Interview with the Stiletto Girls

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Please welcome the Stiletto Girls to the blog today for a fun interview.

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What inspired this story?

CDR – The Stiletto Girls looked forward to writing Stilettos in the South because we all three grew up in the South.  We each took a memory from our childhood and developed a story around the memory.  It was fun to relive times we thought we had forgotten.

MR –  Yes, our fans kept asking us to write about them.  So it was just easy to do something from the South, since, as Deanne said, all three of us grew up there.

GW –  It was wonderful to relive memories with these two.  They’re just a hoot.

Do you have a favorite scene or character from the book?

CDR – My favorite scene from my story Twilight Beach is the opening scene.  It was fun to set it back at one place which played such an important part in my childhood.  I loved it.

MR –  I would be hard to choose one scene or one character.  Not only do I like all of mine but I like all of Deanne’s and Glenna’s, too. 

GW –  Well, let’s see – I like them all.  I especially like my character Jason Storm from my story “River Rescue.” He’s just a rugged, handsome man and I like that.

Was there anything particularly challenging about writing this?

CDR – The timeline was difficult because Twilight Beach was filled in and turned into a housing addition after I graduated from high school.  I had to make the timeline of the story work around that. 

MR – Ending the story.  I always want to keep my characters alive.  I just hate to write “The End.”

GW –  I was writing from an article Maggie had sent me.  I just had to make it fit into my characters’ world.

How did it compare to writing your other books?

CDR – I’ve enjoyed writing all my stories included in the books in The Stiletto Series.  Once we decide on a theme for the stories, they fall into place.  I’ve also enjoyed writing my own books.  There is something very special about seeing your name as author of a book.

MR –  Each story is different.  That’s what our fans love about The Stiletto Series.  They’re short, fast reads.  I write individually, too, in addition to writing as one of “The Stiletto Girls.”  As Deanne said, once we decided on the theme everything else just falls into place and we start writing.

GW –  I’m a relative newbie.  I love writing as one of “The Stiletto Girls.”  I’m also working on my own book which will be different from the ones I write with Maggie and Deanne.

 

If your heroine had a theme song what would it be?

CDR – I’m not sure I would have a theme song for any of my heroines.

MR –  All of my heroines are so different I don’t think one song would fit.

GW –  Not sure they have one.

What character gave you the toughest time to write in the book?

CDR – My hero, Colt Matthews, in Cowboy Temptation ~ Colt and Cassy.  He started out as my ‘bad guy’ and turned into the hero.  I even tried to kill him off in one scene and he wouldn’t die.  I guess you can say he was the winner of that battle.

MR –  They all give me fits at one point or another.  I killed off one of my heroes right smack dab in the middle of the book.  Had to go back and rethink that one!

GW – I think they all give me a little trouble in the beginning, before I really get to know them.

Which character is most like you or unlike you?

CDR – I like to think all my heroines have some of my characteristics.  I like to write a strong woman with a huge capacity to love, but don’t cross her.

MR –  I’m like Deanne on this one.  I think they all have some part of me.  Probably only recognizable to myself.

GW –  I think every character has part of their writer in them.  Maybe not necessarily intentionally but I think we put our own emotions and lives into them a piece at a time.

Any chance of a sequel or a spin-off with one of the other characters?

CDR – probably not in The Stiletto Series, but I am planning a sequel to Cowboy Temptation ~ Colt and Cassy. 

MR –  There’s always that possibility.

GW –  I like to start fresh with new characters, new places, new lives so I don’t think there will be, but you just never know.

Who would your ideal cast be if a movie was made?

CDR – I don’t know that I could pick an ideal cast.  In my story from Venus in Stilettos, my hero was based on Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys.  I don’t know if he would consider acting instead of football, but he is nice to look at.

MR –  Jeremy Mooney (you can find pics of him on my FB) comes to mind.  He’s an Alabama boy born and raised.  Like my Southern Gentlemen!

GW –  Oh, honey, as long as he has muscles, I wouldn’t care!

If your book had a soundtrack, what kind of songs would be on it?

CDR – Music from the sixties and seventies, lots of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.   

MR – Anything from Alabama.  Love their songs.  A little bit of Rascal Flatts and a whole lot of Willie Nelson.

GW – Love songs.

Do you have any writing rituals?

CDR – I don’t really have a ritual, but I do need peace and quiet.  I hide in the sunroom some days wearing headphones or turn on music and shut doors.  If I am writing a love scene, I need the right motivation.  Watching Dirty Dancing or listening to romantic music helps get me through such a tough job.

MR – Not any rituals as such.  I usually wake up at 2 a.m., write til 5 or 6 a.m. then go back to sleep for an hour or two.

GW – I have to have noise.  Either the radio blasting or TV going. 

What do you like best about being a writer?

