Author’s Choice with Catherine Dilts & Merida Bass

Please welcome Catherine and Merida to Author’s Choice.

Dear readers, here’s where you get to play along. The author will tell us two truths and one lie (ed comment –I randomized the order). At the end of the questions, we’ll reveal what really happened. Remember, we write crime fiction, so lying is in our nature . . .

Two Truths, One Lie

Truth or Lie? One of our ancestors fought for the Union during the Civil War and survived a Confederate prisoner of war camp.

Truth or Lie? Catherine and Merida have climbed all of Colorado’s 14ers (14,000-foot and above mountain peaks).

Truth or Lie? Catherine and Merida adopted three tuxedo brother kittens from the same litter.

Eight Quick Questions

Now for some fun insight into today’s author. Here are eight forced choice questions.

1.         First draft: longhand, keyboard, or dictation? Keyboard, using Google Docs. It’s the only way co-authoring works for us. We can work and make changes in real time, rather than passing documents back and forth. A couple of years ago, we tried using the live version of Word to do this, but it wasn’t as responsive as Google. Perhaps it has improved, but now that we have a good system, why change it? We also use Google Sheets for rough outlining. 

2.         Plotter, pantser, or plantser (that chaotic middle ground)?

Plotter – for planning and the first draft. There is no way we could co-author without a roadmap for the story. Later, some plantsing comes into play as we fill in the details. Some really fun and crazy things happen as the characters develop. 

3.         Character names: meticulously researched, stolen from real life, or whatever sounds right?

Naming characters is difficult for Catherine. She often uses baby name websites. Both Catherine and Merida keep a list of characters to avoid using too similar names, or names all starting with the same letter. When Merida hears unusual names out in the wild, she makes note of them. She’s fond of recording interesting spellings she sees on nametags, though she rarely uses them. 

4.         Writing space: coffee shop chaos, library quiet, or home sweet home?

Catherine is too easily distracted by sound, movement, even smells. She has to be able to shut out all that sensory input, and home is the easiest environment to control. Merida also prefers home for similar reasons. It’s the only place she can work beneath a sleepy cat.

While at home, Catherine and Merida usually talk on the phone to read through what they’ve written separately and discuss significant changes. Depending on the phase of their project, Merida brings her laptop to Catherine’s house so they can work in person. During those times, Catherine’s husband whips up a batch of his buttery eggs to fuel the writers while Catherine’s puppy, Strider, naps at their feet. 

5.         Writer's block: push through, step away, or "it's not real"? Catherine believes writer’s block is poorly understood. It can be as simple as needing to get some fresh air. In her case, it can actually be a low-grade asthma attack robbing her brain of oxygen, or discomfort from ergonomic issues. Stand up, move around, and the creativity returns.

If deadlines are involved, Merida pushes through. Simply typing a few words on the page is usually enough to get her creativity flowing. Otherwise, Merida likes to change up what she’s working on to keep things fresh. If writing is bogging her down, she works on illustrating her children’s books, or drawing fine art. Both writers never seem to run out of ideas when they are actively working together. They often seed each other’s creativity. 

6.         Reading your own work aloud: love it, tolerate it, or would rather eat glass? Catherine used to read her stories out loud, tolerating the sound of her own voice to try to capture mistakes and poor dialogue. Merida brought her up to speed with modern technology: the reading feature on Word. Although Catherine has been known to refer to the computer voice as a “creature,” she finds it invaluable in catching errors her brain “fixes.” This is called “perceptual restoration,” and can make writers blow right past missing words in sentences, typos, and other seemingly obvious errors. 

Merida recently completed recording the audiobook for “Frayed Dreams,” the first co-authored novel she and Catherine published. A third-party is editing the recordings, but Merida has still had to listen to the final product multiple times. She was surprised to find she doesn’t hate listening to her own voice. More surprisingly, Merida hasn’t gotten bored going through the novel again and again. Perhaps this is because half of the words in the story aren’t her own. 

7.         Happy ending, bittersweet, or gut-punch finale? Writing series requires each novel provide a satisfying conclusion, while leaving unanswered questions that draw the reader to the next book. Each book in our Ninja-Grandparent series will have a happy ending, but also a touch of bittersweetness for our PI father and his adult daughter as they navigate their newly restored relationship. Merida finds the real world rather depressing. For her, it’s nice for novels to provide a sweet escape. But it doesn’t always have to be happy. It is most important for the ending to fit the tone of the tale. 

8.         Deadline approaching: calm and prepared, thriving on adrenaline, or full panic mode? Catherine goes into full panic mode that drives her husband and her daughter’s family crazy. Even with this self-awareness, she does it almost every stinking time.

Merida stays calm as long as she has enough time to dedicate to the job. When real life gets in the way, she trades sleep and self-care time for work time, and gets cranky as a result. Panic ensues, but it doesn’t interfere with productivity. Having an end in sight is the carrot that fuels adrenaline and keeps both authors pushing through.

About the Book

Enough about you, let’s turn to three questions about your book.

Q: If your main character in this novel showed up at your door right now, what would be the first thing they'd say to you (and would it be a complaint)?

A. Catherine opens the door, and Thorne Bramble stands there, his fists jammed in the pockets of his well-worn PI-style trench coat. “Will you let me solve the kidnapping cases just one time? I am the best PI in Colorado Springs!”

Q: What's one thing you hope readers take away from this book?

A. Family can be biological, but it can also be formed by people who come together to create their own clan. It’s never too late to discover the value of multi-generational bonds.

Q: What question did you want me to ask, and what is your answer? 

A. What inspired this series? The memorial service for the patriarch of our family, Catherine’s father, Merida’s grandfather. This was a particularly crushing time for Merida. Catherine’s younger sister informed them the hotel they were staying in wasn’t safe. She warned that “Human traffickers are everywhere, and they’ll take anybody.” She shook her finger in warning, saying, “And I mean anybody.” Implying that, as ridiculous as it might seem that kidnappers would bother with a middle-aged mom and a senior citizen grandma, even they were in danger of being snatched.

     Despite the seriousness of the subject, with all the sadness they were going through, Aunt Debby’s intensity created the exact opposite effect. Laughter was perhaps an inappropriate relief, but the idea for the series was born in this moment.

The Big Reveal

Now let’s see how good a sleuth (or guesser) our readers are. Please reveal all.

The lie is that Merida and Catherine have climbed all Colorado 14ers. They have climbed many, but not nearly all of the 58 mountain peaks.

Catherine’s great-great-grandfather did serve in the Union Army during the Civil War, and did time as a prisoner of war. He escaped captivity, only to be sent back again to operate as a spy.

Catherine and Merida both adopted handsome tuxedo boys from a cat-fostering author friend. They are from the same litter. Catherine took one, while Merida added two to her household.

Here’s a blurb for and some links where you can find the first in their series:

Book Blurb

[Amazon]       [Barnes & Noble]     

Want to know more?

For more information about Catherine Dilts  https://www.catherinedilts.com and Merida Bass https://merida-creates.com