FINDING THE TIME AS A PARENT AND WRITER

I honestly believe that if you want something enough, you’ll make the time for it. It all comes down to choice.

My guest, Paul Anthony Shortt, is an Irish storyteller and urban fantasy author.

Paul's topic is one we hear from many writers today—finding time to do all the things we love to do. Especially writing. It's not an easy juggling act for most of us and yet, somehow we have to find the time to release all the players and worlds in our head to printed page. But, I'll let Paul tell you about his struggle to find time. 

Like many authors, I’m a proud parent. Our twin girls were born on December 13th, last year, and we got a surprise a few months ago when we learned that we’re going to have another little one arriving in January.

As many people know, the twins were actually our second and third children. We lost our first, Conor, when he was three days old.

I believe having Conor prepared us for being parents to twins. His brief life showed us how loved we are by friends and family, and left us stronger for the decisions we were forced to make at the time. It also made us more determined than ever to be the best parents possible.

As you can imagine, twins are a drain on your time and energy. Their needs have to come first, and when you have a pregnant wife with mobility issues due to disability, you have to make some tough decisions when it comes to your free time.

I learned to prioritise very quickly. Writing became relegated to my lunch hour in work, or after the girls were asleep in the evenings, and it had to stop if one of them needed to be fed or changed. I became more selfish, I feel, with my time. Where before I would have been happy to lose an evening to lazing on the couch watching random television, I started only wanting to watch something if I was specifically interested in it. Or else, I’d leave my wife to channel-hop (she loves finding random things to watch) while I would sit on the couch with a netbook getting some extra work done.

Once any activity stopped being fulfilling, I set it aside and moved on to something else. Whether it was gaming, or a book, or even a particular meal, if I was no longer enjoying it, I stopped. It required developing a bit of a ruthless streak, but I now had too many responsibilities to give time to things that weren’t truly rewarding.

I decided early on that my two highest priorities had to be my children and my writing. The first was a given, but the second, while being a very personal choice and geared towards my own goals and success, would also help provide a better life for my children. Once I had the time set aside for both those things, I decided, then I could look at other activities. And, as it happens, I’ve managed to deal with the workload quite well. I’m seeing my friends regularly, and still gaming every week, even though I have taken a step back from running games while getting ready for Silent Oath to come out.

I often see people comment about not having enough time to write. I agree, making the time is hard. But it has to be done. I honestly believe that if you want something enough, you’ll make the time for it. It all comes down to choice. Maybe taking care of your children or putting in overtime at work leaves you exhausted and you don’t want to be near a computer in the evening. That’s okay. The thing is, you have to accept that its your choice to spend what free time you have the way you like. There’s nothing wrong with choosing to unwind instead of write, I do it myself, but we must always make our decisions in the knowledge that prioritising one thing means letting another fall to the side. We choose for ourselves what things have priority, and what things to let go of.

For some, that means letting go of writing, if only temporarily. For others, it means cutting back on work, or getting up an hour early at weekends to play with your kids, or giving up your lunch break to write. All choices in life come down to priorities like these. Make sure you pick the ones that are right for you, and you will lead a happy, fulfilling life, whatever you do.

• HOW DO YOU FIND THE TIME TO DO THE THINGS YOU LOVE? 

• IF YOU'RE A WRITER WHAT DO YOU DO TO CARVE OUT WRITING IN A BUSY WORLD?

BUY: AMAZON

SILENT OATH  (#2 in the Locked Within Trilogy)

Hope has returned to New York City. Nathan Shepherd leads a small band of dedicated fighters against the Council of Chains and the city's supernatural masters. But it's not enough. Because from the shadows of Nathan's former lives comes an old enemy, one who knows terrible secrets that Nathan has not yet remembered, secrets that could undo everything he has fought for.

Nathan's only chance to uncover the memories of his previous existence, and to conquer these new forces of evil, lies in Elena DeSantis. A woman he has fought beside in past lifetimes. A woman he has loved.

Together, Nathan and Elena are the only future the city has. Excerpt (First Chapter Amazon)

                                                                                                                                                   

A child at heart who turned to writing and roleplaying games when there simply weren't enough action figures to play out the stories he wanted, Paul Anthony Shortt has been writing all his life. Growing up surrounded by music, film and theatre gave him a deep love of all forms of storytelling, each teaching him something new he could use. When not playing with the people in his head, he enjoys cooking and regular meet-ups with his gaming group.

