Interview with LoRee Peery

Recently, I interviewed author LoRee Peery.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START WRITING?

 

I’ve been a reader all my life. The defining moment came when I slapped a magazine in my lap and said, “I could write better than this.” My husband challenged me. “Why don’t you?” Thus began a journey that spanned many years. I wrote short stories of women’s fiction and romance, submitted – without much polishing – to the magazines of the time that published those stories, and amassed rejections. Then I took a snail-mail course through Writer’s Digest and ended up with a cathartic novel of a woman returning to her home town and solving the questionable death of her father. I took a couple courses at our local tech college and met with other writers. Then I had health issues and a job outside the home that took all my energy. Others encouraged me when I had a few nonfiction slices of my life published. I went to a local author’s talk and found out about RWA, where I learned more in six months than I had in ten years. It still took some time before my first contract, but I believe the Lord is in the timing no matter what I do.

 WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING AUTHORS?

Read in and out of your chosen genre. Read first for the experience of the “take-me-away” joy as a lover of fiction. Then read as a writer and take note of the author’s elements of story. Write and write and write some more. Find your comfort zone. Get lost in your own characters, know them well, because story is built on characters. It’s such a thrill to be so into a hero or heroine’s head that they say things without forethought on the author’s part. Meet with other writers, take the opportunity to learn your craft through conferences, workshops, and online courses. Find a critique group or two or three and be open to learn forever.

WHAT DOES YOUR WRITING SCHEDULE LOOK LIKE?

 

Every day is a little different but I try to devote most of two days a week to whatever story I’m working on. In between appointments and life happenings of a large family, when I’m setting down the first draft I aim for 1,000 words a day. Those days I decide how many words I’ll write before I check email and social media posts. I brainstorm and meet my characters with papers strewn over the kitchen table. I do that pre-writing with pen in hand and take notes. I also edit on a print copy from my easy chair. Snippets come to me at all hours and in strange places, often the shower, so I sometimes have several scribbled pieces of paper when I sit down at my desk.

 

 

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THE NOVEL AND WHY?

Dahlia Delisi is the heroine of A Blessed Blue Christmas. My pre-planning involves selecting collage pictures from magazines, I’ve concluded I need the tactile for creativity. At some point I was captivated by the photo of a black-haired beauty that I set aside while concentrating on another story I’d begun. Her hairstyle reminded me of a movie star from the forties and brought to mind The Black Dahlia, which when I was ready, evolved into her first name and her boutique, The Blue Dahlia. The Black Dahlia remains one of Hollywood’s most famous unsolved homicides and resonated with me because I’ve lived most of my adult life under the shadow of my father’s unsolved homicide. There is a reference to that mystery changing the course of the hero’s life. Of course I favor the hero, Sloan Letheby, as much as Dahlia in this story.

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND IN RESEARCH BEFORE YOU WRITE A STORY?

Since I don’t write historical fiction, research is a part of the writing process I don’t invest a lot of time in. I would say most of my research is done in the beginning stages and could even involve searching out character names. If I need how-to answers or background for specific jobs or situations, I turn to the Internet and/or ask family and friends for answers. Getting each story on its way varies depending on how much I’ve thought about it beforehand. I usually spend a concentrated 3-5 days on details before I enter notes and do computer pre-writing. It has taken less time and when things didn’t gel, up to a couple weeks.

HOW CAN READERS CONTACT YOU AND/OR LEARN MORE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR WRITING?

Where did we get to know others before the Internet? Readers can find me handily. And I’m glad I’ve met you via this means, Heidi. Thanks for the invitation to be your guest today.

www.loreepeery.com

https://twitter.com/LoreePeery

https://www.facebook.com/LoReePeery

Pelican http://tinyurl.com/kwz9enk

Blurb:

Dahlia Delisi has poured her life into her store, The Blue Dahlia.  Once her faith was strong, and her life was on a different course.  But when Sloan Letheby left town, Dahlia drifted away from God. 
Sloan Letheby has been transformed. His brush with death brought new meaning to his faith in God, and he needs to right old wrongs.  However, there's a murder plot in the way of his reunion with Dahlia.  Can he find a killer before it's too late?  And can Dahlia accept him...and God, back into her life?

Bio:

LoRee Peery is a lifelong Nebraskan who thanks her mother for teaching her to read when she was four. LoRee has devoured books ever since. She and her husband have tackled some interesting projects over the course of their married life. For one, they built the home they live in with their own hands. They used to want more acres further away from city life, but one day LoRee realized they had their “greener on the other side of the fence” already. All it took was removing the hedge made of trees and bushes. LoRee feels grounded in her sense of place and considers it a blessing to have lived most of her life in the country. She is also blessed to have five children and eleven grandchildren, whom she enjoys spending one-on-one time with. Her Frivolities Series and other publications are available at Pelican Book Group.