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The Missoula Independent -- 07/05/07

Out on the range
Mickey Minner puts the cowgirl back in the Old West
By: Skylar Browning

Local author Mickey Minner grew up a fan of old black-and-white cowboy films, dime novel Westerns and the Saturday morning shows of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. But as she devoured the tall tales and dusty yarns, or heard Autry list his signature Cowboy Commandments—“He must help people in distress; He must be a good worker; He must always tell the truth,” etc.—Minner always felt there was something missing. Too much “he” and not any “she.”

As a lesbian romance writer, Minner is quickly rectifying that situation. She’s debuted with a three-part Western series, which was originally written as a single 1,000-page book. The first novel, Sweetwater, was released last November, and her second, Rolling Thunder, is due out later this summer. The third, Fireweed, is almost complete but has not yet been submitted to publishers.

“I grew up loving these old shows and always wanted to see women in them, and there never were any,” says Minner in her first in-person interview. “So I thought, let’s put a couple of women in the story and go from there.”

Minner makes the “go from there” part seem easy. The 15-year Missoula resident works full-time as a researcher for USIS conducting employee background checks, and has moved in with her parents to help provide care for her ailing father. Finding time to write is a challenge, but she’s been successful ever since she made the choice to pursue writing novels.

“I’ve been writing my whole life, but sort of got away from it,” she says. “Then I started writing fan fiction on the Internet. Fan fiction is usually based on a television show [a fan spins fantasy stories about specific characters who, more often than not, develop romantic relationships with each other], but I never really got into that part of it since my stories are all original characters. But I started posting my stories on the sites just to see what people said.”

What Minner found was an audience willing to read her work, offer feedback, make suggestions and, eventually, become her fan base. Now, she usually keeps her uncorrected first drafts online at her personal web site (mickeyminner.com), invites fans to “Stick a Pin in Mickey” with an online guest map (more than 150 entries include postings from Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Greece) and writes short stories by request, including a recent vampire-themed romance available only through her web site. For a relative novice like Minner, cultivating her fan base is a vital part of the business, especially in the romance genre.

“I really love my fans and I love to do things for them,” says Minner, who counts everyone from pre-teens to women in their 60s and 70s—not to mention a few men—as devoted readers. “I’m getting new readers all the time. This is how you build a following.”

In fact, it was a fan suggestion that led Minner to write her first non-Western romance. Fast Break, which is due out in January 2008, is about a fictitious women’s professional basketball team based in Missoula. Minner jumped at the idea since she’s a longtime Lady Griz fan and was looking for a new challenge after her Western series. Next up: she’s working on a sci-fi romance.

“My stories focus on more of the day-to-day life of the characters,” she says. “I’m not one to address the real big social issues. I like to show women just living their life, to show that these are just two people. It doesn’t matter the time period or the setting as much as how the relationship develops.”

Sweetwater, for instance, tells the story of two women, a schoolteacher and a rancher, who meet in a small Montana town in the late 1880s. The book is far from a stereotypical steamy romance novel, instead patiently focusing on the two women’s mounting attraction for one another. Even the moment of discovery is understated:

“Jennifer.” Jesse paused before continuing awkwardly, “What would you think if I said that I was having feelings for you?”

Jennifer’s heart leaped into her throat. Was it possible that Jesse felt the same way about her that she felt for the rancher? She was afraid to ask but she had to know, “What kind of feelings?”

“The kind of feelings a woman must have for a man when she wants to spend the rest of her life with him.”

They end up holding each other.

Minner is hoping to write more short stories and novels as time allows. With three books already done, two waiting to be released—she’s signed with lesbian-owned and operated P.D. Publishing out of North Carolina—and two more close to complete, she’s at no loss for tales to tell.

“I plan to write a lot more books,” she says.

In the meantime, Minner is focused on balancing her writing pursuits with a full-time job and caring for her father. The latter has been a particularly tough struggle. In the dedication of Sweetgrass, Minner thanks her parents, writing, “even when they didn’t understand, [they] continued to love and support me.”