Paul lives in Ireland with his wife Jen and their dogs, Pepper and Jasper. Their first child, Conor William Henry Shortt, was born on July 11th, 2011. He passed away three days later, but brought love and joy into their lives and those of their friends. The following year, Jen gave birth to twins, Amy and Erica, and is now expecting their fourth child.

Paul's first novel, Locked Within, was released on November 6th, 2012, by WiDo Publishing. Silent Oath is the second book in this urban fantasy trilogy.

Links: Website, Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.

REBECCA YORK: Become A Writer? No Way!

My guest is USA Best Selling romance author, Rebecca York. Those of you who have read her wonderful stories know she writes, romance, suspense, and paranormal. Very talented lady. Rebecca has written a new detective series, Decorah Security. I have the opportunity to read (Squeee!) and review these three stories. Dark Moon is the first in this series and where I'm starting. So stay tuned for them. I love the touch of paranormal in these.


As prolific an author as Rebecca is, there was a time the idea of writing the stories playing out in her head was an impossibility in her mind. Why? I'll let Rebecca tell you about that.


Welcome, Rebecca! I've enjoyed your books over the years. I'm so glad to have you visiting today!

Sia, thanks so much for having me.

I’m the person who thought she could never become a writer.  Since I’m dyslexic, I had a hard time learning to read (partly because they were only teaching the memorize-the-whole-word method), and I’m a terrible speller.  Stories buzzed around in my head, and I acted them out with my dolls, but I never thought I could become a writer because I got slammed for my deficiencies by so many teachers.  (I’m the kid who was called up to the front of the room so the teacher could yell at her in front of the whole class.)

Kids react to that kind of treatment in various ways.  It hurt, but it also made me stronger and determined to succeed.

After I got married and had children of my own, I wanted a part-time job.  When I took a seminar at my local community college aimed at women who looking to enter the work force, I kept coming out high in writing interest.  Also, one thing they emphasized in the seminar was that if you wanted to work part-time, you’d have to go out and dig up a your own job.

Which led me to my idea of writing a newspaper article about the seminar.  Luckily for me, my husband volunteered to correct my spelling and typos.  And luckily for me, he’s been proofreading for me ever since.

It took me about twenty-five hours to write that article, but I sold it to a local paper and went on to write hundreds more articles.  I read some of them in a writing seminar at the same community college.  Other people in the class were writing novels, and I wanted to try one, too.  But the idea of working on such a large project scared me.  I told myself that a chapter of a book was no longer than the articles I’d been writing.  At the same time, I decided to make sure I could plot at least a quarter of the story before I started writing.  Even back then, I was more comfortable outlining before I jumped into the writing.

I wrote my first book, a children’s science fiction novel called INVASION OF THE BLUE LIGHTS (now available as an e-book), in that seminar.  I read chapters in the class and revised.  Then I revised a lot more before I sent the book out.  It was rejected four times, until an editor at Scholastic held it for nine months before sending me a two-page single-spaced revision letter.  I was smart enough to know that was a good letter and revised the manuscript according to her suggestions (adding some new scenes of my own). She bought it, and I became a published author.

I’ve been writing actively for the past–um–40 years.  And I’ve been very lucky in my career.  I went from kids’ science fiction to romance, to romantic suspense, to paranormal romantic suspense (with a significant side trip into cookbooks).  Recently, I’ve also written a couple of fantasy historical novellas for Carina Press.  DARK MAGIC was out last year, and SHATTERED MAGIC will be out in late summer.

I can see the publishing industry changing.  There’s more opportunity for authors to follow their own bliss rather than write to a publisher’s specifications.  In line with that observation, my most exciting recent project has been a new detective series called Decorah Security.  I’m putting the stories out myself on Amazon, BarnesAndNoble.com and other e-book outlets

I wanted to launch with three titles.  While I was writing two Harlequin Intrigues (SUDDEN INSIGHT, out in January, and SUDDEN ATTRACTION, out in February), I wrote a Decorah novel, DARK MOON, a novella, CHAINED, and a short story, AMBUSHED.  They’re all tied to a security agency run by a crusty old Navy Seal, Frank Decorah.  His agents have paranormal powers or take on paranormal cases. (Each of them are linked to Amazon where you can read the blurb and purchase) 

All three are available wherever e-books are sold.

