ou been writing and what other careers or jobs have you had? 
Q: Would you tell us about your current book release, STANDING GUARD, from “The Defenders” series. |
Valerie Hansen interview with Susan Sleeman
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September 30, 2012
Q: How long have y A. Veterinary assistant, teacher’s aide, volunteer fire department dispatcher, Emergency Medical Technician, bank worker, professional artist, store clerk, bookkeeper, 4-H leader, Sunday school teacher, gospel singer/songwriter, winning quiz show contestant, dog trainer, college extension-class instructor, and antique restorer. I’ve built dulcimers and a psaltery, laid bricks and tile, designed stained-glass windows, roofed a house, decorated store windows for the holidays, helped pour cement, raised fancy guinea pigs and finches, driven a long-haul moving van, and was once the proud owner of twenty-three Newfoundland dogs at one time. And that’s only part of it! I added fiction author to that list in the late 1980s. Q: Do you write in only one genre and if so which one and why? If not, which ones and why? A: I’ve always loved happy endings so I was a natural for romance but I’m not stuck in the present. I also write romantic historicals. Q: How does your faith play into your writing? A. It’s always been there as an undercurrent. I’m delighted to be allowed to express it openly for Love Inspired. Q: How do you choose your settings for your books? A. Many are set in rural Arkansas, in the Ozarks, where we now life. Other places are usually a product of my participation in a continuity series set in different states. Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up? A: Nobody can make up a character from nothing. All authors use impressions and events from their pasts. However, I take great pains to keep from letting any character be identifiable. Besides, we write about perfect heroes and heroines and we all know you HAVE to make those up!
A: It’s the third in the series that’s all mine. It’s based on CASA volunteers and others who go to bat for children’s rights. The first book, NIGHTWATCH, has been winning national awards and next year I have great hopes for THREAT OF DARKNESS, book #2, and STANDING GUARD. It will be fun to see them competing against each other! Q: Where did you get your inspiration for STANDING GUARD? A: A friend suggested it because she’s an actual volunteer. I knew my tendency to weep easily would keep me from following in her footsteps so I did what I could by representing the CASA program in my stories. Look it up on the net! Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story? A: That no case is hopeless, no sin too bad to be forgiven when a person turns to God. Q: Tell us what you like about the main characters of this book. A: The hero is an ex-marine and I can’t say enough on behalf of the brave men and women who defend this country. The heroine is a single, widowed mother, raising her son alone – another of my personal heroes. Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now? A. Three books at once. No, really. I am. I just finished a K-9 cop continuity book that will be out in April 2013, am in the midst of a historical from 1830 about the Cherokees and Washington politics, and have recently been asked to participate in a Kansas-set series that has yet to be named. All those should appear in 2013, assuming I get busy and write them! Q: If money were no object what vacation would you like to take and why? A. I’d probably tour the world since I’ve seen most of the USA over the years of being married to a guy who loves to travel and drive. We even drove all the way to Alaska and down to the tip of Baja. A couple of years ago he took me to Norway, where my father was born. I’d like to see more Nordic countries. Q: What is the silliest thing you have ever done? A. Besides shoot myself in the shin? Gee, I don’t know. I swear, it was an accident. I dropped the gun and it fired. Honest. And now I never carry a live shell under the hammer. You should have heard my dr. laugh when I showed up in ER and he got to treat me for it. By that time we had all realized it was not life-threatening. I have to thank my over-worked guardian angel for that one. Q: What is the hardest thing you have ever done? A. Survive cancer and chemo. But I didn’t have much choice and I have never been a quitter so here I am. And, as awful as it was, it did strengthen my faith and move the remainder of my life in the right direction so how can I complain? Q: Where can readers find you on the internet? A. www.ValerieHansen.com and just about any search engine. I have a presence on Harlequin as well as Amazon and other places. Just Google me. I’m there. Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us? A. I love dogs. If you’re looking for a new pet, try a rescue. My current and previous dogs, for the past 25 years or so, have been rescued. Adult dogs may have a few mental hang-ups but they’re much easier to work with than silly pups. As a matter of fact, when Love Inspired hired me to write an upcoming K-9 cop book I was inspired all right. I adopted a dog just like the one in my story!
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Valerie has always loved to write. A strong conviction that this is what she was meant to do led her to pursue a career as a novelist. Besides extensive research, she has plenty of interesting experiences to draw upon. She’s been a veterinary assistant, teacher’s aide, volunteer fire department dispatcher, Emergency Medical Technician, bank worker, professional artist, store clerk, bookkeeper, 4-H leader, Sunday school teacher, gospel singer/songwriter, winning quiz show contestant, dog trainer, college extension-class instructor, and antique restorer. She’s built dulcimers and a psaltery, laid bricks and tile, designed stained-glass windows, roofed a house, decorated store windows for the holidays, helped pour cement, raised fancy guinea pigs and finches, driven a long-haul moving van, and was once the proud owner of twenty-three Newfoundland dogs at one time. Her advice? Don’t try that at home!
Twenty years ago, Valerie and her husband moved to eighty forested acres in northern Arkansas and restored an old Ozark farmhouse. She loves to hike the rocky, wooded hills with her dogs, watch for the wildlife so abundant in the area, and think up new ideas for her books, many of which are set in her fictional town of Serenity.
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