The Deadliest Deceptions

Enter the world of first-century CE Roman Alexandria and join Miriam bat Isaac as she struggles to solve nine of her most baffling cases. June Trop, author of The Deadliest Deceptions, a historical mystery, shares insights on why this period of time so captivated her.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

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Q: How did your work as an author evolve?

A: I began writing professionally as an academic. I enjoyed that aspect of my work, especially over the summers when I had the time and energy to focus. My objectives were to communicate my research results briefly, precisely, and in the simplest language. After several years, however, I found myself wanting to color the language, to present my results more as a story than a report, to use the active rather than passive voice, to enhance the report with figurative language, and yes, even to stretch the truth a little. So, when I retired, I decided to write fiction.

Q: Were you an avid reader growing up? If so, what books might we have found on the nightstand of your adolescent self? And as a teenager?

A: I was not an avid reader until I discovered Nancy Drew, but I did make up stories with my dolls to entertain myself and create my own enchanting world. By adolescence, I’d discovered Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes and would go to the local library with a shopping bag. I remember the evening I was about to finish The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, my very first Agatha Christie. My hands trembled like blossoms in the breeze as I was about to find out the murderer. And so, that was the book that set me up for a life of crime. Even now, after having read thousands of mysteries, I still applaud the British Crime Writers’ Association for having named Roger Ackroyd as the best crime novel ever written.

Q: Which authors influence your own style of storytelling?

A: Aside from enjoying their work, I choose to read various authors to analyze their techniques. I read Lawrence Block for his ability to make the written word sound as if it were spoken, and Ross MacDonald for his metaphors. They, along with Sue Grafton and others, have created protagonists who, despite their exceptional courage, determination, and persistence, seem to be so genuinely human, even ordinary. John Grisham makes readers’ eyes slide down the page; Stephen King paints his stories with local color, and Frederick Forsythe creates heart-pounding suspense.

And for all the authors, I study their first lines to learn how they induct readers into their world and persuade them to stay.

Q: How did your previous work as a teacher inform your work as a writer?

A: Teaching is a verbal craft. As a middle school science teacher, I learned to be precise but brief. On my first day, I asked the kids to take out a piece of paper. Simple enough, right? No! Their hands flew up like an exploding flock of pigeons. “Lined or unlined?” “Yellow or white?” “Should we hold it horizontally or vertically?” Yikes, they taught me to be precise. But they also taught me to be brief because if I took longer than a minute, their attention would wander elsewhere. So, as a writer, I look for every opportunity to be precise and lean with my prose.

Q: First century CE Roman Alexandria is a fascinating choice for your historical mystery. What governed that decision?

A: I really had no choice. I came to be obsessed by a woman who actually lived there when I was taking a course on the historical development of concepts in chemistry. Upon my retirement many years later, I made her the model for my protagonist. No one knew her name because she’d been an alchemist, and the practice of alchemy was a capital offense throughout the Empire. So, she worked in secret. But four hundred years later, her contributions, especially her inventions, came to be recognized. She was dubbed Maria Hebrea, the legendary founder of Western alchemy, and held her place for 1500 years as the most celebrated woman of the Western World.

Modeling my protagonist, Miriam bat Isaac, on Maria Hebrea was a good fit because my Miriam would be both analytic and intrepid. Moreover, without a known personal life for Maria Hebrea, I was free to invent one for Miriam. So, I gave my protagonist a twin brother, a fierce athlete who’d become a famous gladiator; a tyrannical father, who’d press her to choose duty over desire; and a servant girl five years her senior. Phoebe would become her stubbornly girlish best friend, co-conspirator, and trusted confidant.

Q: What surprised you the most as you went about your research for this particular time period?

A: Each day is an adventure doing the research. In particular, I remember being surprised to learn the existence of volunteer gladiators. They were treated so differently from the criminals, prisoners of war, and slaves sentenced to the arena. True, the volunteers were regarded as the property of their gladiator troupe, but they were considered valuable property. They were locked in a cell, but they were also paid and trained. They were treated medically for their injuries and fought only a few times a year. Upon joining up, they had their debts forgiven, signed a five-year contract, and had the chance to be admired as a popular sex object.

Q: What were your primary sources for research about the city of Alexandria and how people in this era went about their daily lives?

A: I rely on the work of scholars. Hundreds have studied and written about every imaginable aspect of life in Alexandria when it was the greatest cultural capital of the Ancient World. Some of my stories have secondary settings in Caesarea or Ephesus, cities I likewise chose for their significance during the first century CE. The provincial capital of Judaea was located in Caesarea, and the apostle Paul made his Third Missionary Journey to Ephesus.

So, how reliable are the accounts of scholars? As an academic myself, I know that it’s not so easy to get a community of scholars to agree. They disagree, for example, on the width and pavement of Alexandria’s main boulevard; the precise location of the Museum, Great Library, agora, and warehouse district; and the number of steps to the summit of the Serapeum.

And how faithful have I been to their accounts? My accounts of the historical events are in accord with at least some of the scholars. As far as I know, I took liberties with only one character, a disfigured gladiator named Sergius, who, if he lived at all, was born decades after my story. So yes, the Alexandrian rioters stormed the Great Synagogue, reckless fans charged onto the track during a chariot race, and a tax collector brutally, slowly, and publicly had a fugitive’s entire family executed.

Q: What do you think the Roman Empire can teach us in the 21st century?

A: Two lessons from the Romans stand out. One is about their engineering. They constructed their buildings and roads to last. Even more spectacular to me was their system of aqueducts that brought water to hundreds of thousands of people across vast deserts. Their aqueducts were gravity fed, that is, they did not require the use of energy to transport the water.

On a less positive note, their involvement in wars ultimately impoverished them.

Q: Tell us about your main characters in The Deadliest Deceptions.

A: My main characters are Miriam bat Isaac and her best friend Phoebe. Two childhood events affected Miriam. First, days after her birth, her mother died of childbed fever. And second, she witnessed the Alexandrian riots of 38 CE. Both tragedies made her sensitive to the suffering, perils, and losses of others and motivated her to find justice for them.

Her father, a well-to-do investment banker, gave her a tutor so she had the knowledge and leisure to work as an alchemist. But she also had the courage to do so. The emperors, afraid that in synthesizing gold, the alchemists would destabilize the currency and overthrow the empire, had decreed the practice of alchemy to be capital offense.

Otherwise, Miriam is exactly like me, obsessive behaviors and all!

Phoebe is Miriam’s foil. Five years Miriam’s senior, she entered Miriam’s household as a domestic slave. It was when Miriam’s father invited Phoebe to take lessons with his daughter that they became best friends. Then, upon her marriage, Phoebe agreed to her manumission so any children she might have would be free. Her husband, also a former slave, became the proprietor of a thriving bookshop. Accordingly, Phoebe was able to indulge her patrician tastes in rich foods, the latest Roman fashions, whether of Chinese silk or jasmine-scented linen, and the wigs, fancy shoes, and glittering jewelry to go with them.

As a former slave, Phoebe knows the places Miriam cannot go: the barber shops, brothels, and soup kitchens that are crammed with ruffians and ripe with gossip. Phoebe not only loves juicy stories, but with a flair for theatrics, she knows just how to embellish them.

Q: Plotter or pantser? And why does this method work well for you?

A: When I was first asked that question, I responded, “Whaaat?” I’d never heard those terms. Maybe you haven’t either. When referring to writers, plotters are those who plan out their story before writing it, such as with an outline. Pantsers are those who fly by the seat of their pants. Most people, of course, are Plantsers meaning they do both but probably lean more one way than the other. Plotters know where they’re going so they’re less likely to get caught in writer’s block, whereas Pantsers have the freedom to take their story anywhere, but, of course, they risk getting stuck. I haven’t counted, but the experts say that among published writers, about half are plotters, and about half are pantsers. In other words, there’s no right way.

If you know me, then you know I’m a plotter because I do everything else that way. I go to the store with a list, and before going to bed, I write out my objectives for the next day. In fact, I’ve never winged anything. Well, that’s almost true. Still, no matter which you are, it can be worthwhile to try out a different approach just to see what comes out. As I’ve gotten more experienced as a writer, I’ve dared to be more spontaneous. The result is my fifth Miriam bat Isaac novel, The Deadliest Thief, the first opportunity I took to be a Plantser. When I started—with my outline, of course—I knew who the thief was, but little did I know there’d come to be another more deadly thief. In short, a better story.

Q: How did you go about finding a publisher?

A: My long suits are patience and persistence. I restricted my queries to publishers endorsed by MWA and agents belonging to the American Association of Literary Agents. At the time, fifteen years ago, 100 queries was the average. I sent out queries to five of each at a time. And for each rejection, I’d send out another query. It took me a year, and all that time, I continued to polish my manuscript and believe in the story. John Kennedy Toole taught me the importance of believing in your story. He wrote A Confederacy of Dunces. Although several in the literary world appreciated his writing skills, his novel, despite his numerous revisions, continued to be rejected. Likely in part because of this failure, he committed suicide at the age of 31. It was his mother who after his death saw that the book got published. Toole was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981.

So, believe in your story.

Q: Aside from a great read, what would you like your readers to gain from your stories?

A: My stories take readers into a world of scoundrels, whether in the splendid mansions of first -century CE Alexandria’s Palace Quarter or the sleazy inns of the city’s underbelly. Aside from making their blood flow faster as they enter that exotic world, I hope readers will see that justice can triumph even outside the boundaries of the law and that regardless of our time and place, race or creed, we all face the same problems.

Q: Best advice for aspiring authors?

A: You have a unique voice. That is your gift. Believe that you can make the world a richer place. Don’t hesitate to use a professional editor if you are not attentive to the rules of grammar. Be patient and persistent. Read the how-to books. And take advantage of the online classes. Many are free.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: I have a book in press, The Deadliest Returns, and one on my hard drive, but my next goal is to become better with the short story.

Q: Anything else you’d like to share?

A: Join a writers’ group and a readers’ group, or recruit members for your own group.
With a writers’ group you can give and get feedback, encouragement, and friendship. You can also get insight into other writers’ imaginations and cognitive styles. A readers’ group teaches you what people like and dislike in a story, how they bond to the characters, and come to be satisfied with the ending. And with technology today, you don’t even have to go anywhere.