CDR – I love the idea I can create whatever I want to create.  I can create people and worlds and no one can tell me I’m doing it incorrectly.  I love the freedom and creatively writing allows.  Having someone tell you they loved your story is the best feeling ever.   

MR –  That’s easy – having written.  LOL!  I like the feeling of having completed my story.

GW – It’s a solitary job.  I don’t have to make contact with other people.  I’m more of an introvert than Deanne and Maggie.

What is your writing process like?

CDR – I am a definite pantser.  I don’t like to outline my stories, but I do love to plot.  I write until the characters take over my story and then I’m just there to listen and take notes.  I love it when that happens.

MR –  I’m a pantser, too.  I did outline one story once but then I couldn’t write it.  I still have the outline! 

GW – I’m a definite plotter.  These two drive me crazy and I’m sure I have to drive them crazy as well.  We talk on the phone a lot.

If you get writer’s block, what do you do to snap yourself out of it?

CDR – I begin a new project or go back to one I haven’t completed.  Changing stories keeps the creativity flowing but gives you a different path to go down.  I always have several projects in different stages of completion.

MR – I take a walk in the woods.  Get outside with Mother Nature for a bit.  I love watching ducks on a pond or deer roaming around.  I’m an animal lover so I take a bit of a break from being stuck inside.

GW – I haven’t run across that problem yet so I guess I don’t know.

What would your dream writing space look like?

CDR – My dream writing space would be on a beach in Hawaii in a cabana with my laptop and cold drink.  Maybe a nice looking cabana boy.

MR – I’m going to go visit Deanne in hers!  Seriously a log cabin in the woods with plenty of windows so I could see the critters that live there, too.

GW – I think I have mine already.  I live on a farm and my writing space is an office that faces some woods and some pasture land, too.

What’s one thing that’s always on your desk?

CDR – Paper and a Thesaurus along with my IPod. 

MR –  Oh that’s an easy one!  Stilettos!  I have everything Stilettos – paperclip holder, tape dispenser, bottle holders, keychains, cell phone holders.  If it’s in the shape of a stiletto, I probably have it.  My fans are absolutely wonderful at sending me things they find.  I take photos of them and put them on FB.

GW – Pictures of my family.  Paper, pens.

What would readers be surprised to know about you?

CDR – My favorite snack food is Cheese Its.  I absolutely love them.

MR – Well, a lot of the people I graduated high school with didn’t know I joined the Air Force after graduation and became a nurse.

GW – That I knew Maggie as a kid.  Oh, the things I could tell you about her!

What was the last book to be added to your keeper shelf?

CDR – Sidney Sheldon’s Memories of Midnight. 

MR –  Stilettos in the South, of course!

GW – Maggie got me hooked on Sharon Sala.  I borrowed “The Hen House” by Sharon Sala from Maggie and she’s not getting it back!

Do you organize your TBR pile?

CDR – I try, but my TBR pile is out of control.  I don’t have enough time to read all the wonderful books that make up my TBR pile.  One of these days…

MR – You mean I’m supposed to actually read the books in my TBR pile.  LOL!

GW – My TBR pile is stacked in the corner of my office and I just keep adding to it.  I read from the bottom up.

If you could have a dinner party with six people, dead or alive, real or fictional, who would you invite and why?

CDR – My Grandfathers, Grandmothers and my Dad who have all passed because I miss them terribly.

MR – Agatha Christie, Zane Grey, Edgar Allen Poe and Alfred Hitchcock because they were fantastic writers.  Sharon Sala, my favorite author in today’s world and my mom because she left us way too soon.

GW – Oh my, can I only have six?

*What’s next for you?

CDR – The Stiletto Girls have two new books in the works, Stilettos at Sturgis and Stilettos in Wine Country.  On my own, my next book Southern Sophistication will be available soon and I am also working on In the Heart of Valley.  I will have both of these books out the beginning of 2014.  I hope everyone will watch for them.

MR –  The Stiletto books, of course, plus some books under my other pseudonyms.  Also, The Stiletto Girls are having a big blowout of a book signing party in my home town.  On May 3, 2014, we’ll be in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at the Hilton Garden Inn from 10 a.m. to 2 pm. Plus, if you’re in the vicinity you will definitely not want to miss this because we have Jeremy Mooney and Steffen Hughes coming, too.  Again, you can find photos of both on our FB pages.

GW – I have a book of my own in the works plus working on the new Stiletto book.

45 Replies to “Interview with the Stiletto Girls”

  1. Yes, thanks so much for having us! I promise to tell all of Deanne’s and Glenna’s secrets! LOL! Hope everyone is having a good day so far and hopefully it’ll get even better as the day goes on!

