A Little Bit of R&R Interview Questions
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I live with my husband and a cat named Lucky in the house where I grew up in Minnetonka, MN. I have three grown children and two grandsons. The youngest grandson is only ten weeks old. I love being creative and started college as a fine artist. Then I switched to elementary education because I like children and wanted to help children learn to read. After I started a family, I switched to making a living in real estate so I’d have more time with my own children.
When my children were young, I started writing as a creative outflow. Now that my children are grown, I’m working more seriously on getting my books into the world.
When did you begin writing?
I had a series of six dreams that resembled an exciting action-packed space opera when my children were young. The story was the classic battle between good and evil, love and power, with a struggle for religious and political freedom thrown in. I enjoyed the story so much I decided to expand on the dream and write it into a novel. While writing, I discovered the enjoyment of creating characters and worlds.
Have you ever been discouraged in regard to your writing ability and if so, how did you get past it and move forward?
I have a good feel for plot and characters, but struggle with getting all the spelling, grammar and punctuation correct. I believe everyone has something important to say and have come to accept my own limitations. I use editors to proofread what I write and over the years I’ve become much better at it.
What’s your favorite thing about writing?
I like becoming wrapped up in the characters and world I’m creating. The characters start taking on a life of their own.
When I’m writing science fiction I like creating original weapons, spacecraft, alien beings, plants and animals. I also like researching new scientific discoveries and bringing them into my books.
When I write historical fiction, I enjoy researching and learning about other cultures.
What is your writing style? Do you like to outline or just write as you go?
I use an outline format mixed with writing down ideas that come to me so I don’t lose them. For more complex plots with lots of characters, I’ve used a storyboard so I can see the book in its entirety and keep track of everything. For example, once when I was writing a major battle, I had three different characters fighting three different enemies, all in different locations. I had to make it all come together time-wise.
Do you have a favorite spot where you like to write?
When I’m devoting a day to writing, I usually work in my office where I can shut the door and sit at a computer in a comfortable chair for hours at a stretch. If I’m editing, I often use my laptop and edit in the family room in front of the fireplace. I also use the laptop when I’m out of town. I like to write at our cabin in the woods in Northern Minnesota, far away from distractions, or at a family home on Lake Superior where I can look out at the waves.
What is something you’ve written that will never see the light of day?
One of my early books had a working title Living Your Dreams. It was about a college student studying art in the seventies during the Vietnam War era. I finished it, but it would take a lot of editing to make it publishable.
What is your writer food?
I drink homemade kombucha tea. I try not to eat while I’m writing—otherwise the keys on the keyboard would start sticking from dropped food and I’d start putting on unwanted pounds.
What’s the hardest thing about writing for you?
As a writer, you work really hard without knowing whether you’ll be able to successfully write the story you want to tell. Nor do you know if your story will appeal to readers.
It’s also hard to find creative, original ideas. You have to keep expanding yourself and it’s easy to feel exposed.
What inspires you to write?
I usually have a story to tell. I cherish my writing time to delve into the worlds of my characters.
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I’ve published two books: Red Willow’s Quest about a Native American woman studying to become a medicine woman, and Star Rider on the Razor’s Edge about a team of Coalition agents working with the local resistance to overthrow the government and free its people. I have another book coming out this year titled Annoure and the Dragon Ships about a young woman captured off the coast of England by the Vikings. I also have drafts of the next two books in the Star Rider series that I will be working on in 2016.
My favorite book is usually the one I’m currently writing.
What are some of your favorite books?
The Pillars of the Earth and Jackdaws by Ken Follett, Winged Pharaoh by Joan Grant, Grimspace by Ann Guirre, The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart, Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo, Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.
What authors do you like to read?
The ones listed above.
What inspired you to write Star Rider on the Razor’s Edge?
As stated earlier, I had a series of six dreams that resembled a movie and I wanted to share the story with others.
The story was so real and captivating it felt like I was living it and I didn’t want the story to end. Here’s why: The main character of Star Rider is a feisty woman named Toemeka Ganti who is part of a four-person team sent on a Coalition mission to overthrow General Bhandar, the despot of Jaipar, who is part of Samrat Condor’s military power structure.
Toemeka has various psychic abilities including an ability to communicate telepathically and also leave her body and travel in the inner worlds. She has a spiritual teacher whom she meets with both inwardly and outwardly.
Samrat Condor is a self-proclaimed god, powerful sorcerer and interplanetary conqueror. Toemeka has a deep hatred for him because his men destroyed her village, killed her family and took her prisoner. She was rescued by the Coalition early on and ended up joining them in the fight against Condor.
On Jaipar Toemeka must preserve her undercover identity, despite secretly taking on several side operations that threaten to derail her primary mission. At her undercover job, her project is to create a shield-destroying oscillator prototype, which is key for both sides to win the conflict. However her overbearing boss, Commander Rochambeau, suspects she’s an undercover operative and pressures her to become his mistress or face certain death at the hands of General Bhandar.
Michio Kimes, a handsome spiritual warrior who’s in training to battle sorcery, seriously complicates Toemeka’s mission when she falls in love with him. Her only hope of surviving these tremendous odds lays with her trusted Coalition partner Erling Fenian and the team, who band together with the local underground resistance, the Kameets, in the fight to free the people of Jaipar and restore the balance of power by bringing the rightful heir to the throne.
If you could choose a dream cast for Star Rider on the Razor’s Edge, who would you pick?
Jennifer Lawrence for the female protagonist, Toemeka Ganti
Juliann Hough for Koriann Marsindi, the Princess of Jaipar
Zac Efron for Michio Kimes, Toemeka’s love interest
Jonny Weston for Toemeka’s partner, Erling Fenian
Would you say you relate to any of your characters? If so, which one and why?
I relate to Toemeka because much of the story is through her viewpoint. She is larger than life in that she is a skilled fighter pilot and undercover agent. She’s courageous and a risk-taker, but she’s also vulnerable and loving.
This or that.
Sweet or salty? Sweet—I love chocolate, but I also like salty crackers.
Naughty or nice? Nice most of the time, but naughty is fun at times.
Cats or dogs? Cats: I have a cat named Lucky, but I’ve had dogs as well.
Vanilla or chocolate? Chocolate—no buts.
If you were on a deserted island, which author would you want to be stranded with?
Harold Klemp I could learn about about life and writing from him.
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