Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in London, England, a very long time ago and came to the US as a young teen when the Beatles were getting famous.
Did you always want to be an author?
I think so, though I took a circuitous route and have had a career as a forensic handwriting examiner for more than 50 years. I’ve always written, but was first published in 2000.
Were you an avid reader as a child? Do you still read books?
Yes, and Yes! I read 3 or 4 last week, but that’s because I hurt my back and had to lie down a lot. In high school I read a book a day.
How did your friends and family react to your first book?
As I recall, they were all proud and happy. That was a nonfiction book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis.
How did you come up with the idea for the "Beyond the Veil" series? Was it always meant to be a series?
The Beyond the Veil series is my second series. The Forensic Handwriting series came first and now has 8 books. The first four were published by Penguin. Then my editor there left and I was orphaned, so I self-published a standalone called What She Saw about a young woman with amnesia. Several years later when I started writing Proof of Life, I knew that she needed to be that young woman, only now, she is coming to terms with the fact that she is being contacted by dead people who want her to do things for them. And then I realized that a character from Written Off (book #7 in the forensic series) needed to come, too. I also brought along some of the main characters from the forensic series, but in lesser roles.
What inspired the characters of Jessica Mack in Proof of Life?
In 2000 my daughter, Jennifer, was murdered by her boyfriend, a federal agent. That started my quest to find out what happens when we leave this life. What I learned is, we do not die; there is life after earth. I always thought I would write my daughter’s story, but it has been too difficult, so I decided instead to write a fictional take involving the Afterlife. And, as I said above, some of the characters were from my other books.
Which was your favourite story to write in the "Beyond the Veil" series and why?
There are only two books so far. I am starting on the third one soon. The prequel, What She Saw, addresses two themes that have always fascinated me—amnesia, and another that I can’t tell, as it would be a spoiler, and I hate spoilers.
Walk us through your creative process. How do you convert an idea into a story?
I start with the title and build a story around it. Most of my stories start with a kernel of truth and grow from there. I think about it for a long time before starting to outline the scenes. Note, however, that while I do outline, it’s quite loose and once completed, I may never look at it again.
Why do you write? What motivates you to see a book to its end?
I write because I have a compulsion to write, though I prefer having written. Once having started a book, there is no way I cannot finish it.
What challenges did you face while writing nonfiction books about handwriting and personality?
I can’t say there were any particular challenges in writing nonfiction. I used my decades of experience and many thousands of handwriting to write the books I wish I’d had when I started in the field (in 1967).
What advice would you give to aspiring writers and authors?
Understand from the outset that good writing is hard, selling your book to a publisher is harder, and marketing it is the hardest. Even the biggest publishing houses expect you to do most of your own marketing. First, though, study your craft—take classes, such as Margie Lawson’s on writing, read books about your genre. There is plenty of help for new writers. And my best advice for fiction writers: learn to leave out as many adverbs as possible. They weaken the writing. Use strong verbs instead.
Have you ever read a book that you liked so much, you wished you had written it?
Yes, of course, more than one. John Sandford is my favorite author because his characters are so real and so amusing. Tami Hoag has a talent for description. Their books leave me envious, as well as a few others.
How has being an author changed your perspective on life? What lessons have you learned in your journey?
I have learned to pay better attention to what is going on around me. Every meeting, every experience, is fodder for a scene or even a book.
What book ideas are you currently working on?
Book #3 in the Beyond the Veil series, The Last Door. I’m also starting to work on a memoir. It may just be for my sons and my granddaughter, but you never know.
How has your experience working with AllAuthor been?
I haven’t done much with AllAuthor yet, but look forward to making it a bigger part of my marketing plan.
