Ask the Author: Heather Ames
Answered Questions (11)
Heather Ames
Thanks for asking these questions, Paula.
Let me answer the second question first...
The Swift/Roberts series will have 5 books. When I was first convinced (by 17 people in an LA critique group, including several screenwriters) to make Indelible the first book in a series instead of a standalone I originally planned, I felt it would be a limited series, perhaps with 6 books. By the time I wrote Book 3 (Swift Retribution) I knew the story arcs for all main characters would be completed in 5 books.
The Ghost Shop series also started with a standalone, but when I relocated it to the Willamette Valley and introduced new characters that gave it the paranormal twist that defines it, I realized there were possibilities for more books. I am currently writing Book 3, Tainted Legacy, with a storyline that involves a very bad vintage. Finding ideas for strange new plots and oddball, sometimes human and sometimes far-from-human characters are proving to be relatively easy.
Writing two series with very different storylines and characters makes the process easier at times, but more complex at others. I found the emotional depth I have to reach with the Swift/Roberts series didn't mess well with the lighter touch I use for the Ghost Shop series. Mystery/suspense with thriller elements is a very different kettle of fish from cozy but paranormal. I had to stop working on both first drafts in tandem. I'll finish Tainted Legacy's draft before I go back to Maine Issues (Book 4 in the Swift/Roberts series.) It'll be easier to revise one while creating the other. If it isn't, then I'll finish Tainted Legacy to meet my publication deadline of the end of October, and complete Maine Issues over the winter, for a spring release. Better to publish what I feel will be two good books than possibly sacrifice some of my best writing.
Let me answer the second question first...
The Swift/Roberts series will have 5 books. When I was first convinced (by 17 people in an LA critique group, including several screenwriters) to make Indelible the first book in a series instead of a standalone I originally planned, I felt it would be a limited series, perhaps with 6 books. By the time I wrote Book 3 (Swift Retribution) I knew the story arcs for all main characters would be completed in 5 books.
The Ghost Shop series also started with a standalone, but when I relocated it to the Willamette Valley and introduced new characters that gave it the paranormal twist that defines it, I realized there were possibilities for more books. I am currently writing Book 3, Tainted Legacy, with a storyline that involves a very bad vintage. Finding ideas for strange new plots and oddball, sometimes human and sometimes far-from-human characters are proving to be relatively easy.
Writing two series with very different storylines and characters makes the process easier at times, but more complex at others. I found the emotional depth I have to reach with the Swift/Roberts series didn't mess well with the lighter touch I use for the Ghost Shop series. Mystery/suspense with thriller elements is a very different kettle of fish from cozy but paranormal. I had to stop working on both first drafts in tandem. I'll finish Tainted Legacy's draft before I go back to Maine Issues (Book 4 in the Swift/Roberts series.) It'll be easier to revise one while creating the other. If it isn't, then I'll finish Tainted Legacy to meet my publication deadline of the end of October, and complete Maine Issues over the winter, for a spring release. Better to publish what I feel will be two good books than possibly sacrifice some of my best writing.
Heather Ames
No; there's enough horror in this world already without producing more for the shock value. We're traumatized enough on a daily basis.
Heather Ames
For the book club: "One Good Turn" by Kate Atkinson, "Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks, and "The Last Day of Night" By Graham More. I'm also winding up "W is for Wasted" by Sue Grafton, which has been beside my bed way too long, and "The Bone Chamber" by Robin Burcell, which has been lurking in the same location. They're both 3/4 finished. Then I can get to "An Obvious Fact" by Craig Johnson, and "I Love a Cop" by Ellen Kirschman, both of which I'm eager to read.
Heather Ames
I never write about my own life or use events from it to plot any of my books, or give enough information for other writers to use. I like my privacy. It's far more interesting for me to write about fictional characters, and go where that plot takes me.
Heather Ames
Wish I knew. I am still in a holding pattern while the partial is at "Indelible's" publisher.
Heather Ames
Letting my imagination run free and being able to bring the results to my readers. Being a member of the writing community. Writers are incredibly supportive, nurturing and willing to share. I've made so many friends through writing.
Heather Ames
My first trip to Miami. Subsequent trips there gave me a variety of backdrops and really cemented the plot. I get flashes of scenes when I plot: the Everglades, a marina, an upscale supper club. I wondered about who would have a boat there, what sort of person would own a club. I didn't want stereotypes, and doing a "What if" produced the two protagonists. I then wondered what would be a scary scenario for them to meet, and decided waking up in bed with a stranger and not knowing how either of you got there was my opening.
Heather Ames
I can't help myself. My day job requires a lot of driving, which results in my mind working on plot points, characterizations, etc., etc., etc. I often get ideas for new books when I'm on trips, so I guess the driving part seems to really work for me.
Heather Ames
The sequel to "Indelible," which takes place a few months into the future. "Swift Justice" picks up where "Indelible" left off. This means the same cast of characters working through the fall-out from the first book and solving a new crime, or actually, in this case, an old crime that has gone unsolved.
Heather Ames
People always seem to resort to answers like "Don't give up." If you're a writer, you're never going to give up. You're just going to keep plugging away, learning your craft. One piece of advice I will give is to find more dedicated writers, learn from each other's strengths, and keep striving to improve. Read others but don't try to emulate them. Find your own voice and your own path.
Heather Ames
Thank goodness, I don't usually have this problem. If I do get temporarily stuck over a plot problem, I'll set it on a mental back burner and get on with something else, whether it's skipping to the next chapter, pulling out another work-in-progress, blogging, critiquing or working through emails. Giving my brain something else to work on seems to free it up to get me out of the corner I painted myself into.
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