Author Jo Robertson: Answers, Asks ?s, Offers Giveaway

It’s a pleasure to welcome author Jo Robertson back to Thoughts in Progress as she tours blogdom with her latest release, THE TRAITOR.

After waiting five years for a New York publishing house to acquire her books, Jo finally decided to take her career in her own hands and publish them under Amazon's independent publishing platform. She’s here today to answer some questions about her writing.

Hi, Mason, thanks for having me return to your blog. I love these interview questions so here goes!

Mason - Have you always wanted to write or was there an event that led you to writing?

Jo - As a teenager, I wrote lots of "stories" and poems. I still have some of my high school poetry and actually made a scrapbook for my daughter's thirtieth birthday filled with photos and poems. She's a much better poet than I, but I thought she'd enjoy having this little slice of family history. When I went to college I took a creative writing class and discovered I was terrible; that squelched my budding ambition.

However, after I'd taught for a number of years, especially style analysis of Advanced Placement English, I realized I did have the tools to write creatively and took it up again at a rather advanced age! Now I have three published books, all part of the loosely connected Bigler County series: THE WATCHER, which was a 2006 Golden Heart winner; THE AVENGER, which won an overall Daphne Award under another name; and THE TRAITOR, which just became available at Amazon in e-book only.

 

Mason - What advice have you received writing that you have passed on to other inspiring writers?

Jo - As trite and clichéd as it is, never give up. If you have the desire, learn the craft, refine it, and continue writing. As with many successes in life, the task is achieved with 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration.

But, and this is a big but, if you don't enjoy the process, maybe the industry is not for you.

 

Mason - How do you go about doing research for your writing? Is it a process you enjoy or just find it necessary?

Jo - I majored in history in college, so I enjoy historical research. I'm not as keen on digging out minor facts, for example – when the color "ecru" was first used  (1800, by the way) because that interrupts the creative process for me. But I'm afraid I'll neglect cementing that detail if I don't look it up right now!

Mason - Of all the authors (past and present) you enjoy reading, has any one (or more) been an influence in your writing?

Jo - It may sound strange to admit since I've taught the classics and contemporary literary works for 20 years, but I think J.D. Robb's "In Death" series has affected my writing most. She has a paucity of writing that is almost genius at times, but shows enough flaws that I realize this brilliant writing pretty much comes from her brain to the page as is. I'd bet money she does very little revision, which for most writers, is the heart of writing. Manipulation of diction, syntax, organization and point of view usually come during the revision process when the writer "re-sees" what she's written. For more information, see the article I wrote on Diction and Syntax at Five Scribes on August 30.  

Mason - In what order do your characters come to life - name, physical description, personality?

Jo - Name and personality usually precede physical description because those can be highly symbolic and I guess I tend to think in symbols. I usually know the two protagonists (hero and heroine) and the antagonist (villain) from the get-go along with the ending of the story. In fact, I often see the end of the book before I understand completely what the conflict is.

Mason - Of these three elements (name, physical description, personality), which is the easiest to develop and which is the hardest?

Jo - Physical description is by far the hardest and as different aspects of the personality come to me, I often change that description. Which can be very tricky!

Mason - What is next on the agenda for you?

Jo - THE TRAITOR, the third book in the Bigler County romantic thriller series, went live on Amazon on December 31. 

I'm taking a month's break and then intend to publish my two historical thrillers, both set in the 1900's (1909 FRAIL BLOOD and 1901 WEAK FLESH).  They're both "inspired" by true events, one that occurred in northern California in 1909, and another in North Carolina's Outer Banks in 1901). 

I'm very excited about making these available to my readers as quickly as possible, probably early February.

Mason - You have been shipwrecked on an island. You have 2 books, 1 food item (plenty of it) and your favorite _____. Name the books, what food would you want and fill in the blank.

Jo - I take it my husband is nowhere to be found on this island scenario LOL (unless he's my favorite lover!).

The favorite food item (though it hardly qualifies as "food") would have to be an endless supply of Pepsis. My kids claim I'm a Pepsiholic, but hey, it's my only addiction! I figure if there aren't fresh water and some type of native edible vegetation, I'll be a goner soon enough, so I might as well enjoy my imminent demise.

My favorite item would be my quilt. I cannot sleep without my quilt, which I've often packed in my suitcase when I travel. I swear I'm like a baby with a blankey or what my granddaughter Emma calls a "nonny."

As far as books, I'd definitely want ones I could read and reread without growing bored with them, so it's likely to be Shakespeare's Complete Works (does that count as one?). I know it's geeky, but I'm a serious Shakespeare fan!  

The second one would be Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield," or anything by Dickens I could get my hands on! His characters are amazing and his social commentary is as applicable today as when he wrote.

Thanks for having me today, Mason! I'd love to give a free download of my newest book, THE TRAITOR, to one lucky commenter.

A few question for your readers: 
*  Single title or stand-alone books?
*  Tall, dark and handsome or blond and athletic?
*  Shorts or briefs?

