Q:
A:
Q:
A: |
When did you
find the time to write while running a business?
I tried to write
for two hours at the end of each day, seven days a week, even
though sometimes I was working a 12-hour day writing programs.
You must be very
self-disciplined.
To a fault. [laughter]
But it was also something I really wanted to accomplish. And
once Sheila (the main character) gets going, her action propelled
the story forward.
|
 |
| Q: |
How did you get the idea for the story? |
| A: |
I get a lot of my ideas from the news.
I'm particularly interested in white-collar crime, the kind of
crime that could be committed or detected through computers and
technology. |
| Q: |
How did you learn about the inner workings
of the FBI? |
| A: |
My father is a retired FBI agent. He
served as my technical advisor for the book. |
| Q: |
How long did it take for you to write
the book? |
| A: |
Roughly two years. I spent the first
six months writing the first draft. My goal was to complete one
chapter each week. Then I spent the next six months revising
it to my satisfaction. I then sent it to a few key people to
read and critique, which took another six months to incorporate
their changes. Finally, I sent it to a professional criticism
service (Writer's Digest Criticism Service) for a thorough critique.
Once I'd made the changes suggested, it was ready to go to a
publisher. |
| Q: |
Was it easy finding a publisher? |
| A: |
Actually, writing the book was a piece
of cake compared to finding a publisher. |
| Q: |
But
this wasn't your first published book. |
| A: |
No, I had three other books published
in English, and one translated into French. But they were all
computer how-to books. Publishing a work of fiction was a different
ball game for me. |
| Q: |
Do you have any other books in the works? |
| A: |
Three more. The China Conspiracy is scheduled for release
in May 2003 (Drake Valley Press). The sequel to Kickback is scheduled for release
in 2004, and a fourth book, The Merging, will be released in 2005. |
| Q: |
Do they have the same characters? |
| A: |
The China Conspiracy has a different set
of characters, although Sheila Carpenter does make a cameo appearance.
Originally, my third book was to be The Merging, but so many people asked for a sequel
to Kickback, that it was slipped
into production after The
China Conspiracy
is released later this year. |
| Q: |
Can you tell us something about the next
three books? |
| A: |
In The China Conspiracy, Kit Olsen is a programmer who analyzes
intercepted programs for the CIA. Two coworkers are reported
missing, and then Kit's teenage son, Tim, is kidnapped. In an
attempt to ransom her son from the kidnappers, Kit is plunged
into a world of international espionage that ultimately leads
to a conspiracy to infiltrate the American government at its
highest levels.
In the sequel
to Kickback (as yet untitled), Sheila
Carpenter attends the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia. While
there, she learns the real cause of her parents' deaths, which
takes her on a trail that leads from coast to coast--and ultimately,
all the way to the White House.
And in The Merging, Brenda Carnegie, a
programmer, is accused of a double homicide that she didn't commit,
and now in order to escape trial and a possible death sentence,
she must find the real killer--before he finds her.
|
| Q: |
If you had one piece of advice to unpublished
writers, what would it be? |
| A: |
Stay with it. Don't give up. |