FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do your plethora of critters ALLOW you peace and time to write? Or do you function better with cuddly creature chaos?
A. My attention span is short — gnat-like. So I function best with interruptions from fighting cats, barking dogs, and horses escaping that I have to chase down. Seriously, if I’m stuck in a book, it really seems to help to pet one of the cats or to take the dogs outside to play for a little bit, maybe a bike ride with Zelda. Moving stimulates my brain.
Q. Is there one book that you’re dying to write but just haven’t had the time to tackle? Or maybe it’s just percolating in your brain but hasn’t fully come forth yet?
A. There are three books I really, really want to write. One is a dark crime novel, one is a story about soul transference, and one is a horror novel I cut my writing teeth on. I revised that book at least 15 times and never got it right. Now I think I may be able to use the techniques necessary to write it properly.
It’s so funny to think back to when I started writing. I was a journalist, and even thought I’d taken writing classes, I was still unfamiliar with many, many terms and techniques. My point of view was just all over the board, I tried to write the main story along with the back story and hint at the future. My secondary characters took hold of the story and ran with it for pages before I reined them in…just the basic mistakes all beginner writers make. But I still love the story and want to try to tell it properly.
So I let these three ideas percolate. I think about them at the strangest times, and maybe when I get a chance, I’ll just sit down and the sentences will fly from my fingers. Now that’s a fine fantasy to have, isn’t it?
Q. Will there be another love interest for Coleman? I love Coleman – he is the ideal man for me.
A. I really don’t have an answer. I have to write my way to that answer, and I’m not there yet. But it’s a great question.
Q. How do you create you characters for your BONES series? And do any of them have traits that you have yourself?
A. I do “borrow” character traits from my friends and family, and some of my own, to weave into the characters. Jitty, Tinkie, Sarah Booth, Cece–all of them have a good bit of me, as well as a dollop of my friends. The men, too. For me, the characters are very real. They are firmly set in their traits and behaviors, but that doesn’t mean that can’t change, just like real people do. And they change in directions I don’t necessarily foresee.