Hotter Than Helen Book Tour

 Psychological women’s suspense that reads like the sharp edge of a dagger…

By Susan Wingate

 

 

 

Author Interview

• What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a book? Do you chase the squirrel (aka “UP syndrome”) or do you finish your current project first?
  • As a creative, I can’t imagine quashing any new ideas. I write new ideas down immediately and then when the time is right, analyze them to see if they are viable or if I’m interested still. But mostly, I finish whatever current project I’m working on and then tackle new ones after that. But I write all my new ideas down right away.

 

• Who is your favorite character to write, and why is that person your favorite? If picking a favorite character would be like picking a favorite child, which character seems to be the most demanding or your attention and detail as a writer?
  • I like writing quirky and flawed characters who are apt to having things go terribly wrong—usually because of their choices. I like writing characters who learn something important about them and about the world.
  • The reason I enjoy writing flawed characters is because I’m flawed. Our internal person is rarely the person we would “out” in public life. It’s often someone our families don’t even know about. I think Robert Louis Stevenson got the dichotomy between our external and internal selves best when he wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Interestingly, he also got the external self so exquisitely when he went to lengths exhibiting Dr.Jekyll trying to tamp down the internal self (exhibited as the villain and a real, separate person) of Mr. Hyde.

 

• Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot and plan, or is your writing more organic?
  • I used to outline when I first began writing novels. Then, as the years passed and I felt more comfortable, went to pantsing. I think pantsing is more difficult, but it’s more creative and fun for me.

 

• What are some books or authors that you would recommend to our readers?
  • There are so many amazing contemporary authors out right now. Here are three of my favorite authors:
  • Jenny Offil, Dept. of Speculation
  • Kali White, The Monsters We Make
  • Mandy Haynes, Walking the Wrong Way Home

 

• Have you been able to incorporate your previous experience in [jobs/education] in your writing?
  • Absolutely! This is how the term, “write what you know,” really works. I’ve used all of my experiences—jobs, relationships, health, food, whatever I’ve experienced into my writing. Doing so brings your scenes and overall stories an authenticity that might be missing if one was to write about something they absolutely know nothing about.

 

• Do you identify with your main character or did you create a character that is your opposite?
  • I usually identify with the main character, but I also identify with the opposition character as well. As writers, if we cannot tap into our naughty selves as well as our good selves, characters will fall flat. We need to stretch our emotional understanding of each character who enters a scene—even a busboy assuming he’s not a primary character. We need to make a secondary character seem like he has the weight of the world on his shoulder or, conversely, he just got the best news ever. We may never know what that weight or best news is, but as readers, we should see it in the busboy’s demeanor, the way he talks, and how he interacts with others.
  • To that, we must be ever more critically aware of our main characters and their situation, background, goals, dreams, and needs.

 

• Describe the [book/series] in 10 words or less for people who are just learning about it.
  • Georgette Carlisle wants to live where nobody wants her.

 

• Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
  • Forgiveness, truth, and justice will always be a path to understanding others.

 

• Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?
  • Don’t give up. Don’t listen to negative thoughts and words. Give it all you can. It’s your dream to write, right? What would be worse: trying with all you have and failing, or never having tried at all? Just don’t give up. Don’t live with that regret.

 

• What is your favorite line from your book?
  • And, as if Georgette were standing there with her, she imagined Helen’s nervous frown bridging her forehead, causing a soft fold to form in the skin between her eyebrows; she imagined her glossy lips moving over each fractured word.

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