Your Treat...A Sierra Donovan interview...

I'm early...it isn't a trick...but our guest will be too busy on 'a certain day' to read her own interview, so here goes...

1-Sierra, your first romance, LOVE ON THE AIR, has a unique setting. How did you do the research?

I lived it! Well, not exactly. It's set at a radio station and I did work for 7 years at the same radio station as my husband. Some people assume LOVE ON THE AIR is based on the way we met. Nope! But my radio experience went to good use for the book.

2-MEG'S CONFESSION has a 'cute' meet. How did this idea catch your imagination?

That's tough to answer. I was finishing LOVE ON THE AIR, wondering what story to start next, and it crossed my mind that it would be fun to write a pregnant heroine. Well, I had to get rid of her husband, so I bumped him off. But she had to be able to find new love during her pregnancy, so there must have been something wrong with the relationship. Zing! Suddenly I had a guilt-ridden pregnant widow in a confessional, spilling her guts to a guy who wasn't a priest. Not Sure how I made that leap, but I loved it immediately.

3-How extensive is your character study before you write?

Usually, I have an idea first, then imagine what character would suit that premise best. What kind of construction worker would feel the urge to help a pregnant widow, and why? Once I have a basic idea, I start writing, and the characters materialize more firmly as I go. I know things are going good when the characters start following me around, having conversations when I'm in the shower.

4-Where do most of your ideas come from?

They're as individual as the stories themselves. Sometimes it's from a moment I experience, or something I see. Sometimes I have to sit down with the Muse and brainstorm.

5-What is your favorite day in October? [besides my birthday, LOL]

Halloween is a high point, ofcourse. But I love the whole Halloween season. I love the fall colors, and all things pumpkiny. And I've been fond of scary stuff ever since I started watching the old TV soap opera Dark Shadows when I was about 9. I used to think I wanted to be the next Stephen King. But I seem to be better at making people fall in love than killing them off!

6- So, your first writing goals were very different from contemporary romance. Any chance you will revert to your first love?

I think eventually I'll merge them--not into anything super-scary, but I love light paranormal themes. A supernatural force comes along and alters the characters' lives, eventually for the good. At heart, I've found I'm really much closer to Rod Sterling than Stephen King--though I could only hope to be so brilliant!

7-A little bird tells me you're knee deep into a new ms. How long will it take you to write it? Are you a 'polish as you go' type or 'rush for the end' writer?

A book takes me six months to a year. I'm definitely a polish-as-you-go gal...I can't face going back to a mountain of first draft later on. Even so, I spend about a month in the Revision Cave when a manuscript is done.

8-You have a talented family. What can you share...keeping in mind safety on the net?

My husband is a musician and songwriter in his spare time, a disc jokey for his day job. Our kids both show some interest in music and writing. Our 14-year-old son's really gotten into the guitar lately. Our 10-year-old girl makes up songs from time to time, and loves to start on stories...though she doesn't always finish.

9-Okay, enough of the serious stuff. If you could have your choice, which famous leading man in Hollywood would you want to get in the hot tube with?

I can only choose one? I'll take Priece Brosnan this week.

10-So, good news! We're going to make a movie form your book. Who would you choose to star in MEG'S CONFESSION?

Craig is tricky--dark hair and blue eyes are a hard combination to come by! But he'd be sort of a Luke Wilson type. For Meg, maybe Sandra Bullock?

11- Are you a dog person or a cat person, because I hear they're going to film a remake of THE SHAGGY DOG in your front yard. What's your response?

I wouldn't mind the dog nearly as much as the camera crew! I leaned more heavily toward 'cat' until about a year ago, when a stray Lab mix wandered onto our lawn and became our second dog. Cats are good companions, but I think dogs love you more.

12- You...Sierra Donovan...[insert spooky music here] are going to be stuck in an elevator with a famous author. Who would you pick? [well, sure we know ahead of time...this is our script!]

I'll take Jennifer Crusie. I think I could learn a lot from her.

13-You've won a trip to the moon...What would be your last meal on earth?

Mongolian Barbeque. With a side of lobster.

14-Okay time to stop being nice to you...You see an attractive male. What makes him appealing to you? [yes, you can say butt...]

Usually, dark hair and eyes. He could be tall and lanky like my husband...but sometimes shorter, compact guys can be really attractive too.

