Author Interview
Madge Walls with her grandchildren, Barnes and Noble, Rockford
- How did Paying the Price evolve?
I was actually working on a Civil War historical novel, and the research got the best of me. The more I read the less I wrote. So I put all the Civil War books away and decided to write a novel about something that I knew about. At about the same time I picked up a mystery novel in which a main character was a Realtor – overdressed, overly made up, brassy, obnoxious and of course the murderer. I decided I'd write a novel about a Realtor who was a hard working, good person, as were so many of my best friends in the business. Between us, we'd certainly had enough zany experiences to draw inspiration from.
- You have previously published a non-fiction book. Did you find the writing process different for writing fiction? How so?
Non-fiction involves research and verification of facts, which makes it interesting. With fiction, you make it up as you go along, which makes it fun. Of course you have to make sure that any real life facts involved in the story are correct, but basically you create your own world within the bounds of what a reader will accept. I've represented the real estate business as I knew it, but the characters and their interactions are entirely made up. Writing fiction is great fun. It's like having a mai tai for breakfast every day.
- Paying the Price is set in Maui. How did the time you lived in Hawaii influence your work? What are your most vivid memories from those years?
I lived in Hawaii from the age of two until I moved to Colorado in 2001, minus my college years and a few years afterwards in Canada. Hawaii was a wonderful place to grow up – casual, lots of outdoor fun. The racial situation was different from any other place in the country – enriching and at times intimidating. In Paying the Price I tried to show what it was like for a “haole” (Caucasian) girl to grow up there. Vivid memories? Riding my horse in Kapiolani Park and at Diamond Head Beach, surfing, snorkeling, fishing. And racing my classmates to the grade school library every week to get the best books!
- What is the significance of the book's title?
I wanted a title that spoke to the real estate business and Laura's personal life. In both, she certainly paid the price.
- The heroine Laura McDaniel could have been almost any type of professional woman trying to hold it together after a divorce. Why did you choose to make her a Realtor?
The real estate business is what I know, and I found it fascinating. Realtors get involved with their clients just as doctors and lawyers do, and sometimes the circumstances are hair-raising. We have doctor and lawyer novels – why not Realtor novels?
- You have three sons. How did you capture the mother-daughter relationship and its complexities between Laura and Annie?
I've observed my friends as they deal with their difficult daughters. And often I've been grateful that I have sons. Life seems a bit more straight-forward with boys. My plot called for Laura to have a difficult child. I couldn't make it a boy, because my sons would have wondered forever which one of them I based him on. With a daughter, I could give my imagination free rein. And don't forget, I'm on the other end of a mother-daughter relationship myself.
- Dr. Randy Entwistle is one of the more complex characters in the book. How do you think readers will view her?
Hopefully they'll see Randy as a quirky bundle of contradictions, as are many people in this world. She's a very respected professional who just can't manage her personal life. I expect I'd have enjoyed knowing her under different circumstances.
- What is the central theme of Paying the Price?
The main theme, in my mind, is coping with loss. Laura's husband simply took off, leaving her with more questions than answers. Then Annie left, and left again. Even her parents were never there for her. She makes the best of it, honoring her obligations to her children and pressing Frank for the truth no matter how unpleasant it is. She continues to love her daughter and parents no matter what. Her final decision regarding Feather is also a loss, but after giving it fair, honest and painful thought, she does what she believes is best for Feather.
- Do you think readers will agree with the choices Laura makes?
Maybe, maybe not. A satisfying novel leaves the reader with questions and things to think about well after finishing it. Would I have made the choices Laura did? Fortunately I have not been faced with such heart-wrenching choices in my own life. I think we never know how we will react to a difficult situation until the situation is upon us. What I didn't want to present was a predictable outcome. Not everybody goes to the beach and lives happily every after.
- Who are your writing influences? Who inspires you?
I read almost exclusively fiction, with an occasional biography or history. My all-time hero is James Michener. I love Anne Perry, who writes Victorian mysteries, and Sue Grafton with her Alphabet mysteries. I've been on a John Jakes historical jag recently, and loved every word of Alexander McCall Smith's series that began with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Give me vivid characters and a rich plot, and I'm a happy reader. People ask me how I could have left the wonderful Hawaiian weather. Well, Colorado winters are great for reading and writing.
- Will we see Laura in future books?
You bet. I'm well into the next one, in which one of Laura's listing clients has Alzheimer 's disease. Reality strikes slowly, and nobody else in the woman's family is available on Maui to help. Laura will also fall in love, but I'm afraid it won't end well. I recently saw the perfect man on whom to pattern her love interest. He's a croupier at the roulette table in the Casino at Monte Carlo. Gorgeous, but not a nice person, I decided. Of course he has no idea he has a starring role in Laura's next adventure.
- Did your mother like the book?
Yes, and she particularly liked Laura's mother, Margaret, a woman with “starch in her backbone.” Interestingly, Margaret is my favorite character in the story, too. I had a lot of fun with her.
