline and finally build a long synopsis. Then we begin to write. Soon our characters take over and we go from there. More often than not, our story changes from what we originally envisioned.
How do you choose your characters' names?
We try to choose names commonly in use at the time of our setting. Some come from our family history records, some from friends. For example, a friend was named Diosune, meaning God Unites, and it struck us as apt for one of our characters in The Search For Freedom.
What is your daily schedule like?
We attempt to do detailed daily planning over coffee, and then forget about it within an hour. We write when we can. But while life can get in the way, our current project is never far from our minds. As we go through a day, we think about a situation, a plot twist, a character and how he or she might behave, and when our thoughts are complete it goes onto notes or into the draft.
How do you handle life interruptions?
You’ve got to have a sense of humor and be ready to share a laugh. We know that we are either in the middle of some family crisis or problem, have just finished one,22http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_C3rviwv2sw4/SOEvQrq3rnen we write what we enjoy, but we WRITE.
What other work of yours has been published?
Ron:
“Tuskegee Marine,” November 2005, World War II magazine
The First Black United States Marines, 2007, McFarland & Company
Judy:
“The Three Little Pigs, or Tres Cerditos,” bilingual play, 2002, I. E. Clark Publications
“Jack and the Beanstalk, or Juanillo y la planta de frijoles,” bilingual play, 2002, I. E. Clark Publications
“Dear Journal,” November 2004, Plays Magazine
Both:
The Search For Truth, 2005, Avalon Books
The Search For Freedom, 2007, Avalon Books
The Search For Justice, (release date October) 2008, Avalon Books
"Cavalry Tactics in the Civil War," "The Henry Rifle," Union spy "Sarah Thompson," World War II British entertainer "Vera Lynn," the British "Women's Land Army" in World War II, and "British Signals Intelligence in World War II."
These are part of ABC-CLIO's Military History Series entitled "The United
States at War: Understanding Conflict and Society."
Thank you for the Interview.
Thank you for asking us to do this. For anyone wishing to read more, we have our website:
www.judyandronculp.com
I enjoyed the interview. I especially love to find out what advice published authors have. I am excited about that book you have an essay in. I'll have to look for it--it looks like a really neat book. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview, Marsha. It's fun getting to know other authors. They seem like a neat couple:o)
ReplyDeleteMarsha, great interview as always.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your advice! "Write what you like." That's the only way to go.
ReplyDeleteHi Marsha, Interesting interview as always. You do find some good authors to feature. Thanks.
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