Valerie Douglas
What inspired you to write your first book?
“Dinosaurs. *grins* I was eight. My next book was an epic fantasy written when I was seventeen. (Sadly, and perhaps just as well, its been lost to time.) There was an odd little ghost story after that, but then a movie came out that was very similar so I let that go. But my first love has always been fantasy. *grins* Back to the question – what inspired me to write this book. (I have fifteen published under my own name, five under a pen name.)
I was daydreaming, and suddenly had this image of a very public trial – the prisoner in the dock before a King, but it wasn’t in any courtroom I’d ever seen until I created it, and a tall Elf striding through the crowd to defend the prisoner with a wizard at his heels.”
What books have most influenced your life most?
To Kill a Mockingbird. The Lord of the Rings. Dragonriders of Pern. The first J.D. Robb story I read. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro for the attention to detail.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Probably Anne McCaffrey and Nora Roberts. Anne McCaffrey broke the mold and proved that a woman could write excellent, readable sci-fi fantasy. Nora Roberts because she proved you could write in more than one genre and do both well.
What genre do you consider your book(s)?
Oh, I cover the gamut! Predominantly fantasy, but some thrillers and romance along the way. I’m just starting a horror novel – which is proving interesting.
What book are you reading now?
It’s been a while since I read fiction, but I’m re-reading Stephen King’s On Writing.
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
“*grins* My most recent novel was Lucky Charm, a suspense thriller about a woman on a business trip who rescues a man being beaten. He’s gorgeous, and determined not to tell her anything, but she begins to suspect that he knows something about the discrepancies at the office where she’s working.
I’ve also got three works-in-progress – a nifty atmospheric horror story, the prequel to my Coming Storm fantasy series, and the sequel to the thriller Nike’s Wings.”
Who designed your covers?
Some of them I did myself, some were done by the wonderful Renee Barratt of The Cover Counts (Irish Fling, Lucky Charm and The Last Resort), and some by Travis at Pro Book Covers (The Coming Storm and A Convocation of Kings).
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
“Trying to balance writing with real life – husband, pets, home, all that…”
Do you write an outline before every book you write?
No, I’m a pantser, outlining makes me insane. I did try it… and it killed the story dead. I like discovering the story the way a reader does, and that’s how I write. Sometimes I know the ending, but not always – bloody characters take on a mind of their own.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Write another book. Then another. There are very few one-book authors out there.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
If you love a book that wraps you up, draws you in and doesn’t want to let you go, with strong characters (male and female) that you’d love to sit down and talk to, then sit down a spell. I’ve got a few books you might like to read.
