Website of Author Rekha Ambardar

Interviews

Interview with Rekha Ambardar By Diane Tugman
Editorial Assistant with The Romance Studio, April 05, 2005

DT: Happy New Year Rekha. Welcome to The Romance Studio. What a lovely name you have. Your featured book is titled His Harbor Girl; will you tell us about this story?

RA: To state the premise briefly—it’s about a single mom who tries to get her life back together, and just when she’s succeeding, her former lover, a scientist, shows up near her hometown to do a study on wolves. Of course, this brings back all the old heartaches and memories.

DT: An old ship turned into a store, what a novel idea. Where did you get the idea for this story? What sort of research did you do while writing this story? Where did the characters come from?

RA: The grandfather of a friend of mine was the captain of a tugboat, and when he retired, he turned the front part of it into a mall antique store. I looked at old photographs of the boat, and interviewed my friend, Sherri, about what construction was needed to convert it to a store. The whole process of learning that was very interesting!

The characters, I’m not quite sure how they came about. I did want to write about a scientist who studies wolves, and then I wanted to set the story in a harbor town near an island where he comes to do the study. Then, of course, you have to have a love story, so I gave him a little background—only it would be told from the heroine’s point of view. It finally grew from there!

DT: Rekha you’re an accomplished writer in many fields, with fifty published works in various genres. Congratulations! What do you like to do besides writing? What are some of your favorite things to do and places to go?

RA: Thank you! I love reading, of course, and also love Western classical music. I play the piano, but I have no time these days, so the piano is lying fallow. I love reading up on archaeology. I don’t know where that came from, maybe because I love the idea of the ancient Middle East being the cradle of civilization. Other reading interests are history and biography.

Bookstores and libraries are favorite places of mine. We love so far up north in Michigan that we have a lot of snow and blizzards throughout the winter. But we have an old, red brick public library, with a cozy fireplace, where I take my writing pad to sit and write. It’s a rare feeling to write among all those books!

DT: When you’re writing out a plot how do you decide what your character’s backgrounds will be? Do you have trouble deciding what dialogue, and language they will speak, and the many details that give a character depth and personality?

RA: I usually start with an idea—after the current book I’m working on, I very much want to start a book about a prince (either from a small European or Middle Eastern country) who comes to America on some sort of assignment, and who meets our no-nonsense heroine. I’d love to run with that idea!

As to the dialogue—I get pieces of it when I’m thinking about a scene or a chapter or a short story. I say it out loud and see how it sounds, then write it all out. I don’t usually have trouble with dialog; a writer’s main concern is that it should sound natural, like everyday speech. As far as language, you naturally try to vary the language with the type of character who’s speaking. For example, in my book, Chester, Leanna’s dad has a distinctive way of speaking that tends to be colorful, and I wouldn’t have him speak in any other way. I think of prototypes of similar folks that I know and try to inject speech patterns that would make them even more interesting. I think speech patterns of characters in books is a whole area of a very intriguing research topic for some scholar!

DT: What exciting new books can your fans look forward to in the New Year?

RA: Oh, I have another book coming out in April 2005, which I’m very excited about—It’s called MAID TO ORDER, to be released by Echelon Press. It’s about a girl from a rich banking family in Chicago. Nicky wants to start a catering service, but she wants no part of her family’s wealth so, to put herself through cooking school, she goes to work as a housekeeper at the home of the hero, who’s grandmother recommended Nicky for the job. Well, needless to say, things get pretty complicated, so that you wonder if these two fine people are ever going to get together!

DT: Thank you Rekha for joining me here today. His Harbor Girl sounds like a very touching story and one the readers are sure to enjoy. Are there any last words you have for your readers? Will you give us your email and website addresses? Do you have any parting words for your readers?

RA: Thank you, Diane! It’s been a great pleasure to be here! His Harbor Girl is a heart-warming story, and I loved writing it. The main characters, Leanna and Bryce, mean a lot to me. I felt very comfortable with the minor characters, too, felt as if they were friends I would have liked to have during times of testing.

I’d love to be in touch with my readers, and hope fervently that they enjoy the reading of it, as I have enjoyed planning and writing it.

