“Wednesday Writer” – Lisa Alber

Posted on May 25, 2024 by Tanya

I first met Lisa Alber about ten years ago when we were placed in the same group of aspiring authors at the Maui Writer’s Retreat. Under the tutelage of published authors like Gail Tsukiyama and others, we studied and worked on the craft of writing, in general, and our own stories, in particular. It’s a real pleasure to introduce her to all of you now, especially since her debut novel KILMOON has received such glowing praise.

ME: Growing up in Marin County as you did, what aspect(s) of your childhood or youth led you most to become a writer? (I’d love to post a picture of you as a child.)

LISA: I spent a lot of time rambling the Marin Headlands, which were essentially my backyard. Without realizing it, I steeped myself in a moody, fog-enshrouded atmosphere that was almost like a giant incubation chamber for my imagination. It’s no wonder I love setting my books in Ireland—the atmosphere is very similar.

(And here’s a picture of the Marin Headlands to prove it. Below it is a picture of Lisa as a kid.)

ME: What book or books led you to believe you could be a successful novelist, and why? Also, how old were you when you came to that realization?

LISA: As I think about this, I realize that there aren’t any books that led me to believe I could be a successful novelist. The closest thing I can think of is Anne Lamott’s BIRD BY BIRD: SOME INSTRUCTIONS ON WRITING AND LIFE, and that’s only because of her chapter about allowing yourself to write “shitty” (her word) first drafts.

That permission was all I needed to feel comfortable with writing first drafts—which is key. No one gets published who can’t get over themselves enough to complete a first draft. I read Lamott’s book when I was around 30 years old.

(I have to admit I’m relieved to interview an author who didn’t really take herself seriously until she was middle-aged. :D)

ME: Why on earth did you major in economics at Berkeley? And why a minor in Spanish literature, given your ancestry in Ireland?

LISA: Ah, economics … I was raised by very practical parents. Get good grades, go to a good college, major in something practical so you can support yourself. Writing fiction was a slow-dawning realization through my 20s, not a forgone conclusion. I majored in economics because it was the least practical of the practical alternatives.

Being a book lover, I minored in literature to keep my sanity, and Spanish literature in particular because in high school I’d done volunteer work in Central America. I wanted to keep up my Spanish. My infatuation with Ireland didn’t come until later.

I thought about majoring in psychology – which would have been a good fit – but I could never have been a psychologist. Or any service profession that centers around working with people all day: doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher. I’m too introverted. (That, I understand. Most of us are introverts.) ME: In the early 1990s, before we met, you worked in the editorial departments at Warner Books and Doubleday. What did you do there, and why did you decide to leave? LISA: So, economics with Spanish literature took me to South America after college. I worked in Ecuador and then Brazil as a financial assistant (learned Portuguese too). That was all very nice, and it sounds good, but I hated it! Come to find out that in the real world I SUCK at numbers. I’ve always been a words-oriented person. So much for being practical, right? I returned to the U.S. eventually and changed careers – to book publishing, which was a far better fit. I had a blast living in New York City, but eventually I left because I’m a true west coaster. I never felt entirely at home in NYC. (Aha! The Atlantic didn’t compare to the Pacific, eh?) At Warner and Doubleday, I worked for senior editors as an editorial assistant. Book heaven, plus a great education in the publishing process. (I’ll bet!) ME: How pivotal have writer’s conferences and retreats been in your quest to become a published novelist? How many different ones have you been to and which have been your favorites? LISA: Writer’s conferences and retreats have been instrumental. People I’ve met have opened all kinds of doors, leading to short story publications, a writing grant, long-term wonderful friendships – to eventually being a panelist and speaker at writers conferences. (The latter is new; I’m not very comfortable with that yet.) (Ever the introvert, eh? :D) The defunct Maui Writers Conference (which we both love, right?) is dear to my heart because it was the first and it paved the way. These days, my favorites are specialized conferences such as Bouchercon and Left Coast Crime, which cater to the crime fiction community. ME: You seem to have had two great influences in your life that have been reflected in your writing—NYT bestselling novelist Elizabeth George and the country of Ireland. Could you talk about the impact each has had on you? (And please provide a couple of pictures for each.) LISA: Elizabeth George was my first-ever workshop teacher. I consider her a mentor because over the course of three workshops, she gave me specialized feedback.

(Lisa with Elizabeth in Maui)

I was lucky – maybe she liked something about my writing, or she saw my growth – because after the third workshop she invited me to apply to her foundation for a writing grant (which I got) and she also invited me to write a short story for an anthology she was editing called Two of the Deadliest: New Tales of Lust, Greed, and Murder from Outstanding Women of Mystery. This was my first paid fiction publication.

Most of all, she was the first to tell me I had talent and should keep working at it. I’ll always be grateful to her.

(Elizabeth and Lisa more recently)

And Ireland! Wow, what can I say about that? Something about the country inspires me. It might be my genetic connection to the ancestral homeland … But I think it’s also a comfort thing because of what I mentioned above about rambling the Marin Headlands. Also, Ireland is steeped in a kind of mysticism that will never be totally eradicated by modern life. There are countries/cultures we just fit with, you know what I mean? (I think I do . . . that’s how I am about the Middle East.) ME: Tell us a bit about your debut mystery, KILMOON, and what gave you the idea for the story.

LISA: KILMOON is a mystery set in Ireland. In it, Californian Merrit Chase travels to County Clare to meet her long-lost father, the famous Matchmaker of Lisfenora. Her simple, if fraught, quest turns complicated when she’s pulled into a murder investigation and she discovers that her father’s dark past is at the heart of the chaos. Murder, vengeance, betrayal, and family secrets—not the family reunion she was hoping for!

The first inkling for a story idea came as a result of wandering into a pub called, of all things, “Matchmaker Bar,” Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare. (And I remember you talking about this experience in Maui!) Come to find out that every September Lisdoonvarna hosts an annual matchmaking festival with a bonafide matchmaker. The man’s a local celebrity. Since I tend to think in sinister terms rather than fluffy terms (no romances for me!), I got to wondering what could lurk beneath the façade of a charming matchmaker. I liked the juxtaposition of darkness hiding beneath happily-ever-afters.

(And nothing connotes darkness like an old Irish cemetery)

ME: What are you working on now, and are you going to stick with Ireland for now or set a story closer to home in Oregon?

LISA: Sticking with Ireland! I’m currently revising the second in the County Clare Mystery series. This story centers around the detective, Danny, who along with Merrit, are the series protagonists. (KILMOON is Merrit’s story.)

I’m calling the second novel Grey Man, and in it things get personal, oh so personal, for Danny when a teenage boy dies and disaster hits Danny’s family as a result. (Sounds great! Can’t wait.) ME: Finally, what five things about your writing space make it specifically yours and why? Please tell us about them in the voice of your protagonist’s father, Liam the Matchmaker. (And I must have a picture of your office or writing space.) LISA: (As Liam) We Irish, we love our symbols and our spaces. We like nothing better than to ritualize the simplest tasks, from making tea to stoking a peat fire. I suppose it should surprise no one that Lisa Alber parked her writing desk in front of the picture windows in her living area. Not to be hemmed in, that lass, even while pursuing her solitary writing tasks. You can see her rituals right there, in the latest journal that always sits at her side (with an owl on it; she loves owls). You will also see a framed German proverb that says, “Begin to weave and God will give the thread,” not to mention her mascot, Liam the Lion—which is my nickname, if you must know. She also can’t be without her full-spectrum desk lamp because it does get a mite murky in Oregon, just like it does in Ireland. (Love it! And you have to read it with an Irish accent, whether you can do a good one or not!)

(And here’s the photo…I spy an owl.)

Lisa Alber’s County Clare mysteries feature Merrit Chase, a recent transplant from California, and Detective Sergeant Danny Ahern. Her debut, KILMOON, has been called “moody,” “utterly poetic,” and a “stirring debut.” She received an Elizabeth George Foundation writing grant based on KILMOON. Ever distractible, you may find Lisa staring out windows, fooling around online, or drinking red wine with her friends. Ireland, books, animals, photography, and blogging round out her distractions.

You can find Lisa at: website | Facebook | Twitter | blog.

Please come back next Wednesday when I’ll be talking with Linda Weaver Clarke, author of cozy mysteries, sweet romance, adventure stories and more!

Originally posted 2014-05-14 06:00:12.

“Wednesday Writer” – Virgil Alexander

Posted on May 24, 2024 by Tanya

A lover of history, particularly that of the American Southwest, Virgil Alexander pens mysteries set in that region. His mysteries explore current issues as well as the different cultures of those that live in Arizona, be they white ranchers, Native Americans, or Mexican immigrants. I featured his latest, SAINTS AND SINNERS, just this past Monday, but let’s get to know the author better.

ME: Growing up in Arizona as you have, and raising horses and livestock, who turned you on to reading—your mother or your father, or both? And which book in your youth first gave you the idea that one day you might like to try writing fiction yourself? (Please provide a picture of you as a child in Arizona, either camping or riding a horse.)

VIRGIL: I have loved reading as far back as my memory goes. Even before I could read Mom would read to me (as well as the other kids). We had two or three hundred children’s books, and a good encyclopedia; I think we had every “Little Golden” book ever printed. (I remember those!) As I think about it, that is remarkable because we were poor with very little disposable income, yet we were rich in books.

Mom was herself an ardent reader and a constant student; she read almost every genre, the Bible, many magazines, the daily paper, and loved history, archeology, and geography. (She sounds like a woman after my own heart.) So there is no doubt that she was my earliest and strongest reading influencer, but Dad was also a frequent reader. He was a very physically active man, a skilled outdoorsman, hunter, cowboy, mechanic, and equipment operator. He read the paper every day and would read western paperbacks in the evening. Strangely enough, I have always enjoyed writing; I can’t remember a seminal event that spurred it. I got a lot of recognition in school for my written answers, reports, and term papers so maybe the recognition encouraged me to keep writing.

(The author as a child with his Great Uncle Virgil, his mother’s uncle)

ME: When and why did you first get interested in the ranch history of Gila County, Arizona?

VIRGIL: Our family routinely explored back roads and trails within thirty miles of our home, so we grew up knowing where ranches were and some of their history, as well as a number of the ranchers personally. When I was a little kid and people would ask me what I wanted to be, the answer was, “a cowboy and a preacher.” So the interest was just intrinsic in me.

I was never as skilled in cowboy things as my two brothers, and none of us could hold a candle to Dad’s skills. I loved riding and was good at all the work of taking care of our horses and livestock (didn’t like it all that much), but never qualified, as hoped, to be a cowboy. Ironically I did become a preacher – I joined the LDS Church at 16 and served a mission to Canada from age 19-21, and was later a bishop and high councilman, so have done a lot of preaching.

What started me working on Ranching in the Heart of Arizona – The history of ranching in Gila County, was a conversation with a life-long friend and school-mate, a ranch owner named Jane Bohme Hale. We were lamenting the passing of a long time rancher and I said something like, “Somebody should get these people’s history before they are all gone.” Jane said, “Why not you? You are good at writing and are interested.” Why not? I started researching and interviewing shortly after that.

