with Marlo Schalesky

June 19, 2008

Hosted by: Anne McDonald

Dancing Word Publisher/Editor

*This chat has been edited for clarity

Anne McDonald: Okies, let's get started. I'll open in prayer, go over protocol and then introduce our very gracious guest.

Lord, thank You for caring for us and seeing to the details of our lives. Thank You for your mercy and grace. Please be with the folks facing flooding in the Midwest. Minister to them, and meet their needs. Be with those who couldn't join us tonight; bless each one of them. Please also bless our chat participants tonight, and our special guest. Let this be a time of learning and encouragement. In Jesus' name, Amen

Protocol reminder: When the floor is open to questions, please type ! for comments, ? for questions and wait to be called on in turn. To keep us from stepping on each others' toes, please type ga when you are finished. ga = go ahead.

Tonight, I'm pleased to introduce a writer who knows how to keep readers turning the pages. Her latest release Beyond the Night is a love story with an unexpected twist. Please welcome Marlo Schalesky...

* Annie leads the applause and turns the floor over to Marlo

Marlo Schalesky: Thanks, all!

Anne McDonald: Marlo, could you give us a brief blurb about your new book?

Marlo Schalesky: Sure ... They say love is blind, this time they're right ... A girl going blind, the guy who loves her but can't tell her so, a car crash, a hospital room, and an ending that has to be experienced to be believed.

Anne McDonald: Where did you get the idea for this story?

Marlo Schalesky: I dreamt the characters one night and could NOT get them out of my head. But it wasn't enough, until God showed me the ending whopper twist. Then I knew I just HAD to write this book (and it was A LOT of fun to write!)

Undercoverangel: What type of writing do you enjoy most? (fiction, non-fiction, etc.

Marlo Schalesky: Definitely fiction - I love the powerfully, beautifully told story (that's what I'm aiming for anyway).

DragonRidingMouse: How do you meet your characters?

Marlo Schalesky: Depends - for Beyond the Night they just showed up in that dream out of the blue and wouldn't leave me alone. Sometimes they're bits and pieces of different people I know or have known.

Anne McDonald: Do you actually talk to your characters? How do you flesh them out?

Marlo Schalesky: For Beyond the Night, they talked to themselves, I just listened in and wrote down what I heard. It was fun!

Spitfire: Have any of your characters ever taken over one of your books and taken it in a completely different direction?

Marlo Schalesky: Frequently! I thought this book would be about the power of real love, instead it was about facing fear and overcoming it. That was Maddie's fault.

Anne McDonald: How do you normally flesh out your characters? Do you have a special technique?

Marlo Schalesky: No. I just start writing and see what they do ... this is probably why the first chapters are always so hard for me and the latter chapters flow easily. But no other system seems to work for me but to just jump in.

Undercoverangel: When you're stuck, what do you do,... like writer's block.

Marlo Schalesky: Do something else, go somewhere (Starbucks is best!), and then I try to muse on the story as I'm falling asleep at night, or in the shower. :-)

Anne McDonald: Are you a seat of the pants writer, or do you outline your plot? ga

Marlo Schalesky: I'm a headlights writer - I see what's right in front of me (I HAVE TO write chapters in order), a few chapters ahead, and then some signposts in the distance.

Anne McDonald: What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Marlo Schalesky: Getting started. I'm supposed to be starting the third of my "Love Stories with a Twist!" now (Beyond the Night is the first of those) - and wow, it's hard to get going—too many options.

Undercoverangel: I am a teenager, oldest of 4 and mom is pregnant, I'm homeschooled, and I have too many chores,... how do I find time to write?

Marlo Schalesky: I run my own business, have 4 little kids, so I feel your pain! Find a certain time during the day you can set aside, then just do it, even if it's just an hour in the evening.

Spitfire: What is your favorite part of writing?

Marlo Schalesky: Oh, it's that moment when I see what's God's been leading up to in the story all along. It's like touching the hem of the Creator. When I see it - the deeper things that I never planned but I know He did, and it all makes sense. That is soooo cool.

rumby314: I have to agree with Angel about needing more time with little siblings.