Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Josie Malone. Tell us, what inspired you to write your book, My Sweet Haunt?
I loved the old movie, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, with Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison, but must admit I didn’t care for the ending. No spoiler intended, but the two don’t get together until the death of Gene Tierney’s character, so I played the author’s favorite game of “What If - - -?” What if they got together earlier? How could I make that happen? Figuring out the answers became the plot of My Sweet Haunt.
How do you use setting to further your story?
Since I also love western romance, I used a former dude ranch as the setting for my story so I could include some of my favorite elements, ‘smart-mouthed kids, horses and puppies’. When my heroine, Cat McTavish wins an essay contest and moves to the Cedar Creek Guest Ranch, the last thing she expects is to discover the hero, Rob Williams, a soldier who died during the Vietnam War still living(?) there and as he says, he isn’t going anywhere. I love the humor in this book but am the first to admit that Rob isn’t ‘politically correct.’ After all, he was born in the 1940s and died in the 1960s. He’s a man of his times.
How do you construct your characters?
I start with Tami Cowden’s book about archetypes and then I usually read Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs and Love and War Between the Signs by Amy Keehn to find descriptions of diametrically opposed characters which helps me build the conflicts between them. I also go online and look for pictures of people who will fit into my story. Once I start writing, I slowly become acquainted with my characters to the point that they seem real to me, as if I’d recognize them if I saw them on the street.
How is your main character completely different than you?
Cat is much more patient than I am and not nearly as sarcastic. She’s also more forgiving. I’m not. When I’m done with someone, I’m done and I bear grudges, traits my mother says come from my grandmother who was the queen of pithy comments. She served putdowns at her Sunday dinners, along with her pot roast. Grandma never swore. It wasn’t ladylike, but insulting someone’s intelligence, morality, behavior, manners and children or mate was an art form.
The two of us were great friends to the point that I adapted her name when I began selling romance, Grandma’s favorite genre. She’d have loved my first book about a female gunfighter in Washington Territory.
To you what makes a great romance hero or heroine?
Passion. I love characters who are larger than life and live each moment to the fullest. I can’t bear “wishy-washy” people who won’t commit to a cause which is probably why I really admired Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind.
Do you prefer to read in the same genre you write, or do you avoid reading that genre? Why?
I write two young adult series in addition to western romance, so I definitely read those as well as anything else that intrigues me, but I must admit I usually avoid most literature. I had enough of that when I was in college, studying for my BA and then for my Master in Teaching degree.
Give us a brief summary of My Sweet Haunt.
In My Sweet Haunt, cobwebs, eerie sounds and creaky floorboards greet Cat O’Leary McTavish and her twin daughters when they move to their new home, a dilapidated dude ranch near Baker City in the Cascade foothills of Washington State. Her plan to restore the destination resort to its former glory hits a snag when she learns she has the ‘O’Leary Gift’ and can talk to the dead man who still resides in her house.
Former Army Ranger, Rob Williams always planned to run the family guest ranch after completing his military service. Instead, he “bought the farm with his life” when he died in Vietnam, but being dead doesn’t mean he’s going anywhere. Encountering someone who “sees” and “hears” him is a welcome change.
Cat’s determination leads her into danger when they discover an adversary wants to turn the one-time dude ranch into a gravel pit. Will a woman with a dream and a man who’s had his dreams cut short, manage to save a ranch and each other when the biggest surprise of all is love?
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Bio:
Josie Malone lives and works at her family business in Washington State.
Teaching kids to ride and know about horses since 1967, she finds in many cases, she's taught three generations of families.
Her life experiences span adventures from dealing cards in a casino, attending graduate school to get her Masters in Teaching degree, being a substitute teacher, and serving in the Army Reserve - all leading to her second career as a published author.
Visit her at her website to learn about her books.
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