What inspired you to write No Passengers Beyond This Point? How did
you come up with the characters India, Finn and Mouse?
The starter seeds for some books are
really clear. The Al Capone books began when I read an article in the
paper about kids who grew up on Alcatraz when it was a working penitentiary. My
newest novel Chasing Secrets, (due
out in August) began when I read a nonfiction book about rats that mentioned a
plague outbreak in San Francisco in 1900. Honestly, I have no idea where
the idea for No Passengers came from.
I was traveling a lot to promote the Al Capone books. I was
spending a lot of time in airports and I really missed my family. One day
I closed the door of my office and out popped No Passengers Behond This Point.
The characters Finn, India and Moose were
loosely based on my brother, my sister and me.
You must do a lot of
research for your historical fiction books. What was your research process like
for the Al Capone at Alcatraz series? Was
there any aspect of your research that was the most interesting?
I find the reserch process absolutely
fascinating. So the question here might be, what didn’t I find
interesting? Gangsters, the depression, autism, a maximum security prison
on an island in the middle of the San Francisco bay . . . it’s all such juicy
stuff.
I have been researching these subjects
off and on for sixteen years.
I have done everything I can think of to
find out more. That includes: working as a docent on Alcatraz, interviewing
scores of guards, convicts and kids who grew up on the island, attending
something like fifteen Alcatraz Alumni Days on the island, reading the prison
files of famous and not so famous Alcatraz convicts . . . the list goes on and
on!
Did all of the books in the
Al Capone at Alcatraz series take you the same length of time to write or do
they each have a process of their own? Which one took you the longest to write?
Each of the books has it’s own process. Most have taken a
good two and a half years to write, though Al
Capone Does My Shirts took five years.
What are some of your
favorite books from childhood? Were there any specific authors who inspired
you?
Where do you like to write?
Do you listen to music while you are writing?
In the mornings I typically write at Starbucks. In the
afternoon, I write at the dining room table. Though, I also write in the
car when my daughter is taking her trumpet lesson, in the parking lot of the
gym, at the airport and just about every other place.
I don't like to listen to music while I’m
writing, but I can block it out if I have to.
If you could live anywhere
in the world, where would it be? Why?
I love the San Francisco Bay area. I would like to live six
months a year here and then six months in New Orleans, Paris, Boston, NYC and
London.
The path to publication
varies from author to author. Every author has a unique story and one that
other authors can learn from. Can you tell us a little bit about your path to
publication or do you have any advice for new authors?
And then a very difficult time getting my “second" book published: a
novel called Notes from a Liar and HerDog. I say “second” because I probably write thirty or forty
books written each of which I hoped would be my “second” book. I did not
think I would ever get another book published, despite the fact that Moonstruck got good reviews, was bought
by the book clubs, sold well, earned out easily and went to paperback.
But I didn’t give up. I kept working to up my game. I don’t
believe you can control how creative you are. But you can definitely
improve your craft. So that’s my advice. Do everything you can to
improve your writing skills.
Are you currently working
on a book? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?
Right now, I’m working on two new novels. But, I don’t like
to talk about WIP. I will say I am very excited about the novel out this
year: Chasing Secrets.
As I mentioned, Chasing Secrets: a deadly surprise in the city of lies is
about a plague outbreak in San Francisco in 1900. The protagonist,
Lizzie, is the daughter of a doctor, who finds herself dealing with
rampant anti-Chinese sentiment in the middle of a plague
outbreak which everyone, including her beloved father, is denying. Lizzie is
the best female main character I’ve ever written. When I had to send the final
draft to copyediting, I mourned the loss of the book. For
the first time ever, I did not want to leave the world I had created behind.
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