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Judy Bagshaw is a retired elementary school teacher and writer in Southern Ontario, Canada. As a plus-sized woman, she has long wanted to see the appearance of stories featuring full-figured central characters. Much of her work features such characters leading rich and active lives, as she does.
 
Romantic suspense is her genre of choice, but she also writes humor, some non-fiction, and children's stories. Her currently available works include several romance novels, work in multiple anthologies, a short story collection and a non-fiction book. She was also part of the writing team for the Ginn Reading Steps from Pearson Educational, a program widely used in elementary schools. She writes a monthly writing column for Romance Writer2Writer Magazine www.romancewriter2writer.com, and a book column for Go Getta Magazine www.gogettamagazine.webs.com
 
You can find out more about Judy, and read excerpts and reviews of her books at judybagshaw.com  She can be contacted at judy_bagshaw@yahoo.ca.

Thank you  for taking the time to answer some questions for us!  To start, please tell us about the latest project you've worked on.
 
I just got offered a contract by Awe-Struck for a new contemporary romance novel, Second Chances: Jack and Gillian, that I finished this summer (’09). It’s the first of a planned series of stories based on the idea of second chances at love. As well, I am in the final revisions of another contemporary romance, Kiss Me…Nate, the first draft of which I actually wrote two years ago for National Novel Writing Month. So it’s been a prolific summer.
 
Why do you choose to write stories featuring full-figured heroines?
 
I’m a substantially-sized woman and have been all my adult life. It used to frustrate me to read romance novels and all the heroines were either tiny size zeroes, or Barbie clones. None of them looked like me. I knew from personal experience that big girls went on dates, and had boyfriends and enjoyed active love lives, so why couldn’t our stories be told in books? So I decided to write them. Not every story I write now has a full-figured heroine, but most do, and my fans love it.
 
What kind of other works (books, scripts, poems etc.) have you had published?
 
At present, my published work includes five novels, five anthologies, a collection of short stories, and one non-fiction book. I have another anthology coming out in October ’09 and a novel in November ’09. Second Chances is slated for release in April of ’10.
 
Is there any aspect to your profession that gets you in touch with your readers directly?
 
One of things I like best about my job is the marketing and promoting of my work. I was fortunate to have a fan start up the Judy Bagshaw fan club http://www.geocities.com/judybagshaw_fanclub/ early on. Along with the fanclub, I started providing a monthly fan newsletter. I also belong to various promotional groups where readers and writers get to mingle. A fun promo thing I started two years ago is my free e-serial, a soap opera style story called Desperate Hearts. www.desperatehearts.homestead.com  I post chapters monthly, and have a forum, http://indigochick.conforums3.com/index.cgi?board=judyb, where fans can comment on the chapters and talk with me.
 
Over the years I’ve built up my fan base. I regularly get emails and guest book notes from my fans, which I love. Their feedback on my work means the world, and fuels my drive to continue writing.
 
What will your next project be?
 
As I said earlier, I am in the final editing stages with another contemporary romance, Kiss Me…Nate. This one has a Canadian setting, and a fair bit of humour. Once it’s submitted I’ll get back to work on the second of my Second Chances series. As well, I have a paranormal novel I’ve been playing with for a while that I’d like to get finished.
 
What can you recommend for writers who are just getting started and are trying to make a name for themselves?
 
Perseverence.  It’s so easy to get discouraged and give up. Rejection is a big part of a beginning writer’s life (while really, at any stage in a writer’s journey) and it can make you feel like such a failure. You have to develop a thick skin early on and use criticism as a tool to make your writing better. I believe that you never stop developing as a writer. It’s a lifelong pursuit.
 
Also, understand that writing is a business and you have to approach it as such if you want to attain any kind of success.
 
How did you get started as a writer?
 
I dabbled at writing all my life, but didn’t get serious until the 1990’s. I was teaching at the time, and took over the drama club in the school. We needed material to perform, so I wrote plays. Since music was also a big part of my life, many of the plays were musicals. I started writing short stories and books several years later, and in 2000, got my first publishing contract.
 
But over the years, I took many writing classes, joined a local writer’s group, and wrote, wrote, wrote---many things that will never see the light of day. You have to write a lot of crap before you finally produce something worthy of submitting to a publisher.
 
Which is your favorite book/work published? Is there a favorite?
 
That’s like trying to choose which of your children is the favourite. You can’t. I would say though, that the book closest to my heart is the non-fiction book, One Foot On A Banana Peel, which was written after my six month hospital stay in 2005. I actually outlined it in my head while flat on my back in my hospital bed. It chronicles my journey through a life threatening infection, and shares all the things my brother (who is my Power Of  Attorney) and I learned through the experience. www.onefootonabananapeel.homestead.com
 
What does a typical work day look like for you?
 
I’m retired from my day job now, so there really is no typical day. I tend to write in spurts—several days of manic writing followed by even more days of doing anything else but. I try to get into my office for at least two to three hours a day, but can easily get sidetracked with promotion, or research, or socializing on the ‘net.—even a good movie on tv.
 
I have found out these truths about myself over the years: I work best and most productively under time pressure…so give me a deadline and I’ll meet it; I work best up at our family cottage where it’s quiet and serene and there are no distractions like phone, internet or television; I am at heart, a procrastinator, so must fight that devil on a daily basis. J
 
Have you ever had a mentor, or someone who sparked your passion for writing?
 
Wow. That’s a hard question. The passion for writing has always been there, I feel. But over the years, I’ve had great encouragement from different sources. My parents, first of all, were, and my mother continues to be, my greatest fans and morale boosters. Mom is always my beta reader for new work. 

My first publisher, Susan Bodendorfer at the now defunct Wordbeams, was so encouraging of my efforts. She’s a remarkable writer in her own right (as Daisy Dexter Dobbs), so it’s most flattering to be praised by her. And my dear friend, Skyla Dawn Cameron, an amazing urban fantasy author, is always urging me to break out and try new things with my writing. It’s because of her that I have my first paranormal romance coming out in November.
 
Who is your favorite writer/author?
 
Again, hard.  I can’t just pick one. Well, Skyla Dawn Cameron and not just because she’s a friend. She’s a great writer…very fresh. Sue Ann Jaffarian, who created one of my favourite literary characters in her amateur sleuth, Odelia Grey.  Elaine Corvidae. Flawless writing.  Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, Robert Ludlum…I read a lot of thrillers…J
 
Finally, a most important question: what was the last song you sang out loud when you were by yourself?  :)
 
LOL…Well, I am a huge fan of the HBO series True Blood, so find myself humming the title song Bad Things, a fair bit. Either that or the “stuck on bandaid brand” commercial jingle. Don’t know why. It just got stuck in my head.

Thank you Judy! We wish you lots of success with your new series!