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An Interview with Author J. Allen Whitt

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J. Allen Whitt served three combat deployments as a Navy officer aboard an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. He went on to obtain a PhD and spent almost 40 years teaching sociology, urban studies, and statistics. After publishing social science research he moved on to essays, memoirs, short stories, and poetry before tackling long fiction. Notes from the Other Side of the Mountain: Love Confronts the Wounds of War (2013) is Allen’s first novel. You’ll find him on his website at JAllenWhitt.net.

What is your elevator pitch for Notes from the Other Side of the Mountain?
After separating from his high school girlfriend due to a misunderstanding, Gary Reed is called to serve in Vietnam. Four years later, traumatized by the carnage of war, he returns to his beloved mountains of New Mexico, hoping to reunite with Kristina Preston and find peace. Yet she too has hidden injuries, and they must struggle to overcome their past hurts and survive unexpected twists of fortune in hopes of building a life together.

When readers turn the last page, what do you hope they take away from the book?
Empathy for the novel’s characters, an identification with the life struggles we all face, and hope for recovery. In addition, I try to show the powerful influence our natural environment has upon our perceptions, appreciation of beauty, and ways of living.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
To create authentic and well-rounded characters that develop and grow through their early years into adulthood. My intention was to show the loves, conflicts, injuries, joys, failures, and successes that we all understand, as well as to provide the reader with insights into the complexity of the characters’ own circumstances, personalities, and actions. We understand their life-pleasures, see their reactions to loss, experience their sadness and humor, learn the fate of their dreams, and follow the consequences of their traumas of life and war.

Tell us a little about your main characters.
Both Gary and Kristina begin as small-town, New Mexico kids who mature through their life experiences, become aware of the larger world, do the best they can to surmount difficulties, try to maintain and enhance their love for each other, and achieve well-being and happiness. They have their strengths and shortcomings, as do we all.

Why did you choose New Mexico as the setting for the book?
I fell in love with the unique beauty of New Mexico when I moved to the state as a teenager. So much so that I present our mountains, rivers, forests, and sunsets as quasi-characters in the book. It is a perfect setting. It is no accident that many works of art are created here, and many movie companies film here.

What was the most rewarding aspect of putting the project together?
It was immensely enjoyable to create characters that became—and remain—real to me, to show the allure of our landscape, to let my words flow (when they are in the mood) onto the page, and to learn more about myself in the process. I like to explore the power of words and their capacity to define and extend our common human experience. By writing you can go inward, as well as expand into the world, even into universes that never were, and into those that may come to pass.

What sparked your interest in writing fiction?
In my former academic career, I wrote many things in that vein and won some awards for doing so. That was motivating. However, I have always been interested in stories. Perhaps this came from my grandmother who was raised in the Ozarks. Her father was a Civil War veteran and post-war law enforcement officer reputed to be an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Sadie, whose husband was a riverboat pilot, was steeped in the oral tradition of that region. She enthralled me and my cousins with stories her father passed along. She added her own embellishments, I am sure, but they made a deep impression upon me. Near the end of my academic career, I began writing accounts of my travels in Africa, South and Central America, Thailand, China and Europe. That was the start of my creative writing. Very different from what I had previously written, but more enjoyable. I took correspondence courses (University of Iowa, Gotham Writers Workshop). I received highly positive feedback. When I retired and moved back to New Mexico, I sent a couple of my pieces to SouthWest Writers for critiques. The feedback was again encouraging. One reviewer suggested I consider writing a novel—a possibility that had never entered my consciousness. I tried it, enjoyed the engaging, year-long process. Moreover, I have published memoirs, essays, stories, and poems in literary journals, magazines, and online. And here we are. A new career.

Tell us about the Veterans History Project and your involvement in it.
Sponsored by the Library of Congress, Veterans History Project (VHP) is an attempt to capture (through interviews and documentation) the experiences of American military veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam, as well as more recent—and continuing—wars. The interviews and other material are posted on the Library of Congress website so that historians and ordinary citizens have access to veterans’ experiences that might otherwise be lost to future generations. I have done around 15 interviews for VHP. It has been a moving and enlightening privilege for me. These veterans have earned our profound gratitude and admiration, often more than we know. For example, Fred Foz escaped from the Bataan Death March and became a Philippine resistance fighter. At the Jemez Pueblo, I interviewed Geronimo Fragua, one of the first to enter the liberated Dachau concentration camp near the end of World War II. After the interview, it was my great privilege to deliver the keynote address for an event at Jemez which honored several World War II veterans from the Pueblo. I have also interviewed veterans who, like me, served in Vietnam.

Who are your favorite authors, and what do you admire about their writing?
Shakespeare, for sure. The flow and rhythm of his lines, his ability to portray human emotions, characters, and action in a few apt words, as well as the scope of his vision and the vast range of his writing. Also, I love Twain for his superb way of discovering, defining, and revealing the frontier American vernacular, for his ability to place the reader into his scenes and rich world, and for his humor. From recent times: John McPhee, Flannery O’Connor, Edward Abby, Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner, Steven Crane, Elizabeth Kolbert, Tim O’Brien, Jean Shepard.

What is the best compliment you’ve received as an author?
In my prior career, I was a co-recipient (with Joyce Rothschild) of the C. Wright Mills Award for The Cooperative Workplace: Potentials and Dilemmas of Democratic Organization (Cambridge University Press, 1986). This honor is given by the Society for the Study of Social Problems for the best book on the topic published each year. My doctoral dissertation was published as a book (Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power, Princeton University Press, 1982). Regarding Notes from the Other Side of the Mountain, an expert on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder who reviewed the novel complimented my depiction of PTSD. Even more than that, several reviewers of my novel called the work poetic. As a devotee of poetry in my childhood, I suppose that has influenced my writing. I was happy to hear that.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
Two recent writing successes profited by feedback from my local critique group, The Write Stuff. The short memoir, Black Tears, won a First Place at the National Veterans’ Creative Arts Festival, and “The Door Gunner,” my saga poem, won a Special Poetry Award through an Ageless Authors contest. My thanks go to Evelyn, Curt, Ross, Michelle, and Lynne for their help.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update: Melody Groves

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Author Melody Groves is a novelist and nonfiction writer whose freelance articles can be found in publications such as American Cowboy, Wild West, True West, and New Mexico Magazine. Her three nonfiction books cover historic bars of the Southwest, the ins and outs of rodeo, and America’s first overland mail route. She uses her passion for the Old West, along with experience as a gunfighter and a bull rider, to infuse her Western novels with authenticity. While hard at work on the next two installments of her light-hearted She was Sheriff series, she continues the Colton Brothers Saga with book five. Her newest release, Black Range Revenge (Five Star Publishing, 2018), pits youngest brother Andy Colton and his siblings against an Apache leader bent on revenge. You’ll find Melody on her website MelodyGroves.net and on Facebook.

The Colton Brothers Saga follows four brothers in their quests for a better life in the Old West. What was your favorite part of putting together Black Range Revenge?
I don’t usually write paranormal, but the idea of a ghost, or spirit, excited me, so I put one in. I enjoyed highlighting the youngest brother, Andy. And I finally gave James some closure to his previous Apache captivity.

