Lorena McCourtney Interview

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

A.  On a personal basis, I’m a Christian, a wife, mother, grandmother, and a writer.

I live in southern Oregon. Married 38 years to husband Jim. I have a son and a granddaughter, two stepdaughters and several step-grandchildren. I’ve been writing for a long time.

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

A. That takes kind of a two-part answer.

I started writing when I was in about the 6th grade – horse stories! Then I won a few small writing contests in high school, and I made my  “professional” debut while still in high school. It was an article called “Dad Has Plans,” for an Alaskan magazine, about my father’s desire to move to Alaska. (Which my folks did, as soon as I got through college.)

 But none of this meant I truly wanted to be a writer. What I wanted was a big ranch, something to do with raising or working with horses. My rather cavalier attitude was, well, if that doesn’t work out, I can always be a writer.

And  the correct response to that is a big “Ha.” Because, some years later, when I finally decided I really did want to be a writer, I found it was much, much more difficult than I ever realized.

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

A. I started out writing short stories for children and teens, mostly for the Sunday School publications that were popular at the time. I moved on to confessions (do I hear some gasps?), which, though the titles were lurid, were really very moral stories. I finally decided I wanted to do book lengths, and my break came when a successful friend recommended me to her agent. My first effort with him was an historical set in France. He politely suggested I should try contemporaries, which I did, and he sold my first one to the long-gone Dell Candlelight romance series. I wrote about 24 romances for the general market, then decided I wanted to do solely Christian fiction. I did several Christian romances, but I think I’ve now found my real niche in Christian mysteries. Mostly lighthearted mysteries, but a few more intense and serious ones.

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

A. My current release is “Dying to Read.” It’s the first book in my new lighthearted Cate Kinkaid Files mystery series for Revell. Cate, desperate for a job, goes to work as an assistant private investigator. Her first assignment is supposed to be easy and uncomplicated, no danger or mayhem, definitely no murder. Instead, she finds herself up to her elbows in Whodunit ladies, a paint-blobbed hunk, a deaf white cat – and killers.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for “Dying to Read”?

A: It came mostly from the current economic situation, with so many people losing jobs and, though competent and experienced, are unable to find another job. With many people then taking whatever they can find.

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

A: That our plans are not necessarily God’s plans, and his plans for us may be much better than our own.

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

A: I especially like the scene where Cate meets Mitch Beranski, the romantic interest in the book. (And it’s not a very romantic meeting!)

Q: What inspires you to write? 

A. I don’t wait for inspiration. I’ve always looked on writing on my job – and I just do it. Sometimes the next day I undo everything I did that day, but I just hang in there until something seems to stick.

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

A: I don’t know that I ever had any specific expectations about being a writer. I do know that it’s a lot less glamorous than many people think – that authors (at least this one) aren’t jetting around the world to exotic places. We’re mostly cooking dinner, vacuuming, making the beds like everyone else. (Though one time I did do “research” in Hawaii for a couple weeks!)

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

A: There are lots of practical things to do. A couple of the most important are lots of reading in your chosen genre (or any genre, if you’re undecided), and improving your craft by studying how others do it. Going to writers’ conferences and meeting other writers, agents, and editors can be a big help. Joining American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) is a big help for Christian writers.

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

A. I just turned in Book #2 in the Cate Kinkaid Files series. It’s called “Dressed to Die.” Of course, given how long it takes a book to weave its way through the publishing process, it will be sometime next year before it’s released. I’ll take a short breather, and then I’ll be starting on the third book in the series. Book #2 is a mixture of some life-sized dolls, a big wedding – and murder.

Q: What is something your readers might be surprised to learn about you? 

A.  I collect old pocketknives, and (probably a holdover from my horse days) antique spurs and bits.

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

A. We live a couple of hours drive from the Oregon coast, and one of my all-time favorites is to spend the day over there walking on the beach. I also read a lot (my reward for when I get some annoying-but-necessary housework task done), and taking walks right here around home. Relaxing in our hot tub is up there with my favorites too!

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

A. One of the greatest rewards of writing is hearing from readers. You can connect with me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lorenamccourtney, or at my author site, on Facebook, Lorena McCourtney Author. Or visit me on my website at http://www.lorenamccourtney.com  (There’s an address on there to contact me by e-mail.) I’d love to hear from you.