(Good for her!)

ME: Why did you go into mining? And please share a couple of your most interesting trips abroad as a corporate businessman for an international mining company? (Plus photos. :D)

VIRGIL: Globe and Miami were founded in support of mining, first rich silver and gold deposits, then even richer deposits of copper. Ranching, government, and tourism are also important parts of the local economy, but 80% of the families either work in the mines or are secondary businesses or organizations supported by the mines and the family budgets of miners.

Mining towns are a real melting pot of people from many countries, with many skills and professions. They probably have a larger proportion of scientists, engineers, technologists, and business professionals than most major cities, with the difference that people of all economic strata attend the same schools, churches, and organizations. They are vital and interesting places to live.

(Actually, I can understand that having recently moved from the Tri-Cities in Washington, where everything developed around nuclear engineering…similar type of melting pot.)

As a native of that community, and considering the fact that mining paid better and offered opportunity for education and advancement, mining was more or less a natural choice for a career. I started as a laborer and eventually became a corporate process manager and technical superintendent.

(Arequipa, Peru)

One of our South American properties was a mine near Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru. I made dozens of one or two week visits there and enjoyed the place and the people.

I will mention two interesting things about working at that mine. When we first acquired the mine, in the process of analyzing its strengths and weakness many existing employees of all levels of the company were interviewed. We could not help but notice that virtually all the female employees out of a total workforce of over 600 were clerical workers, single, and quite attractive. As an executive secretary was interviewed, the interviewer somehow found out she was married; she broke into tears and begged them not to tell anyone, or she would be fired. It turned out that part of the job of a clerical worker was to be mistress to her boss; to avoid any problems with husbands they required the workers to be single. It took us years to change the culture toward female employees. I moved two Peruvian female engineers onto my team and stood behind them as they took leadership over the old guard and eventually gained acceptance. (Good for you!)

On one two week project we worked the weekdays but had the weekend open, so I arranged with the company to book our team for a tour of Cuzco and Machu Pichu. We flew to Cuzco, toured the city and the nearby Sacsayhuaman ruins. We took the train to Machu Pichu, toured that ruin, and then flew by helicopter back to Cuzco. It was an unforgettable experience of breathtaking beauty and ancient marvels.

(I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.)

(Cuzco, Peru)

(Sacsayhuaman)

(Machu Pichu)

While there were many interesting assignments, I really enjoyed conducting a weeklong project at our plant in Rotterdam, Holland. Not only was the plant a marvel of great processes and effective management, but the people were wonderful and the history and scenery were terrific. I loved the old fortified city of Brielle, with its great history.

(Brielle, Holland)

ME: When did you write your first piece of fiction on your own (meaning other than as a school assignment) and what was it about?

VIRGIL: I dabbled with short fiction stories on my own throughout my youth, generally with my only readers being my mom and my pal, Dale. I started my ranch research in about 2007. My first attempt at a commercial fiction story was inspired by the migration of the Bohme ranch family from Texas to Arizona in 1885. I wrote a piece about a young man leaving home to help on the cattle drive and falling in love with the Arizona frontier. I sent it to a few magazines and literary journals, but it received no interest.

(Sounds like it was a good start, though.)

ME: You say you’ve also written poetry, and since we’ve just concluded National Poetry Month, would you mind sharing one of your shorter poems?

VIRGIL: Most of those were written before I was married, and perhaps fortunately, they are lost somewhere in my unpacked moving boxes. One I was proud of and actually illustrated with pen and ink sketching was about the Superstition Mountains, and it was several pages long. I typed it on my portable typewriter while at Eastern Arizona College, I think, in 1964. I really don’t think I am good poet, but I enjoyed it. The following, based on an actual incident of my Dad’s, is the only piece of my so called poetry I could find:

The Day We Lost Buck

by Virgil Alexander

Buck was a big horse; Buck was a good horse,

he knew all the tricks a’ the trade.

When he was a ropin’ at a hard run or lopin’,

he saw that the catch was made.

No cow, young or old, frightened or bold,

could leave the herd with Buck on guard;

He’d cut and he’d bite, he’d kick and he’d fight,

‘til at night the cattle was in Cherry Creek yard.

Dub the cowboy, on Buck astraddle,

he knew all the tricks a’ the trade.

On Alf Devore’s roundup Dub drove the cattle,

an’ deserved ever’ cent he was paid.

Deer season, ‘n cowboy turned hunter,

riding old Buck, he had good luck,

but when he pulled the trigger,

with no warnin’ Buck went amok.

He threw Dub ‘midst a cedar, spinnin’ like a beater,

he rolled, he leaped, he jumped, all a’ quiver

‘til he broke the reins, lost the saddle,

an’ kickin’ and pootin’ hightailed it up Salt River.

Alf and the boys come a gawkin’ “Why the big noise?”

They was still a laughin’ as they spurred after old Buck.

Pickin’ up the trail and Dub’s scattered toys

they searched ridge and canyon without any luck.

Alf said, “Buck was a big horse; Buck was a good horse,

An’ he knew all the tricks of the trade.

He could do the job, and keep the cattle a’ mob,

but he might a’ been gun shy, I’m afraid.”

(:D)

ME: In what way is the American Southwest a leading character in your writing?

VIRGIL: I spend a lot of time describing the setting, geology, natural history, and human history in my stories. For example THE WHAM CURSE begins with:

“The Southeastern boundary of the San Carlos Apache Indian reservation in central Arizona is located in a remarkable “mixing and jumbling” of geology, as if the Apache ga’an (mountain spirits) had stirred these ranges, mesas, canyons, plateaus, and broad valleys with huge trowels into a great practical joke on puny man. Among these features, seemingly occurring with total randomness along canyons and washes are peculiar cliffs consisting of large river rocks of many types and colors mixed into a matrix of hard pale-tan caliche.

The cliffs have a rugged texture consisting of many protruding rocks and of holes of varying size and depth where boulders have been eroded free of their surrounding matrix. Some rocks long ago fell to the sand wash below the cliffs and some remain in their little cave created by wind and rain. These holes are used by insects, snakes, rodents, and birds as nesting places; and sometimes by man as a place to stow or hide something.

Earl “Boy” Begay lived in his grandma’s home on the reservation, and often played and explored along the bottom of these cliffs. He liked nothing better than mysterious places. He…”

Note there are two descriptive paragraphs of the setting before the first character is mentioned.

ME: Tell us more about your first novel, THE WHAM CURSE, and its historical background. What writing process did you follow to produce it?

VIRGIL: I have been a student of Southwestern history since I was in elementary school, so I was surprised when, as part of my ranch research, I stumbled on the story of the ambush and robbery of Major Joseph Wham’s US Army payroll escort near Ft. Thomas in 1889.

I got sidetracked and researched it and discovered that it is one of Arizona’s lost treasure stories. It occurred to me that fictionally answering the question of what happened to the loot (it is lost by the robbers), and what would happen if found today (for one thing a murder), would make a really good story line.

(I agree!)

My process was simple. I imagined the plot and the characters I wanted involved, and the problems and subplots that might take place in such a story. I turned this into a general outline and started writing. As I developed the story I did a lot of research on each scene and the processes that would be involved in it. I found myself working in a series of vignettes, and have continued to use that technique.

ME: You say SAINTS AND SINNERS is a sequel, to be followed by The Baleful Owl. What are the basic themes in this series and what are you hoping readers will take away from it?

VIRGIL: The continuing themes from one story to the next include: 1) the setting is rural and small town; 2) the three main characters, who share a trust and friendship; 3) recurring supporting characters; 4) continued development of the characters’ family and personal relationships; and 5) description of setting, geography, ecology, geology, and human and natural history.

I felt particularly moved when developing my characters to create them with differences, but each with a strong moral compass. Al is a student of his Apache Heritage, yet he is also an ordained deacon in the Catholic Church. Bren is a faithful Mormon. Manny is a Catholic, but in many ways has some of my own characteristics, such as his love of local history and his efforts to research everything. These three fully respect each other and consider each to be equally Christian. I hope to let the reader see that we can be different but still value the good in others.

In the end my desire is to create a story the reader will enjoy and characters with whom they can identify.

ME: Which authors have influenced you the most in terms of Western fiction, and how?

VIRGIL: The summer before I started high school, I found the full collection of Zane Gray westerns in the Miami Public Library and read every one of them. As my introduction to western fiction that event was very important.

(Zane Grey, author of such stories as Riders of the Purple Sage)

My favorite authors of all time were mystery writer Helen MacInnes, thriller writer Alistair MacLean, and Tony Hillerman. I also love the contemporary southwestern fiction of JA Jance and Michael McGarrity, although at times they are a little too edgy for me.

(Helen MacInnes, Scottish-American Espionage Novelist)

(Alistair MacLean)

(J.A. Jance)

(Michael McGarrity)

Without question, though, I think Hillerman touched my writing more than anyone else. Not only did I love his writing and the way he captured the world he wrote in, but I respected his actual life and the person he was. It must have been from his example that I found it comfortable writing in the vignette style.

(Tony Hillerman, his greatest influence)

ME: Finally, please describe your favorite writing space (office, plateau, easy chair, whatever) in the voice of the tribal police officer, Allen Victor, from THE WHAM CURSE. (And I must have a picture.)

VIRGIL:

Mrs. Alexander had given Al a key to her murdered husband’s office, saying, “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay here on the porch swing. Take as much time as you wish looking at Virgil’s office, but I can’t face seeing it without him rattling around in there.”

As he entered the office, he stopped in shock. What a mess; I wonder if someone broke in and roughly searched the place. Piles of books, files, correspondence, bills, and even some kind of medication were heaped around the open laptop computer. There was a comfortable high backed armed chair at the desk, and the place barely had adequate light. How on earth did he create stories that tracked such order and detail in such a messy place? I think I’m going to have to move Mrs. Alexander to the top of the suspect list after seeing this.

(Ooh. I hope you don’t get into trouble for this, Virgil, with your wife.)

(He doesn’t look worried, does he?)

(His office “sweet”…Al wasn’t lying)

You can buy Virgil’s books from these physical or online bookstores listed here on his website.

I’m very pleased to be interviewing my friend Lisa Alber next Wednesday regarding the debut of her mystery set in Ireland, her writing life, and other things.

Originally posted 2014-05-07 06:00:06.

“Wednesday Writer” – Alysia Ricks (aka Alysia S. Knight)

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Tanya

Alysia Ricks writes under the pen name Alysia S. Knight. Why? Believe it or not, I forgot to ask her, but I do know one other thing about her that doesn’t come out in the interview below: she once had to have a pap smear by flashlight when the power went out. Ugh! What kinds of stories does she write? Ones with heroes for all times, whether it’s a sweet romantic suspense, a YA, or an adventure story.

