Legends at LoveCats . . . . Meredith Webber

The LoveCats are delighted to host another wonderful Legend this month . . . the fabulous Meredith Webber.

1/ Please tell us a little about your journey to first getting published? 

Many years ago I heard Tessa Shapcott interviewed on radio and the one thing she said that stuck with me was that wanted writers who produced.  Eager to prove my production ability I sent of three chapters and a synopsis to London every month, then RWAus came into being and I heard about medical romance so sent them three chapters and a synopsis and back came a letter – no email in those days – asking for a whole book.  I’d never written a whole book, but terrified the editor would forget me if I didn’t get it there fast, I finished the book in a fortnight, sent it off and it was accepted – phone ringing in middle of the night with a fax coming through – that was the usual way of communication.

 2/ How many books have you had published so far in your career? 

I’ve had 86 M and B medical romance, one ST set in Brisbane during the war, and in the early days of e-books about 6 books published by New Concepts Publishing.

 

3/ The world of publishing is ever evolving, how have you stayed on top of trends and continued to give your readers what they want? 

I kind of went backwards with this.  I didn’t realise for a long time that readers actually want the same story all the time, just told with different twists and quirks.  I set my first book in India and early ones in the outback, up in the Himalayas during trekking season, one was a medical rescue team that flew into South America and Africa repatriating sick or injured Aussies.  I had a non-medical hero and a few vets and various other ‘different’ books all of which had my up and down reader ratings driving m editor nuts.  Now I do try to write the same story all the time, but my characters live today and live as today’s twenty to thirty something’s live so they are real people.

 4/ What has been the highlight of your publishing career so far? 

I suppose being number one on some list in the US – a fact that I was unaware of – didn’t know there were lists – until a friend told me.  My next book came out with a little flag on the cover saying Number One best-selling author.

 5/ Which of your books is your favourite, and why? 

Very hard!  I was asked to write a book solely from the hero’s viewpoint and I loved that book.  Another had an Army officer as a hero – Army helping people in flooded outback town – and he was bossy and irritating and the heroine fought with him all the way through but it was fun.  Recently Taming Dr Tempest had a hero who was very much a city man sent to the outback and that was fun to write as well.

 6/ Are you a plotter or a panster? 
I do wish I was a plotter. Believe me, I’ve tried.  The only time I did the whole plotting thing, thinking it all out, having little cards to shuffle around, I spent so much time on the plotting I felt as if I’d already written the book and the writing felt stale to me and it took ages to write.  I realised then that the only thing that keeps me writing to the end is to find out for myself what happens.

 

7/ What’s the one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? 
Sit down and write.  It’s my mantra.  You can talk about writing, read about writing, go to seminars and workshops and conferences but eventually it’s butt on seat and fingers moving so sit down and write.

To go into the draw to win a signed copy of The Sheikh and The Surrogate Mum, please leave a comment.

Thankyou Meredith for joining the LoveCats today.