Linda, was becoming an author planned or was it spontaneous?

Michael, I’d have to say it was a long term plan, since writing a novel has been my life’s goal since, oh, grade school. In fifth grade I entered and placed in the Daughters of the American Revolution’s essay contest, which convinced me I was destined to be a writer. (I’m so easily encouraged…) The road to publication was a long one, paved with rejection slips, but I persevered, in part because of a fortune from a Chinese take-out meal that promised, If you work seriously, you will succeed.

What was the inspiration for your novel, Star-Crossed?

The character made herself known to me in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, while I was at the helm of the HM Bark Endeavour, an Australian-built replica of Captain James Cook’s 18th century ship. My husband and I, both sailors, had signed on as “voyage crew” to perform the duties of 18th century grunts on the three-week crossing from Vancouver to Hawaii. There were about 35 of us, mostly middle aged and older, under the direction and command of 16 experienced, and mostly youthful, crewmembers.

Learning the rudiments of sailing a square-rigger, climbing aloft to make sail and sleeping in a hammock like an 18th century sailor was one of the most unusual adventures of my life, and the closest thing to a time machine I can imagine. Aboard Endeavour the 18th century came alive for me. Patricia Kelley, my young protagonist, sprang from the setting and from my own experience as a woman among men, on her own personal quest.

You have been praised by readers for your depth of research. How much time and effort did you put into this stage of the writing process?

When I stepped off the Endeavour in Kona, I had the seeds for a novel, but I needed to know so much more before I could write the story. During the next three years I researched the era, reading everything I could get my hands on that was remotely relevant, visited maritime museums on two continents and two islands. I sailed with my husband on our own 36 foot sloop, to immerse myself in the maritime setting, as well as aboard a chartered sailboat in the Caribbean, where much of the novel takes place. At the same time I was developing my characters and playing with plot.

Four years later I had a working draft of Star-Crossed, but continued to research, revise, and rewrite as I began the long, arduous search for an agent. Seven years after the idea was born aboard Endeavour, Star-Crossed was published by Knopf. But the research continues. I’m hooked. In fact, I’m back in school, finishing my degree in history.

How many books will there be in the Star-Crossed series?

The manuscript was purchased as a stand-alone, but there was so much time between acceptance and publication (two years!) and I was so caught up with the characters and the setting, that I began to write a sequel, not knowing if it would be wanted, but just because I was having so much fun with it.

At this point book two (working title, Andromeda) is written, but not yet published. The third book of the Star-Crossed trilogy is outlined, and I see possibilities for take-offs for other books from characters I’ve introduced in the first three books.

My agent and I have parted ways (amicably) and I’m looking for another to represent the trilogy, as well as my current novel-in-progress – a sea-going tale with a paranormal twist.

You also co-authored two non-fiction books, Rocky Mountain Wineries and Colorado Kids. Tell us more.

Rocky Mountain Wineries; a travel guide to the wayside vineyards (Pruett; 1994) was my first published book, a personal milestone in my career. At the time I was a single parent, freelancing for magazines and working full time as a registered nurse, part time as a skydiving instructor. But one of my life ambitions was to write a book. I knew it was “easier” to interest a publisher in a non-fiction book as opposed to a novel, but what was I qualified to write about? I sent out queries about a healthcare book, but got no interest. Skydiving was too arcane to have much of a market. I had had some success with adventure travel articles published in magazines, so I toyed with the idea of some sort of travel book.

One day Bob and I were tooling about the Colorado countryside in his 1984 Corvette when we chanced upon a winery. I was amazed to learn that grapes thrive in certain microclimates in these high altitudes, and that some pretty decent wine was being made by knowledgeable people. This was more than just a mom-and-pop swill shop. Upon further investigation, I found there were many small wineries and vineyards throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Who knew? I wrote up a killer query, sent it off to Pruett, a regional publisher in Boulder, Colorado. Quite frankly I was surprised when I got the call: “We love it. Send us a full proposal.”

Oh, #x@*! Now I’ve got to learn a whole lot about wine, fast! Even though my proposed book was a travel guide, not an oenophile’s guide to wine tasting, I still had to have some authority. Oh, the research involved was arduous, as you might imagine. In researching Rocky Mountain Wineries we spent weekends driving the Corvette through seven Rocky Mountain states, ferreting out wineries and tasting their wares. Now how fun was that?

Because we were writing a book about wineries, Bob and I were invited to be judges in a Chardonnay tasting event down in New Mexico. After tasting something like 42 different Chardonnays before lunch one Saturday, I considered myself much more qualified to write about the wonderful Chardonnay being grown and crafted in the Rocky Mountain states. (I also began to consider writing a follow-up book, Guide to the Rocky Mountain Rehab clinics…)

After the success of Rocky Mountain Wineries, the publisher asked if we’d like to write a regional guidebook for parents. And so Colorado Kids; a statewide outdoor family adventure guide (Pruett; 1997) took off. Because we had raised kids in Colorado, we were considered authorities on the subject. Colorado Kids was well received, but I have to admit, Colorado Wineries was more fun to write.

What was it like collaborating with Bob Russell?

Although I was the writer, Bob is a well-rounded renaissance man (who may have been an editor in a former life.)

We do a lot together. For instance, we taught skydiving, and one summer managed a drop zone, Skydive St. Louis. We enjoy travelling to Europe, and to exotic places like Namibia, Borneo, the Amazon River. It was Bob who introduced me to scuba diving and sailing; we’ve sailed thousands of miles together, mostly aboard our sloop Topaz. We’ve fought brushfires together; both of us were volunteer firefighters for Hawaii County. Our life together has been one continuing adventure. It seemed natural that we collaborate on my first book.

Although he did not collaborate on Star-Crossed, Bob was a great sounding board. He has been, and continues to be, supportive in every way. How lucky am I!

To learn more about Linda Collison, visit: http://www.lindacollison.com/

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