ME: What were the best and the worst parts about growing up in Wyoming? And how does Wyoming figure into your love of travel today? (I’d love a picture of you as a young girl there.)

ALYSIA: Unfortunately I don’t really have any pictures of me little. (Okay, either she didn’t like the way she looked or her parents were too busy to take pictures…too bad either way.)

I enjoyed growing up in Wyoming. My parents loved the outdoors so I spent a lot of time in the mountain. We camped, hiked, fished. (Yep, sounds like they were too busy. :D) I went with them when they went hunting, though I never hunted for myself.

We also collected rocks and fossils which flowed over into vacations. I have panned for gold, garnets and sapphires in Montana. I’ve also dug opals in Idaho and picture mud in Oregon, plus many more things.

(I’ve got to admit I’ve never heard of picture mud before, but here’s a couple of visuals for you…if this is what she’s talking about.)

(I’m not sure why you’d want to dig this stuff up, except the different textures are interesting…Any comments, Alysia? Am I totally off base?)

NOTE: Since I first posted this, Alysia clarified that the substance she was digging for is basically petrified mud and is called Biggs Jasper. Here’s what it looks like:

(Now that looks like something worth digging for!)

ME: Going on, you say you are the writer who hated English and can’t diagram a sentence to save yourself. Why did you become a writer, and when did you know you would be one? Was there a particular person, whether it’s an author or a teacher, who influenced you in this direction?

ALYSIA: Though no one knew it, I actually started writing my own Hardy Boys books in Jr. High and High School, my favorite thing to read growing up. (Me too!…at least in Jr. High) Unfortunately, I thought it sounded foolish for me to want to be a writer, especially being English challenged.

(We know better now, don’t we? No dream is foolish.)

I didn’t start writing again, besides the occasional poem, until I was almost thirty. I read a five book series and was really enjoying it until I got to the last book. In it the main character did this big flip from the first four. By the end, I was so disgusted and upset I remember throwing the book down and saying I can write a better ending than that.

I sat down and wrote My Lady. I still really love the story. I’m debating on putting it up for a free read either on my website or somewhere. (Please do.) The blurb for it is – Things are not always as they seem, and love can’t always be denied, but it can be a great adventure if you survive. Obviously, by the way Lady Aliea made her way to the court dressed as a boy she doesn’t quite see herself as a proper young woman for the prince to want to marry. Falling in love with Prince Jonathan causes endless problems for their friendship, especially when someone wants Jonathan dead and Aliea for himself.

After that, writing became my sanity. I finished a couple more books and was starting to get more serious about my writing so I went to a workshop. There someone said, “If you want to write you should read 2,000 books.” I took that literally and in the next two years read close to 2,000 books. (Now that’s dedication, and only goes to show that people do listen at these workshops.) Yes, that is about three a day.

I didn’t sleep much in those two years, and I didn’t write either. I would not suggest this to anyone. I learned a lot, but the main thing, besides that fact of barely surviving, was – If I read, I don’t write. Now reading is my reward to savor when I finish a goal. (Much better plan.)

ME: When and how did you discover your love of painting? And if you had to choose between painting and sports, which would it be and why? (Please provide a picture of one of your paintings… or of you playing a sport.)

ALYSIA: I don’t think I could choose between the two, they are both part of me. I grew up playing sports and still continue. I started painting for an ‘out’ after my first daughter was born. Also, my father, who was in his seventies, had just started painting and I decided if he could do it, I could too. My father was a talented ‘Jack of All Trades’ type man. (It certainly sounds like it. What? No picture again? I’m beginning to wonder if you have something to hide.)

ME: How did you meet your husband, and what job was it that took him to forty countries? Also, of all the countries you’ve visited, where have you had the most memorable (either good or bad) experience? (And I must have a picture of the two of you traveling together.)

ALYSIA: My husband and I met in college. He’s was a mechanical engineer and did automotive R&D, which had him traveling to Europe for a while. Then he got his masters in business and became a project manager with the Asia-Pacific area.

I have been to some wonderful, beautiful places; met some great, very nice people. It is really hard to pick one. Phuket Thailand was amazing with Phang Nga Bay where you’ll find James Bond Island (featured in “The Man With the Golden Gun”). Wow! I would love to go there again. I wrote a book there, hopefully it will be out next year.

(Phuket, Thailand)

(James Bond Island)

Also, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, it is spectacular. One of the places I always dreamed of going and it didn’t disappoint. I love old ruins.

(Angkor Wat)

(Love this root system among the ruins!)

(Anyone else notice that when it comes to places pictures aren’t a problem? I say she’s either shy, or her husband’s actually a covert operative. :D)

ME: You’ve piqued my interest about your trip with your son deer hunting. Which son was this? Please provide a brief version of what happened. (And a photo, if possible…not holding my breath on that, though.)

ALYSIA: It was my oldest son’s first deer hunt, and he was twelve. He’d been out a couple times and they hadn’t got his deer. It was the last day he could go out and no one else could go out with him, so it was just us two. We were out hiking the hills about forty miles from our house. I suggested we go to an area where I thought I saw a buck a couple of days earlier. (I’ll add that no one believed I saw a buck that size in that area. I was on my own at the time scouting.)

Anyway, we spooked out this deer, a nice size four point. I’ll add here that, the way we term it, that’s four on each side. My son makes the shot and brings it down. The problem is: it’s a big deer, and the thing slid down in some brush when it dropped because we were on a steep hill. We had no cell phone connection, it was going to start getting dark in a half hour, and all we had to do was get it over a thirty foot drop. We had to decide- do we clean it first or try to get it down the drop and part way off the hill before dark?

We went with moving it because I didn’t want to face the drop in the dark. (Smart move!) So we belayed this deer down the shale-covered hill with my son, who was twelve, and his friend, who was eleven, on the rope, and me doing what could best be called a controlled slide with the deer because my son was afraid of getting the antlers broken.

Luckily, we got it to the bottom and far enough down the hill that we could call his cousin, who came up with a four wheeler, helped clean it and took it the rest of the way down.

(YAY! Now that’s what I call “tough mothering.”)

It really was an adventure. My son was extremely proud because he got the biggest deer of anyone he knew that season. Yes, he mounted the antlers and hung them on his bedroom wall, and yes, they are still there.

(So, where’s the picture to prove this story?)

ME: How long have you been writing, when was your first book published, and how does it compare with what you’ve produced since? Exactly how many books have you had published and how many novel-length manuscripts have you finished?

ALYSIA: O boy, this is a loaded question. I’ve been writing for over twenty years now, getting serious the last five. I didn’t start trying to publish until about then. My first book was published almost two years ago, LETTING LOVE WIN.

I have three books out right now, PAST TO DIE FOR and TEMPERATURE RISING being the other two. They are all sweet romantic suspense. Actually, I just finished my twenty-third full length manuscript. (I’d say you’re prolific!)

ME: You specialize in sweet romantic suspense, but also write YA and adventure. What do you think of the YA genre as it currently stands? What’s good about it and what’s not so good?

ALYSIA: I actually haven’t tried to publish any of my YA as of yet. Hopefully I will soon. I love writing YA and reading it. I think there needs to be more good winning over evil, standing up for what is right, and adventure in life. I loved to escape into it and think that is still needed for youth and everyone today. I believe that is why so many, shall we say, non-YA read YA.

ME: What are you working on now and how would you describe your writing process?

ALYSIA: I guess every writer has to do an Altantis story (Really? I guess I’d better get busy), so I just finished mine. My hero, Jareon follows an escaped criminal, Lysias, who tried to take over their world, to earth. Jareon knows he will never get to return home but what he doesn’t know is that in giving up his world he finds his destiny and love. Now he just has to keep her safe, stop Lysias, and survive. It was a really fun book to write.

For my next book I’m just starting a suspense that is a sequel to my novel Whistleblower, which hasn’t yet been published. It is called Mindblower. Zack, the twin brother of the hero from the first book, is pulled in to rescue Skye, a remote viewer for the government whose handler is selling her out to a drug lord in a foreign country when her project is terminated.

ME: Finally, please describe your writing space in the voice of one of your main characters. (And I must have a photo of said space, whether it’s an office, a meadow, or a chair.)

ALYSIA: Since I’m living in Skye’s world right now I’ll let her tell you.

For a moment Skye drifted then the images cleared around her. Light filled the room. It was comfortable, a large desk was centered one wall, position so the person sitting at the desk could turn and gaze out the window easily. The wall over the desk held several framed letters but what drew her attention was the collage of picture, mountain scenes, sunsets, and tigers interspersed with what had to be family. There were plaques with quotes on believe, dream and reaching you mountains, but there was no one there.

She made her way back down the hall, down the stairs, toward the back of the house reaching where the oak table sat in a bay window between the kitchen and family room it showed more signs of activity. An open bag of mini M & M’s, a power cord and mouse, plus pile of hand written note cluttered the end of the table in front of the window.

(Yes! M&Ms. I knew I liked you, Alysia, even without the people pictures.)

Skye looked around the room then out the window to find the person she’d been searching for sitting on the deck. A young yellow lab leaned against her leg. Her attention focused on the laptop in front of her. Her fingers moved over the keyboard, paused then continued. She was definitely not a fast typist, but she smiled at whatever it was she was writing.

Skye moved forward and glanced down at the page to find her name there and prayed this woman could really see her safe. Skye’s mind slipped free, racing back over the miles to her small room that was turning into her prison.

“Please, let someone help me.” The words escaped her as the image a Zack Masters filled her mind. Could he really be the hero coming for her, or was it all a fantasy.

(Nice!)

You can read a lot more about Alysia on her website, and her books are available on Amazon.

Next Wednesday, I’ll be talking with Arizona writer, Virgil Alexander, who combines his love of history with his mystery novel writing.

Originally posted 2014-04-30 14:32:53.

“Wednesday Writer” – Kate Palmer

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Tanya

Kate Palmer is the mother of six and lives on a farm in the country, but in her spare time she’s taken to writing and her first novel, THE GUY NEXT DOOR, was published in September, 2012. But that’s a bare bones blurb. I like to go deeper.

ME: Where did you grow up and did it prepare you for farm living? If so, how? (I’d love to post a photo of you as a child.)

KATE: I grew up in Logan, Utah. We had a huge garden, but that’s pretty much all in the way of farm preparation I got. It taught me that the weeding and picking had to be done no matter how I felt. However, farming is a whole other level of hard work. My in-laws work really hard and very long hours. They are happy, not at all grumpy about it, but you finish the job rain or shine. And you learn that you can’t control the weather and a lot of other things and how those circumstances affect your yield. You learn patience and do the best you can regardless. You learn that children are a big help. We couldn’t run the farm without them.

Also, dirt is everywhere. You will get dirty, and it’s okay.

(Personally, I believe farming is what made our country great. That kind of work builds character and binds families closer, as I think you’ve made clear.)

ME: I know your favorite children’s book was Squanto and the Pilgrims. Can you explain the fascination and tell us what your second favorite was?

