Time for Stella's TARGET!

Jayne: TARGET, the new novel in your exciting Bayou Books series is finally in stores. Boy, howdy, about time! I've really been looking forward to this one. Tried to call you to tell you how much I loved this thriller. No answer. Where the heck are you, anyway?

Stella: I’m in Kauai where I’ve been writing for the last three weeks, finishing my first book with supernatural elements. It’s been so much fun, but now I’m ready to be “all about TARGET.”

Jayne: Kauai, huh? That's gotta be tough. Any sign of TARGET? Hard to miss that black and red cover with the big blue eye shining out.

Stella: Where I am right now, books hit the shelves seven to ten days later than they do on the Mainland so I’m getting my kicks from looking at a cover flat.

Jayne: You started this story with a really weird idea.

Stella: My mind is strange (hold back the mean comments, please) and I often think about subjects that don’t seem to have a real purpose. This time I was wondering about children who were born in communes and what might happen to them in life. Nick, Sarah and Aurelie, all grew up in a commune.

Jayne: They’re not related, though?

Stella: No. Nick was an only child. Sara and Aurelie are sisters who were homeless when they were taken in by the commune. They had been through really scary times. But once the three kids left the commune–Nick’s mother feared that Colin Fox, the group’s leader, had mass death in mind–after they got away they were taken in by an old friend of Nick’s mother who brought them up as if they were brother and sisters. She couldn’t adopt them because it wasn’t known if a parent would turn up to claim them one day.

Jayne: Chilling. Things are okay for the three now, though, right?

Stella: If being chased by a man who wants you dead is fine, then I guess so. And if the odd mysterious/scary event makes you feel great, then everything’s fine at this point. Then, of course, if you’re Nick and you’re in love with Aurelie–thought by most people to be your sister–whoopee. This is sounding worse all the time, isn’t it? But I can’t leave out the fact that both Sara and Aurelie are in love with Nick.

Jayne: All those twists illustrate what your fans have come to think of as one of the hallmarks of your writing style: You always tell your story at a scorching fast pace. Is that the way the plot and characters come to you?

Stella: We all seem to have a natural storytelling pace. I enjoy racing along and feeling as if I’m barely keeping up with unfolding events. It has always seemed to me that the only true offense a writer can commit is to be boring. When you want to turn pages quickly, it’s difficult to be bored.

Jayne: The Bayou Books are all set in Louisiana. The sultry, steamy, exotic atmosphere is infused in every story. What draws you to that locale?

Stella: I’m repeating myself, but Louisiana and the bayou country to the west have become one of my characters. The background is woven into the stories and they wouldn’t fit in Chicago or New York–or in most places. I’ve made a lot of friends in Louisiana and I’ve learned a good deal about the way they live and what matters to them. All of this information is my anchor.

Now I feel like rushing to Lafayette at once, then driving into New Orleans just to suck up the atmosphere.Don’t misunderstand me, I’m very aware of the problems New Orleans continues to fight, but we’re talking about people who aren’t about to give up and they’re taking their city back. Standing in the French Quarter, it’s easy to imagine that Katrina never happened. In time the whole city will be reclaimed.

Jayne: Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Stella. Readers, TARGET, is available in stores as we speak or you can buy it online by clicking on any of the links below.

You, Jayne, are a great interviewer!

Hugs to all and I hope you enjoy TARGET,

Stella


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