Friday, July 16, 2010

Friday Friends with Leslie Kelly/Leslie Parrish

Welcome, Leslie, to Friday Friends. Glad to have you with us. A lot to talk about, so let's get started.

Before I forget, Leslie will be giving away an autographed copy of Cold Sight. If you leave a comment, please leave an email address so that we may get in touch with you should you be the LUCKY WINNER

Tell us about COLD SIGHT and where you came up with the idea.

Leslie: Last year, I debuted my new Leslie Parrish alter ego, and loved writing much darker romantic-thrillers. One of my favorite parts of doing that was creating a team of investigators working together to solve crimes, in that case, a group of FBI Cyber Action Team agents. I liked that they weren’t traditional cops or FBI agents, they stood out. When I decided to write a new series, I thought hard about another less conventional group of crime solvers—how they would work together, what they’d do. And maybe because of my extreme love of shows like Supernatural and Psychic Detective, I decided to try my hand at writing a paranormal detective agency.

Are you a plotter or a panster?

Leslie: A bit of both, actually. I used to be strictly a pantser, but when I started writing the longer suspense novels, I knew I had to have a few things laid out in advance, before I started writing. There are a lot of twists and turns in one of my Parrish books, red herrings, clues, and all those things can’t come if I just pants my way along.

Do you work with other writers, critique partners, critique group?

Leslie: I work with three of my oldest, dearest friends—Julie Leto, Carly Phillips and Janelle Dennison—in a plotting group. We meet once or twice a year and plot out our books, brainstorming all kinds of ideas while a recorder captures our conversation. Then I take those tapes, listen to them later and use them to springboard into my stories. It’s tremendously helpful—and a lot of fun!

What do you look for in your manuscript when doing revisions?

Leslie: I have a really bad habit of falling in love with certain words when I’m writing, and use them half to death. Some words show up again and again, book after book, like they do with every other, but some are unique. But I can definitely tell you I do a thorough “very/just/little/turned/smiled” hunt on every book!

What have you learned being published that you wish you knew before you were published?

Leslie: That it really doesn’t get easier. I mean, yes, it’s easier now for me to get another contract with Harlequin now that I’ve written 30+ books for them. But the day to day of this business is incredibly tough, and the writing itself just doesn’t get easier, it gets more difficult. Every word I write now feels familiar, and I have to work hard to find new ways to convey similar themes. Super tough!

Thanks so much for being with us, Leslie. Come back anytime.

Okay, remember leave a comment along with your email address. Leslie will be around all day to answer questions/comments.

To see more of Leslie's work visit her at
www.lesliekelly.com or visit her at www.plotmonkeys.com.

20 comments:

  1. Enjoyed this interview and learning more about Cold Sight and Leslie.
    I love reading romance, thrillers and a hint of paranormal so I think I'll enjoy Cold Sight too!

    mbarten72(at)upcmail(dot)nl

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  2. What a great interview! I read several snippets from COLD SIGHT a week or so ago via email and immediately put it at the top of my "to buy" list - looking forward to reading it! I'm especially fond of suspense/action-adventure and think it looks great!

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  3. Hey Les, dropping in to say hello. I still have my fingers crossed for more Black CATs books.

    Just wanted to show some love for you. Amazon says my copy of Cold Sight is on the way, but I have a feeling I will pick it up before it gets here. No worries, though. I will just pass on the second copy to someone else. Have a great time here. See you in the jungle, and throughout the cyberworld.

    Peace and love,
    Paula R.

    paula_02912@yahoo.com

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  4. Hi Leslie,

    Welcome to Heroines with Hearts. We're so glad to have you here with us today. I, too, am a combination of a plotter and a panster, although I tend to lean toward the pants side of things!

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  5. Congrats on the new release, Leslie. I loved your CAT books and can't wait to read "Cold Sight."

    janie1215 AT excite DOT com

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  6. Hi Leslie,

    It is hard to believe there are only 5 comments here! You know I am looking forward to reading Cold Sight. It should be in stores when I get a chance to go book shopping.

    Donna M
    gramdjm@sbcglobal.net

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  7. Hi Leslie,
    Great interview! Can't wait to read Cold Sight!

    chey127 at hotmail dot com

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  8. I know I want to read Cold Sight after reading your interview. I want to order it asap!
    I am intrigued by your saying, "writing gets harder after you write so many". The fact that you are cognizant of this happy problem suggests that each of your books proves to be very fresh.
    Thanks for being here today!

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  9. Hi Leslie!

    Hope you had a great blog day, sweetie :-)

    Cher

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  10. Hi all! Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my interview, and thanks again, Toni, for having me!

    And Ana--yeah, that little voice in the back of my mind saying, "You know you can find a better way of saying this!" definitely keeps me on my toes. I am constantly worried about repeating myself!

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  11. Congrats on the release of COLD SIGHT.

    I enjoyed reading the interview. Great idea about recording your brainstorming sessions. :)

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  12. Hi Leslie, I LOVE your comment about your hunt for words that you know you use too often! I have my own list too. How many different ways can I find to use instead of 'her heart jerked'? LOL

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  13. I enjoyed your interview very much. I have enjoyed reading your Black Cats books and your romance books. I look forward to reading this one too.

    seriousreader at live dot com

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  14. Cold Sight sounds awesome!
    I know what u mean about overusing a word or words that u seem to fall in love with too. I do that all the time and it's annoying lol
    bells DOT franco AT gmail DOT com

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  15. Congrats on your new release!
    The idea of a paranormal detective agency is intriguing: I'll look out for this book.

    cories119[at]yahoo.com

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  16. Congrads Leslie, I am looking forward to reading Cold Sight. See you back at Plot Monkeys.

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  17. I've been hearing alot about this one, sounds good! tWarner419@aol.com

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  18. Congrats on your release! Can't wait to read it! I actually reviewed the first book of the Black CAT series on my blog.

    spav05(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. Congrats to the winner of Kelly's book COLD SIGHT... drum roll please!!!!

    SPAV - I sent you an email. Please contact Kelly with your info.

    Thanks to everyone who stopped by. And be sure to come back next week when Carly Phillips will be joining us!

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  20. Sorry, Carly will be here on the 30th of July. NOT next week, but the week after!

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