GCC:  Martha O’Connor

This week’s author from Girlfriend’s Cyber Circuit is Martha O’Connor who’s written the dark story of three young women, their passionate friendship, and the terrible secret that binds them together. Bestselling author Jacquelyn Mitchard called the novel “dark, poignant, and only too believable…a book that will walk alongside you, and haunt your dreams long after you turn the last page.” Here’s Martha’s answers to the RosettWrites Q & A:

Dream vacation destination?

I would like to go on a cruise among the islands of Greece.  This was almost our honeymoon, but we did Hawaii instead. 

Best vacation destination you’ve actually visited?

I can’t say enough wonderful things about London, England!

Least favorite thing to do?

Fall into the pit of self-pity and self-loathing.  A person could really drown in there!

Favorite season?

Summer—I get to spend a lot of time with family!

First car?

My sister and I had a Boat of Car. It was a 1974 Ford Grand Tarino (15 years old at the time).  It got 8 miles to the gallon and its license plate was TACKY4.  We called it “Tacky” for short and decided she was a girl car.  We’d park Tacky at the far end of the high school parking lot so no one would see her, but what we failed to realize is that Tacky stuck out like a neon sign in a soybean field, out there all by itself.  Poor Tacky.  We abused her so.

Older/younger/middle/only child?

I am the older of two.

Hugh Grant or Cary Grant?

Cary Grant.  Thirty seconds with that so-called charming “but-um-well-hm-ha-yes-and-well-um” of the other one would drive me insane.

Mexican/Italian/Chinese/American for a night out?

Can I vote for Indian?  Cuz that’s my fave.  J

Early bird or night owl?

I’m a night owl, even though my kids wake me up early.

Mountains or ocean?

I live in Marin County, we get both!

Now that we’ve gotten to know you a little better, tell us about your book. What event or idea inspired the book?

I had a very close relationship with a few other girls in high school.  Over the years, we eventually lost touch, but I still always felt like they were right next to me, in my heart, no matter where I was.  I’ve never recaptured that intense feeling of friendship as an adult.  So I suppose you could say that relationship was the inspiration behind the book—although we never did any violent crimes together!

Do you have a favorite character?

The three girls/women in my book are really all aspects of me.  Amy is a mother like me—I can definitely relate to her desire to protect her baby.  When you have a baby (or in my case, twins), it changes everything.  You no longer live for yourself, but for someone else.  Rennie is an author, so that comparison is obvious.  However, I hope I’m not as dysfunctional as she is—at least, not anymore!  Finally, Cherry’s a writer too, and has had to struggle against forces beyond her control.  In struggling against addiction, I have had to do the same.  In the end, I can’t pick a favorite.  I love them all. J

What’s your writing style? Outline or no outline?

Invariably, I have always killed books with outlining.  I think I have to have some sense of mystery about what’s going to happen next, or I lose interest and the work seems wooden to me.  That said, I certainly do organize material.  With The Bitch Posse, although I didn’t outline the whole book, I outlined each chapter before I wrote it, and I had some idea of where the book was going to end.  Lately I’ve fallen into a very loose “notecard” system of jotting down ideas.  This way, I can shuffle them around, add to them, ditch some of them, and I’m not tied to a rigid paper outline. 

What do you wish you’d known about either the craft of writing or the business of publishing when you first started writing? 

Nothing.  Had I not been blissfully ignorant about how difficult it is to get published, I might never have tried.  (The Bitch Posse is my fifth novel.)  And I’m glad I tried.  I’m glad I’m here, a little tougher for the wear. 

What’s up next for you? What are you working on now?

Oh, I am so spooked about sharing information about uncontracted and unfinished work.  So I’ll merely say that I have completed a nonfiction book and am at work on a fictional book.  That’s it!  I can’t breathe any louder, or the soufflé might fall!

Thanks, Martha. Check out her blog for more info.