Today I am pleased to welcome author Alison Bruce to the blog.
Tell us a little about the person behind the pen.
My mother used
to compare me to Walter Mitty, James Thurber's fantasy-living hero of The
Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I'm not sure if Mum thought that was a good or bad
thing, but my rich fantasy-life provided material for my stories.
From early
childhood to late teens, my sister and I used to act out adventures. To keep us
from killing each other, we had to adhere to rules about causality and logical
consequences. If one of us shot the other (she was always shooting me) then
that person was wounded or killed. No bullet-proof characters. (Although
afterlife haunting was allowed.)
Now I see my
teenage daughter writing and role playing stories with her best friend and I
delight in her imagination. My preteen son is a good storyteller too. I used to
make up stories about Leprechauns for him. Now he tells me bedtime
stories.
That's great that your kids have a wonderful imagination!
Why did you decide to write historical western romance and a near future detective story?
I grew up
reading Georgette Heyer, Agatha Christie, Louis L'Amour and Robert Heinlein.
There were others in their respective genres, but their the ones that had the
most influence on me.
Writing genre
fiction comes naturally to me. It also harks back to role playing and setting
up rules. Genre fiction has rules—boundaries that delineate science fiction
from fantasy, mystery from thriller, western historical from historical. You
can bend and blend the genres, but you have to be aware of the rules to play
the game. It makes writing genre writing challenging.
You can bet
that whatever I'm writing, there will be mystery, romance, humor and coffee
involved.
So, how much research goes into your books, and how do you tackle that?
I'm a research
junkie. I look things up for fun.
Once I have the
bare bones of a story laid out, I go to town researching and note taking. Many
of my plot points come as a result of this process.
Later, when I'm
writing and editing, I often stop to fact-check which sometimes leads to new
plot points or at least notes for a future story.
What is the best comment you ever received from
a reader? The worst or weirdest?
I've had some
great comments and some terrible ones, usually about the same thing. My plots
are complex and peopled with quirky characters. If you like that, you'll like
my books. If you don't, I'm not the author for you.
The best
comment came from a friend of mine. He's a military SF guy and bought Under
A Texas Star just because I wrote it. When he was done, he said “When I was
reading it, I forgot you wrote it.”
Tell us a little about your writing style? Do
you plan and plot your stories, or do you just plow through them?
Yes. I plan and
I plow.
I know where my
stories are going and have a basic plot worked out. With a mystery, I need to
plan where and when clues and red herrings will be presented. That was less
important with Under A Texas Star, but crucial with Deadly Legacy.
I don't always
know how my characters are going to react to everything that I plan for them.
New subplots emerge, others fall by the wayside. That's where I'm more
seat-of-the-pants.
What sets your heroines apart from all the other women in your hero’s
life? Why is she perfect for him?
My heroines
start off as a reflection of me at the time I started the story. They change
and become their own people over time, but there are a couple of traits that we
always share: sense of humor, and an ability to adapt, however reluctantly, to
deal with crises. Yes, I know, not exactly unique human qualities. That's why
circumstance plays a big role in bringing my heroes and heroines together.
In Under A
Texas Star, would Marly Landers have caught Ranger Strachan's attention if
he had caught up with his quarry in her hometown of Cherryville, Kansas? Maybe
not. But he meets her on the road and she fools him into thinking she's a boy.
He admires her spunk. Shared adventure gives them an opportunity to fall in
love.
With Kate
Garrett and Jake Carmedy in Deadly Legacy, murder is about the only thing
that would have brought them together.
Have you ever had writer’s block? How do you
deal with it?
Yes and not
very well. I get very frustrated when I can't work on my stories—whatever the
reason. I'm a copywriter and editor and I can get blocked there too. Switching
from nonfiction to fiction sometimes makes it worse. Deadlines help.
Can you give us a little background on your
heroes that’s only in your author notes, and not found in your story?
There's one
thing you'll find in my notes that you'll probably never find in the novels
(certainly not the historical western). I've worked out the birthdays, with
brief descriptions of their astrological charts, for all of my main characters.
I've also given them each the Briggs-Meyers Personality Test.
Describe a favorite scene in your current
novel.
