Interview

Happy Friday Everyone! Today at alternative-read.com we are really pleased to bring you our latest Friday author spotlight interview with Curtis Cooper.

Amy Romine : If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?

Curtis Cooper : Phuket Thailand. Loved the water, so clear I could see the bottom of the ship. Nothing like an island romance oreven suspense. . . with romance in it, of course.

AR : How do you come up with names for your characters?

CC : I tried going back and forth from A, Z, B, Y, etc once. Normally I just pick one out of thin air, though I have been known to use past. . . way past, acquaintances names. My work in progress uses my son’s dentist’s last name. It determined my character’s nationality too.

AR : Give a shout-out to a fellow author.

CC: I’d say Hi to VJ Allison. She is always willing to help out other authors, by making people aware of their books.

AR : What would the logline be for your book?

CC : My current story, The Reluctant Private Eye would have – A widow searches for her husband’s killer and with the help of a young, handsome man uncovers a security conspiracy while running from the law, framed for another murder.

AR : What is your favorite word, and why?

CC : Never really thought about one I would like over another

AR : Describe your writing space.

CC : My writing space is the driver’s seat of my SUV. I go to work about 45 minutes early and write before I go inside. I think I’m most creative at that time of day. Thank goodness for car heaters. Typing space is a dilapidated table with a computer monitor sitting on top of a thesaurus and a clipboard stand with a gooseneck light attached at the top. This is my spot after I get home from work. I do my chapter typing and editing in the evening.

AR : How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

CC : I’ve written 10 novels, and about to submit my first novella. I also have three short stories under my belt. My favorite has to still be my break out novel “Straight from the Heart.” I poured my heart into it.

AR : What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your book(s)?

CC : The beginning and ending often are fixed, but everything in between is fluid and more often than not, my characters lead me, not the other way around.

AR : Do you have a favorite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them so special.

CC : Interestingly enough, I have a secondary character that appears in all three of my Heart series books. She is the owner of the Oxford coffee shop. Pam is wise, honest, helpful to a fault, and treats her employees as family, bizarre as some of them are.

AR : Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?

CC : I used a torture technique that I saw in an original Hawaii Five-O episode. I’ve never let this info be known before now.

AR : Does one of your main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?

In my latest story, no. But Markie in Straight from the Heart is a very special person. I put her through some highs and one of the deepest downward spirals I’ve created, yet she came out on top. And she didn’t do it all on her own.

AR : Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?

CC : I’m working on a novella for the “Noted” folder of Extasy. On a Side Note is about a young woman who purchases an antique desk (the desk I based it on is one I own that was built by my great great great great grandfather) and finds a note inside it, causing her to want to find the previous owner and maybe the link to the one who built it. I chose the title for a reason.

AR : How many plot ideas are just waiting to be written? Can you tell us about one?

CC : I am contemplating a fourth in the Heart series. As with the other three, there will be new main characters. This one will center around a divorced woman and a new owner of the coffee shop. Pam will still be in the story, though.

AR : What do you like to do when you are not writing?

CC : We have a cabin out of town that has a creek. It’s nice to get away to. I also like woodworking, and I do some baking

AR : What is your favorite curse word?

CC : You won’t find any in my stories. I believe that there are other ways to make a point. Of course, it didn’t help when I was a lot younger and my kids were barely speaking and my son might drop something and say “Shit, Goddamn!” It got a grin out of me, but it was an embarrassing smile. I knew exactly where he got it.

AR : What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

CC : Musician. Loved the drums growing up, but had a neighbor who didn’t. The one biggest reason why I’ll never again live in a mobile home park.

AR : What profession would you not like to do?

CC : Dairy farmer. Couldn’t get past the smell.

AR : If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?