Randee Green Interview Published on: 13, Mar 2020

RG – I’m an only child, so I spent a good portion of my childhood having to keep myself entertained. Reading and making up my own stories were two of the ways that I kept myself entertained. It also helped me develop my strong imagination.

As for the strongest memory from mt childhood…I’d have to say my strongest memories are about my dogs.

RG – I first realized that I wanted to be a writer when I was in second grade. Every day, my teacher, Mrs. Ziegler would read to us for about half an hour while we calmed down after we came in from recess. As an avid lover of books since before I could read, this was my favorite part of the school day.

I will never forget the day that Mrs. Ziegler began reading LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was hooked from the first page. Mrs. Ziegler was partway through reading the first chapter of Little House in the Big Woods when the rest of the classroom just faded away, leaving me with the book. Just me and Laura. That’s when I sat up a little straighter and thought, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a writer.” It was more than a childish wish. It was a revelation and a declaration. A promise to myself that I spent years striving to fulfil.

RG – I refined my skills by writing a lot. The more you write, the better you get at it.

RG – Honestly, I don’t think my Bachelor of Arts in English Literature helped shape me into a writer all that much. Yes, while working on the degree I was introduced to a lot of different styles of literature that I otherwise would not have read. I am a strong believer that extensive reading helps a writer improve their craft. I also have a Master of Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. And I don’t necessarily think either degree helped shape me as a writer. Writing makes a person a writer. A piece of paper and a fancy degree does not.

RG – After having read a number of mystery novels starring strong female characters, I knew that was what I wanted to write. With there being so many mystery series, it was a matter of finding something that made the Carrie Shatner Mysteries unique. A quirky, law- breaking family definitely does that.

RG – When I was in my early teens, my favorite TV show was “The Pretender.” The main female character – Miss Parker – was my hero. She was this super strong female character working for a dubious organization and a sketchy family history. I definitely had Miss Parker in mind when I began creating Carrie Shatner’s character.

RG – I would really like to write at least one historical novel. There’s one that I’ve wanted to write for a long time, and I have been doing research on it off-and-on for years.

RG – Before writing CRIMINAL MISDEEDS, I wrote another novel starring Carrie Shatner and Jerrod Hardy. This novel will never see the light of day, but it did help me develop Carrie’s and Jerrod’s characters. It also allowed me to work on figuring out the setting of the novel as well as the family dynamics.

RG – I’ve read a lot of books that focus on the theme of family and how important family is. The Carrie Shatner Mystery series also focuses on the theme of family—and how family loyalty can be a bad thing. Carrie Shatner’s number one flaw is her loyalty to her criminally-inclined relatives.

RG – One thing I could never include in my stories is paranormal characters. I’m not saying that there won’t be characters who believe in ghosts or that ghost hunting might not pop up in a novel. But I won’t have my main character believing in or taking part in any paranormal activities.

RG – I plan to keep writing. Whether I can make a living at it or not doesn’t matter. In ten years, I hope to have a few more novels on bookstore shelves. I don’t write to make money (though it would be nice). I write because I love to do it and I have a lot of stories to tell.

RG – I grew up watching professional wrestling and going to shows, so I already knew a lot about wrestling before I started plotting out CRIMINAL CHOKEHOLD. But, even though I am a huge wrestling fan, I still had to do some research into the sport. To do that, I talked to one of my friends who wrestles on the independent circuit. He passed along a lot of valuable information and stories.

RG – I’m not sure “retire” is the right word. I do believe that people can just stop writing. And, no, I don’t think I could stop or retire. At least for not an extended period of time.

RG - I currently wrapping up the fourth Carrie Shatner Mystery—CRIMINAL JUSTICE. I’ve been dragging out the process since I know that this is the last Carrie Shatner Mystery that I will write. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye since she has been with me for such a long time. CRIMINAL HISTORY, the third Carrie Shatner Mystery, will be released later this year. And CRIMINAL JUSTICE will be published in 2021.

Once I wrap up the fourth Carrie Shatner Mystery, I plan to get back to work on the first novel of a cozy mystery series starring a spunky, strong, amateur female sleuth. I have about a third of the novel already written, but had to put it on the back burner to work on CRIMINAL JUSTICE. I’m also doing research for three other projects—two more cozy mystery series and a historical novel.

RG – I enjoy getting to connect with other authors through AllAuthor. It’s another way to form connections that isn’t through social media platforms. I also enjoy all of the book mockup designs. Creating eye-catching graphics is so easy.