The Happy War

In a perfect world, everyone would put aside their differences and live in harmony. On an imperfect blind date, two strangers who initially have trouble getting along with each other decide to try a bold idea and pursue an impossible dream. Such is the premise of Eve Gaal’s new book, The Happy War.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

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Q: Your journey as a writer all began with a miniature typewriter on your fourth birthday. Who or what had the greatest influence on your decision to one day be a published author?

A: My English teachers in High School were emphatic about my future. All of them insisted I was a ‘great writer.’ In hindsight, after reading many, many books throughout college and grad school, I’d have to question their passionate vehemence and pass it off as kindness. Of course, while my brilliant teachers pointed me toward my career choice, I have yet to reach any form of greatness.

Q: Were you a voracious reader growing up? What titles might we have found on the nightstand of your adolescent self? How about as a teenager?

A: My favorite books as a child were fairy tales, all the Oz books, Roald Dahl books, E.B. White books, poetry books and inspirational books. As a teen, I remember loving Sci-fi, and undersea adventures, like Sea Hunt.

Q: Prior to penning novels, where were you submitting your work for publication and what sort of success did you find?

A: Wish I could brag, but I was nine years old when I sent a poem to McCall’s Magazine and received my first rejection letter. After that, I began collecting rejection letters, sort of like normal people collect stamps.

My first poems were published in my high school yearbook and college newspaper. I also did my internship writing for our company newspaper, which was called The Berry Vine, at Knott’s Berry Farm, where I was a tour guide and information specialist.  My articles were feature articles about the Haunted Shack and The Rock Shop, etc.

Q: How many years have you been writing?

A: Over 50 years. (Maybe we should say that I’ve been writing since high school, because I don’t want to sound ancient.)

Q: Plotter or pantser? And why does this method work well for you?

A: I’m a pantser but I have dabbled in the world of outlines. When I create an outline, I veer off course anyway. All books should have a clear beginning, middle and end. I try to create a bit of drama, confusion, or tension in each section, with an arc of change that lingers and ties things together for the reader. 

Q: Like many creatives, a day job is often necessary to keep the lights on and put food on the table. To that end, what type of employment best suited your talents and what are the three most important things you learned and took with you when you made the transition to full-time wordsmith?

A: I was a copywriter in the advertising department for many large newspapers. Sometimes, I had to write what they termed, “advertorials” and though I was never quite happy with this type of a job, it paid the bills. I also did advertising sales, where I could “sell” my ideas to clients who were searching for immediate results. In sales, one learns perseverance, determination, and decisiveness. 

Q: The Happy War embraces an ambitious theme of “world peace through chemistry.” What was the inspiration behind this inventive plot and the two main characters who seek to bring about universal tranquility through pharmaceutical hijinks?

A: Ambitious is an understatement! Basically, I was motivated by the news reports of war. I shouldn’t watch the news because it makes me cry. Bottom line, I want world peace. Honestly, I couldn’t believe what I had decided to write, and it surprised me, too.

Q: What influenced your particular title choice?

A: My parents and husband lived through actual war, and yes, they all have/had PTSD. War is a horrible reality, especially for children. It must stop. That being said, I understand that Prozac is termed the happy pill. It’s easy to wish everyone was happy. Sadly, even with medication, there is no way to make everyone happy. My book can be called a fairy tale for grownups.

Q: What prompted the romantic set-up to be a blind date?

A: I didn’t think Linda would meet anyone as established as Eric, unless it was set up by someone else. I think of Eric as very wealthy. He works hard, and doesn’t move in the same circles as a marketing expert—middle income—apartment dwelling lady.

Q: How did you go about finding a publisher?

A: My publisher was recommended to me by a bestselling author from the 80s, Norma Beishir, who wrote wonderful intriguing novels, in the vein of Sidney Sheldon. 

Q: If Hollywood came calling, who would you envision playing Linda and Eric?

A: I’ve never given that any thought. Maybe Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt? Ryan Reynolds and Jennifer Lawrence?

Q: The Happy War takes place all over the world. I assume you have travelled a lot?

A: Yes, all my travel experiences have embellished my novels. I wrote a novella set in Panama because of a cruise through the canal, a book about Vegas, and another one is set in Hawaii. The Happy War takes place all over the world, but I haven’t visited every single place mentioned.

Q: Describe your workspace.

A: I have two places. One is for answering emails, doing my freelance writing, or sending out submissions. The other is a nook in the laundry room, where I have a laptop that is not hooked up to the internet. I use that small, private space as my creative space for sewing, and crafts too. When writing the rough draft of a novel, I prefer absolute quiet, in fact, the white noise created by the washer and dryer are excellent for drowning out most unusual interruptions.

Q: I understand you have a pet. Does it distract you or stimulate your creativity?

A: We have a needy puppy right now and yes; she has distracted me for the entire year. Her overwhelming cuteness is impossible to deal with, and hinders creativity. At this moment she is sitting under my rolling office chair and I’m worried about squishing her long legs. Nearby, there’s a doggy bed and a blanket, but she’d rather be close to her mommy. 

Q: What do you do for fun when you’re not writing?

A: I like reading, crocheting, swimming, walking in nature, cooking, and playing with my puppy. I also enjoy singing, but nowadays only as part of the congregation at church.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: Sheesh, I’m overwhelmed. Maybe I need to train the dog to go outside. Finish three novels, and my Intangible Hearts, motivational, nonfiction book, filled with uplifting and inspirational items from my blog. Attempt a memoir, try for a chapbook, and continue to freelance. My favorite freelance “jobs” last year were writing wedding vows, and I hope to fulfill a niche. I also dabble in stage plays, song lyrics and short stories. Two of my stories won awards last year! Though never diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, it seems, as I grow older, maybe due to more interests, I get distracted easier than ever. Is this normal? I need to focus.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: Thank you, Christina, for the interview. My website is evegaal.com

Ship It

There’s no question that every growing start-up faces its share of challenges. In contemporary romance author Evie Blum’s new book, Ship It, an office romance set against the backdrop of California’s Silicon Valley only contemplates the equation.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

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Q: Let’s start with a delightful quote you have on your website: “Music is life.” Music—primarily contemporary—plays a big part in shaping the mood and scenes in your novel, Ship It. Tell us more about that.

A: One of the ways I get into and stay in the right frame of mind to write a specific story or its characters is to play music that fits the scene. I’ve always had a strong ability to vividly visualize stories I’m reading or different scenarios I make up in my head, and now that I’m writing, I try to do the same, to put myself into a scene or the characters’ minds. Listening to music helps me with this a lot, either to get into the scene originally, or if I’m interrupted during the writing process, to get back into it. For me, a great song—but especially a great song for writing—needs to have the right combination of meaningful lyrics and the great beat, instruments, and feel.

So, when I was writing Ship It, I sometimes hesitated to mention specific songs or artists. I was worried that readers might not know the songs I mentioned, or worse, they’d have very different associations for them than I do. But Ship It is very much a contemporary (that is, 2020s) story, going so far as to address the pandemic and other timely issues (like homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area), so I went out on a limb and included the songs I love and believe help set the scene for my characters. I’ve included suggested playlists on my website for Ship It, and the other works-in-progress, and I hope at least some readers will check those songs out, because in the (imaginary) movie version of my stories, I think the music fits the stories really well.

Q: What’s currently on your playlist?

A: First and foremost, Vance Joy. This musician and his songs were simply made for love, the depth of feeling one feels when being swept away for the first time by someone, the pain of separation, and longing for another time with someone with whom you have a connection.

lovelytheband is also on heavy rotation. They capture both in sound and lyrics the deep human need for connection with others.

Stephen Puth is always only a tap away for me. His ability to describe a steamy connection between people (“Sexual Vibe”), or the beginning of doubt in a relationship (“Look Away”) is on point.

Other than that, it’s a great mix of slow-and-sexy and angsty-and-longing, what you might expect from a romance writer: OneRepublic, The Lumineers, Isabel LaRosa, Julia Michaels, The Chainsmokers, Post Malone, and Tate McRae, and Surfaces.

Q: In your romance set in the Silicon Valley, a software executive and a project manager engage in a steamy one-night stand but then discover they’ll be working together in the same start-up company. What inspired you to take this saucy premise and develop it into a full-length novel?

A: Over the last decade or so, I’ve experienced a lot of professional and personal development myself, and I’ve always questioned how all the different aspects of my own life have come together to make me who I am. In essence, what shapes us into who we are? From the perspective of a twenties-something professional, faced with the challenges of building their career but also, hopefully, finding love, the question might be, “How do you balance all these things?” So, it’s on this background that I began to build the story of Sarah and Nathan. It’s hard enough to balance those different parts of our lives sometimes, but what happens when the stakes are raised, and everything is happening in the same environment—in the case of my characters, Sarah and Nathan, in their workplace.

I loved the slightly taboo aspect of the workplace romance, but wanted to avoid any true conflict of interest (for example, had Nathan ended up being Sarah’s manager). I preferred to explore this tension in a more nuanced way, namely, the desire for them both to try to save face (for example, what if Sarah succeeds at work, and her colleagues say it’s because Nathan, as an executive, showed her favoritism?) while trying not to succumb to their very strong emotions for one another. There’s another major theme of the book: the fear of losing one’s parent, or in Sarah’s case, coping with the grief of actually losing a parent. And this theme/storyline ended up sneaking its way into the manuscript without me intending it. My family experienced something similar over the past year, and I think writing this into the book helped me begin to understand my own feelings about it.

Q: In real life you’re a technical program manager and have worked in the high-tech industry for a decade. Aside from “writing what you know,” what governed your choice to use a high-tech start-up as the setting for Ship It?

A: Honestly, I was tired of seemingly every romcom I read being set in an advertising agency or publishing house. I wanted something different. I do not actually think that high tech startups are a natural environment for romance! But as one of my reviewers wrote “nerds deserve love, too!” On a serious note, though, startup life can be intense and sometimes there are very high stakes: the need for quick development to beat any competitors, the risk of getting it wrong and ending up failing, the potential for the company to go through an exit (get acquired by a larger company) or IPO (get listed on a stock exchange and be publicly traded). I felt like that kind of setting and having the characters deal with similar experiences could turn up the heat under the little cooking pot into which I threw Sarah and Nathan. It’s easy—or at least easier—to do the right thing concerning your feelings and your treatment of others when the pressure is low, but what happens when there’s pressure from work, there’s a meddling ex in the picture, and you’re trying to take care of your family (in Nathan’s case)? The answer is: Things get very interesting and it’s in that space of tension that I wanted to write.

