Today, Lagniappe interviews Therese M. Travis and we're spotlighting her latest release, Fixing Perfect.
Welcome, Therese!
LIGHTENING ROUND
Plotter, Pantser, or Planser?
Welcome, Therese!
Briefly describe one of your typical
writing days? Coffee,
tea or cocoa, to start. Then I re-read the last bit written and get into the
next part of the story. I have to remind myself to stretch every so often.
What led you to choose the genre in
which you write?
What do you enjoy doing when you are
not writing? Hobbies, etc? Cross stitch, scrapbooking, reading, spending time with friends and
family.
What were some of the challenges
(research, literary, psychological, or logistical) you faced in bringing this
story to life?
I had to
research Catalina (as I haven’t been there for many years). The laws regarding
cars was fascinating. The flora and fauna is much like where I live (on
mainland California) but island life is very different. I’ve worked with and
known many people who deal with handicaps, and I used that background for a lot
of my characters. I attended a game with my daughter and her family, where they
worked as volunteer runners for handicapped players, just like in the story. I
was so entranced by the concept that I had to use it in a story, and that’s how
Fixing Perfect got started. The
psychological aspect—well, lots of people have asked me how I could get inside
the mind of someone like the killer. Maybe I don’t want to know! He’s just
there….
Is there anything you find
particularly challenging in your writing? Sustaining the mental energy I need to write.
What was one of the most surprising
things you've learned while writing your books? I’m always surprised at how God shows me
what I need for each story, whether it’s part of the plot I need to fix, or
some aspect of myself I need to face in order to write about it.
Where is one place you want to visit that
you haven't been before and is it a place you'd set a story? I would love to visit Italy, especially
Rome, and Vatican City. I’m working on a story set there now.
What can we expect from you in the
future?
As I said, I’m working on a
story set in Vatican City. I have several others I’m toying with. One is the
first in a mystery series.
LIGHTENING ROUND
Plotter, Pantser, or Planser?
None of the above? I suppose I should say Pantser, but I keep reading
the books that promise all kinds of rewards for plotting, and so I keep trying.
The one book that has helped me the most in actually plotting out a story
without making me hate it is Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake theory, where he explains,
via a story in itself, how the snowflake method works. I really recommend it.
Dogs or Cats? Dogs! I have
three. They’re my babies and rule my life.
For Thanksgiving: Pecan Pie or Pumpkin Pie? Both. The
most unhealthy, and the healthiest…
In the community of Avalon on Catalina Island, a psychopath is kidnapping children and leaving the bodies of adult victims painted, posed, and perfectly fixed to resemble handicapped artist, Robin Ingram. Robin struggles with feelings of imperfection, and knowing some madman has a macabre agenda that includes fixing her is unsettling. Paramedic Sam Albrecht believes he knows the identity of the killer, and he wants nothing more than to prove it in order to keep Robin out of danger. Then Sam is arrested as a suspect for the crimes. Even though Robin believes Sam is mistaken about the killer, the one thing she knows for certain is that Sam is the man they want, and she will find the proof to set him free, or she’ll die trying.
Buy here: http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_47&products_id=639
Therese Travis is a wife, mother, grandmother, follower of Christ. She's been writing stories since the age of eight, and "telling stories" (you know what that means) since long before. She finally figured out how to put those stories onto the page. She loves to talk about Jesus and His love for us, about her family, crafting, writing, and praying.
Therese, Thanks so much for sharing!
Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe.