And of course, I’ll want to hear from them. Here’s my e-mail address: Rekha_ambardar@yahoo.com

They can also contact me at my Web site: http://rekha.mmebj.com/

An Interview with Rekha Ambardar By Sara Sawyer Editorial Assistant for The Romance Studio

SS: It's nice to feature you this month Rekha. Can you tell me a little bit about your book Maid to Order?
RA: It's about an heiress, Nikki Slater, who wants to open a catering service. To pay her own way through cooking school, she takes up a job as a combination cook and housekeeper at the home of Mark Runyon, of Runyon Engineers and Architects, a global enterprise. Mark recently had one of the company's apartment buildings demolished to make space for the new Renaissance Court, a condo. To Nikki's extreme annoyance and Mark's embarrassment, it soon becomes clear that the apartment building was Nikki's erstwhile residence, conveniently close to the Saunders Institute, her cooking school. Now she's forced out of her apartment and has to look for a place to stay until she completes her culinary education. Needless to say, there are recriminations and suspicion on both sides.

SS: Being a teacher of Business Communication and Marketing at the International School of Business at Finlandia University must take up a lot of your time. When and where do you write? Do you ever have an idea pop up at inopportune times?
RA: Teaching and prepping for class take up most of the week, so I try to do my writing on some evenings and on the weekends. Not always easy to do when your brain doesn't want to move. But I tell myself that if I can write even a page or two, I could pick it up from there-revise it, rewrite it or whatever. As Nora Roberts said at an RWA convention, you can't fix a blank page.

As for the writing itself, I use sheets of paper to write on-that way, I can rest my back. Wish I could compose directly on to the computer, but don't seem to be able to do that. I'd be sitting there a long time. I also carry bits of paper around and have a legal pad in my office.

SS: How do you capture the muse? Where do your ideas come from? And how do you translate them down? Are you a seat-of-your-pants type of writer or a "plotter?"
RA: I don't seem to have a muse. However, reading the work of other writers relaxes me enough to be able to write. Ideas for books appear in the form of a premise-some, though, are completely useless, but I don't ignore them, because every once in a while, one good one may come through. So then I write down the premise in a single line in my notebook for later use, and hope I can build characters around that.

I'm a plotter and have to know where I'm going in great detail. Once I know that, I can change it if that works better.

SS: Maid To Order is your second published book; does it still surprise you to see your name on a book cover? How did you react that first time? What about your family's reaction?
RA: Yes, it does surprise me, and it's a rare feeling-nothing compares with it, except maybe, giving birth. But then, they are somewhat similar, don't you think?

It was a very special feeling, getting that first book published. Then I frantically tried to remember if I said anything in the book that might offend anyone, were scenes too explicit? etc. Had a few nightmares about that-but there was nothing to worry about, really. Once I convinced myself of that, I was okay. Writers are paranoid people, I think. If you don't get published you're paranoid. If you do, you're still paranoid.

My family was supportive and pleased-the kids (young adults), were especially pleased and are interested in the promos I do for the books.

SS: Even though this is your second published book, you have been published repeatedly in magazines and online. Is it different with a book? What other types of writings have you published?
RA: I find short stories and novels to be basically the same, except in the novel there are high points, and you try to end each chapter with a question. But as with the short story, you have to draw the reader in with a couple of paragraphs, or the first page at least. With the novel, there's a character arc, which is how a character develops, then a subplot to support your main story. Still, in both, you're basically trying to tell a good story. Personally, I like writing both.

I've published several articles on writing in the Writer's Journal, a trade journal for writers. Most of my short stories are mysteries, some mainstream, a literary short story or two. I also published short inspirational pieces in print and ezines. If you type my name on Google, it will bring up all the places that these have appeared online. Besides those, there are print magazines, and anthologies. I had a short story of mine, "The Legacy of Old Reliable," appear in Tales of Hope, an anthology. The story was about a young boy who was working in the copper mines of Upper Michigan. I had researched copper mining during the era of the copper boom in the town where I live, and came across a very interesting true, poignant story, which I used as a basis for the one I wrote. There were no clear labor laws in the early twentieth century as far as children doing such dangerous work, and many died as a result.

SS: What can we look forward to? Is there anything you are working on that you are excited about, and would like to share with us?
RA: Oh yes! My WIP is about a lady from Savannah, Georgia, so that's going to be a challenge. Although we're up here practically near the Arctic, I've visited many of the charming places in the South enough to want to place my character's background there.

I periodically also try to keep up with my mystery story writing as well.

INTERVIEW IN OUTREACHER OCTOBER 2004

by Jean Drew
How long have you been writing?
Seriously, about 10 years, but off and on, for the longest time.

