Welcome to the start of this year's Summer Bash! I hope you all have plans for a fun, hot summer. I know I do and so do many of my friends.
Helping me kick off the bash is my good friend Cheryl B. Dale. Thanks for being here Cheryl.:-)
2014 Summer Bash Questions
1: How did you start
writing? When I was young, another kid knew I liked
to read and joked I ought to write a book. Someone gave me an old typewriter
when I was thirteen and I used it to write my first novel. Or novelette, I guess
it would be. It was a swashbuckling romance and pretty bad. People should be
grateful that some years later, after rereading it, I destroyed it!
2: What is the one
thing you most enjoy about writing? Getting the
story put into the computer. Least enjoy? Putting
the story into the computer.
3: If you could go
back in time and talk to anyone, who would you speak to? George Washington. Why?
Many wanted him to be king, but he refused to consider it. I don’t think he
gets enough credit for the molding of our country. Of course, looking at the
shape our country’s in now, maybe he wouldn’t want the credit!
4: When you write do
you plot out the story or do you let your muse run wild? I usually see one or two scenes and then try to figure
out what’s going on. I do this in my head so when I actually start to write, I kind
of know where I’m going.
In LOSING DAVID, I envisioned the beginning where the
villain murders two boys, and another when the old lawyer interviews an actor
to pretend to be one of the dead boys, then another when the heroine realizes...
Well, I don’t want to give that part away. But the rest of the story got woven
around those scenes.
5: Tell us a bit
about your book. The setting is mostly on a barrier
island off the Georgia coast in 1963, an era when men tip hats and ladies wear
gloves; when white men rule, and women and blacks are second-class citizens; when
the sacrifices of World War II are memories that are fading in a new
prosperity; when the times are starting to change.
The story is a mystery with strong romantic elements: An
old attorney asks an actor to impersonate a boy who vanished at sea years
before. The lawyer says the boy, heir to a fortune, was murdered by a man now
about to inherit everything. He wants to flush out the killer.
The actor suspects the attorney is lying; there's a lot
of money at stake and the attorney is sole trustee of the estate. Still, he agrees
to act as bait. He never intends to fall for the only woman who can expose him.
When she realizes he's an imposter, he must persuade her
to keep quiet while he waits for the killer to strike. And hope he'll survive
to make it up to her.
6: What inspired the
story? I’ve worked on it so long, I hardly
remember. We lived on a lake at the time I began it, and a boat explosion
killed the people in it. That may have given me the idea.
7: Is this a series
or a stand alone novel? This one is stand alone.
8: What advice would
you give an author just starting out? Keep honing
your craft. And develop a thick skin.
9: How do you balance
writing with the demands of everyday life? We live
a pretty low-key existence so it isn’t terribly hard.
10: How much research
do you do for your writing? Whatever’s necessary.
I call LOSING DAVID a vintage mystery because it takes
place in the early sixties, when keeping up appearances was more important than
fulfilling personal needs. I had to go back to a mindset that expected women to
marry and raise families while men ran things.
I enjoy history so sometimes I get caught up in my
research and keep reading! It’s fun but not productive. Maybe that’s why I’m
such a slow writer?
11: If you met a
genie, what 3 things would you wish for? Health,
happiness, and love. Why? Pretty obvious!
Really, I’m content with my life. There’s always something else we want, isn’t
there? But getting it doesn’t guarantee contentment.
12: What is the one
thing about the writing world that most surprised you? How
hard it is to publish a book. I finished my first as an adult (and yes, it was
bad; I hadn’t learned my craft) and thought I’d send it off to some publishers
and one would scoop it up. Funny, huh? But I persevered. Needless to say,
ebooks and self-publishing are a boon.
13: What are you
currently working on? I just finished LOSING DAVID.
I’m thinking about a sequel to some light mysteries I’ve written (TAXED TO THE
MAX and OVERTAXED AND UNDERAPPRECIATED) and also have a couple of scenes laid
out for another vintage mystery.
14: What do you like
to do when you aren’t writing? Glad you asked! I
have just started bridge classes. I hope to continue but they’re very
confusing. When my partner and I get through with classes, we’ll play at our
local bridge club. Maybe. If they’ll allow us in. I understand they take their
games very seriously. And we’re bad. Very bad.
It also takes a lot of time to keep the cats happy.
They’re quite demanding.
15: What is the one
thing you’d like people to know about you? I’m shy
and I’m pretty sure I have facial ADD. I can see someone I know on the street
and not recognize them. I can also wave enthusiastically to someone on the
street and guess what? They’re total strangers! Makes me leery about going up
and saying hi to anyone.
5 Bonus Questions
16: What’s your
favorite color? Green
17: What’s your
favorite food? Cheesecake.
18: Favorite TV show?
Right now, it’s The Big Bang.
19: Favorite Movie? Alfred Hitchcock’s To
Catch a Thief at the moment. But I think it’s because this last book,
LOSING DAVID, is set in that era. Over the years, I’ve had a lot of movies I
want to see over and over. It’s hard to name one favorite.
20: Favorite Song? Too hard to answer. I have so many I love to listen to.
Oldies, classical, country, folk, soft pop and rock. I’ve put some of my
favorites on a Spotify playlist called Cheryl’s
Favorites. (I also have a Spotify playlist called Losing
David for the songs mentioned in the book.)
cherylbdale@hotmail.com
Amazon:
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7 comments:
Great interview!
Omigosh, you're up early, Kat! I've barely stumbled to the computer and my interview's already up!
Thanks, NJ. And thank you, Kat, for featuring me!
I auto post. :-)
Great interview and great advice 'Keep honing your craft.' Best of luck with your book.
Heather G - Natasha Saga
Kat: Auto post! Oh, you tech-savvy people!
Thanks, Heather!
About to sign off, but I'll check back tomorrow. Thanks again, Kat, for having me!
Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Kat! Hope you're doing okay. And your mom, too.
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