I'm so happy to have met Alice. We've stayed in touch since last year, and I'm happy to call her a friend. We'll be meeting again this weekend at the next Put Your Heart in A Book Conference to reprise our lovely dinner experience.<\/p>\n
So, let's get started and talk shop. I'll try not to ask too many hard questions \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n How\u00a0do\u00a0feel\u00a0your\u00a0unique\u00a0perspective\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0former\u00a0editor\u00a0and\u00a0agent\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0publishing business\u00a0has\u00a0shaped\u00a0you\u00a0as\u00a0an\u00a0author?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think this happened for me the other way around. My experience as an author shaped me as a book editor and literary agent. I\u2019d been publishing in various venues for several years before I first became an editor and then an agent. I understood what it was like to put my soul into a piece of work and send it out into the world for a thumbs-up or thumbs-down for one gatekeeper or another. Those gatekeepers gifted me with both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I learned all the way down to the marrow of my bones what each of those felt like. I also learned that how the verdict was communicated was almost as crucial as the verdict itself. By the time I became a gatekeeper myself, my compassionate side had been full-on activated. I did my best to emulate the Good Witch Gatekeepers rather than the other kind. I sincerely hope and pray I managed to do that.<\/p>\n What\u00a0do\u00a0you\u00a0think\u00a0are\u00a0the\u00a0biggest\u00a0challenges\u00a0facing\u00a0new\u00a0writers\u00a0today?\u00a0What\u00a0do\u00a0you feel\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0biggest\u00a0challenge\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0faced\u00a0as\u00a0an\u00a0author?<\/strong><\/p>\n We all face the same biggest challenge. We have to keep our psyches on our side. That requires doing serious battle with the Big D\u2019s \u2013 Doubt and Discouragement. They are time wasters. They are effort wasters. Worst of all, they are spirit wasters. This is a very tough business, no matter how we choose to approach it, traditionally or independently. We can\u2019t help but doubt ourselves occasionally, any more than we can help being discouraged occasionally. The trick is to get off those nowhere trips as fast as we can. We must to turn to our greatest resources \u2013 ourselves and each other and, if you don\u2019t mind me saying so, our higher power. My favorite saying is, \u201cFall down seven times. Get up eight.\u201d So when you\u2019re feeling down, just get back up. And, if you\u2019re having a problem with that, don\u2019t hesitate to be in touch with me at www.aliceorrbooks.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n What\u00a0do\u00a0you\u00a0feel\u00a0has\u00a0been\u00a0your\u00a0greatest\u00a0triumph?<\/strong><\/p>\n My most precious triumphs have to do with my family. We\u2019ve been through our share of challenges, including my year-and-a-half struggle with cancer. We stumble and stagger at times but, with each other\u2019s help, we end up on our feet. Speaking of help, my husband Jonathan and I were blessed with the opportunity to help raise our grandchildren for thirteen years. It was the best decision we ever made and, without question, our greatest triumph.<\/p>\n What\u00a0inspired\u00a0you\u00a0to\u00a0write\u00a0the\u00a0Riverton\u00a0Road\u00a0series?<\/strong><\/p>\n I have to admit it was a business decision. When I returned to writing fiction after a sixteen-year hiatus, I\u2019d decided to try Indie Publishing, and I knew the best way to succeed there was with a series. The unexpected result is that I absolutely love writing series, much more than I did writing single titles. I\u2019m so involved with the world I\u2019ve created in the Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series that I enjoy it almost as much as my real-life world. I\u2019m writing Book #3 now. I\u2019d envisioned a four-book run, but I have a feeling this world may have far longer legs than that for me.