What did you read as a child?
Mysteries mostly, and mainstream stories and novels.

What inspired you to take up writing?
Just an immense love of books and reading. I wondered if I could write, too.

What type of writing did you begin with?
Essay, and short stories for the school magazine

Does anything in your background help you in any way with your stories?
I’ve always owned a lot of books, and then after reading something I’d see if I could write stories like that. They were watery imitations of stories I’d read and liked.

Are you married? What does your husband do?
Yes. He is a professor of engineering at the university here

Is he supportive of your writing?
Ambivalent. However, he helps me with my Home Page and seems supportive when there’s good news about my work

How long have you been married?
We’ll soon be empty nesters

Do you have children?
Two—a son, Anand and a daughter, Medhavi. They are young adults in college; one works away from home.

Are they supportive?
I’m still not sure how they’re taking it. I write in a corner of the living room, not having any office space, so they’re used to my scribbling away in a corner. When I show them my by-line on something I’ve published now and then, they act politely impressed.

Have they done or said anything amusing about your career?
They ask if there’s any money in it. I tell them “not really, you do it for the love of it, and then if you earn any money, it’s a bonus.”

What kind of hobbies do you have?
Music—Western classical, and most other types, except heavy metal. I play the piano. Tennis—I played for my college in India for three years, and still play, but the knee and elbow are acting up.

Have you published anything else: newsletter articles, magazine
articles, short stories, non-fiction, novellas?
I have published over sixty genre, mainstream and literary short stories in print magazines, including Eureka Literary Magazine, Futures Mystery Anthology, Writer’s Journal, The Writing Class, and in electronic magazines such as Twilight Times, Nefarious, Zuzu's Petals Quarterly, Star of Hope Anthology (Inspirational), Writers Hood, and Electronic Writers' Journal. I have published articles in ByLine, Drexel Online Literary Journal, Simple Joy, The Writer's Life, Writer’s Journal, The National Association of Women Writers' Guide Weekly, St. Louis Writers' Guide Weekly, and book reviews in the Ann Arbor News.

How do you feel now that the excitement of your first sale is behind you?
It’s a mellow feeling, a quiet kind of pleasure, but you hope you haven’t lost your touch and you can still produce another book/story/article.

How do you feel about each additional sale?
Each one counts immensely. I make it a point to log it in my folder.

How long have you been a RWA member?
Six years, and the best thing I could have done was join RWA. Not having anyone in my region here (Upper Michigan, I was desperate enough to go to Houston, where I met Jennifer Crusie, Connie Brockway and a few other best-selling authors. Kathleen Woodiwiss was the featured author. It was like a Who’s Who and, needless to say, I was awestruck. Jennifer Crusie told me about Outreach. That was when I realized I didn’t have to travel that far to meet RWA members. I went again anyway—this time to the Moonlight and Magnolias Conference in Atlanta, where I met my TWT mentor Carol Dunne and Darlene, another writer friend. That was a thrilling experience too! Carol’s critique of my first manuscript was an eye-opener for me. It had no GMC, character development, nothing. It’s now in a cardboard box in the shed, but it taught me about writing.

Do you belong to any other RWA chapters? Outreach critique groups?
I was in Round Robin and NBM, and was amazed at the talent out there. It keeps you properly grounded, and reminds you that you’re only as good as your last piece of work.

Are you a plotter or a seat-of-the-pants writer?
I have to have detailed outlines of each chapter, motivation of the characters, description of the places that are used. I envy writers who write easily without a great deal of planning.

Do you listen to music as you write?
No, it’s too distracting

Are you a disciplined writer?
No, I wouldn’t say that. But I try to keep to a schedule, especially since I teach at the International School of Business at Finlandia University here. I can’t always write during the week. For example,
this whole week I wasn’t able to work on my book or the short story I had started.

Have any books kept you awake all night reading?
Yes, biographies, mysteries

Who in the world today would you like to meet?
I would love to have met Mother Teresa. Failing that—the Peace Corps volunteers who are doing such a marvelous job everywhere.

What/who do you read apart from romance?
Biography, archaeology, mysteries

What do you like to watch on TV?
Documentaries on archaeology—I know, I know, this is getting really old really fast.

If you could time-travel anywhere, where would you go, and why?
The ancient Middle East. I’ve wondered what thoughts those people had, what worried them, what they wore and ate. We now know a lot about how they lived, thanks to archaeological expeditions.