I’m also currently working on an exciting new romantic suspense series.  Because it’s still under wraps, I can’t say much about it yet.

• How do you feel about the e-book market?  
• Are you trying out some of the books available electronically?

Sudden Attraction 

They were never supposed to meet. Hidden on a New Orleans plantation were secrets Gabriella Bodreaux was never supposed to uncover, either. And after Luke Buckley saved her life, she couldn't get him out of her head...and she couldn't get out of his. 

At the slightest touch, they established the most intimate connection of their lives. So vulnerable, so dangerous...so right. Now they knew everything about each other—almost. 

He came with a secret identity, but wasn't the type of man who would run away from trouble. He could keep her safe. But when being together meant exposing themselves to more danger than either could prepare for, they had to reconsider just how "chance" their meeting really was....Excerpt 

Do check out  Sudden Insight and read the excerpt.

Buy: Amazon  Barnes and Noble, eHarlequin

~*~*~*~

Ever since she can remember, Rebecca York has loved making up stories full of adventure, romance, and suspense. As a child she corralled her friends into adventure games or acted out romantic suspense stories with a cast of dolls. But she never assumed she could be an author because she couldn't spell. Her life changed dramatically with the invention of the word processor and spelling checker--and the help of her husband, Norman Glick, who spots spelling errors from fifty paces away.

She and her husband live in Columbia, Maryland. They have two grown children, Elissa (a librarian) and Ethan (a Foreign Service Officer), and two grandsons, Jesse and Leo. Rebecca holds a B. A. in American Thought and Civilization from The George Washington University and an M. A. in American Studies from The University of Maryland. She heads the Columbia Writers Workshop.

Find Rebecca: Website (which is worth checking out1) Facebook, Twitter.

Writing With Jennifer Estep

Writers usually are pantsers or plotters.There is no right or wrong way only the way that works for you, the writer. 


My guest urban fantasy author, Jennifer Estep. She writes both an adult Elemental Assassin series and  Mythos Academy series for young adults.


Jennifer talks about how she writes her stories.

Greetings and salutations! First of all, I want to say thanks to Sia for having me on the blog again today. Thanks so much, Sia!

So today I thought I would talk a little about my writing process since that always seems to be a popular question with readers, authors, and everyone else. How do you go about taking the characters and stories in your head, getting them down on paper (or in the computer), and turning them into a cohesive book? Everyone’s process is a little different. Some people like to plot out what will happen in every single chapter. Other folks just take an idea and run with it. There’s no right or wrong way to write a book. All that really matters at the end of the day is getting the words down and finishing that first rough draft.

I have to admit that I’m a total panster when it comes to writing. I don’t do detailed outlines, character descriptions, storyboards, or anything like that. I just think about my heroine, her magic, and how she can use it to defeat the bad guys. Once I have that in mind, along with some of the major turning points of the story, I just sit down and start writing.

Sometimes, it works out well, and the story just flows. Other times … not so much. It’s not pretty, but it’s the method that works for me. I find that if I outline a story too much that I sort of get impatient and even a little bored writing it, since I know what’s going to happen next. I guess part of me likes my characters to surprise me a little bit as I write them.

When I do start writing that first rough draft, I try to write at least 2,000 to 3,000 words a day (or more) until I have a rough draft of about 50,000 or 60,000 words or so. I find that working on the draft every day helps me keep the story flowing and the words pouring out. Then, when I’m finished with the rough draft, I let the story sit for a few weeks before going back to it, reading through, and seeing what changes might need to be made and what needs to be added to the story.

Then, I start my second draft, where I layer in more emotion, description, and dialogue. With my second draft, I usually aim to have about 90,000 words by the time I finish it. Then, I let that draft sit for a few weeks before going back to it and layering in even more emotion, description, and dialogue. I usually do this a couple of times until I have a draft of about 95,000 words or so and the book is the best that I can make it.

So there you have it – a little bit about my writing process.

