Today I’m pleased to welcome T.C Archer to Off the Page chatting about their new book For His Eyes Only.
1. Tell a little about yourself, what you do when you’re not writing, what are your aspirations for the future?
Evan: I teach and do some consulting when I’m not writing. I play tennis and build furniture.
Shawn: When I’m not writing, I’m working or spending time with my daughter. She started high school this year, so the fun is just beginning!
2. When and why did you start writing?
Evan: I started writing in junior high. I gave it up because I didn’t have time, but I found I was compelled to write. After finishing my schoolwork, publishing papers and a textbook, I went back to writing fiction.
Shawn: I fooled around with the idea of writing when I was in my early thirties, but I was sure I was too old. I read lots of fiction for the next few years and finally gave in to the compulsion to write that first scene just before my fortieth birthday. That, as they say, was that. I was hooked.
3. If you could only read one book over and over again for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Evan: It would be Lord of the Rings, as long as that doesn’t count as three books. Otherwise, I would choose The Federalist Papers.
Shawn: The Green Mile. My all time favorite book is A Tale of Two Cities, but it’s too sad to read over and over and over. (I do reread the book every few years.) But The Green Mile is so beautifully written, I simply never tire of it.
4. Give us some back story about For His Eyes Only, where and when did you write it?
For His Eyes Only was a story idea that I (Shawn) got first. I was interested in writing a Jason Bourne female counterpart, so Jesse Evans of The Office of Internal Affairs was created. This was the third book we started, and the first we finished.
5. What inspired your story?
Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne of The Bourne Identity was the inspiration for this book.
6. What was your favorite part of For His Eyes Only to write?
Evan: My favorite part was the sting at the end.
Shawn: Because this book has so much action in it, it’s hard for me to choose. However, I find the second scene in the book particularly moving, because Jesse witnesses two of her team members murdered.
7. Are you working on any other projects at the moment?
Yes, we’re currently working on a romantic suspense entitled In the Company of Kate. This is another mainstream romantic suspense with a twist: she’s an older woman.
8. Are you a Pantser or Plotter? Why?
We do a little of both. When one of us gets an idea, we’ll usually pass the book back and forth a few times to get a handle on how we feel about the characters. A few chapters in, we usually have to do at least a light outline so that we’re sure we’re on the same page. The more complicated the book, the more in-depth the outline.
9. Do you have any tricks to your trade, bottomless coffee, a magic pen, a special muse?
Evan: Oh yes, the ass-in-the-seat trick. Put your ass in the seat and stay there until you write 1000 words.
Shawn: ROFL. Bottomless coffee is a favorite of mine.
10. If you could be any fictional character for a day, who would it be and why?
Evan: Bond, James Bond. Besides being the most interesting man in the world, I’d expect to have a fantastic adventure in that one day.
Shawn: Wonder Woman. I think being an Amazon woman would be so cool.
Jesse Evans is the most wanted woman in the world. She must prove she didn’t sell out the elite Special Ops team she sent into a Colombian village to rescue a little girl, or her sister dies. Only one man can save them both. But he isn’t who Jesse thinks he is.
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