Interview by M. M. Jeffries from July of 2003   MMJ: When or What made you decide to become an author? Mallory Kane: The usual. I was reading romances and I thought... you know, I could write this stuff.   MMJ: How do you get an idea for your novel? What is the inspiration you use? Mallory Kane: This is a tough question to answer. My ideas just keep coming. A line in a movie, an intriguing character I either see somewhere or think of, someone else's book that inspires me. I wrote HEART OF THE HERO because I was so angry at the ending of the movie Somersby!!! My first book with Harlequin Intrigue started as a writing exercise. MMJ: Who is the “ Writing Muse” in your life? I.E. who gets your juices flowing when you are blocked? Mallory Kane: I have a critique partner who pushes me to the limit, plot-wise! She's a fabulous plotter and she is always telling me I can up the stakes more.   MMJ: How do you breathe life into your characters? Mallory Kane: Another tough question. I believe that the best characters have what David Freeman calls 'rooting interest.' And the very best have more than one. Characters must be accessible to the reader, because these days, readers want to connect with the characters, get into their skin. So the character has to be someone the reader can either identify with or care about (or preferably both.) One of Freeman's classic 'rooting interest' characteristics is 'undeserved misfortune.' You can always feel for someone who lost his wife in an accident, or who was an abused or neglected child, or who is unjustly accused of something.   MMJ: What is the type of voice you use and why? Mallory Kane: Boy you ask the tough questions don't you? I'm not sure I can describe my voice... if by voice you mean how I write. I'd like to think I have a unique voice (wouldn't we all?) I've been told by my editor at Harlequin Intrigue that my Intrigues are 'tense and edgy.' So maybe I have a 'tense and edgy voice.'   MMJ: How many novels have you written including all work in progresses you are currently working on? Mallory Kane: I have written 12 novels, I've published 7.   MMJ: Walk me though the way you create a novel from conception to completion. Mallory Kane: First comes the idea. Sometimes this is the longest process, from idea to writing anything. My ideas churn in my head until I'm ready to start the story. Somewhere in the process the hero and heroine start beckoning to me. Sometimes only one, sometimes both. Generally, the gist of the story (after the idea has been churning) comes kind of like a spark. One second it's not there, the next second it is. This doesn't mean I get the story whole cloth... but I do get the theme or the overriding concept that way. Then comes the hard part. Actually writing the book. Often I don't have a lot of trouble with the first three chapters. But as my critique partner says, the story is worked out in the 4th and 5th chapters, and often those are the hardest for me to write. Mostly because I don't outline or do a detailed synopsis prior to writing. Much of the book comes to me as I write. Then at some point after the 5th chapter, if I'm lucky, a light comes on and the rest of the book nearly writes itself.   MMJ: Who is you “writing idol”? I.E. Who do you like and what is it about there writing that captures your soul? Mallory Kane: For sheer beauty of the writing and excellent story-telling ability--Andre Norton and C. S. Friedman. For brilliant story ideas--Tami Hoag. For pure writing talent, the late, wonderful Carmel Thomaston who wrote as Fay Robinson.   MMJ: How do you create the imagery or build a scene in your novels? Mallory Kane: Some of this stuff seems to be instinctive. I don't consciously create imagery or build scenes. During rewriting I try to check for those things, but mostly I just write.   MMJ: What is does a villain do for a novel? Mallory Kane: Villains are exceptionally fun to write. The villain in my first Harlequin Intrigue provided all the suspense. There were a bunch of scenes in his point of view, so the reader followed his thought process the entire time he was stalking and planning to kill the hero. I like to write a villain who has more than one side--he or she is not totally bad, or not totally without feelings. I think it gives the character depth and makes the reader wonder about his/her motivation.   MMJ: What is you favorite plot line type? Mallory Kane: Oh good! An easy question. If I see the word 'amnesia' on a back cover blurb--I'm there! Coincidentally I explored my favorite plot types for a recent talk I gave to an RWA chapter. I think An amnesia plot is one that resonates with many readers. Amnesia gives the hero or heroine the chance to start over. A clean slate. It's also a transformation. A bad boy hero can reform. A heroine can correct mistakes she made. This is sort of a Beauty and the Beast story. I believe that stories that can mirror faerie tales can hardly fail. Faerie tales are so popular and long- lasting because they encompass parts of the collective unconscious--the grounding in myth and story-telling that we all possess.  Another favorite plot for me is the marriage of convenience. This is like the Daddy Long-Legs story. Love is under your nose all the time. This is also a Beauty and the Beast story. Two people, thrown together, discover they love each other. Marriage of convenience doesn't have to be a marriage. It can be 'forced proximity.' You know, throw a hero and heroine on a desert island alone together.   MMJ: What is your current work in progress and how did get the idea for the Work in Progress? Mallory Kane: I'm currently working on a continuity series. Ironically I was given a 'bible' for this story, but for some reason the hero and heroine's conflicts and motivations resonated with me. I've been able to take the basic information given to me by the editor and expand on it to make both the hero and heroine into what I hope will be interesting people that readers will care about.   MMJ: Describe the major conflict between the hero and heroine in your novel? I.E. Why they cannot get together and be a couple. Mallory Kane: In this WIP, the hero is a poor kid who went into the Armed Services to try and make something of his life and support his younger sisters. His father abandoned his family to run off with a rich socialite. The hero is recruited to work undercover, pretending he's rich, to seduce a rich socialite to get information about organized crime. The heroine is a mob widow. She is practically a prisoner in her home, because she's 'married to the mob' even though her husband is dead. She wants out, but doesn't trust anyone who's too much like her dead husband. The hero is afraid the heroine is just like the woman who stole his father. Both of them hate money, and both are afraid to trust the other. There are other subplots that deepen the conflict for the characters, but that's the gist of it.   MMJ: Is there any advice you can offer to anyone who would like to write? Mallory Kane: My advice is persistence, persistence, persistence. If you have some talent and the ability to accept the inevitable rejections and hang in there, you'll make it.   MMJ: What do you use to draw a reader into your novel? Mallory Kane: My goal is to use rooting interest, as I mentioned above, the 5 senses in description, a compelling and fast-paced style, and a balance of internal and external, dialogue and introspection, and description and story-telling, to hold the reader's attention.   MMJ: Are there any last comments you may want to include? Mallory Kane: I appreciate the opportunity to express my opinions about writing. I wish writers the best in their careers, I wish readers a never-ending To Be Read pile of great books by great authors, and I hope my comments have helped someone.   Rickey R. Mallory took early retirement from her position as Assistant Chief of Pharmacy at the VA Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, to pursue her other loves, writing and art. She is multi-published in short and novel length romance and science fiction and fantasy. Her short stories and novels have been nominated for and won numerous awards, and have garnered praise from such outstanding writers as Tom Easton, Judith Ivory, and Kinley MacGregor. Her published novels can be seen at:  www.mallorykane.com and www.mallorykane.com.