Interview--LORI WILDE

Thanks for being here Lori! It’s a pleasure.


#1- Tell us a little about yourself outside of your writing career…

I’m married, no kids. Native Texan. I have lots of pets. Two dogs, a cat and twenty-one chickens. I love to cook. I’m a country girl through and through, except I like rock and roll. I’m an R.N. with a certificate in forensics but I don’t practice nursing anymore. I’m a volunteer sexual assault first responder for the local domestic abuse shelter.

#2- Lori Wilde is your pen name, and I find the story on how you chose it to be very interesting. Could you share it with our readers?

I didn’t choose it. Birgit Davis-Todd at Harlequin did. My real first name is Laurie, but Birgit said it wasn’t hip enough. Hence, Lori. Which is ironic because I spent my whole life telling people it was Laaaa-ree, not Looor-ee. Now it is Lori.

I had a hip-cat-musician type once tell me, “Hey did you know your name means runaway truck, as in out of control lorry?” I doubt that was what Birgit had in mind.

#3- As you know, I reviewed your title ALL OF ME for Bookpleasures and loved it. But how do you handle the negative reviews and critiques you receive?

I try not to read reviews. The good ones just sail on by and the bad ones break my heart, so it’s best for my mental health to stay away from them.

#4- You were a finalist in the RITA Awards through the Romance Writer’s of America, where we are both members, and you are a three-time Romantic Times nominee for Romantic Comedy. What was it like to accomplish that and do you have any new goals for yourself?

Honestly, by the time you receive such recognition you’ve worked so hard it’s a bit of a letdown. It’s not magical the way you fantasized about, it’s more like, “Whew, I never thought that was going to happen.” I always have new goals. My motto written on the grease board by the computer is: Constant, never-ending improvement.

#5- Assuming you get any time to read, what authors do you like to read, and were there any books that stand out from your childhood as favorites?

Reading is no longer fun. That is so sad. The glue that kept me held together as a kid has dissolved and been replaced by writing. That’s the big downside to being an author. The joy of reading is gone. I still read, but now it’s work not pleasure. Authors on my keeper shelf are Deborah Smith, Harlan Coben, Stephen King, John Irving, Anne Tyler, and Janet Evanovich. A new author I discovered this year whose voice I love is Kristin Higgins.

Books from my childhood that formed me were the Little House on the Prairie books, Tom Sawyer, Trixie Beldon, Caddie Woodlawn, A Wrinkle in Time, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, all of Agatha Christie, books by Lois Duncan and Paul Zindel, ah, there’s so many, I could list them for hours.

#6- Are there any upcoming releases we would like to know about, and could you give us your web site so readers can check it out?

My first book with Avon comes out in December. It’s the first book in an open-ended series about a lakeside town called Twilight, Texas and it’s based on a real town where I used to live. The series theme is about reunited high school sweethearts derived from a local legend. Visit my website at www.loriwilde.com

I’m also doing an anthology in July with Stephanie Bond and Leslie Kelly called Sand, Sun, Seduction. I’m really proud of that novella. I think it turned out well.

Then there are my Blazes. I usually write three of those a year.

#7- This about concludes it. Thank you again for joining us. Is there anything else you would like to share?

I just want to say thank you to all the readers out there. Without you, I’d be nothing.