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An Interview with Author Rhenna St. Clair

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Rhenna St. Clair is an author, artist, and poet who practices Chinese medicine and acupuncture in northern New Mexico. She began writing her debut novel, Getting New Mexico, in 2016 and published it through Pace Press three years later. Anne Hillerman calls the book “part love story and part comedic hero’s journey…filled with quirky and diverse characters and unlikely situations right out of real life.” You’ll find Rhenna on her website at RhennaStClair.com and on Facebook.

What is your elevator pitch for Getting New Mexico?
Getting New Mexico is a universal story about bad life choices, poor judgment, mean deeds one later regrets, and the desperate hope that we are still lovable despite those times when we are a tarnished version of our higher self. I love what is ridiculous, odd, and unpredictable about life and the characters we encounter while living it.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
Blending my experience of life in New Mexico and what I knew of Pueblo people, with what I knew about East Indian culture and customs, was challenging but, at the same time, fun. I appreciate the mix of cultures in New Mexico and have never had more fun than when writing Getting New Mexico.

Who are your main characters, and why will readers connect with them?
The main character is a transplanted New Yorker, Aaron Schuyler. The love of his life, Anita Chatterjee, is a close second as a main character. I think readers will see something of themselves in those two (and the other characters) and will appreciate Schuyler’s interactions with all of them, as well as his moments of comic mistake or pathos.

Why did you choose New Mexico as the setting for the book?
I have lived mostly in New Mexico for twenty-eight years. I can’t imagine living anywhere else! The house Aaron Schuyler moves into in Getting New Mexico is the home I lived in north of Santa Fe, in Nambe. The old house has a unique feeling, and I tried to bring that out. I shop all the time at Sam’s Club, so that seemed the obvious place for Schuyler to land a job.

Tell us how the book came together.
Getting New Mexico began with a prompt in 2016 in an ongoing writers’ workshop here in Farmington. I thought about the prompt — Where’s the fun in a funeral? — and came up with a guy in New York City who is down on his luck through his own fault. To get a free meal and some booze, he crashes funerals. It was great fun, and the fun continued as Aaron Schuyler learned some lessons in life. I finished writing and editing around the end of 2017 (I should mention that I am a licensed acupuncturist and have limited writing time). I did several edits myself, not counting what I was asked to do by Pace Press. I signed my contract with them in summer 2018, and our published date was November 5, 2019.

When did you know you had taken the manuscript as far as it could go?
I knew we were done when Aaron Schuyler had learned the hardest lesson of his life: if you aren’t there for your kids, they won’t be there for you. It was time to bring his saga to a logical but sad conclusion, and the chapters following that episode were some of the most fun to write. It was time to “put it in the can” as they used to do with old movie reels.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
I had two favorite parts. The first one was writing the scene where Schuyler visits his deceased uncle’s bookstore. I enjoyed developing the bookstore atmosphere. Secondly, I very much enjoyed developing personalities for the secondary characters so that what they did in the story made sense and contributed to the main action.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
My list of favorite authors is endless, beginning with Charles Dickens—there is nothing funnier than The Pickwick Papers. Other authors include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Teilhard de Chardin, Edward Abbey, Anne Hillerman, John Kennedy Toole, Louise Penney, Michael McGarrity, Daniel Tammet, and Dostoevsky. These are just the beginning!

Do you have a message or a theme that recurs in your writing?
I would like to think there is a theme of strong women dealing with the challenges of daily life. Many of my stories take place in my old Nambe home which is the setting for Getting New Mexico.

What are the hardest kinds of scenes for you to write?
Death scenes. The finality is hard enough to grasp in life, let alone on paper.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I have just finished a crime manuscript titled West Coast that is set in Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, and I am starting a manuscript about a librarian in Farmington, New Mexico.

Is there anything else you would like readers to know?
I love to cook. I do oil painting. I can’t get enough of the beauty of New Mexico.

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update: Shirley Raye Redmond

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Award-winning author Shirley Raye Redmond has published romantic suspense and historical romance novels, over 450 articles, and nearly thirty nonfiction children’s books. Two of her children’s titles have sold more than 200,000 copies each. Her newest nonfiction release is Courageous World Changers: 50 True Stories of Daring Women of God (Harvest House Publishers, 2020). You’ll find Shirley Raye on several websites (ShirleyRayeRedmond.com, StitchesThruTime.blogspot, and WriteChildrensBook.com), as well as on Facebook. For more about her books, read SWW’s 2015 interview and visit her Amazon author page.

What is your elevator pitch for Courageous World Changers?
Faithful Christian women are salt and light in their communities. They all make a difference. But some have such a vibrant faith that—like a stone tossed into a pond— their influence ripples throughout the world. The fifty women included in this book fall into that category.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
Some of the women in the book, such as Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton, have been written about so many times already. Many readers, even kids, would suppose they know everything about those women. I wanted to find little known facts about their lives that would make readers say, “Wow, I had no idea she did such-and-such.”

Tells us how the book came together.
The Harvest House editors sparked the initial idea and let literary agents know they were looking for book proposals on the topic. My agent gave me the heads-up and told me to hustle because many other writers wanted to take on the project. I dropped everything to put together my list of 50 women and a couple of profile samples. I was delighted when the publisher made me an offer. I was given 16 weeks to turn in the completed manuscript.

What makes this book unique in the children’s market?
Well, there are many books about gutsy women and even several about spunky Christian women. But I think my list covers a wider ethnic diversity—Chinese, African American, Filipino, Romanian, Dutch, British, and others. I selected women as far back as Catherine of Siena (who was born in 1347) to contemporary women such as Joni Eareckson Tada, who actually wrote a lovely letter thanking me for including her in the book.

Did you discover anything surprising while doing research for Courageous World Changers?
Oh, lots of interesting things! For instance, I had no idea writer Flannery O’Connor made “doll clothes” for her pet chickens. Or that one of the child prostitutes rescued by Josephine Butler in England eventually was placed in the home of Antonia Keville, the daughter of a wealthy British family, who eventually became a midwife, took Holy Orders and became known as Sister Monica Joan—yes, the same Sister Monica Joan in Call the Midwife.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
I wanted to find quotations for each woman—something that revealed personality. For instance, on her deathbed, Katharina von Bora said, “I will stick to Christ like a burr to a topcoat.” I think that captures her spunky determination quite well. Harriet Beecher Stowe, while reflecting upon the enormous success of her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, said, “The power of fictitious writing, for good as well as for evil, is a thing which ought most seriously be reflected upon.”

What was your first reaction to seeing Katya Longhi’s cover and interior art?
I was delighted with the illustrations. Each portrait is colorful and friendly—I immediately noted all the smiles. And I love how Katya carries the artistic theme over onto the page of text. As the publisher arranged for all the illustrations, I did not know Katya nor was I familiar with her work. She lives in Italy, but we have since become “friends” on Facebook.

In your 2015 interview for SouthWest Writers, you said Patriots in Petticoats, Heroines of the American Revolution (Random House, 2004) was probably your favorite writing project. Courageous World Changers seems to be of a similar theme. What is it about these types of projects that draws you to them?
I love history and the thrill of the chase, digging up nuggets that others may overlook. It has proven to be a lucrative avenue of exploration for me as both of my first nonfiction titles for children were published by Random House and are still in print nearly twenty years later: Tentacles, Tales of the Giant Squid and Lewis & Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President—which became a Children’s Book of the Month club selection when it was first released.

