JAN: I am pleased to be able to interview another of my fellow Canadian authors today. Sandra Orchard, welcome to my blog.
How long have you been writing and how did you come to it?
SANDRA: I started writing my first novel in the autumn of 2006. I’d been contemplating the idea for a while, then my husband, in desperation over the books piling up around our bedroom, suggested I write my own and so my journey began.
JAN: What’s your preferred genre?
SANDRA: I enjoy writing both mysteries and romantic suspense.
JAN: How and where do you write? Are you a plotter or a pantser?
SANDRA: I write on my laptop sitting in a gravity chair. I actually prefer to write longhand and used to when my daughter was still at home and would type out the pages for me. I’m a plotter, although I have “pantsed” the ending of several novels, when the villain didn’t turn out to be who I’d planned.
JAN: That’s fascinating. Where do you get your ideas? What inspires you?
SANDRA: Ideas come to me from anywhere and everywhere—while reading articles, watching the news or a movie, during conversations, while driving, hiking, kayaking and more or less minding my own business. I might see a detour sign and imagine what my heroine would face at the other end. My Serena Jones Mysteries were initially inspired by an article about a Montreal art crime detective.
JAN: I’ve often wondered where that unique idea came from. How do you research and how do you know you can trust your sources?
SANDRA: I do extensive research. Over the years I have connected with trusted advisors in law enforcement, the fire department, the medical fields, the FBI and in occupations pertinent to the characters I am creating. For my Serena Jones Mysteries, I traveled to St. Louis to explore the city where Serena lives and to visit the FBI headquarters where she works and to interview her “colleagues.” I explored numerous art museums, read countless books on art crime, authored by the founder of the FBI’s art crime team, and top art crime detectives in the UK, NYC and California, and even a couple written by art thieves. I like to have a strong sense of the motivation driving both my heroes and my villains after all.
JAN: That sounds like a lot of work; it makes the story more credible when I know you’ve done your research well. So tell me, what do you like most / least about writing?
SANDRA: I love brainstorming new stories, especially with fellow writers and specialists. And I love the research, which inevitably spawns lots of potential directions and rabbit trails for the plot to take. I even enjoy editing. It’s a wonderful feeling to know the story is done and to be able to polish it until it really shines. My least favourite part, ironically, is the actual writing. It didn’t used to be that way. It is a side effect of having to write to deadlines and be creative and productive on a schedule.
JAN: Yes, creativity and deadlines are sometimes at odds. What are your favorite / most effective social media?
SANDRA: I love interacting with readers on Facebook. I don’t really participate in other venues. I have a presence on Pinterest and Goodreads, but I don’t hang out there.
JAN: It obviously takes a lot of time to research, write and market. How do you balance professional time with personal time?
SANDRA: Much better than I used to. I used to write and/or work at marketing as much as twelve hours a day. After my young grandson’s near fatal accident in 2016, I took five months off to be with him and the family in the hospital through his recovery. Since then I’ve been writing cozy mysteries for Annie’s Attic, which are only available through mail or e-book subscription, so no marketing is required on my part. This gives me much more time to spend with my young grandchildren.
JAN: Life has a way of highlighting priorities, doesn’t it? I didn’t know about Annie’s Attic. Must go there. What are you currently reading? Do you prefer digital or print?
SANDRA: I am currently reading a Mary Conneally historical romance novel. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a historical. It’s a nice change of pace. I prefer to read on my old kindle that reads like paper (not backlit), because I can enlarge the print and comfortably read for hours.
JAN: What keeps you going in your writing career?
SANDRA: The encouragement of my loyal readers to keep writing.
JAN: What are some things you learned from your own writing?
SANDRA: As I work through the goals and motivations, flaws and epiphanies of my various characters, I inevitably examine and work through my own perspectives on what they’re learning. I’ve also learned to seek the Lord’s inspiration daily. A metaphor he inspired for sea glass in Over Maya Dead Body is a good example of a nugget of truth that really resonated with me: the sea glass “had once been an ugly piece of broken, useless glass that nobody wanted. But in being pushed around by the waves and roughed up by the rocks and sand, it was transformed into a beautiful, sought-after treasure.”
JAN: Lovely and inspirational. What is your ultimate writing goal?
SANDRA: To write stories that both entertain and inspire. I am continually amazed at the smallest thing in a story that might speak to a particular reader. Recently, it was the fact one of my older secondary characters felt comfortable enough in her own skin that she didn’t feel the need to dye her hair. It made a reader decide that she didn’t need to either.
JAN: That’s cool. Do you have any advice for beginning writers?
SANDRA: Don’t be in a hurry to publish. Enjoy the journey.
JAN: Thanks so much, Sandra, for taking the time to share your journey with us. I wish you God’s rich blessings as you continue on your way.
Thank you for interviewing Sandra! I have looked at her books before, and look forward to trying one.
Yes, Sandra is an amazing author, both in skill and determination. Motivating for us all.
A most interesting interview. Thank you.