“You’re right. I love you more than anything—that’s why I can’t stay. You and our son are never going to be safe as long as I’m in your world. When this is over, I love you enough to leave, Leese. You’ve always deserved so much more, and I never deserved you.” PDF pg 244
AUTHOR INTERVIEW:
First, I would like to welcome you to our blog Lindsay!
Thank you, Hootie (Amanda)! It’s great to get a chance to chat with you and your readers.
Can you tell us a little bit about you and what inspires your writing?
I am a Florida native and mother of three awesome kids (14/f, 19/f, 23/m). I’ve worked in a local high school for 25 years (18 as front office secretary and the last 7 as the network administrator, a.k.a. the computer repair geek).
Originally, when I started coming up with story ideas years ago, I did it to entertain myself when stuck with a boring task—washing laundry, doing the dishes, mowing the lawn…the everyday humdrum things that no one goes, “Man, I can’t wait until I can get home from work and dive into a big pile of dirty laundry!” Time passed faster if I created a mental movie. I’d come up with characters, situations, dialog, etc. and let it roll. :)
As time went on, some of the movies became really elaborate and I realized I needed to get them onto paper—but inspiration for those entertaining thoughts could come from just about anything.
I had a novel come to me one afternoon on the drive home when I passed a school with a triple slide. In my mind’s eye, I could see three little girls holding hands, with arms raised, and going down that slide together. By the time I reached my house, I had the whole story of how these girls met, forged a friendship, grew up, separated, and then came back together after personal tragedy (titled When Angels Fly). I was a sobbing mess! I started it, wrote about a hundred pages then tucked it into a file drawer where it is waiting for me to finish it…someday.
Heart of the Diamond (my first novel) was built entirely around the title. Kingdom Hill came to me one Saturday morning when I was mowing the lawn daydreaming about finding a buried castle. The Substitute hit me when I started pondering what it would be like to genuinely fall in love with two men.
I absolutely love it when something sets off a storyline!
Getting right into the meat of this interview, I'd like to know where did the idea for your Untouchable series come from?
When I tell you, you may immediately think ‘Twilight fan fiction’ but it’s not quite. Back when Twilight first came out (I hadn’t heard of it), one of my co-workers said she was reading a book about a vampire falling in love with a girl who smells delicious to him…so he’s torn between love and drinking her dry…lol. I remember walking out of her room and thinking, how do you fall in love with someone and want to kill them at the same time (paranormal aside)? It was like BAM! What if it was his job to kill her? Oh wow! A hitman! A really good-looking, cold-hearted, untouchable… Hmm…untouchable sounds like such a great title for a book! And that was the beginning of an idea that consumed my brain day-and-night until I grabbed my computer and started pounding it out.
Are any of your characters based off people you know?
You know we’re talking mob here, right? If I tell you then a contract goes out to shut up the leak and…hahaha…just kidding. They are one-hundred percent made up right out of my overactive imagination. But I will admit that several months after I began writing it, a new teacher started at my school and he turned out to be a real shock—he could have been my mental Micah’s double (only ten years older)! Holy jalapenos! I had to find a mirror and make sure I wasn’t drooling on myself.
The series is set throughout the coast between Louisiana and Florida, are you originally from either area? If not what attracted you to these areas for the setting?
I’m a Florida native and live within 30 miles of where I was born. I’ve been to 47 of the 48 contiguous states (it became a summer family mission to see every state when my kids were little) so I do have great firsthand knowledge of the U.S.
Gualala California, where Leese ends up in the end of Unforgivable, came straight out of my travel memories. I could picture it all! Micah stayed at the very motel we stayed in, saw Leese come out of the grocery store where we shopped, the gas station, the winding roads on the edge of the Pacific…the whole thing.
Palm Beach was picked because of the social elite. Pensacola was picked because it’s kind of remote and has Eglin Air Force Base nearby (Ryan had to attend some place with an Air Force JROTC program). And New Orleans has the nightlife, gambling, and that perceived ‘bad boy’ side—perfect for a mafia family.
Confession time: I’ve never been to West Palm Beach, Pensacola, or New Orleans. What I am though is a research fanatic when I pick a location. I use Google maps to ‘drive’ up and down roads with Street View. I search real estate listings in the towns I’m writing about (and I pick out houses for my characters). I find out where common things are such as restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, schools, retail, etc. I’m obsessive about research. I could easily become a super-stalker…hahaha!
Each book gets more intense as you progress and I was a shredded mess all the way until the end, and even then I was/am still broken. When you write heavy emotional scenes, does it make you as emotional as the reader?
My family laughs at my emotional inabilities! They know when I hit those parts because I’m a blubbering wreck. I feel EVERYTHING my characters go through (okay, so yes that means I have a huge smile on my face during the love scenes ;). I can’t read Untraceable without bawling when Kimmy asks Micah to stay with her while she says her prayers the night of the accident. I feel Micah’s deep frustration when Sharon has the upper hand. I feel Leese’s thrill when she pushes the accelerator to the floor in her car.
