As a child she won several writing competitions. She won a pony once but her parents
encouraged her to take the substitute prize. After all, there’s not a lot
of room in utopian suburbia for a pony.
After attending teachers’
training college where they encouraged her writing, Vonnie began writing in
earnest – poetry and short stories mainly. Now she writes novels and novellas
in the Regency and contemporary suspense genres. She will, she says, probably
write until the day she dies. Like many writers, some days she hates the whole
process, but just cannot let it go.
I asked Vonnie a few questions:
I believe you haven’t always been a career writer. Can you tell
our readers what brought about the change in your career?
I’ve always been a writer, just not a full-time
writer. As a seven year old I won a writing contest to name a pony and I’ve
been writing ever since. At first it was mainly articles and poetry. In my early
fifties when I became a self-employed researcher with a houseful of overseas
students, I needed a break from real life and began to write Regencies. As the
Regency market has become more and more crowded, my stories are seguing more
into the Victorian era. (I’ve been reading in that era since I was eleven years
old and I love the sense of order and responsibility). But my preference is for
writing contemporary suspense novels where I can indulge my love of convoluted
plots and forensic clues.
I see from your website that you’re a ‘panster’. How does
this work in conjunction with writing suspense? Don’t you need to know
beforehand where your story is going?As for being a
pantser and knowing where my plots are going – I think about my books for some
weeks. Then I do a very small outline of the story generally, about five or six
sentences. But the real planning comes from the characterisation. I spend a lot
of time working out the characters’ backgrounds, motives and the likely
consequences of their behaviour. Then I jump into writing the book. But I never
do chapter plans or story arcs. Just go where it leads me.
Writing any period novel must entail considerable research.
Is it something you enjoy and do you have any methodology?
As for the research for my historicals, I have to admit I
have a LOT of hard files which I’ve compiled over the years. They contain
things like bridge building in Britain, the slums near the Thames, maps of old
roads etc. Also I belong to Beaumonde, a chapter of the Romance Writers of
America and their archives are amazing.
Do you have a typical day?
I have no typical writing day. I write every day, but
sometimes for no more than an hour. Sometimes I get restless and bored so I
relax by walk/jogging with the dog, going to the gym and reading, reading,
reading.
Innocent Hostage was published in December 2014. Is its successor in the
pipeline?
At present, although I am part way through another New
Zealand set book about a negotiator with one of the Armed Offenders’ squads, I also
got started on an idea put forward by The Wild Rose Press about a mythical town
in Maine called Lobster Cove. Since I’m not American I had to do some intensive
research. At the request of the Carmichael
family’s accountants, their son takes over a lobster packaging business to investigate
the reasons behind a consistent drain on the company resources. At the same
time he is coming to terms with the fact that he is adopted and that at least
one of his natural parents comes from the little town of Lobster Cove.
Innocent
Hostage is published by The Wild Rose Press in both paperback and e-book
form. In an Alice in Wonderland world where everything is tipped upside down
and every value questioned, how do you save the innocent? Two years ago, Breck
Marchant handed his son, Kit, over to his ex-wife, Tania, even though it tore
him apart. She knows all about kids. Thanks to his own upbringing, he hasn’t a
clue. But when the boy is held hostage, Breck steps up to the plate.
Links:
Blog:
It's been lovely talking to you, Vonnie. Thank you.
The RNA Blog is
brought to you by
Elaine Everest and Natalie Kleinman.
If you would like
to write about the craft of writing or perhaps be interviewed about your
writing life please contact us at elaineeverest@aol.com