Which six people, throughout history, would you invite to dinner?
Empress Catherine of Russia, who wasn’t Russian at all, and the epitome of survival, having lived through the intrigues of the Russian Court since the age of 14, of course Mother Teresa, the formidable Indira Gandhi, the late Prime Minister of India—she and Catherine would have gotten along famously. Mrs. Gandhi was a great admirer of Mother Teresa, so I wouldn’t be committing any social faux pas there, Agatha Christie, for being both a prolific author and an archaeologist, President Clinton, because he seems a pleasant enough fellow and would keep the company entertained, and Stephen King. It would be a hoot to have Mr. King there because he can be very funny, and it’s interesting to speculate how the ladies in this elevated and rarefied group would react to having him included. Me, I’d just sit back and watch.

What motivational tips would you like to pass along to an aspiring writer?
You’re only as good as the last piece you’ve written, and you have to write for yourself.

And, of course, let me know all the titles, ISBN numbers, publishing
houses, and release dates for everything you've published.

HIS HARBOR GIRL is to be released by Whiskey Creek Press in January 05. This one’s dedicated to each and every writer in Outreach for the inspiration they provided at one time or another. Trade paperback ISBN 1-59374-191-X, e-book ISBN 1-59374-192-8

MAID TO ORDER to be released by Echelon Press in April 2005. Unfortunately, I don’t have an ISBN as yet.

Article in The Daily Mining Gazette, Thursday February 23, 2006

WRITING FOR A CURE

By KELLY FOSNESS, Gazette Writer

HOUGHTON - Some may walk. Others may run. But Rekha Ambardar and her circle of friends are writing.

Rekha, local author and instructor at Finlandia University's International School of Business, has banded together with 16 other authors from countries throughout the world including, Ireland, Europe, Canada and the United States, to benefit breast cancer research.

Each author was approached by the Highland Press publishing company and asked to write a short fictional story that pokes fun at a silly law and celebrates the joy of falling in love.

Entitled, "No Law Against Love," the anthology features 27 romantic short stories, published by the Highland Press. All profits from the sale of the book will support breast cancer research.

"I'm very honored just to be asked to write the story," Rekha said.
"It's really great to contribute. All of the other authors are very good writers, so it's nice to be a part of it."

"No Law Against Love," is the first of the charity series, Rekha said, which will include six books total, each geared toward a charity.

