Interview With Autumn Jordon
Please welcome the talented Autumn Jordon, here to talk about her Golden Heart finalist book just released by The Wild Rose Press.
Autumn, tell us about Evil’s Witness. Where did the idea come from?
First, Kaylea, thank you for inviting me here today. I’m thrilled.
The idea for Evil’s Witness came about because of an incident that occurred at my family’s trucking company. Tractor trailers are high-jacked more often than you might imagine, and we’d hauled loads of currency for the U.S. Treasury. I simply put the two together and then thought what would happen if the robbery was witnessed by a small town woman. If the heists were conducted by the mafia, how would she get away from them, save her children? Where would she hide?
Excerpt of Evil’s Witness:
Rapid gunfire and cries pelted the air, coming closer. Stephanie didn’t look back. She had to escape. She had to live for Bobby’s and Em’s sake.
What sort of research did you have to do for the book?
I already knew about the trucking industry so the basis of the plot was a no-brainer. I’m also from a small town, so it was the setting and many other elements was at hand. I did however interview local and state police concerning their parts in working with other law enforcement agencies. I also interviewed an FBI agent concerning his job and the witness protection program. He also confirmed a plot point of the story to actually have had happened within his own agency. To make contacts, all you need to do is pick up the phone and say I’m a writer. Would you mind answering a few questions? You’ll be surprised how easy it is.
A bit of advice however, have your questions written down with the most important ones first. You are taking up the interviewees time and you don’t how much of it you will have.
Excerpt of Evil’s Witness:
Bean counter. Morse’s words haunted Randall, along with the memory of the dead Sheriff’s stare.
The phone he held rang relentlessly.
No answer. Randall hit the off button and slammed the phone down. Like a wild beast, he paced his office, waiting to be executed.
How did you find out about TWRP?
One of my critique partners is also published by TWRP. In fact, while brainstorming for another Wayback story for her to write, Sylvie suggested I write one. I did in two months. Obsessed By Wildfire. The story has done very well for me.
Excerpt of Evil’s Witness:
…she scanned the cars. Had he been in the backseat of one of them? Had one of the local girls already run him down and claimed him?
“So what do you have in mind with that whip?” He broke her musing.
“Whip?” She’d forgotten she still had it in her grasp, and the reason why.
When did you start writing novels and how many books had you completed before EW?
I’m by no means an over-night success. In fact, I had a long road to publication. I started to seriously study the craft in 1997 while going through a divorce. I decided it was time to work on my dream. I finished my first novel two years later. Before EW, I wrote three other novels. I recently had a request to revise and resubmit my first novel. I’ll be working on doing so this summer.
What was it like when you were notified that you were a Golden Heart finalist?
Totally unexpected and totally awesome. Would you like to hear the whole story? I’ll never forget the moment. Here’s how it went down:
March 25, 2009 9:02 A.M I’m late for work. Well, not really. I work for my family’s business. I don’t punch a time clock. I’m on call 24/7/365, but I’m usually in the office by 8:55 A.M. However, the night before my Irish Setter’s stomach decided it didn’t like what he ate and took its revenge out on the living room carpet. It was March. We’re in the Northeast, heating oil was still high, so opening windows was not a option.
The phone rings.
With my curling iron tangled in my hair, I scrabbled for the phone. “Yes.”
“Good morning. I’m calling for, Autumn Jordon.”
Oh, God. Just what I need. A telemarketer. Deep breath. She’s only doing her job. Be nice. I conjured up my own customer service voice and said, “I’m she. How can I help you?”
“This is so and so…”
I’m really not listening anymore because, one, I’m just waiting for the opportunity to respond, “Oh gosh, you should’ve called me last week. My husband just bought me one. Or I already gave to this organization. A Horace Grainger called. Do you know Horace?” And two, I’m trying to get my curling iron out of my hair. And three, I’m giving my dog the evil eye because he’s now lying on our bed.
“… from Romance Writers of America.”
Okay. This is where she got my attention. The date. It’s March 25th. The Golden Heart calls go out. Holy sh*#! “No, way!”
Laughter from Ms. RWA representative. (To this day, I don’t recall the name of the woman who called me. I wish she’d identify herself to me so I could thank her in non-babble gibberish) “You are a 2009 Golden Heart Finalist. Are you planning to come to Washington D.C.?”
“Are you kidding? I’m packing tonight.”
And so it began…
I love that story! And now that you’re an acclaimed author, what advice would you give aspiring romantic suspense authors in terms of plotting and pacing in that genre?
