Today I’m joining the blog tour for Dangerous Descent. I’m sharing my Q&A with the author with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and to Evie Jacobs for answering my questions!

Have you always wanted to write?

I guess you could say so, though I’m not sure it was a conscious goal so much as something I enjoyed. Growing up, I wrote lots of stories, and when I went to college and chose journalism as my major, my mom told me that when I was a kid, I’d leave news stories I’d written all over the house. I asked her if she’d kept any, but she didn’t think so. I don’t remember doing this, but I’d love to know what I was writing about.

What were your previous jobs? Have they helped you with your writing process?

I’ve worked as a reporter, a teacher and a librarian. I think studying journalism, as well as being a reporter taught me how to write cleanly and clearly. As a librarian, I know how to find the resources I need when doing research, which I certainly think has helped. 

What was your inspiration for Dangerous Descent?

About the time I was starting to think about writing a romantic suspense novel, we had a friend who was getting his pilot’s certificate. He talked a lot about things he was learning, and I started to wonder what reason an FBI agent might have to be undercover on a plane. This led me to the idea of having an undercover agent who was also a pilot.

There is a stolen identity/mistaken identity storyline that is part of Elise’s backstory in the book. For this, I drew from real life. When I was a teenager, it was discovered that a friend’s father kidnapped her when she was a baby. He’d changed their names and told her that her mother had died. It took years, but her mother hired an investigator who tracked her down. Her father was arrested, and I never saw her again. A few years later, she was on a news program where she defended her father’s actions, saying he was protecting her from a neglectful mother. That was the last I ever heard of her, but I’ve thought about her over the years. How did the experience impact her identity? Did she go by the name on her birth certificate or the one her father gave her? Did she continue to have a relationship with her father? What about her mother? Knowing I’ll never have the answers to these questions, I channelled my curiosity into my character.

How do you construct your characters? Do they have traits of people you know?

I usually start with some sort of backstory and/or internal conflict. For example, with Elise, I came up with the idea of her having a false identity she didn’t know was false. From there, I had to figure out the reason behind her changed identity, and what that change meant in the present timeline of the story. 

What does your writing process look like? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m a combo plotter-pantser. I start with a premise and will have a general idea of what I want the outcome to be. From there, I think about the major turning points in the story and decide what I think those will be. Then, I plot out chapters/events from the opening to the first turning point. I write up to that point, then plot from that turning point to the next one, and so on. It allows me to adjust my plans should something change or inspiration strike. Also, I tend to stop writing when I get to the climax. It’s not intentional, and I’m not entirely sure why I do it, but I get to a certain place in the story and decide it’s time to go back through and see what I have. Only once that is done, do I go back and write the big conflict and the wrap up. 

How did you research? Did you enjoy it?

I research as needed. Since I am not a pilot myself, most of my research for this book involved learning about planes. Much of this happened via conversations with pilots. I also watched videos and read articles here and there. The FBI component was similar. I took a class about writing fiction from the law enforcement perspective, but also did on-the-fly research as needed. Easily the most hands-on thing I did was take handgun lessons. Someone who read an early draft told me I wrote about guns like someone who’d learned about guns by watching television. I’d never shot a gun before, and since it kind of scared me, I paid a professional to teach me how. Once I got more comfortable handling the gun, I enjoyed the lessons quite a lot.

Who are your favourite writers? Are you influenced by them?

There are a ton of writers who I enjoy, but as far as romantic suspense and mystery go, Julie James is one of my favorites. She has a fantastic FBI/US attorney romantic suspense series that I love. The Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich are quite funny, and I can’t forget Melinda Leigh. Her Bree Taggert novels are must read. I’m not sure that I’m influenced by these authors so much as I find inspiration in their characters and stories. I like to read things that are exciting and fun, and that’s what I want my writing to be. 

If you could invite three people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be and why?

I’m actually pretty happy just having dinner with my hubby every night, but if I had to pick a group of people, it would be friends from one of my online writing groups. We’d never met in person, and communicate through Discord and occasionally Zoom, but last April, a few of us met in Chicago. The weekend was fantastic, and I’d love to do it again. 

Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with and why?

I can’t think of a specific person, but there are certainly some situations I’d rather avoid: a pregnant woman whose water just broke, someone who is lactose intolerant and just ate ice cream, a person with severe claustrophobia. 

Who would play the main character/s in a film version of Dangerous Descent? 

My characters are younger than these actors, but for Eric, I’d cast Alexander Skarsgård and for Elise, I’d go with Penelope Cruz. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Reading and bike riding. Not at the same time, of course!

What is next for you?

I’m working on a romantic mystery. It’s set prior to Dangerous Descent, but Eric makes an appearance. The main characters are an FBI agent on vacation and a journalist with whom he discovers a dead body. I’ve also written the next book in the Dangerous Descent series. The main characters here are Elise’s brother Nate and a CIA agent who knew his father. 

Favourites:

Book?

This is kind of like asking someone who their favorite kid is. How do you pick? But a recent favorite that comes to mind is The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. 

Film?

Bridget Jones’s Diary (the first one) and/or Pride & Prejudice (Matthew Macfadyen edges out Colin Firth)

Band/Singer?

I will never tire of 80’s music.

TV show?

I thought the first season of Colin from Accounts was hilarious. I haven’t seen the second yet. I also really enjoyed Only Murders in the Building and am eagerly awaiting Season 4.

Colour?

Various shades of blue.

Place?

I enjoy trips, but I’m also a homebody, so being at home is probably my favorite place to be. Aside from that, I’ve been to Hawaii three times and hope to go back.

Biscuit?

Shortbread!

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Dangerous Descent is available from Amazon.

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