How do you decide which brother to focus on in each book? Describe your main characters and what’s most important to each of them.
While I try to give the brothers “equal time,” the character who steps forward first gets to tell his story. Hope that doesn’t sound too crazy. Trace is the oldest at 27, married, two little girls. Family is most important to him. James, four years younger than Trace, married, no kids, tends to be a bit unstable mentally. He is impatient, short-tempered and doesn’t think things through. Luke, two years younger than James, is the black sheep. A rabble-rouser and definitely a ladies’ man, got married and became a dad at 17. He still chases skirts and his morals are not those of the rest of the family. Andy, at 19 by the book’s end, is adventurous but a heckuva nice guy. He’s liked by everyone he meets. He’s probably the definition of innocent. All four boys are strong and not afraid of work. They have a strong sense of family entrenched by their folks.

Which character did you love to torture the most, wished you could slap some sense into, or couldn’t wait to be done with?
James immediately comes to mind. He doesn’t always think things through and tends to react which gets him in trouble. Of the four boys, he’s the most sensitive, which makes his torture by Cochise (in book 2) terrifying—for both of us. James has PTSD because of that experience. Sometimes I wanted to throttle him, at other times I wanted to tell him it would be okay. Trace handled his captivity much better.

What unique challenges did this project pose for you?
The area of New Mexico where the story takes place has changed over the past 150 years. The town of Santa Rita, which is in the book, is completely gone now. The town of Mogollon was just a single cabin in 1850 and maybe two cabins by 1863. I had to be sure the history was accurate.

How long does it take you to put your novels together, including researching, writing, and editing?
I’ve been up in the Black Range of New Mexico many times since I’m from Las Cruces and my parents and I used to camp in that area. So, I’ve sort of worked on the research for Black Range Revenge for several decades! As for writing, it takes me about nine months to finish a book, especially since I work on other projects along the way. My editor at Five Star Publishing works with me until it’s “perfect” which takes a couple of months. Then, when it’s polished, it goes through another editor before it’s scheduled for publication. This whole process takes about two years. Two loooonnnngggg years.

Was there anything interesting you discovered while doing research for Black Range Revenge?
I think the most interesting was realizing how many different groups of people have been up in that area—Anasazi, Apache, Mexican, miners, European immigrants, Americans, etc. The history is fascinating and reaches back at least 500 years. I’m thrilled to write about it.

Of the three nonfiction books you’ve written, which one did you enjoy writing the most?
It’s a toss-up between Hoist a Cold One!: Historic Bars of the Southwest and Ropes, Reins, and Rawhide: All About Rodeo. The rodeo book was my first, and since I was deep into rodeo, I was thrilled to talk to the true professionals in the sport. I met some amazing athletes and came face to face with crazy livestock. Researching gave me tons of stories that I survived to tell about. The bar book came about because I stood at a bar in Clayton, New Mexico and heard the fascinating story behind why it was there in that restaurant/hotel—it was won in a card game and hauled across the llano by ox wagon. I thought there had to be other stories behind the historical bars in the Southwest, and I was right. That book took 3 1/2 years to research. But it’s turned out to have a life of its own and has sold quite well. UNM Press published both of those. (Her third nonfiction book, Butterfield’s Byway: America’s First Overland Mail Route Across the West, was published by The History Press in 2014.)

What is the hardest thing about writing?
Getting the words right.

Are you a pantser, a plotter, or a hybrid of both? What does a typical writing session look like for you?
While I’m a pantser, my characters guide me. I do, however, take a page from another writer’s method and briefly (I mean briefly) describe what’s going to happen in the next few chapters. That has helped keep my characters and me somewhat guided. But I’m a firm believer in letting your characters “do their thing.” I’ve learned they are much more interesting than anything I can think up. As far as a writing session, I like to use mornings to write, then do research and everything else in the afternoon. I have my own office, which helps a lot. I also do tons of book reviews, so my day starts out with several cups of coffee (you see this theme in all of my books) and about an hour of reading a Western—certainly gets me in the Western mind-set.

What do many beginning writers misunderstand about telling a story?
That’s easy. That they’re TELLING a story, not educating nor preaching. If a reader learns something, fine. But our job is to spin a tale, put readers in a different place and time from their own. Entertain them. We are entertainers, storytellers, not priests or professors.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m about five chapters away from finishing Lady of the Law, the sequel to She Was Sheriff (Five Star Publishing, 2016). And I’m plotting the third book in that series. I have another novel at Five Star Publishing, and I expect to receive a list of first edits any day now. Big news—working on a graphic novel! It’s based on the book currently at Five Star. I found an amazing illustrator who lives in Phoenix. We’re both so excited about finishing our first graphic novel! I also write for magazines, so I’m working on those articles as well. And I’m having tons of fun researching a novel about my relatives emigrating from Ireland and landing in New Orleans.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I’m a native New Mexican (there are so few of us!), but graduated from high school in the Philippines at Subic Bay Naval Base during the height of the Viet Nam war (we were the closest ship repair facility). So, my high school experiences were way different from most people.

I started writing Westerns when I was in junior high but was told “nobody reads those any more.” So I struggled with writing other things until I said the heck with that and wrote shoot ‘em ups. Well, Westerns today are quite popular—#2 in sales under graphic novels. Who knew? I write the traditional cowboy/barroom brawl story, which I love. I also love stories about family, in particular the relationship of brothers. I throw in enough history to make it historical fiction.

One thing most people don’t know about me is that about ten years back I decided to become a bull rider. I went to a bull riding school in Colorado (twice) and learned how. Yes, got thrown off every time, but I’ve had the experience—and the bumps and bruises to show for it. If I were in my teens today, I’d be riding bulls every weekend. It was that awesome! I live my life knowing I faced fear and conquered it. Nothing compares to riding those one-ton bulls.

Find out more about Melody and her writing in her 2016 interview for SouthWest Writers.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Brinn Colenda

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Former U.S. Air Force pilot Brinn Colenda weaves real-life experience and political intrigue into his military thrillers. Homeland Burning (2018) is the second book in the Callahan Family Saga published by Southern Yellow Pine Publishing. You’ll find Brinn on his website BrinnColenda.us and on Facebook.

What is your elevator pitch for Homeland Burning?
Spring 2000: An international organization launches environmental terrorism attacks across New Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Wildfires destroy western mountain watersheds and municipal water systems, breached dams release tidal waves of water to obliterate farms and towns, and stone-cold shooters target helpless civilians. USAF Colonel Tom Callahan struggles to convince a skeptical U.S. intelligence community that enemy attacks on American soil are not only possible but inevitable. Callahan’s political enemies in Washington conspire to distract the President and ridicule evidence, forcing Tom to go rogue. He’ll need all the help he can get from aviators of the New Mexico National Guard, the Civil Air Patrol, and the Ninety-Nines (an international organization of women pilots).

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
I love the Southwest, especially New Mexico, and I wanted to highlight the culture and the geography, both of which are unique. At the same time, the Southwest is particularly vulnerable to the attacks portrayed in Homeland Burning. I wanted to use fiction to point out some public policy issues that need to be considered and discussed without being preachy.

What was the most rewarding aspect of writing Homeland Burning?
The research. The characters. The storyline. The people I met along the way that helped—pilots, emergency management people, soldiers, firefighters, rangers, police, even a couple of cabinet secretaries.

How did the book come together?
It should not have taken as long as it did. I got caught up in my job as a councilor—but all those meetings and speeches turned into grist for the storyline. Probably about twelve months of actual writing. I am lucky to be in a superb writing group in Taos, which helped me immensely. Southern Yellow Pine Publishing of Tallahassee had published my second thriller, Chita Quest, the third in the Callahan Saga (yes, I wrote them out of sequence chronologically!), and jumped on Homeland, so I did not have any time delay from finished to published work.