I’m not much of a plotter. I write by the seat of my pants. But I will caution writers to watch for plot holes. What are plot holes? Questions that are raised and never answered. Or, characters who disappear without an exit.
As far as pacing, most of a RS novel needs to be fast paced. I say most because you do need those sequels that let your reader’s heart rest.
You can speed up the pace in a number of ways; by using only small amounts of internal dialogue, very trim dialogue, active nouns and verbs that show without explanation and short, choppy sentences.
Excerpt of Evil’s Witness:
“I have to make arrangements to get Ms. Boyd and her children to a safe house.”
“You think they’ll come after her and the kids?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
Ben pulled the cigar from his mouth. “If my life depended on it.”
“Theirs does.”
“Sweet.”
“Yeah. Let’s see if you still feel the same way when you come face to face with them.”
“Then I’m on your team?”
“Is there a way I can stop you?”
“Hell no.”
What things can an author do to accurately/vividly write their hero’s POV?
I actually ask them to lunch or coffee and interview them. Listening to their voices, I make note of their unique speech patterns and what type of words they use. Then when I write I use first person POV. Really get into the character’s frame of mind. After a scene is complete, I’ll go back and tweak it in third person and add layers of the characters’ traits and mannerisms.
How do you create your characters?
Before I write a word of a new book, I’ll scan my character picture file. I’m always on the lookout for interesting faces. I’ve bought magazines just for the pictures of certain models. This was the case with the hero in my first novel. I’ll never forget the moment I found Clay. We were in an ice cream parlor in State College, PA. I was in love at first sight. I might tweak the picture with a scar, a mole, or even a disability. So, before I start, I have a great visual of my characters. Then, as I stated above, I interview them and learn their GMC, voice, etc.
What advice can you give us about dialogue?
Read only your dialogue out loud when reviewing. Does it sound natural or stilted? Make each character’s voice unique. Listen to them.
That’s a great tip. What advice would you give new authors about writing or the publishing industry?
Read. Study. Write every day. Remember you can learn something from everyone.
What’s next for you and what are you working on now?
I’ve just finished my next romantic suspense. Readers are reviewing it. And I have two others started.
Where can readers find you?
You can each me through my website I also have a blog And, I’m on Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.
Once again thank you for hosting me today.
You’re welcome, Autumn! You’re a great interview 🙂
(No part of this interview may be used without the express permission of the author Autumn Jordon.)
Texas Trip Ranch Highlights
My trip to the Silver Spur Guest Ranch in Bandera, TX, was a hoot. Even though I’m deathly afraid of flying. Editor-in-chief of TWRP, Rhonda Penders, drove me to the ranch from Austin with her hubby and youngest son, CJ. By the way, her son is not only the shipping and receiving officer for TWRP, but he’s a Civil War buff and reenactor! What an awesome guy. That alone would have made the trip worthwhile, but there were more great things in store for me at the ranch. The best part was meeting my own editor for the Crimson Rose line, Johanna Melaragno. I spotted her right away in the main lodge and got a big hug, and I think I ate pretty much every meal with her.
There she is on the left, with Bella the ranch dog.
Before the trip, Johanna promised me a trail ride, so we signed up for one first thing Friday morning and I wrangled Rhonda’s hubby and son CJ to come with us. I told CJ we could pretend to be Yankee cavalry out on reconnaissance duty. (Hey, it was cool to us.) When we headed out that morning right after breakfast, it was overcast and drizzling. The weather gods must have known I was from Vancouver, and that my lily white skin couldn’t take the heat 🙂 Here’s a shot of the chief wrangler, tall David. Does he look like he stepped out of a western movie or what?
They paired me with a horse named Diesel, and he was a sweetheart. Jo’s horse’s name was Willie, and he was not a sweetheart. In fact, he kept biting poor Diesel’s rump throughout the hour long ride. (I think Jo secretly made him do it.)
The area was much greener than I had anticipated, and the cool weather made it more enjoyable than being out in 90 degree heat plus humidity. 
We saw jackrabbits and listened to the cooing of Morning Doves as our wrangler, not-so-tall David, told us all about his various war wounds from his past as a bronc buster. I just have to say that as an RMT, I was appalled by the list of the man’s injuries. He’s lucky to be alive, let alone walking, and I’m sure by the time he hits sixty, he’ll feel every one of those broken bones all over again. Think real cowboys are tough? They are. Not-so-tall David rarely went to the hospital for treatment unless his injuries were life threatening. Enough said, right?
