Fresh Fiction Blog | A Q&A with Susan Mallery

Q: Your newest book takes us back to Fool's Gold, California. It's a town with more men than women and yet you never seem to have a hard time working in smart, hunky guys. Tell us about Finn, the brooding pilot who makes our heroine Dakota swoon in ONLY MINE.

Do you find it's harder to write the male or female characters, and why?

I don't find it difficult to write from the male perspective. In some ways, it's easier because men tend to cut to the chase more quickly than women. They think in straight lines, whereas we women take a circuitous route. One of the things I love best about writing is the freedom to slip into my characters' heads and to look at the same event from different perspectives. I think it makes me more empathetic in real life, too.

Q: When you first created Fool's Gold and started writing novels based there, did you have upcoming characters--like Dakota and her sisters--in mind, or has that come since you created the town? How has the series evolved?

I tend to think about a year ahead. So while I wrote the 2010 Fool's Gold books, yes, I did know that the Hendrix triplets would be my heroines this year. I love writing about sisters, and triplets were especially fun. This year, you'll meet the heroines of next year's Fool's Gold books, three women who are destined to fall in love with rugged cowboy brothers.

Q: Even though you write light, contemporary fiction, ONLY MINE and some of the other books in the Fool's Gold series take on major issues, like infertility and adoption. How do you manage to keep real topics approachable in each book? And how do you decide which newsworthy topic you're going to write about next?

I think the key to keeping any topic approachable is the character. If the reader feels like she knows the character and can relate to how she thinks and feels, she will gladly go along for the emotional journey. As for how I decide which topics to write about... that's a tougher question. Ideas come from everywhere, all the time. Some make no more impression than a feather landing for an instant and then floating away in the breeze. But some ideas stick with me, make me play the "what if" game in my head... those are the ideas that grow into books.

Q: As a writer, what kinds of books inspire you? Do you ever find time to read when you aren't writing your own novels?

I'm a reader first, a writer second. I always have at least two books going -- one nonfiction and one fiction usually romance, which I adore). What inspires me? A great story written well. When I read a really amazing book, I turn off the writer side of my personality and allow myself to be carried away. Then I re-read it and analyze what made it work. My goal with every single book is to write a story that readers will love, so I work hard to improve my craft.

Q: Tell us what we can expect next from Fool's Gold. Will Dakota's sisters be getting their own books?

Yes! ONLY YOURS and ONLY HIS, the stories of Montana and Nevada Hendrix, will be released over the next two months. Here's a little bit about each book to whet your appetite:

ONLY YOURS -- September August 30)

ONLY YOURS is a beauty & the beast story, with Dr. Simon Bradley playing both roles. He is the most physically stunning man that Montana Hendrix has ever met... on one side of his face. The other side of his face is scarred. But the scars run deeper than that. It will take the love of a happy woman and a tiny dog to teach the good doctor to open his heart.

ONLY HIS -- October September 27)

Oh wow, what can I say about ONLY HIS? Every time I think of this story, two words come to mind... but I can't tell you what those two words are without revealing a big secret. I will tell you that the two words made my editor kind of nervous at the synopsis stage. When she finished reading the book, she called me, laughing so hard she was crying, and said I had pulled it off.

Fool's Gold 2011 series

ONLY MINE
8/2011

ONLY YOURS
9/2011

ONLY HIS
10/2011

Comments

Congrats on the new release, Susan. I love it when books in a series are released back to back.
(Jane Cheung 2:08am August 9, 2011)

I can honestly say that I've never read your books, but you have whetted my appetite to get started on them!! I loved reading the interview, and not only enjoyed reading your candor, but loved your thought process going into how you thought out your books. Congratulations on your latest book, and I can't wait to read that one as well!! Someone chose a stunning cover for it!!
(Peggy Roberson 6:42am August 9, 2011)

I love Fool's Gold! I think Only Mine is my favorite of the series, though I do love
all of them. Can't wait for Only Yours!! You have certainly piqued my curiosity
with Only His, too. And I've heard COWBOYS are coming next!! Woo Hoo!!
(Angela MacIntyre 8:40am August 9, 2011)

Love the Fool's Gold series. Only Mine was a great story with the combination of romance and reality TV. I also liked each brother had his own story.
(Maria Munoz 10:00am August 9, 2011)

This has been an amazing series. However, I'm such a fan of Susan's and I've read three quarters of her books.

Fools Gold, what's not to like.,....love, laughter and happy endings? Can it get any better?
(Marilyn Shoemaker 10:01am August 9, 2011)

It can stay hot outside all it wants. That just gives me more time to stay in & read more of Susan's books. ;)
(Jeanette Blanco 12:36pm August 9, 2011)

Wow, one book after the other. Girl you sure are prolific. I'd have to have a lot of outlines to keep everything straight with three books coming out in 3 months.
Humor makes the reading go quickly and is good exercise, too.
(Alyson Widen 3:44pm August 9, 2011)

Thank you, Jane! I like that, too. I hate making readers wait too long. :)
(Susan Mallery 5:51pm August 9, 2011)

Thank you so much, Peggy, for giving my books a try! You can read free excerpts of the Fool's Gold books at www.foolsgoldca.com/bookstore.html.

And yes, I loooooove the covers of ONLY MINE, ONLY YOURS, and ONLY HIS! Aren't they pretty? Big thumbs up to Harlequin's art department!
(Susan Mallery 5:54pm August 9, 2011)

Angela, Thank you! And as cruel as it might make me sound, I hope the curiosity about ONLY YOURS and ONLY HIS has you in knots. ;)

Yes, three handsome cowboy brothers will move to Fool's Gold next year. I'm writing the book for the middle brother now, having so much fun!
(Susan Mallery 5:56pm August 9, 2011)

Thank you so much, Maria! I'm thrilled that you're enjoying your visits to Fool's Gold.
(Susan Mallery 5:58pm August 9, 2011)

Aw, thank you, Marilyn! You are always so good to me. I appreciate it!
(Susan Mallery 5:58pm August 9, 2011)

Jeanette, It is so hot around the country! I'll take a little of that here in Seattle. Well... I'll take the sunshine, but you can keep the heat.
(Susan Mallery 5:59pm August 9, 2011)

Oh, Alyson, you are so right. My assistant keeps a massive list of character names, hair colors, relationships, etc. As I write the Fool's Gold books, I keep a thick binder right beside me the whole time, and I refer to it often. I often refer to the city map on the Fool's Gold website so I can keep the locations straight. www.foolsgoldca.com
(Susan Mallery 6:02pm August 9, 2011)

Three weeks 'til the next Fool's Gold - how am I going to last
that long?!?
(Kelly Redwine 9:41pm August 9, 2011)

"It's a town with more men than women..." Huh? I thought it was the other way around! For sure, that's what I remember reading in one of the excerpts to the first book. (The PR woman was hired to publicize Fool's Gold's plight in a good way.)

Am I wrong, or remembering another series by someone else?

Later,

Lynn
(Lynn Rettig 3:16pm August 10, 2011)

Love your Fools Gold series, what a town to live in......
(Joanne Bozik 3:51pm August 10, 2011)

Love the Fool's Gold Series! Only Mine is a continuation of greatness from Susan Mallery!
(Lora Roberts 10:19am August 13, 2011)

Congratulations on your new book. I love a good book and Fools Gold Series sounds like some great books. I don't believe I have ever read your books Susan but would love to. I'll have to put you on my list!
(Brenda Rupp 9:02pm August 28, 2011)

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