15- Sierra Donovan, reveal your inner self...what is your shoping weakness...after books?
Must be an item for you...jewelry? Shoes? Handbags? Unmentionables? Tell all...LOL

After books, there's usually no money left! But I love cute coffee mugs, fun office products and sweaters, even though I've lived in Southern California since I was about 6 months old. And don't get me started on fall, Halloween or Christmas decor!

Thanks for the fun answers, Sierra...it was a treat. Now get back to decorating your spooky garage...

How about you? Who would star as your hero and heroine in your favorite book?

Stage Fright

To celebrate my first book with Avalon I wanted to do something special, so I organised to have a book launch at a romance book store in Perth. I was going to sit in the store, talk to customers, sign books and give away free chocolate. But as the event loomed closer, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was such a good plan. Since Avalon is an American publisher that does not distribute internationally, my book has zero presence here in Australia. The lead up to the launch involved a lot of finger nail biting.
Who’s going to come?
Who’s going to care?
I’m nobody.
Of course, I knew my mum was going to be there, and my sisters but I couldn’t exactly count them. They’d come if my book was 3 pages long and illustrated by my two year old son who my mother already tells everyone is definitely a child prodigy. Hmmm...

So I braced myself to twiddle my thumbs for the majority of the day. You can’t imagine my shock or my delight to find that the traffic through the book store was non-stop. Half the people who turned up, I didn’t even know. Of course, I asked them where they’d heard about me and it was all word of mouth. They were friends of friends. People who knew people who knew people who knew me. Not everyone reads romance, but you can bet your best friend they know someone else who does. So when you send out promos, especially emails, always tell people to forward. It’s easy for them and it works wonders for you!

I was also amazed at the number of readers who came just because they wanted to support a local writer. They were so proud of me. “What an achievement!” “You’re published in America!” and “What a feeling to see your name on the cover!” – They wanted me to do well which was really really touching.

I had HEAPS of fun and by the end of the day I’d lost my complex. I realised for the first time- I’ve written a book. It’s a big deal.

For more photos from the Launch, check out my website. http://www.lorettabrabant.com/
For more highlights from the day, see my blog at www.winkgirls.blogspot.com

INSPIRATION

People frequently ask writers: "Where do you get your ideas?" Different writers use different words to frame an answer but they all boil down to the same thing: from anywhere and everywhere.

The inspiration for my latest Avalon novel, By Whose Hand, came from a book on graphology I picked up at a used book sale. I didn’t have a plan in mind when I bought the book, but the instant I spied it I knew it was a must-have resource for a mystery writer. My series is set in a retirement community where the residents are mobile, alert and just bored enough to stir up trouble. With this setting in mind, it wasn’t much of a stretch to come up with Tess, a 74-year-old former FBI agent whose specialty was . . . you guessed it . . . graphology. After that, I can’t really say I created Tess. She pretty much stood at my shoulder and told me who she was. With her standing so close, it was impossible not to know how she looked: like the quintessential grandmother with tight gray curls and brown eyes that gave no hint of her thoughts. She was wearing loose-fitting trousers with large pockets and an oversized cardigan with a white linen handkerchief escaping from a pocket. The pockets are important. Tess insists on pockets. She likes muted colors. Nothing flashy. Her goal is to blend, not impress.

The real fun began when I started creating a handwriting style for each of my suspects. To test the theories set forth in the book, I filled several pages of unlined paper with my own random thoughts, then checked my script against the samples in the book. I was surprised to see how accurate their analysis was and also surprised by the number of elements there are to consider. I had no idea how much is revealed in the way an individual forms capital letters, especially the personal pronoun "I", how important the connecting strokes are or the degree and direction of slant.

This is just one example of the genesis of an idea around which a story was built. It could just as easily be a single leaf remaining on a tree after all the others have fallen. Or a line from a song that gets stuck in your head. Or an old photograph. A glimpse of an old man staring out of a bus window. A reflection in a puddle. The scent of lilacs. The possibilities are limitless and, as I said before, are anywhere and everywhere.

I have to tell you - our library is having its annual used book sale this week and today I found The Code Book, The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography, by Simon Singh. There has to be material for a great mystery in those pages.

How about you? Where do you find inspiration?

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