Guest Post: An Interview with Author Joyce Oroz

Today’s guest post features an interview with author Joyce Oroz.  Portions of the interview were originally conducted by Joseph Valentinetti; additions (and subtractions) were made by Joyce herself.

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What’s the name and genre of your book?
Secure the Ranch is a contemporary murder mystery. It is a fast-paced suspenseful adventure with laughs at every turn. I try to create interesting characters and relationships that grow and change. I write about people from a wide range of cultures and generations.

Who is the audience for this book?
Secure the Ranch is an adventure mystery that appeals to men and women ages twenty to one-hundred. Women between the ages of forty and seventy tend to identify with my fifty-year-old protagonist, Josephine who paints murals for a living and ferrets out bad guys on the side. She is a slightly flawed, but very sincere widow who finds herself in deep trouble.

Is this book part of a series?
Secure the Ranch is my first novel in the Josephine Stuart Mystery Series. It is a “Nancy Drew/Stephanie Plum”(without the four-letter words)type mystery with double the adventure, suspense and fun. My second book in the series is “Read My Lipstick” which is available from Kindle. The third book, “Shaking in Her Flip Flops” will be available from Kindle at the end of September 2011.

Describe your protagonist (hero), physically and emotionally and describe the challenges the  protagonist needs to overcome and the motivation for overcoming them.
Josephine Stuart is a fifty-year-old widow. She has her own mural-painting business and two regular employees, Alicia Quintana and Kyle Larson. She lives next door to David Galaz who seems to have his eye on her. She is a self-made woman who takes pride in her ability to support herself. Unfortunately the mural business has been slow. Because of her financial situation, she signs a painting contract at the Munger Mansion atop a lonely mountain near the town of Boulder Creek. Even when strange and terrible things happen, she feels she must finish the job.

Quote a passage from your book (up to 100 words) that you love.
“….I helped him to the ground, noticing his whole backside was crimson. I stifled a cry with my hand. Tears welled up as I embraced the best friend a person could have. Down close, hugging him, he smelled like strawberries. Once I realized Solow was wearing strawberries and a few other food groups, I relaxed considerably. He had polished off a pound of ground round, a pint of cookies and cream ice cream and a dozen raw eggs. He had been literally rolling in groceries under the dash. Every dog’s dream …..”

Elaborate on the meaning of the passage.
There is nothing really profound in this excerpt, but I think it’s a good visual, and the basset named Solow is an important character in the story. Actually, he has an active role in all my stories.

What is your philosophy for writing?
I am a mural artist turned writer. When my mature body could no longer stand up to the hard physical work of painting murals, I searched for another creative outlet. One night I had a vivid dream which laid out a simple but complete children’s story. In the wee hours, I quickly wrote everything down word-for-word and then spent a year illustrating each page. I wrote twenty-six more stories and discovered it was the writing I enjoyed most. I decided it was time to write a real book. Nine months later, Secure the Ranch was finished and I was hooked. I write because I love to write and share the fun with my friends. My philosophy is simple: Do what you love to do.

What surprising things did you learn while writing this book?
The first surprise was the realization that I love to write—even more than I loved to paint. I was surprised by the fact that my characters introduce themselves to me and lead me to places I never expected to go. I was surprised that I could stick with a six-day writing schedule for nine months, and I was blown away when the story came full circle on page 343. More surprising than that was the fact that my next book took nine months and ended on page 343!

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?
I think I am eager to try new things because my parents never warned me that I might fail. My folks are hardworking and very creative. Guess some of it rubbed off on me. I was close to, and greatly influenced by my grandparents and several uncles who wrote philosophical and religious books I never read.

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Joyce Oroz writes about the things she loves; painting, animals, California, people’s relationships, mystery and adventure. Her wish is to entertain, speed up the heartbeat, raise the hair on the back of your neck and make you laugh.  Please join her on Facebook and Twitter, and visit her blog and website.