Website of Author Rekha Ambardar
	Interviews Interview with Rekha Ambardar By Diane Tugman Editorial Assistant with The Romance Studio, April 05, 2005 DT: Happy New Year Rekha. Welcome to The Romance Studio. What a lovely name you have. Your featured book is titled His Harbor Girl; will you tell us about this story? RA: To state the premise briefly—it’s about a single mom who tries to get her life back together, and just when she’s succeeding, her former lover, a scientist, shows up near her hometown to do a study on wolves. Of course, this brings back all the old heartaches and memories. DT: An old ship turned into a store, what a novel idea. Where did you get the idea for this story? What sort of research did you do while writing this story? Where did the characters come from? RA: The grandfather of a friend of mine was the captain of a tugboat, and when he retired, he turned the front part of it into a mall antique store. I looked at old photographs of the boat, and interviewed my friend, Sherri, about what construction was needed to convert it to a store. The whole process of learning that was very interesting! The characters, I’m not quite sure how they came about. I did want to write about a scientist who studies wolves, and then I wanted to set the story in a harbor town near an island where he comes to do the study. Then, of course, you have to have a love story, so I gave him a little background—only it would be told from the heroine’s point of view. It finally grew from there! DT: Rekha you’re an accomplished writer in many fields, with fifty published works in various genres. Congratulations! What do you like to do besides writing? What are some of your favorite things to do and places to go? RA: Thank you! I love reading, of course, and also love Western classical music. I play the piano, but I have no time these days, so the piano is lying fallow. I love reading up on archaeology. I don’t know where that came from, maybe because I love the idea of the ancient Middle East being the cradle of civilization. Other reading interests are history and biography. Bookstores and libraries are favorite places of mine. We love so far up north in Michigan that we have a lot of snow and blizzards throughout the winter. But we have an old, red brick public library, with a cozy fireplace, where I take my writing pad to sit and write. It’s a rare feeling to write among all those books! DT: When you’re writing out a plot how do you decide what your character’s backgrounds will be? Do you have trouble deciding what dialogue, and language they will speak, and the many details that give a character depth and personality? RA: I usually start with an idea—after the current book I’m working on, I very much want to start a book about a prince (either from a small European or Middle Eastern country) who comes to America on some sort of assignment, and who meets our no-nonsense heroine. I’d love to run with that idea! As to the dialogue—I get pieces of it when I’m thinking about a scene or a chapter or a short story. I say it out loud and see how it sounds, then write it all out. I don’t usually have trouble with dialog; a writer’s main concern is that it should sound natural, like everyday speech. As far as language, you naturally try to vary the language with the type of character who’s speaking. For example, in my book, Chester, Leanna’s dad has a distinctive way of speaking that tends to be colorful, and I wouldn’t have him speak in any other way. I think of prototypes of similar folks that I know and try to inject speech patterns that would make them even more interesting. I think speech patterns of characters in books is a whole area of a very intriguing research topic for some scholar! DT: What exciting new books can your fans look forward to in the New Year? RA: Oh, I have another book coming out in April 2005, which I’m very excited about—It’s called MAID TO ORDER, to be released by Echelon Press. It’s about a girl from a rich banking family in Chicago. Nicky wants to start a catering service, but she wants no part of her family’s wealth so, to put herself through cooking school, she goes to work as a housekeeper at the home of the hero, who’s grandmother recommended Nicky for the job. Well, needless to say, things get pretty complicated, so that you wonder if these two fine people are ever going to get together! DT: Thank you Rekha for joining me here today. His Harbor Girl sounds like a very touching story and one the readers are sure to enjoy. Are there any last words you have for your readers? Will you give us your email and website addresses? Do you have any parting words for your readers? RA: Thank you, Diane! It’s been a great pleasure to be here! His Harbor Girl is a heart-warming story, and I loved writing it. The main characters, Leanna and Bryce, mean a lot to me. I felt very comfortable with the minor characters, too, felt as if they were friends I would have liked to have during times of testing. I’d love to be in touch with my readers, and hope fervently that they enjoy the reading of it, as I have enjoyed planning and writing it. And of course, I’ll want to hear from them. Here’s my e-mail address: Rekha_ambardar@yahoo.com They can also contact me at my Web site: http://rekha.mmebj.com/ An Interview with Rekha Ambardar By Sara Sawyer Editorial Assistant for The Romance Studio SS: It's nice to feature you this month Rekha. Can you tell me a little bit about your book Maid to Order? RA: It's about an heiress, Nikki Slater, who wants to open a catering service. To pay her own way through cooking school, she takes up a job as a combination cook and housekeeper at the home of Mark Runyon, of Runyon Engineers and Architects, a global enterprise. Mark recently had one of the company's apartment buildings demolished to make space for the new Renaissance Court, a condo. To Nikki's extreme annoyance and Mark's embarrassment, it soon becomes clear that the apartment building was Nikki's erstwhile residence, conveniently close to the Saunders Institute, her cooking school. Now she's forced out of her apartment and has to look for a place to stay until she completes her culinary education. Needless to say, there are recriminations and suspicion on both sides. SS: Being a