KATE: I’ve always loved history and learning about other people and different cultures. (Me too!) I liked reading about Squanto helping the pilgrims. Raising crops is similar to the huge garden I had and my family hunts a lot. I think it was relatable to me. I was only in second grade. My second favorite book was Georgie and the Robbers. I had a record (Yes, I’m that old!) of the story that went with the book. I listened to it over and over again.

ME: I understand you never thought about being a writer until four years ago, but did you have a knack for English in school? What extracurricular activities were you involved with in high school? (And I’d love a picture of you during those years, preferably engaged in one of those activities.)

KATE: Drama was pretty much the only extracurricular activity I did. I was in the school play my junior and senior years. The Seminary Council also took up a lot my time, and was super fun.

(Yet another writer with a theater background. It makes perfect sense, of course.)

(That’s Kate on the right, I believe, in a school play)

ME: What made you go into teaching and how has the profession changed over the years? Has it helped you in any way in your writing?

KATE: Teaching has always been my first love. I held summer school for my little brothers. My mom thought I was crazy. I liked helping kids in my class who didn’t understand their assignments. I love learning and I wanted children to enjoy the discovery of learning, not look at it as drudgery.

I quit teaching seventeen years ago so I’ve been out of the loop for a long time. However, from my perspective, it seems like there is so much pressure on the classroom teacher to make sure she spends the correct number of minutes on each subject, and there is so much more testing and teacher training going on. I often wonder how the teachers have time to implement all the training they receive. (You make a lot of valid points based on my own daughter’s experience…I think it’s become a much more stressful profession.) It’s a lot and I think that pressure to perform is passed on to the students. For most children, that’s not a positive learning atmosphere. I see that teaching has changed from being child-centered learning to performance based learning. The joy of learning can be lost if the teacher isn’t paying attention.

ME: Now four years ago, you’ve said in an interview, you read a book that completely transported you into its world. What book was that and why do you think it succeeded where other books had failed? Also, how has that particular book affected your own writing?

KATE: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer completely transported me into its world which was weird because it’s not a book I would have picked out for myself. (I had suspected that was the book.) In fact, it was on my desk for three months before I read it. I only read it then because I had run a half marathon the Saturday before Labor Day and by Labor Day morning my muscles didn’t want to get out of bed. I jokingly told my daughter to make breakfast for me and she agreed. I told her I needed something to do if I were going to stay in bed so she brought me the book off my desk. I unwillingly began to read. By the end of September, I’d read the entire series.

I wanted to know how Stephanie Meyer had transported me so I began studying how to write. (This would be my love for learning showing itself.) I analyzed Meyer’s work and determined it was the emotion that enveloped me. I think that’s her strength. She did a lot of other things right structurally, as well, but she’s superb at creating emotion within the reader.

I try really hard to make that emotional connection with my readers, as well. Scene and sequel was another big lesson I found in her work. Everything is happening in real time in her books. The reader experiences it with the character. There isn’t a lot of summary. That led me to study Scene and Structure by Jack Bickham. That has revolutionized my writing.

ME: Living on a farm as you do, what has been the most outlandish experience you’ve had, and have you ever thought about writing something set on a farm or using some of your farm experiences (such as finding manure in your laundry) in your fiction? (And please provide a photo of you and your family on the farm.)

KATE: Finding manure in my laundry was pretty shocking, but I’ve found it other places in my house unfortunately.

(Yuck!)

My brother-in-law AI-ed (Articficially Inseminated) our milk cow one year. I wasn’t home at the time. Instead of going to his house to clean up, he stopped at mine. I’m pretty sure he was clean because it—you know the stuff—was all over my sink and towels.

(Double yuck!)

I’d have to say the most outlandish experience has been butchering our own chickens. We did it for three years. I DO NOT recommend it. (Yeah, but maybe you should think about auditioning for “Survivor.”)

I definitely want to use my farm experiences in future works. My current work in progress is set on a working cattle ranch. I want to show people what it’s really like to live on a ranch—particularly the amount of work involved. That’s missing in so much western and historical fiction.

(And here’s a photo of life on the farm)

In the photo: My sister-in-law and I hold a rogue calf while my father-in-law teaches my son how to brand. We have a squeeze chute, but this calf slipped under the fence just before her turn. It was easier to catch her in the corral and brand her than feed her back through the corrals and squeeze chute again.

ME: Tell us how you came up with the idea for your debut novel, THE GUY NEXT DOOR, and what was your writing process?

KATE: My Great-Grandfather died from the effects of being a coal miner. He left behind a wife and thirteen children. The banker wanted to marry my Great-Grandmother, but didn’t want her children. She used to sit up nights on the front porch with the shotgun to keep him away. I could never understand how that banker could think my grandmother would leave her children and how she could love him if he didn’t love her children. I wanted to take that story of a man loving a woman, but not her children and make it a modern story.

I had read that I needed to combine two different story ideas to make an effective novel. So I began thinking what else I could write about. Then I remembered an especially vivid dream I’d had in college. In the dream, I was being chased through the woods holding a baby that wasn’t really mine.

Okay, that wasn’t really so much of a different idea. It was more along the lines of the first idea so I kept thinking. My husband runs the local cable channel. One October morning he got a call from the local police about a marijuana farm that had been found in the mountains above Ephraim. He went with the police and filmed the DEA agents (feet only to protect their identity) going through the site. It was unusual for two reasons. First marijuana doesn’t usually grow at that high of an elevation. Secondly, an irrigation system had been rigged up with black tubing to take water from Ephraim city’s irrigation water.

That’s the kind of second idea I needed. I put those three things together, came up with three disasters and an ending and began writing.

ME: It appears to be a mix of thriller and romance. Which genre do you lean more toward and why?

KATE: I describe my work as romance with a dash of suspense. I’m always drawn to the romance in a story—it’s what keeps me coming back.

ME: What are you working on now, and how would you describe your writing space? (I must have a photo of said space, whether it’s an office, the barn, or a simple recliner.)

KATE: I’m working on a children’s chapter book (editing it now), a children’s picture book series (Seasons on the Farm), and another romantic suspense. The romantic suspense is a contemporary western and is really fun to write. (I’ll look forward to it.)

When we built our house, my husband was working from home so we planned an office for him. He no longer works from home, and I am very fortunate to have that office as my writing space. (Yay!) It has the all-important door that can be closed. Actually, when I wrote THE GUY NEXT DOOR, I wrote it at the desk in our dining room so I really appreciate the office I have now. I recently started homeschooling one of my children so the office is really a mess right now while I figure out where to house everything.

(Great office!)

You can learn a lot more about Kate and all her interests on her website. Her book, THE GUY NEXT DOOR, is available on Amazon, Seagull, and Deseret Book.

And next week I’ll be talking with Alysia Ricks, author of Sweet Romantic Suspense, YA, and Adventure, who writes under the pen name Alysia S. Knight.

Originally posted 2014-04-23 22:08:26.

“Wednesday Writer” – Teresa Hirst

Posted on May 18, 2024 by Tanya

It’s nice to be able to interview an author of non-fiction now and then, and I’m very excited to share what I’ve learned about inspirational writer, Teresa Hirst, today. She recently wrote and published a book on using financial crises to build faith, based on the experiences of her own family.

(Photo of Teresa, courtesy of Tammie Olson Photography)

ME: You talk about having had a Harriet the Spy persona as you grew up in the Midwest. Would you care to elaborate, and what was it about the Midwest that brought that side out of you? (I’d like to post a photo of you as a child, preferably in Harriet the Spy mode.)

TERESA: I spent the summers of my childhood in St. Charles, Missouri, where this town on the outskirts of St. Louis hadn’t yet exploded into suburbia. I spent my pre-teen summers reading my weekly load of 10-20 books (including Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh) from the library or scouring the neighborhood or the woods behind our house for adventure.

My sister and I broke up the monotony of summer days with our own versions of spying on the neighbors in their yards from the best vantage points in our garage. We even marked the spot with a piece of tape. We loved watching how other families and friends lived, although always from a distance. Unlike Harriet, these “characters” didn’t show up in my notebooks or stories, only in an unforgettable nightmare in which one neighbor chased me into the woods with a baker’s hat on his head. (How funny! :D)

My interest in people expanded into a more refined hobby when I discovered how to have conversations from reading an old copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie from my parents’ bookshelf.

(I remember that one . . . required reading for all Communications majors at BYU)

(And here’s Teresa in 2nd Grade…what a cutie!)

ME: Did anything happen to you in your childhood that helped prepare you for the unexpected financial struggle you and your husband faced years later that you address in your inspirational book, TWELVE STONES TO REMEMBER HIM?

TERESA: In my teen years, we moved closer into the west county suburbs of St. Louis. As a large Mormon family living a frugal lifestyle in the middle of a well-off community, I always felt like the outsider. We didn’t have a cleaning lady or expensive clothes like our friends.

In a teenage reaction to that, I spent a lot of time imagining what my future would look like in a material sense.

When my husband was in architecture school and we didn’t have any money, I did laundry at my mom’s and grilled her about how to live frugally and still live well. Our dreams then were planning the house we would build for our family someday. As we matured as a family, we carefully chose material and physical surroundings to enhance who we were—our Finnish and Danish heritage, our faith and our design aesthetic. Eventually we built a home that was thoroughly us.

To be able to afford to do this, we still lived providentially on the lessons I learned from my parents and didn’t spend frivolously. However, when the economy fell, our industry and community fell further than others. As a result, I had to slowly let go of all the material things that I thought defined who we were. The last of those was our home.

It seems obvious to say that our material things—even basics like clothes, transportation, shelter—do not define us, but that’s not the message we receive from the world or even people who surround us. And since my teenage years I’ve wrestled with that conflict. On this side of the financial crisis, though, I have a different perspective.

(If you’re interested, Teresa has written a post about what a home meant to her, entitled “Building Our Souvenir Home.”)

ME: You must have felt you could write by the time you got through high school, since you went on to major in Journalism at BYU. When did you first recognize your ability with words, what made you recognize it, and who helped you to realize it?

TERESA: I wrote a lot in high school, but it was mostly sappy poetry that seemed at the time to have great metaphorical depth and meaning. (I think we’ve all been there. :D)

When I started college I actually planned to pursue my creativity with an advertising emphasis in the communications department at BYU. After my first year, when I discovered I had more passion for people than products, I shifted toward journalism to pursue a more writing-focused emphasis.

I had two memorable professors at BYU whose lessons have stayed with me.

Don Norton in the English Department nurtured usage and writing skills of all sorts and taught me how to apply them to different types of writing and communication, including personal essays.

(Professor Norton)

John Hughes in the Communications Department, a gifted professional editor and journalist who taught an advanced reporting class, gave me a vision of the larger world, which expanded the issues and topics of my writing. He chose me to be a group leader in that class, and his confidence in my skills helped me rise to that and other opportunities.

(Professor Hughes)

Today my husband Paul, more than anyone, propels me to develop, and encourages me in my writing.

