1) How did you do research for your book?
I did a lot of reading on the Brotherhood, and I also interviewed a couple of Catholic priests, one whose father and some of his brothers were members of the Penitente Brotherhood here in New Mexico.
For the archaeology aspect of the book, I actually took some graduate courses in anthropology and archaeology at Millsap’s College in Jackson, Mississippi when I lived there. I had a very early draft of the novel and I asked my professor to read it. He helped me tweak where necessary. More recently, I have a friend who is a retired archaeologist and she reviewed the book for me as well.
3)
Explain your writing
process.
It’s different with every book, but I always start out with research
and an outline. Sometimes the outline is more comprehensive than others—more
than just the main plot points. I also do pretty detailed character sketches.
Sometimes in developing the characters, new ideas for the plot spring up. I do
as much research as I can to get started and then as the story unfolds,
sometimes I have to make adjustments to the plot or the characters, and
sometimes I have to eliminate characters all together or add new ones. For the
book I’m working on now I am doing a more extensive outline and character
sketches. I am even blocking scenes in the hopes that when it comes time to
write the writing goes faster. After I complete the first draft I walk away
from the manuscript for about two weeks, then I come back and start editing. Then
another read through, make any tweaks, and get it the best I can get it and
then I’ll send it off to a developmental editor. I find that after I’ve been so
immersed in the book I can’t see it honestly anymore, so it’s nice to have
someone else read through to find holes, inconsistencies, story problems. After
that, I have a copy edit done, at least one proofread, and I also send it to
some trusted beta readers. It takes a village!
4)
What are you working
on right now?
I’m currently working on the second book in my Grace Michelle
Mystery Series that I hope to release next summer. It’s titled Grace in
Hollywood. The first book in the series Grace in the Wings introduces
us to Grace, an aspiring costume designer for the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway
in New York City in 1920. Her sister, who is the star of the show, mysteriously
dies and so Grace sets out to find the killer. The second book takes place in
1924. Grace is now working in the silent film industry and the director of the
film she is working on is murdered at a party she has hosted, and her young
protégé is accused of the crime. This protégé and her plight brings to light some
repressed memories from Grace’s past, and she finds herself grappling with some
heavy emotional issues while trying to prove her protégé’s innocence.
5)
How
does your home and its environment influence your writing? To what extent?
I love being at home. We moved to a
small-ish, rural village three years ago. We live on four acres in a
hacienda/mission style home. My office has is huge with a high, beamed ceiling
(the beams came from an old railroad trellis), a kiva-style fire place, and
antique wooden floors that came from an old ice house in Santa Fe, NM. I’m
surrounded by windows and I can look out of the French doors and see my horses
grazing in the pastureI find the architecture and the property surrounding our
home to be so inspirational, comforting, and quiet, it’s easy for me to get
lost in my own imagination, which is a wonderful thing. The challenge (I think
for all writers) is to not let everyday responsibilities and stress encroach on
such a sacred environment.
6)
Do
you think that self-revelation is part of the writing process?
Yes. I think it is inescapable. I
believe that writing, like art, comes from the heart and soul of a person.
There is a certain level of emotional intimacy that comes with the creative
process. Writers, artists, and singers have to dig deep to create an emotional
resonance with their audience. It seems impossible to me to divorce that kind
of raw sharing from self-revelation.
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