**Author Peek** Interview with Debra Salonen, THE INHERITANCE (Black Hills Legacy)
**Author Peek** Interview with DEBRA SALONEN
THE INHERITANCE (Black Hills Legacy)
INTRODUCING…Debra.
1. What appeals to you about the genre that you write?
Romantic Suspense adds another dimension to a relationship. The hero and heroine not only have to overcome whatever personal issues they’re dealing with, they also have an outside dilemma that keeps them busy. Since I’m a firm believer of HEA, the will-she-or-won’t-he-survive element of RS shakes things up and provides an interesting twist or two to a pre-determined conclusion.
2. Are you a plotter or a pantser (one who writes “by the seat of her pants”?
Both. I write my first draft in Scrivener. I set up a basic skeleton of the story before I begin. I love being able to save visual images of my characters here. I also save photos of my setting and anything I happen to stumble across that feels like it might have a place in this story. Since conflict is central, I try to figure out that key component and how it will be resolved before I begin. But once I start writing and I really get to know my characters, all bets are off. Even the best laid plots sometimes wind up in the Cutting Room Floor file.
3. What is your favorite part of writing?
Research. I never know where this will take me. Sometimes, the path of discovery is so convoluted I can’t remember what I thought I was looking for when I discovered exactly what I needed.
For example, there’s a scene in Black Hills Legacy that involves an Escape Room. I, personally, have never been to one, but when I stumbled across a mention in looking up something else in the Black Hills, a bright, shiny light bulb lit up in my head and I KNEW this was something my heroine would want to build at the Mystery Spot.
I wound up interviewing several people who had participated in an Escape Room challenge. The process gave me lots of ideas to include in my story.
4. If you had to give up writing and do something else, what would you do instead?
Retire and travel. But then I’d probably feel the need to blog about my experiences, which would mean I didn’t give up writing, after all.
5. What’s your favorite meal of the day?
It used to be breakfast, but, now, I’m a big fan of: linner. (My niece told me this is a combination of late lunch and early dinner.) Since I often forget to eat lunch, linner is perfect timing for me when my husband has the day off. We dine early enough to go back outside and work in the yard or garden before the mosquitos attack.
6. Which are your favorite characters to write, the female or the male characters? Why?
Male. I love how simple things look to my heroes at first. And there’s something very refreshing about the moment they realize everything they thought they knew was wrong.
7. If you had a superpower, what would it be, and how would you use it?
Invisibility. I tell people: “Anything you say or do may appear in my next novel.” They don’t believe me, but it’s true. If I were invisible, I could take notes without anyone seeing.
8. Many writers dream of having the ideal location to write. If you could live anywhere in the world, or live in a particular lifestyle, where would you be answering these questions right now?
Believe it or not, I’m there now. I just moved from the home that my husband and I built thirty years ago into the home I’ve coveted for thirty years. My new house is smaller—two-bedrooms/two-baths—with a killer view. When my husband built it for my widowed mother, she insisted on including an indoor greenhouse. That wasn’t the most practical application, but it makes a FABULOUS office. From my wall of windows I have a sweeping view of oaks, a stream and distant hillsides. I’m right where I want to be—plus, I’m too tired from the move to think about going anywhere else. Sigh.
9. Do you have any rejection stories to share? Reviews that meant something special to you?
One review that I’ve never forgotten came in the mail years ago from a man who read my book aloud to his invalid wife. He said she enjoyed my book very much, but he took exception to the name of the town in the book. He’d visited the library and consulted every atlas available and there was no town named Gold Creek in California. He wished I’d done better research.
I wrote back telling him how much I respected him for reading to his wife and that Gold Creek only existed in my imagination, but if my story made him think it was a real town, then I was a very happy writer.
10. Tell us about your next book & when is it being published?
BLACK HILLS LEGACY: The Inheritance releases wide TOMORROW!
I’m so excited about this book, which is #10 in my Black Hills Legacy series and #12 in The Inheritance Collection.
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Be sure to come back to learn more about Debra’s novel, THE INHERITANCE, on Wednesday’s Karen’s Killer Book Bench blog.
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Links to Debra’s website, blog, books, etc.
Read an Excerpt: http://debrasalonen.com/?page_id=2755
iBooks:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/black-hills-legacy-inheritance/id1114674932?mt=11
KOBO:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/black-hills-legacy-the-inheritance
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y2JZ7KR
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y2JZ7KR
Amazon CA:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06Y2JZ7KR
Amazon AU:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06Y2JZ7KR
BN:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-hills-legacy-debra-salonen/1126170910
Google:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=05abDgAAQBAJ
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**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: DEBRA SAYS…Since I’ll be unpacking during Spring Break, I can only dream of exotic locales. What’s your ideal/fantasy Spring getaway?
One winner who comments on her **Author Peek** Interview or Karen’s Killer Book Bench blogs will be chosen to receive a $15 gift card from Amazon.
Thanks, Debra, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