<\/p>\n What\u00a0is\u00a0your\u00a0idea\u00a0of\u00a0a\u00a0perfect\u00a0romance\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n My perfect romance is always a battle between equals. Without struggle there\u2019s no story, and I want that struggle to be intense, powerful and dramatic. They\u2019re falling in love with each other, but they\u2019re also falling into conflict with each other. They\u2019re at razor-sharp swords\u2019 points on one hand, and unable to keep those hands off each other at the same time. Meanwhile, since I write Romantic Suspense and love that sub-genre, there\u2019s murder in the mix, which of course makes everything \u2013 you guessed it \u2013 even more intense, powerful and dramatic for my poor already beleaguered couple. God bless them because, the more trouble they have to slog through, the more happily my writer\u2019s heart beats.<\/p>\n What\u00a0do\u00a0you\u00a0find\u00a0to\u00a0be\u00a0some\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0biggest\u00a0misconceptions\u00a0about\u00a0the\u00a0romance\u00a0genre?<\/strong><\/p>\n Our biggest misconception, and the misconception of too many others, is that we need to be more literary or more honored or more anything other than what we already are. The Romance Genre is an entertainment medium, and entertaining people is a righteous motivation and righteous work. Always has been. Always will be. So there!<\/p>\n What\u00a0do\u00a0you\u00a0love\u00a0most\u00a0about\u00a0being\u00a0an\u00a0author?<\/strong><\/p>\n What I love most about being an author is the writing itself. The rest I do because I have to \u2013 the marketing, the research, the schmoozing. I get some kicks out of some of that some of the time. But I get monster kicks out of writing just about all of the time. I\u2019ve learned that feeling blocked means one of two things \u2013 I either need a break or there\u2019s something wrong in the piece and I need to fix it. Even when I go through those rough spots, as soon as I fess up and face up to the need for rest or revision, it\u2019s back to writing my heart out again and feeling blessed to be able to do so.<\/p>\n You\u00a0will\u00a0be\u00a0running\u00a0a\u00a0workshop\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0New\u00a0Jersey\u00a0Romance\u00a0Writers\u2019 Conference\u00a0this\u00a0month.\u00a0Can\u00a0you\u00a0tell us\u00a0a\u00a0little\u00a0bit\u00a0about\u00a0it?<\/strong><\/p>\n The title of my workshop is We\u2019ve Got the Power! \u2013 How Choice Changes Everything About Publishing Today<\/em><\/strong>. That\u2019s a long enough title to say it all. If you want more details, you\u2019ll have to be there.<\/p>\n What\u00a0are\u00a0the\u00a0top\u00a0three\u00a0pieces\u00a0of\u00a0advice\u00a0you\u00a0would\u00a0give\u00a0other\u00a0authors?<\/strong><\/p>\n DON\u2019T GIVE UP. DON\u2019T GIVE UP. DON\u2019T GIVE UP.<\/p>\n What\u00a0would\u00a0you\u00a0like\u00a0to\u00a0see\u00a0happen\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n After many years on the editor-agent side of the desk, I\u2019ve stepped outside the Industry into the Indie diaspora. Things are tough out here, but they were also tough back there. What I\u2019d like to see happen inside the traditional publishing industry is that it be more fair and respectful and humane toward authors. I always had the feeling that the author was the pawn in the game. I may have a rough road ahead, but it\u2019s my game now and instead of being a pawn I\u2019m my own queen. I\u2019d never say never re: going back to the trad side but, for now, Queendom suits me mighty fine.<\/p>\n I\u00a0understand\u00a0Book\u00a03\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0Riverton\u00a0Road\u00a0series\u00a0is\u00a0in\u00a0development.\u00a0Can\u00a0you\u00a0share\u00a0a\u00a0bit\u00a0about\u00a0it?<\/strong><\/p>\n As always in this series, the story is about family and romance and murder. A Villain for Vanessa<\/em><\/strong> is, in particular, a story about tangled roots and that affects all three of those \u2013 the romance and the family and solving the murder case. Pat Conroy once said he thanked God for giving him a dysfunctional family because that, in turn, gave him an endless fund of story material. In reference to A Villain for Vanessa<\/em><\/strong>, I totally agree with Pat, except I\u2019d thank God for Tangled Families instead.<\/p>\n What\u2019s\u00a0next\u00a0for\u00a0you,\u00a0Alice?<\/strong><\/p>\n Wow! That\u2019s a heavy question. I guess I have to blame the years I once spent as a Hindu for not having an answer. I am actually a live-in-the-moment gal. I know that sounds schmaltzy, but it\u2019s true. What comes next for me is whatever comes next for me. Stick around. And follow my blog at www.aliceorrbooks.com\/blog<\/a>. I\u2019ll let you in on the next adventure when it happens.