• What about you guys? What’s your writing process like? Are you a plotter or a panster? What books are you enjoying right now?

Spider's Revenge Available 9/27/11 

Old habits die hard for assassins.

And I plan on murdering someone before the night is through.

Killing used to be my regular gig, after all. Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, assassin-for-hire. And I was very, very good at it. Now, I’m ready to make the one hit that truly matters: Mab Monroe, the dangerous Fire elemental who murdered my family when I was thirteen.

Oh, I don’t think the mission will be easy, but turns out it’s a bit more problematic than expected. The bitch knows I’m coming for her. So now I’m up against the army of lethal bounty hunters Mab hired to track me down. She also put a price on my baby sister’s head. Keeping Bria safe is my first priority. Taking Mab out is a close second. 

Good thing I’ve got my powerful Ice and Stone magic—and my irresistible lover, Owen Grayson—to watch my back. This battle has been years in the making, and there’s a good chance I won’t survive. But if I’m going down, then Mab’s coming with me . . . no matter what I have to do to make that happen. Excerpt

Buy: AMAZON, BARNES and NOBLE, BOOKS a MILLION,

USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assas­sin code­named the Spi­der who can con­trol the ele­ments of Ice and Stone. When she’s not busy killing peo­ple and right­ing wrongs, Gin runs a bar­be­cue restau­rant called the Pork Pit in the fic­tional South­ern metrop­o­lis of Ash­land. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vam­pires, and ele­men­tals – Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone.

Books in the series are Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, Venom, and Tangled Threads. Spider’s Revenge, the fifth book in the series, will be released on Sept. 27.

Jennifer also writes the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series for Kensington. Touch of Frost, the first book in the series, was released in August. First Frost, a prequel e-story to the series, is available as a 99-cent download. Kiss of Frost, the second book, will be released on Nov. 29.

For more information, excerpts, and more, visit Jennifer’s website at http://www.jenniferestep.com/.

You can also find Jennifer:  FACEBOOK, GOODREADS, TWITTER

Tales of an Extraordinary Girl--Gena Showalter

PLAYING WITH FIRE

• Publisher: HQN Books
  Subject: Fiction : Romance - Paranormal
  Publication Date: October 2009

Earth, Wind & Fire aren't just a band anymore . . .

Twenty-four-year-old barista Belle Jamison dreams of a better job and a decent love life. Until a crazy scientist spikes her mocha latte! Suddenly Belle can wield the four elements - earth, wind, fire and water - with only a thought. Coffee too hot? No problem. Hair in need of a blow-dry? Done.



Gorgeous government agent Rome Masters has been sent to neutralize Belle. But he's not the only one after her. Together they must outrun the rogue agents on their trail and find a way to control her powers. There's just one problem: the sparks Belle and Rome generate are even hotter than the ones flying from her eyes-and with her future on the line, now is the worst possible time to fall in love...

• My thoughts:

I have never been a big fan of first person POV. However, Gena writes such an engaging tale that you forget the POV and laugh over Belle's antics and drool over Rome. Yah, I'd like to make that Cat purr.

This is a fun pararomantic romp that had me laughing in more than one place. I really like Belle, she's a hoot. It's not all fun and
games, though, there are major bad guys, murder, kidnapping attempts, unexpected fire, rain, and wind popping up everywhere, a guy who can become electricity and travel through electrical lines, a fun empath sidekick whose young male bravado is endearing. The whole story evolves around an ordinary girl--well sorta--and her unexpectedly being given powers she had no idea existed much less knows how to deal with. Moral: never leave your Mocha Latte unattended.

I really enjoyed this story and it's almost comic book overtones, loved the wit and humor. I haven't read the next one but as soon as I can get my hands on it, I will.

• And speaking of the next in the series...

TWICE AS HOT





Publisher: HQN Books
Subject: Fiction : Romance - Paranormal
Publication Date: February 2010

Belle Jamison is finally starting to feel like a normal girl again. Her job as a paranormal investigator is going well, she's learned to control her supernatural abilities (mostly) and she's just gotten engaged to Rome Masters, the ultra-sexy operative who once tried to neutralize her!

