AUGUST 2007 Spotlight on...

      MARTY TIDWELL

           by Gina Lee Nelson

As we continue to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of North Texas RWA, our spotlight this month is on our new webmaster, Marty Tidwell.

I understand you first joined NTRWA in 1987. What did you learn from the experience?

I actually joined in 1986, and at the time I wrote with a partner. It was nice having someone else along for the ride when we walked in the door, and we learned a lot. NT really opened my eyes to the business side of writing: all the different lines -- most of which are defunct or have morphed into something else, the different editors, how to submit a manuscript, how to write a synopsis and query. All of the nuts and bolts things I had no clue about back then. So now, even though it's been twenty years, I'm not so overwhelmed by the prospect of it all now that I'm writing on my own. It was also inspiring to watch so many writers succeed and have successful careers. It made you believe anything was possible. Even before I started writing again, I'd see a name of an author that had been an NT member on a book, and I'd feel a connection. Inside, I'd have that niggling feeling that I still had some unfinished business of my own.

Who were some of the successful NT writers you remember from those days?

Let's see. I stumbled across an old roster the other day. Some of the published authors on the roster were Sandra Brown, Carole Nelson Douglas, Yvonne Jocks, Judith McNaught, and Amanda Moor Jay aka Laura Kinsale. (I was in awe of her writing; I still am. So that made quite an impression on me.)

We’re glad you came back. What prompted your decision?

My children were grown and on their own, so I had more time for myself. I wrote some short stories, and they were all basically romances. I realized how much I enjoyed the actual process of writing, of wrestling around to find the right word, of trying to figure a way to express emotions with letters on a page. So I thought, “Ah ha! I should rejoin RWA and see how much things have changed.” It felt like a good time to challenge myself by making writing a top priority rather than something I fit in after everything else was done. So I started visiting NT back in early 2006 and rejoined shortly after that.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was a stay at home mom while my kids were growing up, and our lives revolved around them and their many activities. I loved every minute of it. As they got older, my main goal was to get them all through college and push them out of the nest. They all flew the coop successfully, and I never suffered one minute from empty nest syndrome. But I was eager to figure out what I was going to do next. That's when I started writing again. When I'm not at home in front of the computer, I also run the Arlington Adult Soccer league.

I've been married to Bill for 37 years; and after all this time, I can honestly say that he's the perfect man. Maybe that's why I like to write romances. Luckily, my three children took after him instead of me, so they are perfect, too. My oldest son Matthew lives in Ohio with his amazing wife Elizabeth and my brilliant, beautiful, six year old granddaughter Sophia. My son Josh lives in Dallas, and my daughter Emily lives in Arlington. Matthew teaches creative writing, Josh is an amazing cook, and Emily plays professional women's football. My family is my greatest source of pleasure.

Where are you from?

I'm a native Texan. I was born in St. Joseph's hospital in Fort Worth only because Arlington didn't have a hospital, yet. We lived in Arlington in a little brown house that my grandfather built as a wedding present for my parents, right next door to their big house. All the big houses on the street are gone now, but the little house is still there nestled between two apartment buildings. Someday they should put up a plaque that says, “Marty Tidwell was born here!”

What do you like to write? What are you working on now?

Right now, I'm writing a humorous romantic suspense. I would love to write a deep, dark, angst-filled book, but I think I'm destined to write light, fluffy ones.

Who are some of your favorite authors and why?

Oh my!  This list could go on forever. One of my few talents was teaching myself to read at an early age and I've never stopped. Without Nancy Drew, Little Women, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights I wouldn't be who I am today. But now I read all sorts of things: Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, Janet Evanovich, Earl Emerson, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Robert Crais, Lee Child, Laura Kinsale, Carol O'Connell, Paul Levine, Anne Stuart, Anne Tyler, Lavryle Spencer, and Deborah Smith. I know I'm forgetting a million others; but regardless of what they write, they all make me feel intensely by the time I’m through reading. I think all books, even funny, happy ones, should break your heart just a little before they mend it again, and all of these authors do that for me. 

What do you struggle with as a writer?

Writing fast. I'm a slow writer. I have to fix things as I go, so when I try to get it down on the page and edit later it makes me feel adrift as if the story has floated away from me. I also have to learn to write longer. I’ve grown accustomed to writing shorter stories, so telling a story in 75,000 words instead of 20,000 has been a struggle. Figuring out what's padding and what actually makes the story better.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

This is a hard one. I skipped the first grade, and it's been all downhill from there. Of course, I'm proud of my kids, but they did all the hard work. I just sat by and cheered them on. As for writing, I won an Emma Merritt synopsis contest in 1986, and somewhere I still have the Plexiglas heart trophy to prove it. Other than that, managing to eat the steel cut oatmeal my husband makes for me every morning is quite an accomplishment… I don't like oatmeal even if it is good for me.

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Gina Lee Nelson recently completed her first tender romance, PLAY IT LOUD. She’s currently working on a Young Adult Fantasy.