What inspired you to start the Callahan Family Saga books? What sparked the story idea for the second in the series?
I got the idea for Cochabamba Conspiracy, the first book in the series, when I lived in Bolivia. Then I became intrigued with what happens to family dynamics when in danger or under other types of stress. The Callahan family happens to be military—military families are stressed under normal conditions. The stories are about ordinary people put in extraordinary circumstances and how they manage to survive and grow. I read a lot of thrillers so I decided to use that format. The idea for Homeland Burning came to me while I was serving as a councilor for the Village of Angel Fire. We were struggling with how to address the issue of emergency management, especially wildfires, and it occurred to me that the United States could be a prime target for ecoterrorism.

Tell us a little about your main characters.
I always have pilots and flying scenes in the stories. In Homeland Burning, I chose to highlight female aviators because I think they are usually overlooked. I am always amazed at how characters grow or crumble. One of the minor characters kept growing in stature and showed me that you could be gentle and kind without being weak. She became one of the stalwarts of the book, saved lives, taught lessons in humility, and essentially saved everybody. The antagonist went a little nuts and the Callahans were taken to the edge of their capacity to cope. I love my characters and often have conversations with them. They are all strong-willed and often they do what they want, not what I want.

You began your writing career later in life. What did your mature self bring to the writing table that your younger self never could have?
I was lucky in my career—I flew cool planes, lived in distant lands, and worked at reasonably high levels in government. I met many interesting and complex people. I developed a “big picture” of life and of international politics that I did not have as a young man.

Who are your favorite authors, and what do you admire most about their writing?
Ken Follett, Isabel Allende, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Daniel Silva, Dick Francis. They all tell compelling stories, beautifully written. I nearly cry when I read Allende and Perez-Reverte. Their translations are better than anything I can write—I can’t even imagine how beautiful their written words would be in the original Spanish.

Do you have a message or theme that recurs in your writing?
My female characters are strong, competent, and confident—able to handle dangerous and often bizarre situations. They are not the kind of women who are usually portrayed in thrillers, but they are the kind of women in my family and circle of friends. I like to take readers to exotic locations to broaden their horizons. I pride myself on the quality of my research so readers learn interesting things as they enjoy the story.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I am writing a Young Adult thriller using some of the Callahan characters. It will “star” the Callahan’s sixteen-year-old son as he spends a semester abroad in Ireland and faces a decision between the easy way out and the right thing to do.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. She has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update: Joseph Badal

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Best-selling, award-winning author Joseph Badal uses his experience as an officer in the U.S. military to craft believable and compelling stories. His publishing credits include dozens of articles and short stories, as well as twelve mystery/suspense/thrillers (soon to be thirteen) split between three series and three standalone novels. The six-book Danforth Saga takes readers (and the Danforth family) through the wringer of international intrigue. His Lassiter/Martinez Case Files pits a pair of female detectives against relentless criminals, and The Cycle of Violence series deals with the timely topic of human trafficking. You’ll find Joe on his website JosephBadalBooks.com, his Everyday Heroes blog, and his Amazon author page.

Sins of the Fathers (Suspense Publishing, 2017) is the sixth novel in the Danforth Saga thriller series. How do you keep the Danforth stories fresh, for you as well as readers?
I’ve thought a lot about this issue and came to the conclusion that building the series brand on the backs of Bob and Liz Danforth alone would be a mistake. In order to refresh the series, I now have Bob and Liz’s son, Michael, and grandson, Robbie, playing more active roles. Bob and Liz are still integral to the plot lines, but they now share the spotlight with the next two generations.

What was the inspiration for this book? How did you go about weaving a complex plot that spans the globe?
As with most of my novels, my story in Sins of the Fathers is topical and timely. The conflicts in the Middle East and continued terrorist events in the West and in the Middle East continue to be front and center in the news, so I centered the plot around that theme. I also wanted to introduce Robbie as a bigger player than he was in the previous two Danforth Saga novels, and Sins of the Fathers provided the perfect platform.

You describe the main characters in your books as everyday people. What “everyday” characteristics do your protagonists possess that readers will relate to?
Readers are everyday people. Even those readers who may have performed heroic acts are still everyday people, not superheroes. Protagonists who leap tall buildings in a single bound and dodge bullets are literary superheroes who have no relationship to real people. My protagonists tend to be loyal, have character, and—most of the time—do the right thing. I believe the everyday reader can relate to that type of character.

What was the most rewarding aspect of writing Dark Angel (Suspense Publishing, 2017), the second book in your Lassiter/Martinez detective series?
I received so much positive feedback about Borderline, in which I introduced Barbara Lassiter and Susan Martinez as detective partners, that I was anxious to bring them back. Dark Angel gave me the opportunity to convert Borderline from a standalone mystery to the first in a series. The most rewarding aspects of writing Dark Angel are the challenge of writing from a female perspective and the wonderful reviews and feedback I’ve received.

For the Lassiter/Martinez series, why did you choose two female detectives as your main characters versus the alternatives (one main character/different gender choices)?
I try to avoid consecutively writing books in a series. Stepping away from a series, moving to something new, and taking on a challenge are ways to clean my creative palette. Writing a mystery not only offered a challenge, but it caused me to think about doing something different, if not unique, from what’s out there today. Creating a detective team versus a single protagonist seemed like a way to differentiate my story from 99 percent of all the other books out there. And moving from male protagonists to female offered intrinsic challenges that gave me a great amount of satisfaction.

Has your writing style changed since you wrote your first novel?
I think the biggest change in style is that my writing has become less wordy and flowery and more economical. I attempt to write in a way that will avoid the reader stopping to question why I wrote something the way I did. Causing a reader to pause in his consumption of a book can lead to losing that reader.

Of all the books you’ve written, which one was the most challenging, and which one was the easiest (or most enjoyable) to write?
My first novel, The Pythagorean Solution (Suspense Publishing, 2015), was definitely the most challenging because I was learning to write on the fly, with almost no formal training and, obviously, no experience. As far as the most challenging novel I’ve written, I would say it’s always the most recent one I wrote. This is because I know more about writing with each new book, which creates new challenges. I also feel that my most recent book is also the one I enjoy writing the most.

You’ve taught several writing classes over the years. What do many beginning writers misunderstand about telling a story?
The biggest failing I see among beginning writers is that they believe all that is necessary to be published and to be successful is to tell a good story. A good story is the minimum requirement for success. But beyond that, the writer must learn that writing is a craft and that honing that craft is a continual process. I had to learn this the hard way. Today, after I finish the first draft of a manuscript, I spend months editing that manuscript (usually 6-8 edits). In the editing process, I challenge the necessity and appropriateness of every word and make adjustments accordingly. This is a time-consuming, arduous process, but once finished, it adds to the satisfaction of writing.

Who are your favorite authors, and what do you admire most about their writing?
My list of favorites is too long to publish here. But, just to name a few, they include Robert Ludlum, Bernard Cornwell, David Morrell, Tony Hillerman, Carl Hiasson, James Lee Burke, Steve Brewer, Elmore Leonard, Steven Pressfield, and James Clavell. What I admire most about all of these writers is that they have developed their unique voice that differentiates them.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I just completed the eighth edit of Obsessed, the second book in my Cycle of Violence series. It will be released in May of this year. I also just finished the seventh edit of a standalone thriller titled Second Chances and am in a rewrite of the third book (Retribution) in my Lassiter/Martinez series.

