Interview Jewel Stone

by

Tricia McGill:

1) I think your pen name is very striking. How did you come up with it?

I’ll share the story behind the name when I hit the New York Times list. Until then, call me Jewel…

2) While we're on the subject of names I have to ask. Did you use Rhett for your hero in Escapade for One because you just love the character in Gone with the Wind?

No connection in any way, sorry. Rhett Porter is one of a kind.

3) In your story Rhett treks the heroine and her group down a mountain to safety. How did you research this? Do you have experience with mountain hiking?

I love the outdoors. Which is why I live on 5 acres of wooded land bordering a nature preserve. We often have bonfires in our yard and listen to the coyotes howl in the near distance. A bear trotting down our lane isn’t unheard of, and neighbors report cougar sightings more often than I feel comfortable with. Long hikes in the trails behind my house are always an adventure and deer are regular nightly nibblers on my lawn.

So, no, I wouldn’t say I researched how to bring a group of campers down to safety, just put myself in the dark green shadows of forest, rugged terrain and frigid temperatures and imagined what it would be like from there, hunting out danger zones to steer them into--of course!

4) Is adventure/suspense your favorite genre, or have you written (or will be writing) in any other genres?

I have written a women’s fiction novel, Island Promise which is currently available, and my July 2003 release, Wings of Love, is a contemporary romance. I am however working on another suspense, but am not ready to commit to one genre yet.

5) Where did you come up with the plot-line for Escapade for One?

Characters approach me first, sometimes with a whisper of dialogue, scent of cologne, flash of an expression. From there I ask myself who is this? What’s his/her story? Why do they need to reach out to me? From there it’s like a storm of emotion, scenario, action, dialogue until the character is satisfied I told his/her story and he/she can live happily ever after.

It was A.J. who first approached me for Escapade for One, asking for a hero. So I gave her one that threw her out of her comfort zone and made her crave.

6) Do you have a set routine for writing?

I spend 8-12 hours a day (often 7 days a week) on my “writing business” which includes editing, writing, promotion, record keeping, advertising, workshop presentations, etc. But no, I don’t have a time slot or daily page quota for writing. I just do it, no excuses.

7) What is your next book called and what is it about?

Stranger from her Past. A romantic suspense story about a green eyed, dark haired woman who for the past five years has been living in Canada with Pedro and Juanita Domingo. She assumed the identity of the Domingo’s deceased daughter, Lavinia, and remembers nothing of her true identity. Now, to save her son’s life, she must find a stranger from her past…

8) If your book is made into a movie who would you like to see play Rhett and Amanda?

It would probably be best if the movie producer didn’t ask my opinion. Rhett and Amanda are very real to me and picking someone to pretend to be them would be extremely difficult. It would be like getting someone who resembled my husband, giving him a script so he could act like my husband, and then asking me to pretend he’s my husband…

9) What is the best piece of advice you can give to a beginner writer?

Do it. Every day. No excuses.

10) Who or what has had the biggest influence on your writing career?

Having moved around the United States and beyond growing up, it would have to be the friends I made between the pages of books who fed my imagination and allowed me to dream.