Talking with Arliss Adams

MORGAN ST. JAMES WRITING AS ARLISS ADAMS:

Devil’s Dance and The Devil’s Due are the first two books in the Twist of Fate romantic suspense series.

 Have you ever thought about the difference it would make if something happened a minute earlier or a minute later? If someone said “yes” instead of “no”? Is that when Fate steps in? Sixteen-year-old Jen Connor’s mother said “no “to a contract with the New York City Ballet, and from that point on her life became a rollercoaster ride of tragedy and triumph.

I started this story sixteen years ago, back when I really didn’t know how to write fiction. I had many published magazine articles, but they were mostly “how to” or commentary. I didn’t have a clue how difficult the transition would be. When I finished the first 700+ page manuscript back in the late nineties, I thought I had a masterpiece—certainly once my friend who had written published thrillers read my manuscript, he would immediately say he had to send it to his agent. Instead he was honest.

“Sorry, but this will never get published. It’s too long, the point of view is all over the place, and it’s full of clichés and trite terms.”  I was crushed, but I’m not a quitter. He made me aware of my lack of knowledge in the art of writing fiction. Through the years I took workshop after workshop, attended conferences and rewrote the book—now two books—seven times. My character had seven sets of names and it changed from third person to first person and finally to a combination of first and third. The last rewrite took it from the present tense to the past tense, but that was because my publisher said, “Make the changes and we will publish.” These two books were my education in writing tense drama and creating characters that people care about—whether they love them or hate them, the characters are three dimensional.

During the sixteen years I continued to polish and rewrite, my sister Phyllice Bradner and I launched the Silver Sisters Mysteries series, drawing upon wacky family members and friends  to create our characters and over-the-top comical crime capers. The first two books, A Corpse in the Soup and Seven Deadly Samovars, were already in print when I’d finished the final Twist of Fate manuscripts I envisioned so many years before. We just finished the manuscript for the third, Vanishing Act in Vegas.

Writing those funny mysteries under my real name, Morgan St. James, provided the comic relief I needed as I kept developing two intensely emotional novels. Sometimes I would sit at the computer writing one of Jen Connor’s scenes with tears streaming down my face. I listened to the Devil’s Dance audio book when it was released in October 2010, and found myself trying not to cry while driving on the freeway. That told me I’d definitely mastered writing credible romantic suspense.

When I give workshops or talks now, I tell aspiring authors to work hard to learn their craft and remember to check their ego at the door. Listen to what others have to say, then decide what to apply to make your writing better. Here is a quote from my most recent review of Devil’s Dance.

Ginger Simpson, national ebook reviewer, www.examiner.com

“Devil’s Dance is an apt title for this story. The twists and turns keep you on the edge of your seat and the storyline is heart-wrenching in some places. Arliss Adams has a magnificent style that gives unique voices to her characters so you always know who’s talking. The mixture of first and third person in the book worked well, and again provides a unique connection with the heroine.

The continuation of this story is available as The Devil’s Due. Look for an upcoming review here on the conclusion of Jen’s story. This reviewer can’t wait to dig in to the next installment. Kudos to Arliss Adams for a job well done.”         

EXCERPT FROM DEVIL’S DANCE – NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK, KINDLE, EBOOK, AUDIO CD AND MP3

A woman’s voice said, “Come on, come on, okay.  Pulse coming up a little.  Gotta get her body temperature up.  No telling what’s been done to her.  We’ll get some pictures when she stabilizes a bit more.  See what’s going on inside.  My money says she was raped.” 

Then a voice with a familiar Chicago twang added, “Doc, we haven’t got a clue about who she is or where she came from.  When they found the poor kid, she was naked.  Not a lot of places to hide any ID you know.  If those little boys hadn’t found her, she would have frozen to death.”

The man they called Doc smoothed his hands against my forehead, and tried to calm me.  He muttered, “Okay, guys.  Time to assess the damages.”  As he bent closer, he crooned in a soft voice, “It’s okay now, Princess.  You’re safe.  We’ll take care of you.”  My shrieks softened to whimpers.  “Who does stuff like this? Probably some wacko.” 

“Poor kid.  Dehydrated as hell.  Let’s get drip fluid going.  Come on!  Do it!”  The prick of the needle was just one more pain.  I barely noticed it.

**~**

EXCERPT FROM THE DEVIL’S DUE – PAPERBACK, KINDLE AND EBOOK LATE OCTOBER 2010 – AUDIO CD AND MP3 NOVEMBER 2010

My mind jumped to my interview the following morning with the reporter Morris Rumsfeld. George said he wanted the piece to run right before opening night. The thought of finally exposing Darlene Stewart had been eating at me all day. Either George will let me do that, or he won’t.

“George, don’t get mad, but when Morris interviews me, I’ve decided I want to reveal what my lovely mother-in-law tried to do to me.” I waited for his reaction. At first he was silent. Then a smile played on his lips. His body vibrated with laughter as he punched his fist in the air. “Go for it, Jen. You won’t get any objections from me. The bitch deserves it! Just be careful not to say anything she can turn into a defamation suit against the production company, okay?”

“I’ll do my best, but it might be hard to watch what I say once I get going.” While I relished the idea of sweet revenge, I yearned for it to be over. In all honesty, I was scared to death.

AMAZON: Listings for Arliss Adams   http://bit.ly/aaamazon 

 

WEBSITE: www.arlissadams-author.com

 

BLOG;       http://allaboutarliss.blogspot.com

 

TRAILER:  Devil’s Dance: http://bit.ly/devilsdance

                The Devil’s Due: http://bit.ly/devilsdue