What do beginning writers misunderstand about writing for children?
Many think writing for kids will be easy because the books are shorter. They don’t realize they still need a marketable story plot with character + action + conflict + climax + resolution. Even a nonfiction book like my Pigeon Hero! (Simon & Schuster), which is less than 600 words, still has a story arc.

Also, marketable books for children should tie-in to the school curriculum somehow. At least, that’s been my experience. Courageous World Changers is useful for teachers and librarians looking for something to use during Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Women in Science week, etc. When schools focus on a transportation unit in reading and social studies, teachers and librarians look for novels, picture books, and nonfiction titles about the Oregon Trail, trains, planes, and cars. I once had a lively picture book about Teddy Roosevelt’s reorganization of college football rejected because I’d aimed it at 5 to 8 year olds. The editor pointed out that young children seldom play football and elementary schools don’t sponsor football teams. Even successful fictional stories for kids often have a seasonal tie-in observed during the school year, such as Valentine’s Day or Halloween. When writing for adults, one doesn’t need to keep that sort of thing in mind.

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Joan E. Berish

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Joan E. Berish began her first book after serving thirty-three years with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Retirement allowed her the time to examine decades worth of personal field journals and write her memoir. Fire and Fauna: Tales of a Life Untamed (Texas A&M University Press, 2019) reveals the author’s experiences in wildlife research and her “commitment to and passion for the natural world—and the fascinating people and animals who inhabit it.”

What is your elevator pitch for Fire and Fauna?
Fire and Fauna: Tales of a Life Untamed recounts my exploits as a wildland firefighter and wildlife research biologist at a time when women were not common in those fields. The paths I traveled to become a wildlife biologist yielded misadventures that ranged from humorous to terrifying. I outran treetop flames as a helitack firefighter in New Mexico, spent a night in a small-town Georgia jail with a threatened species, and survived a near disaster in Florida when a small plane’s engine stalled as I was searching for a wandering, wee gopher tortoise. This memoir not only covers my career evolution and adventures, but also provides insights into both animal and human nature via stories of colorful characters.

When readers turn the last page of the book, what do you hope they will take away from it?
I want readers to glean a better understanding of wildlife research. In a nutshell, we field biologists gather information that game wardens use to enforce necessary protective laws and that wildlife managers use to enhance the habitat for specific animals or a suite of species. My hope is that my book will inspire young women and men to pursue careers in wildlife biology and will encourage folks everywhere to conserve our precious natural resources. Additionally, it is my belief that we all have stories to tell, and I hope my readers will think about documenting their own experiences, further highlighting the quirkiness of life.

When did you know you wanted to write your memoir?
I have always been both a bibliophile and a storyteller. Throughout my career as a wildlife research biologist, I seasoned my scientific and popular presentations with colorful anecdotes. I continually heard, “You need to write a book!” Alas, that isn’t possible when one is afield sometimes seven days a week gathering data. Moreover, I was generating scientific manuscripts for publication and dealing with the bio-politics of conserving a high-profile species in a rapidly developing state. I always thought that I might tackle writing a memoir when I retired.

Tell us about your path to publication.
After retiring from Florida Fish and Wildlife in 2014, I gave myself a year to settle into my new burrow here in the Land of Enchantment before starting my memoir in July 2015. The comprehensive draft started with perusing field journals from my wildland firefighting, grad school research, and Florida studies on gopher tortoises. I completed that first draft in 1.5 years and soon realized I needed a professional editor. Through a circuitous path that began with SouthWest Writers, I found an outstanding editor who had a strong understanding of animals and writing. At a 2017 Wildlife Society conference in Albuquerque, I met the then acquisitions editor for Texas A&M University (TAMU) Press. In 2018, I submitted my condensed and edited draft to both University of Florida (UF) Press and TAMU Press. UF Press wanted only Florida stories, but TAMU Press, located between Florida and New Mexico, wanted all my stories. As with scientific manuscripts, my draft was sent out for professional review and was officially accepted in fall 2018. I spent 2019 working with my TAMU Press editor to hone the book for its eventual publication in November 2019. I liken this four-year writing/editing/publishing journey to hiking on a long, uphill, switchback trail! And now I am learning the fine art of book marketing.

Is there a story in Fire and Fauna that you’d love to see play out in a movie?
Actually, I think a number of stories in my book would translate well to film, such as my firefighting adventures, my travels through South Georgia to interview local characters about indigo snakes, and the crazy (and often unexpected mishaps) I endured to gather data on a burrowing turtle, the gopher tortoise. Additionally, there are almost unbelievable (but true) stories of misadventures in the deserts of California and Mexico and on high seas in the Bermuda Triangle. On a humorous note, my hubby thinks Reese Witherspoon should play me as a young biologist. She successfully starred in the movie Wild based on the popular and adventurous memoir.

While writing your memoir, did you ever worry about revealing too much about yourself?
Overall, I have considered myself merely the raconteur of the experiences and stories that form my life and career. I have had no illusions of grandeur; moreover, many other colorful humans and critters populate my tales. Fortunately, I can laugh at own mistakes and foibles. I have an innate lack of physical coordination. After hearing a presentation about potential liability when writing and publishing memoirs, I was careful to use primarily first names only and was especially cautious in telling of being sexually harassed as a nuclear medicine research technician here in Albuquerque. For different reasons, I also tread carefully in telling about the break-up of my first marriage. Author Pam Houston (Deep Creek and Cowboys are My Weakness) talks of doing a final compassion read of one’s memoir to mollify stories of family members or friends. As far as revealing things about myself, there’s an old saying that my Florida wildlife colleagues and I liked to quote (imagine this with a strong Southern accent): “I don’t believe I’d told that if I was you!” That has rarely stopped me from telling a good tale!

What was your favorite part of putting this project together, and what was the most challenging?
Reaching into my memory bank and searching through field notebooks were the most enjoyable parts of this journey as I created the initial draft. Fortunately, the actual writing came easily to me, probably because I had waited a lifetime to tell these tales in book form. Alas, the editing was more challenging as I struggled to decide which stories to retain and which to delete. The most demanding tasks came in 2019 and had little to do with  actual writing or editing. I have since sworn to never do these three things again: use other people’s photos because of the difficulty in tracking folks down and obtaining permission; use old photos that were frustratingly problematic to put into a modern publication format; and include an index. An index compiled by a professional was required—and cost me a small fortune. Despite the challenges, I am glad I persevered, and I feel quite fortunate to have TAMU Press as my publisher. I believe that having this highly-regarded, academic press publish my book has further enhanced its “field cred” (a biologist’s version of street cred).

Looking back to the beginning of your writing/publishing career, what do you know now that you wish you’d known then?
After writing and publishing many scientific manuscripts, I was not surprised by the challenges of editing and honing a draft. And I certainly was extremely lucky to find an outstanding publisher without waiting for years. However, I was not at all prepared for the demands of book marketing, especially in the time of Covid-19! I had set up a number of readings/signings at local indie bookstores, and those will have to wait. I was fortunate to attend two wildlife conferences specific to the conservation of tortoises, and I sold over 100 books total at the two events. Also, my local East Mountain community has been quite supportive; however, I feel I need to find additional ways to spread the word about my memoir. I am heartened that both scientists and non-scientists seem to be enjoying the book.

