How do you feel now that the second book in the series is out?
All three of us were very excited when we got our boxes of author's copies. We absolutely love the cover. And we have nothing but the highest praise for our editor, Suzanne Brady, and the typesetter and proofreaders who worked on the book.
We were also relieved, but that didn't last long. When we were signing books at Ladies’ Night (March 31st) at the downtown ZCMI Center in Salt Lake City, some fans said they had already purchased and read Three Tickets to Peoria and were eagerly looking forward to the third book!
That sure puts the pressure on us, but it's good pressure. We’re grateful to our readers who have responded to the series with such enthusiasm.
What was your biggest challenge with the second book?
Cutting text so we could bring in the manuscript at the required word count. Based on the count our editor gave us, we figured each writer had an allotment of approximately 37,000 words, not counting the text when the characters are together and we were all running long.
We vividly remember our week at a condo in Stallion Springs, California, muttering and groaning as we counted and cut, and cut and counted, struggling to tell each character's story while keeping to the count.
Do you feel anything was lost by having to cut text?
Actually, we agree that the resulting book is better because of the "literary liposuction," as Nancy called it. It forced us to make sure that every scene moved the action of the book forward. Another criteria was the question, "Will the readers miss this?" If the answer was "No," the passage was out
Where did you get together when you were writing the second book?
We met at several locations: Nancy's home in Sandy, Utah; the Mayan Palace Resort in Rocky Point, Mexico; Stallion Springs Resort in Tehachapie, CA, and Powder Ridge Resort in the mountains east of Ogden, Utah. Unfortunately, we don't have as much time to play as we would like on these working vacations.
Have you started on the third book?
We have. We spent the last week of March 2007 at Nancy's plotting and writing, and we made some great strides forward. Nancy and Carroll had attended the LDStorymaker's Writer's Conference the weekend prior. Attending classes and talking to other writers, both published and aspiring, really got the creative juices flowing. That gave us all a jump-start.
Is this book easier to write, now that the first two are done?
We certainly know our characters by now, and that helps. But as Deenie, Juneau, and Erin enter different life stages, they have new, more complex issues to deal with. Also, new people come into their lives (some into their families) each bringing their own constellation of hopes and fears. We don't always know how their stories will affect the stories of our main characters.
Do you still fuel your creative efforts with chocolate?
Oh, my, yes! The last week of March, we purchased our favorite peanut and almond M&Ms-only these had coatings in beautiful pastel Easter colors! Nancy's husband, Jim, also brought us home a decadent chocolate cake. That was our reward for working hard. Yummy.
