Q&A with Zelly Ruskin

 

Photo by Diana Kupershmit

 

 

Zelly Ruskin is the author of the new novel Not Yours to Keep. She lives in New York City.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Not Yours to Keep, and how did you create your cast of characters?

 

A: The idea for Not Yours to Keep originated with a photograph. I was in a long-term relationship that had run well past its expiration date (that’s a story for a future book).

 

One day I found this photograph in his coat pocket, and when I asked about it, he told a ridiculous lie. What’s funny is the lie didn’t faze me. I just kept looking at the photo, thinking, there’s a great plot in there somewhere.

 

Years later, I drew inspiration from that photo, my early career in adoption and personal experience with fertility, to develop a narrative in which the characters face morally questionable choices: What if the photo was of a baby? Why would someone lie about it? What if I had known I had fertility issues when I was an adoption consultant? Would I have crossed a line?

 

I created the cast of characters by blending composites of adoption and foster care clients with tidbits of personal experiences. Then they grew and changed based on their relationships with other characters and the situations they faced.

 

I also molded them based on many unexpected encounters I’d had. For example, one day a chatty cab driver, unaware of my background, talked about being adopted. He expressed raw, visceral emotions about the pain of rejection he’d experienced.

 

I harnessed both his feelings and the way he made me feel and used that to make certain characters in my story more dimensional, with a perspective I otherwise couldn’t have.

 

Q: The Foreword Clarion review of the novel says, “Two women are pulled together by their complicated relationships to motherhood in the tense but humane thriller Not Yours to Keep…whose suspense is directed by the intense emotions brought forth by the loss—or unrealized gain—of a child.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: To be honest, that part of the review really gave the imposter syndrome me pause. Could I have written something so profound? On second glance, it felt validating that the book tackled the difficult, emotional topics sensitively.

 

But I love the review, because it highlights the crux of what I hoped readers would take away from Not Yours to Keep, including how choices a mother makes impact future generations.

 

Q: What do you think the novel says about motherhood?

 

A: Without getting political, Not Yours to Keep addresses multiple aspects of motherhood/parenthood. When we decide to become a parent, or discover our pregnancy, we begin making choices for our future child, and for ourselves. What makes someone a mother or how is complex and emotional.

 

This novel highlights how the longing for motherhood, or losing the possibility, can be powerful. It also underscores the everlasting ties that bond mothers and children.

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: The title was a last minute AHA after a long search for the one that felt right. The words came in an edit to the final draft and seemed to underscore the struggle the mothers in the story face. Whether they are birth parents, adoptive parents, foster parents, or kidnappers, are they supposed to, willing to, able to, or allowed to keep the baby?

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Currently, I’m working on a new twist of a woman contemplating the murder of her greedy, gaslighting husband. Because who hasn’t had that nano-moment when we’ve wanted to kill our spouse or partner? What if you had no other choice?

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: When I’m not devising twisty plots, I’m a dedicated advocate for brain aneurysm awareness and research. You can read the Brain Aneurysm Essay on my website to find out why.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Lenore Borja

 

Photo by Ethan Duff

 

 

Lenore Borja is the author of the new young adult novel The Lost Portal, the second in her Mirror Realm series. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

 

Q: The Lost Portal is the second in your Mirror Realm series--do you think your characters have changed from one book to the next?

 

A: Great question. Book one—The Last Huntress—was Alice’s story, told from her perspective.

 

Book two is Hadley’s story, so we learn more about her background and personality by simply being in her head. There’s no change in her character at the beginning of book two, but by the end, we see progress in her ability to forgive, let go, and move forward.

 

We also see changes in Alice’s relationship with her soulmate, David, as she navigates the challenges of fated love.

 

Q: How did you create the world in which the novels are set?

 

A: I envisioned a fantastical story set in the modern world, featuring a realm that exists behind mirrors. The idea came to me after discovering a closet hidden behind a mirror in my old apartment. This sparked the concept of mirrors as portals to another dimension, and thus, the Realm was born.

 

I wanted the Realm to be both magical and practical. It connects every mirror in the world, and that’s a lot of mirrors! So I created infinite hallways of mirrors that connected like subway tunnels or hamster tubes. It’s dreamlike and intense, yet still fun for my characters to navigate, despite the danger lurking within.

