How to Be a Romance Novelist
Romance novelist Cathy Maxwell with her two dogs at her Powhatan home.
Cathy's latest, "The Earl Claims His Wife," hit shelves this week.
Cathy Maxwell didn’t set out to be a romance novelist. She started out in TV broadcast, spent six years in the Navy and did a tour with Navy Intelligence. She managed a watch factory, did costumes for local theater and had two kids.
But it was on her list of things to do.
When she moved to Brandermill, she attended a workshop from the Virginia Romance Writers which helped kick start her writing career.
This week, she publishes her 20th romance novel, “The Earl Claims His Wife” (Avon, $7.99). Many of her other titles, including “In the Highlander’s Bed,” “In the Bed of a Duke” and “The Wedding Wager” have hit the New York Times Bestsellers List and Extended list.
These days, Cathy lives in a pretty house in Powhatan with her two dogs, two cats and her horse Duncan close by at the Oakdale Farm. She sat down with us to tell us all about her journey from aspiring writer to New York Times bestselling author.
How did you get started writing romance novels?
When I was 25, I made a list. I was living in Kansas in Dodge City, the cowboy capital of the world and home of the largest manmade swimming pool. I worked at a TV station in a cornfield. And I made a list: What are the 25 things I want to do with my life?
I wanted to join the navy. And I knew that I wanted to write.
It wasn’t until I read my first romance novel – “Wolf and the Dove” by Kathleen Woodiwiss -- that it really captured my imagination. And the next one – ‘Fierce Eden” by Jennifer Blake (who I know pretty well now) – just blew me away.
I started reading everything. I’d read a stack of books and devour them. I’d move them from one side of the bed to the other. What I was responding to was the escapism, but also that the woman is the hero in the story. It’s her story and I knew when I opened the page that it was going to end happily.
It’s reaffirming because when you’re doing five loads of laundry a day, you forget why. [Romance novels] pulled me out of where I was.
I started writing after my son was born. I bought spiral notebooks, a pile of pens and sat down to write the worst book known to man. [Laughs]. I had the idea, but I didn’t get past the first chapter. It was set in the Colonies during the revolutionary period.
Then we moved to Virginia and I put [the book] aside. I had another baby. After she was born, the Midlothian Public Library had a workshop from Virginia Romance Writers and I went. I will always be thankful for that. My life has changed because of librarians and books.
There were 12 people there and the instructor said, “Here’s what you do if you want to be a published romance writer.” And I wrote it all down.
I also brought a submission of my own work. And they talked about my submission the whole time. I wondered what was going on, but then I realized I was the only one who had submitted anything. There wasn’t much you could say about [my submission], because it was terrible. It was cribbed together from the spiral notebooks and the guy in the Colonies.
But I remember, Judith French [a romance writer] said, “She’s got talent.” And that meant a lot to me.
That night, I had a dinner party to go to in Brandermill. A reporter from the Richmond Times-Dispatch had been [to the workshop] and had written a scathing report. Everybody was laughing about it because they knew, here was Cathy and she went to this conference where all the silly women were [learning to write romance novels].
And I, of course, compounded it by wearing a denim skirt I’d made myself. The hostess of the party decided to cover her chairs in the same fabric. Everybody made me sit down in the chair with my matching skirt and take a picture and laughed. Ha-ha-ha.
But later, my husband asked me, “Cathy, really, how was it?”
And I whispered, “Judy said I’ve got talent.”
When did you start writing the first novel that got published?
I’d write from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. because people can’t bother you. No one calls at 4 a.m. And my kids wouldn’t come around.
I was working for my husband and I got laid off. I spent four weeks working on the book. And then I got a fulltime job. But I could see it. There was a storyteller inside me. I believed that. Even if no one else did, a writer has to believe in herself first. Before anybody else does. It’s a far-fetched idea. That I’m going to write a book and somebody’s going to pay me for it. But I came to the assumption that somebody’s got to write the books – so why not me?
I got involved in a critique group with three other writers I met at Virginia Romance Writers. Within three years, we all had agents and publishers for our books.
In 1993, I sold my first book. It was set in England during a historical period. The guy in the Colonies never saw the light of print. But I had to write it to [get there]. You have to go through and make the mistakes at least once.
You’ve written 20 romance novels since then. And many of them have hit the New York Times Bestseller List. How do you keep it fresh?
Keeping it fresh and pushing it is very important to me. But when I get afraid of falling into a pattern, usually someone will say something or do something [and I’ll be able to use it].
For a while, my kids knew that they had to report on what went on at school that day. There are some good lines in high school.
We’re writing about the chase. It’s not common to fall in love. People want to fall in love because being in love makes life more vibrant. Suddenly the universe makes sense.
Your husband passed away five years ago?
He did. Much too soon. It was a skiing accident at Massanutten. It was a wonderful gift to be in a great marriage.
Right after he died, I wrote a lot out of fear. I had kids in college and I had to keep everything going. But in the past year or two, I’ve found the joy again. I’m writing with more conviction. Finding someone you love, who you respect and admire, [it’s not easy to find].
When I sold my first book, we got out the pots and pans and we were banging them around, going “Whoo-hoo!” We were really hitting on all cylinders.
Did your husband ever see himself in your books?
I was a theater major, so I’m good at building characters. But I would overhear people in the neighborhood asking him, “Hey, Kevin is that you in those books?” He’d laugh and says, “Yes! I am that guy!” [She points to a book cover of a shirtless guy, laughing.]
What is your schedule like now? I was reading that many romance novelists are under contract to write two books a year.
I’m contracted to write one every nine months.
I write every day. I set a page count – seven pages – when I’m working on the first draft. The first draft is the hardest. I start seeing it and it’s so hard to get it up on the screen. I like to have 300 pages for a first draft. Then I go away for a week or two and come back to it and figure it out.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I have a horse here in Powhatan at the Oakdale Farm. But I don’t ride him. I ride Roman, who’s 30 years old. He’s so old, he should be riding me. But it’s a good fit. I get out there three or four times a week. It helps to get away from the business. And the book is always with me, no matter where I go.
I’m a volunteer for the Powhatan Free Clinic. I do that one evening a week. And that really puts things in perspective. I have two dogs and two cats. And I help organize groups for widowed people. It’s easy to do that at my computer.
What do you think is the most important thing to writing a good romance novel?
Story is important. Character is important. I don’t think it’s any different from any other book…the ability to surprise the reader. You want great characters, a fabulous story, good writing…it’s a mystery, really. If we knew, we’d all be doing it.
Online Events
Log online and listen in to Cathy Maxwell this week and next:
Oct. 1 at 2 p.m.
Cathy will be a guest on Blogtalk Radio
Oct. 8 at 1 p.m.
Cathy will interview writer Heather Graham on Blogtalk Radio:
Then Cathy’s going to India to see her daughter and the Taj Mahal. She’ll be posting photos on her website.
Check out "The Earl Claims His Wife" on Amazon.com.
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