Sarah Varland Interview

Q: How long have you been writing and what other careers or jobs have you had?

A: I’ve been writing for about thirteen years. Before I had kids I was an English teacher, which involved more of reading other people’s writing, but it did allow me to talk about books all day, which was fun. Now I stay at home with my two boys and write, which I am very thankful to be able to do. I’m definitely living the dream.

Q: Do you write in only one genre and if so which one and why? If not, which ones and why?

A: I am only published in romantic suspense and that’s where I choose to focus most of my efforts now. I have always loved that genre, although I also read a lot of romance too, especially along the lines of fun romantic comedy (Kara Isaac’s debut novel Close to You is an awesome example of this). I used to write chick lit before it “died” (It’s not dead! I refuse to believe it!) but I feel like I have really found a place I love with romantic suspense. Part of why I love writing it is that if you read an author long enough, you’ll start to notice that they have an overarching message in their books, whether it’s intentional or not. I’ve realized after years of writing that almost every book I’ve written focuses on being brave and facing fears. Romantic suspense as a genre provides a wonderful place for this theme to play out.

Q: How does your faith play into your writing?

A: Some of my books have more faith content than others, but faith does play a large role in my writing. For one thing, I have noticed that whatever my characters are learning in their spiritual threads is usually very closely tied to what I’m learning. This makes writing a synopsis for a new book a little interesting because I’m not always sure what their faith thread is. I know it will be there, but it’s sometimes hard for me to pin down until I’ve been writing the story for awhile.

Q: How do you choose your settings for your books?

A: The two settings I’ve used in published books so far–coastal Georgia and Alaska are places that I love, which makes me want to write about them. The coastal Georgia setting came about, if I’m remembering correctly, because I was brainstorming about a new story idea on the way to St. Simons Island for a quick vacation. I’d been turned down by an agent and was discouraged, but finally starting to play with new ideas and thinking of trying again to write a story that would get published, and the drive to St. Simons really got my imagination going. I made up my fictional town of Treasure Point, set it near Darien, GA, which we drove through on that trip, and now I’ve had fun spending several books there.

Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up?

A: My characters are made up, for sure. Now and then I will catch myself giving characters similarities to people I know–the sisters in this new book of mine bear some resemblances here and there to my sister and me in aspects of their personalities (only some! Haha)–but I don’t write characters fully based on people I know, or even close to that.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release COLD CASE WITNESS?

A: Cold Case Witness is one of my favorite stories that I’ve written. The main characters, Matt and Gemma, are opposites in a lot of ways, but the struggles they go through are really similar. They’re drawn together by a case that has haunted both of their lives when new evidence surfaces and a new investigation is started. It becomes clear quickly that Gemma’s life is in danger, and while she deals with that and faces her past head on, she also has to learn to trust Matt, who is one of the very last people you’d expect her to trust, for several reasons.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for this story?

A: Matt O’Dell was a side character in my debut book, Treasure Point Secrets. I knew when I wrote him into that book that he needed his own story. When I started plotting it, I had the hardest time coming up with Gemma’s character. Matt needed a special woman, but he also needed someone opposite him to challenge him and to create some extra conflict in the story. That’s where the characters came from. The story itself came together over a long period of time–this book took me longer to come up with a good structure for than my others have–but through some brainstorming with my amazing editor, it finally turned into something I had fun writing.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: Hm, that’s hard to answer without giving away too much! Haha. I hope that readers who see themselves in Gemma and her struggles with her identity, with letting the past define her and hold her back, will be able to move past their own problems with that and will remember their pasts, will grow from them, but be able to face the future bravely.

Q: Tell us what you like about the main characters of this book.

A: Matt is a classic southern good ‘ol boy. He’s the kind of guy who’s laid back, easy going, and would help a friend out anytime he could and I love those things about him. Gemma is difficult to get to know, she comes across as a snob at the beginning, but she’s strong and very brave. I really like the layers of her character that developed. She was hard for me to get to know in the beginning, but who doesn’t love a challenge?

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A: I’m currently waiting for edits to come back on the last book in my series set in Treasure Point. While I’m waiting for that I’m working on a proposal for a romantic suspense series of books that I’d like to write and set on Alaska’s Kenai peninsula. I’m really excited about this one!

Q: If money were no object what vacation would you like to take and why?

A: I would travel around Alaska. I am very thankful to live in a place that has so many opportunities for adventure and to see amazing natural beauty. There are so many places to go here!

Q: What is the silliest thing you have ever done?

A: I had a thing for taking pictures with a fish face in high school and college. I’m not even sure how many pictures there are floating (haha, pun intended) around the world with me making a fish face with my lips and holding my hands up like fins. Why? I have no idea…Hahaha.

Q: What is the hardest thing you have ever done?

A: Well, if I answer this question, then you’ll know where some of Gemma’s emotions about letting go of the past and moving on came from, but I suppose that’s okay. =) The hardest thing I’ve ever done was lose a baby when I was 13 weeks pregnant, then over a long period of time, to look at the amazing life I did have, be thankful for that, and do the best I could do move on. Not to forget that, but to be strong and brave and keep really living life. That is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I know several woman who have done the same and they’re some of my heroes.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

A: The best place to find me online is on facebook–my author page is facebook.com/SarahVarlandAuthor. I post book news there and also random photos of Alaska because I love sharing it with people. I do also have a blog, espressoinalatteworld.blogspot.com