 

However, the Realm is a character in its own right, and therefore able to grow and change—and that’s all I can say for now!

 

Q: The writer Molly E. Lee said of the book, “The Lost Portal packs a mythological punch that will keep you turning pages late into the night, and the found-family themes will pull on your heartstrings!” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love it! It’s a dream to have a talented storyteller like Molly provide me with such a fantastic blurb.

 

The story blends aspects of Greek and Egyptian mythology, so a “mythological punch” is exactly the kind of impact I was hoping for! Also, found family and sisterhood are recurring themes in the series, so it’s nice to know when they’re recognized and appreciated.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: I just hope they have fun uncovering the mystery of the portal and maybe even feel inspired to learn more about the Pyramids of Giza and ancient Egypt. If they enjoy Hadley’s journey and are eager for the next book in the series, I’ll have done my job!

 

Q: What are you working on now? Will there be another installment in the series?

 

A: I’m working on book three of the series (Olivia’s installment). There will be four books, each told from a different huntress’s point of view. It’s wonderful diving into a new character’s head and telling the story from her perspective. I’m determined that each girl gets the attention—and book—she deserves!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I recently introduced the Mirror Realm gang on socials and included brief bios for each girl. I thought it might be fun to share those with you here!

 

HADLEY: (The muscle) A walking magazine cover, but her drop-dead gorgeous looks are the least interesting thing about her. Raised in a family of car thieves, she learned how to pick a lock and hot-wire a car when other kids her age were still playing with dolls. She loves junk food, driving with the top down, and most of all, her friends.

 

SOXIE: (The money) Hot-tempered, brutally honest, and chock full of snarky quips. Always looks like a million bucks and has the trust fund to match, but generous with what she has and fiercely loyal when it comes to her friends. She’s a lioness in high heels & couture clothing.

 

OLIVIA: (The mind reader) Favors dark, heavy makeup and all-black, a la Lydia Deetz & Wednesday Addams. (But don’t tell her that—or even think it!) Almost always the smartest person in the room and prefers the company of animals to people, but would be lost without her friends.

 

ALICE: (The magic) Old soul. Really old soul. Strong, confident, and independent, but also stubborn to a fault. Think semi-reluctant—and sometimes reckless—hero, in a petite, 5-foot, 3-inch frame. Her friends are her family and when she loves, she loves with abandon.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Melissa Connelly

 

 

 

Melissa Connelly is the author of the new novel What Was Lost. She lives in Brooklyn and in Western North Carolina.

 

Q: What inspired you to write What Was Lost, and how did you create your character Marti?

 

A: I wrote this because the kind of sexual abuse between male teacher and female student was so common when I was a teenager. There were no guard rails of any kind.

 

One girl I knew was taken away on weekends by her art teacher and no one thought anything of it. Years later I learned from her of the sexual abuse that occurred. Three different girls in my high school later told me stories of the assistant principal molesting them.

 

Marti came to me slowly. At first, I wanted to make her an unlikable character, but then her true nature of resilience and compassion snuck up on me and seeped all the way in. I wanted to depict an America before Roe v. Wade, ironically having no idea that by the time is was published, we’d be back to the same place.

 

Q: The writer Chirlene McCray said of the novel, “Multilayered mysteries unfold with taut precision and suspense as Connelly walks a tightrope between past and present, coercion and consent, redemption and revenge.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love that description! In the tag line for my book, I said Marti felt complicit in her abuse and I received a lot of pushback on using the word complicit. But I insisted on keeping it in.

 

The point is she feels complicit not that she is complicit. That line between coercion and consent was what I was going for all along; it doesn’t matter if the 14-year-old is willing, it’s still abuse.

 

And yes, I created suspense with certain threads in the book. Who doesn’t like suspense?  Redemption and revenge are great contrasts––I couldn’t have said it better.

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: What Was Lost was my first title and I bounced between several others over the years: And This is an Old Story, This Truth, This Hard and Precious Stone, Once a Rag Doll, before circling back to What Was Lost.

 

I like it because it honors not just Marti’s journey, but Peter’s (he’s a character I have a soft spot for). They both lost a lot of their childhood which impacted their adult lives. And they lost their friendship with each other.

