April Interview with Celeste O. Norfleet

GB: Hi Celeste! Thanks so much for visiting my blog and doing an interview. I’m a huge fan of your work and I appreciate you taking the time to chat! So, first I have to ask my standard time management question. How do you find the time to do it all and do it all so well?

CN: Hi Gwyneth. Thanks for inviting me to visit your blog and thanks for the great intro although I don’t know about the “do so well” part. Okay, to answer your question, I consider writing a full time job, so when it comes to time management I stay pretty close to a set work schedule. I start right after my teens leave for school and continue until they come home. That’s about seven about hours a day. When I’m unable to get seven hours in, I try to make up lost time by working in the evenings. When I’m on deadline I usually schedule myself to write between 10,000 and 15,000 words a week. Doing the math, I can usually complete a book in 2 months or less.

GB: What drew you to the romance genre? Were you a reader of romance novels before you started to write them?

CN: I’m a late bloomer when it comes to romance. I’m often amazed by the stories of authors reading romance at young ages. While they were reading romance I was drawing and painting. What drew me to romance is easy, I read one romance novel and was instantly smitten. That was in 1995. I decided to write romance a few years later.

GB: Since your first novel, Priceless Gift in 2002, you have published 14 novels and a novella. Congratulations on being so prolific and getting so many wonderful novels published. Has your writing changed over the years? How do you keep it fresh for yourself?



CN: Thanks Gwyneth. I’d like to think and hope that my writing has changed for the better over the years, but I guess that’s a matter of opinion. I constantly study the mechanics of the craft. There’s always something more for me to learn. Keeping fresh for me means keeping an eye on what’s going on in the world and in the business. I read a lot, and try to stay open to new and unusual ideas. I come up with dozens of story plots for books every week. Some are good and some are absolutely horrible. I’ll get an idea and go, “what if…” My March 2007 release, Love After All , is a perfect example of that. I read a newspaper article about someone getting conned and the ball just started rolling.



GB: With so many wonderful novels under your belt, do you find that there are any common themes in your work, themes that resurface or topics that you revisit?

CN: There’s always the enduring love theme. I’m secretly a hopeless romantic, so writing the happily ever after ending is so natural for me. As for topics, I like doing research so my books have dozens of different themes and topics. I like changing up and keeping the books fresh and exciting.

GB: What has your journey to publication been like? How did you get in print and remain in print? Are there any secrets to your success that you are willing to share?



CN: Sorry, there are no secrets. Getting published was more a test of patience and perseverance then anything else. I learned very fast that getting published was a Catch 22. You needed an agent to get a publishing contract and you needed a publishing contract to get an agent. I also learned that persistence pays off. After deciding to become a writer I went to the local library and learned everything I could about the publishing business. Afterwards I wrote my first manuscript and sent it in. I immediately wrote my second manuscript and send that in as well. Midway through my third manuscript I received the “call.” In 2001 Chandra Taylor Sparks, editor at BET Books, wanted to buy both manuscripts and also wanted me to write a Christmas romance. She gave me three months to write it. It was my first deadline. I received a three book contract. I wasn’t agented at the time but I did use the legal services of Elaine English, who is currently my agent.

GB: You’re the author of a widely successful and popular series, The Matchmaker Series which features the always wonderful and sometimes meddlesome, Mamma Lou. I had the pleasure of chatting with Mamma Lou here on “Gwyneth’s Blog” a couple of weeks ago and she was just delightful! She had some really insightful things to say about the series and her mission to help folks find love. As the author of this marvelous series, can you tell us a little bit about what went into creating it? Did you know it was going to be such a long running series when you started it? Any advise to writers about developing and sustaining a successful series?



CN: The Matchmaker Series came about completely by accident as did all of my series books. Initially, when I typed the words, “the end” after I finished writing Priceless Gift , I expected that to be the end. To my total surprise, it wasn’t. I’m delighted to say that readers adored Mamma Lou and wanted more. I was asked by my editor to start and continue a series featuring her. It was easy enough because Louise Gates is such a great character. I had no idea at the time that the series would continue for eight books (and counting). I think that the key to developing and sustaining a successful series is to writing a great story and creating memorable character.

