Even TSTL (Too Stupid to Live) heroines subscribe to Love Romance Passion's RSS feed for insight on HEAs (Happily Ever Afters) ~Keira

Keira: I’ve heard that when you write that your characters occupy a large portion of your thought process and that you get very involved. It’s almost like method acting, getting drawn in so far it’s hard to separate yourself from the character. Do you feel this style of writing has affected how well your writing is received by critics and readers?

Lisa:  Well, the truth is that when I “go deep” into my characters, it’s only while writing; not during my non-working hours, and trust me, I can always separate myself from my characters as they are so NOT like me! (Thank goodness!)  As for being well received, I think it’s the final product that counts.  The book itself is what the readers and critics see, not the method of writing.  All I really know is that it works for me.

Keira: Is it something you have to work on or does it come naturally to you?

Lisa: Oh, this is the only way I can write.  I’ve tried different methods, but like a broken computer, always default to what I know best!

Keira: How do you sink into it at the start of a writing day and then break off from it at the day’s end? Can you do it as easily as flipping a switch or is there a routine or procedure to psych you up?

Lisa: Hmm.  Depends, I suppose, on where I am in the book and where I am in my daily life.  I have routines, of course, and I love it when it rains, is dark in the morning, a little stormy or, conversely, when the stars shine in a dark, cold evening sky.  For me, I write much better in the bad weather or the dark of morning when I’m not tempted to be outside.  As for psyching up, that’s kind of a natural process.  Some scenes start out flat and have to be infected with a darkness or madness, or . . . for the love scenes, with a bit of erotic passion, so that the reader feels the emotions of the characters.

Keira: What do you love best about writing about romance and murder? Do you think love can last outside of such adrenaline pumping circumstances? What about letting your characters fall in love only to die?

Lisa: I love it all and I do believe that any ramping up of the emotions makes the passion of love all that more obsessive.  Of course I believe that love endures beyond highly-charged emotional times.  However, when the stakes are high, when faced with life and death, we see what kind of person we really are.  I haven’t yet had my main characters die, mainly because my readers want to know that they have a life together, or at least the strong possibility of a life together, but yeah, I kill off secondary characters and feel the remaining characters’ pain.

Keira: How do you go about your research into the minds and motives of both the bad guys and the good guys? Do you do explore a lot of websites or work from books? What ones (websites or books) have you found most helpful?

Lisa: I do research as I write, usually “Googling” as I go.  As for the psyche of the characters, that comes from knowing and understanding where the good and bad guys are coming from.  Since I create them, I should understand them and their motives.

Keira: In Without Mercy, a serial killer is abducting girls from an elite boarding school known as Blue Rock Academy. Can you explain a little about the etiquette involved? What are some serial killer dos and don’ts?

Lisa: I don’t know about etiquette.  In WITHOUT MERCY, there are a lot of motives playing out and without going into detail that might spoil the book, I don’t think this killer plays by anyone’s rules.

Keira: What’s your favorite scene in Without Mercy? What’s a scene you had to cut to make the story work but wish hadn’t been necessary?

Lisa: Oh, gee . . . I loved a lot of scenes in the book.  I particularly like the tortured villain whenever he was on the pages and I enjoyed the rapport between the two sisters, Jules, the heroine and Shaylee her younger sister who is sent to Blue Rock Academy, a school for troubled teens.  I always enjoyed being in Shaylee’s head—a weird spot!  I had written a lot of back story with one of the characters who was killed early in the book and it would have been nice to see her point of view, but it slowed the story down, so it was cut.

Keira: What makes Cooper Trent, a hero for romance readers to fall in love with and Julia Farentino a heroine to root for?

Lisa: I loved writing about Cooper Trent and Jules as they both buck the system and do whatever it takes to do what they consider the right thing; even if they have to bend or break a few rules along the way.  Cooper’s a rugged cowboy type, who has his own sense of justice.  Jules is someone who always tries to help the underdog. Since they had a relationship in the past, they already know each other and know they shouldn’t fall for the other, but they just can’t help themselves.  I loved writing the Cooper/Jules scenes!

Keira: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Lisa: Just that WITHOUT MERCY is set in the rugged and beautiful Siskiyou Mountains on the Oregon/California border at the fictitious Blue Rock Academy, a school for troubled teens.  I love writing about the area.  Also, there’s more information about WITHOUT MERCY and my other books at www.lisajackson.com.

WITHOUT MERCY introduces Julia “Jules” Farentino, who has been plagued by nightmares ever since her father was stabbed to death in a home invasion.  Her seventeen-year-old half-sister Shaylee has had more overt problems. She’s earned a rap sheet for drug use, theft and vandalism. Now, she’s being sent to an elite boarding school with a reputation for turning wayward kids around, but Jules has doubts.  There are rumors.  One of the Academy’s students went missing months ago and her body has never been found. Some say she died during one of the school’s questionable treatments. The deeper Jules digs, the more concerned she becomes.

Once enrolled, Shay grows fearful, convinced her every move is being watched.  Jules manages to obtain a teaching job at the school, only to have her fears confirmed as cracks beneath the glossy surface of the school and its director are revealed. When a student is found hanged, Shay is at breaking point.  She’s certain it’s murder.  Then, another girl goes missing and yet another is found dead.  Something sinister is at hand. While Jules may be too late to stop it, she may be just in time to become the next target of a bloodthirsty killer without limits—and without mercy.

Buy: Without Mercy

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Author Interviews, J-L, Suspense/Thriller

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bad weather, broken computer, cold evening, emotions darkness, evening sky, goodness, large portion, Lisa Jackson, love scenes, madness, method acting, passion, romance, thought process, truth, without mercy