But planning a wedding is never easy, especially when the bride keeps accidentally torching her dress, the groom returns from a dangerous mission with selective memory loss and the man responsible now wants Belle for himself. With Rome's ex determined to win him back and a new band of supervillains on the horizon, it will take all Belle's powers—plus a little help from her trusty empath sidekick—to save the day, salvage the wedding and prove that true love really does conquer all.

• There’s an excerpt up at the Amazon page. http://www.amazon.com/Twice-Hot-Hqn-Gena-Showalter/dp/0373774370/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266331708&sr=8-4

I had the chance to chat a bit with Gena about this series.

• Tell me a bit about Belle. I cracked up when I read her resume and the interview she had and she's definitely a bit of a scatterbrain.

Tragically, Belle’s crazy apple didn’t fall too far from her creator’s tree. The resume is true to – God, I can’t believe I’m admitting this -- my life. Well, my old life. For years, I couldn’t hold down a job, was often fired or quit within just a few weeks, and never finished anything I started. Writing changed that for me, and I developed terrible OCD (now I can’t start anything without obsessing until I finish) But the scatterbrain part . . . I hang my head in shame. Classic “what did I do with that?” Gena. The hair trigger emotions . . . shame . . . spiraling . . .

• You create an organization to handle those who are enhanced, like Belle, what's the deal with them?

I wanted a place where enhanced humans (and even non-humans) could congregate, study, train, learn to fight/use their powers, and learn to hunt those abusing their powers. Yet I also wanted PSI (Paranormal Studies and Investigations) to be a place that was grounded in some kind of reality -- like the FBI – so that readers could relate.

• What do you like about your hero? What makes him sexy?

Rome Masters . . . dreamy sigh. I love me an alpha hero. And he’s definitely alpha. Strong, assertive, brave, willing to die for his family. Horribly, if necessary. He’s protective, not afraid to laugh, stubborn, sarcastic, and when he loves, he loves with his whole heart. There’s no other woman for him. Belle’s his one and only. Now, always. Nothing could tempt him away from her.

• What was your favorite scene in Playing With Fire?

When Tanner shoots a bad guy with his eyes closed, and Belle tasers Rome. I had so much fun writing that scene. I chuckled the whole time.

*snork, oh that was funny.

• What's coming from the pen of Gene Showalter in 2010?

In May, I have Into the Dark, featuring three short stories (two of which are written in the Lords of the Underworld world, and one in the Atlantis world) as well as a bonus Lords of the Underworld guide.

In June, I have The Darkest Passion, featuring Aeron, keeper of the demon of Wrath. His heroine is the angel sent to kill him. In July, I have The Darkest Lie, featuring Gideon, keeper of the demon of Lies. His heroine is a woman possessed by the demon of Nightmares. She claims to be his wife, but he can’t remember wedding – or bedding – her. Also in July is The Bodyguard, an anthology with the incredible Cherry Adair and Lorie O’Clare (my story features a man who can control shadows).

In August is the reissue of Intertwined. And in September is the sequel, Unraveled.

Oh, and I can’t forget my next alien huntress tale, Ecstasy in Darkness, featuring a vampire hero who can manipulate time and the agent in training who’s supposed to lock him up. That book will hit stores sometime in late 2010.

• Good Grief! When you say obsessive about writing you aren't kidding.

• I will tell you I'm a fan of yours and I've read several books in different series. You are one of the few authors I will pick up on name alone because of the quality of your writing. Your books are always a good read. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

~*~*~*~*~

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 25 books, ranging from white-hot paranormal romances set all over the world (and even in some places that do not technically exist), sexy contemporary novels and other-worldly young adult novels.

You can visit with Gena on her website. She loves to hear from her readers.

GENA SHOWALTER ON WRITING, DISTRACTIONS, AND BEST FRIENDS

New York Times Best-selling author Gena Showalter is my guest Over Coffee. Gena writes Urban Fantasy, Paranormal and Contemporary Romance.

I’ve read and enjoyed her Atlantis series and am looking forward to reading Alien Huntress series next. She has written four series and assorted novels. I think what impress me most about Gena’s writing, aside from her vivid imagination and prolific writing, is the way she builds her worlds. They’re worlds that are so complete that the reader feels as if they could book a flight to them. I also love her strong characters and the research she’s done to make the characters and her worlds believable.