(I’ll show a picture of him in a bit.)

ME: So, once you graduated from BYU and were married, did you keep writing or did you put it on the back burner while raising your kids? Tell us about those years and how you kept your gift alive. (I’d love to post a picture of you and your family.)

TERESA: I graduated from BYU in 1994 when I was 38 weeks pregnant with my first child. I loved being a mom, and turned to reading and writing personal history as a hobby that first year. After that, I took on some freelance editing and writing projects on a very limited basis—some paid, some volunteer work.

After my third child was a year old, I moved out of my mom-only world and applied and was appointed to the newspaper advisory board for our local daily newspaper. In that role, my opinions developed, and I contributed some editorial writing to the newspaper. Meanwhile, I applied my writing skills to every responsibility I had at church and always seemed to be in charge of producing a newsletter. (Yes, they discover us pretty quickly, don’t they?)

In January 2008, when all my children where busy in school, I started blogging regularly and redeveloped my professional writing skills through a number of biographical interviews that I published in various places. Two years later, I was assigned to LDS public affairs for our stake and have written a large number of news releases or articles for that responsibility. (Another experience we share.)

I did work full-time for a newspaper for two years as a result of the recession. Rather than writing there, I worked in a public relations role to organize and promote the newspapers in education program.

At home I’ve always had a workstation set apart for my writing projects. When my children were little, I set up my desk right at the edge of their playroom. As school-age children, they had desks in a U-shape around mine. Now, as they are leaving the nest and the youngest ones are in high school, I’m still physically present as I write from home. When they are off doing their homework, socializing or working, writing is what I’m doing. When they are around, I can and do make myself available. I love that about working from home.

(Hirst Family by Tammie Olson Photography)

ME: Please tell us the story behind your first non-fiction book, TWELVE STONES TO REMEMBER HIM: BUILDING MEMORIALS OF FAITH FROM FINANCIAL CRISIS. And how difficult was it to find a publisher?

TERESA: I came across this story when I was teaching an early morning seminary class for the Church. The Lord commanded the children of Israel to build a memorial of twelve stones after they crossed the Jordan River. It was a physical reminder to them and their children that God sustained and protected them on their journey. His hand was over them.

The idea of applying this Bible story of the twelve stone memorial to modern day germinated in me for more than a year before I really knew where I wanted to take it. I wanted to do something about modern memorials as testaments of God, but I wasn’t sure what that meant. I heard a woman share her story of feeding a homeless man at McDonald’s even when they were trying to save money themselves. I recognized that, like me, others were trying to find faith-filled ways to cope with less during the recession. I realized that He was also sustaining us, like he had the children of Israel, as we applied our faith and trusted in Him. What did that mean and what did it look like?

(Here’s a link to a blog post she titled “Why Memorials?”)

It is always challenging to find a traditional publisher. But when you have an LDS-focused work and something that is pretty time-specific, like this was to coincide with the Old Testament being taught in gospel doctrine in 2014, it is more of a challenge. My publisher, Walnut Springs Press, was actually reviewing a piece of fiction and asked if I had any non-fiction. I did, and we switched gears and focused on that.

ME: Have you written and published other inspirational stories? If so, please tell us about them.

TERESA: I published a short book about my father, David Jensen, serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross. It’s available on Lulu.

I wrote a series of blog posts based on interviews with Vicki Carlson, wife of Elder Bruce A. Carlson of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, when he was approaching retirement as an Air Force Four-Star General.

I wrote two articles for the LDS Church News, one about Elder Carlson’s retirement from the Air Force and one about the first LDS humanitarian missionaries in Macedonia and Kosovo.

Most everything I write at my blog, Illuminate Everyday, would be considered inspirational. A couple of my favorites are “Filling in the Blank” and “Five Things I Love About Motherhood.”

ME: Are you intent on sticking with non-fiction, or do you foresee a time when you might give fiction a try, and why or why not?

TERESA: I actually wrote a novel before I wrote Twelve Stones to Remember Him, but the timing of publication for the nonfiction was more pressing. The novel is general women’s fiction and is called Flowers of Grace. I’m working through the publication process on that right now. (Terrific!)

ME: Please describe the writing process you followed when you wrote TWELVE STONES TO REMEMBER HIM.

TERESA: I began looking for stories of faith from the recession. I used my blog and social media to invite participation and sent to my contacts, seeking individuals they might know who would participate. I conducted the interviews throughout 2012.

An interview consisted of setting up an in-person or Skype interview, and conducting and recording the 60- to 90- minute interview. After the interview, I transcribed exactly what was said by both of us.

After the ninth or tenth interview, toward the end of the year, I saw patterns and common themes developing. I set up the last two interviews for the end of November and began grouping material with like topics—trust in God, gratitude, and patience—together. These and other topics became the twelve common stones of a representative memorial of faith that God had upheld, sustained, and strengthened these individuals despite their financial challenge.

At this point, I wove my own story into these, added scriptures and words of church leaders, wrote transitions and drew conclusions. I then wrote the introductory material to set the premise for the story of the twelve stones memorial, why we build memorials and how they can help our faith today.

Finally, I developed the concluding section as a way to apply these stories and show how a pattern of memorial building can help us through any trial or challenge. It’s a process to recognize God’s hand in our lives, receive from Him and others with gratitude, and recall these “memorials of faith” in times of need. I learned as I went along that, indeed, coming to know He is with us in our darkest hour and then drawing upon that knowledge is the key to always remembering Him.

ME: What are you working on now, and what ideas do you plan to pursue for the future when it comes to writing?

TERESA: I am working on a non-fiction LDS Christmas book and a sequel to Flowers of Grace.

ME: Please describe your writing space and list the five things about it that make it unique to you. (And I must have a picture of your office or space.)

TERESA: I have an office space in our sunroom, just off the kitchen and dining room that is my home base. Five things that make it unique to me:

Two of my children still live at home, and their desks connect to mine.
Windows surround my space, giving me constant light. We live in Minnesota, and light is precious to me because I never seem to get enough of it.
I have a favorite hibiscus plant on my desk that is special to me. Another hibiscus inspired my novel, and this one was a gift to my sister that I’m tending while she is living in Australia. (Here’s a blog post titled, “The Plant that inspired my Novel.”)
It’s pretty clean and organized because I can’t think if it isn’t. I organize each project in a binder with physical research, notes, ideas and drafts. So I just pull open the binder for that project and go to work.
This place is flexible. When I get cold or want a change, I can move. I switched to a laptop last year and even ditched a monitor, so I have the flexibility to leave that space according to my mood. My back-up workspace, especially on cold winter days, is the living room couch with a cozy blanket and my feet up on the ottoman.

(It certainly looks well organized, doesn’t it?)

If you want to know more about Teresa, check out her website. Her book is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Deseret Book.

Next Wednesday, I’ll be chatting with Kate Palmer, author of THE GUY NEXT DOOR.

Originally posted 2014-04-16 06:00:28.

“Wednesday Writer” – Michael Young

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Tanya

When not teaching high school students German online, or practicing and performing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Michael Young writes stories. He has published at least four novels and three Christmas anthologies. In the middle of preparations for choir performances at the recently concluded General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I was able to delve a bit deeper into his background:

ME: In your bio on your blog, it says you grew up traveling the world with your military father. Would you care to elaborate, including some details as to place and which branch of the military? Also, how did your mother fit into this picture? (And I’d love a picture or two of you as a child.)

MICHAEL: My father was a pilot in the US Air Force. For most of his career, he flew the huge cargo plane known as the C-5. It’s big enough to carry tanks, buses, even satellites. It’s one where the nose comes down into a ramp so that you can drive vehicles directly into it.

(Oh, yes. They often show those in action movies.)

My father was gone all the time when I was growing up, traveling all of the continents, even Antarctica on one occasion. My saintly mother stayed home with the children, of which eventually there were eight. She had a huge task just keeping everyone healthy and happy, especially when my dad’s planes broke down overseas, which they often did.

(Michael as a child)

We moved all over the United States, but then also lived in Japan for a time. While we were there, we visited many of the neighboring countries and learned to love a whole new kind of culture.

Later in my life, I then lived in Germany and came to love Europe as well.

(And it must be wonderful to visit there on tours with the choir!)

ME: Which country was the most memorable and why? Do any of these countries figure into your fiction and, if so, how?

MICHAEL: Germany has had the most lasting impression on my mind. I have always been a student of history and it opened my eyes to see so much history up close in Germany. I grew up thinking or dreaming up stories about castles and then I got to actually explore them.

(Such as the well-known Neuschwanstein Castle in southwest Bavaria)

Germany and Germans have featured in my stories, especially my Canticle Kingdom series, in which the music box on which the story is based was made in Germany by two German craftsmen.

(I thought so. :D)

ME: Where did you go to high school and what kinds of extracurricular activities were you involved in? If theater was one, how has that affected your writing? (I’d love to post a picture of you in a play or show.)

MICHAEL: Performing arts factored heavily into my high school career. Not only did I do the auditioned choirs (Madrigals, show choir, jazz choir), but I also did a lot of drama and musical theater. (Why am I not surprised?)

I did something like eight shows in high school, and often had pretty good roles. On top of that, I played in a handbell choir for my last two years of high school, and had a blast ringing the huge bass bells.

(Michael in a more recent dramatic role…Any guesses as to his character?)

Being in the theater has had a great impact on my writing, as it helps me think of my books as having scenery, characters, and scenes. It helps me look at writing in a different way that I might not had I not worked in the theater.

ME: When did you first realize you might want to be a writer, and what made you think that?

MICHAEL: I first realized this in high school, when I had a great writing class by a teacher who was also named Mr. Young. I decided that I wanted to go ahead and try to write a novel just to see if I could make it happen. It took about a year, but I managed it, and it turned out better than I had expected.

ME: What was the premise of that novel, and what became of it?

MICHAEL: That first novel is called Face Value and it is about a man who feels responsible for his brother’s death and gets the chance to redo the past. He manages to save his brother, but when he comes back to the present, he finds that his brother instead was the one who married Christine, who had been his wife, but also that his mother, who had died of cancer, had managed to survive.

I’ve been releasing this one a chapter at a time through JukePop.com, and hope to release it as a few ebooks. It was a very long book, so I would definitely need to break it up.

ME: Tell us a bit about your first published novel, THE CANTICLE KINGDOM, and how it got onto bookstore shelves. How does it relate to THE CANTICLE PRELUDE?

MICHAEL: I wrote THE CANTICLE KINGDOM in the year after I returned home from living in Germany. Once I had finished the manuscript, I took it to a publisher’s fair at BYU and pitched it to Cedar Fort. It didn’t take them long to get back to me, and the rest is history.

I wrote THE CANTICLE PRELUDE later as a set of prequel stories to THE CANTICLE KINGDOM, because many people told me they wanted to hear more of the backstory. The next book in the series, THE FROZEN GLOBE comes out this month.

(If mystery or suspense are involved, you’ll have to let me feature it here on my blog.)

