Interview with Marian Allen, Author of the Sage Books

What is your book about?

The SAGE trilogy is about a land thrown out of balance by the selfishness of its ruler. When the most selfish of the Four Divine Animals (Tortoise) decides to stir things up and use a few chosen people to make even more of a mess, events take unexpected turns.

Who is your most unusual/most likeable character?

The most unusual character in SAGE has to be Tortoise. Sometimes he appears as a tortoise, sometimes as a man, sometimes as a cat, and sometimes as The Black Warrior, a terrifying sight on the battlefield. He can probably appear as a woman, too, but I haven’t written that story yet. As his author, I like him very much, because he was so much fun to write, but I can’t say he’s a likeable character. ~grin~

How long did it take you to write your book?

SAGE took me close to 20 years, from first glimmer to print/eBook. I kept getting agents who loved the book but wanted changes, then didn’t like their own changes or didn’t want to wait for my rewrite. I rewrote the book, start to finish, three or four times, by which time I had gutted it of most of its strangeness. My youngest daughter, who had grown up listening to the rewrites, told me to stop listening to what other people thought and trust myself. I did one more rewrite, making it exactly what I wanted it to be, and that’s the one I sold to Hydra Publications.

How much of a story do you have in mind before you start writing it?

Often it’s just a glimmer. Maybe a setting, a character, a situation, or a line of dialog. I start writing – I call it writing my way into a story – and stop to do some plotting and planning before I go on. Very rarely do I have the whole thing in mind before I start that initial writing.

Did you do any research for the book? If so, how did you do it? (searching Internet, magazines, other books, etc.)

I did a lot of research for SAGE. I read books on unicorns, on animal symbology and mythology, on English Anglo-Saxon life, and on the history of castles. Oh, and historical food and clothing. And silversmithing. One thing that really gets my goat is people who say, “It must be nice to write fantasy. You don’t have to do any research!” ~laughing~

What about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

There isn’t any swashbuckling or great feats of sorcery in SAGE, although swords are wielded and magic is present. One character says having magic is like being aware of another reality that’s as real as the one everybody else is aware of as well as being aware of everybody’s reality at the same time. I think readers will be intrigued by this feeling of the ordinary/extraordinary duality.

How do you develop and differentiate your characters?

I ask my characters questions. After the rough draft, I fill out character sheets on them, including asking them 10 random questions and letting them answer in their own voices. I find their voices become much more individual and strong as the questions proceed. Then I can do the rewrite with those voices in my head and those answers in the background.

Do you have mental list or a computer file or a spiral notebook with the ideas for or outlines of stories that you have not written but intend to one day?

I have a spiral notebook with pocket dividers filled with “bits”. For the first time this year, I did the Story A Day in May challenge, and mined that binder for all it was worth! I still have masses of material in there, though. It’s very reassuring.

What writer influenced you the most?

On the grounds that I should go back as far as possible, I have to say that Walter R. Brooks, creator of the FREDDY THE PIG detective books for kids, influenced me most. Brooks’ characters were individuals with unique points of view and different voices and strong motivations. He knew when to show and when to tell, when to telescope and when to detail, and his bit characters were as unique and memorable as the main ones, and sometimes turned up in later books. Plus, he was funny!

Who gave you the best writing advice you ever received and what was it?

The late mystery writer Dick Stodghill said, “Don’t take yourself too seriously – but DO take your work seriously. Insist that everyone around you take your work seriously. It isn’t some little thing you do, it isn’t a joke, it’s your work.”

Have you written any other books?

Oh, dear me, yes, thank you for asking. FORCE OF HABIT is a cop/sf/farce set on the planet Llannonn, where courtesy is mandated by law and loud-mouthed aliens from outer space – from the planet Earth, to be specific – are sure to find themselves in trouble. SIDESHOW IN THE CENTER RING is another science fiction novel, this one set on the planet Marner, where slavery is legal, and a tourist from Earth reluctantly puts more than her career on the line for someone she doesn’t even like. I’ve collected some of my short stories and self-published them for Kindle and at Smashwords.

Where can people learn more about your books?

The best place to go is my website: http://MarianAllen.com. I have excerpts of all the novels and all the short stories there, as well as a page of links to stories that are free at my site or at other sites on the web.

