A Visible Authoress

The first time I met Shelia Goss, we were at a writer’s group meeting at Half-Price Books in Dallas, Tex. It didn’t take long to figure out that when it came to writing this chick meant business. So serious about the business of writing, she’d already penned and was in the midst of self-publishing Roses are Thorns, Violets are True.

From that point on, I kept a close eye on Goss. With her fortitude, it’d only be a matter of time before others took notice. And recently, someone did—a major publisher.

This December 2006, Goss’ second book, My Invisible Husband, will be re-released by Urban/Kensington. With all the happenings in her life, I knew that if ever JWL was going to have a sit down with the authoress who writes "romance with a twist," it’d better be now.

When a writer receives the acknowledgement of a major publisher, people sometimes have a tendency to think they found their success overnight. Care to share a little of your journey with us?

It definitely wasn’t an overnight thing for me. I’ve written since I was nine but didn’t decide to pursue it professionally until 1997. I published a few collections of poetry and, in 2003, self-published my first novel. My journey has been rough, at times, but no complaints because God saw me through them and actually opened up doors on my behalf. The experiences I’ve gained prior to being signed with a major publisher have been invaluable.

On the day you found out you’d made the Essence bestseller list, what did you think, how’d you react?

It was around one in the morning . . . I was on the computer checking to see what the new issue of Essence would be about. Since I was on the site, I decided to see if I had read all the books on the bestseller’s list page. Well, lo and behold, as I was reading the list, I saw My Invisible Husband by Shelia M. Goss, right there in black and white. I had to blink my eyes a few times because as I mentioned, it’s one in the morning. At first, I thought I was dreaming. I closed the link and then re-opened it. My book was still there on the list, so I knew then it was not a dream . . . LOL

Talking about somebody doing what my friends call the “happy dance”—I couldn’t scream like I wanted to because I didn’t want to wake up everybody. I e-mailed a friend and colleague who I knew was up because they live on the West Coast and we chatted about it.

In that same token, when you found out your book(s) had been accepted by Urban how'd you react?

I was just as excited. I did another “happy dance.” It’s always best to wait until you have a signed contract, but I did share the news with my mom and a few close friends. I waited until the signed contract to tell everybody else.

Please share some of the juicy details leading up to it, also.

Hmmm . . . I don’t know about juicy details—I try to leave that for my novels. LOL I saw a press release that Urban Books had started a women's fiction imprint—Urban Soul. I felt my books fit in with their mission and submitted them. Fortunately for me, they also agreed and signed me (smile).

In many of my writing groups, the chief question is how to pick a publishing company and when should someone self-publish?

It’s really hard to say. It depends on the individual. Number one thing I would say to do is pray about it. The next thing is educate yourself on the pros and cons of self-publishing and going the traditional publishing route. Being knowledgeable is the key. If you go the traditional publishing route, make sure you get with a reputable publisher. Doing your research is the key.

What words of advice would you offer someone going or contemplating the self-publishing route?

If a person decides to self-publish, they must handle it like they would any small business. As a self-publisher, you will be the Writer/CEO/CFO and every other role you will need to make your business successful. For those interested, I do offer an online self-publishing workshop. This workshop details the process and the steps needed to successfully self-publish. When a reader sees your book, they shouldn’t be able to tell your book from one that was printed by a major publisher.

I’ve read all your books and never witnessed the sagging-middle syndrome some readers complain about in other books.

Thank you for the compliment.

When you write a story, where do you start—beginning, middle, end, just write or outline and flesh it out from there?

I start writing every story from the beginning. I do a character chart on all of my main characters. I don’t start writing a story until I know the character inside out. When I write, I try to have a high point in every scene so that the reader will want to read the next scene until, before you know it, they are at the end.

How do you keep the middle from “sagging?”

Each scene should have a beginning, middle and end and, I think, if a writer does that, it’ll stop the middle from sagging.

You’ve come up with some intriguing story ideas. How do you dream up these things, or are they not really dreams at all, but real-life instances?