ME: What gave you the idea for THE LAST ARCHANGEL, and can we expect a sequel?

MICHAEL: I’ve always loved lore about angels, and my time in Europe only made me more curious about it. I wanted to do something that differed from the other angel stories I had heard about, so I set out to create my own spin on the angel story, making the main character a destroying angel, with the chance to spare or to destroy. I have written it into a trilogy and the other two books will be coming out this year and next year.

(Terrific!)

ME: Okay, why fantasy and science fiction, as opposed to other genres?

MICHAEL: These genres let my imagination run rampant. I have complete control over every aspect, which is something I find exciting. (Yes, writers tend to be control freaks.) World building, magic/technology, and fantastic settings are all things that motivate me to write.

ME: Please describe your typical writer’s day and tell us what you’re working on now.

MICHAEL: I usually plop down in my favorite chair (see last photo in the interview) at the end of the day once my two kids have gone down and write until I drop.

Right now, I’m working on a few non-fiction projects, a YA Supernatural novel and revising an adult fantasy about people who have both natural and magical hunger. That in addition to a sacred oratorio, three different musicals, short stories, articles…as you can see, writing is a major part of my life.

(Apparently!)

ME: Besides your writing, what do you do to fill your time and support your family? Also, please describe your writing space. (And I must have a picture of said space.)

MICHAEL: My favorite writing space has to be my recliner in my living room. I write best when I’m comfortable, and in a familiar place where the things about me don’t distract.

(Now that’s a comfy chair!)

In addition to writing, I still do theater work from time to time (that explains the photo of Michael in costume), and most of the rest of my time goes to work as an instructional designer of German courses, and singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I’m pretty busy, but my life is full of great things.

All of Michael’s books are available on Amazon, and you can find out more about the author from his Canticle Blog.

Check back next week when I interview inspirational writer, Teresa Hirst.

Originally posted 2014-04-09 06:00:48.

“Wednesday Writer” – Susan Aylworth

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Tanya

Besides being the author of 11 published novels (her 12th will be out in June), Susan Aylworth is a wife and mother, owner of a “devoted old dog and two quirky cats,” and grandmother to 21 grandchildren (with two more expected this spring). But you can find all that information on her blog. I like to dig a bit deeper.

ME: Where did you grow up and what, in your young mind, set your family apart from others? (I’d love a picture of you as a child to share with my readers.)

SUSAN: Other families on our block were very much like us. If something set us apart, it was probably me–always organizing the neighborhood, staging skits and plays and parades, driving my neighbors half-crazy. A neighbor named Jane Hawes declared she was grateful when I was finally going to school; now she could throw away her oatmeal boxes. Hey! They made great marching drums.

(Already into storytelling in a big way, I see.)

(Susan as a 3rd Grader when she attempted her first novel)

ME: Which parent did you take after most, and how are you similar? (Please provide a picture of you with your parents)

SUSAN: Dad was the hard-working, easy-going guy who just settled in and got things done, Mom the fretful worrier albeit equally hard-working. I’m a good mix of both of them, although I’m probably more like Dad. I’m the worrier in our family, although I try not to fuss as much as Mom, but I got Dad’s imagination. He was the family story-teller.

(Susan and her husband with her parents)

ME: I understand you started your first novel at age 9. What was the storyline, if you can recall? And how old were you when you finished your first complete novel? What was it about?

SUSAN: That first novel was a shameless rip-off of Black Beauty, which was then my favorite book. Told entirely from the horse’s point of view, it documented the story of a romantic wild stallion from his birth. (Notice how she described him as “romantic”? Even then, she was thinking romance.) I wrote nine whole pages on a big yellow legal pad before I exhausted my enthusiasm.

The first book I finished was a romance called The Flaming Phoenix. I’d barely completed it before I knew it was a seriously flawed experiment. My second eventually became BENEATH SIERRA SKIES, Silhouette Romance #702, my first published book. The story was a recasting of a real-life plane crash in the snow that killed a high school girlfriend. In this version, the hero and heroine survive for weeks in the high mountains alone and rescue each other, meanwhile falling in love. It was therapy for me, romance for the reader, and a big win for my longed-for entry into publishing. (Yay! Therapy AND a publishing contract. Can’t get much better.)

ME: Please tell us about your degrees in English and how they helped or shaped your writing and your life.

SUSAN: I started college as a journalism major with newspapers in mind. Half-way through undergraduate school, I married a competitive journalist (he has worked in newspapers for forty years) and knew my plan was unworkable. I loved my English classes, so the natural switch was into an English major. Since I was going to be a full-time mommy, it didn’t matter where I got my degree, did it?

But it did. When it turned out we needed my income, as well, and I was being offered secretarial jobs, I went back for the graduate degree, taught my first college class as a grad assistant and just kept teaching. I prepared more classes, learned to teach in different areas, and developed a thirty-year teaching career at California State University, Chico.

Anyone who has taken literature courses can tell you how academics sneer at “commercial fiction,” and I absorbed the attitude through my skin while a student. Later as I met people who were earning a living writing commercial fiction and began reading their work, I knew this was the kind of story I had always loved and the career I had always wanted. I endured my share of snide remarks from colleagues when I began publishing, but I was also approached by several of them on the quiet, people who wanted to know the secret for writing a successful romance. I found joy in telling them there is no secret, simply write a good book.

ME: Which genre of fiction do you enjoy most, as both reader and writer, and why?

SUSAN: I always come back to romance, but I love books—all kinds of books. Good stories of almost any kind intrigue me, although I have to admit I’m getting tired of the male revenge plot. I guess that’s fair since my husband is weary of romances.

ME: Please compare your first published book with your latest. Is there any common theme or thread that unites all your writing?

SUSAN: My first book was a romance and most books since are also romances. Even the paranormal mystery MAGGIE RISING and the family saga ZUCCHINI PIE have some romantic elements. It’s a cliché, but I believe the one unifying element in my stories is the healing power of love—romantic love of course, but also family love, closeness between friends who support one another, all forms of love.

ME: Having taught at the university level for decades, what new directions do you see fiction going, and are those changes positive or negative in your view? (I would love to post a picture of you teaching in a classroom, if available.)

SUSAN: The past couple of decades have led to many experiments in literary forms. Graphic novels and serialized novels, often told in tweets of 140 characters at a time, are two examples of experimental styles that may or may not hold into the future. Flash fiction is a major trend that will probably stay with us as long as our society is still heavily dependent on social media; it adapts so well to these platforms.

One trend that’s been big for the past several decades and which is likely to continue is the tendency to refute anything as literature if it does not have a tragic or even nihilistic ending. Stories that end well are considered sentimental and unrealistic. To me that always begs the question of why we bother to read “literature.” I do read it and some of the books I love, but a steady diet of tragic endings is hard to stomach. Give me the rebellious, well-written serious novel that ends with joy and hope.

(I agree. Life is difficult enough. I’m all for happy, or at least hopeful, endings as long as they don’t seem forced and they make sense.)

ME: Tell us the storyline of your latest book, and how different was it from what you envisioned when you first sat down to write it?

SUSAN: Just last week I sent a book off to my editor and beta readers. It’s book #8 in the Rainbow Rock Romances, so I had expected it to be fairly easy. I knew where it was going when I started it, but DANNY’S GIRL turned out to be a harder story than I had expected to write, hard in terms of the threat of violence, the emotional issues, the depth of the psychology involved. I knew I’d be dealing with domestic abuse. I hadn’t realized I’d be getting into some shady criminal behaviors and questions of co-dependency. The story made me stretch, sometimes in uncomfortable ways, but I’m pleased with the end product. (Sounds interesting.)

ME: What are you working on now, and how would you describe your writing process?

SUSAN: My new work in progress is another romance but in a hospital setting in an updated Gold Rush town in the Sierra Nevada. She is an orthopedic surgeon and trauma intern (an extremely rare specialty for a woman to pursue) and he is a field rep for a company that sells orthopedic devices. The difference in their places in the hospital hierarchy and the goals they’ve set in their careers are working to keep them apart while Cupid is busy trying to put them together. I’m having fun with it.

(It also sounds like you’ve had to do a fair amount of research regarding the way hospitals work.)

ME: Finally, please describe your writing space in the voice of one of your favorite characters from one of your books. (And I must have a picture of that space.)

SUSAN: Danny Sherwood, from DANNY’S GIRL:

Frankly Susan’s work space would drive me nuts. Here at the Highway Patrol sub-station where I file reports, there is a place for everything and everything is always kept in place. The rest of Susan’s house is pretty much like that, but her office is a mess: it’s where she keeps all the half-done projects, all the bits and pieces waiting their turn for her to get to them, all the reminders of other commitments. It’s pretty chaotic, although she seems to know where to find everything. She has a laptop and could choose to work anywhere, but she comes back to that messy corner instead, partly because that’s where she goes into ‘work’ mode and partly because of the windows that look out on her rose garden. All I can say is I’m glad it’s her work space, not mine.

(:D)

(And here’s the proof)

You can learn more about Susan and her work by visiting her website. All of her books are available in both print and ebook form on Amazon. Most of her paperbacks can also be ordered through her own online store.

I’ll be back next Wednesday for a chat with Theresa Sneed, author of the No Angel series built around an angel with an attitude.

Originally posted 2014-03-26 06:00:50.

“Wednesday Writer” – Rebecca Talley

Posted on May 12, 2024 by Tanya

I got to know Rebecca Talley when I served under her on the board on LDStorymakers, a guild for LDS published authors that puts on a terrific writer’s conference every spring. She’s published several other books since then and I thought it was about time I interviewed her here.

ME: Your childhood in Santa Barbara, California near the beach sounds idyllic, but how is it you and your sister came to be raised by your maternal grandparents? And has any of that background worked its way into your fiction writing? (I’d love a picture of you at the beach.)

REBECCA: Our parents died when my sister and I were quite young. Our maternal grandparents, in their sixties, took on the responsibility of raising a second family. Thankfully, they were willing to raise us so we didn’t have to be separated or sent to foster homes. (What a blessing! Grandparents are so important.)

(Rebecca with her daddy at the beach)

(Another great picture of her with her father)

(And here’s one of her and her sister on the beach)

My first novel, “Heaven Scent,” was inspired by my mother, who wore a very specific perfume. During particularly difficult times in my life, I have been able to smell her perfume and feel her so close to me I could almost reach out and touch her. I included this in “Heaven Scent,” as the main character loses her mother and searches for understanding about life after death.

ME: What made you take up flamenco dancing as a teenager? (And I must have a picture of you performing…please.)

REBECCA: Santa Barbara has a very strong Spanish influence in both its architecture and its history. Every year in August, SB celebrates Old Spanish Days or “Fiesta” as the locals call it, which is a huge celebration that includes horse events, flamenco dancing and traditional mariachi bands at the Court House and the Old Mission, parades, parties, and outdoor markets.

