Author Judith McGuinness lives in New Jersey where she balances a full-time career with writing novels.  Read the story behind the story of Once Upon a Moscow Night.

BYS:  What went Between the Sheets of this book? Either what was happening in your life when you wrote it, or what was happening with the book as your wrote it.

JM:  A lot was going on in my life when I wrote Once Upon a Moscow Night! I have a full-time job that is very demanding and it was consuming a great deal of my time. My first book had come out just a year before and I was spending a great deal of time promoting it. And I got it into my head to write this book in my "copious" free time.

BYS: Where did you find the idea to write this novel?

JM: Once Upon a Moscow Night is based on the May-December romance of a good friend of mine. It's a story that is at the same time timeless yet personal, and it needed to be told.

BYS: How long did it take to develop your characters for this book?

JM: I've know that hero of the book almost all of my life (the name was changed to protect the innocent, of course).

BYS:   Are you a visual writer? Do you see scenes and character in your head? Or do you hear the characters' voices?

JM:   Most definitely to both! I pull a lot of my work from real moments in my life and the lives of friends. Once I decide to write the story, I can see and hear all the details as they unfold.

BYS:  What is your re-writing and editing process? Do you let anyone read your work in progress before it goes to your editor?

JM:   I re-wrote my entire first novel twice before I sent it to the editor because of suggestions made by close friends who were allowed to read it while in progress.

BYS:  What is you opinion of critique groups? Do you find them helpful?

JM:  Being a new writer, I sent a few chapters of my first novel to a critique group to see if I was heading in the right direction. They were polite and had some great ideas, but I chose to go with the suggestions made by my friends who are a much harder group to please.

BYS:  How is your family affected by your writing career?

JM:  My husband thinks it's fantastic and he actually reads my novels, but I know he wishes I sometimes had more time to spend with him.

BYS:  What keeps you going and motivated when life throws you a curveball?

JM: Professionally, I field the ball and throw it back. Personally, I second-guess myself for a few minutes before barreling forward again. I'm a real type-A personality.

BYS:  Who or what influenced you to write and what inspires your imagination?

JM: I've been writing stories practically since I was old enough to hold a pencil (yes, I come from the pre-computer generation). I still have many of the notebooks with my childish scribblings. Nowadays, a find inspiration in almost anything. And for the romance part of my story, inspiration definitely comes from my husband.

BYS:  What are you working on now?

JM:  My new novel is a prequel to my first book, Macy. A lot of people wanted to know things about her that were not included in the story, so I thought it was only right that I fill in the blanks of her life. Before the Applause will be available at the end of 2010.

© 2010 Interview by BetweenYourSheets.com

---

< Prev		Next >