Back to the interviews! I have four planned for this month. First up is Debra Parmley. Debra is in RWAonline with me and is also a finalist in American Title II. Welcome, Debra!!
Q: First tell us about your book. 
DP: Desperate Journey is a western historical romance set in 1867 along the old Chisholm Trail.
Sally Wheeler travels to Texas to find and retrieve her son from the husband who stole him and abandoned her on their failing Kansas farm. She learns he has another wife and her marriage is a sham.
Rob has thought of nothing for the last seven years except balancing the scales of justice on Luke Wheeler, the man who sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
Believing Sally will lead him to Luke, Rob follows her. When she discovers this, she asks him to travel with her. She’ll stop at nothing to find her son, even traveling with a handsome maverick bent on revenge.
Through the dangerous journey, Sally and Rob learn to respect each other. Love grows. But Rob is torn. Love for Sally puts his plans for revenge at risk. If he kills Luke, can he ever win her heart? And Sally doubts her ability to judge men. How can she follow her heart with Rob when she was badly mistaken in her first marriage? She knows from hard experience men aren’t always what they appear. And she fears her son will get hurt when Rob finds Luke.
Once her son is safe, will Sally dare to trust her heart just one last time?
Q: What made you decide to enter American Title? Had you entered any of the RWA contests with this book before that? What kind of results did you get with those contests?
DP: I first heard of the American Title at the RT conference last year in St. Louis. It was my first RT conference and my first experience with the magazine. I had also entered this manuscript in the Bobbi Smith contest last year and I was thrilled to be called up on stage at the RT luncheon as a finalist. Bobbi met with me and told me I needed to start the first chapter in a different place, so I went home and rewrote it. Then when I saw the category for the next American Title was historical, I thought why not?
I can count on one hand the number of RWA contests I’ve entered and I’ve never entered the Golden Heart. Chapter contests have been disappointing because I’ve had judges say they really liked this manuscript but they had to stick with the judging sheet. It seems ironic to me because I’ve heard editors say they want something different, yet the contests sort of require everyone to do things the same way. I’m not adverse to editing, cutting and completely rewriting, but only to serve the manuscript, not a contest.
Q: How do you feel about your first sentence, etc. being posted on the web for everyone to judge? Have you received any feedback or fan mail from voters?
DP: I have to wonder how many writers ever think about their first sentence standing alone. I know I certainly didn’t. So I was rather nervous about that one. But all the judges have been kind to me. I was probably harder on myself about that first sentence than they were. Fan mail is absolutely the most wonderful thing in the world. Especially when people you have never met write to say they hope to be able to read this story soon. I’ve been thinking of printing those emails.
Q: Once you are established what can readers expect from you in future books? Will you stick with historicals or would you like to try something else? What makes your books different from others?
DP: I haven’t stuck with anything yet. So far I have a completed historical, a completed contemporary and I’m working on a paranormal. From what I’ve heard, once you sell, you need to stick with one thing for a while. So my thought up till now has been to try everything until I sell. Then I’ll follow editor and agent advice. I don’t see myself as writing in only one genre though. One thing I’ve learned is that I’m happiest working on two projects at once. This means if I’m working on a historical and going through a bumpy patch I can switch over to the contemporary, keep writing and pretty soon the bumpy patch will iron itself out. It’s kind of like trying to think of someone’s name while at a party and then on the drive home it comes to you. Sometimes we try too hard and need to step away. But it’s important to keep writing.
I’m not sure what makes my books different from others. I’ve been trying to think about what make them alike since they’re different genres. Both heroines were previously married. So perhaps one of my themes is the idea that it’s never two late to find true love. I firmly believe that.
Q: If this book were to be published, what would your dream cover be like? And where can readers learn more about you and your books?
DP: Well, I’m no expert so I would just ask the art department to do their very best and I would trust my editor. Hopefully the cover would show something about the book. For a while there, flowers seemed to be the in thing on covers, and they’re pretty, but they don’t really tell you anything about what’s inside. Of course a handsome man on the cover always catches my attention.
Readers can visit my website www.debraparmley.com where I have a new feature I call Make-believe Mondays. I’ll interview authors and talk about creating fiction.
LD: Thanks for taking the time to visit with us and Good Luck!!!
DP: Thank you, Lori, and thanks for inviting me!
