Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself. 
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Valerie Hansen interview with Susan Sleeman
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May 13, 2012
A. I’m multi-published with almost 50 books to my credit, most of which are Christian Romances written for the various Love Inspired lines. Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? A. I was actually just turning 40 and wondering what I’d like to be when I grew up! I had written for fun all my life but never tried to sell anything. Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break? A. In the beginning I took a college class, again just for fun, that turned out to be more about marketing than about writing. At that time I was too naïve to realize how hard it was to break into this business so I just forged ahead as if I had good sense!
Q: Would you tell us about your current book release? THREAT OF DARKNESS is a Love Inspired Suspense set in my favorite place, the Arkansas Ozarks. It’s loosely tied to two other books through shared secondary characters and location but does not have to be read with them or in any special order. Q: Where did you get your inspiration for THREAT OF DARKNESS? A: It all began with a conversation about helping children via volunteering for CASA, a national organization sanctioned by the US congress. The letters stand for “Court Appointed Special Advocates” whom a judge appoints on a case by case basis. These volunteers speak for children in court. Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story? A: That there is hope and forgiveness – and happiness – available to all, especially those who trust God and do their best to help others. Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book? A: I’m always fond of the rescue and/or redemption scenes but they don’t mean as much if a reader skips the build-up. Q: What inspires you to write? A. I am happiest when I’m working and in this case it’s when I’m creating a world for my characters and helping them overcome immense obstacles. Of course, since I put the obstacles there in the first place I can usually see how to win against terrible odds. Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession? A: IT’S HARD WORK. Worthwhile, yes, but nevertheless a lot of hard work. When I finish a scene, especially if my hero or heroine is threatened, I am literally exhausted. When they sigh, I sigh. When their hearts race, so does mine. Plus, there’s the sitting in front of a computer for hours on end – pun intended, MY end. Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started? A: Read until the structure becomes second-nature, then read some more. When I began I couldn’t have told you how or why I did what I did, I just felt it. Later, as I learned more, I realized that what had seemed so instinctive was actually learned from my reading so many books. Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now? A. Two books at once, of course. One is a historical that was due in the spring and had to be delayed so I could work on the second, a suspense that is part of a continuity written with 5 other authors about K-9 cops and their dogs. I love dogs! I also have another of the CASA books coming out in Sept. 2012. That one is STANDING GUARD. That is billed as being part of my “The Defenders” series and also fits into the stories set in Serenity, AR, in the Arkansas Ozarks. And…I still have a contract for 2 more after those are finished. Q: What is something your readers might be surprised to learn about you? A. I am very much like my heroines. I love animals, I have been known to get into trouble by trying to help someone, and I’m a crack shot with rifle, pistol and shotgun. No armadillo digging up my garden is safe. And it was not my fault I shot myself in the shin. I dropped the gun and it fired. Honest. Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do? A. I just got a new dog, a rescue, who needs a lot of training and rehabilitation. In the summer I like to hike in the woods with my dogs, fish, and have a lovely flower and vegetable garden that is sometimes neglected when I’m facing a book deadline. Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us? A. I used to write everything in longhand first, then type the ms. with a manual typewriter. If I were still doing it that way I probably couldn’t produce 4 books a year, sometimes more. I absolutely LOVE what I do and consider it God’s gift to me that I get to share my faith in such an enjoyable manner. |
Valerie has always loved to write. A strong conviction that this is what she was meant to do led her to pursue a career as a novelist. Besides extensive research, she has plenty of interesting experiences to draw upon. She’s been a veterinary assistant, teacher’s aide, volunteer fire department dispatcher, Emergency Medical Technician, bank worker, professional artist, store clerk, bookkeeper, 4-H leader, Sunday school teacher, gospel singer/songwriter, winning quiz show contestant, dog trainer, college extension-class instructor, and antique restorer. She’s built dulcimers and a psaltery, laid bricks and tile, designed stained-glass windows, roofed a house, decorated store windows for the holidays, helped pour cement, raised fancy guinea pigs and finches, driven a long-haul moving van, and was once the proud owner of twenty-three Newfoundland dogs at one time. Her advice? Don’t try that at home!
Twenty years ago, Valerie and her husband moved to eighty forested acres in northern Arkansas and restored an old Ozark farmhouse. She loves to hike the rocky, wooded hills with her dogs, watch for the wildlife so abundant in the area, and think up new ideas for her books, many of which are set in her fictional town of Serenity.