(Rebecca and her sister all dressed up to perform in Fiesta)

As a kid, I took ballet and tap then moved on to flamenco. I loved to dance and play my castanets. I once danced for five miles along the parade route and ended up with lots of blisters. I also once danced for a large group and fell off the stage. That was embarrassing. (I’ll bet! :D)

(And there she is ready to dance flamenco)

ME: How did your years at BYU, and your degree in Communications, prepare you for the kind of fiction writing you do?

REBECCA: My experience at BYU was the basis for my second novel, “Altared Plans.”

I now wish I had majored in English, as I had planned when I was in high school. Communications was a good major, but I don’t think it prepared me much to be a novelist. (Hmmm…as a Communications major myself, I might argue with you on that one. It taught me to write sparely.) However, all life experiences are great fodder for writing. (I couldn’t agree more!)

ME: Okay, you’ve lived in Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado (and did I hear you’ve now moved to Texas?). What are the best and worst things about each of those places, and which has proven to be the most inspirational in terms of your writing, and why? (I’d love to post a picture of you with your family, plus a picture of you with your llama.)

REBECCA: I lived in Utah while going to school and I loved the college life in Provo. I had a blast there. I didn’t like the pollution in the winter and I wasn’t a big fan of the snow.

(Rebecca in jeans with some of her BYU friends)

We lived in Provo for a few years after we got married then moved to NM for a job. I had a great experience in Farmington, NM. I loved the people and the small town feel. I had to get used to the dry desert and the lack of services and goods offered because it was such a small town, but I loved living there.

We decided to move to Colorado to purchase land and live a more rural lifestyle. I loved the peace and quiet and the beauty of living in a rural area. The mountains in Colorado are gorgeous and there’s an abundance of wildlife.

(Rebecca and her husband in Colorado not far from their house)

The best part was that my sister and her family (now 12 kids) lived right across the street from us. (Are you two competing for largest family or something?) We had lots and lots of great fun together. I didn’t love the very cold temperatures in the winter (in January it hovered at zero degrees) and I didn’t love when the snow made it impossible to get out of my driveway. It was also hard living on a well with so many kids, especially in the dry years. Most years in August we had to start choosing between doing dishes, taking showers, or doing laundry. But I loved the wide open spaces and having horses, cows, dogs, cats, rabbits, goats, sheep, and pigs. Actually, I didn’t love having pigs. (How come you didn’t mention the llama?)

(Rebecca’s large gorgeous family)

We now live in a suburb of Houston, Texas and love it. There are some wonderful people here and we love where we live. We are so close to everything and the kids especially love having a pool. For me, each place has been its own inspiration and has been a great place for me at that time of my life. I think you can find inspiration anywhere. I just love to be with my family, so wherever they are, I am happy and can find inspiration.

(Rebecca and her family at the beach)

(The author with her daughters and daughter-in-law in front of the courthouse in Santa Barbara where she used to perform)

ME: What are some of the common themes in all of your fiction, or are no two books alike? Why or why not?

REBECCA: I think some of the common themes are that you can’t plan everything. You have to let go and trust God that things will work out. I am such a control freak and I’ve had to realize that I can’t control everything—well, actually, I really can’t control anything, except how I react to what happens. I make my characters struggle with hard questions, some of which have no real answers.

(That makes for good fiction.)

ME: How would you define LDS fiction as opposed to fiction written by LDS authors, or is there a difference?

REBECCA: I think LDS fiction deals directly with LDS themes, while fiction written by LDS authors deal with more general themes. LDS fiction generally has LDS subjects and characters within the story and doesn’t include profanity, sex scenes, or explicit violence. Fiction written by LDS authors for a general audience may have sex scenes, violence, profanity, and very mature themes.

There is currently a group of LDS authors who are writing for a general audience but with LDS standards—clean fiction, if you will. These books can range from light romance to fantasy to serious drama, but don’t include much profanity, if any, no sex scenes and no graphic violence. (I’m glad you mentioned that.)

I think there are three categories for readers: if they want to read a story with LDS characters dealing with LDS subjects, or if they want to read general stories that have LDS standards but not LDS characters or themes, or if they are simply looking for a story without LDS characters, themes, or standards.

(Rebecca and a few of her author friends displaying some of her books)

ME: Tell us about the first novel you ever wrote and compare it with your latest, IMPERFECT LOVE. What have you noticed in terms of your progression as a writer?

REBECCA: My first novel was pretty rough. I didn’t understand the evolution of a story, or the structure, as well as I (hopefully) do now. I just had a story I wanted to tell and that was it. Now, I understand that there are certain elements of story that must be present and a framework underneath the prose. I think I understand the mechanics better and, hopefully, my language use is better. (I’m sure it is. Practice can’t help but make you better.)

ME: What was the most difficult novel you ever wrote, and why? And which was the most personal?

REBECCA: My YA paranormal, AURA, was the most difficult for me to write because it’s an urban fantasy with some magic in it. I’m not much into fantasy, so it was difficult for me to get this one right. I learned after writing that book that I’m much more comfortable writing realistic fiction.

My first three books all had personal ties. HEAVEN SCENT was inspired by my mom and losing her. ALTARED PLANS was inspired by my courtship with my husband and has some true experiences in it. THE UPSIDE OF DOWN was probably the most personal because it delved into a woman learning she has a child with Down syndrome, and I wrote it while my own feelings about having a child with Down syndrome were still very raw. I felt like part of my soul was on those pages.

ME: What are you working on now and how would you describe your writing process?

REBECCA: I am currently in the brainstorming phase for several novel ideas. I’m going to see which one grabs me the most and work on that next.

I generally do some pre-writing, like outlining some scenes, writing character sketches, finding photos of my characters, freewriting. After I feel like I know enough, I write a rough draft in a month or so. After I let it sit, I go back and rewrite and work on it for a few months then turn it over to my critique partners to shred it. After I rewrite it with their suggestions, I let other readers go through it. I have hired professional editors to also go through my books.

(Never a bad choice.)

ME: Finally, with such a large household, where do you retreat to write? If you have a favorite writing space, please detail five things about it that makes it different from every other author’s writing space. (And I must have a picture.)

REBECCA: My writing place isn’t anything special. It’s a big recliner in the corner of my bedroom. It is my own space, and my kids know not to get into my “writing stuff.” I’d love to say I have a large walnut desk overlooking the ocean, but I don’t. My bedroom window does look out to the pool, if that counts.

(Hey, pools always count in my book…literally, if you’ve read A Night on Moon Hill. :D)

(And here’s Rebecca’s comfy chair)

If you want to learn more about Rebecca and her books, or even just follow her blog, check out her website. Her books are all available on Amazon.

I’ll be talking with romance author Susan Aylworth next week, so be sure to check back!

Originally posted 2014-03-19 06:00:53.

“Wednesday Writer” – Pauline Hansen

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Tanya

If you were happily married but gradually your family became hostage to the growing paranoid schizophrenia of your husband, would you stay married? And would you write about it?

Pauline Hansen chose to do both, telling her story in her memoir, A PATCHWORK REALITY: HAPPILY MARRIED TO A SCHIZOPHRENIC.

ME: You say you grew up in a small town, one to which you’ve now returned, but exactly how tiny is it? Please give us a clear picture of what your childhood and youth was like there (plus a picture or two of you growing up). And is it any different for your own kids, or are they all grown up?

PAULINE: The town I grew up in and have now returned to is indeed tiny. It has remained, throughout the years, at about 150 people. We like to joke that there are probably more dogs than people : )

Life growing up in my hometown was typical of country life. We weren’t farmers or ranchers, so we didn’t have cattle or fields of hay, but other than that, we did many of the other things well known to country life: in the warm months, we grew a massive garden, played in the ditch as children, ran everywhere barefoot, climbed the surrounding rocks and mountains, went on picnics and went camping, then in the winter, we’d build snowmen, go sledding and snowmobiling, and hunt for a fresh Christmas tree every year.

(Pauline at 10)

My own children, two of which were still school-aged when we moved here, do some of the same things – mostly the climbing and hiking and such, but they were 13 and 15 years old, so they didn’t have near the country life experience that I did while growing up.

(Pauline as a senior)

ME: How old were you when you first dreamed to one day become an author, and which book exactly prompted that dream?

PAULINE: I remember when I’d read as a youth, sometimes a book a day, I would be in awe of anyone that could actually write a book. It was something of a miracle to me back then. I remember wishing that maybe someday, I could write a book, but that’s all it was – a fanciful wish.

(So, it sounds as if it was no particular book, just books in general.)

ME: What kind of book did you imagine yourself writing when you grew up and how did that differ from what you ended up producing?

PAULINE: As a youth, when I dreamed of writing a book someday, I always wanted to write a romance, and I planned to include every spine-tingling, heart-racing, breath-taking romantic thing I could think of. I have, in fact, written a romance, but as it stands, it needs a lot of work, so when the thought occurred to me that I should write my memoir and publish it, I figured that was the best idea to go with first. I’m still revising the romance, though!

(Great! Then we know what to expect next.)

ME: Since your book, PATCHWORK REALITY: HAPPILY MARRIED TO A SCHIZOPHRENIC, details your husband’s descent into paranoid schizophrenia in his mid-thirties and its effect on you and the children, please tell us how you met and what your relationship with him was like before those nine years of extreme psychological stress. (I’d love to post a picture of you and the family from those earlier years.)

PAULINE: Curtis and I met at a dance at Dixie College. My roommate was the girlfriend of Curtis’s best friend, so that helped to bring us together, but once we did meet, there was no turning back. Although I had had numerous boyfriends in the past, I knew my relationship with Curtis was special and lasting, almost from the start. It didn’t take us long to want to date exclusively, then we were engaged after only 4 months, and married 3 months after that.

The book describes what the first fourteen years of our marriage were like, and in a nutshell, we had it all–laughter, babies, vacations, and ball games. Life was good, with your typical ups and downs, arguments over disciplining the kids and the finances, lots of expenses that come with raising five children, and lots of love and good times.

(Pauline, Curtis, and the kids in the good times)

ME: How did you come to the decision to write your story?

PAULINE: One day in February of 2012, I felt the greatest urge to write something. It was a desire I couldn’t shake, but everything I attempted to write just didn’t feel quite right. Then one morning as I lay in bed contemplating, it occurred to me that I had a story to tell, one that would be different than anything anyone had ever read. And maybe, just maybe, someone would gain some insight when they read it, or realize there’s hope amidst difficult trials, or as my husband so eloquently put it, realize that marriage is worth fighting for.

ME: How did your husband and children feel about the book?

PAULINE: I admit at first I worried that my husband wouldn’t want me to write our story, since it would be so personal and put him in an awkward light. But all he kept repeating whenever I would ask him if he was SURE he was okay with me writing it was, “Of course I’m sure. After what I put you through, I have to let you do what you feel you need to.”

He must have known it would be rather therapeutic for me to write, plus I think he feels, too, that shedding some light on such a mysterious illness would be a good thing in the long run.

