Interview with Deborah Nolan

Welcome author, Deborah Nolan to the blog today.  Her new book is called Conflict of Interest.

Joselyn: Who would you cast as the main characters in Conflict of Interest?

Deborah:  In my latest book, a conflict of interest, the heroine, Mary Ellen Carey, is a newly divorced attorney in her early '40's who is the mother of 3 kids.  I would cast Jennifer Aniston because Mary Ellen is attractive, feisty but funny who protects her own and does not let life defeat her.  My hero, Gerard Fitzpatrick, is a detective in Newark.  He is a widower and has two young sons.  Fitz can be combative, which is where the sparks come in, but he has a heart of gold and is a natural rescuer.  For me the natural choice would be Russell Crowe.

Joselyn: What's one hobby readers would be surprised to know you have? 

Deborah:  I practice law in addition to being a writer, but what I do to relax is paint--pictures, not walls though I've done them too.

Joselyn: What is the most unexpected thing that has happened in one of your books?  As in you didn't expect it to happen until you wrote it? 

Deborah: I think the most unexpected event that happened in this book is when the senior partner in Mary Ellen's firm turns out to be the villain.  That's not what I planned when I started the book but once I got into the middle and had to figure out the end and who was behind the threats to her children, it was a natural conclusion.

Joselyn: What is you favorite line from Conflict of Interest?

Deborah:  I guess my favorite line is part of one of my favorite scenes.  It's when Mary Ellen and Fitz first meet and shows how the relationship begins.  Fitz is her son's soccer coach.  Mary Ellen is dropping her son off for practice and gets out of the car to go and speak to Fitz.  She is concerned b/c her son Tim just had stitches taken out of his leg and she doesn't his leg to get infected.  She is coming from work and is dressed in a serious navy suit and 3 inch heels.  She walks across the soccer field in her heels to speak to Fitz.  He initially ignores her and when he finally does speak to her he treats her as a both and as if she were an overprotective mother.  "You're not going to be one of those mothers who complains every week that his son is not being fairly treated, are you?  I've got a team to coach and time is being wasted."

Joselyn: If your main character could invite anyone to dinner (fictional or otherwise), who would it be?

Deborah:  I think Mary Ellen and Fitz, since they do become a couple, would love to have Corey Booker, the mayor of Newark, over for dinner so they could talk to him about the city and what it needs.  She also would love to have Governor Christy over.  She doesn't necessarily agree with him but thinks he's probably what NJ needed. 

Joselyn: Do you have characters who keep bugging you for their own book?

Deborah:  John Susino is a U.S. Attorney in the Newark office (where Christy used to work).  He and Mary Ellen know each other as far back as law school when they were both burning to save the world.  He knows Fitz because they worked together on joint federal/state task forces.  He tried to fix Mary Ellen up with Fitz but she would have none of it and had to learn to like and then him on her own.  Anyway, John has a story that should be told.  It wouldn't be a romance since he's got a wife and a couple of kids, including a son on that soccer team.  But he's in the midst of an organized crime investigation out of Newark so he's got a story to tell.

Joselyn: What would make your writing space perfect?

Deboah:  I need a bigger desk.  That would make my work space almost perfect.

Joselyn: What author would you be delighted to be compared to?

Deborah:  I'd love to be compared to Marion Keyes or Emma Griffin and of course Nora Roberts is the best.  But I think my favorite author is Joanna Trollope.  There is always a romance in her books but it's her observations about people and relationships that I find so valuable and compelling.

Joselyn: Writers are a little dependent on their computers. What do you do when the power goes out?  

Deborah: The power actually went out several times this past winter at our farm.  If it's in the middle of the night I just snuggle further under the covers.  During the day, I like to make a fire and sit by a window and read.  It's a great excuse for not having to do anything.

Joselyn: What do you do to celebrate a book sale?

Deborah:  Good question!  Email my loved ones the news and then get taken out to dinner by my husband.