Today it is my pleasure to present my interview with author Lillie Ammann about her recently published novel, Dream or Destiny. Thank you, Lillie, for sharing your thoughts on your book’s theme and the craft of writing. For me, your words of wisdom are just about as fascinating as the book itself!

As the chemistry between Marilee and David builds, both remain fully committed to a chaste relationship. Do readers comment that the characters are “old fashioned”? How would you respond to that comment?

No one has mentioned this to me, perhaps because many of the people who have commented on Dream or Destiny consider it a Christian novel. The book wasn’t written specifically for the Christian market, but David and Marilee are Christians, and their “old fashioned” behavior is in keeping with their belief system. The book does fit the criteria for a “sweet” romance, in which the emphasis is on the emotional rather than the physical relationship, and many readers prefer this.

Regarding the structure of your book, I notice the chapters are of roughly even length. Sometimes a chapter represents a clear break in the action; other times it does not. As a writer, I’m curious about why you broke the chapters where you did.

In general, I tried to break at a point that would make the reader want to keep reading. I’ve heard that you should never end a chapter with the character going to bed—the reader will think that sounds like a good idea and do the same thing. You want to end the chapter in a place where the reader just can’t stop reading even though she promised herself she would quit when she got to the end of the chapter. Just as a writer should begin the story with a hook, she should end each chapter with a hook.

There’s nothing wrong with having chapters of varying lengths, but I tend to prefer chapters to be about equal. So I look for a hook within about a five-page range to break the chapter.

The way you combine a traditional romance with psychologically complex and, frankly, disturbing characters is powerful. Why did you make many of your characters so damaged? I get the feeling there was more to it than shock value.

I didn’t set out to create damaged characters. When I started writing, all I knew was that Marilee had a dream about a murder that really happened. I had no idea any of the characters would have problems, but they introduced themselves to me and told me their stories. I just portrayed them in the book as they presented themselves to me.

Where do you find inspiration for your characters?

Marilee was inspired by a real person. I saw a TV documentary about a woman who uses her psychic dreams to help the police solve crimes. She doesn’t dream about the actual crimes—she dreams about where a body is buried or where a suspect is hiding. But when I watched that show, I wondered, What if she dreamed about the crime itself? Marilee was born from that wondering.

All of the other characters just appeared on the scene of their own accord. None of them came from anything or anyone in my own experience. One reviewer, who is also an attorney and an advocate for domestic violence victims, asked me if I had personal experience with domestic violence. She was surprised when I answered that I hadn’t—she said David’s psychological reactions were so true-to-life that she was convinced only someone who had been abused herself or who was very close to a victim of abuse could have written the story.

I had no idea there would be any domestic violence in the book when I started writing. People who aren’t writers probably think this is really weird, but I know many other authors have similar experiences where the characters take over and tell their own story. I did do research on domestic violence after David showed up. I read a lot of first-person stories, and that is probably why I captured the psychological reactions as well as I did.

All of the other characters came to me in a similar way—appearing in the story and telling me their background.

People are often surprised to hear I didn’t learn who the murderer was until it was about time for him to be unveiled, but I didn’t.

Who are some of your favorite authors? What are you reading right now?

I always have a couple of books going at one time—one in the Kindle and one in the eBookWise reader. I read the Kindle in bright light and the eBookWise in low light. Right now, I’m reading Murder Takes the Cake by Gayle Trent in the eBookWise, with a collection of Mark Twain short stories next. In the Kindle, I’m reading Mike Huckabee’s Do the Right Thing; Laughs from Corn Country by Ron Berry is next in line.

Because poor vision makes it difficult for me to read print, I read e-books almost exclusively, though the book I just finished was a hardback that had text large enough for me to read. I’m reviewing that book, Santa’s Angels by Janet Kaderli, on my blog today, as a matter of fact.

