Double Exposure by double authors

Jeannie Barber and Patty Wiseman are writing partners on a project called Double Exposure - Don’t Blink. When she’s not writing and spending time with her family, Jeannie and her husband enjoy drag racing. Much of Patty’s free time is spent at one baseball field or another with her grandchildren.

Please tell us a little about the project you’re working on together.

Jeannie: Often life is much more interesting than fiction. Our novel is an imaginative and artistic blend of both. I believe everyone has pondered the idea of being someone else. In Double Exposure – Don’t Blink, we take the reader into that daydream.

Patty: The story is based on an experience Jeannie and I had about 20 years ago while single mothers trying to add a bit of excitement to our predictable lives. It’s spun off into a romantic mystery about two women who are business partners and stumble, unbidden into the world of danger and intrigue. 

You’ve known each other for a long time. When did you decide to try writing a story together?

Jeannie: Patty and I met in 1976; we were friends, but not close. However, about ten years later, I went to work in a law office next door to where Patty worked. Being single mothers, each raising two sons close in age, our similarities enhanced the bond of friendship.

The boys knew one another from school, and even played sports together. It wasn’t easy so our shoe-string budgets prompted creativity. The boys loved our spontaneity and cheap outlandish fun. Many times Patty and I joked we should write a book….so we did.

The beginning of Double Exposure – Don’t Blink is spun from an actual event we fabricated just to see if we could pull it off. Of course, the story line deters from the factual episode, but I believe the incident birthed our muse.

Patty: Neither Jeannie nor I anticipated the connection we’d find the day our paths crossed three decades ago. To say we share similar interests is beyond the pale. Both our 1st husbands bore the same name and our sons bonded us like no other friend. Our sense of humor travels the same path and is a source of constant rejuvenation and creativity.

Single mothers are a breed apart and to find ourselves in the situation at the same time took us by surprise. We’re home girls. We both wanted the white picket fence and when stolen from us, a creative mode of survival surfaced. 

The episode Jeannie speaks of started as a dare. I’m the more adventurous one and when I presented the scenario she stepped up to the plate and a star was born. We’ve never looked back. Our book is a reflection of our escapades.

How do you collaborate? Online, in person, on the phone?

Jeannie: With full time jobs and families, the core of our work is written separately and emailed to one another. We have a dedicated schedule of Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings online and on the phone when we work out a new scene, chapter, or necessary editing. 

I live in Kilgore, Texas and Patty lives in Woodlawn, Texas. We used to meet on Saturdays in Longview, a town halfway between at McDonalds in a Wal-Mart Supercenter. The store remodeled and did away with our meeting place. We tried other places, even my office in Longview, but nowhere was as fun as the old W-M. We’d get so involved in our characters and the scenes, people would eavesdrop!

Patty: An example of our creativity took place last Wednesday night. Scheduled to work on the telephone together, I found myself at the ballpark watching my grandson’s baseball game and unable to get home to my office.  The culprit?  A tie game and extra innings. At the appointed time, I called Jeannie and right there in the park we worked on the project at hand. Granted, people looked at me funny. They could only hear one side of the conversation and our humor oozed out as it usually does. We crack each other up.

What books or writers have most influenced each of your lives?

Jeannie: Scene & Structure by Jack M. Bickham, The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler’s, Hooked by Les Edgerton have helped a immensely, but I’d be lost without my Writer’s Digest Flip Dictionary. I’m a great fan of Cheryl Norman, Sandra Brown, Cheryl Kaye Tardiff and Beth Fehlbaum. 

Patty: Of course, I love The Writer’s Journey, but other writers have inspired me through my lifetime. Emily Bronte, Edna Ferber (which really dates me) and Jane Austen fueled my love of reading. A more contemporary author would be Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander Series. I’m a history buff and David McCullough’s John Adams is another favorite.

Writing is often such a solitary pursuit. What’s the most challenging thing about working with a writing partner?

Jeannie: We’re both very creative, but we have different voices. Being willing to give and take on this level can be an ordeal, but we compromise. An added challenge for DE is there are two heroines and two heroes.

Patty: We have the best of both worlds. Our pattern is to assign each other a scene. That’s our alone time. When our deadline rolls around we’re anxious to share what we’ve done. The challenge comes in little suggestions from each other. Early on it was difficult, but we’ve learned to listen to each other more.

What strengths do each of you bring to your work?

Jeannie: I believe our voices are our biggest strength. To work with one another’s ideas and visions have made us stronger in our own personalities, in my opinion.

Patty: Jeannie’s very good in the grammar department. I lean on her for those corrections. I think I can see a big picture. Ideas seem to explode in my head. We’re both creative, though.

Do you play music when you write or do you need quiet?

Jeannie: For some reason I’m the most creative when it’s raining, but that isn’t always possible. The TV is usually on, but down low. It doesn’t bother me either way because I block it out.

Patty: Quiet suits me better. My mind whirls all the time, so I need that oasis to focus. No radio, no TV and mornings are much better for me.

Would you each please tell us what you’re working on independently?

Jeannie: I put my 2007 NaNoWriMo story on the back burner because DE is my first priority, but go back to it when time allows. I’ve started several other pieces, one is a children’s story. I love to write poetry, as well as lyrics.

Patty: My 2007 NaNoWriMo novel is finished and in the editing stages. It’s slow going because of our joint project. I’ve based my story on another real life episode in my family, an arranged marriage. I’ve another mystery in the works, too. But our first priority is DE. 

*NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, which is a challenge that many writers take part in, trying to write the first draft of a novel in a month, cheering each other on through chat groups.

How do your families feel about you spending so much time writing? Do they consider it a “real” job?

Jeannie: My family is very proud, and my husband is my biggest fan. He insists on Wednesday nights to fix his own supper and allow me time to work with Patty. I’m blessed because he gives me all the freedom and support anyone could ask.

My sons and their wives, especially the older grandkids, brag that I’m a writer. Published or not, they’re excited over my projects.  At this time it isn’t possible, but my husband would love for me to retire and write full time.

Patty: Again, another similarity in our lives is our present husbands. We found them only a year apart over 16 years ago and they couldn’t be more alike. My husband supports me 100% and has often actually acted out a scene while Jeannie and I were going over the action.

My boys and their wives are behind me also and can’t wait to see it in print. Retirement looms for me and I am more than ready. More than it being a ‘real job’, I think they have respect for my passion.

Do you have any advice for other writers who are thinking of working together on a writing project?

Jeannie: Patience and compromise is the key to our relationship. I try to stay open-minded to Patty’s ideas, and I believe she does the same. We call ourselves ‘Cosmos Sisters’. What one brain doesn’t come up with, the other does.

Patty: Be sure your friendship is solid. A key factor is to acknowledge the other person’s style and compromise. We’ve had severe disagreements in the past about our work, but the friendship carried us through. Now we anticipate the problems and work together to solve it and usually come up with something better. Without a solid base I’m not sure it could work.

Photos courtesy of Jeanie Barber and Patty Wiseman

Jeanie Barber: http://www.jeanniebarber.com
Patty Wiseman: http://www.pattywiseman.com

Texas Authors of Romantic Fiction: http://texasarf.blogspot.com
Northwest Houston RWA: http://www.nwhrwa.com
West Houston RWA:  http://www.whrwa.com
Houston Bay Area RWA: http://www.hbarwa.com
Romance Writers of America: http://www.rwanational.org

Read about more wonderful romance novelists at
http://www.examiner.com/x-5288-Salt-Lake-City-Romance-Novels-Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-2533-Romance-Novel-Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-4981-Romance-Novel-Examiner