teacher of Business Communication and Marketing at the International School of Business at Finlandia University must take up a lot of your time. When and where do you write? Do you ever have an idea pop up at inopportune times? RA: Teaching and prepping for class take up most of the week, so I try to do my writing on some evenings and on the weekends. Not always easy to do when your brain doesn't want to move. But I tell myself that if I can write even a page or two, I could pick it up from there-revise it, rewrite it or whatever. As Nora Roberts said at an RWA convention, you can't fix a blank page. As for the writing itself, I use sheets of paper to write on-that way, I can rest my back. Wish I could compose directly on to the computer, but don't seem to be able to do that. I'd be sitting there a long time. I also carry bits of paper around and have a legal pad in my office. SS: How do you capture the muse? Where do your ideas come from? And how do you translate them down? Are you a seat-of-your-pants type of writer or a "plotter?" RA: I don't seem to have a muse. However, reading the work of other writers relaxes me enough to be able to write. Ideas for books appear in the form of a premise-some, though, are completely useless, but I don't ignore them, because every once in a while, one good one may come through. So then I write down the premise in a single line in my notebook for later use, and hope I can build characters around that. I'm a plotter and have to know where I'm going in great detail. Once I know that, I can change it if that works better. SS: Maid To Order is your second published book; does it still surprise you to see your name on a book cover? How did you react that first time? What about your family's reaction? RA: Yes, it does surprise me, and it's a rare feeling-nothing compares with it, except maybe, giving birth. But then, they are somewhat similar, don't you think? It was a very special feeling, getting that first book published. Then I frantically tried to remember if I said anything in the book that might offend anyone, were scenes too explicit? etc. Had a few nightmares about that-but there was nothing to worry about, really. Once I convinced myself of that, I was okay. Writers are paranoid people, I think. If you don't get published you're paranoid. If you do, you're still paranoid. My family was supportive and pleased-the kids (young adults), were especially pleased and are interested in the promos I do for the books. SS: Even though this is your second published book, you have been published repeatedly in magazines and online. Is it different with a book? What other types of writings have you published? RA: I find short stories and novels to be basically the same, except in the novel there are high points, and you try to end each chapter with a question. But as with the short story, you have to draw the reader in with a couple of paragraphs, or the first page at least. With the novel, there's a character arc, which is how a character develops, then a subplot to support your main story. Still, in both, you're basically trying to tell a good story. Personally, I like writing both. I've published several articles on writing in the Writer's Journal, a trade journal for writers. Most of my short stories are mysteries, some mainstream, a literary short story or two. I also published short inspirational pieces in print and ezines. If you type my name on Google, it will bring up all the places that these have appeared online. Besides those, there are print magazines, and anthologies. I had a short story of mine, "The Legacy of Old Reliable," appear in Tales of Hope, an anthology. The story was about a young boy who was working in the copper mines of Upper Michigan. I had researched copper mining during the era of the copper boom in the town where I live, and came across a very interesting true, poignant story, which I used as a basis for the one I wrote. There were no clear labor laws in the early twentieth century as far as children doing such dangerous work, and many died as a result. SS: What can we look forward to? Is there anything you are working on that you are excited about, and would like to share with us? RA: Oh yes! My WIP is about a lady from Savannah, Georgia, so that's going to be a challenge. Although we're up here practically near the Arctic, I've visited many of the charming places in the South enough to want to place my character's background there. I periodically also try to keep up with my mystery story writing as well. INTERVIEW IN OUTREACHER OCTOBER 2004 by Jean Drew How long have you been writing? Seriously, about 10 years, but off and on, for the longest time. What did you read as a child? Mysteries mostly, and mainstream stories and novels. What inspired you to take up writing? Just an immense love of books and reading. I wondered if I could write, too. What type of writing did you begin with? Essay, and short stories for the school magazine Does anything in your background help you in any way with your stories? I’ve always owned a lot of books, and then after reading something I’d see if I could write stories like that. They were watery imitations of stories I’d read and liked. Are you married? What does your husband do? Yes. He is a professor of engineering at the university here Is he supportive of your writing? Ambivalent. However, he helps me with my Home Page and seems supportive when there’s good news about my work How long have you been married? We’ll soon be empty nesters Do you have children? Two—a son, Anand and a daughter, Medhavi. They are young adults in college; one works away from home. Are they supportive? I’m still not sure how they’re taking it. I write in a corner of the living room, not having any office space, so they’re used to my scribbling away in a corner. When I show them my by-line on something I’ve published now and then, they act politely impressed. Have they done or said anything amusing about your career? They ask if there’s any money in it. I tell them “not really, you do it for the love of it, and then if you earn any money, it’s a bonus.” What kind of hobbies do you have? Music—Western classical, and most other types, except heavy metal. I play the piano. Tennis—I played for my college in