 

I toyed with variations like Lost and Found because by the end they have both found so much. But the journey of the book was to discover what they lost.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: That change is always possible in life and that a reexamination of your past often gains new insights.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m working on a second novel. In theory, it’s more autobiographical; it’s about an interracial family with young children who lose their father to a sudden illness.

 

While those are the bare facts of my life, the mother isn’t me, and the children are decidedly not mine (I’d never dare to write about my own children!) But the journey through grief and understanding what makes a family is one I know.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I am so thrilled my book is coming out and I’m available for author talks to book groups or any interested group. My website is: https://melissaconnelly.com

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with J. Lee

 

 

J. Lee is the author of the new novel The Reluctant Reckoner. His other novels include The Deadly Deal. He lives in the Chicago area.  

 

Q: What inspired the plot of The Reluctant Reckoner, and how did you create your character Mark Richter? 

 

A: I first conceived of the idea that an innocent accountant might get sucked into a dangerous game of fraud due to his or her expertise many years ago. 

 

The idea dawned on me that there is an expertise in technical professions (e.g. accounting, engineering, computer programming, etc.) that could make people a target. 

 

They can be an unwilling gatekeeper to something dangerous and illegal, and since they are not typically very combative people (at least in my experience), they wouldn’t necessarily know how or even want to fight back. At that time, I just thought that was an interesting concept. 

 

Then, I became a victim of identity theft and saw firsthand how sophisticated some of the perpetrators can be and much of a challenge they can create for their victims. After that experience, I revisited that storyline and took its conceptualization a step further to finalize a plot. 

 

As for Mark, what I like about him is that he’s just that: an innocent accountant. I started with that as a baseline and then tried to make him as interesting as a “typical” accountant might be, starting with family and working my way up.  

 

Q: How would you compare Mark with your previous protagonists? 

 

A: He’s definitely a lot “cleaner” (so to speak) than my previous protagonists. In The Hubley Case and The Silent Cardinal, the protagonist Ben Siebert was a former Marine specially trained to handle such situations who had some egg on his face leading back to his military days. He often colored outside the lines and felt very comfortable in that space. 

 

David Centrelli, the protagonist in The Deadly Deal, had no such military training, but he did have an ugly past that made him especially susceptible to blackmail. He was quite a bit grayer than even Ben. 

 

But Mark…Mark’s truly the lovable guy who doesn’t deserve what is happening to him in The Reluctant Reckoner. 

 

Mark has made mistakes and has his flaws, we all have and do, but they are tied to his personal relationships and family. In the eyes of the law, he’s squeaky clean. 

 

I made him that way because to me, it would make him that much more of an obvious target for the antagonists to go after. It felt very realistic to me that they would hone in on a guy like Mark…far more than any other protagonist of mine.  

Q: The Midwest Book Review said of the book, “Readers will become thoroughly engrossed in a plot that shimmers with tension, revelation, unexpected twists and turns, and a foray into questions, dubious answers, and tests of trust.” What do you think of that description? 

 

A: I am extremely grateful that Midwest Book Review liked it so much. In some ways, it’s very rewarding and redeeming to have a third-party professional validate my work. In others, it inspires me to keep working hard and hope other readers feel the same. 

 

Side note: every time a review comes in for one of my books, I have a bit of trepidation. I know going in that reviewers need to be honest; their credibility is based on objectivity and there’s no guarantee they’re going to like what it is I’ve written. So, to put it mildly, I definitely breathed a sigh of relief when that one came in.  

 

Q: Did you need to do any research to write the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you? 

 

A: I conducted a fair amount of “big picture” and “nitty gritty” research that I have recently broken down for Writer’s Digest in a guest article. 

 

I try hard to drive authenticity into the scenes, settings, plot, and characters for all my books, and The Reluctant Reckoner was certainly no different. Lots of in-person and web-based research went into this one… 

 

There was one big surprise. As I mentioned, I was the victim of identity theft, so I knew that a) people are always trying to steal our information and b) to a degree they are succeeding, resulting in the infamous “year of free credit monitoring” that all the large organizations offer up when there’s a data breach that may compromise your information (as if that is equitable). 

