Converse live with Gather's rising Star--Starr Toth, the runner up in the First Chapters Romance Writing Competition! Starr will answer all our questions about her marvelous novel, about her life as an author, about her experiences in the FCR competition, about her continued hopes and about what advice she might have for aspiring writers.
If you can't make it Tuesday for the chat but you have a comment or question for Starr--just post it below in the comment thread and I'll make sure it becomes part of the discussion.
Starr Toth – Trust Me
Starr Toth has been a writer all her life (yawn, we all say that) but never really found her creative muse until she bought a horse. That's when she discovered where that elusive little bit of inspiration lives -- in the barn. Cleaning stalls is a solitary (why does no one ever want to help?), contemplative activity, and the one where she gets her best ideas. She started writing down the stories she dreamed up while cleaning stalls. It began with mystery novels, then took a sharp turn into romance. Ideas came even faster. By the time she wrote "Trust Me", she had four horses and four times the manure to clean. Her muse was fairly screaming at her. That was a few years ago. Since then Starr’s 2 daughters moved out and she and her husband live on their small farm with two horses, 8 chickens, 7 cats, and one dog. And her muse, who still hasn't shut up.
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Comments: 117
~Sia~
This is my first time to host a chat, and I'm excited as well as honored. I've admired Starr from the moment I found myself laughing in delight at her first chapter.
I'd like to ask one favor--please don't lurk! Post a hello and your questions so we'll know your with us! Also, please keep refreshing so you can stay with the conversation!
Good looking chat Laz.
"Starr, I understand you have quite a bit of retail work experience. Having worked retail, I know you get to see lots of humanity in action. How do you think your work experience informs your fiction?"
Thank you and hope lots of people stop by!
Caren
I loved the dialoge in the second chapter especially.
Are you like me, with story lines constantly running through your head?
Welcome! I had the unique opportunity to read your full manuscript, and I have to let everyone here know, they will NOT be disappointed. It's such a humorous, well-crafted story where the characters are so real they are practically jumping off of the pages. I literally couldn't put it down, and can't wait to see it IN PRINT!
What I'd like to know is how you hone your dialogue so well - the conversations between your characters are very realistic, and I continued to be impressed throughout the story with the freshness of your characters' voices, as well as their speech. How do you do it?
What advantages do you think being part of the FCR has given you?
I think that "Trust Me" would translate well onto the big screen. Who would you envision in the role of the main characters?
That's a hard question, I don't really know how I capture realistic dialog, except to say that I write what I see. That is, I see the characters in my mind, like watching a movie. I just transcribe it. Dialog is the easy part for me. All writers are different, though.
Starr has it sunk in yet?
Some of my friends on Gather have asked me the same question, about who I'd envision as leading actors in my story, and I really don't know. I found that I'm a bit unusual in that I can hear my characters in my mind, but I can't see them. Have no idea what they look like other than basic hair color, etc. You tell me who should play them!
Laz, it's starting to sink in, as I've been talking to my agent about my next book. Which leads to my answer to Lori's question, no, this is not my only manuscript. I have another one finished, and a couple more novels that were written as mysteries but that I would like to turn into romances. And a couple novels I've started and set aside for no good reason. Sometimes there are just more ideas than time.
Only question before I run off here.
What can we expect as the second installment in Starr's best selling list that I expect Pocket will be grabbing up shortly.
You got here because you deserve it. Cant wait to see your name on the Bestsellers list.
Take care.
Lori
Someone asked about the topic of my next book. (Sorry, this is moving fast and I can't recall who) The next one my agent will see also concerns the rich and powerful, and is set in Washington, D.C. I don't know if it will be publilshed, but that's my next pitch.
Starr, what your criteria for deciding which agent to sign with?
Karen, yes I'd love to write full time. I've cut back my working hours severely (my employer is very nice about it, and was happy for my success.)
I'm just joining the conversation, so I hope I'm not asking something you addressed already. How long did it take you to write your book? Did you start and stop, or once you had your opening scene did it flow pretty well?
I highly approve of the way you handled yourself through out the competition, and am wishing you continued success in your writing.
It is your gift to us.
Last night my wife said it would be okay if we hosted her here in Winston-Salem.
Seriously, I'll be talking to other writers, my agent, and my editor about book signings and what they recommend. I have no experience at this.