“When I first came out, they had trouble with it,” Minner says. “It’s gotten a lot better. But one thing they did is they never stopped supporting me. No matter what.”

And do they read her books?

“My mom does, but my dad never has,” she says. “He says he’s waiting for me to write a straight romance…I wish he did read them, though, because I think he’d be proud of what they are.”

****

NOTE OF CORRECTION: IN THIS ARTICLE, THE WRITER REFERRED TO MY FIRST BOOK AS "SWEETGRASS". AS WE ALL KNOW, IT IS "SWEETWATER".

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L-Word.com Literature -- 9/14/06

Interview With Mickey Minner

Written by Lyne Jamneck

Interview by Lynne Jamneck http://www.lynne-jamneck.blogspot.com/

Born and raised in Southern California, Mickey Minner has lived in New Mexico, Washington and, for the past several years, in western Montana. Since childhood, she has enjoyed a love of the old west and of writing and living in the Rocky Mountains gives Mickey plenty of opportunity to enjoy walking in the woods, fishing, camping and spending time just enjoying the beautiful scenery. Her friends tell her she has a wicked sense of humor, and loves to have her on their side for a game of Trivial Pursuit because of her endless knowledge of useless information.

Visit Mickey's site here http://www.mickeyminner.com/

What do you feel is the main drive behind your creativity?

First, let me say how honored I am to be giving this interview. I must admit that your invitation caught me completely by surprise and I performed a happy little jig when I received it. Please don't ask me to do a repeat performance for you. <BG>

As for the drive behind my creativity, I'm not sure. My mom has always said I was very talented. <VBG> Besides writing, I've done a little drawing and painting (I wish I was better at that), designed needlepoint patterns, made my own greeting cards, and like to play around with photography (I post a lot of my pics on my website). I guess you could say that I like to create things.

When did you feel like a writer for the first time?

Probably in high school when I sold a book of my poems to my classmates. I'm not sure how good the poems were but I made a buck for every book I sold. I do know it didn't make me much money. <G>

The first book in your Sweetwater Saga series, Sweetwater, will be released this November. Is the anticipation building?

I'm not sure anticipation is the word I would use. It has been a long journey and one I wasn't expecting or prepared for. But one I'm very much looking forward to being over and holding Sweetwater in my hands.

Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the series.

I've always loved westerns, Saturday morning shows like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry and the old black and white movies. When I was a kid, my grandfather would slip me the dime novel westerns he read- my grandmother didn't think they were fit for a girl to read. I wanted to write a story that reflected those influences. Just a good, old fashion western- but one where the hero would get the girl not kiss the horse at the end.

The second and third books, Bozeman and Rolling Thunder, will be released May 2007 and November 2007 respectively. Did you have all three books finished before approaching a publisher?

Yes. I actually wrote four stories then combined and rewrote them into one book. One very long book- it was approximately 1,000 pages. But I quickly discovered it was almost impossible to get a book of that length published so I split it into three books.

You live in an environment that is certainly conducive to the genre in which you write. What sort of research have you done up until now to prepare you for writing the Sweetwater books?

Well, like I said before, I grew up loving everything about the old west. I've seen all the movies and read more books on the subject then I could ever remember. I've traveled to historical sites from New Mexico to Washington State just to see the places I've read about. I think I come about my love of that period naturally. My great-grandfather Stetler was a conductor on the railroad and traveled all over the west. One grandfather was literally born in a covered wagon and my other grandfather loved everything about the old west. I'm related to Johnny Ringo, a relationship my great-grandfather Ringo found little to be proud of <G>. What can I say, it's in my blood.

What were some of the most challenging aspects when it came to the writing of the books?

What I had to learn was to listen to the characters and let them tell me their story. All I had to do was type. I quickly found that extensive outlining didn't work for me, it just got in the way of the story because I was constantly stopping and comparing what I had written against the outline. Once I threw the outline away and let Jesse and Jennifer take over, their story poured out of me.