 

What surprised me, however, as I researched this book, was just how far behind the bad guys perpetrating these crimes it seems the good guys trying to stop it will always be. It made me pause.  

 

Q: How does your writing career intersect with your other work? 

 

A: My background is in engineering and I spend most of my time dealing with customers, internal projects, deadlines, financials, corporate processes, and various other dealings that are strictly business related. 

 

Thus, suspense novels based on theoretical high-level concepts with imaginary people don’t have a lot of direct overlap with the nine-to-five, but I will say this: we’re all the sum of our own experiences and that’s what we tend to write. 

 

There are certainly character traits that I pull from people I work with, locations I travel to that get selected for a setting, and the chance to interact with a variety of people that work in the same setting as many of the characters in my novel, so I try to take advantage of as much overlap as I can. 

 

But outside of examples such as that, it often feels like two completely different worlds that I very consciously separate both in my mind and my calendar. I even block the time off to keep them separate and straight. Writing is writing and work is work.  

 

Q: What are you working on now? 

 

A: Thanks for asking! While I don’t want to give away too much too soon – and it’s all subject to change anyway as I plow ahead – I have two stories in the works that are very exciting to me. 

 

One is another standalone novel set some 30 years ago in a small Southern Illinois town, and the other is a return to Ben Siebert where we get to learn about all the fun stuff he’s been up to. They’re both mystery/suspense novels and they’re both a lot of fun to mess around with when I get the time to do so.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with J. Lee.

Oct. 10

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Oct. 10, 1906: R.K. Narayan born.

Q&A with Bonnie Jo Pierson

 

 

 

Bonnie Jo Pierson is the author of the new novel What Happens in Idaho. She lives in Idaho.

 

Q: What inspired you to write What Happens in Idaho, and how did you create your characters Lili and Blake?

 

A: When my first baby was 14 days old, we moved away from family, and anything familiar, across the country to St. Louis where my husband entered the realm of medical school, leaving me at home to care for this infant.

 

I was blessed with a daughter who slept a lot, like six hours a day, 12 hours at night a lot. To pass the time, I went to the library and read stacks and stacks of books.

 

Until one fall day I told my husband, I wanted to make one of these magical things that transported me to different worlds. His response was, why don’t you? So, I opened my laptop and started writing.

 

I started with the gem of the idea…What if everything I hold dear was stripped from me? What type of woman would I become? Would I be able to find love again? I played on my fears and wrote myself to a happily ever after.

 

My husband is good with classic cars, tinkers with them all the time, and he’s now a doctor. So basically, I split him in two, and then made him fall in love with himself. It helped because the love I have for my husband translated into my characters.

 

Of course, they became uniquely themselves, with their own emotional wounds, and quirks, but it’s fun, in hindsight, to see what my subconscious did.

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: This is a fun question. Over the years this novel has had several titles. It started as Seeking Sunrise…didn’t really fit. Then it went to and stayed as Fragments of a Life for a long time. Once again that title sounded more like a women’s fiction not a romance. I think it was Fragmented Life for a while and other renditions.

 

I was so fed up with trying to title this novel that when I sent it to my publisher, I threw What Happens in Idaho into my query. It was the first time I’d ever used that title. Turned out, they loved it, and it stuck.

 

I wrote this novel during the time I’d moved away. Idaho is playing in the cool evenings with my family, hiking to the creek with my sisters, working in the hot sun in my family garden…it’s picnics and sunsets, adventures and first loves. It is home.

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Lili and Blake?

 

A: Lili and Blake have a little bit of the enemies to friends to lovers kind of relationship. At first, Lili is slightly jealous of Blake and his daughter, Maddie. They have the relationship she’d never been able to achieve with her mother.

 

Out of sheer loneliness, Lili begins to let Blake in, whereas Blake’s main goal is to ease Lili’s pain even if it’s just for her vacation. The chemistry between them is scalding hot. The slow burn just builds and builds until they finally give into it.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: Love is the most powerful emotion, and I’m convinced it’s the most important one we feel.

