Talkshow Thursday:
Award-winning Author Hallee Bridgeman
Linda: Thanks
for joining me today. Your most recent book is part of a collection of
connected stories. How did that come about and where did you get the
inspiration for the plot?
Hallee: Thank you for having me! Author Amanda Tru is the
brainchild of the Out of the Blue Boxset
Collection. She came up with an idea to have several novellas about
misdelivered flower deliveries, and then have her book be the last in the
collection and have it be about the florist who has all of the delivery issues.
That was the only
criteria for our books: they had to be Christian romances, take place in
November, and be contemporary in setting. Amanda worked around everything else.
LM: You have published lots of books. What is your
favorite part of the writing process?
Hallee: Getting to the end. I struggle with insecurities
in the beginning of every book. Can I do
it again? Is the story going to be good enough? By the time I get to the
end of a book, I know I’ve done it again, and that the story is good enough.
LM: You have written contemporary and historical
fiction which require different types of research. Can you describe a time you
had an “aha” moment?
Hallee: I had written my book A Carol for Kent who is a prosecutor in the city of Richmond,
Virginia. In talking to an attorney friend about the book, I found out that
prosecutors don’t go to crime scenes. My entire book needed her to be at crime
scenes, and I was very frustrated with trying to figure out how to put her
there without it feeling like a convenient coincidence. I talked to another
attorney friend and another, and they all backed what my original friend said –
prosecutors don’t go to the crime scenes.
I finally went to Richmond, Virginia, and spent the
morning interviewing the woman who does my character’s job. She told me that
Richmond is different from other cities in that she gets called to the crime
scene as the police are called, and she’s on the ground floor of all of the
investigations. PERFECT! I was able to go home and finish the book with
confidence.
LM: What do you do to prepare yourself for writing?
For example do you listen to music or set up in a specific place?
Hallee: I
write every day that my kids are in school. After I drop them at school, I walk
my two dogs for two miles and use that time to pray, listen to my Bible, or
think about my current book. When I get home, I sit at my desk and pray again,
asking God to work through me and speak through my fingers on the typewriter.
I listen to classical
music when I write. It’s the least distracting, and drowns out the sounds from
the neighborhood.
LM: As an
Army brat, you probably traveled to countless locations. Now, you live in central
Kentucky, a beautiful area of the country. If money were no object, what
is your idea of the ultimate vacation?
Hallee: My husband and I are travelers – we often talk
about retirement being a motor home and the open road. Both of us dream of a
long stretch of vacation in the British Isles. I would also love to visit
Israel during the Passover.
LM: What is the quirkiest thing you’ve ever done?
Hallee: I flew to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, alone. I
was meeting my husband, who’d been in Afghanistan for a couple of years. He was
waiting for me on the other side of customs, but I had to go through customs,
entering a Muslim country, as a white woman traveling alone. I’d taken off my
cross necklace and had a hijab (head covering) in my bag in case I encountered
any issues.
A couple of months
later, I did the same thing – but flew into Kuwait instead. It was a little
less nerve wracking, because it was the 20th anniversary of the
American’s liberation of Kuwait during the first Gulf War (my husband was part
of the front wave of that liberation), so it was cool that I got to be there
for that.
LM: Here are
some quickies:
Favorite Color:
Green
Favorite Food: Salad
bar (I know that’s cheating, but it’s an honest answer – lol)
Favorite Season:
Summer
LM: What is your next project?
Hallee: I just released a book last week that takes
place during the Winter Olympics. My character is a hockey player for Team USA.
Now, I’m starting the next book in my Dixon Brothers Series – Book 1 is Courting
Calla – the book about the misdelivered flowers. This book is Valerie’s Verdict – the story of Brad
Dixon and Valerie, the woman he’s loved since they were children.
LM: Where can folks find you on the web?
Hallee:
Website: http://www.halleebridgeman.com
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