Pump Up Your Book Chats with LeAnn Neal Reilly

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LeAnn Neal Reilly graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a master’s degree in professional writing. Along the way, she majored briefly in chemistry, served as opinion editor and then editor of her college newspaper, and interned for an international design firm. After graduate school, LeAnn worked for a small multimedia startup and then a computer science research group. At the startup, she spent her time writing user manuals and scripts for multimedia software used to train railroad engineers. While writing among geeks, LeAnn became enamored and decided to take one home for herself. After getting married and starting a family, she returned to her adolescent daydreams of writing novels. After years of working in an office not much better than an unfinished closet, LeAnn published The Mermaid’s Pendant. To learn more about LeAnn, visit www.nealreilly.com. Thank you for this interview, LeAnn. Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later? Do you remember your first published piece?

I began writing at 8—that’s when I knew I wanted to grow up and write storybooks. My first story was a twist on the Princess and the Frog fairy tale. I enchanted the princess, turning her into a flower. To be released, a prince had to kiss her. I thought I was quite clever. So, apparently, did my older brother, who sent the story to a publisher. As I’m sure anyone can predict, the publisher wasn’t as dazzled with my precocity (although I did get a very nice letter, something that hasn’t always been true for me as an adult). That was my first rejection. As for my first published piece, it was an opinion column for my college paper. Even then, my love of fiction came through. I imitated Mike Royko, a Chicago columnist who used a blue-collar Everyman named Slats Grobnik to dramatize social and political issues. Royko set his fictional conversations in a pub. I rotated characters through a coffee shop.

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?

The most frustrating part about being a published author is trying to fit in the necessary work promoting my book while trying to write another novel and care for my family. I look at the stack of books I want to read and sigh. The most rewarding part is twofold. First, I made a lifelong dream come true through persistence and hard work. Second, the story has meaning and enjoyment for other people.

Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life? Do you have support?

I have one husband, three children, a dog named Hobbes (after Calvin &), and a cat named Attila. What I get from my husband goes beyond protecting my writing time and encouraging me. On some level, he’s the reason I write. He’s the one whose respect I want. He’s the one I want to please. For years, I wrote almost exclusively on the weekends but constantly thought about characters and events—so progress was slow, of course. Then I reached the point where I had to write in the evenings because the story had sucked me in and I had to follow it, had to find out what happened. Now that the family schedule has gotten busier on the weekends, I snatch only a few hours here and there to write.

Can you tell us about your latest book and why you wrote it?

I’ve wanted to write a novel since I was eleven, but nothing ever motivated me to write more than a few chapters until I stayed home after the birth of my eldest child. I found myself imagining conversations between a wise, if sad, widow and a naïve young mother. I suppose I wanted to distract myself from the challenges of childcare. Then I found myself watching Disney’s The Little Mermaid. I loved it—I’ve always loved fairy tales—but of course, it was too simplistic. I believe in happy endings, but only the ones that are well earned. So I did what every successful novelist advises: I wrote the story I wanted to read.

Can you share an excerpt?

This is part of a longer scene when John, who’s been looking for the mystery woman who saved him from drowning, finally meets her while visiting a small cay near Culebra: John frowned at her. She seemed too slight to pull a flailing man out of the canal, but he couldn’t help himself. Too young or too slight, everything else fit. He had to ask. “Did you save me from drowning a couple of days ago?” He watched her toy with a strand of damp hair; her eyes followed the pelicans walking stiff legged through the shallows not far from them. “Yes, I did,” she said at last without looking at him. At her words, a thrill sparked the tender of his curiosity and ignited some strong emotion in him. He damped it down, as much to calm himself as to keep from scaring her. Go slowly, he told himself. “Please, I’d really like to know your name.” She looked at him and he fell into the immense blue of her eyes. In that instant, he recognized the face that he’d described to Tomás. Why had he ever doubted it? “Tamarind. I’m Tamarind.” “Like the trees?” When she nodded, he thought, How fitting. A water sprite with a wood nymph’s name. She really was the embodiment of a natural element. He went on, “I’m sorry if I sounded rude a moment ago, Tamarind.” She cocked her head, looking for the world like an inquisitive bird. “Are you going now, John?” “No.” He couldn’t say I can’t go now that I know who saved my life. I need to know more about you. Instead, he said, “I brought lunch. Would you like some?”

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

I have an office that’s a mess right now. It used to be the old master bedroom before we renovated. I reward myself with improvements as I reach milestones. I’d like to earn new blinds and a nice carpet, but I think I’ll have to finish a draft of the next novel to do that.

What is one thing about your book that makes it different from other books on the market?

Unlike other fairy-tale retellings aimed at children or teenagers, I wrote The Mermaid’s Pendant for adults and included the happy ever after. Although told as separate stories, the fairy tale and the happy ever after together tell a larger story about growing up and succeeding in marriage once the magic of romance drains away.

Tables are turned…what is one thing you’d like to say to your audience who might buy your book one day?

The heart and soul of The Mermaid’s Pendant revolves around true love. What better reason to read it? Inigo and Miracle Max from The Princess Bride agree: Inigo Montoya: True love! You heard him! You could not ask for a more noble cause than that. Miracle Max: Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world. Except for a nice MLT: a mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. They’re so perky, I love that. So, make yourself an MLT, put your feet up, and find out how John and Tamarind learn to live happily ever after.

Thank you for this interview, LeAnn. Good luck on your virtual book tour!

Thank you for giving me this opportunity.

Visit LeAnn’s official Pump Up Your Book Tour Schedule here to find out where she’ll be appearing next!

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach