Interview

Pauline, welcome to RomanceJunkies.

When did you know you first wanted to be an author?

 

About halfway through my first novel, I realized I really enjoyed writing it.  I also realized I had a whole bunch of other stories wandering around in my brain and that, just maybe, being an author was an option.

 

How do you come up with the names for your characters? Do you ever wish you could use the same name again in another work?

 

This is a multi-part answer because they come from so many different places.  In some cases, usually with my main characters, they just show up having names.  I don’t have to think about it or come up with anything; their names are just their names.  I also have a great, very close group of people who have been my friends for years and when I draw a blank, I’ll send out an SOS and give them a character description and they will shoot back some ideas for names.  Occasionally, even if I don’t use the name they suggest, their suggestion triggers something for me.  Another friend of mine was having an auction to help pay for her sister’s cancer treatments so I auctioned off a character name.  (Many thanks to Justin Erixon who went on to become my heroine’s agent!) Finally, I’m not above asking people.  One of the characters in the Lambert Falls series is named after the wife of a helicopter engineer I know through my husband.  I was writing on the tarmac during fire season and while the helicopter crews were fighting the fires.  I couldn’t come up with a female name so I went to the helicopter engineer and asked “What’s your wife’s name?”  The character has turned out to be small but pivotal.  Luckily, I only have one novel out and the next few are part of the same series so I haven’t written so many characters yet that I’m regretting “misusing” a name.

 

What’s your favorite kind of music?  Do you enjoy listening to anything special while you write?

 

My favorite music really depends on my mood.  At home, my stereo is packed with big band and swing; the radio in my car is permanently set to an alternative rock station; my iPod has international music on it; and the CD player has classical.  Go figure.  Pretty much, I just love music.  Anything that doesn’t twang is welcome in my house.

 

I can’t listen to music while I’m composing.  For the actual writing, I have movies or certain television shows on in the background.  The casts of NCIS, House and Special Victims Unit should probably get mentioned in the acknowledgements of my next book because they were on almost the entire time I was writing it.  I write everything long hand first so after the composing part, I still have to transcribe it onto the computer.  During the transcription, it doesn’t matter what, if anything, is on in the background.

 

Do you eat and drink at your computer? Ever spill anything on the keyboard? Have a manuscript catastrophe?

 

I’m hesitant to answer this one because I don’t want to jinx it because I do eat and drink at the computer.  If I’m awake, I have coffee close.  And so far, no major catastrophes.  Can we change the subject now? 

 

How do you end your writing day?

 

I’m a firm believer in self-care so the end of my writing day is my time.  Most nights, I will pour myself a cold glass of something - some nights it’s ice water or seltzer, some nights it’s something stronger - light my candles and soak in a tub.  When my husband is home, he will actually run my bath and light the candles.  Those are the really nice evenings.  Depending on my mood and the season, I will use salts or bubbles or oils or different scents.  For me, nothing soothes away the aches and tension of being hunched over a computer or notebook all day like a long soak in a really hot tub.  It makes a nice transition for me between being focused and being relaxed enough to sleep.

 

You wake up in the middle of the night craving junk food. You know your favorite fast food restaurant will be open even if it is 2AM. You jump in the car and go where for what?

 

An egg and cheese biscuit with hash browns, if I’m craving savory, or donuts, if I’m craving sweet.

 

If you could go anywhere without having to worry about planning, where would you go?

 

Here in the US, it would be Boston.  Boston is home for me.  So many of the people I consider family are still in that area.  Outside of the US, I’d go to Morocco.  One of these days, I will eat spaghetti in the Medina.

 

How did you and your husband meet?  What made you know he was “the one for you”?

