Fiction Scribe

Hello and welcome back to Fiction Scribe everyone. Today I have a special bonus Monday interview for you.

Please join me in welcoming author April Star to the site. She is the author of Tropical Warnings and is here to talk about her book as well as her life as an author.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Star. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

It’s always great to stop by here at Fiction Scribe and thank you for taking the time to interview me. At the risk of boring readers I will keep my introduction brief, which is difficult for a novelist! I live in Central Florida with my husband of 38 years and our three Maltese fur babies. I work at an RV resort which gives me a constant flow of inspiration.

I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and moved to South Florida when I was three-years-old. Shortly after my marriage, I quit my job as a teacher of emotionally disturbed children to travel with my husband, Jerry, whose work in the construction trade took us across America’s highways and as far North as Alaska and Canada. Our wandering’s continued for sixteen years until we finally settled down to mange an RV resort near the Florida Keys. You can take the girl out of the RV but you can’t take her out of the lifestyle!

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I started writing before I could talk or walk. Really! My parents believe it had something to do with me falling on top of a metal toy typewriter when I was nine months old. With the carriage embedded in my forehead, my dad swooped me and my typewriter up and rushed me to the doctor. I was stitched up and the only long term affect was that of a writing addiction.

You’ve written the book Tropical Warnings. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Tropical Warnings is the first title in my Wanderlust Mystery series. It’s about a south Florida campground manager who is being stalked by a psychotic and potentially deadly stalker. Laura Madison, my heroine hires a PI to help her in her quest to find out who the demented stalker is.

What inspired you to write Tropical Warnings? Where did the idea begin?

Primarily I was inspired by all the crazy happening’s that occur within an RV resort! Especially in the off season months. That’s when you get the campers who tell you they were on Jerry Springer because they are half human and half alien and so and so forth. Jerry and I had one such crazy that worked for us and had been caught stealing.

He was terminated and the cleaning crew was cleaning out the trailer the campground provided for him and discovered a picture of me under his pillow. How creepy is that? That’s when the story idea began to take root. I started to think about other experiences on the road and in campgrounds and before I knew it character’s, plots, scenes, and incidents were coming full speed ahead. That’s when I realized that a series (not a book) was being born.

What character do you relate to the most and why?

Laura Madison because I see myself as a strong woman who can be taken seriously both in business and in a relationship.

What is your favourite part of the book?

I was happiest with the element of suspense I created with the stalker. Many readers have told me that they could always figure out the whodunit in a mystery until they read Tropical Warnings.

What draws you about writing mysteries?

I think its always been the essence of the mystery of life itself. I’ve always been one who tries to figure out the “whys� and “what if’s� with life happenings, world events, as well as crime, wars, and fighting. I’m always truing to solve one problem or another and since this is often times an impossibility in real life, I get it out of my system in fiction.

According to your website, you have travelled a lot. How much does your travel and experiences come into your writing?

They come into play quite a bit, along with a very active imagination and a muse that is always asking, “What if…?�

Are there any authors who have inspired you in your writing?

Stephen King, Sue Grafton, Nora Roberts, to name a few. Any writer who has gone through the agony of defeat in the sense of rejection and came out knowing what the true thrill of victory is all about is always a deep inspiration to me.

What are you working on now?

Book three in my series, It’s Check Out Time. I recently got “the call� on book two, The Last Resort, which will be released in June of 2009.

What are your dreams for your writing?

To see Tropical Warnings and all remaining titles hit the Big Screen!

When you’re not writing novels, what do you do? How do you find time to write?

I like to read (of course) and work in my yard. I also love to take long walks along the beach for this is where I recharge my soul. I never “find� the time I need to write – I make the time. Writing is something I MUST do to survive, like breathing it is a necessity for my personal survival.

Do you have any advice for writers?

Write from your heart and open a vein. Write about that which fuels an excitement and passion within you. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t. You CAN! Like anything in life, first you have to want it, and then believe you can have it, and then go for it. All the rest will follow.

Thank you very much for your time.

You’re welcome. I enjoyed talking with you and meeting everyone here at Fiction Scribe.