Interviews
Heart to Heart Interview with Lisa Jackson
Heart to Heart: You're so well known for your contemporary romantic thrillers -- what are the special joys and challenges of writing a romantic thriller set in medieval Wales? And what's the research process like?
Lisa Jackson: I had a blast writing Temptress. It's a rush to write about medieval Wales and create my own world with castles, killers, crime, and lust. How fun! Of course, getting the historical part right is a trick. Fortunately, over the years I've collected tons of books on the Middle Ages and Wales, so my personal library really helps me out. Then, of course, there's the Internet, which is a fabulous resource for research. Too fabulous sometimes. I've been known to surf the Web for hours, as I get caught up in the intrigue of whatever topic I'm researching. One night I kept clicking away and ended up in a unique and kind of scary vampire site. I clicked off fast! The challenge of writing the medieval books is historical accuracy; the joy is the unique world created, the characters who inhabit it and, of course, the lack of forensic science. The killers can get away with a lot more crimes without the authorities looking stupid, as there was no forensics back in the 13th century, in which Temptress is set.
HtoH: We love the main character, Morwenna, but her younger sister, Bryanna, is very intriguing. Will you be writing a novel about Bryanna and her special gift, the ability to see into the future?
LJ: Oh, I would love to write Bryanna's story. I think she's an incredible character and practically leaped off the pages as I wrote Temptress. I loved how she grew up from a self-involved girl to her own woman within the pages -- the special vision only adds to her allure. Right now, I'm conjuring up a plot worthy of her gift and trying to come up with a killer who is a match for her. I've got some interesting twists gelling, but so far nothing's set in stone.
HtoH: Some of your longtime fans may know this already, but the rest of us want to know how and when you decided to become a writer. Was it really a fluke?
LJ: Welllll . . .. I have to credit my sister Nancy Bush with my success. About a billion years ago, in 1981, when our children were toddlers, Nancy and I had both read about young women with children putting their kids to bed and dragging out their typewriters (you know, it really was the dark ages) to make their fortunes writing romance novels. Nancy thought we could do it. I, forever the naysayer, didn't believe it. To that date we'd never read one. However, Nancy wasn't about to be talked out of it and I went along with her. Our success wasn't overnight, but it came with time. To date I've written over 80 books, and Nancy has written around 50, I think -- plus she dabbled with television, eventually becoming a breakdown writer for the ABC soap All My Children before returning to writing books. Now she's launched the Jane Kelly series of mystery novels, the first one being Candy Apple Red from Zebra Books, published in October 2005 -- the same month as Temptress hits the stands. Is that karma or what? So, yeah, the long and the short of it is, that my career was a fluke or, as I'd rather think of it, fate.
HtoH: What's coming up next? What books are you working on? And what will be published next?
LJ: My next big book will be Fatal Burn in February [2006] from Zebra Books. It's the sequel to Deep Freeze and as hot as Deep Freeze was cold. Currently, I'm working on Shiver, set in New Orleans with Reuben Montoya from Hot Blooded and Cold Blooded as the hero. My fans have been clamoring for Montoya's story for years, and in April 2006 they'll get their wish. For excerpts from these books and, of course, Temptress, or for a special view into Castle Calon, the medieval world set in the book, just visit www.lisajackson.com There's a gallery of all of the characters in Temptress and cool contests. Also you may even guess the identity of the Redeemer, the villain in Temptress.