  2. the books are great and it is a joy reading what my daughter is writing, things that come from her I would have never thought, I am excited about her new book, will be visiting her soon to see what she and the family are up too. I am proud of her work and plan to support her in anything she undertakes. My days are numbered here on earth, but hers will go on for a long time and with the legacy she is leaving, it will be even longer.

    1. I can answer this one! The three of us had gotten together and were talking about writing a book together. We found a photo we liked. The photo is on our book “Blue Jeans and Stilettos.” It has stilettos in the photo so we just decided to include stilettos in the stories. Of course, we’re stiletto wearing kinda ladies which helped a whole lot! LOL!

      We actually sat around in stilettos as we wrote, too! My home is right off a lake so we were sitting there with laptops in our laps, a fishing pole in one hand and our feet propped up on the railing with stilettos on our feet! Now we looked good!

      1. That’s a really great visual, Glenna. Thanks for sharing that. I just want to know if you caught anything and if you cleaned ’em while wearing the stilettos…lol!

        1. Mica, you wouldn’t believe what we caught that day! LOL!

          I won’t tell you which one of us fell into the lake that day but have you ever tried to get mud out of a pair of stilettos! I have.

          1. I can tell you which one of us it was and it certainly wasn’t me! You’re right Lisa, that little episode has to make it into a scene in one of our books! Maybe the title of that book can be “Stilettos in the Mud.” What do you think, Deanne?

  3. Ladies do you get your ideals for your episodes in your books from your own experiences?or do they just flow out of your own thoughts and creativities?What led yall to Iowa ?Your regular lives or is there more writers and ideals around there then in the South? lol I Love your Writings;your stories;I know i’m a guy but,I enjoy all of y’alls books and the way you write!!You keep writting,never stop!! Love everthing about all of you!!

    1. Bill, darlin’, a lot of the ideas I get I take from my own experiences. I just use a little creative liberty and add to those experiences. Sometimes I add a lot of creative liberty. Some ideas, however, simply come to me when I overhear people talking in restaurants, grocery stores and other places. Anything is fair game to a writer!

      And on moving to Iowa, I’m the only sane one in the bunch. I still live in Mississippi where it’s warm. You and I just need to talk those two into moving down here with us!

      1. Bill, ideas come from anywhere. I wish then came from experience which would mean I had led an very exciting life. My husband moved me to Iowa. Otherwise I would be living the the warm South like Glenna. We are so happy to have you as a fan.

  4. I have known Maggie since she was very young;well most of her life;and Deanne for several years,I’ve know Glenna for a couple years;they are all the best People you could ever meet,or come to know!! Love you all Girls!!Keep up the good work!!Three of the best authors I’ve ever read !!

  5. Hi Gals,
    I am joining kind of late but wanted to say I know Deanne and Maggie personally. They are very imaginative people so I know their new book will be a good read. I have it on my “to read” list. Best Wishes!

  6. Good morning everyone. I see Maggie and Deanne beat me to posting. It’s fantastic to be here on your blog Lisa. Thank you for hosting The Stiletto Girls. We’ll see what we can do to keep it lively.

    1. Thank you Birdie. I’ve heard a lot about you from Maggie and Deanne. I feel like I know all of you Two Rivers ladies.

  7. You all do fantastic work. Do you ever have difficulty deciding who is going to write which chapter? Or do you just switch off writing chapters. Not everyone can make collaboration with fellow authors work, but you seem to have made an art form of it 🙂

    1. That’s a great question. We are asked a lot how three authors colaborate on a book. After we decide the theme of the book, we each write our own story from beginning to end. We combine the three stories then decide which story deserves 1 chili pepper, 2 chili peppers and 3 chili peppers. I hope that answers your question. Thank you for chatting with us.

  8. Actually, writing the Stiletto Books together has been easy. The three of us are good friends. I’ve known Maggie forever and I feel like I’ve known Deanne just as long. We all have the same easy going style. So I guess that makes it easier for us. Like Deanne says we decide on the theme of the book first and then we each write our own story so you get three complete stories in each book. They’re fun, quick reads. You can read one and then come back later and read another. That’s what our fans like about them. Plus the fact you can pick your degree of hotness. LOL!

  9. I have to agree with you Glenna. It helps that we’re all easy going ladies. Maybe that’s because we were all born and raised in the South.

    Not only are our books fun to read but we have fun writing them, too. I think Deanne and I drive Glenna nuts with our pantser style of plotting. In other words, we write by the seat of our pants. We don’t plot the story from beginning to end the way Glenna does. We just sit down and start writing and whatever comes out onto the paper, well, our characters just take over and we just sit back and listen. Glenna is a plotter. She knows everything about her story before she even starts to write. It works for her. So we have our different styles but that’s okay. Whatever works.

  10. Come on Maggie. You and I have been friends long enough to know all of each other’s secrets. I want to hear one of Deanne’s.

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