Q: That said, how realistic (or not) are the events you describe in the storyline?

A: Many of the business-related conversations and experiences described I experienced directly or indirectly. I think I did a pretty good job of writing within the realm of reality in that respect. I’ve helped found and build a startup, I’ve been part of a mergers and acquisitions team during a startup exit and I’ve also been at a startup that had an IPO, so the business processes (including the software development and release processes) described are broadly accurate. Now, for the spicier side of things: Full disclosure—I’ve never seen a romantic relationship blossom in any of the startups I’ve worked at!

Q: You’ve written this novel in a dual POV format (one main character in first person; the other in third person). Some readers have loved it, but a few have found it confusing. Defend your choice!

A: Dual POV novels are not uncommon, and many readers enjoy being exposed to both characters’ internal thoughts. I chose to implement dual POV a bit differently than many authors, though, so I think a few readers were surprised by it. The novel starts from Sarah’s POV and then switches to Nathan’s—all very industry-standard. However, as the story progresses, their POVs become increasingly interwoven. Deep down, I ultimately felt Ship It is the telling of Sarah’s experience, with necessary insights into Nathan’s thoughts and experiences, which is why I chose (perhaps surprisingly or confusingly to some) to write Sarah’s POV in first person and Nathan’s in third person. This was also a practical choice. In order to keep their viewpoints distinct in the more interwoven sections, my own brain understood it better written from different “persons”. Often authors will devote an entire chapter to each viewpoint, but in the more dramatic scenes, I personally loved the back and forth. I feel it’s almost not entirely necessary to understand whose POV you’re reading during those sections, and hope that many readers—like me, when I was writing —will be able to simply to immerse themselves in the scenes and get swept up in the drama and emotion.

Q: Romance novels written in STEM environments are a relatively new trend in contemporary romance. How is your novel similar to or different from others in this space?

A: When I’m asked what some comparable novels are to Ship It, three come to mind:

The Kiss Quotient, The Love Hypothesis, and The Hating Game.

The Kiss Quotient, like Ship It, is set in Silicon Valley and the main character, Stella, works in high tech. Her job is a big focus for her, but due to the way the story is written, the reader is not exposed much to the business side of things. Due to the book’s focus on her own personal development and her relationship with the main male character, this works. In Ship It, I chose to take more of a macro-approach when writing and included some of the (I hope) more interesting, likely unknown sides of software development and startup businesses in my story. I have never read a romance novel set in a high tech startup, and I thought it would be a unique approach as well as an opportunity to shine some light on this fascinating industry.

While I enjoyed both The Love Hypothesis (like Ship It, set in Silicon Valley, though in a more academic setting) and The Hating Game (a workplace romance like Ship It), my book differs from these novels in very distinct ways:

My first take of The Love Hypothesis? It was fun and interesting. Due to the author’s background, I assume that this book portrayed the world of scientific research/academia quite realistically, but coupling with it the fake dating trope felt wrong to me as a reader. You’ve got one aspect of the story which is serious, interesting, and realistic, and the other—the main characters’ fake relationship and the comical situations they find themselves in—completely at odds with the setting. This was actually in the back of my mind as I wrote the manuscript for Ship It: Could these situations or these conversations actually happen, not only in a high tech startup but also in a real adult relationship? I also found some fault both with The Love Hypothesis and The Hating Game—again, both books I enjoyed—due to the toxicity and antagonistic communication of the main male characters. Can and should characters grow and develop as people throughout a story? Absolutely yes. But I’ve thankfully experienced a long-lasting, loving relationship as an adult, and it’s very difficult for me to imagine such a relationship starting in such a hostile or inauthentic manner. Suffice it to say, the fake dating and enemies-to-lovers tropes are just not my thing. I can read these types of stories, but definitely not write them. And that’s likely why I took a very different approach (more on that later) in writing my own story.

Q: Many of your readers have stated they loved the respectful, egalitarian nature of the relationship portrayed between Ship It’s main characters. Why did you craft their dialogue and relationship in this way?

A: First and foremost, it’s 2023. Women and men should be treated as equals, whether it’s in schools, the workplace, or the bedroom. For me, romance and a loving relationship must be based on mutual respect and, if at all possible, clear communication, and this was the type of relationship—first a one-night stand, then a friendship, and later more—that I wanted to portray between Ship It’s main characters. Both women and men can be portrayed as “strong” or “driven”, while also practicing respectful, non-manipulative communication, and I tried to write my characters and their conversations this way, whether it was dialogue between the two main characters (woman/man), or dialogue between other characters (woman-to-woman or man-to-man). I also strived to portray life in a startup and relationships between the characters—whether it was romantic or professional relationships or simply friendships—in the most realistic way I knew how. Writing the characters without gender stereotypes—professional or personal—was a main goal for me while crafting this story, and it was a good exercise in self-reflection.

Q: Did your characters ever surprise you over the course of writing their story?

A: Some of Sarah’s actions surprised me towards the end of the book. I’m what the writing world calls a “pantser” (at least I was when writing Ship It), and I really didn’t know how things were going to play out. I began writing and just saw where they characters took me. I grew with them. Now, with the sequel to Ship It (Pitch It), that I’m currently writing, these characters are surprising the hell out of me! They’ll likely surprise readers, too, and I hope they’re ready for a fun and wild ride.

Q: You’ve only been writing fiction since 2022. What was significant about that year for you in terms of writing, editing and publishing?

A: I turned 40 last year, and without even realizing it, I think something in my head clicked, like, “Hey, half of your life (if you’re lucky) is done. You know that dream you always had of writing a book? Now might be a good time to do it.” It was also post-pandemic, and I had read a ton of books, many of which were romance. I love the way romance can provide an escape from the stresses of the world, a bit of hope and optimism in hard times, and I wanted to do just that—write a fun, heartwarming story about people who could be you or your friends. I think I was dealing with a lot of my own questions and doubts about life during and post-pandemic, as well as my varied experiences working in Silicon Valley, and it all just kind of came together for me in a way that it never had before when I had attempted to be serious about writing fiction.

Q: Like many authors, you’ve gone the route of self-publishing. What do you know now about the process that you didn’t know when you started?

A: Ha! Um, literally everything. Anything I know about publishing (and there’s a lot I don’t), I learned in the past year. How your manuscript can (likely will) change completely by the time your book is published. How to work with an editor. The different steps to publishing (editing, proofreading, formatting, proofs, different self-pub platforms, how to begin to market and build your online presence, how to promote, etc.). This last year has been a huge journey, but I feel better prepared for my next book, and look forward to using what I’ve learned to continue to build my reader base.

Q: If Hollywood came calling, who would comprise your dream cast for this book?

A: I’m about ten years too old and too busy to watch enough TV to know actors and actresses young enough to accurately portray the characters of Ship It, but here’s my best shot:

• Molly Gordon, as Sarah
• Cody Kearsley, as Nathan
• Simu Liu, as Kevin
• Ariela Barer, as Camila
• Katherine McNamara, as Danica

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: I’m currently working on the sequel to Ship It (for now, I’m calling it Pitch It), and another writing project, a Hanukkah-inspired spicy romcom (working title: Eight Nights). The main characters in Ship It and Pitch It are Jewish, but it doesn’t play a big part in the story, but I wanted to write a story where the characters’ Jewish identity is a bit more obvious.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: Last year at this time, I hadn’t even begun to think about writing a manuscript, and now I have written, edited, and self-published a book. I’d encourage all aspiring authors out there to just start writing and see what happens. Sometimes you don’t even realize you have a story that you want to tell, but working on it shapes you as an individual and can help you learn about yourself and others. The other thing I’d love to mention for all the indie authors out there is that you should try not to be scared of rejection. I was (or am) as scared as the rest of us, but I forced myself to take a lot of risks the past year, going way outside of my comfort zone, and I’ve been so pleasantly surprised by how many wonderful, supportive fellow writers and readers there are out there on social media. There are so many different platforms and ways to get started and get your work out in the world for review, feedback, and ultimately publishing.

Loving the Dead and Gone

A freak car crash in rural 1960s North Carolina puts in motion moments of grace for two generations of women and the lives they touch in Judith Turner-Yamamoto’s new novel, Loving the Dead and Gone.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

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Q: Loving the Dead and Gone may be your debut novel but you’re no stranger to the writing industry. Tell us a bit about how your past as an art historian and features writer informs your path to crafting a full-length novel.

Art history taught me how to see and pay attention to detail, to convey in words what I felt in the presence of the work and how to share that with an audience. Features writing taught me to listen, one ear pricked for the moment when the jewel falls from the interviewee’s mouth that reveals the focus of the piece from which everything you write will flow. There’s an art to interviewing, learning how in conversation to coax a subject to reveal themselves. It’s the same with characters.

Q: Plotter or pantser?

A: Pantser, and I confess, I had to google this! And if I’m being really honest, I hear voices. There’s not much thinking at all when I’m writing, that’s for later for the unending editing. 

Q: Share with us the inspiration for Loving the Dead and Gone.

A: The story grew out of my first memory, at three, of the tragic death of a favorite uncle. I can still hear my young aunt, widowed by a car accident and locked in my grandparents’ bathroom, wailing this ungodly lament, and I can see my uncle in his casket. This memory conflated with later parental infidelities to become Loving the Dead and Gone. So, I suppose you could say I’ve been writing this story my entire life. And, in a way I did, with five rewrites of this particular manuscript over a period of thirty-five years, while I wrote three more novel drafts, a screenplay, a number of published stories, and over a thousand magazine articles. First novels are the toughest, because you’re teaching yourself to write. I kept revisiting it, pulling threads, laying down new ones and bringing in the insights that living all those years brought.

Q: Two of the most prevalent themes of Loving the Dead and Gone are about love and loss. Was this novel a meditation of sorts on a specific loss or death as a universal experience to which your readers could relate?

A: I’d say in specificity lies universality. We all have but one window on the world, our own. That’s the magic of literature: it grants us access to the thinking of another human being.

Q: Were there therapeutic effects for you personally in penning this novel?