 

The takeaway I want all readers to leave with is the afterglow of this key emotion that everyone needs in their life. If everyone loved their fellow men and women more, violent crime would disappear overnight. Love is the answer. I sing “All we need is love” from Moulin Rouge all the time.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m working on the second in the series for a book of mine that’s releasing in 2026. It’s a small-town romantic suspense. So, a change of pace for sure. And I’m plotting two other romcoms … one of which might take us back to Idaho.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I just love story. Devoting my life to telling stories is a pleasure I didn’t plan on having.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with RaeAnne Thayne

 

 

RaeAnne Thayne is the author of the new novel The December Market. Her many other novels include Christmas at the Shelter Inn. She lives in Utah.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The December Market, and how did you create your characters Amanda and Rafe?

 

A: I was inspired to write The December Market because I love holiday markets. I watch YouTube videos of European Christmas markets extensively and feel like it’s such a charming, fun way to shop for friends and loved ones. I wanted to move a similar kind of market to my little Idaho town of Shelter Springs.

 

Amanda and Rafe both appeared in my book Christmas at the Shelter Inn, which came out last year. Amanda is the sister of the hero of Shelter Inn and Rafe was a firefighter and paramedic who really only had a walk-on role in that book.

 

I knew I wanted to write Amanda’s book next but wasn’t sure who would be a good hero for her until I remembered Rafe. After that, it was easy to come up with their story.

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between them? 

 

A: They are polite acquaintances as we open the book, having both grown up in the same relatively small town. When Rafe moves down the street from Amanda with his 6-year-old son Isaac, the two begin to interact more.

 

And when Rafe’s grandfather begins to date Amanda’s grandmother, both residents of the senior living apartment building in town, Amanda can’t escape him, or her growing attraction to him.

Q: This is the second in your Shelter Springs series--should readers begin with the first book?

 

A: They don’t have to, as this is a standalone story, but they may have more context about the backstory of some of the characters in The December Market if they read Christmas at the Shelter Inn first.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: I hope readers find that love is possible at any stage of life and also seems to appear when you least expect it. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am actually busy plotting my 2025 Christmas book, which will be another story set in Shelter Springs.

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The December Market is my 75th book and my 22nd Christmas book!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with RaeAnne Thayne.

Q&A with Joy Jordan-Lake

 

 

 

Joy Jordan-Lake is the author of the new novel Echoes of Us. Her other novels include A Bend of Light. She lives south of Nashville, Tennessee.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Echoes of Us, and how did you create your cast of characters?

 

A: I often fall in love with a place first and then start reading and researching for a story based in actual historical events and people. That’s been true for my past novels set in Charleston, South Carolina; at the Biltmore Estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains; the coast of Maine….

 

With this novel, though, I was already quite familiar with St. Simons Island, Georgia, the novel’s setting, since my family has been connected with it in various ways for five generations.

 

So in this case, I don’t think I was searching for a future novel so much as stumbling onto visiting the brand new World War II Home Front Museum there in the old Coast Guard station right next to what had been a musty old motel where my family stayed when my brother and I were small.

 

The museum startled me, highlighting how a German U-boat lurked off the St. Simons Island coast hunting for kills, then sank two ships in one night, killing 22 men.

 

From that came a hundred different ways the island was suddenly thrown directly into the war, including the conversion of a posh hotel, the King & Prince, into a training school for the new technology radar.

 

The characters grew out of things in my research I found most surprising and enthralling—like imagining how on earth it worked for German POWs stationed nearby to serve food to the Allied officers billeted at the radar training school, and how farm boys from rural America were living alongside, for example, a brilliant British officer who was Jewish brought in as an instructor, and the role of the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

 

Then, once the three very different men forged a bond, against all the odds, what if they were all connected somehow to an extraordinary female aviator? What if there were sacrifices they’d each made, and secrets they’d all kept…until now?

 

Q: Can you say more about how you researched the novel and what you learned that especially surprised you?

 

A: I’ve touched on the research through the WWII Home Front Museum, and I made a number of trips there.

 

One early surprise was that more Americans were killed on the East Coast of the U.S. by German subs during the war than at Pearl Harbor.

 

I was blown away to learn how many hundreds of thousands of German POWs were kept on American soil during the war, the enlisted men working and the officers not forced to—and how many privileges, for example, the German POW officers had compared to American citizens who were people of color. Mind-blowing, truly.

