When did you realize you wanted to write novels?
My kids write and have me critique and edit their work. I wanted to know more about the whole process, so I began to study the craft of novel writing. I read Dwight Swain, Stephen King, James Scott Bell, John Truby, and many, many more. My favorite book on writing is The First Fifty Pages by Jeff Gerke. That book gave me the tools to produce a complete piece of fiction. After that, when I turned 60, I began to write my first mystery novel.
How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?
Within two years of somewhat consistent writing, I had two novels close to completion and, through Reedsy, heard about Amazon’s new serial reading platform, Kindle Vella. Vella was launched in April of 2021. I posted my novels there, episode by episode, got good feedback, and made some money to boot. So, my novels have gone from Kindle Vella serials to eBooks and paperbacks.
Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?
Totally DIY indie. I used Canva for my covers, Reedsy for typesetting, and KDP for printing. It’s all basically free, and I am very cheap. 😊
Where do you write?
I write in my living room, which is open to the kitchen and dining room, so there is no privacy. I tried a “room of my own” but produced nary a word.
Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?
I do use music occasionally for action scenes. Usually, it's a movie soundtrack. For Death on the Night Riviera, I listened to The Ghost and Mrs. Muir soundtrack by Bernard Herrman. He’s one of my favorites. Also, the soundtrack for Rebecca, by Franz Waxman.
How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?
I write about what I would like to do more than what I have done. But the human and quirky bits come from my life if that makes sense.
Describe your process for naming your character?
Usually, names just pop into my head, but if I’m stuck, I use https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/. It has place names, character names, and everything else you can imagine and is highly searchable.
Real settings or fictional towns?
Once again, I use a bit of both. Usually, the localities are real, but I invent appropriate names using the Fantasy Name Generator, which generates names for historical locations and just about everything else you can imagine.
What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
One of my favorite characters is Cordelia Gedge. She has forgotten that she has quit smoking and pats herself down, looking for a smoke when she is stressed. It makes her quite cranky.
What’s your quirkiest quirk?
I am an “oldmovieaholic,” especially film noir. Is that a quirk? I hate mayonnaise to a quirky degree. 😊
If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?
This is a hard question. I tend to focus more on authors than individual works, but I’d say Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. It has everything: gothic suspense, romance, mystery, great locations, and a sympathetic main character without a first name. How intriguing is that?
Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What is yours?
I kind of wish I had started to write earlier, but I probably would have given up. The technology wasn’t here yet. Now, research and publication are so easy. The writing is the hardest part, but I enjoy it all.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Mayonnaise overuse. I always have to say, “Hold the mayo.”
You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
Water, a seaworthy boat, and my husband.
What was the worst job you’ve ever held?
I worked in tailoring at Sears in college and had to start the boiler. That was freaky.
Who’s your all-time favorite literary character (any genre)? Why?
I do love Jane Eyre. I tend to admire the mousey types, like the second Mrs. Dewinter in Rebecca, who rise above their own inclinations and personalities and save the day.
Ocean or mountains?
Ocean, or water anyway. I live a quarter mile from Puget Sound on a pond, and there is something new to see daily.
City girl/guy or country girl/guy?
City first, then country. There are two distinct sides to Washington state. On the west side of the Cascade Mountains, you have Seattle, where I was raised. The eastern side, where I raised my family in the Palouse area, is more rural and drier. Now, for retirement, I have returned to the west side but still live on twenty acres.
What’s on the horizon for you?
I have two new Vella serials in the works, one a cozy mystery, Not Just Another Pretty Lace, and another historical mystery, Seldom What They Seem. Also, my daughter wants me to write a YA mystery about my childhood growing up in a shopping mall. My parents owned the toy store. Lucky me. 😊
Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?
This has been monumental oversharing for me already. You can see why marketing and promoting myself is a challenge. But thank you so much for the opportunity.
A Lucky Librarian Mystery, Book 1
When Rory, a reclusive librarian at the Firdrona Branch, wins a writing contest she didn't enter, everyone tells her she's so lucky. But when her sedate life spins out of control, Rory's not so sure. A haunted mansion, a seaplane flight, and a knife-throwing, tattooed woman with purple hair are all part of a prize package Rowena Albright may regret accepting.
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