You may have
noticed that I have a hard time not giving equal time to my two series. It's
the mother in me not wanting to play favorites. Picking a favorite scene is
even worse. However, scenes I really enjoy writing tend to be ones based on
personal experience—with my characters doing it better, or at least funnier
than I did.
What else do you have in store for your
readers?
Under A
Texas Star is going to be
followed by a story set in Fortuna Texas, involving the new marshal, Hugh Birke
and the daughter of the new school teacher. His first view of her is when she
throws up on him. Like me, Morgan Reardon suffers from motion sickness and
stage coaches didn't have great suspension.
Deadly
Season takes up where Deadly
Legacy left off, as Kate and Jake taking their first case as partners in
Carmedy and Garrett Investigations
Sounds like great books to look forward to!
Thank you for being here today, Alison. Where can we find your books?
Under A Texas Star
Deadly Legacy
Alison Bruce
Disguised as a boy,
Marly joins a handsome Texas Ranger in the hunt for a con man and they must
bring the fugitive to justice before giving up the masquerade and giving in to
their passion.
When Marly Landers is
fooled by con man Charlie Meese, she's determined to bring him to justice--even
if it means dressing up as a boy and setting off across the plains to find him.
Texas Ranger Jase
Strachan is also after Meese, for crimes committed in Texas. He joins forces
with the young boy in a journey that takes them to Fortuna, where a murder
interrupts their mission. Jase is duty bound to find the killer, no matter the
cost.
Marly carries out her
own investigation and comes to the aid of Amabelle Egan, the sister of one of
the suspects. But appearances are deceiving, and Marly is mistaken for
Amabelle’s suitor, making her a target for the killer. Not to mention, Charlie
Meese is still out there.
Under the Texas
stars, Marly and Jase are drawn together by circumstances beyond their control,
yet fate plots to tear them apart. Will Marly finally get her man?
Even in the future, the
past can kill you...
In 2018, rookie
detective Kate Garrett lives in the shadow of her near-legendary father Joe.
When Joe dies unexpectedly, he leaves Kate half interest in Garrett
Investigations, his last case that ties to three murders, a partner she can't
stand and a legacy to live up to.
Jake Carmedy has lost
a partner, mentor and friend, but grief will come later. First, he has a case
to solve, one that has detoured from a simple insurance case to a murder
investigation. If that isn’t enough, Joe’s daughter seems to want to take her
father’s place as his boss.
No matter how hard
they try, Carmedy and Garrett can't avoid each other—and they might be next on
a killer's list.
Great interview! Looking forward to reading Deadly Legacy.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't got it already, get Deadly Legacy before it goes back up to $3.99 in September.
DeleteVery nice interview, Alison! :)
ReplyDeleteLooks beautiful, Peggy! Thanks for having me.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Devon. I LOVE interviews. Answering the questions can be a real challenge.
You give all your characters the Meyers-Briggs?? Alison, you are my hero! Great fun interview.
ReplyDeleteI think most people would just say I'm weird.
DeleteGreat interview!
ReplyDeleteHi Alison. I finally made it here. This has been a crazy day! I enjoyed the interview very much, and I loved reading Under a Texas Star. I admire you for taking on two such different genres. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lyn! I've been out of town all day and just catching up on mail and comments now.
DeleteAlison, I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures of Marly and Jase, and look forward to reading what you have planned for Hugh in Fortuna. :) Which is more fun to research--mystery or western?
ReplyDeleteGood question, Jacquie. It depends on my mood.
DeleteWhen I find myself wand'rin' round the house dropping the odd laconic bit of wisdom for my kids, you know I'm having fun immersing myself in the old west.
When I start pointing out the flaws in crime shows, I'm in a mystery frame of mind.
When I start running my fingers through my hair until I look like a caricature of Albert Einstein, slamming down reference books and talking back to my computer, you know I'm not really in the mood for researching anything.
Alison, I read your book Under a Texas Star about a month ago and I forgot to add it to my books on Goodreads....I just did that! I enjoyed the story and I'm looking forward to more from you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ramona! If you have the time, I'd love it if you posted a review on Amazon.
Delete