Avalon Books - Author! Author!


	Read some interviews from past editions:
		S.J. Stewart June, 2008
		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
		Joani Ascher May, 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
		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:
		Sherry Lynn Ferguson August, 2008


Author! Author!: January, 2002
Click on images to learn more about these books. An Interview with Norma Seely

How did you get started in writing?
	Reading has always been a priority. I love books and about thirty years ago I decided to try writing one. My first “novel” was a page long, so it was immediately apparent to me that I had to work on plot development. It was also soon apparent that I was as hooked on writing as I was reading. Over the years I’ve attended writing workshops, conferences, taken a brush-up course on grammar, all while continuing to write, work part time and raise a family.
Have you always written mysteries?
	No, although my stories have always had a touch of mystery to them. When I first started writing gothics were popular. Since I enjoyed reading them they seemed the logical thing to write. So my first two published novels fell into that genre. Following that were four romance novels, still with a hint of mystery. However my first love has always been the mystery. But I was hesitant to try writing one because there are so many pieces that have to fit together. Then my creative muse nudged me into at least trying to write one. It took me a long time to become acquainted with my muse and it didn’t seem polite to ignore her. Secrets of Harbor House was the result.
Can you tell us about your latest book, Whodunit??
	This picks up again with the main characters from Secrets of Harbor House -- Annie Kirk, mystery writer and Brendan Marshall, also a writer and caretaker of the lighthouse she inherited. I live on the northern Oregon Coast and our winters are often punctuated by a succession of fierce storms. You learn to keep flashlights and candles handy for when the power goes out. There can also be rock slides and high water closing the roads. Just such a storm provides the atmosphere for Whodunit? Annie has been invited to speak to a book discussion group and also participate in playing a murder mystery game. It soon becomes evident that someone isn’t playing at murder but is intent on committing one. It’s up to Annie and Brendan to figure out who before the would-be killer strikes again. Whodunit? like Secrets of Harbor House is a puzzle mystery where the clues are presented to the reader just as they are to the characters in the story, giving the reader a fair chance to solve the mystery even before the protagonist.
What are you working on presently?
	I’ve just finished plotting a third mystery featuring Annie and Brendan. This one is set in the high Cascades of Oregon where Annie has traveled to do a favor for a friend. A friend hiding a secret with the potential to be deadly.
Where do you get the ideas for your characters? Are they based on real people or completely fictional?
	Some of my characters are made up of bits and pieces of people I encounter -- an interesting little quirk here, a memorable mannerism there. But they are in the end my creation, assembled like a cake from different ingredients.
Where do you get the inspiration for your characters backgrounds and professions?
	Annie Kirk and I share the same profession -- mystery writing. She has an interest in history -- particularly local history. So do I. Hadrian Coyle, a character from Secrets of Harbor House materialized in my thoughts but his stories were inspired by my fascination with the subtle horror of the late H.P. Lovecraft. Over the years I’ve learned that for my main characters to work they need to have a little something of me in them.