Meet your Fellow Members!

Compiled By Shirley Martin

ESPAN AUTHOR RITA HESTAND:
1. Where do you live now? 
RITA: North Central Texas

2.  What was the last book you read? 
RITA: "The Valentine Two-Step" by Raeanne Thayne a Rita nomination in which I was judging, then later told I wasn't eligible to judge it.

3. Who's your favorite author?  
RITA: That's a hard one.  I really liked the Thayne book. But I also like the e-authors I've read too, like Odgers, Glenda Tudor, Campo, and many, many others.

4. If you could be any character in literature, who would it be?  Why?  
RITA: Oh man, I think maybe Scarlett O'Hara and rewrite the book, she sure lost a good man, I don't think I would have.

5. Why did you start writing? 
RITA: Two things mainly, the voices in my head that needed to come out, and every time I watched a movie, I kept saying to myself, I could write that...only better.

6.  How long have you been writing?
RITA: Since I was a teenager 

7. What is your writing schedule? 
RITA: I don't have one.  I write when I find time, get inspiration, or just want to.

8. What would ESPAN members be surprised to know about you? 
RITA: I'm undisciplined but a maniac for work. I never outline my work, how do I know what my characters are going to do next, till we get there.

9.  What one piece of advice would you offer to other writers? 
RITA: Listen to experienced writers for what you can learn, but learn it your way. Write from inspiration that flows when you are in the wrong places at the wrong times.  That's usually when it hits you anyway. 

10.  What do you like to write about? 
RITA: People!

ESPAN AUTHOR BARBARA KARMAZIN:

1. Where do you live now? 
BARBARA: Lebanon, Pennsylvania


2.  What was the last book you read? 
BARBARA: Coyote by Allen Steele, straight SF novel.


3. Who's your favorite author?  
BARBARA: C.J. Cherryh

4. Why did you start writing? 
BARBARA: I couldn't find the kind of stories I wanted to read.  I wanted to see hard Science Fiction intertwined with Romance, so I started writing those kind of stories.

5.  How long have you been writing?
BARBARA: 12 years, I'm a late bloomer. I'm fifty one now.  I've been an avid reader of SF & Fantasy since I was seven years old.

6. What is your writing schedule? 
BARBARA: I try to write for at least four hours a day.

7. What would ESPAN members be surprised to know about you? 
BARBARA: Even though I'm hearing impaired with only 40% hearing in the normal speech tones, I'm a bilingual social worker (Spanish/English) in my day job.  Learning how to read lips in Spanish was a bitch.

8.  What one piece of advice would you offer to other writers? 
BARBARA: Write every day.  Keep reading and learning how other writers put their stories together. 

9.  What do you like to write about? 
BARBARA: Science Fiction Romance, how cultures change over long periods of time.

ESPAN AUTHOR ROBIN BAYNE:

1. Where do you live now?  
ROBIN:  just north of Baltimore, Maryland aka the Frozen Tundra <G>

 2.  What was the last book you read?   
ROBIN: Taking the Heat, by Brenda Novak

 3. Who's your favorite author?
ROBIN: Way too many to pick one-- so instead I'll list the last few authors I've read : Brenda Novak, Claudia Dain, Dee Henderson, Robin Lee Hatcher, Elaine Hopper, Cheryl Wolverton, Patti Berg, Teresa Hill, Deb Raney. 

4. If you could be any character in literature, who would it be?  Why?  
ROBIN: The heroine of the last book I read. . . because the hero was soooo yummy.

5. Why did you start writing?  
ROBIN: I went to college on weekends, while working full time, and when I finally graduated I had all this free time. So I decided to do what I'd toyed with forever, and write. But what? I started with a few poems, a few essays, then moved to short stories. The only ones getting published were the romances, and that's what turned me to writing romance novels.

6.  How long have you been writing?  
ROBIN: Since graduation, 1995. Although technically, my mom still has a short story I wrote with a fat pencil in the 2nd grade. It was about a haunted house : ) Also,for 2 years my hubby and I published and produced a small press lit mag we called "Robin's Nest." As the editor, I learned an incredible amount about submitting and writing.

7. What is your writing schedule?  
ROBIN: It varies, and I don't write every day as I'd like to.

8. What would ESPAN members be surprised to know about you?
ROBIN:  In 2001 I won a service award at my day job (from Freddie Mac, the major secondary market for mortgages) and was flown to Hawaii for a convention. There, I won a brand new PT Cruiser when they drew my name from the other barrell of mortgage banker's who were finalists. Up until then I had never won anything! Unfortunately, it ended up costing me about $8000.00 in taxes, LOL

9.  What one piece of advice would you offer to other writers?  
ROBIN: Never give up : )

10.  What do you like to write about?
ROBIN:  The same as I like to read-- contemporary, emotionally packed romances.  In the past I've enjoyed writing time travel stories, but am now enjoying writing inspirational romance.

ESPAN AUTHOR LINDA MORELLI
 1. Where do you live now? 
LINDA:  Metro DC Area (Maryland)

 2.  What was the last book you read?  
LINDA: "Doomed Passage" by Jean  Hackensmith & Kathe Birch (Port Town Publishing)

 3. Who's your favorite author? 
LINDA: I have far too many, but most favorite is  Nora Roberts.

 4. If you could be any character in literature, who would it be?  Why? 
LINDA:  Juliet, because loving can sometimes be tragic.

 5. Why did you start writing?  
LINDA: It was a passion I couldn't resist.

 6.  How long have you been writing? 
LINDA: Since I was ten; as a "professional" since 1994.

 7. What is your writing schedule? 
LINDA: I write when my kids are at school or  asleep. I try to write at least 15 minutes/day, and that usually turns into hours.

 8. What would ESPAN members be surprised to know about you? 
LINDA: That's a hard one.  Perhaps that I have two grown children (36 and 26), and my husband and I recently adopted two children, one from Russia (now 10) and one from  Kazakhstan (now 8). Oh, and I've had psychic abilities since I was six.

 9.  What one piece of advice would you offer to other writers? 
LINDA: Write what your heart tells you to.

 10.  What do you like to write about? 
LINDA: Romance, mystery and intrigue, but I also love writing about the paranormal.

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