The SAGE books are available:
The Fall of Onagros
Kindle http://bookshow.me/B00AYF6546
Print http://bookshow.me/0615774474
Bargain With Fate
Kindle http://bookShow.me/B00CLUUO9O
Print http://bookshow.me/0615818323
Silver and Iron
Kindle http://bookshow.me/B00D2GKXGK
Print http://bookshow.me/0615818315

Introducing Debra Purdy Kong

Actually, I don't have to introduce Debra. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know her very well. She writes phenomenal articles about the state of the book business, decoding new industry advances, showing us where we are today, and helping us find our way through the blizzard of information.

She and I have been blog mates (along with Cheryl Tardif, who started the blog, and Marian Allen) for almost three years now, but Debra posts regularly every Saturday, and I post . . . whenever. In my defense, I have other blogs to take care of, one an excerpt blog where I post . . . you guessed it!! . . . book excerpts that authors send me to post, and I also have an interview blog.

Today, I am delighted to announce that Debra agreed to be a guest on both blogs!!

So, please stop by Pat Bertram Introduces . . . for an interview with Debra Purdy Kong, Author of “The Opposite of Dark” where we're talking about Debra's new book and her writing processes. Then stop by Dragon My Feet to read an Excerpt From “The Opposite of Dark” by Debra Purdy Kong.

Q&A With Beth Groundwater, Author of "A Real Basket Case"

Welcome, Beth! It's good to talk to you today. What is your book about?

A Real Basket Case is the first book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series. Originally released in hardcover and large-print in 2007 and a finalist for the 2007 Best First Novel Agatha Award, it is being re-released by Midnight Ink in trade paperback and ebook this month, complete with a jazzy new cover.

In the book, feeling neglected by her workaholic husband, forty-something Claire joins an aerobics class. In a moment of weakness, she agrees to let charming aerobics instructor Enrique come to her house to give her a massage. She realizes she has made a deadly mistake when Enrique is shot and killed in her bedroom and her husband Roger is arrested for the murder. Determined to clear Roger's name and save her marriage, Claire sets out to find the real killer, encountering drug dealers, jealous ex-girlfriends, and angry cops along the way.

Tell us a little about your main character.

Claire and her husband are empty nesters whose two children are grown, one working and one in college. They live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In her late forties, Claire suffers hot flashes from periomenopause and has blond-dyed graying hair and blue eyes. She is somewhat overweight and out-of-shape, and thinks she's dumpy-looking, which is why she joins an aerobics class. An art major in college, she runs a part-time gift basket business out of a basement workshop in her home. She is fiercely loyal to her family and friends, which often gets her into hot water, and her stubbornness can help power her through her fears.

What inspired you to write this particular story?

I start plotting my mystery novels with an idea about the victim and some interesting or unique way in which s/he was killed. For A Real Basket Case, I had a "What If?" inspiration: What if a man is killed in a married woman's bedroom and her husband is found holding the gun that shot him, BUT he didn't do it and the woman wasn't having an affair with the victim? When I have the intriguing set-up--the "What-If" that gives me a puzzle to solve, a protagonist who I've gotten to know well enough that s/he starts talking to me in my dreams, and a whiz-bang black moment and climax, when those essential pieces fall in place, I know I've got a story worth telling and I start plotting.

How long did it take you to write your book?

It took me about a year to write A Real Basket Case, and that's about how long most of my books have taken. Now, however, with two mystery series going, I'm having to scrunch that schedule down to about nine months per book.

Did you do any research for the book? If so, how did you do it?

Since I live in Colorado Springs, I didn't need to research the setting. To learn more about creating gift baskets, which is a hobby for me, I read how-to books and trade magazines for gift basket business owners. Also, I interviewed two women who owned a gift basket business and toured their warehouse/work area, so I could become more familiar with the “behind the scenes” aspects of the business. To learn about police procedure, I attended the 6-month El Paso County Sheriff's Citizen's Academy, and supplemented that with reading and Internet research. To learn about guns, I took a full-day class that included a half day on the firing range.

Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?

If you've heard of the distinction between "plotters" and "pantsers" (those who write by the seat of their pants), as a former software engineer, I'm squarely on the plotting side. I profile my characters and prepare a detailed scene outline before I start writing. For each scene, along with describing what the characters in the scene do, I describe what's happening “off-camera” to other important characters (particularly the killer) not in the scene. I also list the date, day of the week, and time of day of each scene. As I write the book, I add the scene's page numbers to the outline to help me find scenes later.

