Tuesdays Tidbits with Kari: Featuring author Paula Graves

I am in the middle of deadline hell! Everything would have been wonderful if I'd stayed on schedule, but no, with the kids home from school, I let the month of July get away from me. So now I have to write 20 pages a day for 3 weeks in order to have just 2 weeks to revise. My first Cozy Mystery for Berkley Prime Crime (Tea Leaves to Die For: A Fortune Teller Mystery) is due September 1st. I have pretty much plotted it out, but I am really trying to come up with some fun characters since cozies really are all about the characters. So I decided to turn to an author who creates fabulous characters.

Please help me welcome Paula Graves!

Kari: I see that you live in the south and cracked up over your quote, "We don't hide our crazy people. We showcase them!" Do you think living where you do has helped you to create such unique wonderful characters for your books?

Paula: I absolutely do believe being from the South helps me write great characters, because we have great characters down here, good, bad and in between. I guess that's true of almost anywhere you live, though. You create a sense of community and really begin to appreciate the unique character of where you live, and the people who live there. I love writing the secondary characters in my books, because that's where I often let the people I've met along the way in my life take a little bow, from a gossipy cafe owner with a heart of gold to a tough Birmingham kid from the projects turned international spy. I love those characters almost as much as I love the heroes and heroines of my books, because they're so very real to me.

Kari: You write Romantic Suspense. Can you tell us about your latest release?

Paula: My August book, One Tough Marine, comes out today, as a matter of fact, August 10th. In bookstores everywhere, and online, of course. In One Tough Marine, Luke Cooper is a former Marine Intelligence officer whose past has risen up to haunt him on two fronts, from the escalating threat from a drug lord with a blood vendetta against Luke to the sudden reappearance in his life of the woman he can never have--and can't forget. Abby Chandler needs his help protecting her son from a deadly threat. But is Luke the man to help her, when just being around him could put her life and that of her son in even graver danger?

Then, in September, Bachelor Sheriff hits the book shelves on the 14th, featuring my first nerd heroine. Melissa Draper was a nerd in high school—brainy, socially awkward, voted most likely to succeed...at anything but dating. What she wasn't, however, was anywhere near the radar of Chickasaw County High School's star quarterback, Aaron Cooper. Flash-forward ten years and an arson fire later, and sexy Aaron Cooper is the lead investigator for the sheriff's department when someone sets Melissa's house on fire. Is Melissa the victim—or the arsonist? And if someone really is out to kill her, why? Suddenly, the mousy little nerd he barely noticed in high school is the woman he can't seem to get out of his mind.

Kari: You are a copy editor and graphic designer for an ad agency. You say it helps you in redesigning your website and creating promotional material for your books. Any chance you'll ever open a freelance business? Any tips on what works and what doesn't as far as promoting a book?

Paula: I've done some freelance work as a graphic designer, but the money isn't steady, and I can't afford not to have the insurance benefits that come with my advertising job. I don't think I'll ever do that freelance. If I'm going to quit my day job for anything, it will be to write full time. That's my real passion. As for tips on what to do to promote a book, I'm definitely not the person to ask. I'm still looking for a good answer to that myself. I actually think different ideas work for different people. Some people love book tours. Others hate them. Some love to blog. Some don't. I think you find what you're good at and then sell the heck out of it to promote yourself as a writer and your books.

Kari: I'm intrigued by the term "Cat whisperer". What does that mean exactly? Any plans to ever write a paranormal? Hmmm maybe a paranormal romantic suspense involving cats? In fact, what are your plans for the future?

Paula: Cat whisperer is kind of a joke in my family. First, we seem to attract stray cats like a magnet. And in particular, I've had really good luck taming feral kittens, born to wild strays. I've had several of those over the years, and I've been able to fully tame all but one. On the question of paranormals, my first three Intrigues were paranormals, and as hot as paranormals are today, I wish I had a few big paranormals in the works. But even though I love weird and creepy things, I don't seem to like the more out there elements that are strong sellers in paranormal these days--vampires, shapeshifters, demons and dragons? Not really my thing. And my plan for the foreseeable future is to build my name and reputation at Harlequin Intrigue as an author you can depend on for a meaty, exciting and emotional story of mystery and suspense. Then, I'll probably look to branch out in single title Romantic Suspense if the market opens back up.

Kari: Any final tips for your fellow writers?

Paula: Learn what works for you. You have one primary goal above all else: write a great book. The business side, the networking, the marketing all comes secondary to that goal. Write a great book. So while it's great to build a web presence and a network of friends and fellow authors, don't let those things get in the way of writing a good book. It's wonderful to attend workshops and conferences and critique group meetings, but don't let those take the place of writing a great book. Those meetings, those craft books, those website--everything is in service to the book. The product is the priority. If it's not the best it can be, the rest of it doesn't matter nearly as much. And that also means finding the methods that work for you. Not everyone can write by the seat of their pants. Not everyone can put together an elaborate storyboard or a complex spreadsheet. Just find the method that makes you most able to sit down and write a great book, then hone it until it's second nature. But write a great book. Did I mention that?

Kari: Any great author recommendations?

Paula: Wow, I love so many. I'll have to leave some great ones out or I could be here all day. My favorite things to read are mysteries, horror, thrillers and romantic suspense, so that's where I"ll focus.

Mysteries: The late Dick Francis is my new discovery, and I love his books. I hear his son Felix is going to continue the franchise. I hope he can deliver.

Horror: I read Stephen King, of course, but my favorite is Dean Koontz, especially his Odd Thomas books. They're horror, in a way, but they're also almost literary in subject matter at times.

Romantic Suspense: Brenda Novak, Gayle Wilson, and Christy Reece are all fantastic writers. I also like Linda Castillo and Maggie Shayne.

And for shorter books, there's not an Intrigue writer I wouldn't recommend, but two of my favorites are Dana Marton and Kerry Connor, who write the kinds of thrillers I want to write myself. And speaking of Thrillers, my top author in that category is Nelson DeMille. And I've got Brad Thor and Amanda Stevens on my To Read list.

Thanks so much for being with us, Paula. It was truly a pleasure and I can't wait to check out your latest book. Now back to your regularly scheduled program and back to my cave!

Kari