Mary Alford Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.  

A. Absolutely. First, thanks Susan, for inviting me to the Suspense Zone today. My name is Mary Alford and I’m from a very small town in Central Texas. I have a wonderfully understanding husband, two sons, and three granddaughters. My life is blessed.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A. I first realized I wanted to be a writer as a pre-teen, but I think the notion was at work long before then. For as long as I can remember, I have loved to read, but I just naturally gravitated toward mysteries and suspense stories. I devoured every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mystery I could find at my local library. Then I graduated to Victory Holt and Phyllis Whitney. When I discovered Love Inspired Suspense, it was on! I read every one I can get my hands on and I knew then that LIS would allow me bring together my love for romantic suspense and my Christian beliefs. It was the perfect fit for me.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?  

A. As I said, I started writing as a pre-teen, back when the only way to write was with a pen and paper or a typewriter. I wrote my first romantic suspense story then. It’s tucked away somewhere never to see the light of day. But It was actually many years later, after the kids were out of the house that the writing bug bit me again and I started writing once more. I went through several genres before I realized inspirational romantic suspense was my true love. I submitted many stories and received many rejections. Then in the summer of 2012, Love Inspired Suspense editor Emily Rodmell hosted a Speed dating contest. I was lucky enough to secure a time with Emily. My husband and I were in Colorado at the time of the contest and our internet service was non-existent at our cabin, so  I did the entire pitch in the parking lot of the Ace Hardware in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. I seriously doubt if Emily understood anything I typed because my fingers were trembling so much. Still, she must have liked something because she asked for a synopsis and I sent it. Then she asked for the partial, I sent it as well all the while telling myself, ‘don’t get your hopes up’. Once Emily requested the full manuscript then the wait began. But in December of 2012 Emily called to tell me that she wanted to buy FORGOTTEN PAST. I was on cloud nine. I still don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Forgotten Past?

A: Forgotten Past is about a woman, Faith McKenzie, who was brutally attacked five years earlier. Her best friend and her friend’s father were both murdered. The attack was so vicious, that Faith’s brain simply shut out the memory of the attack and her past life completely. Faith is running from someone she can’t remember. Each time she moves, her attacker somehow manages to find her. He lets her know he’s found her with a simple call. He never speaks, just terrifying silence from an unknown caller ID. When Faith moves to Hope Island. Maine, she changes her name and her identity thinking maybe this time she’ll be safe. She is wrong. Soon the calls begin again. When she meets her neighbor, JT Wyatt, Faith discovers he’s an ex-cop who now owns a security firm. JT can see how terrified Faith truly is and finally convinces her to trust him. But the stakes have never been higher with a hurricane bearing down on them and a attacker who is not afraid to commit murder to silence Faith forever.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Forgotten Past?

A: I love to write stories that have great twists at the end. I believe the reader will be shocked when they discover the twist at the end of FORGOTTEN PAST.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: I hope readers will see that no matter what you’re going through, you’re never alone. God is there with you through your darkest moments.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

A: My favorite scene takes place in Chapter Seven. JT and Faith are about to evacuate Hope Island because of the hurricane. Faith is being hunted down by the killer whose identity they still don’t know and in the midst of all this darkness and chaos there’s this tender moment between the two of them at the beach. It’s really where they discover they have feelings for each other. It reminds me that sometimes the sweetest things come from the worst moments in our lives.

Q: What inspires you to write?  

A. I find inspiration in the little moments of life that take place every day. I’ll see something or hear something, then I’ll think, ‘what if this happened or that’, and before I know a story is born.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?  

A: Before being published, it was always the great unknown. Now that I’ve gone through the process with my first LIS coming in June, well, it’s like a dream come true. It inspires me to keep writing, strive to publish a second, third, or maybe twenty more books. Being a LIS novelist has always been my goal and it is an amazing feelings.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?

A: Someone once told me when I first started that every writer has to pay their dues. I didn’t fully understand that at the time, but now I do. No one reaches their goal of becoming a published author at the same time. It takes some writers months, some years, or my case it may take ten years. But if you keep writing and learning about your craft and not settling, it will come.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?  

A. Absolutely. I’m working on a series that I hope to pitch to LIS. It is a spy thriller. In the first book, a former CIA agent who has erased his former existence must come out of hiding to find the people who are after him before they can kill him and the widow of his former team member. It’s a twist and turn thriller that has a surprise ending…my favorite.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?  

A. When I’m not writing…okay, I can’t say that with a straight face. I’m laughing as I write that because if you’re a writer you’re never not writing. Even when you’re not physically writing, you’re thinking about your stories. Anyway, when I’m not writing, I love spending time with my grandbabies. It’s amazing to see the world through their eyes. It allows me to be a kid again and I love it. I also love to read anything in the suspense genre and I’ve recently taken up playing the piano. I used to play for my church years ago and now I’m relearning. I’d almost forgotten how much fun it is. One day, I hope to teach my granddaughters.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet? 

A. You can find me at my website: www.MaryAlford.net, or on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads.

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?  

A. Only that I love hearing from readers. You can always reach me with your comments at maryjalford@netzero.com.