Nadaness
In Motion's Exclusive Interview as part of the blog tour
Nadaness In Motion: If you could time travel,
which era (and country) would you go to?
Wendy
Tyson: Ancient Greece. I’m cognizant of the fact that women
didn’t fare so well during many eras and in many countries, including Ancient
Greece. They were often viewed as the property of their husbands or fathers and
had few rights and little recourse under the law. But to time travel for a
visit only? That would be fascinating.
Nadaness In Motion: Who are your favourite – and
least favourite – classical authors?
Wendy
Tyson: Some of my favorites include Charlotte Bronte, Dickens,
Victor Hugo, Jane Austen, Hemmingway, and Dostoyevsky.
Least
favorite? Probably James Joyce. I’ve really tried, but his work never captured
me.
Nadaness In Motion: Which countries are on your
bucket list?
Wendy
Tyson: I love to travel and I have a very long bucket list. A
few from the top of that list are Argentina and Chile (specifically Patagonia),
Norway, and Iceland. I’d also like to visit Easter Island.
Nadaness In Motion: What is the hardest thing
about writing a mystery novel?
Wendy
Tyson: Rewriting a mystery novel. I love writing that first
draft—all the freedom, all that white space. While editing is critical, I find
the rewrites harder, especially the third or fourth rewrite, when you’re really
fine tuning language and making sure every word advances the story.
Nadaness In Motion: How many books can you work
on at the same time? Don't you worry about mixing bits and pieces when working
on more than one book?
Wendy
Tyson: I’m currently working on three books—two first drafts
and a line edit of another. I don’t
really worry about mixing bits and pieces. I work on each book separately. That
is, when I’m focusing on one book, that’s all I do, and I usually don’t work on
two books during the same day (unless it’s editing). Plus, the characters for
each book are very different from one another as are the settings, tone, etc.
It’s rather like having different groups of friends. You don’t mix them up.
Nadaness In Motion: What is the first thing you
pick when you decide to write a new mystery? (Place, character to die, book
name…?)
Wendy
Tyson: Title. Although the title may change eventually,
having a great title helps me to define the storyline, consider themes, and
flesh out the characters. I like having that word or phrase to root the novel.
Nadaness In Motion: If you could pick one of your
books to become a movie or a series, which would it be?
Wendy
Tyson: I think the Greenhouse Mystery Series would
make a terrific Hallmark Channel movie or television series!
Nadaness In Motion: What has impacted your
writing the most?
Wendy
Tyson: Two things have impacted my writing the most: my
upbringing and my career history.
I
come from a family of strong women. My great-grandmother came to this country
from Italy as a teen. She had an arranged marriage to an older man, little
education, and struggled with English. Nevertheless, she learned the language
and the culture and eventually became a successful businesswoman while raising
her kids, investing in real estate and flipping properties before it was
trendy. I’ve been blessed to experience that kind of grit in many of the women
in my family. Their strength fuels my characters.
My
career history has also impacted my writing. As a young woman I was a horse
farm worker and a veterinary assistant. Later I attended graduate school for
counseling psychology and was a therapist, then went to law school. All of these
career paths have influenced my characters and my books, but my psych
background has probably been the most impactful. I was only in my twenties when
I was working with troubled teens and their families. Those kids—their
vulnerability, their resilience—have stayed with me and inspired not only the
Allison Campbell series but characters and themes in other novels.
Nadaness In Motion: Tell us a bit about Allison
Campbell, the protagonist of your mystery series.
Wendy
Tyson: Allison Campbell is Philadelphia’s premier image
consultant. A dissertation shy of a PhD in psychology, she spends her days
helping others reinvent themselves, but her biggest transformation was her own.
Allison
had a troubled childhood. Determined to overcome an abusive family life, she
decided to become a psychologist. While in graduate school, she grew close to a
teenage patient who ran away and was presumed dead. Allison blamed herself.
Eventually Allison moved to the Philadelphia Main Line and reinvented herself
as an image consultant. She’s able to use her understanding of human nature and
her own experiences as an outsider to assist others (and solve crimes), but no
matter how successful she becomes, the mistakes of her past haunt her.
Nadaness In Motion: How many parts are you
planning for the Allison Campbell Mystery Series?
Wendy
Tyson: Fatal Façade
is the fourth installment in the series. Right now, I have a contract for six
books.
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