STEPH: I don't know much about Final Deceit, can you tell us a little about it?
P.I.: Final Deceit is the third and last book in the Future Imperfect series. The romance of Payce and Gavin is seriously threatened in this book as the characters struggle to get to safety. It addresses some of the mysteries of the first two novels, Crucifying Angel and Miraculous Deception while it also brings in a few new aspects and hopefully a couple of surprises!
STEPH: What's the setting of the novel? Why did you choose it?
P.I.: I love Las Vegas! I always have from the first moment I put a nickel in a slot machine and won a handful of them back, lol! Seriously though, the city lends itself to a dystopian future in that it's reminiscent of Blade Runner but with more sunshine. Sin City is fascinating in and of itself because of its extremes: Incredible heat during the day and cooler temperatures at night; the drabness of the casinos during the daytime and the literal transformation of the Strip into a living breathing thing, like a snake writhing through the black desert night. When you get close up to it, driving down the Strip, there's music blasting, cars humming and honking, people are walking in droves on either side of the street and the lights are flashing in time. There's a beat, a rhythm to it all, like a heartbeat in the night. In the morning, that same Strip is dull and almost monochrome dun colored and has a completely different feel and atmosphere.
Plus, it's pretty much out there in the middle of nothing, just this odd kind of adult circus rising out of the dry, barren desert. That also lends itself to the sense of a rogue society where things are desperate enough for its rules and regulations to be tossed away just so the city can function. It's ripe for anyone with a strong enough personality to move in and commandeer the city either overtly or covertly as in Future Imperfect.
STEPH: How long did it take you to write?
P.I.: Final Deceit is different in that it took less time that the first two books but the editing and revision took longer. I knew where the story should go in terms of plot and ending but a couple of new characters ran away with it and I actually had to go back in and rein them in to save the story. For the Future Imperfect series, I averaged about two or three months to write each book.
STEPH: Do you cast your characters? If so, who are the leads?
P.I.: Yes, always. Poor Jared Leto, he's my template. I used him, aged, for Gavin McAllister though Gavin is still uncast so to speak. Jared Leto was kind of close and I also used him for Logan McKaye whom I think Jared actually looks like in my head. (Plus I think the older he gets, the better he looks but that's just me.) Payce Halligan actually came from a shot of another character shooting target practice—it was just a head shot of her, aiming the gun, wearing headphones and in a jumpsuit uniform. That was Payce in a nutshell. It spoke of her assuaging her guilt by obsessive target practice and withdrawal from personal relationships. I think that's what draws her to Gavin and Gavin to her—they connect in visceral way through guilt over causing death to their closest loved ones. They're trying to reach out to each other through the veil of pain each one hides behind. Nick Kincaid is from a shot of Alain DeLon, one particular headshot that just screams Nick, even down to the cigarette! Amy Strand, whom I've grown to love, is Ali Larder: Blonde, gorgeous, smart assed. And last, Charlie Bowman is still uncast like Gavin.
STEPH: Are you a plotter or a panster?
P.I.: I'm a little of both I think. Once I get the opening line and the last line of the novel, I let the story work itself from one to the other for the most part. I'll control it when I need to but like almost all pantsers, it writes itself. Whenever I try to control things too much or outline, I fail completely. There are specific points I have to hit however.
STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?
P.I.: No, but I am lobbying my family to get me one for Christmas or my birthday at the latest!
STEPH: How long have you been writing?
P.I.: Oh God, forever. Most writers will tell you that. It's a love that begins early in life and just never goes away. For me, it's a controlled urge now. Sometimes I'll just have to get words out any way, anywhere by any means: pen, pencil, paper, arms, napkin; whatever I can find. I've just got to satisfy that urge to get the words down. The difference is now I have speed via computer and I always carry writing utensils with me everywhere and also I can contain and control it until I'm at the computer where I can properly format it and let it flow. I still do have that love for pen and paper. There's nothing like that for most writers.
STEPH: Do you listen to music while you write?
P.I.: I can't. I have to concentrate on one or the other. And, music being my all time first love, it always wins out over writing. I do however have the television on in the background because my mom's always watching it. I don't really like TV that much so it's not too much of a problem to ignore it for the most part.
STEPH: Tell us a little about where you live.
P.I.: I have lived in the same house for 37 years! It's very rural my back yard is literally the open hills. I have incredible privacy since most of the homes are at least an acre. Last year we had two pair of Road Runners around the neighborhood and on our property! They're really impressive and these were almost two feet tall—simply amazing! I'm about sixty miles east of Los Angeles and at the edge of where the desert proper begins. The real desert, Palm Springs and the High Desert is east and north of my house. I have a gorgeous view of the city lights at night and of course living in Southern California, I overlook a freeway LOL!
STEPH: Pick: Renior, Monet or Picassso.
P.I.: Though I love Renoir and Picasso is incomparable, I gotta go with Claude Monet. His work, for me, is the definition of French Impressionism. Monet's works just kind of shimmer with movement and color. They literally come alive that way. One is reminded of a summer day with only the flower pollen as haze; you can almost smell the flowers and grass and warmth when gazing at his Gardens, Giverny and Vetheuil series. Probably his best known work or at least one of the most instantly recognizable: "Japanese Bridge over Water Lily Pond" for me just explodes with light, color and emotion. Okay. Lesson over. Class dismissed.
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