Find out more about Joe and his writing in his 2016 interview for SouthWest Writers.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. She has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Margaret Tessler

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Margaret Tessler is the author of the Sharon Salazar cozy mysteries, five of which have been finalists in the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards. Her most recent novel, Relative Danger (2017), was originally planned as the 7th in that series but instead developed into a mystery with a new protagonist and a new setting. You’ll find Margaret on her website at Abq-Talespinner.com and on Facebook.

What is your elevator pitch for Relative Danger?
I have two, depending on how many floors the ride takes us: 1) When the family pariah returns to town, she unleashes chaos; and 2) Becca Sandoval must uncover the reasons for the hostility generated by the family pariah and learn what’s behind the sinister order she’s joined.

What sparked the story idea?
All my stories are sparked by some personal incident. In this case, one family member caused quite a bit of dissension within the rest of the family over a particular issue. That was when I came up with the idea of having people wear warning labels. (Disclaimer: The people and incidents in the book have no relation to my real-life soap opera, which eventually fizzled out, by the way.)

Tell us about Becca, your main character.
At one point, Becca describes herself as being like “everyday people.” She’s down-to-earth and unpretentious (her musical tastes include both Alan Jackson and Chopin). She has a good sense of humor. She’s basically kind and sympathetic. People find it easy to confide in her. But her halo isn’t firmly planted, and she can be snarky when the occasion calls for it. One comment I often get from readers is that they like the solid, healthy relationship between Becca and her husband Diego in Relative Danger, and between Sharon and Ryan in the Sharon Salazar series.

How long did it take to finish the book?
I kept getting interrupted in my writing, so it took two years to complete. I shared the story with my two critique groups, which I call my “editorial committee.” In addition, I have three or four beta readers who added their input. Their combined feedback was invaluable.

Relative Danger is a departure from your six-novel Sharon Salazar mystery series. What challenges did this new work pose for you?
Originally, I had planned the story as the 7th in the Sharon Salazar series. Then I was fortunate to find two agents who expressed interest in the initial pages of the story. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t accept something that was part of an ongoing series. Since I’d written only a few pages at that point, I decided it would be simplest to change the names of my characters and set them in Albuquerque instead of San Antonio. I figured if that didn’t sell, I could always go back to my original version. However, as I continued writing, I discovered I liked my new characters and liked keeping them in Albuquerque. Although the personalities and careers of the main characters (Becca and Sharon) are similar, I needed to find ways to set them apart. For example, Sharon has a difficult relationship with her mother; Becca has a very warm relationship with hers.

What’s the best compliment you’ve received as an author?
I’m always gratified when people tell me they can’t wait for the next book to come out. I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who enjoy re-reading my books.

What does a typical writing session look like for you? What do you absolutely need in order to write?
“Typical” for me is mostly hit and miss. It might sound counter intuitive, but I find that writing sparks inspiration and not the other way around. What I absolutely need is to park myself in front of the computer, quit looking for excuses to procrastinate, and start writing.

You published a memoir, Life in the Slow Lane, in 2004. What was the hardest thing about writing that book, and what was the easiest?
The easiest part was that I could use material I’d already written over a period of eight years: weekly family letters plus a daily journal. The hardest part was deciding what to filter out so the book wouldn’t wind up with 100,000 pages.

What do you love most outside of writing and reading?
I have a large extended family, so family activities account for a lot of my time. I also enjoy gardening, and I like to sing and play the ukulele.

Do you have a writing project you’re working on now?
I’m working on a lighthearted mystery with multiple viewpoints that’s totally different from my other novels. It’s giving my brain a break!

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. She has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Updates: Joyce Hertzoff & RJ Mirabal

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Though Joyce Hertzoff and RJ Mirabal came to writing from different paths (hers as a science professional, his as an English teacher), they both ended up in the same place—the fantasy genre. This shared passion brings them together at SouthWest Writers (SWW) meetings, in critique groups, and as table-mates at local and regional book events. And they’ve both been hard at work on new writing projects since their first SWW interviews several years ago.

The Crimson Orb (2014), the first book in Joyce Hertzoff’s Crystal Odyssey Series, follows teenager Nissa and her older brother Blane on a journey to find her missing magic teacher, the wizard Madoc. The quest entangles them and a band of new-found friends in a search for the legendary Crimson Orb. The series continues in Under Two Moons (2017) with Nissa and the group searching for the source of Madoc’s strange books. After uncovering secrets about Nissa’s world, she and the others start on a path to recreate their history’s lost crystal-based technology. Joyce’s newest series begins with A Bite of the Apple (a Portal Adventures book, 2016) and another strong female character eager to find a place in her world. Anabet “Bet” Haines jumps at the chance to explore unknown lands as a portal traveler. When disaster strikes, and Bet is unable to finish her portal training, she is forced to accept an assignment to find a thief hiding in the strange, new world of The Big Apple.

You’re in the middle of writing two fantasy series. Do your characters surprise you as you write their stories or do you rein them in and make them behave?
In both series, my main characters changed and grew because of their experiences. How that affected their world view and self-confidence surprised me a little. Nissa, the main character in the Crystal Odyssey Series, has gotten past her desire to do “what the boys do.” Now that she can wield a sword and do magic, and also learned how useful sewing and cooking can be, she realizes every lesson in life is important. She’s also traveled far from her insular early life at the duke’s manor and discovered the astonishing history of her world. Bet (from A Bite of the Apple) began her first trip through a portal with little training, only her wits, four enchanted apples, and a small knife. Now she’s gained experience and shown her abilities.

What was the most difficult aspect of world building for your books?
Neither of my main characters is particularly religious, but I had to come up with beliefs for some of the people they meet during their adventures. That wasn’t easy, especially since I didn’t want the religions to mirror those in our world. Similar to that, they meet many different kinds of people. I had to find a way to differentiate them all.

How has your writing style changed since you wrote your first book? What important lessons have you applied to your writing?
I don’t think my writing style has changed too much, but based on classes I’ve taken, books I’ve read, and especially critiques/feedback I’ve received, I’ve been able to break some habits (such as beginning sentences with “and” and “but”). I know now that I should include more descriptions than I did at first, and also show more of the characters’ emotions.

Your stories place female characters in challenging predicaments. Do you work from an outline (plotter) to craft your stories or write by the seat of your pants (pantser)?
Pantser all the way. I’ve tried to use outlines. Every time I’ve abandoned what I intended when my characters picked different paths. I know an outline would help me with plot and scene structure, but I’d rather impose those after the story is done. I usually start with a plot idea but rarely know how the story will end. It’s more fun that way. It’s amazing, in a way, since I tend to think logically, in a straight-forward line.

Since the last SWW interview in 2015, a new sub-genre of speculative fiction has become popular — science fantasy. Tell us how your stories fit in this genre.
I could talk about genres all day. I thought my stories were fantasies with scientific overtones, but as they went along, science took over. I guess I needed a logical explanation for the magic without it taking away from the fantasy aspect. In the Crystal Odyssey series, there’s energy all around, more or less, and the magic the characters learn is the ability of using their minds to use this energy. But crystals can also be used to focus the energy and that’s what was used for technology in the past. In the Portal Adventures series, the keys necessary to pass through the portals can be anything, but substitutes can be made by enchantments. No one knows how the portals work, or the keys for that matter, but in the second book I’m working on now they begin to question and study both.

I’ve been told my books are for a Young Adult audience, since my main characters are eighteen; I can accept that if that includes coming-of-age stories. I never thought of them in those terms, but as I analyze the themes in each, that’s what they are.