We rode up over the hills and through some scrub brush, and lo and behold came across some Longhorns hanging out in a mesquite thicket. The ranch owner keeps them as pets, and they’re as tame as lap dogs. Barely blinked at us as we rode past.
Here I am with two of my roomies from the Butch Cassidy cabin, Mina Khan and Elizabeth Pina. We slept on the squeakiest bunk beds ever, but it was still a fun weekend.
On the Saturday morning, the owner loaded all of us into a flatbed wagon and towed us with his pickup out to a spot where the staff had set up a cowboy breakfast at the edge of a pasture.
On the way we passed a herd of “Texas harleys” as I called them (I said it in fun the once, but the name stuck with our group). They came right over to our wagon when the ranch owner took out some treats for them.
Here’s my editor, Johanna, with me and “she-who-shall-not-be-named” (who’s obviously camera shy), full of huevos rancheros prepared over an open-flame grill. We’re all currently working on a secret project for TWRP Scarlet line. Yee-haw! I’ll let you know if it gets contracted. 
Right after breakfast, a professional roper came out to do an act for us.
Since it was Rhonda’s birthday (and TWRP’s 4th birthday, by the way), she got chosen for the demonstration. Here she is posing for a trick where the roper uses a bullwhip to break a piece of uncooked spaghetti she’s holding in her mouth. Pretty brave, huh? But we expected nothing less from our fearless leader.
Here’s me and the Boss Lady. Rhonda was a total sweetheart, and I’m so glad I got to meet her and her family.
And finally, here’s the end of the roping demonstration. The horse’s name was Chief, and I swear he was almost asleep the entire show. The thing barely twitched while Kevin stood up and jumped on the saddle. I was impressed. The horse I owned as a kid would have left me as a smear on the nearest tree if I’d tried anything like this! Anyway, you’ll see RJ there with the denim shirt. Who knew Snarky isn’t so scary after all? She’s got an incredibly lively sense of humor in person (just not via e-mail), and man is her wit sharp! But I agree with Rhonda–don’t mess with her 🙂
Snarky drove myself and another author to the San Antonio airport on the Sunday morning, so she got to know me a bit. All in all, a great trip. I’m so glad I sucked it up and got on that plane!
Release Day!!!
No Turning Back is officially “out” today. It’s already up on Amazon and the Kindle Store, so I’m hoping people will find it soon.
Cover of Darkness has received some awesome reviews, and every single one has mentioned they wanted to see a sequel, so…go read it, people!
To win a digital copy, leave me a comment. Hope you love Ben, because he really comes a long way in this book. His emotional journey wasn’t easy for either of us, believe me 🙂 But I love him anyhow.
Interview With Katie Reus
Today (Friday August 14th) I have the distinct pleasure of interviewing the fabulously talented Katie Reus about her latest book release. Finding Hope is her third romantic suspense with The Wild Rose Press. She has graciously agreed to give away a digital copy to one commenter, but even if you aren’t the lucky winner, I hope you’ll check out some of her work. Katie always delivers a great read, and the best part is, you can feel good about supporting her because she’s such a sweetheart!
Without further delay, from the Sunshine State, here’s Katie.
Kaylea Cross: How did you come up with the story line for Finding Hope?
Katie Reus: Looks always seem to play a prevalent part in romances, which makes sense because people are visual creatures and attraction is a very important part of a developing relationship, but I wanted to write a hero who fell for the heroine almost despite her looks. Hope, my heroine, is attractive but she also looks exactly like someone he knows and has no attraction whatsoever for. When he falls for her, it has nothing to do with her face.
KC: Did you have to do any special research before writing the manuscript?
KR: I’ve spent a lot of time in The Keys and Miami so I didn’t have to do a lot of research about those areas. However, there’s a scene where Luke and Hope travel to Cuba so I had to do some research on international travel laws. Since some scenes take place on various boats/yachts, I had to brush up on my nautical terms. Luckily, I have my dad for that. I also had some questions about certain government protocols (really small stuff) that I contacted one of my friends about. And lastly, I had to research different Florida laws concerning the statute of limitations for kidnapping and sexual assault. Overall it wasn’t a lot, but it was time consuming.
KC: Ooh, great connections to have! You know, I first found out about you through The Wild Rose Press and your first release with them, City of Secrets. I was hooked from the first page by your voice and the quality of your writing. Was that your first novel? Tell us a bit about the process of writing that one and submitting it, and why you chose TWRP.