Hence, I’m not a big watcher of television and movies—WAY too much empathy for what the characters are going through. And you can simply forget it if you want me to watch a scary movie with you. Nope. Ain’t gonna happen. I can’t take it. Even if I watch some ancient movie like Old Yeller (about the dog), I cry every time the boy has to shoot his dog! I’m a freak of nature…I admit it…lol.
Book 3 in the series, Untraceable, was left almost with kind of a cliffhanger ending. Do you have any plans to further torture us with a 4th?
I actually stopped halfway through Untraceable and debated for a year if the event in the end would actually occur. I finally started writing again and simply let the story unfold, deciding when I got there. There is a possibility for a next generation book--Unstoppable. I have another bad boy to redeem, and I have a romance (in the younger generation) that may satisfy those readers who said they were really hoping for a Leese/Ryan hookup. But that movie hasn’t started rolling in my head yet. Right now I’m working on a modern-day remake of Robin Hood (which I hope to make into a series). After that? Hmm. Perhaps Unstoppable will consume my daydreams.
**Here is a post script on these thoughts (while I was rolling the answers to your questions around in my head). My daughter made me a CD as an Easter gift. She knows I’m eclectic when it comes to music and that some of my best inspiration comes through speakers. The first two songs on the CD set off a cascade of thoughts for Unstoppable!! First was Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC…man, stick that one in your 500-watt stereo system and smoke it (the windows in my car were vibrating)—thoughts of my newest bad-boy were running wild. Then came the deeper side—ooh, his dark and dangerous mindset flowed perfectly with the song Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars. Okay, perhaps the movie is sitting there in my head just waiting for me to hit the ‘play’ button.
Who is your dreamcast for Micah, Ryan and Leese?
This is actually tough for me. I know what they look like in my head, but I didn’t base them on any movie stars I’ve seen (and since I don’t watch much television, I don’t have a very big data base to work off of).
I’ve seen a pic of a young Orlando Bloom dressed in some kind of gladiator outfit where he had a very ‘Micah’ expression (except the hair was too long and he needs green eyes). But it is the only pic I’ve seen of him that has that indomitable stare. Zac Efron has some younger shots which make me think of Ryan…great blue eyes (if the hair was black and he was taller…lol). Leese is really difficult. I picture her with very long, straight dark brown hair (in the first book)…perhaps a Nina Dobrev type.
Sometimes I wish I had a USB port to my brain. I could direct-download the stories and the people I see…and boy would that ever make the writing SO much faster…no typos! But herein lies the truly great part about books: your imagination! The author gives you the parameters, and you mentally customize the image of that person to suit your thoughts about them. My perfect Micah may look different from your perfect Micah…they would be close in height, hair, muscles, and eye color, but still different.
I ask this question a lot only because I'm curious what an author would say. If you could Rewrite ANY book out there, what would it be and what would change/remove?
Here is another quirk about me, I don’t read a lot for my own pleasure. Now before you gasp and go, “What the hell?!” Let me clarify; I read every night to my kids as they were growing up…and we didn’t pick easy stuff. I remember reading Jack London’s original White Fang and Call of the Wild to my son when he was about six, and thinking, “Holy smokes! Momma is getting a lesson in vocabulary and expressive, vivid writing!” Bedtime was always reading time. I guess that could be why my kids became extreme readers.
But reading just for my own enjoyment? I rarely sit down and read. First, when I’m not working my day job, I’m either writing a story or thinking about a story I want to write. I have an Indie friend who reviews tons of books and also writes novels like the wind! I don’t know how she does it. If I pick up a novel (and I like it), I get sucked in and it consumes my life until it’s finished.
I read a few Danielle Steel novels; Star is the only one I recall, and the ending felt lackluster. Read Betina Krahn’s The Husband Test and The Wife Test (she’s probably my fav and not just because I’ve met her and chatted with her privately, but she digs into the emotions…and I like that…wouldn’t change a thing!). Didn’t like the ending to Gone With The Wind or Titanic (the movie), but would never touch those endings…just too iconic.
I read one of the very popular ones on the chart right now. I’m not going to say which one it is because my hat is off to the author for making the NYT best seller list regardless of how I felt about the story. I thought the main male character was sleazy with his sex life, and I couldn’t take the female character’s repetitive bounce between in love and out of love. I made it half way and then skipped straight to the end.
I did eventually read the Twilight series. I will admit to skimming quite a bit after book one, not because it was bad or anything, but I was jonesing for a bedroom fix (I forgot it was supposed to be YA, and the romance addict in me was looking for the ‘no turning back’ moment). It took four books to get those two in the sack!