How are you coming along with Beyond the Sea, the third book in the Crystal Odyssey series? Do you have other projects you’re working on?
I’m doing the fifth or sixth edit on Beyond the Sea and trying to cut it from the initial 135,000 words to something more reasonable (now at 129,000 words). Each time I think I can cut a particular chunk from it, I realize how important that chunk is to the overall story. I’m also working on the sequel to A Bite of the Apple (called Winds of Change) as well as two near-future apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic stories (Addie’s Exile and The Train to Nowhere Somewhere). I’m also looking for places to publish two children’s stories: So You Want to Be a Dragon and The Ogre and the Two Sisters.

Read more about Joyce and her fantasy series in part one and part two of her 2015 interview, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter, as well as HertzoffJo.blogspot.com and FantasyByJoyceHertzoff.com.

RJ Mirabal’s first book in the Rio Grande Parallax series, The Tower of Il Serrohe (2012), follows a disheartened and cynical Don Vargas through a portal into an alternative existence in the Valle Abajo (a place both alike and unlike his own Rio Grande Valley) where he takes on a quest to save the Valle clanspeople from the wily Soreyes. Extreme Dust Storms May Exist (2015) is the second book in the series that picks up five years after Don’s disappearance through the portal. The story follows his sixteen-year-old cousin Esther on a new quest against the Soreyes. In Zero Visibility Possible (2016) the Soreyes continue heaping terror on the clanspeople while Esther leads a group of comrades across the barren Malpais in search of answers to the mysteries of the Valle.

Of the three books in your series, which was the most difficult to write and which was the easiest?
Tower, the first book, was the hardest because I had to establish the world of the Valle Abajo: what it looks like and how it differs from the New Mexico we know; how the magic works there (more complicated and subtle than the “you can do anything with magic” approach of standard fantasy); the various storylines and how they intersect; establishing the identity of the clans of the Valle; and…where do I take this story? How do the characters and plot develop along the lines of my major themes? Once that was done, books 2 and 3 fell into place. Book 3 was the easiest to write because the arc of the plotlines in the first two books were already well on their way, so it was fun to work out how it all ends. I had a couple of alternative endings, but I went with what felt right and satisfying for me as well as what I hoped my readers would both like and find surprising.

Tell us about some of the new characters introduced in books 2 and 3 of the Rio Grande Parallax series.
Esther is a bright, enthusiastic honor student and athlete drawn through the Portal into an alternate world. Though inexperienced in warfare and diplomacy, she believes she can help the Valle clans fight the evil Soreyes. Markey, her life-long friend, helps Esther pass through the Portal. He entertains romantic thoughts concerning her, but keeps them to himself—barely. Donald is the nasty leader of a clan of outcasts in the heights of the Mountains of the Sky who threatens the clans of the Valle. Ramon seems to be an abnormality in the rather peaceful healer/counselor Pirallts clan. He proves to be quite irritating to other characters. Scarflue, a minor character in the first book, becomes the major foil in books 2 and 3 as the crafty and evil leader of the revived Soreyes.

Why did you choose New Mexico as the setting for your series?
The main reason was to allow me to break my story out of the typical mold of the Medieval European-type fantasy setting. This also allowed me to establish new kinds of characters and races not found in usual fantasy stories (dragons, elves, dwarves, etc.). Finally, there’s so much about New Mexico that makes it a wonderful setting for a fantasy: magical sunlight, high desert, Rio Grande River valley and bosque, lava fields, and tall mountains. We also have diverse cultures and an enchanted (pun intended) atmosphere that’s ideal to spark the imagination, especially for me being raised here from infancy.

What are the hardest kinds of scenes for you to write?
Action scenes are fun, but challenging because they must seem spontaneous and believable. It’s easy if your main characters are powerful, but when they’re not, how can they survive, either immediately or eventually, and still be believable? If they can’t, how do you handle the demise of a main character that might be beloved by readers (and the writer!)? Exposition is hard too, because those passages can be deadly boring and slow down, or stop, the pace of the story. Yet, you need exposition from time to time. If it has to be inserted in the middle of more interesting events, will it deflect the thrust of the scene/plot?

What is the best compliment you’ve received as an author?
When a reader is blown away by a big surprise or reveal in the story. I love when it works, so those compliments have been the most satisfying. Also when people “get” Don and don’t think of him only as a loser/jerk.

What writing project(s) are you working on now?
A rather modest little story of a rescued dog—Trixie—adopted by an older couple who discover all her doggy nature and personality as they make her a part of their family. At a certain point, fantasy will be brought into the story through her dreams. The story is intended for “children of all ages,” especially for adults to read to little children. I have some ideas to create short videos to accompany the book, so we’ll see how that goes. I’m also hoping to record more videos where I read portions from my current trilogy to post on YouTube as a way to promote my work.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I’m thrilled and humbled to announce that my third book, Zero Visibility Possible, is one of four finalists in the 2017 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards, Science Fiction/Fantasy category. My first two books were also finalists in 2013 and 2016, so I hope the third one is a charm and that it wins its category!

Read more about RJ and his fantasy series in his first interview for SWW, and connect with him on his website RJMirabal.com.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. She has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Claire Stibbe

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Claire Stibbe is a British author of nonfiction, short stories, and novels who writes from her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her award-winning books include a historical fiction series set in Egypt and a crime thriller series set in New Mexico. Past Rites, the third of her Detective Temeke crime novels, was published by Noble Lizard Publishing (2016). You can connect with Claire on her website CMTStibbe.com and blog, and on Facebook and Twitter.

What is your elevator pitch for Past Rites?
What do you get when you mix a psychopathic killer with a few teenagers dabbling in black arts at a boarding school? A recipe for murder! For those who like a walk on the dark side this might be your cup of tea or, more aptly, your poison.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
I think the most difficult challenge was trying to answer some complex and seedy questions I had been asking myself for years. What are serial killers? Are their demons real?

How did the book come together?
The idea for this book came from watching serial killers being interviewed and learning how the roots of their catastrophic behavior often reach right back into their childhood. Often, I saw a pattern in the way their parents meted out discipline; it was abusive, unpredictable, unfair and wicked. Maybe there is an argument for serial killers being manmade not born. Huge developmental fractures occur when a child is isolated and in permanent terror. They will soon believe the emotionally barren world that surrounds them is normal. Serial killers are like ticking time bombs, but what makes them tick? Past Rites took about three years to research and about five months to write. I have five BETA readers and two Alphas plus two paid editors. All this can add a further two months before publication.

What was the most rewarding aspect of writing it?
The most rewarding aspect of writing Past Rites is the conversation between the person I call Demon and the serial killer in the book. How the serial killer spars for bodies and how Demon haggles for souls.

All kinds of warfare are devastating, including spiritual warfare, where the assault takes place on the inside, in a person’s head. Past Rites is about one man’s internal war and the devastation it causes.

Tell us a little about your main character. After writing four novels in The Detective Temeke Crime Series (the fourth yet to be published), did your protagonist still surprise you as the story unfolded?
My protagonist is an old dog in the fight—a feisty and somewhat crabby Brit who has wound up in New Mexico much like I did. He sees the world through cynical eyes, believes in cutting corners, and has a passion for justice. Although there are some who would like nothing better than to cut him from the unit, Temeke is the one person who always seems to find a way to finagle the truth out of his crooks. He’s so bloody good at it and gets more proficient with each book. It always surprises me how he does it.

Why did you choose New Mexico as the setting for the series?
New Mexico is a unique state. With its Pueblo Indian and Hispanic society, sand that looks like snow, unique rock formations and vast national forests, it makes for the perfect setting. Diverse cultures amp up the characterization and make the book more interesting. Having said that, I don’t tend to write in local accents or expressions since overseas readers lose the gist.

