Interview with Jane Richardson

Today I’m interviewing Jane Richardson, author of A Different Kind of Honesty, now available from The Wild Rose Press. The weekend is over and today I have a fabulous guest author, Jane Richardson who’s been kind enough to answer questions about her recently released novel, A Different Kind of Honesty. In case you don’t already know, Jane is donating all the proceeds from this book to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

1. What made you decide to donate all proceeds from your recent release, A Different Kind of Honesty to juvenile diabetes?

That’s easy. My son, aged 9, has Type 1 diabetes – that’s the sort that’s dependent on insulin injections. When he was first diagnosed, either my husband or I would give him his injections, and believe me, that’s not an easy thing to do to your own child. But you just have to bear in mind that if it wasn’t for those injections, he’d be...well, let’s just say he’d be incredibly ill indeed. Over time, my son gathered up the nerve to do his own injections, and believe me again, it’s no easier watching your child inject themselves four times a day. But the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.

Diabetes is an insidious condition, one where you’d think that if you just followed all the rules, ate properly, and gave yourself the right amount of insulin whenever it’s needed, it’d be easy to manage. Not always that simple, I’m afraid. It can throw up odd highs and lows that you can’t always anticipate or explain, and you have to be on top of it all day, every day. Different meals, different routines, different activities – they all have an effect on the body’s blood sugar/energy levels, and that involves regular blood testing to make sure your levels are where they need to be throughout the day. It’s no exaggeration to say that diabetes control has to be at the forefront of our minds all day, every day. My son is otherwise a normal, healthy, 9 year old boy, but we don’t know how diabetes might affect him in the future. It’s a life-long condition, and it can lead to all sorts of complications in the future, including damage to the eyes, kidneys, and the heart. There’s no cure for diabetes – insulin injections only replace the insulin the body would otherwise manufacture for itself, but they don’t change anything else. So! – because I can’t take away my son’s diabetes and have it myself, I do what I can to help the organisations working towards a cure, and that’s why all the profits from ‘A Different Kind of Honesty’ will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. http://www.jdrf.org.uk/.

2. How did you come up with the premise for A Different Kind of Honesty?

Many years ago I saw a movie about a law-enforcement guy who worked undercover for several years. That whole idea fascinated and intrigued me, that a person could maintain two complete identities over all that time, his undercover persona and the real person he always was inside. I started to read up on the guys that had worked that way...amazing individuals, just amazing. Then of course the ‘what if...’ took over....what if you were working undercover, and you met someone and knew instantly, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was ‘the one?’ What could you do about it, what could you tell her? The answer would have to be that you couldn’t tell her the truth about yourself, not at all...but how would you handle the knowledge that you’d had to let her walk away out of your life and you would never see her again? So that’s how the character of Tony Valentino came about, and that’s the basis of the whole story.

Characters are what drive the story for me. ‘A Different kind of Honesty’ has been reviewed just once so far, by Mickey at Simply Romance Reviews. She said ‘The author has a strong sense of detail when it comes to character development, instilling each with individual and distinct personality traits that the reader can either identify with and love, or acknowledge and dislike.’ Full review here. That was a real ‘punch-the-air’ moment for me! That’s exactly how I wanted a reader to feel about my characters.

Okay, after my interview, Jane actually got another fantastic review from Night Owl Romance that I had to share. “A Different Kind of Honesty is a fast-paced tale filled with strong relationships and unexpected drama, with a fascinating plot that will leave you breathless. This story is well worth reading!” Follow this link for the rest of the review.

3. Tell us something about your heroine and hero? What are they like? How did you come up with their personalities?

I guess their personalities were dictated by their histories. I’ve already mentioned Tony’s background, and I added some other elements to his make-up – his marriage has broken up, but he had been the one to try to keep it together for the sake of his children. Now the marriage is over, he’s still caught up in the fall-out from his undercover case and can’t see his children as much as he’d like. The heroine, Maggie Lawless; she had to understand a lot of what Tony was going through, so I decided to make her a cop. But I love the idea of opposites attracting, so she’s British, whereas Tony is Italian-American. That added to their original chance meeting, and also added to their fight to stay together. Maggie is very much alone, so understands Tony’s isolation, though in her case it’s the early loss of her parents that affects her. She has a sister, but she lives far away and the girls don’t see that much of each other. So Maggie has had to make her way alone for much of her life and career. She’s reached the point where she’s wondering if her job is all she wants to do for the rest of her life, and when she meets Tony, for a while it looks like she’ll be heading in another direction. When they’re pushed apart...well, Maggie’s had so many disappointments in her life that she somehow forces herself to manage this one, too. But she’s no victim, no way – as she says at one point, ‘I didn’t quit – I took control.’ That’s Maggie through and through – she won’t be beaten down by anything or anyone. She’s strong, deep down inside, and that has to come to the fore when she and Tony are staring another separation in the eye. But I won’t tell you any more - you’ll have to read the book!