<\/p>\n BOOK REVIEW: A WRONG WAY HOME<\/strong><\/p>\n Series:\u00a0<\/strong>Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series BOOK BLURB:<\/p>\n Kara Cartwright returns to her hometown on the same night Anthony Benton is murdered. But she doesn\u2019t know anything about that. She only knows she vowed never to come back here to Riverton, New York or to see Matt Kalli again.<\/p>\n Matt has made a vow of his own. He\u2019ll never forgive Kara, the woman who loved him then betrayed him nine years ago. And he can\u2019t forgive himself for the way she\u2019s stuck in his heart.<\/p>\n All that these two have in common is their hatred of Anthony Benton. Now he\u2019s dead and they could be suspects. People they care deeply about could be suspects too. That gives Matt and Kara something else in common \u2013 a desperate search for the real killer before he strikes again.<\/p>\n A Wrong Way Home is the 1st book in the Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series set in and around Riverton, New York, a town in the remote North Country. Danger and romance featuring the Kalli family, the four Kalli brothers and the fortunate people who find safety and a warm welcome at Kalli Corner on Riverton Road. A Year of Summer Shadows is the 2nd book in the series.<\/p>\n BOOK REVIEW:<\/strong><\/p>\n Alice Orr keeps us riveted as former lovers, Kara and Matt, are reunited in their mutual quest to find the killer of\u00a0Anthony Benton, a shady businessman who many people in Riverton want dead. Separated by circumstances perceived as betrayal, Kara and Matt harbor a smoldering passion for one another buried beneath a layer of anger and hurt. Whenever they get too close, tragedy or unpleasant interruptions separates them again, making their union hard won and satisfying. Both must face up to their shared history and make amends with their part in order to move ahead and seize the life they've always wanted with each other. Matt keeping Kara safe, and Kara letting him, opens the door to rediscovery as they careen closer and closer to the killer.<\/p>\n The small town elements of Riverton warm the plot and remind us of both how close knit communities may share news faster than CNN, but that the warm and support, are unequaled.<\/p>\n Alice Orr has set up both Riverton and the Kalli family nicely. This setting is one that offers the reader a welcoming return, as well as a family to return to for many more books. Looking forward to A Year of Summer Shadows<\/em><\/strong>!<\/p>\n ABOUT ALICE<\/strong><\/p>\n Contact Alice & Buy her books:<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/lgoconnor.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/A-Wrong-Way-Home-Final-Cover-200x300-px-version.jpg\")
<\/a> ![\"A](\"https:\/\/lgoconnor.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/A-Year-of-Summer-Shadows-Final-Cover-JPG-file-200x300px.jpg\")
<\/a>I've also had the pleasure of reading the first book in the Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series, A Wrong Way Home<\/em><\/strong>. The review is below. Knowing Alice, it made me smile to hear her voice in the pages, while following Kara and Matt's journey back into each other's arms. More about that below.<\/p>\n
\nPrint Length:<\/strong>\u00a0300 pages
\nPublisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Createspace\u00a0Independent Publishing Platform
\nPublication Date:<\/strong>\u00a0February 10, 2015
\nISBN-13:<\/strong>\u00a0978-1508421924<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>“Alice Orr is a brilliant writer who has a #1 best seller hidden in her pocket. I look forward to more of her work,” says one reviewer. Alice loves to write. Especially romantic suspense novels and blog posts. She's well known as a workshop leader, book editor & literary agent. Now she lives her dream of writing full-time. Alice has published 13 novels, 3 novellas & a memoir so far, with a new novel in progress. She wrote her nonfiction book, No More Rejections<\/em>, as a gift to the writers' community she loves. A revised edition is also in progress. Amazon says, “This book has it all.” About her romantic suspense, Amazon says, “Alice Orr turns up the heat.” In addition, Alice presents workshops on writing for publication &\/or pleasure. Most of all, Alice wants to hear from readers. Visit her website at www.aliceorrbooks.com. Alice has 2 grown children & 2 perfect grandchildren & lives with her husband Jonathan in New York City.<\/p>\n