Ask the Author: Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
Answered Questions (12)
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
I have too many. I'd love to go back to the world of Ben-Hur. I know it's not fictional, but I'd like to meet Jesus then scoot back to the present immediately. Fictionally, I'd love to go to the worlds of Valerian.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
I'm not reading at the moment. Concentrating on writing, getting my new Detective Nick Larson novel edited and published, and continuing getting my stories down on paper. And, to be honest, after hours of writing, I am exhausted mentally, so I veg.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
I'm not reading at the moment. Concentrating on writing, getting my new Detective Nick Larson novel edited and published, and continuing getting my stories down on paper. And, to be honest, after hours of writing, I am exhausted mentally, so I veg.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
I was awake, yet frozen, my body lax, without will of movement, without stimulus, yet aware. And when the spark reached me, when it embedded itself within the soft folds of my nightgown, I knew my death would be torture--a spontaneous combustion death, where my body would be consumed by a slow burn for many agonizing hours.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
How about many? With my mind, I can turn any event in my life into a mystery. Something about plotting all the time.
But, seriously, I have a few moments in life where I could even have been the mystery. When I was living in New York (way back when--and this will definitely date me), I used to walk home alone from the subway late at night. There was a moment where the Son of Sam was picking victims in my neighborhood, and I actually fit the victimology (physically speaking). So, I could have been stalked by a serial killer and the plot would involve the detective desperately trying to find the killer before he got me. Hopefully it would be my Detective Nick Larson (the novel about him and his love, Laura Howard, will be coming out sometime September this year).
But, seriously, I have a few moments in life where I could even have been the mystery. When I was living in New York (way back when--and this will definitely date me), I used to walk home alone from the subway late at night. There was a moment where the Son of Sam was picking victims in my neighborhood, and I actually fit the victimology (physically speaking). So, I could have been stalked by a serial killer and the plot would involve the detective desperately trying to find the killer before he got me. Hopefully it would be my Detective Nick Larson (the novel about him and his love, Laura Howard, will be coming out sometime September this year).
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
Oh, wow. That took a bit of thinking. Out of all the novels I have read in my lifetime (and that is a whopper of novels), I can't pick one exclusively. I have quite a few. But out of those, I can honestly say I have three - two fictional and one from fictionalized history.
1. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice
2. Eve Dallas and Roarke from the In Death Series by J. D. Robb
3. Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt in Katherine by Anya Seton (this novel is based on real characters from British history. Their story is one of the most compelling I've read).
What are yours?
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
1. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice
2. Eve Dallas and Roarke from the In Death Series by J. D. Robb
3. Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt in Katherine by Anya Seton (this novel is based on real characters from British history. Their story is one of the most compelling I've read).
What are yours?
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
Watching some postings and photographs on social media. Even though I already wanted to create my detective, Nick Larson, from way back (and I won't say how when back), the crimes, and the reasons for it, crystallized after that.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
Anything can inspire me, really. For my first novel, The Coin, an outing through the woods and finding coins on the ground gave me the inspiration for the novel. For my follow-up, The Book of Hours, it was a trip to London. It gave me the perfect setting for the conflict.
Usually, a walk, something I see on TV, a snippet of conversation, a quote in a book can spark the imagination. Even sitting quietly sometimes allows the voices in my head to filter through.
Usually, a walk, something I see on TV, a snippet of conversation, a quote in a book can spark the imagination. Even sitting quietly sometimes allows the voices in my head to filter through.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
The creation. There is nothing so wonderful as to see the people you imagine come to life.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
I am currently finishing the proofreading revisions for the follow-up novel to my first novel. The new one, The Book of Hours, will be out this month. I am really excited!
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
Write. Write. Write.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
When I have writers block, I usually do several things: I read something I enjoy, giving my brain a break (the subconscious still works), or I start writing phrases in the manuscript itself about scenes I have "seen" in my mind. Just enough words for a small visual, and then I close the file. After a day break, I go back. I always surprise myself how, from those phrases and taking a small respite, how things flow. Usually, from a small phrase I can create a whole page of narrative. So, if I have ten...you can do the math.
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