O'Dell, Holly

PERSONAL:

Married; husband's name Joe.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Yucca Valley, CA. E-mail—hollyodell1@gmail.com.

CAREER:

Writer and magazine editor.

WRITINGS:

Spin Control, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Holly O'Dell told CA: "Like many writers, I think I've been interested in [writing] for as long as I can remember. I would write plays and perform them starting around age seven or eight. I then moved on to short stories and have yet to finish the novel about unrequited love that I started in the eighth grade.

"I keep in contact with other romance/women's fiction writers to pick their brains, discuss the craft, and whine when I'm facing writer's block. I believe it's important to be part of a strong network of fellow writers, since the process can be a lonely one at times.

"Frankly, my writing process is all over the board. Usually I'll scribble down a plot idea, and then I mold my characters and write down snippets of dialogue in no particular order. Through the help of the aforementioned network to which I belong, I have begun to appreciate the value of outlining an idea and strongly developing characters before sitting down to write. I've found that following such a process, while not intuitive for me, makes for a better story."

When asked the most surprising thing she has learned as a writer, O'Dell said: "My inability to let go of characters once I've completed a work. As goofy as it sounds, I still think about my hero and heroine from Spin Control, even though the work was completed three years ago and published in 2006. I've always read interviews with writers about how they become so entrenched in their characters' lives, and I didn't really understand that until I completed my first novel.

"I read The Infinite Plan by Isabel Allende for a college class in 1995, and it was the first novel I had ever read that made me think, ‘This is how you really tell a story.’ Allende has a gift for prose and believability in her writing, even though it sometimes delves into the supernatural. Although The Infinite Plan is considered contemporary fiction, I think it's a timeless piece.

"There are some writers out there whose work is amazingly powerful and prolific. That's not my goal. I hope to provide an escape, however temporary, because that's what I look for in the books I read.'