Questions/Answers/Topics for Silver Dagger
Q—Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
A—I was a voracious reader, even as a child, and that led me to writing. But it’s difficult to earn a living that way, so off I went to university and a proper job for many years. But then I decided to take a German language class, mostly because it was one of my darling husband’s SIX fluent languages! While perusing the local college’s night school offerings, I happened to see a writing class being taught by an editor whose name I recognized from her many years at all the big Syfy publishing houses. I’d read so many of her authors’ books and just had to meet her. So, I enrolled in her class instead. During that class, I wrote a couple short stories as assignments, and she told me I should really be writing seriously. So I did.
Q—Tell us something really interesting that's happened to you!
A—I’m lucky to have travelled all over the world, which I love. I’ve been to many interesting places, seen history being made, but the one trip that was truly a dream come true was my trip to Antarctica two years ago. It was alien and exciting, everything I’d always hoped it would be. We went out on heavy-duty Zodiac rafts every day and saw many different species of whales within touching distance. We crossed the Antarctic Circle, visited the Ukraine science station, and were nearly swamped when a HUGE ice formation collapsed almost right on top of us. It was exhilarating, thrilling, and something I’ll never forget!
Q—If you knew you'd die tomorrow, how would you spend your last day?
A—First, I’d quietly put my affairs in order to make it easier for my family. And then, I’d take a lovely bottle of wine and a bunch of junk snacks and sit in my yard, reading while I enjoyed the sunshine and listened to the birds sing. And when it was too late for that, I’d go to bed and read anything I wanted, as long as I could.
Q—Who is your hero and why?
A—A lot of people talk about the heroes in their lives, but I don’t really have one. There are people I admire—my wonderful husband for surviving a hellish childhood, before going on to become a good and compassionate man; my mother, who overcame personal demons to become the strongest woman I’ve ever known; and certain public figures who have risen to the responsibility of making (or at least trying to make) the world a better and safer place that they were born into.
Q—What kind of world ruler would you be?
A—I don’t want to rule the world, or even a country. That’s a terrible job. I love my solitude far too much to live such a public life.
Q—Describe yourself in 5 words or less!
A—Tall, blonde, intelligent, introverted, with a rebellious streak that got me into lots of trouble when I was younger.
Q—Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?
A—I think my Vampires in America would make a great TV series, but here’s the thing…I worked in television/movies for many years, and I’ve also watched a lot of movies. Screenwriting is very different from book writing, and movies/television are very, very different than books. Unless you’re very powerful, like J. K. Rowling, you have very little creative control over the casting and dramatic presentation of your work. Some authors have contracts that specify the series, for example, must follow the books for the first season, but after that the script writers can go anywhere they want. A good example is True Blood, which was based on Charlaine Harris’s brilliant Sookie Stackhouse series. IMO, the producers absolutely destroyed that series, and I’m not the only one who feels that way. Would I like the money and increased sales that would come from a series based on my books? Hell, yes. But I’d probably have to force myself not to watch it.
Q—What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
A—Hmm, I had to think about that one, but the answer is none. I have gone on historical pilgrimages, though, because I’m a huge dork who loves history.
Q—As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
A—A dragon, just because I love them, even though I’ve never written about them. I have several throughout my house, though.
Q—Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?
A—I have many, which I write as Vampire Vignettes and post on my blog. They never stay there long, however, because they end up in print and e-book anthologies.
Q—How did you come up with the title of your first novel?
A—I’m terrible with titles. I couldn’t come up with one I liked for RAPHAEL, and so I simply went with his name, and I’ve been doing it ever since with subsequent characters. That was also true with my Syfy Romance, Shifter Planet. That was never supposed to be the final title, but it stuck.
Q—If you could spend time with a character from your books who would it be? And what would you do during that time?
A—I love all my characters, each in different ways. But if I’m going to spend time with one of them, I’d want to have fun. I’ve always thought Rajmund would be the best guy to spend an evening with. He’s smart and very handsome. He has a dry wit, likes to have a good time, and isn’t too terribly neurotic. No drama.
Q—Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
A—I sometimes base a character’s description off a real person, but for the most part they’re from my imagination. I have very vivid mental images of my characters. The one exception is that the personality and personal values of all my male characters are based at least in part on my darling husband.
Q—Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reins of the story?
A—I always have control of my stories. That doesn’t meant they don’t change as I’m writing, but it not because of anything the characters do/don’t do, or become.
Q—Why do you write in the syfy and paranormal genre?
A—The first full manuscript I ever wrote was a fantasy that I submitted to a writing contest sponsored by one of my favorite authors. I’d been reading fantasy and science fiction since I was 13 years old, and knew that’s what I wanted to write. I didn’t win the contest, but I received some very nice comments from a woman I greatly admired. I was thrilled.
I never lost my love for fantasy and science fiction. It opens the universe to a writer. If you can dream it, it can exist in your stories, no matter the subject. Which is why I always chose what my teachers called “alternative reality” as the setting for my writing assignments through high school. A chance to combine what I loved with something I had to do.
And that’s what I love about the paranormal genre. I can create characters with any abilities I want, as long as they make sense within the universe of the book. My characters all have some kind of magic, but they are very different from each other, come from very different worlds, and have very different histories that shaped them.
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