Although some people think some of my stories are based on my life, they are figments of my imagination (smile). Some of the ideas come to me in dreams. I dream whole movies sometimes. I’ll wake up and write down a thought on my notepad, and then roll over and go back to sleep. Other ideas come to me when I’m sitting around watching TV or observing people. I can be riding down the highway or on the phone with someone. Last week I was watching a movie with my family, and the idea for a novel popped into my head. I wrote some notes on it and filed it away for future writing.

Was Roses are Thorns, Violets are True your first book? If not, tell us about your first book and if it’s still available.

Actually, it was the second novel I had ever written. The first one hasn’t been published. I offered it as a free e-book for those who bought Roses are Thorns, Violets are True. I may submit it to my publisher later for a suspense series I want to do.

Also, I’m sure readers would like to know where you got the idea for Roses are Thorns. . . . Will this book be re-released also?

It will be re-released by Urban Books in 2007. In fact, I was busy this past week working on edits for it so I can get it back to the publisher. Roses are Thorns, Violets are True is about twin sisters Rose and Violet Purdue. The main theme is sibling rivalry. I came up with the idea for the book from a workshop I was taking. Our assignment was to create a short story based on conflict. What better way to show conflict than amongst twins, right? I thought both characters deserved to have a full-length story, so I took my short story and expanded it to a novel. Rose will be the one you love to hate. Violet, well, you’ll have to see how Violet handles her twin when you read the story.

What brought about the idea of Nicolette Montana's character in My Invisible Husband? And, can you tell us a little about the book and its concept?

The idea for the book came to me one night when I was dreaming. Subconsciously the idea for the book My Invisible Husband developed from hearing the question "So when are you getting married?" one too many times. Single people get tired of hearing that question, so I thought I would take that concept and write a fictional story about it.

My Invisible Husband tells the tale of one woman’s desperate attempt to stop the age-old question posed to all women at some point in their lives, “So, when are you getting married?” Nicolette (Nikki) Montana, a thirty-four-year-old account executive, fakes a Las Vegas wedding—all in an attempt to please her family. On her return trip to Dallas, she meets the dashing Byron Matthews. When she gets caught up in her web of deceit, she's forced to ask Byron to step in to fill the void. As the story unfolds, will Byron take part in Nikki's scheme or will his own agenda be revealed? How Nikki handles her web of deceit makes for a dramatic and sometimes comical story.

My Invisible Husband can be ordered from Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com and will be in stores December 2006. Keep your Amazon receipts because I will be having a contest for all pre-orders soon. Keep checking my Web site at www.sheliagoss.com for updates.

You’re a woman with many irons in the fire. Since we know that My Invisible Husband is already a wrap, what other projects are you working on? Any other books you want to tell us about?

I’m always working on something. My Invisible Husband will be released December 2006, Roses are Thorns, Violets are True in 2007, and possibly a few anthologies in 2007. I have a couple of scripts I'm shopping to producers too. I’m also a freelance writer. Besides contributing relationship-type articles to magazines, I’m the entertainment editor for Hope for Women magazine (www.hopeforwomenmag.org). I also provide interviews for other online and print publications. To get a screen shot, please visit my entertainment blog at http://www.e-spire.blogspot.com. All these projects keep me busy.

How does it feel to be on the other side of the interview table? LOL

LOL . . . whew, I’m wiping the sweat from my forehead now. You ask some good questions. Thank you for allowing me to share with your reading audience.

What happens when a woman fakes a Las Vegas wedding? Come December 2006, we’ll all know just how far Nicolette Montana will go to keep her little secret. Preorder your copy of My Invisible Husband now by clicking on the links above.

Comments

[Shelia]

Yolanda,

Thank you again for allowing me to share with your readers. Your added commentary has put a smile on my face.

God bless
Shelia

[JWL Responds]

@Shelia: I truly enjoyed every minute of putting this together. I wish you the best that life has to offer--you've earned it!!!

[Mel]

Wonderful Interview!

[Timothy N Stelly, Sr]

Very informative and uplifting. It just goes to show you how far the power of prayer, talent and ambition will vcarry you.

[kae Williams]

This was a very thorough interview and a great read.

Thanks.

I'm checking out the online self publishing workshopinfo as soon as i hit "post" for this reply.

[Keish]

Glad I caught this! I love the story line of Invisible Husband. I WILL be reading that!!