Was writing something you always wanted to do?

Yes. As a child, I used to think what it would be like to write the Great American Novel. I still do. <G>

The road to finding the right publisher is often a tricky one for aspiring writers who are not familiar with the nuts and bolts of the industry. What would you say are the most important things to look at regarding this issue?

Ask, ask, ask. You can't ask too many questions. There's a lot of information about publishers available on the web. Research the ones you are thinking of using to submit your work. Make sure you understand and can live with all of their requirements. Have someone you can trust go through the research with you. And find and hire an agent or lawyer with a good knowledge of the publishing business before you sign anything.

Who are some of the authors you consider to be your earliest influences?

Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Allen Poe, William Shakespeare, Jack London, Dorothy Parker and the long forgotten names of all the dime novel westerns I read. <G>

What are you currently reading, watching and listening to?

Unfortunately, I don't have much time for reading other than the newsletters of writer organizations I'm a member of and keeping up with some of the writer lists online. I don't watch a lot of TV. And I only listen to music when I'm at work. I listen mostly to country, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Anne Murray, Loretta Lynn, Tanya Tucker. Oh, and, I'm surprised I haven't worn it out yet, Cher's Farewell Tour CD.

What are you currently working on?

I'm juggling a lot of projects right now. I have first drafts of three books written: Fireweed (the 4th of the Sweetwater Saga), Fast Break (a basketball story) and Organi (a sci-fi story). I'm also almost finished with Ghost Town-ing, a series of short stories. I hadn't expected them to be anything more but I've received a number of requests from readers to expand them into a book. Shadow Keeper is another short story that I'm working on. Beach Encounter is a short story I wrote a couple of years ago that I'm working on expanding into a book. And I'm thinking of writing a sequel to Fast Break because of the tremendous response I've received from the readers who really enjoy the characters and would like to read more about them. And, of course, there are more Sweetwater Saga stories to come.

How do you feel about the current state of lesbian publishing; anything you'd like to see more or less of?

Ah, this is a tough question and one that is difficult to answer because I am a writer who would like to have my books published and, therefore, must walk a tight rope to respond -- and that is the crux of the issue.

I have found that the current state of lesbian publishing is heavily colored by the past, a past that some are not willing, or able, to let go. It is difficult to come into a business knowing nothing of the history of the players. It is even more difficult when some of those players want to drag you into their long-standing conflicts. A good example of this is when I had someone I did not know contact me and ask for a private conversation to warn me about some of the members of my fan discussion group. I was extremely displeased with having this individual attempt to force their old baggage on me and I posted as much on my group. I had many people write agreeing with what I had said. Unfortunately, because they are also writers and also want to have their books published, they were afraid to voice their opinions openly.

If there was anything I would like to see changed in lesbian publishing it would be to leave behind the entrenched environment of bullying, intimidation and fear. Writers, publishers, distributors, editors, cover artists, readers, and book buyers should be working together to make lesbian publishing as good, or better, than mainstream. Unfortunately, that often quoted goal is next to impossible under the current environment.

And that is a shame for all of us because what I see as a major plus in the business is the wonderful relationship between writers and readers. There is an extremely generous talent pool in lesbian publishing and our readers are some of the most loyal and supporting of any. What could be accomplished if we all worked together is unimaginable. I would definitely like to see us move more in that direction and away from the other.

What's the biggest challenge for you personally about being a writer?

Being true to myself and my readers.

What do you consider to be your best and worst attributes?

I enjoy a good laugh and, as my mother says, I don't suffer fools well.

Tell us something about Mickey Minner no one else knows...

I'm extremely shy and just the thought of doing a book reading petrifies me.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers trying to get their break in publishing?

Do not sign any contract without either an agent or an attorney by your side. This is a business, pure and simple, and having an agent or attorney to advise you is good business practice. Writers need someone who is 100% looking out for their interests on their team.

A happy writer is...

Writing. That was easy <VBG>

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