Today, we’re interviewing Leslie Ann Dennis, writer of spicy contemporaries for The Wild Rose Press. Her latest book, Reason to Believe, will be released in August 2008.
Thanks for being with us today, Leslie! Now on to the questions:
Q: As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be a dentist (actually, an orthodontist). But as a senior in high school, we had a “career day” and I went to “work” in a local dentist’s office. Oh. My. Gawd. It was incredibly boring. Plus, it smelled funky and the music was terrible – all MUSAK, all the time. The dentist was filling a tooth and the song, “Feelings” came on the ceiling speaker and I started singing, “Fillings, whoa whoa whoa…filllllllings….” I thought it was pretty funny, but I realized they really couldn’t take a joke as I was escorted off the premises.
Q: What is your favorite food?
A. Being a
A: Yeah. That’s gonna be the actual WRITING part. Ha! Actually, I always have trouble with the conflict (hey, I’m a lover, not a fighter). It’s hard for me to put my characters in jeopardy, or stomp on their fragile hearts… but I gotta!
Q: How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?
A: Generally, I get an inkling of an idea for the plot, but I don’t really have a set formula. I sometimes wish I was organized enough to plan it all out and stick to my outline. I’ve tried. Honestly, I have. But my stories are always very character-driven. Whether I like it or not, the folks living in my created world tend to dictate to me what’s going to happen. I shoo them in certain directions and drop little hints about the next scene into their ears and they tend to listen to that. I usually have a beginning, a middle with a hint of what the conflict will be and an ending. But that’s my main say in the plot – the rest is up to them.
Q: What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?
A: A good imagination. Seriously. That’s the best tool I have. I figure I can write on anything, computer or loose-leaf paper – heck, I’ve written ideas on the back of a taco wrapper before. And I can always get hold of a dictionary or thesaurus – online or in book form. But what there is no substitute for is imagination to help you conjure up countless what if scenarios.
Q: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
A: I don’t know how interesting my quirks are, but there is something that I always HAVE to do when I begin on a new story. I have to come up with a title. Even though MOST of the time, the editor will change the title, I have to have a title that works for me. In my most recent story, REASON TO BELIEVE, the working title was FAMILY TREE. If you read the book, the title will make sense. But as you can see, it’s not really romantic or even alluring. Reason to Believe was a much better title. But back to the quirk – I’m seriously at a standstill until I can come up with a workable title on the new story.
Q: Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
A: I think every writer gets asked this question. All I can say is I’m glad I bought that idea-generating robot off Ebay or I’d be in serious trouble! Ha! Ok, I’m kidding. It’s a joke-generating robot and it’s not that funny. To be honest, I don’t have a specific place where I fish for ideas, they just come to me when I’m reading the newspaper, surfing the web, or eavesdropping on a conversation nearby (yeah, I’m not above listening in on the juicy stuff if you’re loud enough to share it with me – LOL). The idea for REASON TO BELIEVE came from an insert that fell out of a Genealogy magazine. The card was offering to sell a tree that would be planted in your (or a loved one’s) honor, on the land of a Scottish castle. The idea just took off from there. I guess you just have to be open to receiving ideas in any form and think how you could use it to your advantage – or rather to your hero and heroine’s advantage.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not writing?
A: My husband and I tend to get lost in online games (World of Warcraft, Everquest II, Vanguard, Dark Age of Camelot, etc). It’s a vice… but it’s fun and I’m addicted.
Q: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
A: Without question it would be Sandra Canfield (also wrote as Karen Keast). She wrote for Harlequin and Silhouette in the late 80s through the 90s. She lived in the same town as me and would invite me over to critique my work and help me with my writing. She was an awesome writer, evoking beautiful imagery and emotion in her stories. It seemed to come so easily to her. No one would have known from her writing that she had debilitating arthritis, so bad her hands curled into balls and she had to dictate her later manuscripts. Sadly, I lost touch with this wonderful woman and had just located her when her husband told me she was in failing health. Sandra died about a month after I’d tried to reconnect, but her health was so bad she couldn’t talk or take visitors. She was so talented and such a sweet person.
Q: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
A: This group of talented writers right here. RWU! This is my refuge. I can hide out here, or brainstorm or just gab with folks I trust. I’m never afraid to ask a stupid question or to put my sometimes cock-eyed story ideas out there for them to give me their opinions. This is my home away from home.
Q: What was the first romance book/story you remember reading?
A: The first one I remember reading was an old Harlequin my 7th Grade BFF and I filched from her mother’s nightstand. I wish I could remember the name, but gads, it’s so long ago it’s not even traceable. I remember it had triplets in it and the hero was a Greek Millionaire (weren’t they all back then?) It was called the
Q: Do you ever fall in love with your hero?
A: That would be a big, honkin’ YES! Every single one. Not only do I fall in love with my heroes, but most of the heroes from other books I’ve read too. Creating hunky heroes is one of the most rewarding parts of writing a romance – where else can you create the perfect man? It’s no wonder readers and writers alike fall hard for these men!
Q: What is your favorite book outside of the romance genre?
A: WHAT DREAMS MAY COME by Richard Matheson. This is such an awesome book. I didn’t care for the movie AT ALL – but the book, whew... what a ride. I highly recommend it.
posted by Leslie Ann Dennis at 4:19 PM
What a great interview! I always thought you were shrouded in mystery and suspiciously alluring, and it just goes to show I was half right (as usual). ;)