Interview Dina Keratsis

by

Jeanne R. Smith

1) You speak in your real bio of being an avid reader at an early age. Did you envision yourself a novelist way back then?

Yes. As I kid, I tended to obsess over topics, which resulted in either writing stories or drawing pictures until that particular obsession ran its course. For instance, when I was about seven or so, I became obsessed with an imaginary manor called Blackwood Hall. That obsessive thought spawned a picture book or two. And the more I read, the more I wrote these lurid little tales.

I find that I have to write, whether or not I’m published (although it’s nicer to be published!). When I don’t write, I start expressing my obsessive-compulsive behavior in other ways, like scrubbing the toilet with a toothbrush.

2) One of your reviewers says you have created characters that she would love to meet. What is your most important tool in creating believable characters?

That’s such a compliment, isn’t it? My best tool, first and foremost, is my imagination. A character pops into my brain and swims around in there, waiting. I get a general personality, physical picture, and name. Characters don’t sprout fully grown from my forehead, though, so I have a couple of handy references to help me flesh them into real human beings. One of these is an article that Karen Marie Moning wrote about the journey a hero must take (I forgot the title and source, I’m afraid), which forces me to think about the physical and emotional journey the character must take to find happiness. The other is a book called Heroes and Heroines by Cowden, LaFever & Viders, a great resource for writers in every genre.

3) In Charlesgate, an element of the paranormal adds to the compelling nature of the story. How deeply do you believe in other-wordly phenomena and their influence in our lives?

That’s a tough one. Other-worldly phenomena is such a broad term. In general, I think there’s an explanation for just about everything--ghosts, the Bermuda Triangle, unexplained disappearances in the Green Mountains, all that cool stuff that science hasn’t figured out. In books, these are things that almost become another character, very much worldly, capable of possibly entering and influencing our lives.

Ultimately, though, I think we have free-will, that we make the choices that deliver us to our individual fates--“our deeds determine us as we determine our deeds,” as George Eliot said. That being stated, I think there is a greater force at work, something that science will never be able to fathom, that is vital to our lives.

4) How has the loving relationship of your parents influenced your own life and writing?

Their relationship has established my belief system. True love does exist. Sure, it gets cranky and wrinkly and sometimes pretty darn stinky, but that stuff that romance novelists write about? It exists. Maybe it’s rare, I don’t know, but I do know that living with proof of its existence solidified my respect for the romance genre and gave me a blueprint of what to look for in my personal life. So I write romance. And after kissing quite a few frogs, I found a prince of my own. No castle, though. Drat.

5) Are you disciplined with an organized schedule for writing?

Once upon a time, there was a girl that came home from work each day, exercised, ate a nutritious meal, then sat down at her Mac for two or three hours and wrote (except for Tuesdays when Buffy the Vampire Slayer made her weekly appearance). That girl strangely disappeared. So, no, I am no longer disciplined, although I try to write something every day.

6) How do you juggle family, writing and the demands of book promotion?

A constant headache, a patient husband, pints of Mayan Chocolate ice cream, and a steady stream of music.

In all seriousness, I struggle with this. The baby comes first, of course, then the job, then running the home. Keith, my husband, really supports my writing and takes on what he can so I have time to write, read or promote every day. I can’t do all three anymore like I used to.

7) In your bio you state that behind every fairy tale is fact. How much of your own experience is woven into your stories?

Well, the fact that I write romances pretty much sums it up. Romance novels are fairy tales. They inherently promise that happily ever after does exist. We all know there is no such thing. Life is hard. Romance novels are meant to entertain and are generally more exciting than real life, but the core message is true: it tells readers to hold out for the best in life. Don’t settle for less. Strive for perfection in your self and in your relationships. It’s out there.

In my writing, there are aspects of me all over the place. One of my favorite quotes is from Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague. In the book, Grandpa Beebe says “Facts are fine, as far as they go. Legends now, they go down deep and bring up the heart of a story.”

I guess that’s what I do, what most writers do. I use facts--from my own life experience or from things that have intrigued me--and make legends from those snippets. No autobiography, though! My life isn’t that thrilling.

8) Any hints about your work-in-progress? What can your readers expect?

My third book is a romantic fantasy, called Cake, a fairy tale about a girl-woman who enters another world, a borderland between our World and Faerie. It’s an identity tale, a little Alice in Wonderland and a little Dorothy in Oz. Breena has to discover who she is before she can go home again. Of course, there’s a hot guy giving her trouble along the way. The book is in its final stage of revision and will be submitted for consideration very soon.

9) Your characters have interesting names. How do you find them?

That’s the fun part. Names are so important. They are powerful and can shape a character. I choose my names early on. Sometimes, the name is there before the character, as in the case of my Charlesgate characters. Ever since reading Madeleine L’Engle’s A Swiftly Tilting Planet, I’ve loved the name Zylla. Jabe is a shortened form of Jabez, a name that appears in my husband’s family tree. It’s strong and unique just like the character. For Kicking Sideways, the heroine needed a dark, Puritan name. Cabot is a common New England surname, and I got Lucretia from a Sisters of Mercy song that was popular with the goth crowd in the nineteen-eighties. Since she doesn’t think of herself as a Lucretia, her nickname is Cree. She told me. Really.