Was there anything surprising you discovered while doing research for this book?
Yes, I think the most surprising thing was the way the police department operates here in New Mexico. I am told that it’s unlike other states where some procedurals are concerned. Having graduated from the Citizen’s Police and Sheriff’s academies, I replicate the local procedures of investigation, but at the same time I don’t tend to place all the typical people at a crime scene because I don’t want to overwhelm the reader. For instance, Temeke’s assistant district attorney is not named even though she would be present. There are also some inconsistencies in the way Temeke conducts non-custodial interviews. I also describe Northwest Area Command as a two-storey building to incorporate Unit Commander Hackett’s extraordinarily large roost on the top floor. All these add eccentricities to the characters.

You have two other novels in your Detective Temeke series (The 9th Hour and Night Eyes) and a fourth (Dead Cold) on the way. What are the challenges of writing a series?
The most important challenge for me is to complete each case in one episode/book, leaving the core characters and their relationships to develop over the body of the series. The main protagonist, Detective David Temeke, must be both gutsy and shrewd enough for readers to want to return to meet him again. I have been told the series is addictive and that readers love the characters. Malin Santiago, another detective in Temeke’s unit, receives texts and emails from someone who appears to want to help her with each case. We don’t know who this is yet, but it provides a recurring theme throughout the series.

What do you love most outside of writing and reading?
Coffee. Must have a good cappi (cappuccino) in the morning. Peace. I love listening to the wind in the trees.

What first inspired you to become a writer? When did you consider yourself a writer?
My father was the biggest and brightest influence. He was taught by C.S. Lewis during his time in Oxford and frequented many of Professor Tolkien’s seminars. School holidays would not be complete without sitting on a tartan rug down the Lion’s Mouth (a wooded gorge in North Norfolk, UK), eating sandwiches and being bitten by midges, while listening to my father’s memorable voice reading The Lord of the Rings. It’s one of the many things I miss and one of the many things for which I’m so very grateful. My father wrote a book about his time in Wingate’s second expedition into Burma, and my twin brother is a bestselling author. I can’t say when I considered myself a writer because I’m still learning.

Of all the books you’ve written, which one did you enjoy writing the most?
Night Eyes. I love the dynamic between parent/guardian and child and the lessons learned. We live in a fatherless society where boys need a good and lasting influence. Adults shape children. Boys need dads.

Tell us about your writing process.
Since the books are character driven, I’m mostly a pantser. But there is a good deal of coffee drinking alone in cafés with a notepad where plotting and people-watching occurs. You catch the greatest dialogue when sitting close to two unsuspecting people. I have a set-in-stone timeline for each book. Some span two weeks, some are only twenty-four hours—it depends on the case.

Who are your favorite authors, and what do you admire most about their writing?
Paul Gallico for his astonishing powers of description. John Grisham for flawless plots. Dean Koontz for intricate characterization and Thomas Hardy for historical fiction.

What is the best encouragement or advice you’ve received in your writing journey?
The best advice I have ever received was the familiar adage “less is more.” Another has to be “write what you know.” Extensive research and life experience goes without saying.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. She has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Charlene Bell Dietz

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In her search for “the parts of life that really matter,” Charlene Bell Dietz discovered “if you throw your heart and soul into what you care about,” the little things you fuss over disappear. She developed a firm foundation for creating plots and characters during a long-term career in education, plus time spent volunteering in the scientific community and caring for elderly relatives. The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur (2016) is her debut novel inspired by the real life of her mysterious aunt. Look for Charlene on her website and on Facebook.

What is your elevator pitch for the book?
In this novel a workaholic bio-medical scientist, Beth Armstrong, is torn between saving her sabotaged ground-breaking, multiple sclerosis research or honoring an obligation to care for her chain-smoking, Cuba-Libre drinking, ex-flapper aunt.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur crosses the traditional genre lines because the story intertwines corporate espionage with a generational battle-of-wills family saga. Even though I received kind and even complimentary rejections, I discovered most agents and larger publishing houses weren’t willing to put time or money into something this different.

Tell us about your main characters. Will those who know you recognize you in your main protagonist?
Being a nursemaid ranks a notch above catching the plague on Beth’s scale. She’s an obsessive professional dedicated to keeping her science institute a world-class organization. Unlike Beth, her aunt would prefer anything deadly to losing her independence under the care of her compulsive niece. While a murderous culprit runs loose in the science institute, frustrating Beth at every turn, her raucous aunt entertains Beth’s neglected husband with nightly cocktails and stories from the Roaring Twenties.

No one who’s read this story has ever mentioned that Beth reminds them of me. That’s a relief, because at first Beth might not be likeable to readers. I write a lot of short stories, and having my characters change from beginning to end is always on my must-do list. In this book, and also in my next book, I hope readers notice how at the end even my secondary characters have grown and changed from the beginning.

Why did you choose Colorado for the setting?
For over twenty-five years I volunteered at Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute at Sandia Laboratories in Albuquerque as their lay person for the Institute Animal Care and Use Committee. I read researchers’ protocols, participated in their monthly meetings, and helped the committee with their biannual inspection of all the animals. Since my story took some artistic license with what I know about research science institutes, and because my story highlighted the economic espionage act with some nasty characters, I needed to remove any suspicion concerning my imaginary story with my connection to the Sandia Laboratory institute.

Denver became the logical place for several reasons. When I was in grade school, I spent many summer days running all over the city with my young cousins via city bus. As kids do, we believed we owned the place—from the Capitol building stairs to the Aladdin Theater on Colfax to the elevators in the Museum of Natural History. As an adult, I continued to spend time there visiting relatives. I know the city. The size of Denver allowed me to invent a science institute without identifying its exact location. I also needed a small, mountain town several hours away for my protagonist’s family home. I’d once lived in Cañon City, Colorado, so it became my Valley View—with artistic license again.

How did the book come together?
When my mother died, her mysterious elder sister needed help. You guessed it. Her photo is the one on the cover of my book. She kept most of her antics as a flapper secret, but after an evening of rum and Cokes, she dropped names of people, places, and dates. Without her knowing, I took notes on anything handy—napkins, grocery receipts, envelopes, whatever I could put my hands on. When she died five years later I didn’t really know her story, but it needed to be told. Most of it is fiction, but still researching, editing, rewriting, getting rid of all the bad advice and keeping the good parts, plus finding a publisher took me well over ten years.

What did you enjoy most about writing the book?
Listening to my aunt’s voice in my head as I wrote made the writing easy. She seems to have won the favorite character award for this story, and I know why. When this aunt kicked up her heals as a teenager running away to Chicago, she gave up her college career. Probably because she didn’t get a high school diploma, she read all the time so she could prove she wasn’t stupid. She did seem to know everything about everything. I’ve discovered tremendous enjoyment in writing about strong women who follow their passions.

Is there a scene in The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur you’d love to see play out in a movie?
From the first conflict on page one to the final emotional last page, I wanted the reader to live every scene. Because of this, my writing style doesn’t use a lot of physical descriptions except when connecting bits of it to motives, emotions, and the characters’ deep internal conflicts. In my opinion, the whole book would make a tension-filled, eye-appealing movie—especially if Maggie Smith played the aunt (big smile here).

