The WMF Archives: Writers to Watch: Interview with Dawne Prochilo

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Writers to Watch: Interview with Dawne Prochilo

6:02 AM

By Alyssa Ast

Recently, the WM Freelance Connection was given the opportunity to interview author Dawne Prochilo. With two published romance ebooks (Crape Myrtle and On Her Own) and her first erotica book set to publish soon, she can truly offer a unique perspective into the ebook publishing world. Dawne Prochilo is a promising author with a bright future ahead of her. She graciously granted us an interview about her successful writing career to date.

Interview with Dawne Prochilo

WM: Was there a point in your life when you knew you wanted to be a writer? What made you decide to pursue it?

DP: When I was a freshman in high school I had an English teacher that really pushed me. Every assignment, every question, every answer had to rewritten. She was a stickler for perfection and at the time, it appeared like she was zeroing in on me. She was always criticizing my work; she was harsh. Telling me I could do better than that or that she expected better from me. Needless to say I was furious with her. I almost gave up on her assignments and threw in the proverbial towel until our final assignment of the semester was to write a short story. We chose the topic. The only guideline was, was that we had to surprise her with some twist. The unexpected ending. I took the challenge and began writing. I wrote and rewrote the story a hundred times before I thought I had the perfect story. When we received the paper back weeks later, imagine my surprise when I was granted an 'A'. My love for writing, creating and storytelling was born.

WM: After successfully publishing 2 romance ebooks, what made you decide to give the erotic genre a try? Besides the obvious, what is the main difference you see between the two genres?

DP: I have been writing contemporary romance for years and now that two ebooks are published, I decided to try my hand at a direct genre of romance: erotic romance. In one of my published ebooks (Crape Myrtle) I wrote my first love scene. I had put that scene off until the very end of my writing process. I felt intimidated at first so I started reading erotic romance novels. I picked up some jargon (that I was already familiar with) and replaced certain sexually related words with new ones. It all fell into place and I discovered, after having my husband read a few excerpts, that I really had a talent for describing and creating a tantalizing scene.

To me the most obvious difference between the two romance genres is description and details. Contemporary romance is more suggestive with the door shut to the reader whereas erotic romance invites the reader in.

WM: Do you feel there is a level of criticism that's geared towards erotic writers? How do you deal with it?

DP: Negative criticisms and controversy surround erotic writing and authors but like very topic, the strongest voice against the subject is usually the one that knows the least about it. While most consenting adults have an active and healthy love/sexual life behind closed doors, erotic authors have taken those moments, put them into black and white and have chosen to share with others.

I personally have not had to deal with negative complaints yet. But I do have an erotic romance author friend who has. She was devastated when her church, of where she is a devoted member and participant, felt her name was possibly tarnishing the church and its beliefs. She dealt with it and came out a stronger person.

WM: You were recently on the Authorshow.com radio and TV show, can you describe your experience with that?

DP: In three letters: WOW. It was one of the best experiences I've had to date since the release of my novels. I was approached by The Author's Show radio host Don McCauley after he saw a press release from my publisher. He was intrigued by Crape Myrtle's storyline and wanted to interview me for the show. We spent 45-minutes chatting, laughing and performing the interview via telephone. The actual interview aired was only about 13 minutes in length but they edited it to perfection and I was very impressed with the results.

I was fine with the interview but when it was completed, Don told me that their website gets over 3 million hits a week. So in essence, my voice could be heard by just as many people. That's when I got little nervous but by then it was too late.

WM: With publishing 2 ebooks in 1 year (2009) and a 3rd set to publish this year, how do you find the time to lead a successful writing career and maintain a family life?

DP: Lack of sleep and a very supportive family seemed to be the key for me. I would wake up earlier than normal to have those quiet moments at the laptop, I would stay up later than normal to edit and I have the most understanding husband in the world. When my laptop crashed, he bought me a new one. When I needed quiet time, he left me huddled at the table tapping away at the keypad. He was even my first editor. He'd spend his mornings reading my printed copy with a red pen in hand. He was a gentle critic but always told the truth and offered suggestions. He's the first person I turn to when I get stumped.

