FAQ's

Let me respond to your questions....

Let's talk. I would love to hear more of your questions or comments. Please contact me and I will respond to your individual e-mails within 48 hours.

The following are my responses to some of the questions you've asked. Keep those questions coming!

1. How many books have you written?

I've written three books, several book chapters, and numerous professional journal articles. My most recent writings are the two novels: "Angels Don't Get Tattoos" and "Devils Don't Wear Velvet."

See My Resume

2. How long does it take you to write a novel?

It took me about five years to write my first novel, "Angels Don't Get Tattoos." I began with a few scenes and chapters that were about Callie, the hospice nurse, and her boyfriend. I soon realized the deeper story was about K and her friends and family.

However, writing the scenes about Callie helped me discover K was the protagonist and it was K I wanted to know more about. Even though I didn't use those first scenes and chapters, writing about Callie helped me add texture to her character in the novel so she wouldn't be flat and dull.

As I developed a bit more skill, writing "Devils Don't Wear Velvet" took only about three years. First, because it was a sequel, I was familiar with the setting. I also knew most of the characters but I had to get to know several of them in more depth. Second, I was also able to use some fiction-writing skills more easily (e.g., dialogue, action, clarity, etc.). Finally, I recognized when sentences or paragraphs needed revision--that is, I saw more quickly when things didn't work well.

3. Do you think about your characters when you're not writing?

OMG, Yes! I'm thinking about them all the time. In almost everything I see and hear, I think, "Is this something K would say or do?" "Does this seem like Jasmine?"

For example, I listened to my grand-nieces and nephews talking at Thanksgiving dinner and I used some of their words and phrases in my characters' dialogue. When I watched the Final Four NBA play-offs, it helped me develop Slam D as the university basketball coach in "Angels Don't Get Tattoos." Visiting a bar in rural Wisconsin helped me describe the characters and their actions in a scene in "Devils Don't Wear Velvet."

Sometimes, the characters are the last thing I'm thinking about when I fall asleep---I actually get up at night to write a few notes so that I can fall back asleep.

4. Are the characters based on real people?

Sort of, but not really. Some of them are what I would consider composite characters. They have personalities and characteristics of several people I've known. That is, they display a blend of things I understand as I meet them in various situations.

For me, the bottom line is that the characters are "One Off"....they happen only once.

For example, in "Angels Don't Get Tattoos," K emerged from Natalie, a teenage patient I took care of 35 years ago. I was totally struck by Natalie's courage and independence--she actually understood her dying and death much more fully and bravely than her parents and her friends. And, I have to admit, she understood dying and death more than I did, as a 25-year-old registered nurse.

In "Devils Don't Wear Velvet," Grandfather is a composite of several guys in my family--the way he speaks, his temperament and appearance, his swagger. The values Grandfather holds dear are also held by many adults in my family: hard work, a loyalty to others when their lives are imploding, and frugality born in a life of a harsh simplicity.

5. What was the hardest thing for you in writing the novels?

One of the hardest things was creating the action. That is, what are the characters actually doing? What is their goal in a scene? It's much easier for me to write details describing appearances or how something looks (I really like doing that), but I have to push myself to imagine and write what is HAPPENING in a scene.

If I don't push myself to write the action, things remain static, like a picture. It's interesting to look at, but nothing is moving so it's fast-boring. Details only go so far.

6. Are you planning to write another novel?

I would really like to write another novel. I may write the story as Jasmine or her friends Megan or Sarah begin their life as first generation university students. That is, none of their parents have baccalaureate degrees so, as first generation college students, they would face many unique challenges. Please let me know what you think of this idea.

"Perhaps I write for no one.
Perhaps for the same person children are writing
for when they scrawl their names in the snow." --Margaret Atwood