Do you prefer Milk chocolate or Dark? The darker the better.
Coffee or tea? Neither one—I drink hot chocolate or vanilla cappuccino.
Vodka or tequila? Neither one again. But I love spiced rum.
Romance or a Thriller? Romance, definitely!
Mystery or Horror? Mystery.
Horror frightens me.
Did you always want to be an author?
I discovered that I wanted to be a
writer in the fourth grade when the school principal encouraged me to write. It
was liberating and it set me on a lifetime path of writing.
What authors had
an impact on you growing up and as an adult?
Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood made me want to be a writer of suspense. I never
seriously considered writing non-fiction but I loved the style in which he
wrote the true story of the Clutter family murders. In my teens I read Deborah and the Many Faces of Love by
Davenat C; I loved the book and hated the title. It took place against the
backdrop of Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I’s adversarial
relationship. I found the history of Scotland and England and particularly of
these two cousins fascinating and I felt pulled into a world I’d known nothing
about.
Lately, I’ve become a big fan of Erin
Quinn. Her Mists of Ireland series
reminds me why I fell in love with reading. They transport me to a different
world, a different time. I love the way she writes and how she can turn a
phrase.
Since beginning a series, I’ve also
been influenced by Robert B. Parker, particularly his Jesse Stone series. Though the series deals with murders and
crimes, it’s as much about the personalities of the main characters and their
inner struggles and demons.
Did anyone in your life
influence you or encouraged you to be a writer?
My 4th grade school
principal first introduced writing to me and my earliest attempts were in
poetry and short stories. My 8th grade English teacher further
encouraged me and made me believe that I was actually good at it. Without the influence
of these two women, I doubt that I would ever have written anything at all.
What is your
writing atmosphere like?
I have two places where I love to
write. One is in my office behind my desk. The window in front of me opens to a
small garden below filled with crepe myrtle, butterflies and hummingbirds. When
the house is empty, I enjoy writing in the living room, where I am surrounded
by aquariums filled with beautiful angelfish. Both areas are serene and calming
so I suppose it’s surprising that I write fast-paced and frightening suspense
there!
What is your favorite aspect of
writing? Your Least Favorite?
My favorite part of writing is
feeling the characters come alive under my fingertips; seeing their words jump
off the page at me; and getting to know them as intimately as houseguests.
My least favorite is the pressure
placed on authors to sell their own books. Every bit of promotion and marketing
takes me away from writing my next book and I long for the day when I can hire
someone to help me with the ever-increasing marketing demands so I can do what
I love to do—write.
The current book you’re
promoting is:
Secrets
of a Dangerous Woman. It’s my 14th release
and the 3rd book in the Black
Swamp Mysteries series.
How did you come up with the story
line?
For a while it seemed like every
time I turned on the television or opened a newspaper, I was being bombarded
with reports of politicians doing things they shouldn’t be doing—whether it was
posting a nude photograph on Twitter or Facebook, using money inappropriately, or
lying when the truth could easily be found out. It was always something.
The main character in the first book
of the series is a computer hacker who prefers to be on the wrong side of the
law. So I thought it would make perfect sense for her to use her hacking skills
to find the dirt on as many national politicians as she could and then sell the
information to the highest bidder. The plot of Secrets of a Dangerous Woman was born!
I don’t believe in touting my
personal politics so parties are never mentioned in the book. In fact, Brenda
(the computer hacker) doesn’t care what their politics are. She’ll get the dirt
on anybody!
How do you choose
your characters names?
I use websites that give meanings
and backgrounds, whether they’re given names or surnames. The series takes
place in an area with a large population of Scottish immigrants and one of the
main characters is Irish, so I looked for names with a UK connection.
I have also found when I want to
pull a reader closer to a character, they need a nickname. One of the main
characters is Vicki Boyd—not Victoria, or it would put space between the reader
and the character. When I want to keep the reader at arm’s length from a
character, I use a more formal name.
One of the characters in the book is
Sam Mazzoli, the CIA head of the psychic spy program. I patterned him after
Robert DeNiro’s Mafia characters. He’s the kind of guy who can fix you with his
eyes once and you know you’re not ever going to try and cross him. But in a
twist, Vicki finds out his real name – Shirley A. Mazzoli. Of course, no one
would ever dare call this intimidating man “Shirley” so he goes by his initials
– Sam.