Where do you feel a memoirist’s responsibility lies, with the truth of the facts or with a perception about what occurred?
As a scientist, presenting happenings accurately was extremely important to me. And many of the details came from my field journals. But I also feel that merely reciting facts can diminish the stories and would make my memoir more like a scientific treatise (which was not my goal in this case). Therefore, my reactions and feelings were essential to fleshing out the tales. There are stories where I will never know what really happened (e.g., an ill-fated camping trip in the California desert), but I can certainly convey the anxiety and uncertainty.

What genre do you enjoy reading the most?
My office bookcase spans an entire wall and overflows with primarily nonfiction field/travel guides, travel essays, tales of adventurers, memoirs (especially by those who work or play in the great outdoors), books about other conservationists (e.g., Wild Lives by Lori Robinson and Janie Chodosh), delightful photographic and art books, and the list goes on…and on. I also enjoy select fiction, particularly stories set in the great outdoors or mysteries set in the West including works by Tony and Anne Hillerman, Craig Johnson, and C.J. Box. I’m currently reading Peter Heller’s wilderness thriller The River. And like many readers, I enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing (both the Southern setting and the author’s background as a biologist). Canine, equine, and wildlife stories are also on my shelves. I have enjoyed Spencer Quinn’s whimsical books narrated by Chet, an endearing canine detective. Editing my own book during much of 2019 put me behind on my reading, but I look forward to indulging in the many treats that beckon from my bookcase.

Why do you think people like reading memoirs and biographies?
I think that reading about other people’s lives gives a sense of commonality, of belonging to the human race. Often, memoirs are quite inspirational and allow us to believe that we too can overcome adversity. In many cases, truth is indeed stranger than fiction—and some of my favorite memoirs/biographies read like the most exciting novels. We ask, “How did this person survive that?” Memoirs often highlight human compassion, fortitude, stamina, determination, dedication, and other desirable attributes. And some memoirs tell of almost unspeakable circumstances, either self-imposed or a result of fate. People who are going through such crises can feel connected and may even find hope in these books.

What is the best encouragement or advice you’ve received in your writing journey?
My memoir is divided into three parts, each with a title related to biology (e.g., Evolution of a Wild Biologist) and with a germane quote. Those quotes have helped guide my life and my writing—”Keep thou thy dreams…the tissue of all wings is woven first of them. Press on—persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

Is there a common misunderstanding or fear about reptiles you would like to dispel?
Many folks and cultures embrace turtles and tortoises. And lizards are generally ignored, though some people may be fearful. But, not unexpectedly, snakes unfortunately conjure up fear and a host of misconceptions. Rather than list all the myths and misunderstandings about these maligned creatures, I will refer readers to a new book from a colleague of mine: Secrets of Snakes, The Science Beyond the Myths by David Steen. This slim book was also recently published by TAMU Press and is highly recommended, even for the ophidiophobic (those with a more extreme or even irrational fear of snakes). It is exactly what has been needed: an engaging, entertaining, and informative book that answers the questions people ask about snakes.

What writing projects are you working on now?
Right now, I am in the book marketing phase for my memoir. There may be additional literary journeys in my future. Time will tell. I love to write and have considered trying fiction; however, I know that finding a publisher can be daunting.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
One of my mantras is related to our need for a home while still considering our fellow creatures: Save Space for Wildlife!

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Cody W. Benjamin

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Cody W. Benjamin spent two years in India as a Peace Corps volunteer, two years in Sudan (East Africa) with a non-governmental organization, and five more years with the Peace Corps in East and West Malaysia where he completed his tour as the program’s country director. Of the time he spent overseas, it was his experience in Malaysia that drew him to the writer’s path. The result is his debut novel, Shaitan, released by Ink Smith Publishing in December 2018. You’ll find Cody on his website at CodyWBenjamin.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

What is your elevator pitch for Shaitan?
When Jim Fairchild arrives in Borneo to take over the Peace Corps program in East Malaysia, he becomes involved in a web of murder, sex, international intrigue and Malay black magic.

What sparked the story idea for the book?
I was a staff member for Peace Corps/Malaysia from 1979-83. The Peace Corps was in Malaysia for over twenty years, and I closed the program as the last country director on December 15, 1983. My wife is Malaysian-Chinese, our daughter was born in Kuala Lumpur, and we return to Malaysia on a regular basis to visit her family. I had such a great time in Malaysia, I felt compelled to write about that experience.

Share a little about your main characters.
On one level, Shaitan is a love story, but my thriller includes many aspects: espionage, the protection of the environment, gay rights, two strong female characters, and Malay black magic or the supernatural. My two protagonists are young. They fall in love and face what appears to be insurmountable difficulties in their personal and professional life. Yet, in the end, love conquers all. Love stories are commonplace, but the exotic location, colorful characters, and my protagonists’ unique set of problems (which include the paranormal) make Shaitan a thriller with many twists and turns.

How did the book come together?
After Peace Corps/Malaysia, I returned to the United States. My wife and I made our home in Albuquerque, and my life as an expatriate came to an end. I soon realized how much I missed Malaysia. The desire to write about that part of my life became a compulsion. Like many novice writers, I looked around for a writing group. Eventually, with the help of SouthWest Writers, I found one that I liked, and we have been together for many years. The constructive criticism and encouragement provided by the members of my writing group has been instrumental in turning my manuscript into a finished product. With my manuscript finally done, I went to several literary conferences. I also kept my eye on the internet. If a literary agent expressed an interest in thrillers from aspiring writers, I submitted a cover letter, synopsis and writing sample. It took eighteen months, but I eventually signed a contract with Ink Smith—a print-on-demand publisher.

Describe one of Shaitan’s main settings. Why is it the perfect place for your story to play out?
My story begins with Jim Fairchild and his old friend Bob Clancy, both connected to the Peace Corps in East Malaysia, in a bungalow on a lonely stretch of beach on the island of Borneo. While a tropical storm pounds the bungalow with high winds, torrential rain, lightning and thunder, the two discuss a Peace Corp volunteer and his relationship with a local woman. The volunteer believes his lover is what Malay folklore calls a shaitan—a beautiful woman that men find irresistible or a tiger with supernatural powers. Jim’s investigation into the volunteer’s death and the woman’s disappearance leads him to CIA agents, Chinese spies, and a plot to train shaitans as super weapons against the West. I use the scene in Bob’s bungalow to set the stage for the rest of the story.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
I included a number of themes in Shaitan to make my thriller a more compelling read. At times, keeping all the themes in the proper order, while still advancing the story, proved a challenge.

What was your favorite part of putting the project together?
What I enjoyed most was the actual writing of Shaitan. I had a great time in Malaysia, and my thriller was a way for me to relive that period in my life.

