Alice Wootson
Interviewed by: Lauretta Pierce
A. There have been many cases of mob hits in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. At least one person from here in the witness protection
program left the program and the local newspapers went into detail about it.
I was fascinated by it all and an idea came to me immediately. From reading about the program, I proceeded to do what authors do: I played
'What if'.
A. Because I was going to have the heroine enter the witness protection
program and leave home and since I was writing a romance, I put her with
the hero, a detective who vowed to protect her until she could enter
the program. Since she was leaving everything that she knew and since I
knew that Trent was going to follow her, I decided that the title should
be, Escape to Love. If she had not witnessed the hit and had she not
had to enter the program, she would have never known Trent. It's hard to
explain; I come up with a story idea and the title just 'comes to me'.
A. When I get an idea for a story, the characters appear and tell me their
stories as well as their names. (If anybody ever asks me if I hear
voices, the answer is a loud 'yes'.) Angela had to be in a dangerous
situation, but she also had be strong enough to survive. She was stunned when
the murder happened and appeared helpless, but she bounced back.
A. Unfortunately, people who happen to be in the wrong place at
the wrong time often get hurt through no fault of their own. Innocence
doesn't provide protection in the real world and it doesn't in fiction,
either. As for the way the story unfolded, I tried to write a
different, unpredictable twist to put her in danger.
A. As did Angela, Trent also told me his story. he even let me know about
the witness whose protection the department botched up. This is why he
was determined to protect her himself. He's a no-nonsense man who was
troubled by this and who took it upon himself to prevent it from
happening to Angela. Neither character is based on a real person.
A. Angela needed a way to uncover her boss' money-laundering scheme. If
she was in any other job, it wouldn't have worked.
A. That's a tough question. Actually, I don't ENJOY the writing. I enjoy
HAVING WRITTEN a book. There's a sense of accomplishment to hold a
90,000 + word manuscript that you have completed, in your hands. It is also
very hard to resist the temptation to keep making changes.
TRUST IN ME is more of a story that too many can relate to. I wanted to
tell a story that shows that it's possible to overcome your past; that
if something bad happens to you, you don't have to curl up and die. I
have received several letters from readers with similar experiences in
their backgrounds. I was humbled that they told me that TRUST IN ME
showed them that they can start over.
A. FLORIDA LOVE has a new title: it is now KINDRED SPIRITS. It is already
in the hands of the editors and, if things go according to plans, will
be released in June, 2004.
A. Yes. I'm more than halfway through a book set in Hawaii. The working
title in ALOHA LOVE, but that might change. I don't have a release date
for it, yet.
A. I don't know that there is a lofty message, but readers often get
something from my books that I didn't realize was there. Perhaps the message
is that you can find love anywhere and that, even though you are forced
to make a change, you can bounce back and get on with your life.
I think love is a powerful, wonderful experience and I wish everybody
could find the person meant for them. I also want the reader to get
pulled into the action. I want ESCAPE TO LOVE to, as I tell those who buy
it, make them stay up all night reading, or forget their dinner is
cooking and let it burn, or that they neglect their work, because they were
so engrossed in my book that they couldn't put it down. :0)
Most of all, I don't wany anybody to say, I knew that would happen. The
only thing I want them to be able to predict is that, since it's a
romance, the two main characters will end up together."
Thanks for interviewing me, Lauretta.
Alice
Escape To Love
November 24, 2003
Q. How did you come about the title?
Q. How did you come about Angela’s character?
Q. Why did you choose to have Angela become a victim of a crime she
witnessed?
Q. How did you come about Trent’s character?
Q. Why did you choose accounting as Angela’s career?
Q. Which did you enjoy writing the most: TRUST IN ME
or ESCAPE TO LOVE?
Q. When will your book FLORIDA LOVE be released?
Q. Are you currently working on another novel?
Q. What message would you like readers to receive from reading
ESCAPE TO LOVE?