Interview with Boyd Morrison

AT) You wrote The Noah’s Ark Quest, which became an indie bestseller, but your experience is in industrial engineering, sometimes for NASA. Then you worked on X-Box games for Microsoft. How did you discover writing?

Boyd) I’ve always been a big reader, but I’d never considered writing until I took a science fiction writing class from Hugo- and Nebula-award winning author Nancy Kress. I wrote a terrible short story for class, but I thought I might have better luck writing a full-length novel. That’s when I got the idea for a chemistry grad student being chased by killers who are after a formula he created, which eventually became my thriller THE CATALYST.

AT) There are four novels in the Tyler Locke series, and you also have two stand alone novels. Then you transitioned into writing with Clive Cussler on the Oregon Files series. How did you meet him and come to working with him?

Boyd) I didn’t even know I was in the running to write with Clive. He was looking for a new co-author for the Oregon Files and read a couple of my novels. He loved them and particularly enjoyed how I crafted my endings. He called me out of the blue one day and asked if I wanted to write with him. I’d been a big fan of his ever since I read RAISE THE TITANIC!, so of course I jumped at the chance. Two weeks later, I was sitting in his home office, where we brainstormed ideas that would turn into my first novel with him, PIRANHA.

AT)  Did you ever see his car museum or the Confederate submarine museum in Charleston?

Boyd) Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been able to visit the Hunley in Charleston, but I’ve been lucky enough to see his car museum in Denver. The cars have been lovingly restored, and they’re all masterpieces of design and craftsmanship. I could see why Clive loved to include them in his stories, and I got to feature a few of them in our collaborations.

AT) What is Tales of a Lawless Land about?

Boyd) Tales of the Lawless Land is a historical adventure series written with my sister Beth Morrison, who is the head curator of medieval manuscripts at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and a world authority on the Middle Ages. We wanted to create a fun thriller series that captures the spirit of classic adventures like Robin Hood and The Three Musketeers. In the two stories we’ve written so far, THE LAWLESS LAND and THE LAST TRUE TEMPLAR, knight errant Gerard Fox has been unjustly ex-communicated, losing his land and his title, and is forced to journey through Europe in the aftermath of the Black Death and during the Hundred Years War. He is accompanied by a fierce and resourceful lady, and together they are on a search for justice, both for themselves and the downtrodden souls they come across.

AT)  You’ve had a diverse background with a lot of successes. What interests you most, and how has that changed over the years?

Boyd) I love storytelling in all its forms. It’s a way for us to learn about the world, what our place is in it, and how we can relate to others. I also enjoy how stories can give us a sense of justice and closure when the world around is often senseless, cruel, or random. I’ve been writing for a long time, and I plan to continue to do so, but now I’m also moving into acting to tell stories. I’ve performed in many plays, but I’d like to expand into screen work to reach a broader audience.

AT)  Do you listen to audiobooks, and what do you think of your narrators?Boyd) Since I work at home, I don’t get to listen to audiobooks on a commute, but I do enjoy them. I’ve had a number of different narrators for my stories, and I love hearing their unique approaches to narration. Someday I may even narrate one of my own audiobooks!

AT) What’s next for you?

Boyd). Beth and I are currently working on book three in Tales of the Lawless Land, which will take our characters to medieval Croatia, where many of the King’s Landing scenes in Game of Thrones were filmed. I’m also working on a contemporary thriller novel as well as a screenplay, in addition to my acting. So I’m not bored!

Interview with Julie Garwood

With tens of millions of books in print and numerous New York Times bestsellers, Julie Garwood has clearly earned a position among America’s favorite fiction writers. Her reputation as a masterful storyteller is solidly founded in her ability to deliver stories with appealing characters, powerful emotions, and surprising plot twists. Readers claim that it’s the humor as well as the poignancy of her novels that keep them laughing, crying and thoroughly entertained. Her first novel, Gentle Warrior, was published by Pocket Books in 1985. There have been over 30 novels since then. Her name appears regularly on the bestseller lists of every major publication in the country, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and Publishers Weekly. The popularity of her books expands with each new publication, and she is now read and enjoyed in many languages around the world. Her website is at JulieGarwood.com. One of her new titles is Grace Under Fire.

JONATHAN LOWE: You come from a large Irish family, growing up in Kansas City. Any other storytellers among your siblings, and what are your earliest memories of reading or writing?

JULIE GARWOOD: Everyone in my family is a storyteller.  When we get together, it’s always fun — and sometimes a little noisy from all the talking and laughing. My very earliest memories of reading aren’t pleasant ones.  During second grade I was kept out of school for an extended period of time because of complications after a tonsilectomy.  When I finally returned, I had fallen behind in reading.  My mother eventually saw how much trouble I was having and got help.  She took me to Sr. Elizabeth, a nun at our school and a wonderful woman who opened up a whole new world of books for me.  It was because of her that I learned to love the written word.

LOWE: You have an interesting website. The backyard seems to have a gazebo and a castle in the distance. Mostly imagination, like Wizard of Oz, or does your backyard hold similar surprises?

GARWOOD: My back yard isn’t quite like that.  I do have a beautiful view of trees, but there isn’t a castle beyond them. That view is just in my imagination.

LOWE: How would you describe your latest book, and are you working on a new one now?

GARWOOD: FIRE AND ICE is a romantic suspense novel about a reporter for a local Chicago newspaper who thinks she’s covering a routine and rather uninteresting story, but behind that story is a mystery that takes her all the way to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The idea actually came to me after watching a Science Channel documentary about polar bears. Yes, I’m working on the next book now. Until I’ve got most of it down, I don’t give out too much information. I made the mistake several years ago of telling about the story I was working on, and then in midstream I changed my mind and wrote a completely different book. I’m still getting emails from people who are looking for the first story. As soon as I’ve written most of the current book, I’ll post some information about it on my web site.

LOWE: Do you have a preference between contemporary and historical or regency, and do you find that your readers have preferences too, or is romance universal?

GARWOOD: I love writing both historical and contemporary novels.  The story usually dictates the setting.  Most of the readers seem to have a definite preference.  I’ve discovered from their comments that they tend to favor the type of book they read first.

LOWE: You’re not going to write a paranormal vampire romance one day, are you?

GARWOOD: The paranormal genre certainly has become popular, but I don’t have plans to write about vampires. I’ve never really been drawn to the subject; however, I do understand the appeal. There’s something intriguing about that combination of danger and romance.

LOWE: Literacy is one of your interests, which is important, I believe, in our current age of television and video games. What do you do to help the cause, and how can readers get involved?

GARWOOD: I try to support literacy programs as much as I can. I’m especially sympathetic to local libraries who are struggling to stay alive. I used to visit schools often to talk to students about reading, but unfortunately my schedule lately hasn’t allowed as much time for that as I’d like. My recommendation to anyone who wants to help is to get involved with your local library.  There are so many programs and fundraisers that could use volunteers.

LOWE: I sometimes review audiobooks for truckers, and was surprised to learn that many macho truck drivers–guys you’d think would be watching Steven Seagal movies while drinking beer–are actually fans of writers like Janet Evanovich or Nora Roberts. Have you encountered any wrestling fans at your signings, and what advice would you give men about reading romances so that they can learn to be more romantic by understanding their wives.

GARWOOD: I don’t recall any wrestling fans at signings, but you’d be surprised by the number of men who write to me. They usually say they got turned on to my books by their wives. In fact, I received an email just yesterday from a man who said his wife reads my books to him when they take long car trips, and now he’s hooked. And for messages like that I say, “Thanks, ladies.” I definitely think men will understand women better if they read romances, and there’s a strong possibility that these same men will say thanks too.