Oh Jo, thanks so much for guest blogging again. I enjoy learning more about a writer’s process. BTW, I’m a huge J.D. Robb fan myself.

Now a bit more on Jo. A former high school English teacher, Jo lives in northern California, near the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills. She enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and discussing the latest in books, movies, and television shows. Any "spare" time she has is spent enjoying her seven children and 16 grandchildren, who bring a great deal of joy to her life. 

When her Advanced Placement English students challenged her to quit talking about writing and "just do it," she wrote her first completed manuscript, THE WATCHER, which won the 2006 Golden Heart Award for romantic suspense. Following that came THE AVENGER, which won the 2007 Daphne du Maurier Overall Award for Excellence, and finally THE TRAITOR.

For more on Jo and her writing, visit her website at www.jorobertson.com and she blogs at Romance Bandits. 
 
Here’s a brief synopsis of THE TRAITOR:
Assistant district attorney Isabella Torres and DEA Agent Rafe Hashemi want to prosecute the same man, notorious and vicious Diego Vargas. But Isabella believes Vargas knows something about the disappearance of  her older sister twenty years ago and wants to charge him for his current human trafficking operation. Rafe wants to nab the corrupt councilman for drug trafficking.

 

When Isabella and Rafe meet anonymously at an upscale bar and end up spending a passionate night together, only to learn the next day who the other is, sparks fly and the game is on for control of the case.  Forced to cooperate with each other, they must balance the danger of the case against the danger of their hearts.

Be sure to answer one or all of Jo’s questions for a chance to win a free download of THE TRAITOR. Thanks so much for stopping by today.

 

Author Jo Robertson: What Keeps You Awake At Night?

Please join me in welcoming award-winning author Jo Robertson as the special guest blogger today as she tours with her debut release, THE WATCHER.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the book: Forensic psychiatrist Kate Myers believes the killer of two teenage girls in Bigler County, California, is the same man who savagely murdered her twin sister over fifteen years ago. Working with a single-minded tenacity, she sets out to prove it.

Deputy Sheriff Ben Slater hides his personal pain behind the job, but Kate's arrival in his county knocks his world on its axis. He wants to believe her wild theory, but the idea of a serial killer with the kind of pathology she proposes is too bizarre.

Together they work to find a killer whose roots began in a small town in Bigler County, but whose violence spread across the nation. A Janus-like killer, more monster than man, he fixates on Kate. The killer wants nothing more than to kill the "purple-eyed girl again."

Jo joins us to talk about something that as mystery lovers we all understand …. ‘What Keeps You Awake at Night?’ and a ‘Funky Five’ challenge I think you‘ll find fun. See what you come up with.

Because my debut release THE WATCHER is a romantic thriller, I started thinking about its "scare" level. When I wrote the book, I wanted it to be chilling, a little frightening, and heart-stopping at the denouement (the point of greatest excitement). But I also wanted it to have moments of wry humor and lightheartedness, so my readers could take a break from the thrill factor.

That led me to think about the kinds of things that scare me enough to keep me up at night.  Some movies and books, for sure. I still think George Romano's 1968 version of "Night of the Living Dead" is freak-scariness at its zenith!

Most of us have known the stress of a restless night.

When I was a young mother of two small boys, six months and eighteen months, my husband had an overnight conference and I stayed up late reading. I never liked going to bed alone, and reading was a luxury for a mom of two babies. However, I made a horrible choice for my late-night reading.

The book wasn't a badly written one, but it was so terrifying that I nearly packed the babies up and went to a neighbor's house. The story involves a poltergeist-type ghost that haunts the house of the heroine. The spirit is so viciously evil that he seemed alive to me. I recall vividly turning on all the lights and checking the front door for intruders. The villain-ghost is wickedly draw and fantastically real. Although I was paralyzed with fear, I couldn't stop reading!

When I finished the book, I was furious with myself because I was so agitated, my adrenaline so revved up that I couldn't go to sleep. I stayed awake all night, listening to every creak and shudder inside and outside our small apartment. When daylight finally came, the kids and I spent the day in the park.

THE WATCHER is not quite that frightening, but the villain is chilling. When I created him, I wanted a multi-dimensional character, horrifying to ordinary people, but still able to wring a bit of reluctant sympathy.

But the best part of the book? Because it's a ROMANCE, we know the hero and heroine will defeat the antagonist and have a happy ending.

Here's an excerpt in the killer's point of view:

The girl was pretty in a fresh, outdoorsy way. 

The bounce and tangle of her yellow hair fascinated the boy-man. When she bent to ruffle the dog’s fur and attach the leash, the frisky animal danced away from her. Finally looping one end around her hand, she set off, long legs stretched before her as she matched her stride to the dog’s pace. 

With her free hand, she clutched the coat front that covered a dress the color of buttercups, and she wore black strappy shoes made for church, not a brisk walk. Early winter wind whipped her dress up and blew hair across her eyes. 