 

Other surprises and important reminders included all the various ways ordinary people were doing such extraordinary things to help the cause, and how little credit many groups, like the Merchant Marines and the WASP, received compared to the credit they deserved for sacrifice and courage.

 

Once you move as a writer from reading about all these different people and roles to wondering what happened in the lives and hearts of actual people when their paths crossed and they had to interact as fellow soldiers or as a woman trying to use her aviation gifts and brains, but being just patted on the head by too many men in charge, or two people attracted to one another across lines they shouldn’t cross for any number of reasons….

 

Once all the statistics starting turning into real people who love and despise and betray and sacrifice for one another, then you’ve got the makings of a story.

Q: You tell the story along two timelines--did you focus more on one before turning to the other, or did you write the novel in the order in which it appears?

 

A: Dual timelines can be tricky, which I’m sure you know and have heard before, but also incredibly fun to read and create. I always hate myself a little about a third of the way through for choosing a complicated format. If it works, though, I think it can heighten the suspense and mystery.

 

My earlier novel A Tangled Mercy was originally just a historical novel and I added the modern-day timeline later, but for Echoes of Us, the two timelines really grew together.

 

I was intrigued by the idea that these three very different men, one of them originally part of the German navy and one of them Jewish, might have become friends, and how that friendship might have been impacted by their separate connections with a female aviator.

 

But just as interesting to me was how the bonds they’d forged so many decades ago in wartime might have become contentious among their descendants, fighting for control of what the three men had built—and might become even more volatile as old secrets emerge.

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I read a good bit about the development of radar, and how it became really THE pivotal technology that would mean either the Axis or the Allied powers would win.

 

It’s easy in hindsight not to feel the absolute terror the people living through these years experienced day by day as they watched, for example, Allied ships be sunk by German U-boats faster than the ships could be built.

 

So in studying radar, about which I am still no expert, just a novice who is fascinated, I learned about the echoes at play. And with a dual timeline, in which secrets in the past are now impacting the present, this seemed like a perfect title.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: This next novel is set in present day in Northern Italy at a villa on Lake Como, but mafia-related violence and a devastating theft in the late 1960s in Sicily become crucial to untangling the present, and key for the main character, an up-and-coming painter, to make some life-altering choices that could also impact hundreds if not thousands of other people.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I’m always delighted to connect with readers through my newsletter and website, where there are lots more behind-the-scenes stories, book and swag giveaways, interviews with fellow writers, affordable travel tips, and book club kit items such as recipes that go with the various books. Here’s the link: https://www.joyjordanlake.com/subscribe.

 

And thank you so much for the invitation to chat on this page!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Joy Jordan-Lake.

Q&A with Diane Owens Prettyman

 

 

 

Diane Owens Prettyman is the author of the new novel Love Is for the Birds. Her other books include Redesigning Emma. She lives in Austin, Texas.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Love Is for the Birds, and how did you create your characters Teddy and Jack? 

 

A: During Covid, I watched a fair amount of romance on television. I’ve always loved happy ending stories and beach reads, especially in the summer. Naturally, I wanted to write one. I created two characters straight out of a Hallmark movie, or Virgin River, because some readers love that small-town trope.

 

There are only two non-negotiables in romance—a central love story and an optimistic and satisfying ending. These two non-negotiables are the reason why romance is such a popular genre.

 

After Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf, whole towns were destroyed.  Port Aransas has a wonderful candy store that inspired my character Teddy. Jack’s role evolved from stories I’d heard about people bringing supplies and food to the island after the storm.  

 

My book has an underlying tone that everything is going to work out even in the midst of the hurricane recovery process, even though Teddy has lost everything. Losing the candy store, the last piece of her mother, shocked Teddy into discovering her path for the future.  

 

The candy store, with its family atmosphere, is the perfect place for healing. Everyone loves to visit a candy store. Every beach town has one.

 

I wanted Teddy to be experiencing some trauma in her life in addition to the hurricane. The mother – daughter relationship is ripe with material to create tension.

 

I decided to have Teddy blame herself for the death of her mother even though it was clearly an accident. In order to rebuild Bird Isle, and her shop, she has to face the guilt and shame she feels regarding her relationship with her mother.  

