How I became an author
I’ve been a storyteller since elementary school. One of my childhood memories is of walking to school with a friend (and yes, we did that in the old days) and telling each other stories. The stories always involved handsome movie stars and a happy ending. When we arrived at school, we’d leave the story on a cliff hanger and started the story again on the walk home.
I attempted to write through my adulthood, but marriage and children claimed my time. It wasn’t until my youngest entered high school that I became serious about a career in writing.
Is there something unique/quirky about you?
I’m a list maker. I must have something to check off. At the end of the day, I do a mental summary of my day to see what I’ve accomplished. I’m not sure what that says about me.
If you knew you’d die tomorrow, how would you spend your last day?
Visiting as many friends and family as I could. If I couldn’t see them personally, then I’d call them.
Who is your hero and why?
This was a hard question to answer. I have so many heroes.
Oprah Winfrey rose from puberty and sexual abuse to establish a global empire. She’s positive and motivational.
Michele Obama, who didn’t let her background limit the heights she could reach.
Kamala Harris, first black, Asian and female vice president.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg a fighter for women’s rights. I love this quote: “Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.”
What do you do to unwind and relax?
I’d love to say, parasailing, bungee jumping and motorcycle riding, but I’m not that adventurous. Reading, walking, hiking, watching T.V. and ancestry hunting.
Describe yourself in 5 words:
Driven, studious, passionate, impatient, and proud.
Do you have a favorite movie?
No. I have several: Avatar, When Harry Met Sally, Notting Hill, Possession, The Photograph and any disaster film.
Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?
Lakota Dreaming, Lakota Blood Moon, Under Cover of Night.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
An eagle. Because they are majestic and regal.
What inspired you to write this book?
Under Cover of Night is book #3 in the Lakota series. I’m excited by the idea of pairing people from different cultures in a love match and imaging how they would adapt and change to be together.
This latest book in the Lakota series explores the strength of family bonds and the extremes we would employ to keep them safe.
How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
Lakota Dreaming, the first book in the series, was inspired by an independent movie, Unbowed. The movie centered around an exceptional black female student, who was a teacher and a jewel in the school’s crown immediately after the Civil War.
A Union captain arrives at the college with a group of renegade Native American males that he wants the headmaster to integrate into his student body. The female student falls in love with one of the males.
At the end of the movie, the Sioux warrior is planning to escape and return to his reservation. You’re left to wonder if the female student/teacher will go with him and leave everything she’s gained to build an uncertain future on a reservation far from home.
The ending sparked a series of what ifs. The answers led to Lakota Dreaming. A New York editor—a descendant of a runaway slave and a Sioux warrior—travels to a South Dakota Indian reservation to learn the fate of her ancestor, who comes to her in visions.
Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?
In Lakota Dreaming, the first book in the series, the female protagonist comes to the reservation because of genetic memories she has about an ancestry who was a slave. The female slave escapes a plantation and is captured by Native Americans and lives among them. I wrote a historical prequel whose characters are the slave and her Native American lover. The story is Lakota Moon Rising.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I have a romcom releasing August 24, 2021 entitled, The Hookup Dilemma. It’s an interracial romance between two individuals who are totally different in how they view life, family and love.
How did you come up with the title of your first novel?
My heroine has visions or dreams of a deceased ancestor which lead her to a Lakota Indian reservation. I put the two important words together: Lakota+dreams= Lakota Dreaming. I guess the title could have been Lakota Dreams, but I liked the cadence of Lakota Dreaming.
Who designed your book covers?
Kim Killion of HotDamn Designs created the book covers for the series.
Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?
I have the reigns of the story for the main characters but those secondary characters spring out of nowhere. They walk on stage without warning and always seem to be colorful and eccentric. For example, in Lakota Dreaming, I have two ninety-year-old men who almost take over the story.
Is there a writer whose brain you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?
I’d love to spend a day with author John Hart. His novel, The Last Child, is a masterpiece of suspense, thriller, family drama and social awareness told through the lens of a thirteen-year-old boy who’s searching for his twin sister. Hart uses theme and lyrical imagery to bring all the elements of the story smoothly together at the end.
What are your top 10 favorite books/authors?
The Last Child by John Hart (crime procedural)
Rangoon by Christine Monson (historical romance)
Scribe by Elizabeth Hunter (paranormal romance)
Murder in Thrall by Anne Cleeland (crime+romance)
The Wrong Man by Delaney Diamond (contemporary romance)
Afterwards by Nia Forrester (contemporary romance)
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (historical fantasy)
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom (historical fiction)
Judge’s Girls by Sharina Harris (women’s fiction)
Naked in Death by J.D. Robb (science fiction, crime, romantic elements)
Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins (historical romance)
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord (science fiction)
I couldn’t do just 10!!
Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
I have the main protagonists and their opponent(s) when I start. Most of my secondary characters come to me as I write. And I love that! There’s nothing more exciting than a new character walking on the page.
Do you read if so, what is your favorite genre?
I live to read. I read everything but horror. I love writing mystery and thrillers, but I love reading a good fantasy or historical fiction or sci-fi.
Describe your writing process.
The plot or a character comes to me from something I’ve heard in the news or just watching people on the street. Sometimes ideas pop into my imagination from a movie or from music. Once I have that kernel of an idea, I expand it with the right characters for the story, then the location and scenes. If I’m writing a mystery, I develop almost all the scenes before I start writing.
Because I suffer from inflammation in the wrist and fingers, sometimes I dictate my scenes.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Write even if you only have thirty minutes. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t make a living as a writer. Write when the kids go to sleep or get up an hour early to write. Just write.
No comments:
Post a Comment