In Secrets of a Dangerous Woman,
Dylan Maguire is back in his first assignment with the CIA: to interrogate
recently captured Brenda Carnegie. But when she escapes again, it's obvious
she's had help from within the CIA's own ranks. With Vicki Boyd's assistance,
Brenda is back in Dylan's custody. And now he must find out why some in the
highest levels of our government want her dead while others are willing to risk
everything to help her. And when he discovers Brenda's real identity, his
mission has just become very personal.
EXCERPT:
Dylan and Sam stood in the wide,
hushed hallway as they observed the interrogation room through the one-way
mirror. Inside was a metal table in the center of the room with empty chairs on
one side. Against the far wall was a counter that ran the length of the room,
comprised of a sink and cabinets above and below the stainless steel
countertop.
But it was the single chair on one
side of the table, the side closest to Dylan and Sam that riveted their
attention. The metal chair was arranged so they viewed the occupant from the
side. The ankles were cuffed to the slat at the bottom of the chair while each
wrist was cuffed to the chair arms. Thick copper hair hung in waves that
reached to the person’s waist and obscured the face.
“That’s a woman,” Dylan said.
“Very observant,” Sam replied.
“Women cry.”
Sam crossed his arms in front of
him. “Not this one. She’s not even close to breaking.”
“What’s ‘er name?”
“Brenda Carnegie.”
“Ah, a Scottish name…What is it you
want me to do with ‘er?”
“Keep her awake, for starters.” He
glanced at him. “It should be good practice for you. Use some of those
interrogation techniques they taught you.”
“She’s got blood on ‘er.”
“Yeah.”
“You got a medical bag, do you?”
“I’m sure we can round one up.”
“What is it you want to know?”
“Who she works for,” Sam said as he
picked up a handset beside the one-way mirror.
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
p.m.terrell is the award-winning,
internationally acclaimed author of more than 16 books, including Vicki's
Key, a 2012 International Book Awards finalist, and River
Passage, 2010 Best Fiction & Drama winner.
She is the
co-founder of The Book 'Em Foundation whose slogan is "Buy a Book and Stop
a Crook" and the co-chair of Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference
& Book Fair. For more information, visit www.pmterrell.com.
~Giveaway~
p.m.terrell will be giving a $25 Amazon Gift Card to one randomly drawn commenter.
To enter for a chance to win just leave a comment with your email address!
Foe more chances to win follow her Tour!
The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions. blogspot.com/2012/07/virtual- book-tour-secrets-of- dangerous.html.
Horror frightens me too, but I do love suspense & thrillers.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I could never read Stephen King or other writers of horror because I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, scared to death. :) But like you, I enjoy suspense - as long as torture is not involved.
DeleteThanks for following the tour, Mary!
Thank you so much for hosting me today, Tamaria! I'll be checking in throughout the day and answering questions anyone might have for me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this interview. If only people realized that teachers are great encouragers. A lot of authors don't even bother looking back on who told them they'd make a good writer, or who forced them into a writing competition. So it's great that you do. Spiced rum? That sounds great. Let me Google that lol.
ReplyDeletechrysrawr@yahoo.com
Hi, Chrysrawr! Thanks for following the tour!
DeleteI honestly don't know how my life would have turned out without the teachers and school principal who encouraged me to write. They truly made a huge impact on my life.
Yes, Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum is THE BEST! :)I drink it with Coca-Cola but I don't know if it's one shot to an 8-ounce glass. You could experiment! :)
You're welcome! I see that you have another tour coming up too for this book!
DeleteThat is true. Teachers can be great people. I am glad you did not forget them. Glad that you publicize their impact on your life.
I am so gonna try that! Thanks for the advice. I love rum and soda, but I have not tried Captain Morgan's yet. Hehe.
I really enjoyed the interview. It was so interesting to see how you come up with ideas for your stories. This one sounds exceptionally good.
ReplyDeleteI think the only thing we have in common is books. I don't like dark chocolate, hot chocolate or spiced rum but I do like romance and mystery
ReplyDeletefencingromein at hotmail dot com