 

Then, the handsome Texas barbecue pitmaster comes to town to feed the hurricane survivors and workmen. Barbecue is also very Texas. In Austin, there are almost as many barbecue joints as taco stands.

 

There’s something sexy about a strong, barbecue pitmaster who smells like mesquite smoke and spice. Unfortunately, he is mourning the death of his wife. This creates a push-pull dynamic between him and Teddy. He’s not sure he can get over his wife. She’s not sure he can either.

 

Plus, Teddy has this boyfriend. She feels obligated to her boyfriend, who kinda-sorta stuck by her after her mother’s death, but Teddy can’t deny her attraction to Jack.       

Q: The novel is set along the Texas Gulf Coast--how important is setting to you in your writing?

 

A: My fictional town of Bird Isle blossomed out of my many trips to Port Aransas on the Texas Gulf. Port Aransas is an island in the Gulf. I hate to give it a lot of attention, because it’s a fantastic place and unexpected. You are in Texas, and there’s this super cool beach vibe—midway between a Florida and California vibe.

 

Port Aransas is only about three hours from Austin. And, this is important to me, the water is warm. I love the Pacific and swim in it, but when I moved to Texas, I discovered the Gulf’s warm waters and friendly waves. The Gulf has a different beauty from Oregon’s volcanic rocks and treacherous shorelines. The Gulf is welcoming and soothing.

 

Except when a hurricane comes. Port Aransas was basically completely destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. I had/now have this favorite condo I like to stay at when I go to Port A. The place was out of business for three or so years after the hurricane. I felt a tremendous loss because going to the beach each year on my birthday was an annual ritual.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Teddy and Jack?

 

A: They are both dealing with death. The thought of second chances is far from their minds.

 

After her mother’s death, guilt consumes Teddy. She has a boyfriend, but that relationship is shaky. He is living in Houston. When Teddy’s mother died, she moved back to Bird Isle to take care of the candy store. Teddy’s relationship with her boyfriend has been strained ever since.

 

Jack struggles to get past his love for Angie, who died of cancer. He is attracted to Teddy right away. But he struggles to let go of the life he had with Angie.

 

Both Jack and Teddy want their relationship to work, but neither of them trusts their feelings.

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I’m sorry I don’t have the name of someone who critiqued my book in a contest. She said, “You do know, the name of this book is ‘Love is for the Birds.’” 

 

I played with the title and even wanted to change it to “Sweet Somethings,” but my publisher advised to keep the title of Love is for the Birds because it is unique. In fact, surprisingly, there are very few beach reads and romances coming out of the Texas Gulf. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I regularly contribute essays to the Austin American Statesman. I have a great novel in progress that I am about 10 chapters away from finishing. 

 

My WIP is about a woman fired from her job at 40. She travels to visit ancestors in Wales. When she arrives, she’s confronted with a portrait of an ancestor who looks exactly like her.

 

Because she is a lookalike, the family is convinced she is the one chosen to find the missing sapphire of St. David. The treasure disappeared in the 16th century when Glastonbury Abbey was destroyed by King Henry VIII.  A family member had lived in the monastery.   

 

The story combines present day with the 16th century when King Henry VIII destroyed the monasteries and stole their priceless relics.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Just the other day, a friend told me how she loved rom-coms. Her comment surprised me because she is very bright, funny, and intelligent. I figured her for a literary fiction reader only. Despite the fact that romance is hyper-popular--romance is second only to crime thrillers in terms of sales and popularity--many readers are genre snobs about romance and beach reads.

 

I would argue that readers like the tropes in romance. They can be soothing because they are familiar and trustworthy, so I went all in with a candy store owner and barbecue pitmaster. 

 

I had an early reviewer comment that she went back and forth between loving the Hallmark style and disliking it. She finally settled on liking the story. She recognized that I deliberately went all out on the Hallmark style to create a break from the slog of daily life and the constant barrage of depressing news. Familiar tropes in romance novels, like stories about second chances, make the world feel less uncertain.

 

At the same time, in writing a romance you want to make something unique to avoid cliches. The hurricane and whooping cranes provide distinctive subplots.

A good beach read is like tearing into a bag of Cheetos.  Sometimes you need the indulgence.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb