1. Do
you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales
in many forms? Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices? Are
there genres you wouldn’t attempt?
As for fiction, I write mysteries. The Clock Strikes Midnight did
not start out as a mystery, but it became one. That tells me that mysteries are
my natural genre for fiction. That said, I’ve published four business books and
several memoir stories. So, I have written in different genre, but I’m
certainly not as eclectic as you are!
As for my reading choices, that’s where I’m more eclectic. I read
mystery, literary fiction, biography, woman’s fiction, memoirs and some YA (The
Book Thief). In essence, I love to read character-driven books.
2.
Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write? Does one of these
come easy and why?
I love to write the villain roles or at least add a little flaw or
two to my characters. When the character is too sappy, I get bored with them.
That means even my protagonists are not too “hero-like.” For example, in The
Clock Strikes Midnight, the reader knows right off the bat that Janie, our
heroine, has done some bad things in her life. Her sister is nicer, but flawed.
I suppose I enjoyed writing the Janie character more because of her darker
side.
3.
Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination
create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or
after you have the idea for the story?
You say, the man I want readers to love. Peter is the heartthrob man
in The Clock Strikes Midnight. I’d say he’s a mixture of several of the men in
my life. I must say he was not a planned character, but once I created him I
really liked him and enjoyed writing his history. In an earlier version of the
book, there was much more time spent developing Peter’s character (he had a
more prominent role). But many edits later that changed. Nonetheless the
earlier version enabled me to have a good understanding of Peter and his
motivations.
4.
Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create
the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or
after you have the idea for the story?
All my books start with a heroine. Marlene was the heroine in The
Clock Strikes Midnight when I began the book. Janie (who later became the
heroine) was not even around. She showed up later. I’m sure both characters are
a mixture of me and my sister but they really do not resemble either of us. As
for pictures, I really do not see the character. I tend to feel them, get in
their heads and explore the world through their eyes.
5.
Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be
the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s
obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?
I’m not sure I choose a villain. They seem to jump into the story. I
must say with Ralph in The Clock Strikes Midnight as soon as the “stepfather”
walked on the stage, he became a villain. That’s very odd because I have a
wonderful stepfather. So, go figure.
Nonetheless there are some endearing features about Ralph and I do hope
some of my readers will pity him rather than hate him.
In the mystery series I’m currently writing, there is a killer (of
course) but the killer isn’t necessarily a villain. Not to give too much away,
but the villain in my current WIP was the one actually murdered. That means that whomever did him in could be
considered a hero J
6.
What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?
My latest release is The Clock Strikes Midnight. As I said
earlier, Janie is the “heroine” and Ralph the “villain.”
7.
What are you working on now?
In the Spring of 2015, The e-Murderer will be released. That
is the first in a series starring, amateur sleuth, Jenna Scali. Right now I’m
working on the second book in that series titled, Murder on Moonshine Hill.
8. How
can people find you?
Website http://www.joanccurtis.com
Blog http://www.joanccurtis.com/blog
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/joancurtis
People can also find me on my Amazon Author page (http://www.amazon.com/Joan-C.-Curtis/e/B0024JEG6E/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1411586310&sr=8-1) and on my publisher’s website. http://www.museituppublishing.com MuseItUp has a great site which includes the
book trailer to The Clock Strikes Midnight and all my author information.
1 comment:
Thanks for the very nice interview, Janet!
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