Do you prefer the creating or editing aspect of writing? How do you feel about research?
Having spent two years in India as a Peace Corps volunteer and almost five years in Malaysia, writing a thriller about the Peace Corps in Malaysia didn’t require much research on my part. What I enjoy most about writing is the creative element.

What writing projects are you working on now?
The working title for my new book is Arbor Day on the Saigon River. As the title suggests, my thriller will have a connection to Vietnam. During my tour with Peace Corps/Malaysia, many Vietnamese left the country after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Thousands fled by boat to neighboring countries. When large numbers of Vietnamese boat people arrived on the shores of Malaysia, they were placed in temporary camps. Most of the Vietnamese who reached Malaysia were resettled in countries around the world. Neither Peace Corps/Malaysia nor I had any direct involvement with the exodus of the Vietnamese boat people, but I plan to write about this historical event in Arbor Day.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
My one and only visit to Vietnam was in 2016 when I spent five days in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) as a tourist. On February 19, 2020, while answering the questions for this interview, I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I had hoped to go back to Vietnam on that trip to Asia to do research for Arbor Day on the Saigon River, but the coronavirus (COVID-19) in China and neighboring countries disrupted my travel plans.

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Authors Vicki Turpen and Shannon Horst

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It took twenty-five years for Vicki Turpen and daughter Shannon Horst to bring their debut novel, The Delicate Balance (Terra Nova Books, 2019), from story idea to publication. During that time, they have seen their fictional plot regarding climate change begin to play out in the world. Both authors live in an intentional family community on a farm in Albuquerque’s South Valley and strive to do their part to replenish spaceship Earth. You can connect with Vicki and Shannon on Facebook.

What is your elevator pitch for The Delicate Balance?
In The Delicate Balance, people all around the world try to do what has never been done on a mass scale—change the way they live their lives to avert what they believe is certain impending death. When atmospheric data from around the world indicates the delicate balance of gases that make up air has begun to shift as a result of climate change, United Nations’ climatologist Jesse Forester lands in the hot seat. To avert mass extinction, Forrester and Hannah Koenig, Senior Counsel to The Secretary General, create Operation World Salvation—a worldwide mandatory (on threat of being shot) shutdown of all use of fossil fuels and burning. Amid the chaos that ensues (abandoned hospitals with patients still inside and hordes of roving, starving people), Forrester and Koenig search for ways to put some semblance of civilization back together. Just as they discover pockets of people who have long been living carbon-neutral lives that are rich in many ways, new data appears that indicates the original figures on gases were falsified. Who would do that and why? And, does it matter?

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?
We wrote the book with the hope that readers will love the story and the characters. And if climate change does exist, it is an outcome of the way humans live their lives. If that is true, it is entirely within our power to reverse it. There are solutions we can implement right now, no more research needed. If we had the political will, we could restore soil carbon on a massive scale. This would offset huge portions of the legacy load of carbon and the annual increase load. It would also rebuild fresh-water aquifers, increase food production, produce healthier food, restore wildlife habitat, contribute to human health, etc. To reverse the course we are on will require that we all live simpler—but in many ways richer—lives. When people quit pursuing consumptive material things and focus on relationships and restoration of habitat and caring for creatures, their lives aren’t poorer, they’re richer.

We also hope the reader will choose to quit finger pointing, being a victim or allowing others to be victimized. Very few people get up every day and say, “I’m going to destroy biodiversity and throw carbon into the air.” All of us live our lives doing the best we can. We are all in this together. There are people already living rich lives with carbon-neutral or carbon-negative footprints. The reader will meet some of them (or their fictional twins) in the book and ask, “Why aren’t we replicating this on a grand scale?”

Who are the main characters in the book?
Jesse Forester is a tree-hugger and the chief atmospheric scientist for the United Nations who watches ozone levels and trends in climate change. As a result of the worldwide mobilization to halt all use of fossil fuels, he sends his spouse and two teenage boys to his childhood farm in Iowa where he hopes they will be safe. He is then thrown into a working relationship with Hannah Koenig, chief legal counsel to the Secretary General of the UN. Their task is to create and implement a worldwide ban on all fossil fuels and all burning (agricultural, industrial, etc.). And then to find ways to rebuild civilization without repeating the patterns that created climate change. Jesse and Hannah are a mismatched pair—even antagonists—at first. But they quickly build a bond out of the intensity of the chaos they are creating and then attempt to mitigate. They try to make ethical decisions in a world where everyone is just trying to survive. They face dilemmas we may one day face. Do you let prisoners go before you run out of gas to transport them or just let them starve in situ? What about hospitals? Assisted living facilities? Jesse is also faced with the very real prospect he will never see his family again. He is too aware that Hannah is beautiful and intelligent and, if they survive at all, someone he might build a new life with.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
The many challenges included: 1) trying to make sure the book read smoothly and not like it was written by two different people; 2) making the story simple—but not simplistic—around the science of climate change; 3) challenging each other many times over what had to get cut, added, or changed in the manuscript (and probably wanting to kill each other, but we survived in the end and remain good friends to this day); 4) being willing to let go, to be okay with the possibility of never getting published; and 5) when we began this 25-year journey, we both had full-time jobs (one of us still works full time), so writing, editing, pitching, and getting published was a real labor of love.

What sparked the story idea?
The kernel of the story came from a conversation one of us had with a colleague who had been working on issues related to the loss of biodiversity, desertification, and the inevitable result of climate change. We brainstormed ways to tell a compelling story about the relationship between soil carbon, soil carbon destruction, the attendant release of carbon to the atmosphere, etc. At the time, we also looked at the fact that most of the movies about global warming proposed it was going to come as just a big series of climactic events that destroy civilization. We considered that we have never mobilized to ward off a tragedy we could see coming. Generally, we wait until the crisis happens and then clean up the mess. Our plot came from all of these musings. There were already plenty of technical books, but the average reader doesn’t read them. So, we put together a mystery plot. As the years went by, the fictional plot we created began to play out around us—increased extremes in weather, increased diseases related to breathing, etc.

Tell us how the book came together.
We divvied up the major characters and the settings where they appear. Vicki wrote most of the short snippets where a character appears only one time but tells the reader things like what really happens when a zoo can no longer feed its animals because there is no fossil fuel. The full manuscript was ready after about 15 years. We edited and reworked it for another five years while also trying to get it published. We sent letters of inquiry, went to various conferences where we pitched the book, etc. Vicki did most of the pitches because she was already retired. And she kept her ear to the ground through SouthWest Writers (SWW). Vicki signed up to do a pitch for two publishers at an SWW conference in 2018. The editor from Terra Nova/Golden Word Books showed sincere interest. Within about a week of the pitch, we had an agreement for them to publish The Delicate Balance, and it was released in 2019.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
Our favorite thing about writing this book was the fun times we had together. For example, one time we were working on the book while on a trip and Vicki was updating Shannon about the plot. Vicki had murdered a couple of characters along the way and after the third murder, Shannon (a bit put out) said, “How many of our characters are you going to snuff out?”

What are you most happy with in your writing?
Vicki: I love discovering characters. There is a wonderful world out there of interesting, fascinating people. Once I latch on to one of them, I allow him or her to do the talking and acting for me. Characters in my authored works have said and done things that came from them, not from my own experience. As a long-time drama teacher and director, I visualize the story, scene by scene. I may argue with my characters, but so often they are more creative and ingenuous than I could ever be.