4. When did you first start writing? What keeps you doing it?

I’ve been writing all my life, off and on, with huge gaps! And then I spent a lot of time ‘writing’ on a professional basis - creative, sure, but not writing stories. Then I moved into theatre work, and that’s a full-on job. I didn’t have much time for anything else at all. It wasn’t until two or three years ago, when my youngest child was past the toddler stage, that I sat down one day and wrote out a story that had been forming in my head for a month or two. I wrote the whole thing in less than a week, and I realised how much I’d been missing that creative buzz. It’s the stories in my head that keep me writing, too, and the people I imagine. When I think about characters, they’re with me all day (and half the night!) just as much as my husband or my kids are – they’re so real to me. Mad, huh? Writers know what that’s like! I’m a slow writer, though. I don’t have as much time as I’d like, some days fifty words is all I’ll get, sometimes more, sometimes less.

5. When you first started writing, what was your biggest shock and/or realization about the publishing industry?

Hmm...you know, I don’t think much surprised me. I’ve worked in the theatre, where there are an awful lot of people all chasing after the same few jobs. It’s so often just down to luck or chance. Of course talent plays a part, a huge part, but there are an awful lot of talented people out there and not everyone gets the breaks. There’s no doubt e-publishing has opened up things enormously, and there are some fabulously talented writers breaking through that way. You read some of them and think ‘why are they not getting an agent, picked up by NYC/London/wherever?’ Not everyone makes it big in that sense, not everyone gets there, but you still keep trying if that’s what you want to do. Just like in theatre...not everyone will be a West End or Broadway star, but you keep at it because you’re doing what you love, and you don’t want to stop.

6. Where do you find your inspiration for your stories?

Everywhere! My own memories or experiences, something I’ve observed or overheard...the ‘what if’ element that can kick off from a move or another book you read. Photographs...I have a short story coming out at Christmas-time from The Wild Rose Press called ‘Perfect Strangers,’ and the whole story came out of a single photograph of an actor. I looked at the picture, the way he was standing, the look on his face, the streetlamps in the background, and bam! There he was instantly, the indecisive ‘stranger’ in a rainy, wintry Venice that the story is about. Oh, that brings me to places! I visit Italy a lot, and I have a work-in-progress based on a place in Tuscany I worked in one summer, as well as a short that’s still forming in my head, but I could take you by the hand and walk you to the square, the restaurant, the apartment right now. I’m currently writing another full-length story set in the Sussex countryside, and that’s based on a cottage I lived in a few years ago. Places are incredibly evocative...something to do with the memories in the stones, I suppose!

7. What advice do you have for new writers? What’s the best advice you ever received about writing?

The answer to both questions has to be ‘just write.’ Write something, every day if you can manage it, even if it’s only a sentence or two. Stay in touch with the story – just write. For new writers...find someone you admire and respect to help you out. If you like what they do, listen to what they have to say. But don’t be afraid to find your own way – only you will do it they way you do it! Just write - and believe in yourself.

8. What are some titles on your shelf waiting to be read?

Oh, jeepers...too many to mention, truly! I have a blog where I introduce authors, and I especially love finding out about newly published or contracted authors – I’ve discovered so many wonderful people that way, and I can’t name them all here! But they’re all on my TBR list, I can tell you that for sure. There’s nothing more wonderful than picking up a book by someone you didn’t know before, starting to read, and thinking ‘oh, WOW!’ That’s sheer bliss, as far as I’m concerned – just wonderful. In time to come, I may stop writing, or maybe out it aside for a while – but I’ll never, ever stop reading!

Thanks again Jane for the interview! Reminder: Jane is hosting a contest on her website. Follow the link for complete details. Winner’s announced June 1st!!