Like her star heroine, Lucky O’Toole, bestselling author Deborah Coonts discovered her own hidden talent within her story. Though unlike Lucky’s penchant for solving murders, Coonts’ talent resides in her ability to cleverly mix wit, humor, romance, and murder.
1.Your best virtue as an author.
Virtue? That’s making all kinds of assumptions 🙂 Can I have two? Persistence and diligence
2. Your most quirky author habit.
I don’t create well when sitting. I KNOW, right?? How does that work. -(HINT: wine makes it better :)) However, out of concern for my liver and possible social media humiliation, I am transitioning to dictating my stories. Yes, the whole walking and talking thing is a skill but it seems to work well for me—as long as I don’t wander into any trees or out into traffic. I’ll keep you posted.
3. Your favorite quality in a protagonist.
Courage…and a sense of humor.
4. Your favorite quality in an antagonist.
Humanity. I think bad guys are much more interesting if they have a noble goal or some sort of humanizing trait. Evil for evil’s sake isn’t that interesting to me.
5. If you could ask any other author, past or present, a question who would it be and what would you ask?
Dorothy Parker—please tell me about the Algonquin Round Table and how amazing it must have been to have been sparked by the conversation with such amazing talents—including her own.
6. When you aren’t writing, you are____
Learning. I LOVE to learn new stuff. This is one of the main reasons I love storytelling. For instance, say I want to learn about wine, so I research it, meet fascinating people, and then write a story set in and inspired by that world. SO. MUCH. FUN. Works with travel too. Want to spend time in Paris…there’s a story there for sure. And, yes, I’ve done both 🙂
7. Your easiest book to write.
All of them are so much fun. Writing never seems like work (which is how I interpret “hard.”)
8. Your hardest book to write.
All of them. The fact that they don’t feel like work doesn’t make them easy. Crafting a good story that someone (hopefully a lot of someones) will want to read is always hard—but, according to Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own, it’s the hard that makes it good. Truest line ever.
9. Your ideal writing place.
A plane to Paris. Second would be a beautiful trail in the mountains. (I’m shifting to dictation. My brain works better when I move.)
10. Your favorite childhood book.
Anything written by Victoria Holt. Loved those plucky females even then 🙂
11. The book you’ve reread the most.
My own. Readers have no idea how many times a writer has to go through their deathless prose to make it sing (hopefully.) By the time I reach the final draft of a book, I am absolutely sure it will ruin my career. By then, none of the jokes have an pop, the prose appears flat, the story deathly. That’s when I know I’ve done enough rewrites 🙂 Obviously, readers will come to it fresh, and, by that time for me, it is anything but fresh. In fact, it’s pretty ripe…
12. Your favorite hero from literature.
Every strong female who prevails, despite the odds and perhaps her own trepidation, to grow…and to save the world as we know it.
13. Your favorite villain from literature.
Snape from Harry Potter.
14. The name of your autobiography.
A Woman with a Purpose but no Plan!
15. Your favorite comfort food.
I have never met a potato I didn’t like. So, potatoes prepared any way.
16. First thing you do when you finish writing a novel.
Start on the next one. The only thing that has gotten me where I am in all aspects of life is to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
17. A secret talent you have.
I can fly airplanes. Perhaps not a secret, but I have precious few talents.
18. Where have you always wanted to travel?
Africa. I LOVE critters, especially elephants. I’m dying to see them roaming free as they should.
19. One tip for aspiring authors.
Don’t stop. Keep writing; keep learning.
20. Puppies or kittens?
Puppies! I’m not a fan of feline disdain. I’d like a pet who is happy to see me and expresses it.
About Deborah Coonts
Deborah Coonts swears she was switched at birth. Coming from a family of homebodies, Deborah is the odd woman out, happiest with a passport, a high-limit credit card, her computer, and changing scenery outside her window. Goaded by an insatiable curiosity, she flies airplanes, rides motorcycles, travels the world, and pretends to be more of a badass than she probably is. Deborah is the author of the Lucky O’Toole Vegas Adventure series, a romantic mystery romp through Sin City. Wanna Get Lucky?, the first in the series, was a New York Times Notable Crime Novel and a double RITA™ Award Finalist. She has also penned a few standalone novels; After Me, a medical thriller, Deep Water, a romantic suspense, and Crushed, a contemporary romance set in Napa. Although rarely there, Deborah calls Houston home.
You can always track her down at www.deborahcoonts.com.
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