A: I found in writing Loving the Dead and Gone that exploring family stories and accessing the inner life of a character can explain someone from your history. Exploring the characters’ internal dialogue became a way for me to better understand the family members and traumas that shaped my early life.

Q: Did you know from the outset this was going to be a story of redemption, or did that unfold as the story progressed?

A: Pieces of ourselves find their way into our work—how else to give your characters humanity? We only possess one window onto the world.  I think longing and abandonment were unconscious unaddressed threads through my early life that somehow found voice in the pathos of these characters. Two of the most prevalent themes of Loving the Dead and Gone are right there in the title: love and loss. There’s also grief and grace. Of course, I didn’t know any of this when I was writing. I’ve learned more about what the book is about from my readers. It’s been incredible to have the book living in the world and hearing reports back. When a reader says, “this book gives humanity hope for healing” you absolutely can’t put a price on that.

Q: Do your characters ever do things which surprise you?

A: I was dealing with the mythological figures of early life here. But characters are like anyone else—you have to hang out with them for a long time before you get to know them and then they can surprise and shock you as they evolve and become more of themselves, sort of like children growing into their own person.

Q: The settings in this novel—from a 1920s tobacco farm to a 1960s textile mill—are so vivid.  What was your process of coming up with the locations and imagery?

A: This place is the site of both family connection and estrangement. I went back to my childhood and put myself on the land and in the farmhouses and barns of my grandparents and of my great grandparents. I belong to the first generation of my family that was not intimately connected to the land in ten generations—my father, along with his six siblings, left the family farm as teenagers for the new mills and factories of the post-war South. But when I was very young, we were all back on that land every weekend and I saw a very different world from my experience living in town only twelve miles away—and the details stayed with me.

In the early 1960s, my paternal grandmother was still cooking on a wood stove and using a hand-cranked wringer washer in a washhouse. She worked in the fields, milked cows, churned butter, chewed tobacco. An entire room was dedicated to storing all her canning, another to funeral wreaths. Indoor plumbing and electricity were still near novelties. There was no plaster on the board walls of the house. I still remember winters in that house, with the one room heated by a potbelly stove, and wandering off by myself to nose about the icy rooms.

The upstairs of my maternal grandmother’s house was a museum of 19th century family history. There was a confused jumble of inherited steamer trunks, gilded picture frames, bureaus and wardrobes filled with the clothes of the dead. The rooms held an undisturbed papery decay and the pungent smell of rotting wood. I was terrified but also drawn to them and their contents. The personalities of these dead relatives colored adult conversations as if they were still contemporaries.

Q: What governed and influenced the structure of your book?

A:  It began as a series of interconnected short stories, much in the vein of Louise Erdrich’s Love Medicine. Kelly Cherry read that version when I was a fellow at the Duke Writers Conference. She told me it felt like it was happening in a closet, that I needed to build a world around the stories and I followed that advice. I played for years with who would speak first and from what point in time. It was Margot Livesey at Sewanee Writers Conference where I was a scholar who advised me to begin with the tragedy and let everything unfurl emotionally from there.

Q: If Hollywood came calling, who would you envision to play the lead roles?

A: Meryl Streep is Aurilla Cutter! Who remembers her searing performance in August, Osage County? Mary Louise Parker embodies Berta Mae’s guarded vulnerability. The rest I’ll leave to casting.

Q: How did you go about finding the right publisher for this debut work?

A:  Book publication was not a straight path and being a perpetual bridesmaid can be frustrating.  I thought I was on my way when the first draft won the Washington Prize for Fiction in 1989 and I was picked up by a New York literary agent. Two more agents, 15 prizes and fellowships followed. 

I wasted a lot of years with agents and pursuing the dream of major house publication. I never had any trouble getting an agent, the trouble came with the selling. ‘Beautiful writing, but too quiet to succeed in the current literary marketplace.’ That was the general thread I heard over the years from editors at major houses looking at different manuscripts.

I’ve loved working with a small traditional and accessible publishing house and for me there’s a cosmic message that Regal House is based in my native North Carolina.  The true excitement has come from getting the book into the hands of real-world readers, librarians and reviewers, and learning how reading the novel impacted them. What I’m hearing is this emotional intergenerational story about the legacy of grief and secrets is moving readers. This is my homecoming, on my own terms. What could be more gratifying?

Q: What do you want readers to take away from the book by the time they reach the final chapter?

A: In trauma lies possibility. As Aurilla says “Death can make you over if you let it.” It’s all about endings and beginnings.

Q: You’ve won a number of awards for your work. Which one are you the most proud of and why?

A: I’d have to say my fellowships with the Ohio Arts Council and the Virginia Arts Commission. The highest praise comes from a panel of your peers.

Q: Best advice for aspiring novelists?

A: Be undaunted.  And decide who you are going to listen to. Then let the rest of it roll off your back and keep moving forward.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

 A: Revisiting a completed manuscript that catches up with Darlene eighteen years later in the world of early 80s country music.

A Brand To Die For

When a London ad agency’s client is murdered, its star creative team attempts to solve the mystery but inadvertently gets into deep water. Author Alex Pearl takes time from his busy schedule to tell us about his new release, A Brand To Die For, share his insights on the future of advertising and publishing, and tell us how he once got locked in a record store on Christmas Eve.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

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Q: Tell us a bit about your journey as a writer and the first time you were ever published.

A: I was an advertising copywriter for an unhealthy number of years and started writing my first work of fiction – Sleeping with the Blackbirds – while waiting to be made redundant from a large agency that was undergoing a huge global merger. (Someone at the time wittily referred to the merger involving two lumbering giants, as the Hindenburg coming to the rescue of the Titanic.) It took the agency the best part of a year to give me my marching orders, by which time I had almost finished the book. The book was eventually long-listed for the Millennium Book Awards 2018 and was selected by The Indie Author Project for distribution to public libraries across the US and Canada.

Q: What do you know now that you didn’t know when you started?

A: First of all, I didn’t know if I’d be able to write a book that anyone would want to read. Getting longlisted for a book award and then being selected by The Indie Author Project suggested that perhaps I could. Then, of course, I didn’t know much about the process of publishing (all my books are self-published). Like all writers, I have been down the conventional path of approaching agents, but am not particularly inspired by the timidity of the industry right now. Self-publishing is, as far as I’m concerned, rather more satisfying, rewarding and empowering. Over time, I suspect that the old publishing model will crumble.  

Q: Who are some of the authors whose wordsmithing influenced your own approach to storytelling?

A: The first book I read as a child was Stig of the Dump by Clive King. The book is a charming story written from the point of view of a young boy who discovers a caveman (or more precisely, a cave-boy) living at the bottom of his grandparents’ garden. The book explores those universal themes of friendship and trust, and had me hooked from a young age. So it was obviously an important book as it got the ball rolling. And interestingly, my own first book was written from the perspective of a young boy. One of my Creative Directors, a lovely man named Ken Mullen is a great writer and lover of literature. He introduced me to writers like Mervyn Peake. I was also very privileged to get to sit next to Beryl Bainbridge at an awards dinner. Beryl had written one of several press ads written by novelists for a campaign for real fires devised by Ken and his art director. She was very easy to talk to and rather inspiring.

Q: If you could invite any three authors—living or dead—to a dinner party, who would they be and what would you most like to ask them?

A: Charles Dickens, Scott Fitzgerald, and Clive James. I’d ask Dickens and Fitzgerald to explain their particular approaches to writing stories, and whether they believe in meticulous narrative planning. I’d then ask Clive James to ask his questions of them, because he’d ask really probing and smart questions, and he’d almost certainly make us all laugh in the process.

Q: There are a number of advertising copywriters who have become novelists. Do you think you’d have turned to writing fiction had you not been a copywriter first?

A: It’s a good question to which I don’t have a definitive answer. I suspect the answer is quite possibly not. After all, the advertising business gave me an opportunity to hone my skills as a writer and to also build my confidence. Advertising also teaches you the art of brevity and the ability to think visually. Over time these become instinctive skills.

Q: If you weren’t writing fiction, would you still be in the advertising business?

A: No. I left the industry when I did as I had to be around for my wife who very suddenly became ill with a spinal tumor. Fortunately, I was able to retire early. Writing novels is a hobby.

Q: From your perspective, how has the advertising world changed or remained the same since the 1980s?

A: Gosh… How long have you got? The industry has changed out of all recognition. The period from the 70s through to the 90s was something of a Golden Period for creative advertising in the UK, and particularly London. TV and cinema advertising were the most desirable media to work in and the most creative agencies that won the lion share of the awards every year would generally be the agencies that also won most new business. Agencies like Collett Dickenson Pearce were creatively led. Its creative director John Salmon was also its chairman. If the client didn’t accept the agency’s work or tried to water it down in any way, the agency would simply fire the client – no matter how large they were. In fact, they fired Ford who may have been one of their largest clients. This would never happen today. The boot is very much on the other foot. Today the internet and digital technology are becoming increasingly important and TV advertising is becoming far less so, particularly for brands that appeal to the younger generation who spends more time online than in front of a TV. Humour also plays a far smaller role in advertising than it used to. Most clients seem to believe that humour is flippant and denigrates the brand. The truth of the matter is that humour has sold more products than almost any other attribute the creative team has in its armoury. But try telling that to a young client who has never seen a Heineken commercial from the 80s. Advertising can still be creative and fairly sophisticated, but my feeling is that there’s just an awful lot less of it. And what there is lacks soul. For me, creative advertising has lost its way; it’s just not as daring and witty as it used to be. And it takes itself far too seriously.

Q: Where do you see the book publishing industry in the next 10 years? Next 20 years?

A: I think self-publishing is going to continue growing. Platforms like Smashwords are going to become increasingly important, and e-books are going to become King. As a result, there’ll be more hybrid publishers and the old traditional literary agent/publisher model will eventually become outmoded and disappear. We are already seeing the huge explosion in the number of books being published. The democratisation of publishing through technology is clearly a good thing and we are now seeing terrific writing from authors who would otherwise have no voice.

Q: Tell us how the premise of A Brand To Die For came about.