Some of my favorite well-known authors are Debbie Macomber, Francine Rivers, Nora Roberts, and Tess Gerritsen. My clients, including David Bowles, Grace Anne Schaefer, Patricia Eytcheson Taylor & James Taylor, and James Michael Doughty, are all among my favorites. I always do a small sample edit before taking on a new client and won’t edit a book I don’t like.

I just finished reading A Village Shattered by Jean Henry Mead, and I’m interviewing one of the characters from the book next week on my blog. Some of my favorite e-book authors are Betty Sullivan LaPierre and Vickie Britton & Loretta Jackson. Of course, as a mystery lover, I’m an Agatha Christie fan, and as a Christian, I’m a C.S. Lewis fan.

OK, I’m going to stop now though I haven’t named everyone I love.

Your novel is infused with a positive Christian message. Yet, at the same time, you had the courage to depict the worst possible perversion of Christianity imaginable. How has that creative choice been received by your Christian and non-Christian readers?

Everyone has been very encouraging. In fact, Father Jerry Sherbourne, who was my priest before he joined the Army as a chaplain, called me after reading the book. He said it should be in every Christian book store in the country. He’s a big C.S. Lewis fan, and he has a favorite quote that I’m paraphrasing because I don’t have the exact wording in front of me: What the world needs is not more Christian books but more books of all kinds written by Christians.

Your negative portrayal of the media rings true in these days of rampant sensationalism and what I call financial pornography. Do you think you will apply your online experiences in future novels to show how social media can combat such things? I was really hoping Marilee and David would blog and Twitter their way out of trouble!

I didn’t set out to portray the media badly, and I know all journalists aren’t sensationalists. In fact, one of my clients is a TV reporter who is remarkably caring and sensitive. But he and his counterparts didn’t show up to tell me they were part of my story. Instead Delia Elgin and her ilk made their presence known.

The first draft of Dream or Destiny was actually written about ten years ago, before I ever heard of social media. I had to make some revisions in the story to account for changes in technology and society in the intervening years, but I didn’t add social media or anything else completely new to the story.

My next two books will be about Bonita and Tess. I don’t intend to take ten years to get them published, so I’m sure the media will be more current. I may even have to try Twitter to be able to write about it intelligently! I’ll see where the characters lead me.

A number of Word Sell readers are fiction writers and aspiring novelists. What advice would you offer them?

Never give up. Keep working to improve your craft and keep submitting your work. As I said, it took ten years and many re-writes before Dream or Destiny was published.

One study of first-time published romance writers a few years ago showed that on average the authors had been writing for seven years and had completed seven manuscripts before making their first sale. Publishing has become even more competitive since then—the number of books published each year increases exponentially because writers have so many more options today.

Some authors may want to consider the alternatives—if you can’t get in the door of the big New York publishers, look at regional small presses, e-publishers, even self-publishing. These options aren’t right for everyone, and unfortunately too many writers choose them out of desperation rather than a careful evaluation of the pros and cons.

If you choose a small press or e-publisher, be sure the publishing company is reputable and produces quality books. If you decide to self-publish, invest in professional editing and cover design. Too many authors self-publish because they don’t want anyone telling them what to do, and the books they produce do not meet acceptable quality standards.

Each author has to decide for himself if these alternatives are appropriate for him and his book.

Most of all, the author has to believe in himself and in his story.
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Lillie, again, thank you. It was a real pleasure reading your book.

Thank you, Brad. I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. I’ve had fun with this interview, and I’ll check back during the day to answer questions and respond to comments.
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Lillie AmmannLillie Ammann always dreamed of writing “someday.” A devastating stroke made her realize she didn’t know how many “somedays” she had. As soon as she was physically able, she started writing. In 1996, she sold her interior landscape company to a large national corporation and started her new career as a freelance writer and editor. Dream or Destiny is her second novel; her first, Stroke of Luck, is available as an e-book from GASLight Publishing. Lillie lives in San Antonio, Texas with Jack, her husband of more than four decades. She blogs at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye.

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