I guess, if I had to pick anything to change it would be from that series. Edward would not be cold to the touch. The idea of Frenching a guy who has a cold tongue…yuck, yuck, yuck! Not to get gross here, but I told you I like to live in a character’s skin so the thought of him having ‘other’ cold body parts killed the sex for me…lol. The iceman cometh. Did I just go there? Oh yes, I did. Sorry, just being truthful. ;)
If you only had 140 characters to describe this series of your books what would you say about it?
You’re killing me with this one! If you haven’t noticed, I love to elaborate, and babble, and…what was the question? Oh <<giggle inserted here>> yeah, 140 characters, huh? Damn Twitter spaces! You realize writing an entire novel is usually easier than coming up with the back-cover blurb, right?! Hahaha! Okay, here goes:
His job is for the cold hearted—and he’s the best. She is like no one he’s ever met—or had to kill. When her innocent heart is offered, will he fall or stay…Untouchable.
OR
Annalisa meets Micah…twist, twist. Wring your guts out…twist, twist. Cry your eyes out…twist, twist. Kill that bitch, please! Happy ending?! Smack; twist! Smile.
**At least I’m hoping the reader will be smiling at the end…hey, even authors need forgiveness…lol!**
I have seen a few reviews dismissing the series due to the religious undertones in the books, What would you like new readers to know who have read those reviews?
First off, that was Leese’s character. I wasn’t trying to write religious undertones and preach. Her faith made her who she was. I love it when readers get that and accept her regardless. Micah was the first character I came up with for the series; he was to be ultimate bad. The person to change him needed to be his total opposite; Leese was ultimate good. A character isn’t rounded to me until you know what makes them tick. Her beliefs were the core of what made Leese ‘tick.’
I’ve read books with characters who don’t follow my beliefs, but it doesn’t hinder me from reading about them, or enjoying them; characters are who they are. For me the movie Eat, Pray, Love is a good example. I enjoyed the movie. Did I have a problem with her character seeking meaning in Hinduism? No. She was a character and it was her journey.
I have friends who are of different beliefs than I am—I don’t avoid them or slam the door of friendship closed because of it. I would hope that those on the fence about reading the Untouchable series will give it a chance, and enjoy it for what it is—it’s a love story (with a whole lot of forgiveness built in); not a sermon.
I am guilty of always wanting something good to come out of my stories (as much as you might not have believed it when you reached the ending of Untraceable…lol). Changing someone who is cold and seemingly unfeeling is a favorite.
In Heart of the Diamond my focus of change isn’t the main character (although she goes through hell), it’s Albert. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone, but everyone hates him (I’ve had people stop me in the grocery store to tell me how much they hate Albert…lol). Me? I loved Albert because he isn’t the ‘diamond’ in the book—he was the lump of coal who doesn’t find the power for change until the very end.
In Kingdom Hill I did something different. Usually my female characters are the force for good; men are there to be changed. But I realized life is a two way street, so my main character, Cass Henley, is the one who needs the change. Her kryptonite’s name is AJ, and boy does he ever help her change! By the way, I decimated tons of tissues when writing that one.
What are some things we can look forward to from you?
The next biggie from me will be Robbin’ Hood (yes, it’s a little play on words). I’m really excited about it (I have it about a third to halfway finished). It is about a group of men (all former bad-ass military special forces types, ex-CIA, FBI, NSA etc…hot, muscled, tattooed bodies of yum-yum-yum with attitudes) who have been hired as vigilantes by a billionaire insurance tycoon to go after and wipe out the higher-ups in the drug trade.
Riley Hooper is their leader (and my Robin Hood). When he meets Annie (my maid Marian), she has a drug dealer giving her a rough time. She is a hotel maid by day and a waitress by night, and trying desperately to make a better life for herself and her disabled son. Hot and handsome isn’t going to let anything happen to her, but she is convinced that he is just like every other guy she’s ever known—a jerk. I love proving people wrong!
In closing, As an author where would you like to see yourself in ten years?
First, I’d love for 2013 to be the year that my books really take off (yes, the NYT best seller list would be the dream-come-true ticket)! With book earnings paving the way, I’d devote myself to full-time writing. Which is funny to think of it that way because (honestly) writing is full-time right now—it consumes all my nights, weekends, and holidays.
Ten years from now I’d love to have eight or nine best sellers under my belt, and have watched several of my books make it to the big screen. I could care less if anyone knows who I am when I walk down the street, but what a thrill it would be to mention Micah and Leese, Riley and Annie, or Cass and AJ and have everyone know exactly who I’m talking about!
I want to thank you for taking time to join me on the blog today Lindsay, I look forward to more exciting and gut wrenching stories from you in the future!
Thank you, Hootie (Amanda). I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship, and that in ten years you can say, “You mean best-selling author Lindsay Delagair? Ah heck, we’re old friends. Vacationed in Ocho Rios with her last month when we did the big interview on her latest book.”
Oh and by the way, Globug and Hootie will be an internationally syndicated review column and television show by then. How’s that for a ten year prediction! ;)
Lindsay Delagair has become one of my favorite authors and I can't wait for you guys to fall in love with her too!
