Meet the Voices presents Sandra van den Bogerd who writes as Sandra Orchard!
Sandra began writing fiction five years ago and queried Steeple Hill after completing her first novel. She was thrilled to receive a request for the full manuscript, and disappointed to learn it didn’t have enough romance. She set out to find other publishers and discovered Write!Canada, an annual conference for Christian writers in her home province of Ontario. Author Linda Hall critiqued her first three chapters and recommended her to an agent and she was off! Four years and four novels later, she’s made lots of wonderful friends, learned tons, let her first agent go, had one story get as far as acquisitions, and on July 18th received the 2009 Daphne DuMaurier Award of Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.
What is the biggest writing challenge you’ve encountered this past year – craft, career, writing life, etc.?
Writer’s Block! After attending the 2008 ACFW conference, I had invitations to submit proposals/manuscripts for three different books. While I had a proposal ready to go for the one yet-to-be-finished story, two editors wanted to see it reworked as a cozy, not the romantic suspense I’d plotted. I, of course, was happy to oblige and soon had a new proposal ready to go. The other two requests weren’t as easy to meet. I was in the middle of extensive revisions (i.e. major rewrites) when I had one of those aha moments. I figured out why the ending wasn’t working. The problem was I didn’t know how to fix it!
How did you solve it?
I went back to the charts I’d made for the plot and characters, and looked at the turning points, black moment, the hero and heroine’s flaws, dreams, fears etc., and brainstormed other ways their values, goals and dreams might clash. (Topics covered in MBT last year.)
I wrote seven different versions of possible endings, but none seemed right. The story is a romantic suspense, and one day an idea for an interesting twist came to mind so I ran with it. I threaded it through the story. I loved it. But three chapters from the end I hit the same wall—how do I stage the black moment so that the suspense, romance and spiritual struggles collide?
Finally, I emailed Susie for HELP! She’d worked with me on this story early in its development, and although much had changed, she knew enough about the characters and plot to help me figure out what wasn’t working AND how to fix it. She critiqued a couple of chapters leading up to the black moment and suggested scenarios that might work. Together we hashed out an idea I was happy with it. And wala I finished the book. It is now under consideration at Kregel.
What is the one thing you learned that you can share with other writers?
Keep writing. For days and weeks, I edited and re-edited what I’d already written. But doing so kept me locked into a version of the story that wasn’t working. When I set it aside and started writing new scenes, ideas began to present themselves.
I also had a God appointment! One day on MBT, I read an insightful critique that Vicki Talley McCollum had written, and was gripped by an urge to contact her. She agreed to be my critique partner and what a blessing she’s been.
Different critiquers have different strengths. Some see the global picture and can quickly pinpoint story holes. Others are great at line-editing. Others are encouragers. At various points over the course of your story or career, you will benefit from a variety of each. Find them. I’m grateful that MBT brought Vicki and I together. She’s a keeper <grin>
Tell us about your current WIP:
I’m finishing the mystery I mentioned earlier. The one publisher whose editor requested it has since closed that line. The other editor who requested it loved it, but unfortunately, murder mysteries are too edgy for her audience. So I’ve taken a couple of steps back and am rewriting the story as a mystery/suspense in which the romance grows over the course of the series.
A series guaranteed to change the way you look at flowers.
In Death by Dahlias (or Murder by Marigolds … I can’t decide) Botanist Kate Adams knows that her friend and coworker didn’t commit suicide, but when the police rule it so, it’s up to her to find and catch the murderer.
Standing in the way is Detective Tom Parker who has the sneaking suspicion Kate might be the killer.
But when Kate’s investigation unearths a hideout where explosives were recently manufactured, will Tom believe her innocence and track down the true culprit before the unthinkable happens?
Sandra, thanks for being our featured Voice this week! Voices can visit Sandra’s website and learn more about her writing journey!
Visit the Meet the Voices thread in the My Book Therapy forum to discuss writing, life, and everything in between with Sandra. Be sure to join us on Friday, September 4 at 8 pm EST/7 pm CST for a My Book Therapy chat with Sandra and our book therapists, Susan and/or Rachel. To access the chat forum:
* Log onto My Book Therapy.
* Click on the forum button.
* Sign in with your username and password, if necessary.
* Along the bottom of your browser window, you will see MBT Voices Chat. Click on that and the chat window will pop up.
* Your name will show up in the box on the right hand side. To comment, type in the box in the bottom under the yellow smiley face.
*In the chatroom, we will abide by chat etiquette–type ? for question, type ! for comment, and type GA for go ahead after you’re completed your question or comment.
* If you have any questions, send an e-mail to meetvoices@mybooktherapy.com and put Chat in the subject.