But he knew their color well. Her eyes were as vivid as the violet blood of an eggplant’s skin. The deep purple of the pansies his grandmother grew in boxes beneath the kitchen window. The flowers woven in his mother’s hair in a faded picture he’d once seen. 

The brilliance of that color made him notice the girl several months ago as she stood outside the Cavalier Store on Ramsey Avenue. Juggling a carton of milk in one arm and her school books in the other, she nearly bumped into him. When he reached to steady her, those flashing eyes narrowed in the challenging way of teenage girls. 

Under the force of her scowl, he touched the sparse hair above his lips, the sprinkling of zits across his chin. She didn’t say a word to him, but her eyes darkened with irritation. 

Why the hell was she mad at him? He’d only tried to help. 

A familiar wash of shame flooded over him, his face burned, and he ducked his head to slink away. After a block he risked a backward glance to find the girl balancing her load, oblivious to his existence. She’d forgotten him already. He clenched his fists at his side and hurried away. 

She wore her soccer uniform that day, and he figured out she’d be at practice on the high school soccer field after school. Every day until the season was over. 

During daily practice, the grassy edges of the field were deserted, so he’d found a good hiding place some distance from the field where he watched the players through his binoculars. The rocky outcropping banked up to several scrub pines, and his dusty green outfit camouflaged him from the coach. 

His body tingled with a secret thrill as he spied on her. He never gotten tired of watching her race down the soccer field, her toes teasing the ball in front of her, the sudden right turn she made before she slammed the ball into the goal. Her slender legs were surprisingly strong, the muscled sinews tightening beneath the skin.

Panicked that he’d lose track of her when the season was over, he followed her home after one soccer practice. He discovered the isolated farm where she lived with her parents and a giant chocolate retriever named Shamus. He hunkered beside an outbuilding that night and watched her as she completed household chores. She worked energetically and sometimes seemed to be everywhere at once. Her quick, lively movements stimulated him in a way he didn’t understand. 

When the lights went out in the farmhouse, he hunted for a place to camp out in the woods, his bedroll and backpack hidden in the dense forest. He ate his food cold from tin cans and drank from the creek, this outdoor lifestyle familiar to him by now. 

He waited nearly a week to make his move. On a late Sunday afternoon, he saw the parents drive away in a battered pickup without the girl. Silence descended on the farm in the near darkness. She’d been left alone. 

This was his opportunity. 

The dog now pulled the girl along after him, straining at the leash. The animal must weigh at least a hundred pounds, almost as much as the girl. That could be a problem. 

The boy-man trailed the girl and dog as they made their way down to the creek bed. She let the dog tug her forward along the water’s edge. Her voice reached the boy-man where he watched from a grove of aspen trees, their bendy white limbs dipping down to cover him. 

He glanced through the gloom toward the farm house. How long before her parents returned? How long after that before they missed her? He kept downwind of the dog and hurried after the girl, his heart drumming a staccato beat in his chest. He’d never found a purple-eyed girl before. 

It was a sign.

In today's 21st century world, there are many things other than scary stories that give us a restless night's sleep.

I thought it'd be fun today to play "Funky Five" with this topic: Five things that keep you awake at night. I'll go first.
1. Clearly a very scary book, movie or TV show, especially if I'm alone in the house. When I was a frequent drive-in movie-goer, a horror movie at an outdoor theatre was the height of spook fright!
2. Heartburn – stupid, I know, but I've often been dumb enough to eat something spicy at night, knowing that it will give me heartburn. Thank goodness for antacids.
3. Noisy neighbors or a barking dog. Our neighbors are actually pretty good, but the ones to our right have a nice hot tub and redwood deck and they enjoy inviting friends over. Friends that love wine. Lots and lots of wine.
4. Fussy babies or restless husbands. No babies for me any longer, but sometimes my husband keeps me from getting a good night's sleep with his tossing and turning.
5. Money worries. Hardly anyone escapes life without thinking about bills and payments. No matter how much money you have, you still think you don't have enough and worry about finances.

What about you, readers?  What keeps you awake at night?  If it's a really scary book or TV show, be sure to share. We all want to enjoy the fright!

If you're a writer, have you ever stayed up all night working on your latest project? How'd that go?

Jo, thanks so much for blogging here today. Your book sounds most intriguing. Wishing you much success with your writing.

I especially like your take on what keeps us awake. Here’s goes with my Funky Five: #1. Health and financial status of family. #2. A good scary book or movie. #3. Severe weather (blame it on my grandmother). #4. The quiet. #5. A new noise in the house - leaky faucet, change in the air conditioner sound, etc.

Here’s a bit of background on Jo. A former high school English teacher, Jo lives in northern California, near the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills. She enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and discussing the latest in books, movies, and television shows. When her Advanced Placement English students challenged her to quit talking about writing and "just do it," she wrote her first completed manuscript, THE WATCHER, which won the 2006 Golden Heart Award for romantic suspense. For more on Jo and her writing, visit her website at www.jorobertson.com and she blogs at Romance Bandits. 

Thanks everyone for stopping by. Looking forward to finding out what your Funky Five are.