What has writing taught you about yourself?
Vicki: We all learn and remember more when we sit down with a pen or open a computer and write. That is a fact. If we are forced to edit what we write, we discover the myriad ways to say the same thing. We discover what is clean and valuable, or worth thinking and writing about, and not just flotsam and jetsam. During my master’s program in education at UNM, I loved writing for the class about the students I was teaching and learning more about teaching from the vast variety of other teachers in the class. One morning at home after breakfast, I went to write in my study. Later I decided it was probably time to eat lunch only to discover it was already 5:00 pm. I thought, this is fun, and I would love doing this when I retire.

What writing projects are you working on now?
Vicki: Right now, I have in the works a short young-adult novel based on my real experience with #MeToo when I was fifteen. I have a historical novel about what it was like to be a woman in the late 1800s/early 1900s, if you didn’t bend to the rules created by men for women. Lastly, I have a few chapters of a memoir about my 51-year marriage and raising five children.

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update: Patricia Smith Wood

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Author Patricia Smith Wood credits her father, a career FBI agent, for sparking her interest in law enforcement and solving crimes. After retiring from a business career that included working at the FBI and owning her own computer company, Pat published her first of the Harrie McKinsey Mysteries in 2013. Murder at the Petroglyphs (Aakenbaaken & Kent, 2019) is the fourth book in the series that once again follows editor and amateur sleuth Harrie and her business partner Ginger as they attempt to solve a complicated murder. You’ll find Pat on her website at PatriciaSmithWood.com and on Facebook and Twitter. For more information about previous books in her series, read her 2015 and 2017 SWW interviews.

What is your elevator pitch for Murder at the Petroglyphs?
Are the Ancient Ones responsible for the body discovered at Petroglyphs National Monument? Why did Harrie McKinsey have a prophetic dream about it? Why haven’t the media in Albuquerque reported on this unexplained death? And why can’t the Albuquerque Police, the FBI, or the CIA discover the identity of the victim?

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
I found myself doing a lot more research on this book than on the other three. Even though I’ve lived in Albuquerque since 1951, I had never visited the Petroglyphs until I decided to set the mystery there. Also, I’m not what you would call an “outdoor girl” type. I’ve routinely taken walks around my neighborhood, but hikes in the desert or mountains are not my bag. So I had to find a twist to anchor the story and justify using the Petroglyphs.

Tell us how the book came together.
It was actually my husband who suggested the Petroglyphs as a setting. I had just come out of the swirl of activity connected with the release of my third book, Murder on Frequency. I always think I can sit back and relax once a book is finally out there. But I immediately started being questioned about the next book and when it would be published. In the past, I had an idea at least. Not this time. So when my husband suggested it, I told him I knew nothing about the Petroglyphs. That’s when he picked up the car keys and said, “Let’s go take a look.” We spent most of our time at the Visitor Center and at the Amphitheater. I took many photos so I could have a picture in my mind while writing the book. It was also in a location relatively close to the George Maloof Air Park where model airplane and drone hobbyists gather to fly their machines. Since I wanted to include drones in the story (to satisfy some of my Ham radio buddies), that worked in very well.

It took me a little over two years to write. Then, of course, came the editing. That took about four months. In the middle of that two-year period, my 98-year-old mother passed away. We had all sorts of details to take care of and deal with her property and possessions. So that made it more difficult to focus on the book. The editing process is really the best part. You’ve finished the book—now you can “pretty it up” and make it shine (with any kind of luck at all!)

Who are the main characters in the Harrie McKinsey Mystery series, and why will readers connect with them?
Since the first book, The Easter Egg Murder, I’ve had the same six characters in the series. In the second book I introduced a new female police detective sergeant and I’ve kept her in every book since then. The main characters are Harrie McKinsey and Ginger Vaughn. There’s DJ Scott (an FBI agent), Steve Vaughn (Ginger’s husband), Caroline Johnson (DJ’s mother and Harrie and Ginger’s office manager), and homicide detective Lt. Bob Swanson (Swannie). The new “regular” added in book two is Detective Sergeant Cabrini Paiz. In book number three I introduce her husband and son.

I hope readers see Harrie and Ginger (who are somewhere in their late thirties or early forties as the books proceed) as women they might know and want to hang out with. I hope male readers can identify with the men I feature. DJ and Swannie are featured the most, and I really like them.

Is there a scene in the book you’d love to watch play out in the movie?
Actually there’s more than one, but I guess I’d pick the first chapter. It would have the most visual splendor. When I first wrote it, I included all sorts of descriptions about the sunset over the Petroglyphs on a lovely May evening, and the rising of the full moon over the Sandia Mountains. Then the park ranger takes a short walk around the area to make sure all is well. He encounters a coyote, and then discovers the body. That chapter, and its flowery and scenic descriptions, was radically modified by the editors at the publisher. They wanted a body to appear at the end of page one. Still, as a movie, seeing it would substitute for all the words they had to cut!

If your book did become a movie, who would you like to see in the roles of the main amateur female detectives?
Sandra Bullock (with hair tinted a deep auburn) as Harrie McKinsey. For Ginger, I’d like to have Geena Davis (with black hair.)

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
Getting to read it to my critique group. They always had positive reactions and came up with some great comments and suggestions.

You began your fiction writing career later in life. What did your mature self bring to the writing table that your younger self never could have?
I’d have to say my mature self has a huge advantage over my younger self. I’ve lived an interesting life, with lots of interesting people, jobs, relationships and situations. I’ve experienced many ups and downs that give me perspective and appreciation I didn’t have as a young woman. I can use that stuff with my various characters. I’ve either been there, done that, or know somebody who has been there and done that.

What are the challenges of writing for the cozy mystery market?
That’s a great question but not an easy answer. First, the definition of cozy is very complicated in today’s world. Traditionally, one describes it as akin to Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. The thread running through those stories is an amateur sleuth who solves a murder (which never happens on the page—only discovered there) and does so before the authorities can solve it. Nowadays, there are so many sub-genres of cozy it’s confusing. I heard someone recently imply an authentic cozy needs comedy, romance, and a protagonist who solves everything without the help of law enforcement. That’s not the sort of cozy mystery I write. In my mind, there’s no on-screen violence, the murder takes place off stage, there’s no foul language (there may be a “hell” or a “damn” now and then), and there are no sex scenes. I wanted my mother to be able to read my books without needing to chastise me. So one of the biggest challenges is explaining to people what a cozy mystery is—at least what MY kind of cozy is.

