Roseanna is a
bestselling, Christy Award nominated author, with numerous books to her name. I had the pleasure of meeting her recently
when she taught a session at a writers’ conference I attended. The timing couldn’t have
been better—she was my next planned author interview in Cozy Mystery Magazine’s
series about Guideposts continuity mysteries. Without further ado, here’s
Roseanna!
Congratulations for
the publication of “Greater Than Gold,” the fourth book in Guideposts mystery
series, Secrets of Wayfarers Inn. I just finished reading this book and really enjoyed it. I liked the way you incorporated
a real event (the Marietta Sternwheel Festival) into your story.
The mystery in this
book was based on a lost treasure—jewelry. I know you write a lot of historical
fiction, and I’m sure that entails much research. Was the idea of lost jewelry
based in any way on a true historical fact that you happened upon, or perhaps a
story that you came across in your historical research? I did notice in your
note to the reader at the end of the book that you love treasure stories.
I do indeed! But actually, this treasure plot was one the
team at Guideposts had already come up with as they conceived the series—but I
was super excited when I saw it fell to me to write it! I do love treasure
stories and have written several books that incorporate that theme. So when it
came time to figure out the missing treasure for Greater Than Gold, I dug a bit into Southern history but mostly
used my imagination to try to figure out what treasure might have been found by
an antique elevator…and what effect it could have on the people who found it
years later.
This
mystery series is a collaborative process from beginning to end, which isn’t
the traditional model for writing a book. What was your favorite part or parts
about the collaboration?
It’s been so much fun to get to know the other authors and
brainstorm together! We created a blueprint of the inn based on the descriptions
in book 1 and what we all needed for our stories, which was fun. And I’ve just
loved the group-effort of everything from naming characters to ironing out plot
points so that they remain consistent with everyone else’s stories. It’s a
challenge, but one that has proven fun.
How
does writing in a collaborative fashion like this impact your own writing, if
at all?
It hasn’t really had a great impact on how I write my solo
novels…though balancing these books with my other releases requires a lot of dedication
and prioritizing, and I’ve been so blessed to have a family who supports me in
this busy season!
What
is your favorite thing about writing for this series?
That would have to be the friendships forged behind the
scenes with the other authors. The stories themselves are fun too, of course,
but I’ve really appreciated getting to know this amazing team.
What
is your favorite thing about the location? Have you visited Marietta, Ohio?
Studied more about it?
I have been to Marietta, though it was many years ago. I
actually applied to Marietta College back in the day! It’s only about 2 hours
from where I live, so I have a basic familiarity already with things like
climate and landscape. Google Maps has been a huge help refreshing my memory
and filling in the blanks though. (How did people write books before the
internet??)
You are a very busy
person. In addition to writing numerous books, you design book covers,
homeschool your children, and help your husband with his publishing company,
WhiteFire Publishing. Can you tell us a little bit more about your other
pursuits?
Yes, I believe in keeping busy. 😉
Between my writing, editing, designing, and homeschooling, I really don’t have
a ton of what you would call free time, LOL. But I do enjoy knitting, reading
(of course!), and baking when time permits. This year those extras have been
rather lacking as I spend so much time writing, but I enjoy them when I can!
Please tell us about
your other recent book releases, where our readers can contact you and find you
online.
My current historical series, Shadows Over England, was just
completed September 4 with the release of An Hour Unspent
(following book 1, A
Name Unknown and book 2, A Song Unheard).
The series follows a family of thieves from London into the opening months of
World War I, as they accept jobs from a mysterious man to aid England in the
war. It’s been an incredibly fun
series to write, as I learned how arts played a role in the war and explore
themes like heritage, prejudice, and identity and combine them with things like
books, music, and clockmaking.
I also just released an audiobook of A Heart’s
Revolution—originally published as Love
Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland in 2011. I re-released the paperback with
the new cover and title in March and was excited to bring it to listeners as
well.
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