repost (due to summerpics snowstorm) My interview with novelist Tracy Fabre

What is your novel about?

I call Evan's Castle a light romance, in a contemporary setting. 

If you believe the blurb (and I hope you do), it's about Rachel Kane, who, after leaving home to flee the aftermath of a bad relationship, ends up working closely with a brilliant scientist (Evan Callahan), cataloging his research materials. He seems, at first, to be very much like the man she left behind-an aloof loner with no real use for her-but as she gets to know him, she finds he is warm and engaging and much too attractive for one sensible woman to resist. She doesn't know if it's real, however, or whether she's just left one loner for another, and to complicate matters, she's also the victim of escalating vandalism.

Where can your novel be found?

 Barnes & Noble ( that's bn.com), Amazon, and of course on my publisher's site, Stonegarden.net.  Not yet available on street corners, in back alleys or the black market, but it's a little early yet.   You can find excerpts from the novel on my website:  http://www.tracyfabre.com/.

  
What would you and your main characters talk about over dinner, if they came to life and you had dinner with them?

They would probably ask me to leave, since my staring-in-shock would get creepy after a while.  But I think I would ask Evan about some of his many inventions (notably Wicky, the motorized furball), and I would ask Rachel about the boxes of bacteria research she cataloged for Evan.  Bacteria is a safe topic for dinner, right?

I hope it would be a witty, entertaining conversation; I like snappy dialogue for my characters and tried to use plenty of it in Evan's Castle.

What inspires you to write?

Usually I become enraptured by a character, and build a novel around him or her.  Sometimes it's some minor event; I have one novel (unpublished, of course) which was entirely inspired by a three-word email I got from an actor I'm hot for (I've considered dedicating it to him if I ever try to get it published).  Another novel was inspired by you, Peter, suggesting I try to write horror; I didn't quite do that but I did manage to create an interesting dead guy to hang around and bug the two living people he needs help from.  And I have another novel (yeah, yeah, unpublished) where my interest was in writing about a couple reunited unexpectedly after having been wrongly separated for many years (and yes, there's humor in that one, too).

What novels did you read in High School, for fun?

What? We were allowed to read for FUN?  Well, it was an odd mix of titles.  From my mother I learned to appreciate Jane Austen; from my sister (who brought home bags of Harlequin romances borrowed from her babysitting job), I learned what I like (and don't like) in a romance.  I also read Star Trek novels and Man From U.N.C.L.E novels, some Dick Francis and Stephen King, and you know what, high school was a disturbingly long time ago and now I'm depressed.   But you could cheer me up by racing out to buy Evan's Castle. 

If somebody likes to read romance novels, why would they like to read your novel?

I hope that readers will enjoy the dialogue and the humor; I hope they will find Evan Callahan an interesting and worthy object of Rachel's interest.  The supporting characters I think are also strong and entertaining.  It's a light romance, contemporary, with some little surprises along the way, and I think if you like to read about intelligent people falling in love (without meaning to), with snappy yet realistically witty dialogue, you will probably like Evan's Castle.  Excerpts at http://www.tracyfabre.com/!

If somebody doesn't like romance novels, why should they like to read your novel, anyway?

Because I said so.  Because you said so.  Because my editor, Shirley Ann Howard, said so.  Because you, Peter, once read a romance of mine and said, "is this a romance???  because I LIKE IT!"  Because.

What do you think of men (in the context of the battle of the sexes)?   Actual men?  Or fictional men?  In fiction, I want my fictional women to be drawn to intelligence, humor, and steadiness; I want their fictional men to be supportive but not coddling; logical but not cold; fun but not ridiculous.  I don't think either sex should dominate the other: I believe (idealistically) in partnerships and relative equality.  That sounds much more serious than I intended.  Is there a laugh track in this interview?

Do you have any pets?

Nope.

If you had a pet - what would it be?
Probably a cat.  They really don't need anyone around, they bathe themselves, they don't ask for money, they don't talk while I'm watching House or 24, and they're pwetty.