A: I wanted to write a murder mystery set in the advertising industry for two reasons. Firstly, because there hadn’t been one written since 1933 when Dorothy L. Sayers wrote Murder Must Advertise. And secondly, because I knew the world of advertising really well having worked in it as a copywriter for many years. So I didn’t need to spend endless hours researching it. It was all there in my head waiting to spill out on the page. As for the plotting, I was assisted a great deal by my brother who I credit in the Acknowledgment page.  Together we discussed the second half of the book at some length and hit on an idea that I still feel works really well and isn’t obvious to the reader.

Q: Are there any intersections in this work of fiction with real-life events and characters?

A: There are plenty of events in the book that are in fact based on true incidents. The quip at the end of the prologue during the funeral of Danny Deedes was actually uttered in real life at a memorial service for a famous advertising figure. (He will remain nameless for obvious reasons.) The story about furniture being stolen by an individual who then charged for the removal van on expenses is also a true story believe it or not. And the other story about the telescope installed in the office to spy on ladies of the night in Soho is also sadly a true one.

Q: Plotter or pantser?

A: I’m a plotter. I need a road map to work with otherwise I get hopelessly lost. But with A Brand to Die For I wrote the first half without actually having the second half worked out in my head. But once I reached the halfway point I knew I had to take a break from writing and concentrate on the road map, which with my brother’s assistance fell into place quite satisfactorily. Having said this, you can, of course, deviate a bit from the road map while the general thrust of the story remains in place.

Q: Do your characters ever surprise you?

A: Yes they sometimes do. In my previous novel, The Chair Man, one of my main characters is very unexpectedly murdered, and even I wasn’t actually planning on that. It just kind of happened. In A Brand to Die For the biggest villain in the book loves Charles Dickens and art and that wasn’t something I planned. Again it just happened. But in retrospect, there is something deliciously ironicabout that.

Q: What would readers be the most surprised to learn about you?

A: Possibly that I am generally shambolic and disorganised, and have a really terrible sense of direction.

Q: What’s the oldest, oddest or most sentimental item in your closet?

A: Quite probably a paperweight that used to sit on my grandmother’s sideboard. I wrote a piece about it ages ago. Here it is:

FAMILY REFLECTIONS

It was purchased before the war by a balding, stocky man with a warm smile and a booming, resonant voice. His name was Bertram Davis – though his original Russian surname was the more exotic Bolzwinick. He was the grandfather I never knew. By all accounts, he was the life and soul of the party; a witty chap with a story to tell and a joke to crack. Until, that is, life was cruelly cut short by asthma at the tender age of 54.
I was born into this world five years after his departure. According to my grandmother, Bert would spend many happy hours pottering in dusty antique shops in the Mile End Road, and was in the habit of buying things on a whim.
As a young child I remember setting eyes on my grandfather’s purchase and being drawn by its mesmerizing contents and the way it magnified and distorted itself. This shiny, glassy orb with its intricate geometry of bright lapis lazuli, pink and white sunk deep into a sea of solid glass, never ceased to fascinate my young eyes. How did the coloured glass get inside the see-though glass? And how could this iridescent globule of sheer beauty have no more meaningful a role in life than a mere paperweight?
For many years it was the family tradition for all my uncles and aunts and cousins on my mother’s side of the family to descend in droves on my grandmother’s house every Saturday afternoon for tea. It was invariably a jovial affair with lively children, lively conversation, a real fire sizzling and crackling in the grate and, of course, my grandmother’s famous apple and blackberry pie with its delicate coat of latticed pastry.
My grandmother was a fiercely independent woman with a heart of gold and a particularly soft spot for her short-sighted grandson. So when she passed away quite suddenly and unexpectedly when I was 14, Saturday afternoons never quite felt the same again.
I can recollect helping my father clear her large Victorian house and standing on the threshold of the sitting room where the fire once danced and laughter once filled the air. All that was left was a bare room with bare floor boards. A room stripped of its personality; stripped of life itself.
Some weeks later the paperweight that had sat for so many years on my grandmother’s sideboard, now found a new home on my bedroom desk. Sometimes I look into it and try and make out fleeting reflections of those joyful childhood memories.
Today, 35 years on my mother, now showing the early signs of dementia, lets slip the darkest of family secrets. Her father with whom she was incredibly close did not die from asthma. This jovial man who still laughs and smiles to this day from those black and white snap shots from yesteryear, actually took his own life – following a serious bout of depression.
It explains a lot. It explains why my grandmother’s top floor was always occupied by lodgers – since life assurance policies are never honoured in the event of suicide.
More significantly, it also explains our family tradition and why every Saturday afternoon all her grandchildren would descend and fill her house with laughter.

Q: You share a humorous story in your bio that you accidentally got locked in a record store on Christmas Eve. How did this come about and how long did it take for rescue to come?

A: I was searching for a piece of classical music in a part of the shop where few customers ever ventured, and while here, the staff locked up without bothering to check that there were no strange people browsing the classical music section. The odd thing was that all the lights and Christmas displays had been left on, so there was no way of me knowing that I had in fact been locked in. Indeed, when I finally did find the piece I was looking for and took it to the counter, I couldn’t work out why there was nobody behind the counter to serve me. I politely waited while coughing, which is very much the English way of doing things. When after several minutes, my coughing had had absolutely no effect, I took the bold step of going behind the counter and into the staff room behind, which was empty. It wasn’t until I marched over to the front door and nearly yanked my arm off in trying to pull it open, that it finally dawned on me that I was locked in. This, of course, was long before the invention of the mobile phone. But fortunately, the shop did have a working telephone, so I called my father who, in turn, called the police who, in turn called the caretaker. I remained in my temporary prison for about an hour and a half. Following Christmas, the staff were apparently fired.

Q: What are your three best tips for aspiring authors?

A: Write about what you know. Brevity is wonderful – learn from George Orwell. And heck, have a bit of fun, why don’t you?

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: Possibly a sequel to A Brand to Die For that involves a cricket match. We will see.

Q: Anything else you’d like to share?

A: A plug for my previous book 100 Ways to Write a Book, which is raising money for PEN International. This is, as far as I can tell, the only book on the market written in English that explores the backgrounds, motivations and working methods of 100 authors around the world. Of the book, one reviewer penned the following: “This collection of interview responses by over 100 authors, who write about their craft, is not only fascinating, it may be a first. There are numerous nuggets here and it amounts to a large scale seminar in writing techniques, in book form. As they also talk about their early experiences and motivations, as well as hobbies and many other topics, there is much to delve into here. Highly recommendable.” The book is available in paperback and Kindle at Amazon here: https://mybook.to/stTSGI7

DYING FOR FAME

Dying wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to Fredrike Cambourd. Lex investigates the murder of this retired artist/curator from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What she walks into is a crime that leads her to dark secrets that she could never have imagined, and her life is placed at risk by an elusive killer. Our spotlight author today is Mark L. Dressler who talks about his latest detective mystery, Dying For Fame.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

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Q: What attracted you to the mystery genre and how did you get started?

A: It’s the only genre I’ve ever bothered reading. My story is crazy. I was four years into retirement, I never intended to write a book. My younger daughter had a house that was set far back from the road on seven forest-like acres, I used to stand on her deck and say “There could be a dead body out there and no one would know. One night I went home and started writing. I didn’t know what I was doing and maxed out at 5-10 pages. Something made me go back to it and then the magic of writing began to happen. Characters were created and they began to take over the story. That was 2014.

Q: If you could invite three fictional mystery detectives to dinner, who would they be and what unsolved crime would you task them to solve?

A: Columbo- Solve the Gardner heist.
Hercule Poirot- Jack the Ripper
Popeye Doyle- Find Jimmy Hoffa

Q: As a male author, what were the challenges in writing from the perspective of a female protagonist?

A: A very difficult task to try to think like a female. Even though being married for a long time, men do not think like women. I needed to get into how they dress, how they sit, how they deal with emotions, how they walk, every nuance. Fortunately, my wife is a consummate reader and helped me to craft my Tenacious Female Detective, Lex Stall. Having accomplished that feat, I still don’t understand my wife.

Q: How would you describe your writing style?

A: Fast-paced. I also like to think my job is part writer and part magician because I it’s my job to lead the readers down a path that leads them in the wrong direction.

Q: Plotter or pantser?

A: Pantser

Q: How long does it typically take you to write a book?

A: Thee first book Dead and Gone was three years. My others are about a year from first draft through self and professional editing, cover design and publishing.

Q: Do you allow anyone to read your works-in-progress or do you make everyone wait until you have typed THE END?

A: Yes. My wife. Every time I give her a chapter, I get it back with red lines. It’s like handing in a test paper.

Q: Tell us a bit about your other titles.

A: Dead and Gone, Dead Right and the soon to be released Dead Wrong are detective mysteries that feature Dan Shields, A Hartford Ct, Detective who breaks all the rules.

Q: What governed your choice to go the self-publishing route for your novels?

A: I did query agents at first, but soon realized it was a tough road. Joining groups like Mystery Writers of America, meeting other authors and learning their experiences swayed to self-publish. I hate to say it, but my age was a factor as well. I knew if could be years to get published if I pursued the traditional route.

Q: What do you know now about publishing that you didn’t know when you started?

A: I know that you cannot write a book by yourself. In my genre, I need every type of editor. Developmental, Line, Copy and Proofreader. You cannot afford to produce a poor-quality product.

Q: You have a special connection to Boston Children’s Hospital. Tell us about it.

A: I have a 10 year old grandson who had surgery at that hospital when he was 8 months old. I spent two days there with my family and saw children and families who were not as lucky as me and mine. My grandson is well, a happy boy. I felt a strong need to contribute to those families and children who are less fortunate than me.

Q: Any success stories you’d like to share?

A: I’m fortunate to have been chosen by the Hartford Courant as a Most Notable author for my book Dead Right. That led to TV appearances on popular TV shows CT STYLE channel 8 – New Haven and REAL PEOPLE in Hartford on Fox TV channel 61. And the Boston Children’s hospital has honored me for my generosity. I was also the only author to sell out at a book signing at Barnes & Noble at Blueback Square in West Hartford. And I remain a best-selling author at Barnes & Noble in downtown Hartford.

Q: How much does “setting” factor into the plots you weave for your readers?

A: My Dan Shields books take place in Hartford and have hit the hearts of locals. I have a strong area following.

Q: The best authors are often voracious readers. What wordsmiths do you turn to for inspiration?

A: That’s the craziest part of all. I am an outlier. I do not read very much, When I do, it’s authors like Michael Connelly, and John Grisham.