WM: What do you consider to be the best advice you have received as a writer and who did it come from?

DP: Two come to mind.

First is Mary Quast, another erotic romance writer and friend. She's guided me various websites and forums where I've met an enormous amount of fellow writers and authors who are like a huge extended family. They're always willing to answer your questions, emails and offer advice. Mary has been so helpful and is full of publishing knowledge- thanks Mary.

Second is Sandy Sullivan, yes, another romance author. She has been a plethora of information and guidance too. We're all busy but Sandy always took the time to chat and email me with updates and direction.

WM: On a final note, what advice you give to new writers struggling to break in to the romance or erotica genre?

DP: Keep trying and never, ever give up.I know that sounds like generic advice but if I had given up after my hundreds of rejections then I wouldn't be a published author. The publishing industry is hard to break in to. Persistence, social networking and marketing are key. Make contacts at writing conferences, book signings for other authors, on social websites and writers retreats or conventions.

More About Dawne Prochilo

Contemporary and erotic romance author, Dawne Prochilo, lives in rural Michigan with her husband, Joe, and their five children. She spent seven years as a newspaper reporter and staff writer and endless years as a freelance writer for newspapers. Her writing experience continues online where she writes for http://www.examiner.com/ and various other websites.
Whether she's sitting in front of her laptop writing with a glass of wine in hand or curled up with a good book, Dawne always makes time for her family and friends.

You can find Dawne online at facebook, on Twitter (goldendawne1), myspace and on her blog http://dawneprochilo.blogspot.com/ and at the recently group formed blog http://romancewritersbehavingbadly.blogspot.com/.
Her books (Crape Myrtle, On Her Own) can be found at http://www.internationalagora.com/.
Contact Dawne directly at dawne.prochilo@yahoo.com

Due to our special interview today, the contest information for March is posted in the WM Freelance Connections Group.

Labels: Alyssa Ast, author interviews, dawne prochilo, erotica writer, romance writer, Writers to Watch

8 comments:

Anonymous said...: Very well done Alyssa and Dawne. Nice to see a variety of authors here. Erotic was taboo but is becoming more accepted in the publishing world.; March 2, 2010 2:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Very nice. well presented and just the right amount of depth. Keep up the good both of you!-Author Chris Keys; March 2, 2010 5:03 PM
Anonymous said...: I agree...very well put together and great interview. Good Job, Mandy Austin; March 2, 2010 7:29 PM
Anonymous said...: Ebooks are becoming more and more popular, especially with the release of the Kindle, etc. This is where erotic books' sales have been booming. Congrats on the entrance into the world of erotica.
Barb Kalesh; March 3, 2010 4:22 AM
Anonymous said...: Love the statement how erotic writers invite readers into the bedroom. Most people (prudish ones) will argue erotic writing is distasteful and degrading to women when in reality this is how many mature adults feel and act, at least behind closed doors. Thank you for standing up for the erotic authors.
Tasha Nicols; March 3, 2010 1:15 PM
Rebecca said...: Great interview! As was mentioned in the interview, "...negative criticisms and controversy surround erotic writing and authors" because I believe most people are not comfortable with their sexuality or they're not comfortable speaking about sex. It's ironic since our films and television shows are filled with "smoky" scenes!

I met a guy at a networking event and he has a friend who writes for Harlequin. The writer is making a great living!; March 3, 2010 2:58 PM
Dawne Prochilo said...: I agree with Rebecca- it's amazing how many people are first to jump and criticize because of their own personal hang-ups. thanks; March 3, 2010 4:13 PM
Alyssa Ast said...: I agree!

This was a great interview to conduct and I truly enjoyed working with Dawne. I can't wait to see what comes next for her!; March 3, 2010 4:16 PM