Interview Carol McPhee

by

Rhobin Lee Courtright

1) Where do you get inspiration for your stories? Do you always have an idea for a story brewing in the back of your head or do new ideas come once you've finished your current project?

My inspiration for a story comes from a variety of places...it could be something I see or something I read that will bring up the question: what if? Then my imagination clicks in and carries a scenario to extremes, which I then whittle down to something saner. I have to tamp down the ideas that spring into my mind because it's too distracting from the current work. I might jot down an idea in a notebook or just file it in the back of my mind but I consciously set it aside.

2) You've written contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Do you ever have an urge to write in another genre? Which one(s)?

I have an idea of doing a non-fiction story about a young local woman who has triumphed over severe adversity to get where she is today with a loving husband and children in spite of being paralyzed from a car accident while in university. My holdback is that I'm not sure I could do it justice and might disappoint the people involved.

3) With four novels published, do you find writing easy? Have you ever experienced writers block, and if so, how did your overcome it?

Sometimes I can write, like the wind is speeding my hand and that's wonderful but not present all of the time. I've never had writer's block but I have times when the words I put on the page don't have the message I want them to carry. I type them out anyway hoping that in the many rewrites I do, some sense will eventually come of it.

4) How long, on average, does it take your to write a story? Do you have to do research for each book?

Too long, I would like to dish them out faster to get onto new characters and events. On average I would say about 8 months from scratch to finish. I do research and use the internet, RCMP, a cardiac specialist, and pump the minds of friends.

5) In your last interview you were working on a story about a scarred romance novelist. How did you get into the head of this character? Have you finished it and if so, what is your current project?

I seem to have a penchant for disfigured women because it adds another layer of inner conflict and is a change from the average picture-perfect beauty who is rare in real life. It isn't hard to get into her head because we all have flaws we'd like to shed. That story is still my current project and is about a woman in jeopardy, running with her eight-year-old son from her ex who is to be released from prison... sent there because of his vicious attack on them. She arrives on Maine's coast, hoping to find peace, but the recluse fisherman living next door and the events that unfold bring anything but tranquility.

6) For you, what are the most difficult parts of the writing and of the business of promoting your writing, two very different things?

The most difficult part of writing now is to keep the lovemaking scenes fresh since I've done so many of them. As far as marketing, I really don't like exposing myself to an audience for promoting my books. One on one is much easier, but even then it's a strain because I don't want to exert pressure. I much prefer when readers latch onto me because they've read my earlier books and have to have the next one. Money can't buy that kind of reward.

7) You've had some great reviews for your stories and won the Golden Wings Award. Do you ever experience the 'no body is going to like this,’ syndrome once you've submitted a story to a publisher or to a reviewer?

I've had enough novels accepted for publication that I'm fairly certain what readers enjoy. If my work isn't of that quality I don't submit. I'm a reader for Wings and recognize the good, bad, and needs help manuscripts. My current work is a stretch that I wanted to try and it will be interesting to me to see if it pans out. The heroine is a romance writer and her novel's historical heroine has a story running parallel to hers. The main hero is named Greg; in the historical section the hero's name is Gregory. Neat, huh?

8) What is your greatest pleasure in writing?

My greatest pleasure is to see the characters develop and come out on top of a plot that twists in unexpected ways.

9) What do you think are your strengths as a writer? Anything you feel you need to work on?

My definite main strength is my imagination to come up with the plots I concoct. I've been told many times that I have the ability to place the reader directly into the scene. I really need to work on cutting my use of adjectives. My theory is that if one adjective is good, four might be better, haha.

10) I've seen your log cabin on your web page. Your location looks both beautiful and serene. I'm not sure I remember seeing a location. Where in Canada do you live? How large a part of your location and culture plays in your stories?

Interesting question, Robin. I live in Nova Scotia and the cabin is thirty minutes from my home on a lake that is also a few hundred meters from the Bay Of Fundy. My Maritime heritage brings a love for the diversity of the Atlantic province’s coastlines and atmosphere. My husband and I have lived a year in Alberta and are about to take our third Alaska Cruise--can you tell I love the mountains? They play an important part in Something About That Lady and Natural Persuasion and I intend to write my next story using Juneau or Skagway as the locale.