Gena also is a warm and genuinely funny person. I love her sense of humor. She also has a sometimes-mean Muse, who has its work cut out to keep her from being distracted, and thankfully, best friends who work their magic to get her over the 'stupid moment' humps.

Today, she shares with us a typical writing day…

I’m always asked how I write so quickly. So, I thought I’d share a typical writing day for me to better explain my . . . process.

• 7:00 am – Wake up. Wish I could sleep a little more, but drag myself out of bed anyway, threatening to kill all the characters in my book to make myself feel better.
  
  


• 7:10 – Drink coffee. It’s either that or send a family member to the hospital to patch abrasions caused by a flying . . . anything I can get my hands on. Respond to emails.
  
  


• 8:00 – Close email. Drink more coffee. It’s either that or yell at every member of my family for an imagined infraction. Open current Work In Progress document, realize that killing all the characters does not fit the current plotline, grumble about it, accept it, and start writing. Goal: write an entire chapter.
  
  


• 8:30 – Become distracted by thoughts of new emails. Check emails. Respond. Panic that I won’t reach my writing goal. Start writing again.
  
  


• 9:00 – Hit brick wall in plot. Start cutting spilt ends from hair to “think about the plot problem.”
  
  


• 9:35 – Realize the brick wall can be used in plot. Call best friend and fellow author Jill Monroe to tell her how brilliant I am.
  
  


• 10:00 – Check email. Respond. Take picture of myself making a face and email it to other best friend and fellow author Kresley Cole. Panic that I won’t reach my goal. Start writing again.
  
  


• 11:30 – Aching back convinces me to take a break. Go for a walk and – on the special days -- rescue some type of animal who jumps out from behind a tree and scares the crap out of me.
  
  


• 12:30 – Get home. Eat lunch – always the leftovers from dinner -- and check email.
  
  


• 1:00 – Decide I can’t write while I am a sweaty pig, so take shower. Come up with another brilliant idea and leap out of bathroom.
  
  


• 1:10 -- Start writing while dripping wet from shower because I am in a rush to write down this new, brilliant idea.
  
  


• 2:00 – Hit another brick wall. Call Jill Monroe again, this time to tell her how stupid I am.
  
  


• 2:15 – Laugh. Monroe has worked her magic. Check email. Respond. Panic that I won’t reach goal. Start writing again.
  
  


• 3:30 – Finish writing chapter, thereby reaching goal. Luxuriate in feelings of happiness, knowing I can relax for the rest of day.
  
  


• 3:35 -- Answer door. See that a manuscript has arrived for edits. Cry a little.
  
  


• 3:40 – Pick myself up and start editing.
  
  


• 4:30 -- Really feel like I am in a zone. Nothing can distract me.
  
  


• 4:35 – Check email. Respond. Feel guilty for slacking while a stack of papers that literally has my name on every page beckons. Panic that I won’t reach tomorrow’s Work in Progress goal because I didn’t edit enough on this second manuscript. Get back to editing.
  
  


• 5:30 – Wrists and back start to ache, along with brain. Decide to take break and eat a snack. Vacillate between Cheetos Puffs and Wheat Thins. Puffs win.
  
  


• 6:00 – Panic kicks in, demanding (loudly) that I return to work. Get back to work.
  
  


• 7:00 – Decide enough has been done for one workday because, well, the brain has been tapped dry. Collapse on couch. Wish the Puffs had not been devoured earlier.
  
  


• 7:10 – Panic kicks in again, demanding (even more loudly) that I return to work to get a jump-start on tomorrow’s goal. Resist. Or not.
  

And there you have it. A typical workday for me. I do get distracted easily, and I do panic often. But as strange as this sounds, I really do love the process. I love creating. I love watching a story take shape and the characters grow and change. I love twisting the plot so that even I’m surprised. But most of all, I love holding the finish product in my hands, as it’s a culmination of the blood, sweat and tears I poured into it. I hope you enjoy the results!

***
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of breathtaking paranormal and contemporary romances, cutting edge young adult novels, and stunning urban fantasy. Her novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan and Seventeen Magazine, and on MTV. The critics have called her books "sizzling page-turners" and "utterly spellbinding stories", while Showalter herself has been called “a star on the rise."