As far as the children go, they’ve been immensely supportive throughout the process of having me write and publish our experience. They knew very little of what went on, and yet even when they read the nitty gritty parts, not one of them has judged me or their dad for it.

ME: What prompted your move back to your tiny hometown, and did it have anything to do with your husband’s condition?

PAULINE: My husband’s condition had everything to do with moving back to my tiny hometown. He was jobless and did not play to look for a job anytime soon, which was very rare for him. He had always been a very hard worker and very dedicated to his job. We were at our rope’s end and needed a place to go, so we moved in with my parents temporarily until we could decide what our next move was.

We loved it here so much we decided to stay, and it’s a good thing, because the lower stress, slower pace of life, no traffic, and very few people have been a huge factor in my husband’s recovery.

(An aerial view of their isolated town in Utah)

ME: Tell us about the writing process you followed in creating this book, including beta readers and/or critique groups. And did you seek out any experts in schizophrenia?

PAULINE: I had already been attending writer’s conferences before I even knew of my husband’s condition (and decided to write about it), and once I knew I wanted to write our story, I went to even more conferences with the intention of finding other authors that I could connect with and ask advice of. I only used one beta reader, and her advice was invaluable. (That’s a big YES for beta readers!)

I joined ANWA, American Night Writers Association, where I could post any question I had about the writing or publishing process on their Yahoo group sites. They’ve been a huge help and I’ve made some wonderful friends! (That’s a big YES for ANWA too!)

As far as seeking experts on schizophrenia, my intention was never to write a book as a resource for those seeking help about mental illness. The Internet is a wealth of knowledge for that, and I would just muddy the waters if I attempted to give any advice.

ME: What are you working on now, or what do you plan to write next, and why?

PAULINE: I am once again attempting to work on the first novel I wrote, a romance based in my own little hometown. We’ll see if it ends up publish-worthy. :D I also have a rough outline and quite a few pages of ideas for a dramatic romance I would love to write some time, plus I have a children’s book series in mind that begs to be written, but that concept is definitely in its infancy.

I don’t always feel an extreme urge to write, but when that urge hits, I obey. I love to read, and I love the written word, and the stories in my head will, at the right time, break free and land on the page.

ME: Finally, please describe your writing space—the room or place you used most in writing PATCHWORK REALITY—and tell us what makes it your own. (And I must have a picture.)

PAULINE: Our home is small, but still, I claim a lot of our overcrowded space as my own when I’m in the middle of a project. When I wrote PATCHWORK REALITY, we only had one computer that the whole family shared, but if I needed it everyone else knew they had to let me use it. It is centrally located, in the living room, so although I was often engrossed in my work, I was still out amongst the family if they needed me.

At the time, my husband rarely got on the computer. He was just learning how to use one back then. Now, though, he’s on the family computer a lot more, so it was a huge blessing when my children gave me a laptop for Christmas last year.

(Pauline’s work space)

(And here’s Pauline, Curtis, and their kids today)

Pauline’s memoir is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at Books & Things. If you want to learn more about the author and her work, check out her website.

On tap for next Wednesday is Rebecca Talley, a former president of LDStorymakers and author of two LDS novels and a children’s picture book.

Originally posted 2014-03-12 06:00:46.

“Wednesday Writer” – Ronda Hinrichsen

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Tanya

Ronda Hinrichsen writes romantic suspense as Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen and THE HEROES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER Chapter Book series as R.K. Hinrichsen. Her next romantic suspense novel, BETRAYED, will be released in June. I was lucky enough to get this interview in with her before her eye surgery. (Don’t worry…she’s fine.)

ME: You’ve said you first knew you wanted to be a writer when you were in sixth grade and listening to your teacher read S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. But my question is, when did you first realize you could be a writer, and what had you written (or what had someone said) that convinced you of that? (That said, I would love to post a picture of you from sixth grade, as well as another when you were a teenager.)

RONDA: That’s a hard question to answer. While I remember fearing I might never succeed at having a book published, I think I always thought it was possible for me to be a writer, I just had to figure out how to do it. In fact, I still have those same fears now as I submit and/or self publish. Fear and self-doubt is always there, but because being an author is important to me, I keep pushing through those things. For me, it’s not trying that equals true regret.

(Very well said, and she’s right…the fear and self-doubt never goes away.)

(Ronda as a sixth grader)

(Ronda’s high school graduation picture)

ME: Are there any other writers in your lineage? If so, how did they inspire you? (And please include a picture, if possible.) If not, which writer(s) inspire you the most and why?

RONDA: I have an ancestor who crossed the plains as a child and later wrote for the church publications. In fact, I have written some of his stories for The Friend. His name is William Palmer. There are other writers too. My uncle wrote for a newspaper in Canada, and my Grandmother and aunts enjoyed writing poetry. (Ah, it runs in the blood, eh?)

ME: Having grown up in Rexburg, Idaho, what gave you the urge to travel? What have been some of your favorite or most interesting destinations, and why? (And I’d love a picture or two of you and your husband en route.)

RONDA: I did not travel much as a child, except to the occasional family reunion in Canada, but my husband loves to travel and has the desire to see every part of the world. I have the privilege of going along for the ride. So far, my favorite scenic places have been Austria and New Zealand. The place that deeply affected me, was visiting Auschwitz in Krakow, Poland. (That, I can well understand after having visited another concentration camp–Mauthausen–in Austria.)

(Ronda and Rolin in Australia)

(Ronda at Auschwitz)

(In Krakow, Poland)

ME: I know you began by writing short stories and magazine articles as you were raising your young family. Now that the short story form seems to be taking off again, have you given any thought to writing more of those?

RONDA: I haven’t thought of short stories too much, but I have self-published three children’s chapter books under the series name of HEROES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER and I will soon release a preternatural mystery novella under the pen name Kathleen Marks. It is the first of a series.

(Okay, am I the only one confused about the difference between paranormal and preternatural? Here’s an interesting posting that might shed a little light.)

ME: Tell us about your first two novels, MISSING and TRAPPED. How are they different, and how are they alike? And which was easier to write?

RONDA: MISSING and TRAPPED are similar in that they are both adventurous, romantic suspense novels. However, MISSING is a contemporary, realisitic novel with LDS characters, and TRAPPED is a contemporary, paranormal novel with a curse surrounding the “Kuhati,” the elixir of life.

I suppose TRAPPED was easier to write since it was my second novel and MISSING was my first—not only first published, but also the first I’d ever written. It was my novel writing learning ground vs, as you mentioned earlier, short story writing.

ME: You’ve also begun a middle grade series, HEROES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER, in which your young protagonists kind of follow in the footsteps of different heroes in their quest to destroy the enemy of “The Hidden Kingdom.” What criteria are you following when it comes to selecting those particular heroes?

RONDA: HEROES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER is a chapter book series similar to The Magic Tree House. The heroes I choose for that series are those who are compassionate to all people and are brave in the face of difficult circumstances.

The first tells the story of a young pioneer woman who found peace with the Indians.

The second speaks of Mother Teresa, and the third teaches of Tadeusz Pankiewicz who helped save the lives of many Jews during WWII.

(You can learn more about the books and the series here.)

ME: What are you working on now, and how would you describe your writing process?

RONDA: My writing process is a juggling act. I gather ideas for a new book in a notebook while I’m writing another and perhaps editing or doing other writing/publication chores with another.

I just finished final edits on BETRAYED, a historical romantic suspense novel that comes out with Covenant Communications in June 2014. I have another novel under submission, I am preparing my preternatural novella for publication, and I am editing a YA fantasy novel I intend to submit to the national market. I’m also starting to have a few ideas for future books.

(One cook in the kitchen with a lot of pots stewing.)

ME: How would you describe your writing space, and what five objects there differentiate it from that of any other writer? (You must include a picture or two.)

RONDA: My writing space is a desk with a laptop, a second screen, a bookshelf, a wall board with various notes and lists, and separate piles of info from different books.

(Okay, that takes the record for the shortest answer to this question ever!)

(I think this was the neatest part of her writing space. :D)

ME: What has been your experience with both traditional publishing and self-publishing, which do you prefer, and why?

RONDA: I believe there are strengths and challenges for each venue. Self-publishing gives me the power to bring whatever story I want to the world in whatever format I want. It also gives me the ability to earn money on a more “regular” basis, for I don’t have to wait for the six month intervals of a traditional publisher. (Hear, hear!)

Traditional publishing provides support, experienced editors and cover artists/marketers, and the ability to distribute to markets that are not always available to self-published books. Traditional publishing also seems to have a better ability to help me build my name and to speak/teach in various venues.

(So it really comes down to which you prefer–support or control.)

ME: Finally, how important is a critique group and what strengths does yours bring to your writing?

RONDA: My critique group is VITAL to me. Each person has strengths that help me create a more viable, well-developed product. Different from many groups, we do not print out our weekly writing—yes, we meet weekly. Instead, we read what we’ve written to the group. The others listen, and then we comment on what is or isn’t working or what needs a bit more strengthening. Our group focuses more on structure, rather than grammar, but some of us do have an ear for grammar, and we bring those things up.

(Excellent! With some exceptions, a writer is generally only as good as his/her critique group.)

Check out Ronda’s website for more information about her and many projects. Her suspense novels are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can check out her chapter books at B&N and Books-a-Million.

Get ready for a serious interview next Wednesday with Pauline Hansen, author of a compelling memoir or her marriage to a schizophrenic.

Originally posted 2014-03-05 06:00:16.

"My best read of the year goes to Tanya Parker Mills and A NIGHT ON MOON HILL. A tender, unsettling, stirring page-turner. You'll want to read this one." (Laurie L.C. Lewis, Author of the "Free Men & Dreamers" series)

"This was easily the best book I read all year. It is beautifully written and tells a moving story...It is heartbreaking, powerful, beautiful--extraordinary. I am moved and almost overwhelmed by it. Wow! Bravo...In addition to the characterizations being spot on, the prose is beautiful. This is a very powerful book by an extremely talented writer. I highly recommend it!" (Braden Bell, Author of "The Road Show" and "The Kindling")

"This story is so well written, and with characters that bring you into the story so deeply, you will have this novel read in no time. What will you find in this novel? A great combination of suspense, angst, romance and relationships that will truly make you think. You will also look at life and people a little differently. I love the respect and care that Tanya has given to the tender subjects found within the pages of this novel. For all of this, I’m giving this book 5 stars!" (Sheila Windley Staley, LDS Women's Book Review)

"A NIGHT ON MOON HILL is a carefully crafted and beautifully-written story that follows Daphne’s journey as she discovers that the routine of her life is made much better when she shares it with someone." (Heather B. Moore, Award-Winning Author and reviewer for LDS Readers)

"As you will find when you read A Night on Moon Hill, Tanya Parker Mills is also a poet. Don’t let that scare you away, though. There’s a great story line with a little romance, a bit of a mystery, and some marvelously interesting characters. It’s a book that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page. I highly recommend it." (Liz Adair, Award-Winning Author and President of LDStorymakers)