This week I welcome Pamela Wight to Reade and Write. Pam is the author of The Right Wrong Man and Twin Desires and I’m thrilled to have her on my blog! Bonus: I might even get to meet her this summer!
Tell me about your books.
I’ve published two romantic suspense novels: The Right Wrong Man and Twin Desires. What’s interesting is that the two main female characters in these books are extremely different from each other: Meredith (The Right Wrong Man) is feisty, funny, and self-confident. Sandra (Twin Desires) is shy, quiet, and unaware of her attractiveness.
Who is the audience for your books?
Originally I thought my books would be read mostly by women; however, I dislike the phrase “women’s fiction,” because women read thrillers by men – like Harlan Coben and David Baldacci – so why shouldn’t men enjoy fast-paced mysteries and thrillers written by women? Turns out that they do! I’ve had many men read both of my books and enjoy them (and write great reviews).
Tell me about the setting of Twin Desires—how did you choose it, what kind of research did you have to do, why did you choose it?
I wrote Twin Desires (with co-author Ashley Brandt) while I was living in the San Francisco Bay area, and it’s set in San Francisco and the beautiful coastal area of Stinson Beach. I ran the same streets that Sandra does in the book and visited an adorable cottage with a water view in the town of Stinson, a house much like the one Sandra is holed up in against her will.
What was the hardest thing about writing the book?
You may think I’ll say writing with a co-author, but the opposite is true. Ashley and I had such fun plotting out the obstacles that Sandra and main man Blake Worthington fought through. As co-authors, we were on the ‘same page,’ so to speak, about our characters and built an entire storyline about them, so we knew what to expect from them. But, as always, the characters surprised us and changed the plot as the suspense thickened. I think the hardest thing about writing the book was ending it – we didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters!
If your book were made into a movie, who would you like to see playing the main characters?
Emily Stone would be a perfect Sandra Eastman in Twin Desires.
Ben Affleck is a good actor, and handsome, so he would play both Blake and Alex Worthington with aplomb. I can see the film in my mind’s eye, and it’s fabulous!
⦁ Have you written any other books? And are you in one or more critique groups or partnerships?
I wrote The Right Wrong Man after Twin Desires (but published it first). I created scenes in 2-4 page ‘pods,’ then would file it away, busy with my paying job and raising a family. Finally, I got serious with finishing it and formed a critique group. We four writers met every two weeks for two hours for over a year. Taking turns, at one meeting two of us would print out and read three new chapters, which the others marked up and commented on them. Two weeks later, it was the other two writers’ turn. This critiquing was invaluable to me in fine-tuning and completing my book. I published it in 2013 as an e-book, then in a softback edition.
Do you write every day?
Yes.
When you read a book, what authors do you like best? What genres do you like best?
I like all (fiction) genres. If the book is well-written, I soak it in. As Ray Bradbury wrote in his book about writing: “Read those authors who write the way you hope to write, those who think the way you would like to think. But also read those who do not think as you think or write as you want to write, and so be stimulated in directions you might not take for many years.”
Where would you like to go more than anywhere else on earth?
At my New England writing table, with the window open overlooking forest and overhearing bird calls, I travel to San Francisco and Cambridge, the Caribbean and Switzerland, Hawaii and Florence, as well as destinations unknown.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Write. Read. Write. Read. Here at Reade and Write, I agree!
What is your favorite movie and why?
My first immediate answer is “Gone with the Wind.” I know it’s not PC now, but back when I was 11 and first saw the movie, I fell in love with the characters, the romance, the angst of unrequited love, and the reality of not seeing what’s right in front of you. I’ve watched the move over a dozen times since then, and receive the same reactions each time.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Write more. Read more. Write more. Read more.
Describe yourself in three words.
Creative. Loving. Kind.
Where can readers connect with you?
Website: www.roughwighting.net
Facebook: http://facebook.com/roughwighting
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pamelawight
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelawight
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pam94920/
Where can readers find your books?
The Right Wrong Man is available in e-book and softback from Amazon (click here for link).
Twin Desires was published in e-book form in 2014, and the book’s second edition is available as softback on Amazon (click here for link), July, 2016.
Author Biography: Pamela Wight is a successful author of romantic suspense. Her first novel, The Right Wrong Man, got rave reviews for taking readers “on an exciting adventure with lots of intrigue, unexpected plot twists, and romance.” A year later, Wight published her second novel, Twin Desires, with Ashley Brandt as an e-book in 2014, and available in paperback in July, 2016.
Pamela earned her MA in English from Drew University, continued with postgraduate work at UC Berkeley in publishing, and teaches creative writing classes in Boston and San Francisco.
She lives in the Boston area with her “right man” and hikes the New England trails while concocting her third novel, As Lovely as a Lie. Wight travels frequently to the San Francisco Bay area for additional inspiration. She speaks to book clubs in both locations. Many readers enjoy her “weekly blog on daily living” called Roughwighting.
Thank you, Pam, for appearing on Reade and Write today!
Until next week,
Amy
Reade and Write 