I know you get asked this question over and over but can you tell us a little about yourself? Maybe something juicy. 😉
I am an author, wife, and mother who loves yoga. I’d rather travel than eat, though the two combine awfully well. I grew up all over the US because my dad was in the military. Currently, I am leaning toward anarcho-capitalism, because I am deeply skeptical of two groups: Democrats and Republicans. Also of liberals and conservatives. It seems to me the world is full of challenges too complex to reduce to a party line.
Something juicy? Ok, one of my dearest girlfriends recently threw out half my closet and then forbade me to wear industrial strength, granny-approved knickers. Now all my knickers are lacy. “Feel gorgeous from the inside out,” she advised. I am dutifully attempting this, and “a woman’s grasp should exceed her reach, or what’s a lingerie store for?”
When did you first start writing? Are you a full time author or do you do it on the side?
I’ve been writing my whole life. I read my first novel when I was six years old and knew immediately that I wanted to write novels. I wrote poems by the time I was seven. I am a full-time author—though I have children who come first, so it’s a juggling act.
Do you have an author that has really inspired you?
I’ve always loved Richard Powell’s book WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY.
How long does it normally take you to write a book?
Between eight months to two years. Depending.
What do you think makes a story great?
Ahh, lovely question. I have three guidelines for writing novels, and this speaks to the first two: 1, Story is how your protagonist does NOT get what he or she wants, and 2, All story is an argument for a specific value. Take Macbeth: Overweening ambition contains the seeds of its own destruction. My novel IMMORTAL was an argument for two values: 1, Art is redemptive, and 2, Love is the only immortality we can know. FALLEN is an argument for this value, which I paraphrased for the front cover: When all else falls away, love is what remains. ‘When the world ends, all that is left is love.’
Can you describe “Fallen” in one sentence?
FALLEN is a dystopian romance that speaks to impossible love, overwhelming odds, constant danger and heart-felt sacrifice.