Q: Any advice for prospective authors?

A: Ask why you are writing your story. What are your goals and then learn about publishing, especially the need for editors and realize the journey is not free.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: The third book in the Dan Shields series, Dead Wrong is due out within the next 30 days. I am also currently writing the 2nd Lex Stall book with a working title of Write to the End.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: One standout moment occurred when I wrote Dead and Gone. It was finished, almost. I woke up in the middle of the night and had an incredible idea that changed the ending into a surprise that I couldn’t even have guessed, and as far as I know, it has stunned all of my readers.

The Visiting Girl

Madge Walls really hits her mark in her new historical novel, The Visiting Girl. The characters, scenes, setting, and historical accuracy make this an excellent read for those who love to settle in and follow a story from beginning to end. The friendship between the two strong main characters, Caroline and Lily, takes some interesting turns throughout the story and beautifully depicts a time in our collective history during the women’s suffrage movement.  Welcome, Madge!

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Interviewed by Debbie A. McClure

Q Could you please give us a brief synopsis of your new book, The Visiting Girl?

Graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 1901, Lily Paxton is out of funds and at loose ends. With no immediate family, not raised to work, and no husband in sight, she becomes a “visiting girl,” going from home to home among her married friends in Philadelphia.

When the visiting circuit pales, Lily disappears, leaving her best friend Caroline a note saying she is off on an adventure out West. Lily keeps to herself that she is three months pregnant and has left with a man she barely knows—a man who is not the baby’s father.

Twenty years later, Lily writes to Caroline from Portland, Oregon, where she is dying of leukemia, asking Caroline to come to her in her final days. Caroline leaps at the opportunity to reconnect with her long-lost friend, but soon discovers that Lily has a hidden agenda that threatens to destroy both their families.

The Visiting Girl is inspired by the young life of movie star Katharine Hepburn’s mother, an early graduate of Bryn Mawr and a leading suffragist.

Q What inspired you to write this story?

A friend sent me the book, Katharine Hepburn, by Barbara Leaming, a respected biographer of celebrities. I was blown away by the story of Katherine’s mother, also called Kate. Orphaned young, she audaciously hired an attorney to force her guardian uncle, who did not believe in higher education for women, to honor the terms of her mother’s will and allow her to enroll at Bryn Mawr College in the late 1890s. The term “visiting girl” may have been coined by Leaming, as I can find no other reference to it on the Internet. I’ve given her full credit in the acknowledgements.

Q When you began writing this story, what was your objective for the reader and for yourself?

I simply wanted to write the kind of novel I like to read—strong women overcoming life’s obstacles, supportive friendships among women, a bit of suspense, and maybe a nice man or two. No screeching car crashes, no bloody murders smeared across the stage, (almost) no domestic violence, no vampires—you get the picture. Also, my previous two novels were set in Hawaii, where I lived most of my life. I later moved to Colorado and now Oregon to be near children and grandchildren, and I wanted to see if I could write authentically about the Mainland and of an earlier era.

Q How much research did you have to do in order to get as many of the historical facts of the time accurate?

A lot: Leukemia, Pullman trains and porters, Bryn Mawr, divorce laws, care of premature infants, and more. Interestingly though, I got to the end of a robust first draft and realized my twenty-two year timeframe, dictated by Lily’s graduation from Bryn Mawr in 1901, included The Great War (WW I), women’s suffrage, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and Prohibition. I’d barely mentioned those world-shaking events in the initial narrative, so I had to go back, dig deep, and weave my characters’ lives through them. LOTS of research, but a much richer and more believable story as a result!

Q Was it difficult or easy to find research sources for this book?

I found books and websites with more information than I could ever absorb. I tried to verify everything with at least two references. The most fascinating book was The Strange Case of Dr. Couney, by Dawn Raffel. It’s the nonfiction account of a doctor who, in the early 1900s, believed that premature babies could be saved with loving care and warmth instead of by being set aside and watched to see if they survived or not. In order to get attention for his methods, he displayed them at carnival freak shows. Really!

Also, The Justice Bell Story, found on the website of the Justice Bell Foundation. Fashioned after the Liberty Bell, the Justice Bell toured Pennsylvania in a pickup truck with its clapper chained silent during the final years of the suffrage fight. The Pennsylvania suffragists rang it in triumph upon the passage of the 19th Amendment.

Q What have you learned about the women’s suffrage movement while writing the book that you hadn’t realized before?

I had no idea it took so long—1840 to 1920—eighty years! By the time the 19th Amendment was finally passed, its earliest proponents were dead. And many women were vociferously against it—a harbinger of Phyllis Schlafly’s successful fight to derail the Equal Rights Amendment, which is still not the law of the land. I also learned about Abigail Scott Duniway, who led the fight in Oregon, where I live now. She had a disabled husband and six children and supported her family financially while fighting the fight. Even her brother, the editor of the Portland Oregonian newspaper, wrote many editorials against it.

Q What has surprised you the most about the writing and publishing processes?

I was surprised by how do-able (although tedious) the Amazon KDP self-publishing process was. The instructions are every clear. A high note was conquering the x-ray function for Kindle books. I use x-ray a lot in my reading (it allows you to find earlier references to characters you have forgotten when they pop up again). The x-ray has to be “enabled” by the author or publisher. It’s also a tedious process. You can’t just hit the button and move on. My twelve years as an indexer of nonfiction books helped!

Q Early in Caroline’s story you introduce the reader to a young girl on a train who faces the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy. What was your intent by including that section of the story?

Others have asked that question. I didn’t want to write, “Caroline waved goodbye to her daughter at the Philadelphia station, and five days later she disembarked in Portland, Oregon.” How boring is that? Quite honestly, Donalee sashayed down the train car aisle in my head and demanded to be in the story. So I gave her quite a scene. It shows Caroline as a caring person, and begins to wake her up to the many changes in attitude she will experience in the story. It also illustrates the dangers of illegal abortions.

Since the story deals with the many women’s issues that we still face today, I thought it fit. I originally intended to follow through with Donalee’s mother being one of Lily’s suffragist friends, but I ultimately decided I couldn’t manage any more to the story. I loved the scene and apologize to readers who expected more of a payoff!

Q What was the most difficult part of writing this story for you?

I really wanted to include a frank talk between Lily and Caroline about marital sex, specifically how one’s wedding night in those days could set the tenor for the rest of a woman’s conjugal life. How naïve were they, and how did their husbands treat them? Was it traumatizing? Pleasant? A chore? A bore? Did women back then even know it could be pleasant for them? I don’t know many answers, nor did Lily and Caroline. I just wanted to throw open the discussion—a discussion that never happened in my life. Would women in book clubs want or be brave enough to discuss this? While writing it, I tried to open the discussion with several of my women friends. Everyone changed the subject. Now that many of my friends have read the book, only one person has brought up this scene. I almost left it out, especially as I have three grown sons. Waugh! But I ultimately thought it was important, so I left it in. Let the readers decide!

Q What was the most interesting part of writing and publishing for you?

As for writing, I loved what I learned about the many subjects I had to research. As for publishing, I knew it would be near impossible to find an agent and publisher. Many whom I queried sent a stock reply that they were not accepting any new authors at this time. Covid? Dunno. Even if I did get an agent, I’m too old and impatient to wait another two or three years for potential publication. I decided to self-publish via Amazon KDP, which was not difficult and gave me total control of the project.

No matter how you get published, you are in charge of your own marketing, so that’s where I am now. Online marketing has grown exponentially since the publication of my previous novel, Buyers Are Liars. I’m really enjoying following that trail and the positive results I’m getting.

Let me give a shout-out to my daughter-in-law, Heather Walls, who designed the gorgeous cover. At first all the glowing feedback was about the cover. I began to fear that maybe the story did not live up to the cover’s promise…until I began to hear that it did.

Q When writing, are you a plotter or a panster, or a little of both?

First, I had to look up what a panster is. I guess that’s me! I start with an idea and begin writing. Outlining/plotting reminds me too much of the many research papers I had to write in high school and college—boring. I know the point I want to make and I have a general idea of how I’ll get there, but for me the real thrill is sitting down at my computer every day and watching the next scene play out in my head, and writing down what I see. In between writing sessions, the plot advances in my imagination with no help from me. I usually, but not always, know where to start when I sit down again. I try to stop in the middle of a lively scene, so that I’m excited to get back to it.

One thing I have discovered in being a panster is that you can easily find yourself going down a rabbit hole—something you love writing, but distracts from the story. See above where Caroline meets Donalee on the train to Portland. Give me credit, though, for throwing out the backstory of John’s mistress. Maybe I’ll put it out as a promotional bonus if I can figure out how.

Q What advice would you give to new writers just beginning their journey?

1. Write every day that you can. Writing only when you feel like it won’t get you anywhere, because mostly you won’t feel like it. I wrote my first two novels by getting up an hour early before work (except on the days when I walked on the beach with a friend!) I never felt like getting up to write, but the smell of coffee, set up the night before, coaxed me out of bed. Building momentum creates excitement, and you’ll want to get back to it as soon as possible. If you can squeeze out only 2 sentences or stick to it for half an hour, so be it.

2. Don’t get sidetracked by the research. Hit it lightly as you encounter things you need to verify, but save the heavy digging until you have found out if your story holds together. My first attempted novel got derailed by the research. I spent three years pre-Internet researching (and enjoying it), then found I’d lost interest when it came to the writing. Not that the time was wasted—I learned a lot about home life in the South during the Civil War (sitting in my mountain-view condo on Maui!), but I never got beyond a first draft.

3. Join a serious (but fun) critique group, in person or online. My first critique group was via manila envelopes and snail mail!

Q What’s next for you, Madge?

Wistful Creek is a story set just west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where I lived as a young bride in the late 1960s. While there I heard about a valuable piece of jewelry, found by a woman on the outer edges of my social circle, in a most unlikely place. The finder tried her darndest to locate the owner, but it proved impossible. This incident has been dancing in my head for over 50 years. I decided to turn it into a murder mystery, another challenge. I just started writing and can’t wait to find out how it all turns out!

Q Where can our readers find your book and connect with you online?

