Connie Mann Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.  

A.  Thanks so much for the chance to be here! I live in Central Florida with my wonderful hubby and we’re blessed that our two grown children live nearby. I’m both a writer and a USCG-licensed boat captain, so I get to escape my office and spend time outside and around people on a regular basis. It’s a balance that works really well for me.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A. I realized I wanted to write in elementary school after devouring Lassie, Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew and my all-time favorite, Harriet the Spy. I wanted to be Harriet. I discovered that books could take me to whole different worlds where I could experience new things and live someone else’s life for a while. It wasn’t long before I penned my third-grade masterpiece, Susie’s Babies, about my hamster. I kept writing, but insecurity kept me from pursuing it seriously until I was almost thirty.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?  

A. I started off writing ads for the yellow pages, which taught me proofreading and the importance of deadlines. I moved on to doing research for a reference book publisher and then wrote newsletter copy. After we moved to a small town, I started freelancing for a parenting magazine (they paid me in movie tickets). Eventually, I became the editor (and got paid actual money) and that led to ghostwriting for clients, more articles, a contract for a parenting book, and finally, a contract for fiction, my first love.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Angel Falls?  

A: Angel Falls is about two pasts colliding in a desperate race to save an orphaned baby. Orphanage director Regina da Silva will do whatever it takes to protect her best friend’s baby. Burned-out Army Ranger Brooks Anderson won’t protect anyone ever again. The last time he tried, they died. But when bullets fly, these two dive headlong into danger to protect one defenseless child. As the danger closes in, they’ll have to trust each other to stay alive. Will that be enough to save their little angel—and themselves—from certain death?

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Angel Falls?

A: My father is from Brazil, where Angel Falls is set, and the story was inspired by a trip to his hometown of Porto Alegre. For years, street children swarmed the downtown area and I started wondering, “What if you were abandoned on the streets as a six-year-old? How would you survive? Who would you become?” Those questions became Regina, Angel Fall’s switchblade-toting orphanage director.

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

A: Angel Falls is ultimately about second chances and about forgiveness–forgiving ourselves and accepting God’s forgiveness. Without both of those things, we can’t move forward. But God longs to set us free from our pasts, if we will just let go!

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

A: I think my favorite scene (besides the ending) is when Regina loses her fake glasses in the river. It’s one more piece of the “armor” she wears, but Brooks sees past it and she finally realizes he won’t hurt her.

Q: What inspires you to write?  

A.  What-if questions about all kinds of things are constantly churning in my mind. Those what-ifs usually lead to a hero or heroine taking shape in my mind, which lead to research about their lives and more questions to help flesh out the central story question and situation. The initial creative phase is my favorite part of the whole process.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?  

A: I had not realized just how much “other” stuff writers have to do. If I’m not careful, I can get overwhelmed, which causes to-do list paralysis. Then I have to put writing back at the top of the list and work everything else in below that.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?

A: Get that first draft written. Go from opening scene to “the end” without stopping to edit a single page. You need the momentum. Set daily goals and put words on the page. Once you have a first draft, THEN you can go back and edit to your heart’s content.

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

A. I am almost done with another suspense story called Isabelle’s Treasure. It’s set in Florida and has been lots of fun to write. Take one hunky hero, a determined-but- sometimes-insecure heroine, a couple of creepy bad guys and you start wondering:  Is it pirate treasure…or an evil curse?

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?  

A. I love spending time outside and on the water, so if I’m not at my captain’s job, I’m often on our own little vintage (read: old) boat, or poking around small towns and hanging out with my fabulous family.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet? 

A.  Please come visit my blog:  www.BusyWomenBigDreams.com where I offer encouragement and inspiration to fellow dream-chasers. I’m also on Facebook, and on Twitter and Pinterest as @CaptConnieMann.

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?  

A. Thanks so much for the opportunity to visit with you here at The Suspense Zone!