Your second book in the series (The Flapper, the Imposter, and the Stalker) will be released in the fall of 2017. What are the challenges of writing a series?
In The Flapper, the Imposter, and the Stalker the reader learns more about the ex-flapper aunt as a young woman. In 1923 this beautiful, bright teenage girl flees to Chicago looking for happiness, love, and an escape from being murdered. Since it’s a prequel to the first book, I had no problem creating it as a standalone. In the first book I give the reader hints about some of the aunt’s antics in the Roaring Twenties. Readers of the prequel may believe they’ve heard some of these tales before; however, now they’ll learn the full story behind all of her misbehaving.

What is the best compliment you’ve received as an author?
Before being awarded the 2016 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award in the First Book category, or being selected as a finalist in the International Book Award, I would have said the best compliment happened when a professional editor told me she couldn’t get my characters’ voices out of her head months after she’d finished working with my book. All the other compliments I’ve received naturally made me feel good inside—but kind of like your mom saying, “Good job, sweetie, I’m proud of you.” You know authors; we have fragile egos when it comes to our work. Having those award judges select my book from all those submitted totally validated my writing ability.

You mentioned you took lots of notes when your aunt told some of her stories from her flapper days. What have you done with them, and where can readers buy your book?
The notes are amusing to read. I never knew what might come out of her mouth: funny, inappropriate, or heartfelt. I’ve slid each of them into sleeve protectors in a three-ring binder. Along with photos, these are items I take to show-and-tell after a book club has read the book. When a book club reads The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur, I’m excited to come, answer questions, and show them the rest of the story. Book clubs can message me through Facebook or email me at chardietzpen@wildblue.net. Op Cit in Taos and Santa Fe, along with Collected Works, has copies of my book, as does Bookworks, Treasure House Books, and Barnes & Noble in Albuquerque. Naturally, it can be ordered online, too.

What writing project are you working on now?
Whenever I need a break, I write short stories. Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers published one last year in their anthology. I’m submitting two more for consideration in other anthologies. In a few days I’ll get back to the third book in the Flapper series. This one takes place in time right after The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur. Right now I’m about fifty percent through the first draft.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. She has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Steve Brewer

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Author Steve Brewer brings decades of journalism experience to his fiction work. Twenty years and nearly thirty books after hanging up his journalist hat, he still writes tightly plotted, fast-paced mysteries and thrillers (as well as crime novels under the pen name Max Austin). Shotgun Boogie and Homesick Blues, both published in 2016, are the first two books in his Jackie Nolan thriller series. You’ll find Steve at SteveBrewer.blogspot and on his Amazon author page.

Here’s a peek at the series:

Jackie Nolan knows how to handle semi-trucks, shotguns, and the assortment of nasty characters who cross her path. She’s a good guy who doesn’t mind breaking a few laws to make life easier for family and friends, and herself—hijacking semis to pay off a truckload of debt (Shotgun Boogie) and stealing a dead woman’s identity to start a new life (Homesick Blues).

What inspired you to write Shotgun Boogie, the first book in the Jackie Nolan thriller series? How did Homesick Blues come about?
I’d been working with an editor at the Alibi imprint of Penguin Random House, and I knew he was about to ask me (over lunch) what I planned to write next. All I had in mind was a guy named Jack who boosted semis for a living. The editor asked if I could write a female protagonist. I said, “Funny you should ask! I’ve got this female character named Jackie who steals trucks.” He loved it. Unfortunately, his position got axed before we actually signed a contract. By then, I’d written TWO Jackie books. I decided to publish them myself. Apologies to those who already heard this story at SouthWest Writers’ 2016 Self-publishing Conference (watch the YouTube video here), but that’s exactly how it happened. Of course, then I had to come up with a woman named Jackie who knew how to boost trucks. She turned into a very capable woman.

You seem to enjoy writing from an antagonist’s point of view. Is that why Jackie has a bit of a dark side? Was there a learning curve involved in writing a woman protagonist?
Jackie definitely has a dark side, but she’s motivated by good (mostly financial) reasons. Her parents’ healthcare has put her deep in debt, and her boss is only too happy to make money on the side from stolen trucks. Jackie gives in to the pressure and starts stealing semis from local truck stops. By the time the novel opens, she’s actually begun to enjoy it. I’ve written female protagonists before (A Box of Pandoras, 2012), and lots of strong female characters, so the learning curve wasn’t huge. Once she started talking in my head, we were off and running.

Why did you choose Albuquerque as the setting for the series? How true did you stay to the city?
The nice answer: I love Albuquerque, and always get a kick out of sharing its features and foibles with readers. Also true: I’m lazy and I don’t like to travel. Most of my books are set wherever I’m living at the time. I stay true to the city, though I do change the names of some businesses, etc. We are a city with a big freeway interchange at its heart, and the truck stop there is a fascinating subculture.

Are there scenes from either book that you’d love to see play out in a movie?
All of them! These novels are written so tightly, they’re almost like movie scripts already.

What interesting facts did you discover while doing research for Shotgun Boogie and Homesick Blues?
1) Hookers who work the truck stop parking lots are called “lot lizards.” Lovely, eh? 2) Most semis these days have automatic transmissions. 3) Lots of truckers, particularly the young ones, are minorities. When I was growing up, truckers seemed to be universally white. They certainly were portrayed that way in the movies. Breaker, breaker, good buddy!

How has your 30+ year experience as a journalist benefited your fiction writing?
It taught me to write fast, and to do thorough rewriting.

You’re an instructor at the University of New Mexico’s Honors College. In what areas do you wish your students were better prepared for their writing journey?
Students in public schools aren’t forced to write as much. Now, more emphasis is placed on testing. So even Honors students, who are the cream of the crop, get to college needing to improve their writing. I teach them to write for a general audience, and to keep it clear. I also teach courses called Meet the Authors and American Crime Fiction. Lots of fun!

What are the hardest kinds of scenes for you to write, and what do you do to get over this hurdle?
Sex scenes are tough. I try to keep ’em brief.

Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently if you started your writing/ publishing career today?
Most everything. I’ve been through half a dozen publishers and five agents. I just keep writing.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m finishing up work on a novel called Side Eye (to be published in June 2017). It’s about an 18-year-old delinquent who gets hired to be the driver for an old mobster who’s losing his eyesight. Set in Albuquerque, with lots of action.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. She has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Joanne Bodin

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Poetry is a driving force for author Joanne Bodin, but when a prose story calls, she follows. Heeding this call has resulted in two novels: the award-winning Walking Fish (2010), and her newest, Orchid of the Night (Mercury HeartLink, 2017), a psychological thriller. You’ll find Joanne on Facebook and her website JoanneBodin.com.

What is your elevator pitch for Orchid of the Night?
Trapped in a world of shadows, secrets and lies, Kyle O’Sullivan must flee for his life. Finding solace in the gay community of Ixtlan, even his new identity as Tom Tanner cannot protect him from his tragic fate.

What came first for you: a character, a scene, the story idea?
Orchid of the Night was inspired by true events that took place in Albuquerque with the New Mexico Orchid Guild about ten years ago when I was their vice president. Our then president died mysteriously, and we later discovered he was a pathological liar who was not who he said he was. No one ever found out his real name. He was a brilliant man who knew everything about orchids. We held a memorial service for him since there was no next of kin, but we also realized we had been dealing with an imposter. So the main character came first based on the Orchid Guild president.