My website: Madge Walls Books

My Facebook page: Madge Tennent Walls

Books on Amazon.com: The Visiting Girl—A historical novel of friendship, loyalty, secrets, and love set in Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon, in the early 1900s

Paying the Price—A tender tale of mothers and daughters, and a real estate deal on Maui that goes spectacularly bad

Buyers Are Liars—As Maui Realtor Laura McDaniel’s elderly client slips deeper into dementia, Laura becomes increasingly caught in her downhill slide while trying to sell her house

The Deadly Game

As Lauren and Michael Casey bicycle through Miami’s Coconut Grove, Michael races off while his wife is preoccupied with changing gears. When she gets up to speed, Michael is out of sight. She anticipates he will surprise her by coming up from behind and tapping her on the shoulder. It doesn’t happen. After a fruitless search, she reports him missing. Later that evening, she is mortified when she learns he was murdered.

For our first interview of the new year, we’re pleased to welcome Lynn Sheft, author of the suspense thriller, The Deadly Game.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

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Q: Tell us a little about your journey as an author. Who or what would you say had the greatest influence in inspiring you to pick up a pen…or put fingers to a keyboard?

A: When I was in eighth grade, I was assigned to write a true story and asked to read it aloud to my class. I told of my attempt to bake cupcakes on my own for my Girl Scout troop’s bake sale. I had success with the cake part; it was the frosting that was a disaster. I selected a boiled frosting from my mother’s cookbook without any knowledge of using a candy thermometer. The frosting was soupy, but I put it on the cupcakes anyway. When my mother got home from work, she asked me why was there was a grainy puddle on the cupcake. With no time do repeat the recipe, she advised that I should just buy prepared frosting in a can. She asked my Dad to get it for me. I had to remove the icing puddle so I scraped it off and then wiped the rest off with a sponge. When the class heard that, they erupted in peals of laughter. I was thrilled that I could entertain them. I also got an “A.”

Q: What attracted you to the genre of suspense/thriller for your debut novel?

A: I enjoy reading suspense/thrillers.

Q: Are there suspense/thriller novelists whose work you especially admire?

A: Dennis Lahane, Joe Finder, Ken Follett, Andrew Gross, B.A. Shapiro, and last, but not least, Stephen King.

Q: Many people walk around for years with a book idea in their heads but there seems to be no shortage of real or perceived obstacles that keep them from ever starting. What convinced you there was no time like the present to make that dream a reality?

A: I realized that time is precious so I decided to publish before it was too late.

Q: Where did you get the idea for The Deadly Game?

A: The idea came from my Sunday bike rides through Coconut Grove with my husband, Barry. Just like the character Michael in my novel, Barry would race off and hide. When I least expected it, he would appear out of nowhere and tap me on the shoulder. Naturally I screamed. It was on one of those bike rides that I came up with the idea. What if he failed to appear?

Q: They say write what you know. Your protagonist is a senior copywriter in a Miami advertising agency. How much of the story comes from your own experience?

A: The story comes from my own experience with the employees and the type of projects I managed.

Q: Particularly in suspense novels, the physical setting can be as compelling and mysterious as any of the characters walking around in it. What do you believe are some of the elements that make Miami such an effective backdrop for your plot?

A: Miami is an international city featuring different neighborhoods that have their own distinct culture: Little Havana, Little Haiti, Liberty City, Coconut Grove, Downtown, Coral Gables and Key Biscayne. The population is as diverse with people from all walks of life: Billionaires, drug dealers, businessmen, and artists all making a living, including the street peddlers hawking bags of limes at the intersections.

Q: Plotter, pantser or a combination of both?

A: I am a plotter. I start with an idea for the plot. Then I make a list of characters and everything I know about them. Next I start outlining chapter by chapter. This process gives me the opportunity to formulate the story so I know if the plot is suspenseful. Then I begin writing. Of course, I may change things while writing, but I least I have the solid foundation.

Q: How much research do you typically do?

A: I do enough research so that I have the facts right. I’ll interview experts in their field, and view maps so what I write is correct. I actually did arrange to take a lie detector test so the scene in the book is realistic. I also arranged with a yacht broker to go aboard a vessel as described in the novel. The yacht was magnificent and I was amazed to learn it required a full-time crew.

Q: Do you allow anyone to read your work while it’s still in progress or do you make everyone wait until you have typed The End?

A: In this novel, I teamed up with another writer working on her romance novel. We exchanged a chapter a week and commented on each other’s work. It kept me on task and I appreciated her feedback. I did the same with my second novel, Saving Maria that I expect to publish in late summer. For my third, I had a mentor from Mystery Writers of America read 25 pages. I wanted to know if my opening was strong. I’ve done most of the research, but I have yet to finish the outline.

Q: When did you discover the power of words on your audience?

A: This would go back to the first question, when I read my story aloud to my classmates. I discovered the power of words on my audience with this novel from five-star reviews posted on Amazon. I learned that The Deadly Game kept readers up past their bedtime.

Q: What governed your decision to self-publish?

A: I attended a webinar in August 2021 with a literary agent who was speaking about the current state of publishing novels. She mentioned that suspense and thrillers were a tough sell to editors. My ears perked up since that’s my genre. When it was time for questions, I asked why. She said that so many thriller and suspense authors are publishing independently with much success and the traditional publishers can’t compete with the financials.

Q: What do you know now about self-publishing that you didn’t know when you began?

A: I didn’t know how satisfying it would be to have total control. I formatted it in the font I like, selected the cover photo and font, arranged for a professional photographer and completed all the editing with an eagle eye. I celebrate the fact that this novel has been well received by all who read it.

Q: What have you found to be the most successful marketing/promotion strategy for you?

A: I have distributed bookmarks and completed two email blasts. I have an appearance scheduled at a senior community in January that I expect will go well since I was invited. I believe personal appearances will prove to be successful; however, the pandemic may curtail future efforts. I do plan to contact the broadcast media this month.

Q: Best writing advice anyone ever gave you?

A: Develop a writing schedule. Sit down and write what comes to mind, even if it’s bad. Don’t let the blank page intimidate you. And most of all, believe in yourself.

Q: Thus far, what has been the reception to The Deadly Game?

A: Excellent. The reviews posted on Amazon are all tops—five stars.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: I’m outlining an historical suspense novel that I’m very excited about. My own mother never knew her father and her mother would never tell her anything about him. My protagonist is fashioned after her and the time she lived. Her quest is to find out who her father is in 1941.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: Thank you for this exceptional opportunity to share my thoughts and experience with you and your audience.

Blackthorne Cove

Growing up on a grain farm near Toledo, Illinois, author Betty J. Crow lived most of her life in the Dallas, Texas area, with the exception of time spent in Tennessee and North Carolina. An avid reader all her life, she’s written 200+ short stories, but in 2018 she joined a writers’ group and began re-writing a novel she’d abandoned on her computer years before, Blackthorne Cove. Excited to be celebrating the release of this novel, Betty lives in Oklahoma with her husband, Don, and best dog, Gus. Welcome, Betty!

Interviewer: Debbie A. McClure

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Q  Can you tell us a bit about your new release, Blackthorne Cove?

A Blackthorne Cove is divided into two parts. Part I is set in Illinois. It begins with ten-year-old Mitchell Lassiter trying to stop his father from murdering his mother. While trying to save her, the struggle leaves the boy with severe burns on his face. The scars are not only superficial, they run deep into his psyche.

With his father in prison, Mitch’s maternal grandmother petitions the court for full custody. For the first time in his young life, he finds himself living in a home filled with affection instead of anger. With his life settled, his only wish was to have a friend. Meghan lived next door. Even though Mitch kept his scarred face hidden as long as possible, Meghan and Mitch formed a friendship, which eventually turned into more. Fearing he may have inherited his father’s propensity for violence, he rejects Meghan to keep her safe.

Part II is set in Tennessee. After finding a body during his college years, he develops an interest in police work, eventually becoming a detective for the Nashville P.D. With a serial killer loose in the city, he must solve the case to save Meghan from being the next victim.

Q Were there any aspects of your early life as a child, growing up on a grain farm, that prepared you for your writing journey today?

A I have a brother two years older than me. When he started school, he read to me every night. I enjoyed listening to stories about Dick, Jane, and Sally. My love for reading was born. If we lived in the city where there are malls, movie theaters, and lots of other children to play with, I doubt reading to his little sister would have been a priority. Once I learned to read, I often rode my bicycle the two miles to the local library. Back home, I liked to lean back against my favorite moss-covered tree and read the afternoon away. 

With only two channels on TV, few friends nearby, and no such thing as video games, my brother and I spent most of our free time together. Some of my favorite memories stem from playing pretend. As farmers, our bicycles became farm equipment. Like they do in real life, those tractors and combines often broke down, which required using tools and pretending to drive to town for parts. A salvaged blackboard turned into an airplane instrument panel, where we avoided crashes, and travelled the world. We used old boards to build a boat, which promptly sunk, but we pulled it over to the edge of our pond and sailed across the sea.

As I suspect most farmers’ children do, I dreamed. I fanaticized about travelling to amazing places, living in the city, driving a flashy red Plymouth convertible, becoming a dancer, a famous singer, or a dress designer.

In addition to learning about hard work, living on a farm allowed me to read, pretend, and dream—the best preparation for becoming a writer.

Q  Who has been your greatest life coach or mentor, and why?

A  In my personal life, my family gave me the best guidance. Of course, I didn’t always pay attention to their advice, which caused a few bumps in the road. But they gave me the foundation to grow into the person I am today.

In my writing life, I have more than one mentor. My sixth-grade teacher asked the class to write about the scene outside our classroom window. It was a stormy day, so I likened the sky to El Greco’s painting, View of Toledo. She chose to read my paper aloud to the class, which allowed me to dream of being a writer someday. In college, one of my English instructors pulled me aside to tell me I had a gift for storytelling. She encouraged me to keep a journal and start writing. These two teachers gave me the encouragement I needed to believe in my ability to write.

Q   What inspires and drives you to write?

A The first novel I wrote came about because of reading a poorly written book. Inspired to write my own, I turned on the computer, and wrote Blackthorne Cove in three months. Three months later I finished a second novel. Editing wasn’t fun, so I continued writing short story after short story. A few years later, I joined a writer’s group. With the encouragement of other writers, I began editing Blackthorne Cove.

I often have ideas pop into my mind. I keep a notebook of possible stories, characters, and settings. I think the drive to write comes from wanting to give life to those characters. They have a story to tell and I am their voice.

