Please give Laura a warm Romance Dish welcome!
Hi,
Laura! Welcome to the Romance Dish! You’ve just released your first hardcover,
FAR GONE. Please tell our readers what
they can expect from this book.
Thanks for inviting me to visit!
FAR GONE is the story of Andrea
Finch, a homicide detective in Austin who is on leave from her job when she
gets an S.O.S. call from her younger brother. Fearing something is very wrong,
she goes out to west Texas to investigate and ends up crossing paths with FBI
agent Jon North, who is working undercover to solve a murder case that may be
linked to a broader plot. Jon believes Andrea’s brother is involved.
The idea for this story came when I
was visiting an FBI office and the special agents kept making reference to
April 19, which was just a few days away. I asked what the big deal was and
they explained that April 19 marks the anniversary of the Waco fire and the
Oklahoma City bombing, and also the opening battle of the American Revolution.
The day is significant to many militia groups, so law enforcement agencies are
on alert. I starting thinking about creating a suspense plot around this date.
What scares me most about this
villain—the homegrown terrorist—is that he could be anyone. He’s from Middle
America. In this case, the character is from Texas, but this is a story that
could happen anywhere in the U.S.
What
would you like readers to understand about your hero and heroine, Jon and
Andrea?
Jon is drawn to Andrea immediately
because she is so fiercely independent. Andrea is attracted to Jon, too, but very
wary because he is investigating her brother and she knows he is using her to
get inside information. Andrea wants to convince Jon that her brother’s not
involved in a vicious murder plot, but Jon believes he is. This distrust gets
in the way of their relationship from the beginning and they have a lot to
overcome throughout the story.
When
Manda Collins recently reviewed FAR GONE for us, she shared who she had cast as
Jon North in her mind while reading the book (Thomas Gibson). Who would you cast as Andrea and Jon? Did you use any photos or real-life people as
inspiration while developing the characters?
I can see why she would think of
Thomas Gibson. I like that! Before I sit down to write a book, I have to get
some visuals in my head. I put together what I call a storyboard that is a
collage of images.... people, settings, plus maybe a few quotes that relate to
the story’s theme. For the FAR GONE storyboard I had pictures of Rooney Mara
and Jon Hamm, who remind me of these characters. But readers probably have
their own visual images based on their interpretation of the story... I love to
hear the different names that pop up.
Thank you! Personally, my reading
tastes are all over the map. I read thrillers, romance, literary fiction (usually
for my book club). I love to read non-fiction, too. I read lots of research
books about topics such as crime scene investigation, forensic anthropology,
criminal profiling, that sort of thing.
Will
you be attending any conferences or book signings this year where readers will
have the opportunity to meet you?
Yes! I’ll be at RT in New Orleans
next month, then at RWA in San Antonio this summer. I always love to meet
readers at RWA’s big Literacy Autographing, which features hundreds of authors
and thousands of book lovers. Hope to see you there!
Where
can readers connect with you online?
I’m at laura@lauragriffin.com, www.lauragriffin.com, www.Facebook.com/LauraGriffinAuthor
or Twitter @Laura_Griff. Drop me a line!
What’s
next?
I’m writing the newest book in my
Tracers series. This story focuses on Derek Vaughn and Elizabeth LeBlanc, who
first met in the book SCORCHED. Readers have been asking for their story and
I’m happy to say it’s on the way!
A question for you, dear readers! Do you like to cast real people in the hero and heroine roles of the books you read or do you prefer to let your imagination create an image?
I love Jon Hamm and have pictured him as the hero whenever I see a character described as tall, dark and handsome.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice, Jane!
DeleteHi Jane,
ReplyDeleteYes, he definitely fits the definition! :) I loved him in the movie THE TOWN with Ben Affleck.
I don't really think about any person while reading about the hero.. although I must admit if I am reading a western for instance, John Wayne or Clint Eastwood always come to mind.
ReplyDeleteNot bad western hero inspiration, Kathleen!
DeleteHi Kathleen, Thanks for stopping by! When I'm reading books I often get a picture in my head, but it's not usually an actor... just something I dream up based on the author's description.
DeleteI let my imagination create the characters for me.
ReplyDeleteI tend to do the same.
DeleteDitto! Sometimes this leads to disappointment when I see a movie based on a favorite book and the actors don't look anything like what I've got in my imagination.
ReplyDeleteI never think of particular people or movie stars. I sometimes use the cover but usually I wait until I hear how the author describes the characters and make up my own vision.
ReplyDeleteHi, Laura! Congrats on your first hardcover release! A lot of the heroes I read about tend to resemble Christian Bale. *g* (I know this will not surprise PJ!)
ReplyDeleteI too come up with my own vision once I get the characater description and read a bit of his personality, don't think of people I know personally though.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the newest release, Laura, passed on a Tracer book to my mother who's now a big fan. Oh yeah, I like either Gibson or Hamm for your hero.
Once in a while, a character's description may remind me of a real person or actor (who could be several "real people"). For the most part though, I like to develop my idea of the character from descriptions in the book. It is often a surprise to see pictures posted of other peoples idea of who the characters look like.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the hardcover release of FAR GONE. I hope the release is a big success. It sounds like a great story and one I will enjoy.
I prefer to let my imagination run wild.
ReplyDeleteI like my imagine to take over.
ReplyDelete