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Katayoun Medhat

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Katayoun Medhat was raised in Iran and Germany, studied anthropology in Berlin and London, and worked in an adolescent psychiatric unit. For her PhD in medical anthropology, she researched mental health and alcohol rehab services on the Navajo Nation in the southwestern United States. Her first novel, The Quality of Mercy (book one in the Milagro Mystery series), was inspired by her fieldwork on the Navajo Nation and won the 2016 Leapfrog Fiction Award. Lacandon Dreams (Leapfrog Press, 2019) is her newest book and the second in the series. You’ll find Kat on her website at KatayounMedhat.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

What is your elevator pitch for the Milagro Mystery series?
“The travails of Don Quixote recast in the Southwest featuring Milagro small-town cop Franz Kafka and Navajo tracker Robbie Begay” just about sums up the Milagro Mysteries. Against the backdrop of the rugged Southwest in all its natural splendor and cultural diversity, rebel with a cause (and unlikely cop) Franz Kafka aka ‘K’ confronts the demons and dragons of contemporary America—frackers, meth-pushers, gang-bangers, vigilantes—the good, the evil and the misguided. K has the help of Navajo cop and soul-brother Robbie Begay who has learned how to survive historic injustice without necessarily forgiving it and who has all the investigative skills and shrewd insight that K lacks.

“…a buddy novel, a work of history and collective and inter-generational trauma, a play with genre, from noir (…) to road movie…” is how the European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling reviewed The Quality of Mercy (Milagro Mystery I) and I am more than okay with that.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in book two, Lacandon Dreams?
An encounter with an environmental activist leads K to a quagmire of environmental destruction and corporate corruption which is tolerated—and perhaps even encouraged—by Milagro’s good ol’ boys’ network. K, still shaken by the tragic consequences of a previous case (The Quality of Mercy), finds himself once again on a solitary quest taking on the establishment, while also trying to solve the baffling disappearance of a model student. Robbie Begay, laid low after a shoot-out with meth-pushers, comes to help his old buddy K. Though Begay’s investigative methods do not always gel with K’s principles, together the odd couple uncovers a tangled web of deception leading to a ruthless vendetta involving Milagro’s upper echelons. Lacandon Dreams has some unforeseen and rather intriguing developments in store for K.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
This is my second book in the Milagro Mystery series, and as such the main challenge was to create a continuation between Lacandon Dreams and The Quality of Mercy without being repetitive or predictable, but also without disappointing returning readers who appreciated the particular setting, characters, and themes of the first book. Writing your first book you enjoy the privilege of innocence: everything is virgin territory (though that’s something you only appreciate, like so many things, with the benefit of hindsight).

Tell us more about Lacandon Dreams and how it came together.
Lacandon Dreams came out of a particular time. The 45th president had just come into office, and there was a lot of rhetoric that I, as a descendant of various peoples who experienced Diaspora and displacement, found very disturbing. I wanted to write something that charted the cultural diversity of the Southwest and that reflected a wide spectrum of histories and experiences. I wanted to write something that celebrated the invisible network of cultural roots that connects us all with each other. There is so much to be admired and celebrated here—and so much to be worried about too!

What sparked the story idea for the first book, The Quality of Mercy? When did you know the storyline or the choice of characters was strong enough for a series?
Fieldwork for a PhD left me with an enduring fascination with, and love of, the Southwest, in particular the Navajo Nation. I spent some time observing and volunteering in mental health services and in an alcohol and substance rehab program on the reservation where the ways in which history still casts its shadow on the present became quite obvious. Luckily the tribal ethos of community and communality is enduring and strong, as is the system of extended families and family support. The greatest thing for me was the Navajo sense of humor. Someone once told me, “Wherever you find a group of Navajo, you will hear laughing.” And this is true. During this time I heard so many stories and gained so many impressions that stimulated my imagination that trying my hand on a mystery became a tempting new challenge. Writing a PhD thesis you have to reign in and discipline your imagination. Writing fiction you are king (or queen) of that great realm in your head. It is so liberating! Once I started I found a whole new world of ideas for plots and storylines opened up. So I intend to keep on going!

Tell us about your main characters and why readers will connect with them.
My main character is Franz Kafka aka ‘K’ who suspects that his choice to be a police officer is so far from his natural sensibilities that it makes it akin to self-harm. K is a stranger in a strange land. He has plenty of hinterland, frequently feels out of place, but he has his principles for which he will fight relentlessly. He is a natural anarchist, and being subversive is his default mode. And he has a very keen eye for the absurd. Robbie Begay is a Navajo police officer and a preternaturally adept track reader who is the Yin to K’s Yang. Begay is robustly pragmatic, not to say an outright cynic. He is very perceptive and shrewd and provides grounding to K who is more of a dreamer. Most importantly Begay has a sharp sense of humor and deep psychological insight.

Begay and K are two characters who complement each other. They have a strong friendship, though neither would care to admit to this. They prefer ribbing each other and tend to express their mutual affection mainly through sarcasm, as many men do. The tenderness is all between the lines with these two. Together they are a pretty renegade team and often act out and challenge the establishment and subvert hierarchies in ways that most of us wish we could.

Why did you choose the Southwest as the setting for the books?
The mesas, the plains, the colors, the cultures, the never-ending sky, the peoples and their languages, history, history, history…I love it! And so much here reminds me of the country of my birth—Iran.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of writing this series?
Learning to trust my characters enough to let them go where they wished to. Really, characters sometimes escape your custody and do their own thing. They will go ahead and say things you had no idea they would. I sometimes marvel at K and Begay’s wit. They say stuff I could never dream up! And they make me laugh and sometimes cry. I once heard a famous writer say that whoever claims their characters talk to them needs their head examined—so be it! To me as a writer nothing beats having characters you supposedly created surprise you.

What inspired you to become a writer?
Wanting to write was an abstract thought. I always thought I would get to it at some point when the time was ripe. People used to tell me I should be a writer. By trade I am an anthropologist and a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. These occupations involve observing, listening and (most of all) being interested in people—as does writing. One day somebody told me about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I thought, “Well, I’ll try that.” That’s how the first draft of The Quality of Mercy was born—50,000 words in two weeks. Compared to the torturous tightrope that was writing my PhD thesis, writing fiction was a walk in the park! I submitted an edited version of my manuscript to Leapfrog Press’s Fiction Contest, and The Quality of Mercy was their 2016 Contest Winner.

Looking back to the beginning of your writing/publishing career, what do you know now that you wish you’d known then?
That it is pretty lucky to get a starred review in Publishers Weekly with your first published book, which in turn will get your book into public libraries throughout the country, and that is a great privilege!

Do you have a message or a theme that recurs in your writing?
The world is dark and dystopian, but it will be the small acts of kindness that will save us. I’m not sure. But that could be one message. The other one is that laughter and tears go side by side and make up life. All is bitter-sweet or sweet-bitter, but there’s no avoiding either flavor.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I am currently nearing the completion of the first draft of Milagro Mystery III. The working title is Flyover Country, though the final title may be different. I am very excited about the book. It is going to be pretty dark, I think—but these are the times we live in.

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update: Kit Crumpton

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History lover and former engineer Kit Crumpton writes historical fiction and nonfiction inspired by her family’s past. Her fourth and most recent release is Please Send Ketchup: WWII Letters from a B-29 Pilot (2019). Connect with Kit on her website KitCrumpton.com, and discover more about her writing in SWW’s 2016 and 2017 interviews.

What is your elevator pitch for Please Send Ketchup?
How does one preserve their heart, mind and soul in a brutal theater of fire during war? My father knew the answer: faith in God, community involvement, planning a future, love of country, duty and staying close to family.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?
My father’s letters and reader awareness of WWII events bring challenges of a life experience to the surface. My dad found a way to negotiate through this darkness and find moments of light. If their heart is open, my reader can ponder these things in their own life path.