India for three years, and still play, but the knee and elbow are acting up. Have you published anything else: newsletter articles, magazine articles, short stories, non-fiction, novellas? I have published over sixty genre, mainstream and literary short stories in print magazines, including Eureka Literary Magazine, Futures Mystery Anthology, Writer’s Journal, The Writing Class, and in electronic magazines such as Twilight Times, Nefarious, Zuzu's Petals Quarterly, Star of Hope Anthology (Inspirational), Writers Hood, and Electronic Writers' Journal. I have published articles in ByLine, Drexel Online Literary Journal, Simple Joy, The Writer's Life, Writer’s Journal, The National Association of Women Writers' Guide Weekly, St. Louis Writers' Guide Weekly, and book reviews in the Ann Arbor News. How do you feel now that the excitement of your first sale is behind you? It’s a mellow feeling, a quiet kind of pleasure, but you hope you haven’t lost your touch and you can still produce another book/story/article. How do you feel about each additional sale? Each one counts immensely. I make it a point to log it in my folder. How long have you been a RWA member? Six years, and the best thing I could have done was join RWA. Not having anyone in my region here (Upper Michigan, I was desperate enough to go to Houston, where I met Jennifer Crusie, Connie Brockway and a few other best-selling authors. Kathleen Woodiwiss was the featured author. It was like a Who’s Who and, needless to say, I was awestruck. Jennifer Crusie told me about Outreach. That was when I realized I didn’t have to travel that far to meet RWA members. I went again anyway—this time to the Moonlight and Magnolias Conference in Atlanta, where I met my TWT mentor Carol Dunne and Darlene, another writer friend. That was a thrilling experience too! Carol’s critique of my first manuscript was an eye-opener for me. It had no GMC, character development, nothing. It’s now in a cardboard box in the shed, but it taught me about writing. Do you belong to any other RWA chapters? Outreach critique groups? I was in Round Robin and NBM, and was amazed at the talent out there. It keeps you properly grounded, and reminds you that you’re only as good as your last piece of work. Are you a plotter or a seat-of-the-pants writer? I have to have detailed outlines of each chapter, motivation of the characters, description of the places that are used. I envy writers who write easily without a great deal of planning. Do you listen to music as you write? No, it’s too distracting Are you a disciplined writer? No, I wouldn’t say that. But I try to keep to a schedule, especially since I teach at the International School of Business at Finlandia University here. I can’t always write during the week. For example, this whole week I wasn’t able to work on my book or the short story I had started. Have any books kept you awake all night reading? Yes, biographies, mysteries Who in the world today would you like to meet? I would love to have met Mother Teresa. Failing that—the Peace Corps volunteers who are doing such a marvelous job everywhere. What/who do you read apart from romance? Biography, archaeology, mysteries What do you like to watch on TV? Documentaries on archaeology—I know, I know, this is getting really old really fast. If you could time-travel anywhere, where would you go, and why? The ancient Middle East. I’ve wondered what thoughts those people had, what worried them, what they wore and ate. We now know a lot about how they lived, thanks to archaeological expeditions. Which six people, throughout history, would you invite to dinner? Empress Catherine of Russia, who wasn’t Russian at all, and the epitome of survival, having lived through the intrigues of the Russian Court since the age of 14, of course Mother Teresa, the formidable Indira Gandhi, the late Prime Minister of India—she and Catherine would have gotten along famously. Mrs. Gandhi was a great admirer of Mother Teresa, so I wouldn’t be committing any social faux pas there, Agatha Christie, for being both a prolific author and an archaeologist, President Clinton, because he seems a pleasant enough fellow and would keep the company entertained, and Stephen King. It would be a hoot to have Mr. King there because he can be very funny, and it’s interesting to speculate how the ladies in this elevated and rarefied group would react to having him included. Me, I’d just sit back and watch. What motivational tips would you like to pass along to an aspiring writer? You’re only as good as the last piece you’ve written, and you have to write for yourself. And, of course, let me know all the titles, ISBN numbers, publishing houses, and release dates for everything you've published. HIS HARBOR GIRL is to be released by Whiskey Creek Press in January 05. This one’s dedicated to each and every writer in Outreach for the inspiration they provided at one time or another. Trade paperback ISBN 1-59374-191-X, e-book ISBN 1-59374-192-8 MAID TO ORDER to be released by Echelon Press in April 2005. Unfortunately, I don’t have an ISBN as yet. Article in The Daily Mining Gazette, Thursday February 23, 2006 WRITING FOR A CURE By KELLY FOSNESS, Gazette Writer HOUGHTON - Some may walk. Others may run. But Rekha Ambardar and her circle of friends are writing. Rekha, local author and instructor at Finlandia University's International School of Business, has banded together with 16 other authors from countries throughout the world including, Ireland, Europe, Canada and the United States, to benefit breast cancer research. Each author was approached by the Highland Press publishing company and asked to write a short fictional story that pokes fun at a silly law and celebrates the joy of falling in love. Entitled, "No Law Against Love," the anthology features 27 romantic short stories, published by the Highland Press. All profits from the sale of the book will support breast cancer research. "I'm very honored just to be asked to write the story," Rekha said. "It's really great to contribute. All of the other authors are very good writers, so it's nice to be a part of it." "No Law Against Love," is the first of the charity series, Rekha said, which will include six books total, each geared toward a charity.