Each book has a directory of its own on my computer with files for the scene outline, character profiles, interviews with experts, research notes, the current manuscript, discarded bits that I don’t want to throw away yet, backups of older versions, the acknowledgements page, change requests from the editor, etc., etc. Then there’s the cardboard magazine file holder stuffed full of paper research materials.

What was the first story you remember writing?

The first stories I remember writing were those I wrote in fifth and sixth grade about a boy named Freddie who had wild adventures such as visiting an underground mole city after burrowing down in a giant screw-mobile. Freddie was a boy, because back in the sixties, I thought girls weren't supposed to have adventures. I know better now! My two series protagonists, gift basket designer Claire Hanover and whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner, have all sorts of adventures.

What’s been the most surprising part of being a writer?

The amount of non-writing work involved! There's the contracting process, research, promotion, networking and all of the other ancillary activities that are part of having a writing career, but that take precious time away from the writing itself.

What do you like to read?

I'm a very eclectic reader--all types of genres, except that I don't like to be frightened to death or grossed out, so I stay away from horror and thrillers. I'm in a book club that meets monthly to discuss literary, mainstream, and women's fiction and the occasional biography or memoir. I also read romance and science fiction occasionally. I read many mysteries, of course. Some of my favorite mystery authors are western and/or outdoor-oriented writers who I've gotten to know at conferences. Examples include William Kent Krueger, Kathy Brandt, C.J Box, Christine Goff, and Margaret Coel. I also enjoy light-hearted series such as those by Alexander McCall Smith, Donna Andrews, and Tim Cockey.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

1) Join a critique group and listen very closely to what other writers are telling you about your work. If you need to go back and study some aspect of the craft, do it. I spent a year focusing on my weak spot, character development, and now readers tell me that’s what they like best about my writing. 2) Set measurable goals, make out a weekly plan for how to meet those goals and report to someone weekly on your progress. 3) Remember that your words are not golden and that your critique partners and editors have the same goal you do—to improve your writing until it’s publishable. Be willing to change anything to make a story work. 4) Network, network, network! I met my first editor and both my first and second literary agents through networking with other writers. I continue to make contacts with librarians, booksellers, media personnel and others the same way.

How have you marketed and promoted your work?

I promote both in-person and on-line. I have a website, blog, and email newsletter and participate in about three dozen email loops. For social networks, I'm very active on Facebook and Goodreads and mildly active on a few others, though so far I've resisted joining Twitter. I usually conduct a book blog tour for each new release. Also, for each new release, I arrange quite a few signings and appearances, mostly in Colorado or as part of trips to mystery fan conventions or vacations. I try to attend two fan conventions a year, usually Malice Domestic, Left Coast Crime, and/or Bouchercon.

What are your current writing goals and how do you juggle the promotional aspects with the actual writing?

I'm currently writing the rough draft of the third book in my Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner. It will take place on the Colorado River in Utah and be titled Cataract Canyon. After I finish that, hopefully, in January, I need to review and correct the galley proof for book two, Wicked Eddies, which will be released in May, 2012. Then I need to edit Cataract Canyon and turn it in in the spring. Then I change gears and edit my existing first draft of the third book in the Claire Hanover gift basket designer series, Basketful of Troubles, which is due in August, 2012. By the end of 2013, there will be three published books in each series.

Promotion is something that is ongoing, and which ramps up around the time of each release (every spring and fall for the next two years, at least). I try to focus on the writing and editing I need to get done each week first, then work on promotion later in the day or later in the week after I've finished the writing I need to do to meet my deadlines. I have to be very organized and give myself weekly goals to stay on track.

Where can people learn more about your books?

My website is: http://bethgroundwater.com/
My blog is: http://bethgroundwater.blogspot.com/
My Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/beth.groundwater
My Goodreads page is: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/471598.Beth_Groundwater
(Please feel free to befriend me at either Goodreads or Facebook!)

My books are available in bookstores, libraries, and on-line retailer sites, so your blog readers should be able to find them wherever they are used to finding books to read. Thanks for having me on your blog, Pat!

Thank you, Beth! Best of luck with your books.