How did you choose the title?
Many of my dad’s letters end with requests for condiments, family pictures, local newspapers, canned foods and some necessities that gave my dad the feel of home, loved ones, and brought him some momentary relief from the pressures of war.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
There are four voices in this book, so I had to figure out how to manage each one. My dad’s letters (his voice) are in italics. Sadly, I preferred a script font but was advised the younger generation do not know how to read script (too bad). Two other voices include high-level descriptions of B-29 Superfortress bombing missions and low-level personal mission accounts. My BookBaby (producer) interior designer did a great job in delineating these things. Each page has footnotes and some of those footnotes are my comments—another voice. I insisted all footnotes be at the bottom of each page (another book interior designer challenge). My comments are in red font so the reader’s eye will naturally notice my words on the page.

This book is done in color, has pictures, over three-hundred sixty footnotes, a glossary and a robust bibliography. My editor did a great job validating my bibliography. She also found some better sources.

What prompted the push to begin this project?
Fortunately, my dad was a pack-rat and kept evidence of his robust military career. I inherited all his papers. I simply reached a point in my life where I could write and produce my books. I am very interested in WWII. Dad’s career turned my head toward the Pacific Theater. This book took about eighteen months to write and produce.

What was your favorite part of putting the book together?
There are powerful moments that still bring me tears. My dad barely survived two of his missions, yet he bravely performed as a warrior and a leader of his crew. I noticed how he attended church after some of his missions. He wrote about some of the sermons he heard. The last one has powerful words the chaplain gave to his flock. I sometimes still cry when I read his description of what happened when the war was finally over. The news was received with dizzying reactions, tremendous relief, wondering if it was true, and survivor’s guilt. I found a photo of my dad and members of his fight crew and ground crew underneath his B-29 named Dark Eyes reveling with the news of the war’s end.

Was there anything surprising you discovered while doing research for Please Send Ketchup?
Yes, I did not know: 1) We conducted more Superfortress bombing missions after we dropped the second atomic bomb. President Truman became concerned the Japanese were taking too long to announce their surrender. So, we bombed six more targets and dropped more mines into their waters at Shimonoseki. My dad flew his B-29 Dark Eyes over Hikari Naval Arsenal, August 14, 1945. After that, the Japanese surrendered. 2) That at the end of the Japanese surrender ceremony on USS Missouri, September 2, 1945, we flew almost anything that was flyable down low over the battleship and into Japanese airspace. The message was clear, that Japan would never be the same again. 3) There were several other smaller Japanese surrender ceremonies after the famous one on USS Missouri. These surrender ceremonies speak to the vast Japanese empire of that era: Southwest Asia, New Guinea, Korea, Australia, Timor, Borneo, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and China. 4) Russia took advantage of Japan’s dilemma, declared war on Japan on August 9, 1945 and invaded Manchuria. How conniving!

Looking back to the beginning of your writing/publishing career, what do you know now that you wish you’d known then?
My background is in engineering, so I know how to conduct research and write papers. Having my own writing and self-publishing business, I knew I would make mistakes. Fortunately, I’ve only made a couple and I’ve survived. But nothing prepared me for a personal, verbal attack I received from a veteran. Not liking a book is one thing but triggering an attack on an author was something I did not expect. You never know how you touch another person’s life. That one I give to God.

What is the best encouragement or advice you’ve received in your writing journey?
Take the risk. Life is a journey, so live life fully. Good people will recognize what you are trying to do and encourage you. Blessings are around the corner.

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update: C. Joseph Greaves

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Chuck Greaves/C. Joseph Greaves won SouthWest Writers’ Storyteller Award in 2010 for his debut novel Hush Money (Minotaur, 2012), which became a finalist for the Shamus, Lefty, Audie, Reviewers’ Choice, and New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards. Church of the Graveyard Saints (Torrey House Press, 2019) is his sixth novel. Chuck is also the book critic for the Four Corners Free Press newspaper in southwestern Colorado, where he lives and writes. You’ll find him at ChuckGreaves.com and on Facebook. Read his 2016 SWW interview to find out more about Chuck and his writing.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in Church of the Graveyard Saints?
That it’s a compelling read! I’ve likened it to a Shakespearean tragedy in which the Capulets of resource extraction and the Montagues of environmental conservation square off in the background while an intensely personal love story plays out in the foreground. It should appeal to readers who enjoy a little romance with their adventure, and a dash of real-world relevance in their otherwise escapist fiction.

Tell us about your main characters.
Addie Decker is a 23-year-old grad student at UCLA who, thanks to a difficult father and a bad breakup with her boyfriend, left her family’s ranch in the Four Corners vowing never to return. Only now, five years later, she does return in the company of her new beau (who’s also her faculty adviser) to combat the expansion of gas drilling in and around the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument which adjoins the family ranch, only to find that her father welcomes the gas rigs and her old boyfriend, newly divorced, works on one. The story is told from four points of view—those of Addie, her father, her new beau, and her old boyfriend. Each has a very different view on the subject of resource extraction, and that frisson, together with the incipient love triangle, propels the story forward.

How did you come up with the title?
I’ve been asked the question, “What does the title mean?” at virtually every book signing I’ve done, and my answer in each case has been, “When you get to the end, you’ll understand completely.”

How did the book come together?
At just over 70,000 words, this is the shortest of my six novels, and yet it took the longest—almost three years—to write. It’s also my first foray into purely commercial/literary fiction, which might explain the care I took to get everything right. I moved to the Four Corners from Santa Fe seven years ago, and I wanted to write a book that captured both the beauty of the region and the challenges facing those who live here, particularly the multi-generational farmers and ranchers struggling to eke a living out of this harsh high-desert environment. That setting—the red-rock canyon country of southwestern Colorado—is very much a fifth character in the novel.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
I love writing fiction, so the creative process is always a thrill. What’s been particularly gratifying about this novel is that, while still in galleys, it was selected by six public libraries in the Four Corners region—those of Cortez, Dolores, Mancos, Montrose, and Ignacio (Colorado) and Moab (Utah) —to launch their inaugural “Four Corners/One Book” community-wide reading program. It was a tremendous honor, and I’ve been busy with kickoff events and public readings, all of which will culminate in January with a series of group discussions of the novel and the issues it raises. My favorite moment so far came when Karen Sheek, the mayor of Cortez, pulled me aside to say she both laughed and cried while reading Church of the Graveyard Saints. That’s something every novelist longs to hear.

Was there anything surprising you discovered while doing research for Church of the Graveyard Saints?
Unlike my historical novels Hard Twisted (2012) and Tom & Lucky (2015), both from Bloomsbury, Church of the Graveyard Saints didn’t involve a whole lot of research other than a generalized understanding of, and interest in, the environmental challenges facing the desert Southwest. The book is chock full of interesting tidbits in that regard. For example, did you know that the world’s human population in the year 1800 was one billion, and that by 1960 it was still only three billion? Today it’s approaching eight billion, and growing exponentially at a current rate of approximately a quarter-million people per day. Issues like that—population growth, public lands cattle grazing, oil and gas extraction, methane emissions—all get a passing mention without (I hope) interfering with the story.