 Q   How much research do you put into your books? Do you have any specific resources you use as your go-to?

A I’m a pantser, so I don’t research before I start writing. Scenes are usually places I’ve been and can picture in my mind. Characters are based on people I know or observed while out in public. I write what I know. However, sometimes I need more information or a memory refresher. For scenes, I often turn to travel brochures I have collected, maps, or personal photographs. I use Google or go to the library if I need some obscure detail. Plus, I can’t imagine writing without a thesaurus and punctuation book beside me. For Blackthorne, even though I have been to Nashville many times to visit my son, I called him to ask his opinion of the best places to leave bodies in and around the city. 

Q  What has most surprised you about the process of writing, publishing, and marketing a book?

A I’m always surprised at how easy it is to tell the story. When the house is quiet, I play instrumental music on low volume, and start writing. The words seem to magically appear on the page, as if I’m taking dictation. I don’t understand writer’s block. It hasn’t happened to me, and I hope it never does.

I wasn’t surprised at how difficult it is to get published. There is the time spent looking for an agent, then finding a publisher who actually wants to publish the book, more editing, rewrites, etc. It can take years. I finally consulted one of my successful writing friends for advice. She provided lots of helpful information.

Marketing can be difficult and time consuming. No surprise there. Not only do you have to sell yourself, you need to persuade people they want to read your book. Give me writing over marketing any day. 

Q   What advice would you give to aspiring writers just starting out on their own journey?

A Join a writers group. Members keep each other inspired and give helpful advice. If you want to be a writer, read books in your preferred genre and books about writing—lots of books. Don’t procrastinate. Life is short, so start now, and write every day. Don’t go into writing with the idea this will be your only source of income, because it won’t be—until you become a bestselling author. Don’t stop after the first draft, edit, edit, and edit some more.  

Q   Why did you choose the genre of murder mystery for Blackthorne Cove?

A I like to read books in this genre. Some of my favorite authors are James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Nora Roberts, and John Grisham. In my younger years, I read a lot of Agatha Christie. I like the rush fear brings, and since I’ve never seen a real monster or alien, to me there isn’t anything more frightening than murder.

Q   What’s next for you, Betty?

A I’m currently editing my second novel, Riverton Road, and working on a third with the working title of Down Somerset Lane. Both are in the same genre as Blackthorne Cove.

Q   Where can our readers discover more about you and your books?

A For more about Betty J. Crow, the writer, I have an author page on Facebook, @bettyjcrow2021, as well as on Amazon.

For more about Betty J. Crow the amateur nature photographer, I have a blog where I post pictures and will be adding more posts about writing in the future, bettycrow.blogspot.com.

Never Waste Dreams

In 1900 it took a tornado, a wicked witch and a trio of misfit friends to convince a little girl from Kansas that there was no place like Home. Our featured author today—Gloria Zachgo—also hails from the Sunflower State but happily discovered that all it took was encouragement from a writers’ group to firmly plant her fertile imagination and watch it blossom beyond her wildest expectations.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

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Q: So many of the authors we’ve interviewed over the years were voracious readers as children and claim to have been bitten by the author bug at a young age. Your own journey was quite a different one. Tell us about it.

A:  I had three dreams when I was growing up. I wanted to learn how to paint sunsets, be a good mother, and continue being a cowgirl. Instead of reading, I discovered adventures with a variety of four-legged farm critters and a vivid imagination.

Though some would say I had a limited education, I prefer to think attending the one-room-schoolhouse in our community was much like having a private tutor for a teacher. Our teacher knew our individual strengths and weaknesses, yet we worked as a team. 

I chose business school over college, married my high school sweetheart, and became a mother. It wasn’t until much later in life that I had any inkling I might someday become a writer.   

Q: When did it first occur to you that “author” could be added to a resume which already included owning your own small business and being a volunteer?

A: After I sold my small business and gave up my volunteer duties, a friend asked me to join her Creative Writers Group. We were a motley group that dabbled in short stories and poetry for fun. And then, one day, I found my passion in fiction.

I attended an author’s workshop that our local library offered. On the drive home, I kept thinking of one of the short stories I’d written. Inspired and challenged, I went home to write the rest of that story. As I developed a plot and characters, a friend from my writing group critiqued and encouraged me with each new chapter. Finally, after a year of writing, I surprised myself with a finished manuscript. 

I spent the next year reading a chapter a week to my writing group. Then, with much encouragement from them and my husband, I finally realized I didn’t want that manuscript put in a drawer and forgotten.

Q: Do you remember the first piece you shared with your creative writing group? How was it received?

A: I wrote a memory about myself as a child when I feared I was responsible for my horse, Nellie, getting stuck in quicksand. But, of course, it wasn’t quicksand—just a muddy creek. It was a true story of a child’s guilt and fear during one of her escapades. The class loved it.

Q: You started out writing short stories and then segued to full-length novels. Which would you say embraces a more challenging process for you—short-form storytelling or juggling multiple plot-lines and characters across a broader platform?

A: Novels. My writing is usually condensed. Details and descriptive elements that add depth to a story are often challenging—like a bar of rich chocolate—a little goes a long way. I feel too much description quickly becomes repetitive; therefore, I usually don’t write enough in the first draft. Where many authors are cutting words in an edit, I often have to add them. I suppose that’s why it took me four years to write Never Waste Dreams.

Q: For your historical novels, how do you go about doing your research—finding out everything you need to know in advance or looking it up as you go along?

A: For Never Waste Dreams, I made a rough timeline. I was lucky enough to find a book written by Dorothe Tarrence Homan, who was the Lincoln County Superintendent of Schools when I was a youngster. Even though I’d lived in Lincoln County until I was eighteen, her book, Lincoln—that County in Kansas, gave me information I’d never heard before. An example: the battle for a county seat with a town called Abram. I doubt many who are alive today even know there was such a town in Kansas, and I could find little information of it ever existing.

 Q: In historical fiction, it’s a delicate balance between sticking to the facts and weaving in an entertaining story of your own creation. How do you handle that?

A: Since my writing is usually character-driven, I used my timeline as a guide. I wanted to mention the murders and vigilantes mentioned in Ms. Homan’s book, but my character’s stories were not about that. So, I used Tinker to bring history into their experiences, but then I focused on the Taylor and Carter reactions.

Q: If you could live in any period of history, in which era do you believe you’d feel the most at home?

A: If I could choose, there’s only one—the 1960s. It’s my own history of when I grew into adulthood. It’s when I fell in love with Ron, my husband of 55 years. However, if I had to choose another, it would be the middle 1800s, and I would hope I’d have enough fortitude to survive. But, unfortunately, in Never Waste Tears, my first book in this series, not everyone did.

Q: Tell us a little about Never Waste Dreams.

A: Never Waste Dreams is a sequel to my first historical fiction, Never Waste Tears.  It is a continuation of two young couples on the Kansas Prairie. They tell their experiences in their own dialect as they struggle to fulfill dreams for their families and their land.

New voices are added as the population of their nearest town increases. New family and neighbors join them, some bringing joy, some bringing heartache.

While giving a few historical facts of the region, each voice tells of the personal adversity, perseverance, forgiveness, and pure grit it took to survive and continue on.

Q: What was your inspiration for the storyline?

A: Readers asked for more after reading Never Waste Tears. I’m so glad they did. Though I, too, wanted to know more of what happened to Carl, Hannah, Sarah, and Nathan, I also discovered new characters—Nathan’s family, Frederica’s family, and of course, Mathew. 

Q: If you could spend a day with one of your fictional characters, who would it be (and why)?

A: I must cheat on this answer because I already have. I knew Carl as I was growing up. He was my maternal grandfather. I remember sitting in the back of a wheat truck with him when I was a kid. He taught me how to make wheat gum—yeah, that’s not as appealing to me now as it was then.

He told me stories of how he and his brother planted the Cottonwood that stood in the middle of my dad’s wheat field. He slurped his coffee out of a saucer. He listened to nature. How I would love to ask him the questions I never thought of as a child.

Q: Do your characters ever take you in unexpected directions than you originally planned?

A: All the time. When Frederica’s family left Jack on the prairie to fend for himself, I had no idea he and Mathew would eventually become friends. But as I continued the story, I realized they had a mutual bond only they could understand completely.

Q: What would readers be the most surprised to learn about you?

A: I fashioned Sarah’s quick temper after my own. In my younger years, like her, I would see a red flash when I felt wronged. I often spoke first and regretted later. Also, if it was someone I loved, I could never stay angry for long. Hopefully, I’ve mellowed some since then.

Q: Do you allow anyone to read your works-in-progress or do you make them wait?

A: It depends. Often when writing a short story, I wait. But a novel takes time. Until we were hit with a pandemic, I was in a novelist group that met once a month. I’d read parts of what I’d written, and they would critique and give me invaluable feedback.

Most writers know what it means to kill your darlings. I once wrote a darned good scene about one of the children getting into a fire ant pile. Then one of the novelists asked me what time of the year this took place. I researched. I had to ditch the scene. 

Q: How did you go about finding a publisher?

A: I never did. After I wrote The Rocking Horse, my first novel, I queried at least 80 agents and received the proverbial rejections. However, some were kind enough to write back with encouraging notes.

My husband was my biggest supporter who agreed to help me publish my manuscript. Self-publishing was relatively new back then. So, we invested in a packaged deal from CreateSpace. From that deal, I learned what it meant to become a self-published author. I’m still learning and adjusting. 

Q: Best advice to writers are who are just starting out?

A: Join a writing group. Listen, learn from them—from their critiques and suggestions. And most of all—enjoy the trip.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: Housekeeping. I’m a scribbler. I write notes, stick them in files, decorate my backboard, and place them wherever convenient at the time that have an idea. Not only do I find snippets of paper in strange places, but my electronic notes are rather scattered, too. Hopefully, when I start digging through them, I’ll find some forgotten short stories to polish.

Will they stay short or develop? I never know. I write what’s in my heart at the time.  

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: More than anything else, I love developing new characters. They come from pieces of people I have known over my lifetime. I mix their quirks and their assets to build them. Then, I give them conflicts to make them come to life.   

It’s true that if I know you, I will probably put part of you in one of my stories. But, if I do it well, you’ll never know for sure that it’s you.