Interview with Ruth A Casie

Welcome, today we are talking with Ruth A Casie! I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy writing schedule to answer a few questions.

First, I think it’s important for readers to get a little insight on an author that they don’t necessarily get from your professional bio. You’d be surprised at what readers connect to, and sometimes the simplest ‘I can relate to that’ grabs their interest where nothing else can. Don’t answer anything you feel uncomfortable with.

Can you share a little something about Ruth A Casie that’s not mentioned in your bio on your website?

We have three children who are grown with families of their own. Every holiday they all move back home. It’s a wonderful time, although by the end of our time together I look forward to the quiet, please don’t tell them. Let that be our little secret.

 What is your favorite:

Animal 

My son and his girlfriend have a loveable King Shepherd. She’s a large dog with a dark silky coat. The big mush thinks she’s a lap dog.

Food

Without a doubt, it’s Cherry Vanilla ice cream. If that doesn’t qualify then good cakey bread slathered with raspberry preserves.

Movie

This is difficult. For the holidays I LOVE A Christmas Carol. The rest of the year I enjoy anything with Gerard Butler and Chris Pine.

TV show

My husband and I enjoy ballroom dancing so…. Dancing With the Stars is at the top of my list along with The Big Bang Theory. See my work in progress and you’ll understand why.

Actor

I had to think about this for a while and still couldn’t get it down to one. Here are my favorites: Benedict Cumberbatch, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp (I still insist I met him dressed in character as Jack Sparrow in Las Vegas), Gerard Butler and Chris Pine.

Singer

Adele.

Author

This is another tough decision. I love Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux (I nearly fell over when I noticed she was following me on Twitter), but my favorite is Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels. Oh, but what about Julia Quinn, Kristen Higgins, Hope Ramsey, Clive Cusler, Michael Crithton! I may have to rethink this answer.

 What are your pet peeves?

Gmail. I can NEVER find that one email I know I have. Okay, so it’s more my filing system than Gmail, but boy does it exasperate me when I’m searching for something and can’t find it.

 Who is your hero?

My husband is my hero. He took on a ready-made family with love, understanding and dedication. He’s helped the kids with homework, kept up their courage while they waited for college acceptances and PROUDLY watched them get their diplomas. He’s supported my writing and encouraged me every step of the way, falling short of reading my stories. Don’t laugh. He advocates for me, and tells people about my books, but as far as I can tell he is still only 150 pages into my first book (I have 17 stories).

Give us one thing on your bucket list.

I traveled throughout Europe and Asia when I worked for a large international bank and went to some really awesome places. I would love to go back, but this time with my husband.

What would readers find surprising about you?

I have a trainer at the gym for cardio and weight training. That’s not so special. My surprise—we also box.

If you could go to heaven, who would you visit?

When I told my older sister about my first book she asked me which of Mom’s romances did I like best. Mom was an avid reader, but she never read romances. My sister laughed and told me Mom kept the romance books under her bed and was surprised I never found them. Hmmm. I saw the gleam in her eye.

I didn’t start writing until after Mom was gone. If I could go to heaven I would visit my Mom. I would love to tell her all about my writing career and that my sister isn’t good at sharing.

Any bad habits?

I have ice cream every night. If it isn’t cherry vanilla, it’s Cherry Garcia.

What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you?

I was on my way to a writing conference and was pulled over for speeding. When the policeman asked me what I was thinking, I told him I was having a conversation with my hero. (There was no one else in the car with me.) He gave me a warning then told the empty seat to be quiet.

Now that our readers know a little bit more about Ruth A Casie, let’s get down to the business of your ghost story novella, The Witching Hour. How long did it take you from beginning to end before your story was completely finished, and how did you decide on the topic and title?

It took me two months from start, crafting the outline to finish, sending the manuscript to my editor.

I understand your genre is historical romance. What are the challenges to writing two very different genres?

This is a great question. For me the challenges come down to research, world building and speech patterns. Historical stories, even fantasies like the stories I write require a healthy amount of research into time periods, belief systems, and even the food eaten and clothes worn. I want my readers to see what I see, so my stories are heavy with description. This is a major reason why historical and fantasy stories have a longer word count. Speech patterns give a reader a feel for the time period and place. I don’t right in dialect, but in sentences designed to represent the period. I want my stories to sound realistic and to do that I must include as much realism as possible. 

Please tell us a little bit about The Witching Hour.

I loved reading The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan. I decided to write a ghost story along similar lines. Spoiler Alert! Rachel, the heroine is a ghost. I gave her a mission, one last chance to find her precious locket. I don’t want to say much more or I’ll spoil the twist at the end for you.

What was your hardest challenge writing this novella?

In this story, ghosts cannot communicate. The only way to bring in dialogue is through flashbacks which can be very tricky. The challenge was to make the flashbacks seamless and meaningful without taking the reader out of the action.

What in your opinion makes good chemistry between your leading characters?

For Rachel the instant connection is made when Steffen nearly runs her down on the road with his car. It isn’t just his well-defined abs, it’s more the concern in his eyes that tells her about his underlying emotion. The story takes you through their courtship and little things they both do for each other that speaks louder than words.

Any other works in progress?

I’ve recently finished the first book in a time travel trilogy. Here is my pitch.

Dream jobs. You think you know what you want and give up everything to attain them, but sometimes dreams turn into nightmares and when you wake… well, you find you gave up the best thing you ever had and are left with nothing.

Cari Holt, a Boston art detective with a background in particle physics has lost her dream job at the Boston MFA. Working on her own she uses a theorem she discovered in a lost journal penned by Albert Einstein to time travel in order investigate the truth behind the questionable artwork that got her fired.

Jayson Stone, Cari’s estranged fiancé left Boston and his position at DARPA with its siloes of information and black ops regimen for his dream job, working in the open-system environment of CERN Labs in Geneva as the company’s top security officer. When an accident creates a rift in the fourth dimension compromising the lab Jayson is called upon to abandon his dreams, prevent time travel and cloak the mishap under black op security.

After a disaster maroons Jayson in time Cari and Einstein’s theorem is his only hope. Will she close the rift and open her heart? Sacrifice a once in a life time career to get back the dream they both should never have let go.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

I asked Angela James of Carina Press this very same question after Carina Press published my first book, Knight of Runes. She said to write the next book. I didn’t believe her at first. I thought I had to do lots of marketing and brand building. But she was totally correct, write the next book.

Final words?

I really love writing stories. I find the process thrilling from the challenge of creating the plot and the characters down to the word choices. I write stories about empowered women and the men who deserve them and I hope their adventures become your favorite stories.

Thank you Coffee Time Romance for asking me these great questions and giving me an opportunity to speak to your readers.

Please include the following links:

Website:   RuthACasie.com

Blog:   RuthACasie.blogspot.com

Email:  Ruth@RuthACasie.com