Tell us about your main characters.
There are two protagonists. Part one of the novel is about Kyle O’Sullivan who grows up in Maui. He is teased by his classmates early on because of his red hair which stands out against the mostly black hair of the Hawaiian kids. Kyle befriends Danny Leavenworth, who is also a misfit. Both Kyle and Danny are highly intelligent and find ways to escape the doldrums of school by becoming best friends as well as sexual partners. As the story unfolds, (with no spoiler alerts) the two become entangled in a complex relationship which forces Kyle to flee for his life. He relocates to the mainland and ends up in Tempe, Arizona with a new identity as Tom Tanner. Part two of the novel deals with the second protagonist, Officer Andy Gomez, a Yaqui Indian sent to Tom’s home for a wellness check in Tempe after Tom doesn’t show up for work. What he finds when he arrives forever changes the officer’s life. The prologue of the novel is taken from the actual description given by the detective in Albuquerque who called me after he was sent on a wellness check regarding our guild president. The second half of the novel deals with how Officer Gomez becomes obsessed with the case as he sinks deeper into the life of Tom Tanner and finds connections to his own life.

Why did you use the particular settings you chose?
I chose Maui because our guild president talked about having an aunt in Maui who raised him after his parents died. It turned out to be a lie, but at least I had a place to start. I chose Tempe because there is a Native American Yaqui population there, and I wanted the book to take place in the Southwest. The Yaqui connection is important to the story because I needed a place for Kyle/Tom to go for safety. He goes to Ixtlan, a gay sanctuary modeled on one in New Mexico, one of the first founded in the early 70s. During the time of the Gay Liberation Movement, gays were often sent for conversion therapy to “turn them straight,” or they were kicked out of their homes by their parents, or killed. Sanctuaries saved many lives and offered a safe place to be a gay person. Also, these early sanctuaries modeled themselves on Native American values like sustainable living and spirituality. They grew their own food and lived off the land. Over time, some of them were accepted by the locals, like the fictional sanctuary of Ixtlan.

How did the book came together?
Only a few Orchid Guild board members knew the details surrounding the death of our president. When I knew I wanted to write the novel, I held a meeting at my house and discussed this project with them to see how they felt. Once I began the story, it basically wrote itself. In my dreams I heard the characters tell me what they wanted. In fact, much of the backstory, which is represented in the book with italics, came from dreams. I used those vignettes throughout the book because the backstory is what drives the characters, and I used a different style of writing called poetic narrative. This book is considered a psychological thriller, but is written as a work of literary fiction. The book took about three years to write, most of it taken up with research. After hiring the professional editor who edited my first novel, Walking Fish, I sent query letters to agents and presses for over a year, and received about 25 rejections. In 2016, I got a contract with an Australian press that had relocated to northern California. They were bought out by a press in Madison, Wisconsin. All went smoothly until about five months ago. The book was ready to be published, but I hadn’t heard from the publisher. I decided to get the rights back to my book, which took some legal help, but in the end everyone was happy. I found a publisher in Silver City, and they did a fantastic job. It all turned out for the best.

What is the significance of the flower on the book cover?
The orchid on the cover is called a Dracula vampira. For those knowledgeable about orchids, it is in the Pleurothallid Alliance, and is called the orchid of the night, or the Dracula orchid because of its bat-like shape and because it hangs upside down from trees in the wild (and from moss-filled baskets in greenhouses). I decided to use this orchid as a metaphor for the self-loathing of the protagonist Kyle O’Sullivan because of the dark and seedy life that Kyle descends into when he lives on Maui. The orchid is also used as a writing convention that appears throughout the story as the plot unfolds.

Share some results of your research for Orchid of the Night.
I discovered there was a POW camp in Papago, Arizona near Tempe, used during World War II for German prisoners. I turned it into a gay sanctuary, Ixtlan. The Dracula vampira orchid that Kyle takes with him when he leaves Maui for Tempe cannot be grown in a desert climate, so I enlisted the help of an expert. Together we came up with the correct environment Tom Tanner could use to grow the orchids in the desert. The journal entries of Kyle/Tom’s uncle were actually written by my Dracula vampira expert from real expeditions to collect plants for his greenhouse in San Francisco. The founder of the Ixtlan gay sanctuary is based on research into the actual people who were involved in the early 70s in the San Francisco Gay Liberation Movement.

WalkingFishWhat do you want to be known for as a writer?
I have been writing poetry since I was seven. I prefer writing poetry, but when inspiration hits, I can’t ignore it. Both Walking Fish, my first novel, and now Orchid of the Night, wouldn’t leave me alone until I started to write them. Then I was hooked and couldn’t stop. I am glad I did tell their stories because both novels focus on flawed individuals who face almost insurmountable obstacles, and who must find ways to survive. I also like to write character-driven stories that are research-based and that deal with marginalized populations.

What has writing taught you about yourself?
Writing for me is like breathing. I need to write throughout the day. In some ways, writing is an extension of my emotional life. When I can’t write because of daily interruptions, or family problems, or illness, etc., I get anxious. Writing is the calm I need to maintain physical and emotional balance.

What do you love outside of writing and reading?
I find that taking watercolor painting classes at the New Mexico Art League gives me the perfect balance when I am working on writing projects. Writing uses a certain part of the brain that needs to rest, to take breaks before the muse emerges again. By painting in watercolor, my brain feels renewed, almost like meditation. I also play classical and jazz piano to relax and replenish.

After publishing three books, what have you learned about marketing?
The process of writing a novel is one thing, but once it is out in the world it becomes like your child. You need to nurture it, make sure you do it justice. I see myself as a conduit for telling stories. Both novels, Walking Fish and Orchid of the Night, began to have an energy of their own once they were finished. Marketing your work is like raising your child. You want to make sure you find the best situation so the story gets out there. With social media it is much easier than it used to be when authors had to appear in person at book signings. Now you can market from your desk if you want. But, marketing is a full-time job. I approach it as a real job, and each day I check off something on my marketing list so that over a few months I have actually accomplished quite a bit. Also, entering the book into contests is part of marketing. In New Mexico we are fortunate to have the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards. There is also the IPPY (Independent Publisher Awards), and depending on your genre, many other award venues to enter. These contests do cost money, but nothing feels as good as placing as finalist, or winner, and receiving stickers to put on your book. Then your book becomes even more marketable, and it rises to a higher level of readership. So, if you are in the writing business and take the time to follow through with marketing your product, you will reap the benefits of what can be a lonely, labor-intensive, competitive, and frustrating profession. But, most writers have no choice. If they don’t write, they don’t thrive.

Your book of poetry, Piggybacked (Mercury Heartlink, 2011), was a finalist in the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards, and you’re a past vice president of the New Mexico State Poetry Society. What can writers learn from studying poetry?
Writing poetry is very different from writing narrative. Poetry often relies on imagery and metaphor, whereas narrative is more linear and plot-driven. Poetry is something that came naturally for me when I was in grade school. It seemed to allow me to delve into my imagination as a child and to come up with images that expressed my inner feelings; things that I couldn’t put into sentences or conceptualize at that age. The study of poetry takes a certain kind of dedication. It either calls out to you or not. Poetry can be a bit esoteric and, frankly, I only have patience for certain types of poems that speak to me personally. However, poetry is the language of the people. Even today, the success of poetic forms such as the spoken word, slam poetry, and even hip-hop, aligns with the poetry of the early bards, who went from town to town reading or speaking about the politics of the day.

Any advice for beginning or discouraged writers?
Passion, Patience, and Perseverance. Without those three things an emerging writer will not have the stamina to pursue their dream of writing.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a type of hybrid memoir that includes poems, narrative, archival material, and research. It deals with my experiences growing up in post-war Burbank, California in the 50s; with my experiences during the 60s at UC Berkeley during the Free Speech Movement; and with my life in West Hollywood during the New Age Movement.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. She has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



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