Interview with Anne Greene

Recently, I interviewed author Anne Greene.

ANNE GREENE delights in writing about wounded heroes and gutsy heroines. She and her hero husband, Army Special Forces Colonel Larry Greene, have visited twenty-five countries. A visit to Scotland resulted in her award-winning Scottish Historical, Masquerade Marriage. A Texas Christmas Mystery set in her hometown in Texas released in December. Anne is contracting with B & H Publishing for her World War11 novel. She makes her home in McKinney, Texas. Two of her four children live nearby. Tim LaHaye led her to the Lord when she was twenty-one and Chuck Swindoll is her Pastor. Anne graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Literary Studies from the University of Texas, Dallas. Her highest hope is that her stories transport the reader to an awesome new world and touch hearts to seek a deeper spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus. To learn more of Anne and to view pictures from her extensive travels and her art work, visit her at AnneGreeneAuthor.com.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START WRITING? I have always wanted to write. For childhood when I played with dolls, I wrote stories with them as the characters. During boring classes at school, I always had a book I liked hidden by the textbook. I was a dreamer. My husband encouraged me to attend my first writers conference and I was hooked on full-time writing.

WHAT AUTHORS HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR WRITING STYLE? None. My writing comes from within.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING AUTHORS? Absolutely join American Christian Fiction Writers. I attended their second conference and found them to be extremely helpful. Also enter contests and receive valuable feedback. And I advocate joining a critique group as well. 

WHAT DOES YOUR WRITING SCHEDULE LOOK LIKE? Awake at 6:00. I clean, work, run errands, and exercise in the mornings. Usually at my writing desk from 1:00 to about 7:00 each day. I seldom have the luxury of working on one book at a time. I’m often interrupted by sending out new proposals, doing edits, and also marketing. I usually work six days a week.

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND IN RESEARCH BEFORE YOU WRITE A STORY? I write both historical, historical romance and contemporary suspense/mystery. So I do a great deal of research on each story. Usually to get into the historical time frame, I read several books set during that era, then I research the main parts of things I expect to add to the story. Then as I write, I often run across small items I need to look up and make certain happened in that time period. If I’m writing a contemporary, it’s usually a suspense or a crime novel, so I need to look up numerous things to do with the crime. Both time an enormous amount of research. I set my books in foreign and domestic locales, but never write about a place I haven’t visited for the right ambiance.  

WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING THING YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM YOUR RESEARCH? I’ve done so much research over the years, I have no idea how to answer this question. I’ve always loved research and tend to delve in deeply on any topic that interests me, and I have a wide range of interests. 

HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN? I have had three books published, Trail of Tears, Masquerade Marriage, and A Texas Christmas Mystery. I’m under contract for a fourth book. My dear agent is shopping several other books at the moment, and I’m trying to finish the second in the Scottish Historical Marriage Trilogy. I have four other books in the proposal stage.

HOW DO YOU LIKE TO SPEND YOUR TIME WHEN YOU’RE NOT WRITING? I love to travel. You can see my pictures on my website. I enjoy painting. You can see some of my pictures on my website. I love to spend time with family. I sing in two choirs at my Church. Like every other woman, I enjoy shopping and lunching with friends. Since writing is such a lonely calling, I love being with friends.

HOW CAN A READER CONTACT YOU AND/OR LEARN MORE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR WRITING? I have a website and a blog at www.http:/AnneGreeneAuthor.com. You can learn all about me there.