Our interview this morning is with author Coral Russell who has written Amador Lockdown. Before we get to the interview, here is a book description of the paranormal thriller Amador Lockdown: Something has moved into the Amador Hotel. Hector, Marcos, Bev, and Tony of the Paranormal Posse are called in to either debunk the haunting or get rid of whatever is causing the problems. With the surprise arrival of Hector’s son, he tries to keep his professional and personal lives separate, but whatever is haunting the Amador Hotel has other plans.Interview with Coral Russell
1. What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?
El Paso, Texas. I wanted to use this city because I’ve lived here for many years, but I’m always learning something new about the area. I also wanted to feature Hispanic culture, but in a real way that is part of people’s ordinary lives and not just as a tourist trap. Plus, it’s a great place to live that is not given much recognition in the US.
2. What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?
Do the right thing, even if that means your loss. I liked the movie, many years ago, and that phrase has always stuck with me. What if someone did the right thing even though the consequences were unknown.
3. Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their predicaments? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?
I love people watching and taking snippets from other people’s lives, including my own. This makes the characters real, which is necessary since they’re dealing with unseen/unknown forces. It doesn’t matter that you don’t believe there is a boogeyman, but your characters must believe there is one and have genuine, logical reactions.
4. How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?
Pressure always changes a character. You have to apply pressure in order to discover what the character is really made of or how he would really act. You may talk a good game but what would you really do. Hector starts out by taking responsibility and stepping up for what is right and then having take that to the extreme to save his son.
5. In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author’s world view?
Hector’s reactions and ways of dealing with things are very close to my own. It’s fun as a writer to be able to do that and see where your philosophy will take you in hypothetical situations. Hector is dealing with a wayward, estranged sixteen year old son and he knows he only has a couple of years to get the very basics like a GED and some ethics instilled in him before he goes off on his own. Those were all mine.
6. Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? If so, why did you feel that way? Did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life you might not have thought about before?
Yes! I was so surprised but my amazing crit partners suggested at one point that I had to ruin a fifteen year old’s birthday party (quincienera) in order to add the needed tension to a scene. I felt horrible and still do that I ruined a fictional kid’s birthday party. But it made that scene and a subsequent one that much better.
7. Was there a basis for your story? A previous experience? Something else?
Yes, I went to the Amador Hotel Lockdown in Las Cruces, NM and spent the night in a haunted hotel. If you watch the show Ghost Hunters, I did all that stuff and it was a great experience. I knew it would make a good fictional story.
8. What research did you have to perform to back up your story? Any research which really opened your eyes or gave you new respect for a topic or profession?
I love research. I know, call me crazy. I have written a lot of non-fiction and that carries over into my fiction because I want the places and people to seem as if they step off the page. I went on ghost tours and did the lockdown and then researched all the topics involved in the story. Even if I completely make something up, I like having a grain of truth hidden in there.
9. What is your method for writing a book? A certain amount of hours every day? A certain routine? Are you character/story builder or an outliner or some other method?
I tried an outline and wasn’t very successful, which meant I wasted a lot of time re-writing. My crit partners were also very patient with me because I would panic and go to them for help. I have promised to be better at outlining and a writer friend shared Jim Butcher’s notes on writing. Great stuff! I’m trying out the software Storyboard as well for my next one to stay more organized. I try to write at least a page every day and I write until I’m tired or it just isn’t flowing anymore. I try to pick a couple of hours with no interruptions, but sometimes I’m writing while my daughter is chattering away next to me. I think you have to be easy-going and flexible. One time I wrote part of a story on my iPhone while I was waiting for my daughter to finish one of her after-school activities.
Follow Coral Russell on Twitter @alchemyofscrawl
Visit her blog: http://alchemyofscrawl.wordpress.com/
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