 

This is a little embarrassing: we met online.  We got to chatting about writing and became friends, long distance.  I was in New England; he was in Washington state, so we knew nothing more than friendship could come from it.  Only, we both started feeling more than friendship.  I tried for a long time to convince myself I was crazy because I couldn’t possibly be falling for someone I had never met and who lived an entire country away.  Then one day, he intimated that he was beginning to have the same feelings.  I made him say it first, though.  He ended up on a helicopter contract in North Carolina. It was still far away, but it was much closer than Washington state so I drove down and we finally met in person.  I fell in love with him that week. 

 

What is your idea of the perfect romantic vacation?

 

Is there only one perfect romantic vacation?  One would be somewhere hot, wandering a market, haggling, tasting fresh local flavors, exploring the town, the ruins, the jungle, whatever the local area is.  In the evenings, we’d dance to some exotic rhythm while drinking whatever the local spirit is, under the stars.  Another would be a city vacation, staying at a five star hotel, finding the museums and galleries, the locals’ coffee shops that are off the main tourist tracks, the most interesting architecture.  At night, we’d have elegant dinners somewhere looking out over the lights of the city, attend performances of some sort and finish the evenings with a late dessert or cocktails or dancing, anything that would keep us up and out until the early morning hours.   Mornings both places would be lazy and slow and include room service breakfasts, just us.

 

How do you describe Pauline Trent?  How does Pauline Trent’s husband describe her?

 

Pauline is classic, with an edge.  My tastes run from sophisticated to sassy and fun.  My wardrobe tends to run towards pinstripes and clean lines - but I will add a touch to every outfit that makes it personal, for example, my reading glasses are zebra patterned cat-eyes.  I am a romantic - but in a weird way. The standard romantic comedy/chick flick leaves me bored. Love songs just annoy me. A dozen roses on an anniversary, not so much. But a kiss on the head and unsolicited coffee brought to my desk while I'm working...I melt. Being told my bath has already been run for me...I melt. Being taken out for dessert at midnight...I melt. Except for Valentine's Day and my birthday. I'm totally typical there.  As for how my husband describes me, I simply asked him. He says I’m his best friend and part of why he thinks I’m so great is that I am willing to step outside of the conventional and experience everything the world has to offer.

 

MORE FUN…

 

Who is the person who has had the biggest influence on your life?

 

On my life in general, my father was the biggest influence on me.  He was what I call my “primary parent.”  He was the wisest man I’ve ever known, as well as the most fun.  Everything good about me came from him, directly or indirectly.  In terms of my love of words and writing, it was my 6th and 8th grade English teacher, Betty Witt.  And in terms of knowing who I am and being solid in my sense of self, it was two people: a man named Michael Scholtz and a woman named Linda Marot.  Both of them impacted me in such positive ways that I can’t even begin to explain.

 

Whom will you pass this “influence” on to?

 

Probably to my oldest nephew.  He’s my heart and we have a very special connection. 

 

 

If you could have a maid for a day or a day at the spa, which would you choose and why?

 

A day at the spa.  As much as I hate cleaning house, I can get my house clean.  I can’t give myself a massage or a mud wrap or a facial.  In fact, a day at the spa is my favorite way to celebrate completing my books.

 

What is your favorite piece of jewelry?

 

I wear a garnet stud in my left ear that is so important to me that it’s in my will.  It was given to me by one of my two best friends.  Not only is it his birth stone but it is from his very first pair of earrings ever.  I take it out occasionally to clean it but otherwise, it just stays in my ear at all times.  One time, I thought I had lost it and it broke my heart.  My brother-in-law actually took apart my bed to help me find it.

 

And lastly, no interview of a writer would be complete without this question:  what is your favorite comfort food?

 

Food in a bowl.  I know that sounds odd, but it’s the best way to explain it.  Cereal, pasta, soup, chili, stew, ice cream, even a salad if it’s served in a bowl.  It’s just very comforting for me to snuggle down with a bowl of something.

 

I never thought of it that way, but you are exactly right!  Pauline, this has been a lot of fun.  Thank you for joining us.  Best of luck with your future writing projects.

 

By Brooke Wills

Romance Junkies Publishing Editor

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