GB: I just finished your latest Matchmaker Series release, When Love Calls and loved it. Can you tell folks a little bit about it? Just enough to tease them and make them run out and buy it.



CN: When Love Calls is part of the Matchmaker Series. It features Senator Randolph Kingsley and Alyssa Wingate. Alyssa is a hopeful DC lobbyist on a mission to sneak into a private reception and get Senator Kingsley to support her cause. They end the evening in a police station with Randolph realizing that there’s something special about her. Alyssa and Randolph are attracted to each other but family secrets and political maneuvering vie to keep them apart. Unlike Mamma Lou’s other targets; Randolph actually enlists her help to win the heart of the woman he loves. But as we all know politics make strange bedfellows. In When Love Calls there are secrets, betrayals, lies, backstabbing, tender romance and hot, steamy, tantalizing sex (after all we are talking politics). Yes, there’s also a bit of humor.

GB: With all the political sex scandals going on these days, it seems like a very timely topic! You also have a Young Adult novel coming out this month that you co-authored with your daughter. Can you tell us a little bit about the novel and what it was like co-writing with your teenaged daughter? I’ll bet it was a blast!



CN: Yes, it really was a blast! Hard to believe but it’s true. My daughter, Jennifer collaborated and wrote, She Said, She Said with me. We had such a great time. The actually logistics were simple. I wrote the mother’s character and Jennifer wrote the daughter’s character. We basically took turns, exchanged copy daily and stayed on a very tight schedule and a tight chapter outline and synopsis. She Said, She Said is a Kimani TRU and is the story of a mother and daughter characters that are at odds with each other. Each character talks, but neither listens and when they do they only hear what they want to hear. After a long road trip to the mother’s home town the main characters seem to change places. The teenage daughter begins to act like a mom and the mother begins to act like a teenager. It’s a warm and funny story, a definite keeper.

GB: It sounds delightful. I could see it as a movie already and I haven’t even read it. LOL. Somebody call Disney… (smile) So, how has your life changed since becoming published? Would you change anything if you had it to do all over again? What changes, if any, do you anticipate in the future?

CN: I love being a published author but actually my life hasn’t really changed that much. I was a stay at home mom and I’m still a stay at home mom. Only know I write between dusting and laundry. I don’t know that I’d change anything. It’s been a wonderful journey. One definite future change will be writing from more lines, so stay tuned.

GB: What’s next on the horizon for you? Tell us a little bit about your upcoming projects and give us a sneak peek at some of the things you have in the works.

CN: I can’t keep a secret. My first Kimani TRU, Pushing Pause , did very well so I’ve been asked to write a sequel to the story. Fast Forward will be out the end of this year with more sequels to come. Also, there’s more in the works for the Matchmaker Series and I’ll be revisiting the characters from Only You and Love After All .



GB: All right! Congratulations, lady! You are certainly doing your thing. Keep those books coming… So, what are you reading right now?

CN: Right now, truthfully, it’s the Washington Post newspaper. I just got finished judging two different contests, so my eyes are triple crossed from reading romance. But the top three books in my “to-be-read” pile are – No One But You by Michelle Monkou, Then Comes Love by Candice Poarch, Double Platinum by Shelia Goss. Girl, I read your novella in Cuffed by Candlelight . “Handcuffs Mean Never Having to Say You’re Sorry” was too HOT!

GB: I just finished Michelle Monkou's No One But You . It was a great read. I am about to start Shelia Goss's Double Platinum . Do you have any advice for aspiring writers about the publishing business?

CN: Don’t give up on yourself or your talent.

GB: How can readers best contact you?

CN: Sure, readers can e-mail me at conorfleet@aol.com or write me snail mail at Celeste O. Norfleet, P. O. Box 7346, Woodbridge, VA 22195-7346. Don’t forget to check out my website at,
http://www.celesteonorfleet.com .