What does a typical writing session look like for you?
I agree with whoever it was that said, “I only write when I’m inspired, but I make it a point to be inspired every morning at nine o’clock.” So yes, I’m fairly regimented, and I believe in visiting the manuscript every day, even if only to polish what I wrote the day before. I think the worst mistake a writer can make—particularly a new writer—is to put the story aside and hope for inspiration to come. For me, inspiration comes from putting words on paper and seeing where they lead.

Is there something you’d like to develop from material you haven’t been able to use?
I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve finished every novel I’ve started and sold every novel I’ve finished. Next up for me is the fourth entry in my Jack MacTaggart series of legal mysteries, which I plan to complete this winter. I just turned my short story “The Weight of a Feather”— which appears in SWW’s The Storyteller’s Anthology—into a one-act stage play that I hope to see performed next year, and I have another short story, “The DQ Rules,” scheduled to appear in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Lastly, I’m collaborating with a TV director on a possible cable series set here in the Southwest. So I’m always developing something, even if it’s just carpal tunnel syndrome.

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Joe Porrazzo

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Joe Porrazzo is a retired U.S. Air Force officer who currently works for the Department of Defense and writes mystery thrillers in his spare time. His newest release, Deliberate Deception (2018), is the second book in the Alex Porter trilogy. A native New Englander, Joe now lives in Sahuarita, Arizona. You’ll find him on his website JoePorrazzo.com, as well as Facebook and his Amazon author page.

The book blurb for Solemnly Swear, the first novel in the Alex Porter series, describes it as “an action-packed suspense thriller that explores the fragile balance between justice and self-preservation.” How would you describe book two, Deliberate Deception?
After reading the publisher’s description for Solemnly Swear for the first time, I thought it was a good line that summed up the story very well. In fact, one of the first author reviews for Solemnly Swear read: “Mr. Porrazzo’s thought-provoking storyline draws the reader in with one of the most impossible dilemmas a person (fictional or otherwise) can ever find themselves in—doing what’s morally right no matter what the cost or protecting oneself and the ones we love.” That theme continues in Deliberate Deception in another author review: “…Porrazzo gives us an outstanding portrayal of one man’s reaction to morality, immorality, and amorality. Can the lines really blur, or is a clear-cut answer always the right one? Can love flourish amid deception? Can the sins of the past be forgiven? Alex Porter wrestles with these questions as he races against the clock to stop an unknown killer….” While both novels are suspense thrillers with very different story lines, they both place Alex Porter in impossible and moral dilemmas. If Alex were a real person, he’d either be in therapy or be really pissed off at me, or both.

What would you like readers to know about the story itself?
Deliberate Deception is a labor of love based on personal and real-world events. The story opens with five mysterious, random deaths that end up being executions because the victims came across a website they weren’t supposed to see tied to a high-stakes charity raffle. I actually entered a raffle like that. When checking the status one night, I came across a page showing the top prizewinners weeks before the drawing date. How could that be? The next day the page was gone, and I was left wondering if I had really seen it or not. Months later tragedy struck not far from where I live and work. In 2011, I was halfway through the plot for Deliberate Deception when the tragic Tucson shooting occurred. A few days later, the news announced President Obama was coming to Tucson. I remember thinking we just had a politician shot on the streets of Tucson. Investigators weren’t yet sure if it was politically motivated or if the shooter was a nut job…and they’re going to bring the President of the United States here for the memorial service? Really? That’s when it all clicked, and I used the event to enhance the plot of my story.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
Including the Tucson tragedy in my plot caused a lot of consternation for me. It was still too new, too fresh, too soon to write about the senseless tragedy. We delayed publishing the book for almost nine years. I hope enough time has passed to include it in a fictional story.

How did the Alex Porter books come together?
Solemnly Swear was just an idea in my head for years while serving on active duty. I finally decided to put words to paper and publish it as a hobby. My objective, like many wannabe authors, was to see it in print, hold a finished book with my name on it, and see it in a bookstore. All of that came true and I was ecstatic to see it on the new release table at the front of a Barnes & Noble store. Designed to be a one-and-done project, I started receiving email from friends, family, and especially strangers, asking about a sequel and wondering what was going to happen to Alex Porter.

As I did with Solemnly Swear, I took a week off from work and wrote the first manuscript for Deliberate Deception. All that means is that within that week I got the beginning, some of the story, and the ending down on paper (approximately 50,000 words). Solemnly Swear was published after two years with 90,000 words. Deliberate Deception, finished in 2013 and published in 2018, came in at 108,000 words.

I usually design my own book cover—just to have one—until the story is nearly finished and ready for a professional artist. I like to design the cover to represent the whole story but that’s not a good idea. I designed about four for Deliberate Deception and the final doesn’t mirror any of them. So it’s a good thing I don’t do my own final book cover.

Will those who know you recognize you in Alex Porter?
People who know me personally picture me as they follow Alex’s journey. That’s funny to me because I created Alex as a person I would love to be, not who I am. He took on a persona of his own as I wrote his story.

Was there anything surprising you discovered while doing research for the book?
Yes, it brought some of my personal flaws to the surface. As I formed Alex and other characters, creating their backstory, current events, and futures, I recognized and acknowledged that I made many bad choices as a young adult. I faced adversity early with the loss of both parents, and my immature view on life and decision-making should have been much better as it pertained to relationships, behavior, and life choices. It brought closure for me on some things and helped me deal with those choices and to see them for what they were—I was a young man struggling through life as best as I could in my situation and environment at the time. The main thing is I came out of it a much better person and without therapy (lol), but still with regrets. Given the chance, I would change a few things and make apologies where needed.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
Making stuff up! People muse that I would be good at historical nonfiction (given my interests), but I love the research and taking real events into my twisted brain and tossing them out as mystery and suspense thrillers. I would love to write a time-travel novel similar to Stephen King’s 11/22/63, but how do you top that?

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Surprisingly, almost immediately after publishing Solemnly Swear. I had no idea if the book would resonate with readers, but it started winning awards right away. The same was true in 2019 with Deliberate Deception when I was presented the PSWA first place award in Las Vegas in July and the MWSA Bronze Medal in Albuquerque last month. However, the industry and the genre are highly competitive, so the toughest part is finding new readers. The readers I do have let me know they love the series and are anxiously awaiting the final book in the Alex Porter trilogy. Brutal Betrayal will bring back the Vionelli mob family and will include a plot based on the true story of an Air Force colonel who was kicked out of Venezuela by Maduro and accused of giving cancer to late President Chavez. I currently work with that colonel, so doing research and weaving together a fictitious story should be both easy and accurate. The colonel’s story is amazing.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I truly appreciate the loyal readers I have now. I want to let them know I’m hard at work on the final Alex Porter novel—I promise to tie up all story lines. If new readers are interested in sharing Alex’s journey, I recommend they start with Solemnly Swear (the second edition!) and then Deliberate Deception. I’m hoping to have Brutal Betrayal out in 2020. Please check out my book trailer video and website at JoePorrazzo.com. A quick shout-out to my SouthWest Writers, Public Safety Writers Association, and Military Writers Society of America families!

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 posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



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