Avalon Books - Author! Author!


	Read some interviews from past editions:
		Zelda Benjamin April, 2008
		Shirley Marks December, 2007
		Donna Wright December, 2007
		Carolyn Brown August, 2007
		Roni Denholtz June, 2007
		Tara Randel April, 2007
		Sydell Voeller February, 2007
		Sheila Robins December, 2006
		Ann Holt October, 2006
		Cynthia Danielewski July, 2006
		Jane McBride Choate March, 2006
		Kathryn Meyer Griffith January, 2006
		Mel Taylor November, 2005
		Kathleen Fuller September, 2005
		Tracey J. Lyons July, 2005
		Ludima Gus Burton May, 2005
		Holly Jacobs March, 2005
		Sandra D. Bricker January, 2005
		Kathryn Quick November, 2004
		Cheri Jetton September, 2004
		Heather S. Webber July, 2004
		Karl Fieldhouse May, 2004
		Shelley Galloway March, 2004
		Ilsa Mayr January, 2004
		Kathy Carmichael November, 2003
		Dorothy P. O'Neill July, 2003
		Patricia DeGroot March, 2003
		Nancy J. Parra January, 2003
		Barbara Meyers November, 2002
		Christine Bush September, 2002
		Debby Mayne July, 2002
		Jean C. Gordon May, 2002
		Charles E. Friend March, 2002
		Norma Seely January, 2002
		Glen Ebisch November, 2001
		Gina Cresse September, 2001
		John Paxson July, 2001
		Terri Alcock May, 2001
		Clifford Blair March, 2001
		Amanda Harte January, 2001
		Kent Conwell November, 2000
		Carolyn Brown September, 2000
		Annette Mahon July, 2000
		Marjorie McGinley May, 2000
		Jack Lewis March, 2000
		Amanda Harte January, 2000
		Joyce and Jim Lavene November, 1999
	Return to the current Author! Author! interview:
		S.J. Stewart April, 2008


Author! Author!: May, 2003
Click on images to learn more about these books. An Interview with Joani Ascher


Where do you get your ideas for the Wally Morris series?
	Some of my ideas come from dreams. The idea for Vengeance Beyond Reason was a dream about a college student being assaulted just after someone said, “I’m not Leslie.” With a few modifications, and a deadlier crime, I had my mystery. The second book, Vengeance Tastes Sweet, was inspired by an actual, albeit less serious incident, that triggered my imagination. I asked myself “What if?” and “Who?” and the story quickly developed.
Wally is an unusual name, and Voltairine, Wally’s real name, is even more unusual. How did you choose it?
	She is named for my lovely neighbor whom I admired very much. She was a wonderful lady who was still taking college courses when she was over ninety. Her real name was Voltairine, but people called her Wally.
How did you start writing?
	I suppose I am a natural story teller, even for every day occurrences. No event was too minor to relate, with full color, drama, and humor. I used to write about many episodes in long letters to friends and in essays. News stories caused me to ask myself how people could make the choices they do and to wonder what would happen if they chose a different path. I combined that with all the elements of story telling and I was set to write fiction.
It can be very frustrating to be a writer. How do you deal with that?
	It isn’t as if I can stop. Scenes start coming into my head and I have no choice but to write them. Until I do, they just replay over and over, like in Groundhog Day. I can’t get any sleep. I had to get a pen with a light, so I can jot down my thoughts in the middle of the night. Sticking with writing is the best way to make it better and persistence is the only way to break into print. Until then, even if the only person you satisfy is yourself, you’re still ahead of the game.
What is most unexpected about your writing?
	People are surprised that I have all these ideas and conjure up these characters. It’s not that unusual, every writer does it, but I guess no one expected it of me. I get a big kick out of it when people tell me how much they liked a book or the way I looked at an event or person. Also, although what I write is truly fiction, set in a fictional town, I have heard that people have been driving around my town trying to figure out where my fictional events might have happened.
You mentioned in your bio that your family raises Seeing Eye^® puppies. How do you manage to get any work done with a little puppy around?
	I really meant it when I said I get a lot of work done with a puppy asleep on my foot. I tend to stay right where I am (at the computer) so that I don’t wake the puppy.
Will you continue the Wally Morris mystery series?
	I have promised Avalon at least two more—Vengeance Cuts Loose and Vengeance On High. Wally is a great character, whose caring nature makes up for her tendency to meddle, and she is very smart. How else could she solve those murders? I’d love to hear from other writers and readers. Please visit me at my website: www.JoaniAscher.com.