KR: No, that wasn’t my first book. That one is still gathering dust but hopefully one day it will see the light of day. The reason I chose TWRP was actually kind of random. After agent hunting with my first manuscript, I hadn’t had any luck so I put that one away and finished another manuscript. I was still in the process of editing it and I had just joined Central Florida Romance Writers. I think it was my second or third meeting and Rhonda Penders (editor in chief) was speaking. One of the members encouraged me to pitch to Rhonda and since I’d just finaled in a contest with COS, I decided to give it a shot. She invited me to submit to them and since I didn’t know much about epublishing at the time, I did some research first. After I submitted to Rhonda she forwarded my manuscript to one of the crimson line editors and not long after, I signed with Jill Williamson (though she’s no longer with the Crimson line).
KC: Your hubby served with the Marines. Does he help you with weapons/tactical questions?
KR: He’s very helpful but to be honest, I didn’t use him too much for my first two books and I really wish I had. Now I ask him any little thing that has to do with weapons or the military or anything I think he might know (he’s seriously like MacGyver). I also ask his friends who were in the Marines or Navy for research help.
KC: Okay, now I’m just jealous. Tell us about your writing process. You churn stories out so fast–how do you make that happen?
KR: I just write every day. Once I start writing a story, it’s like a sickness that I can’t stop. The need to get the words onto paper sometimes overwhelms me to the point I forget to do laundry or dishes. Or at least that’s what I tell my husband. Basically, I make the time to write. It’s not an afterthought or hobby for me. It’s one of the biggest parts of my life and one day I want writing to be a full time career so even if I don’t feel like writing, I plant myself in front of the computer and make myself do it. That doesn’t happen very often though because I enjoy what I do.
KC: I tend to get a little…carried away when I write, too (so my family tells me). Do you plot everything out in an outline before starting the first draft? Or do you know the bones and then dive in?
KR: I envy people who can plot everything out. I’ve only done that once and it was the smoothest time I’ve ever had writing a story (Running From the Past). For everything else, I basically know the bare bones, the characters, the first three chapters, and the ending. However, the ending usually changes by the time I get there.
KC: What do you do when you get stuck during the first draft? Please tell me you get stuck sometimes.
KR: I definitely get stuck and I seriously hate plotting. I love fleshing out my characters but the whole plotting thing isn’t my favorite thing to do. I meet with one of my critique partners (who lives seconds from my house) once every two weeks and we bounce ideas off each other. It keeps me sane!
KC: Yes, good critique partners are a godsend (wink). You also write under the name Savannah Stuart. Can you tell us about your latest/upcoming releases with Ellora’s Cave?
KR: I recently decided to separate my erotic romance persona from my romantic suspense persona so even though I have a couple things under consideration with my editor at EC, I only have one release out under that name. It’s Adrianna’s Cowboy, a ‘Quickie’, that I had a lot of fun writing. It’s the first contemporary with no suspense that I’ve written so I’m hoping it’s just as well received as my other releases.
KC: And you’ve recently signed with Jill Marsal of the Marsal-Lyon Agency. Can you tell us about your reaction when you got “the call” and what sort of projects she will be representing you on?
KR: I was on vacation with my husband at the time so I really wasn’t even thinking about writing and I almost didn’t answer the phone because I didn’t recognize the number. When we first started talking Jill was talking about how I’d need to do some revisions, etc. for some reason it didn’t compute that she was offering me a contract. When it finally sunk in, I managed to act like a normal human being until I got off the phone. That night I celebrated with too many cocktails! She’s representing all my future work except for my sales to Ellora’s Cave. Right now that’s just romantic suspense but I also plan to write paranormals in the future.
KC: Go, Katie! What do you know now that you wish you’d known before you embarked on a writing career?
KR: I’d need a lot more patience.
KC: Oh, yeah (rolls eyes). This business is a killer for uh…type A personalities. So other than joining RWA and finding a critique group, what advice would you offer to aspiring writers?
KR: Don’t get so caught up in writing and the quest to be published that you forget to do other things you enjoy. It’s a mistake I made when I first started writing. I pushed aside what I loved, namely reading, and my love of reading is what pushed me to write in the first place.
KC: I love reading too, especially when I know the author. It makes a book even more special.
Thanks so much for your time, Katie!
For all of you out there, please leave a comment to enter the contest, and feel free to check out Katie’s website and blog. If you’re in the mood for a good romantic suspense, try some of her other work. You won’t be disappointed! And now that you know her, keep your eyes peeled because her work will be hitting a store shelf near you very soon.
Happy reading!
Kaylea 🙂