Fiction Scribe

Hello everyone! Today I have a bonus interview for you. Joy Collins, the author of the powerful novel Second Chance is my guest. Please join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

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

I am a nurse “by day�. I trained at Bellevue Hospital in NYC back when they still did that [now nurses are trained in colleges]. I’ve worked in just about every aspect of nursing in and out of hospitals but now I run my own legal nurse consulting business at home. It’s a great life. I get to stay home with my fur-babies and I can set my own schedule so it I can write to my heart’s content. I’ve been married to the love of my life for twenty-six years and we live in AZ now. Both of us come from back east but we love living in the desert.

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

I think, like most writers, I started writing as a little kid. I remember writing stories and even making my own little books as far back as grade school. I worked on the school paper and yearbook in high school. While still in high school, I wrote an episode for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, a television show popular at the time. Even though I was only seventeen, I managed to obtain an agent from Samuel French, Inc. and my script made it all the way to Hollywood. That rejection letter is still one of my most prized possessions. I had always planned on being a writer but then life got in the way. I put it aside for many years. When I reached mid-life, I think I realized that I really didn’t have all the time left I wanted and it was now or never. So, I started publishing articles and then got busy with my book.

You recently published your first novel Second Chance. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Second Chance is the story of six months in the life of Sara, a second wife and stepmother. Sara and her husband Paul live in Arizona. Her husband has a daughter by his first wife who lives in New Hampshire. The daughter is somewhat estranged from him. When it’s time for her to attend college, Paul decides it would be great if she moved in with him and Sara and attend the local university. At the same time, Sara’s mother who lives across the country with her sister in New York is becoming more senile and needs placement in a nursing home. Sara’s parents were divorced when she was a teenager and Sara was told that her father had died soon after that. But in the course of placing her mother, she finds out this was a lie. How she resolves her feelings about this while also dealing with her husband’s ex trying to win him back when their daughter has a serious accident is the crux of the story.

What inspired you to write Second Chance? Where did the idea begin?

I am also a stepmother and second wife. While my own story is nothing like that portrayed in the book, I did explore my own feelings about being a second wife and stepmother when writing about Sara. I also know many women who are in the same boat. Some of them have suffered some horrendous times because of parental alienation. The actual story started as a game of “what if� one day. What if a child was successfully alienated from her father and she found out. How would she feel? What would she do? How would that shape who she is? I think many people would assume I started out with Sara’s story as a stepmother but I really started with her story as a daughter who lost her father. But I don’t want to say any more. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot.

Your book deals with things like second marriages and issues facing baby boomers. Did you go into this book with the intention of talking about these things?

Well, at first my goal was to deal with parental alienation. But then my focus grew. Being a Baby Boomer has shaped who I am. It had to. And my heroine was a Boomer so her issues are relevant to many women today. I needed Sara’s mother to be unreachable to facilitate the plot so I gave her Alzheimer’s and that allowed me to also explore the concept of caring for older parents, something that Sara and her sister are struggling with. In fact, I have written about that topic in my non-fiction articles and I’m actually giving a talk about that next month. I think it’s an important one for women of my generation.

What character do you relate to the most and why?

Of course, I relate to Sara the most. The book is written from her point of view. It gave me a chance to interject my feelings on lots of things. But I also had fun with the Judy character. She’s a fun girl, very carefree, someone that Sara wishes she could be more like.

What is your favourite part of the book?

Hmmm…that’s a tough one. I think while they were difficult to write because of the emotion in them, the interactions with Mona [the ex] were the most fun to write just because she was such an over the top evil character. She was like the every-ex-wife. All the bad traits rolled into one. I like writing dialogue and the Mona parts were very dialogue driven.

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

Oh, there are many but I think the one who has influenced me the most is Jane Heller. I love her characters. I would also have to say Janet Evanovich and J. D. Robb, too.

What are you working on now?

I’m about halfway through my next book. It’s called No Other Choice and is about a woman who is getting divorced and through the manipulation of her aunt meets up with her ex-lover. He dumped her many years ago and she now learns why. The story explores the newfound relationship and if they are going to get back together. The other plot that runs through it deals with insurance fraud and attempted murder. It’s a bigger plot that my first one and going a little slower because of that but I like it a lot.

What are your dreams for your writing?

I want to be able to reach many readers with my books so of course I’d love to make the N Y Times best seller list. I don’t know if that will happen but I love writing fiction and that’s where I want to put my energy. My passion is writing about my generation and the many things that affect us – family, health, spirituality (my third book deals with that) – what affects us all, really. But told from the viewpoint of people my age – over 40! Whether I write fiction or non-fiction – that is going to be my focus.

When you’re not writing novels, you’re also the health editor at Women Etcetera! How do you find time to write?

Sometimes, I wonder! Well, I’m an early riser so I compartmentalize my day. I find that I’m most productive in the early morning so I do my writing then. Fiction first, then any non-fiction that’s due. Then, in the afternoon, I devote my time to my business. As I mentioned before, I’m a legal nurse consultant, so I spend my afternoons reviewing and writing up cases. It makes for a full and very fun day. But it takes discipline. I think sometimes, people imagine writers sitting in cafes, drinking lattes, and writing. I tried that. I got nothing done. :>)

Do you have any advice for writers?

Never stop writing. It sounds trite, but it’s true. If you are meant to write – and I think all writers feel that way – then write. If your goal is to be published then pursue that non-stop. Don’t give up. Do something toward that goal EVERY day. I’m a true believer in the theory behind The Secret. Visualize your goal but take the next step and take action to achieve it. Learn everything about your craft and keep plugging away. Believe it and it will happen.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you. I enjoyed talking with you.

**If you liked this interview, check out my interview with Sandi Kahn Shelton