Saving the Mail Order Bride – Author Interview Feature

Note: Adapted with permission from the interview originally published on Lone Star Literary Life

Saving the Mail Order Bride is the second book in The Outlaw Mail Order Bride series. Is there anything with this series that gives you a different set of feels from when you published your other series?

This Outlaw Mail Order Bride series is very different from my others in that I incorporated so much more historical fact into each story, and it’s set here in the Texas Panhandle where I live. I’ve never set a book here — much less a series — where I have personal knowledge of the landscape, plants, wildlife, and weather. When an author doesn’t have to rely on books and online articles, I think it makes a story seem more authentic.

Let’s talk about the leading men in your books. Tell me what character qualities are essential?

I want my men to be tough yet gentle, to treat everyone fairly, to show kindness to the poor and downtrodden. He lives with honor and respect for women, never condescending or showing dominance over her. He’s a man who lives by a code he set down for himself and personal rules he’ll never break, no matter what. My heroes also love animals and have reverence for the land.

And the leading women?

My ladies are smart, caring, and compassionate, and take care of themselves. She’s not going to stand around waiting for a man to come along and rescue her. She’ll do what she can to get out of a situation before accepting help. She’s strong and independent, knows when to speak and when to hold her tongue. She and my hero respect people of all nationalities.

On your website, you unapologetically say you come from “a long line of poor but prideful people.” Would you say this influenced your writing?

I think every event in my past has influenced my stories. The fact that my family was homeless for part of my life is the reason I really love writing about poor people. I know how they think, how they feel, their hopes and dreams, and the things that keep them awake at night because I lived it. I was born in a tent in 1948 and didn’t move into a house until I was about three years old. My daddy was a bootlegger and Mom took in washing and ironing. I can still picture her standing over a rub board then iron for hours and hours, making fifty cents per dozen pieces. That was a hard way to make money.

 Can you give us a peek at what’s coming after Saving the Mail Order Bride?

I have a novella in a Christmas anthology coming out in October, and book three in the Outlaw Mail Order Brides in early 2020. Then I’ll publish the fourth and last book in this series, probably mid-2020, after which I’ll start a new, already contracted series that’s set around the turn of the century.

Just for fun:

1. Favorite book? Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
2. Number of books on your nightstand? 8
3. Interesting writing ritual? I have to have colored pens laid out to the left of my computer.
4. Favorite quote? “She stood in the storm, and when the wind didn’t blow her away, she adjusted her sails.” — Elizabeth Edwards