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Ruby Release Spotlight: Liz Talley & A Little Texas
 Posted by Elise Hayes Jan 11 2011, 12:01 am in author interview, Ruby Release
Ruby Release Spotlight: Liz Talley and A Little Texas Ruby Sister Liz Talley has been insanely busy at the keyboard this past year, pouring her time and energy into not one, not two, but three Harlequin Superromances focused on the small town of Oak Stand, TX and its inhabitants. And she has two more still to come!
Today is the release day for the third book, A Little Texas, so to celebrate I wanted to interview Liz. Okay, I confess I wanted to interview Bubba, but Rita already scooped that interview back in December (see http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/ruby-release-spotlight-liz-talley-and-the-way-to-texas-2/) Sigh. Hey, I grew up in Texas. I love big guys with legs like tree trunks. What can I say? But I did have a number of questions for Liz–about her, about her books, and about what drives her writing–so read on! You’ve lived in North Louisiana most of your life and you set this series in Texas. What is it about the South that you want to capture in your writing? I live extremely close to the Texas state line (about 30 minutes, if that) so I’m very familiar with East Texas. I don’t think I was so much concerned with making my books Southern-focused as I was small town-focused. But that being said, it is set in the rural South so there is definite world building. Anyone who has visited a honkytonk or local bar on a Texas highway knows that it’s much different than swilling martinis in a Manhattan bar. Waaaaay different. So my story has Bubbas, loudmouths with big hair, Southern belles who will smile at you and then cheerfully stab you in the back, and Texas-sized personality.
You’ve built a whole world–or rather, a whole town–in your series. Can you talk about your process in building that world? Did you draw up a map of the town? How do you keep track of all the characters, shops, and town history? I have pictures in my head. I know where most things are. Much of it comes from my childhood – a sort of combination of my hometown of Minden and a smaller town near there, Homer. I purposely used brick streets, a town square and businesses that one would still find in my hometown today.
As you were exploring your Texas series, did you have any surprising finds that ended up in the book? Any unexpected twists? I’m an organic writer so often things occur to me as I get to them. And by organic, I mean lazy. LOL. I plot a story and use it as a guide, but I also feel free to change what I need. I have to say that Bubba surprised me with his depth of emotion. It surprised me that Kate had a father who dissed her. I didn’t know that Carly Patterson (who was a mean girl in the opening of Vegas Two-Step) would pop back up again. I also didn’t know that Brent Hamilton would end up a hero. Yeah, I’m a nut. My characters talk to me, and I say, “Oh, reeeally?” and then I toss that in there. That’s how Oak Stand gets torn up in my May 2011 book A Taste of Texas. April in the South means…tornadoes.
Tell us about Kate, the heroine of A Little Texas. She’s awesome. Tough, smart-mouthed and beautiful. Edgy and totally into herself, but a good friend to have. But it’s her story that grips me. She was hurt by someone when she was but a child. And it molded her into what she is. This story is her story. Sure, Rick is yummy and has had his own hard knocks in life, but he’s more her guide, her solid rock, her protector. This story is about Kate learning to forgive. She has to pull all the hurt, anger and hate from her heart so she can blossom and learn how to love. To me, it’s a beautiful story. I re-read it when I got my copies, and I still feel the same way. This book is the kind of book I always want to write – a raw, poignant story of discovery. A number of us who have read your stories are now Bubba fans. Can you give us a hint of what’s in store for him in this book? Well, unfortunately, this book was packed with such emotion that he only appears in one scene. I hated that he wasn’t an integral part, but there wasn’t much room. Kate has to go through tremendous growth, coming to terms with her father, stepmother and dead brother, not to mention a town that she hates…or thinks she hates. But Bubba appears in every book and will get a love interest in A Taste of Texas in my heroine’s slightly Goth, highly organized assistant, Meg. Meg gets a little miffed when he slaps her on the butt, but warms up to him enough to go fishing with him. Whoo-hoo! It sounds like Meg is going to be a great match for Bubba. I can’t wait! And what’s next for you? I’m currently working on the fifth and final Oak Stand book. It doesn’t have a title yet, but involves Rayne’s (heroine in my fourth book) younger sister who happens to be an actress on a vampire soap opera. Summer is highly dramatic and thinks she’s still in love with an older man who dumped her. Sparks fly when she gets arrested by the sexy new police chief for handcuffing herself to a flagpole during a protest in front of the Howard County library, and Summer starts to doubt how sincere her love is for her former lover, especially with the way Adam Bent makes her feel. Every day they surprise me with something new…today I learned that Adam is hiding the videotape that shows him kissing Summer while she’s in lockdown…and the tape is about to go missing! After I get this one in to my editor, I’ll start research for a new series I’m planning about a Louisiana family who eventually discovers the sister they thought dead is very much alive. Should be fun! Ok, one last question…and this one is about you. We all know that settings can reveal important details about our characters, but they can also reveal a great deal about us. So…in which of the following drinking establishments would you most prefer to spend some time this week–and why? ___A mom-and-pop diner with slightly sticky counters and great coffee ___Afternoon tea (with scones and clotted cream) at a local “Anglophile” antique shop ___The coffee shop nestled in your nearest bookstore ___Your own home: snuggling into your favorite chair with a great book and …[name your go-to beverage] ___The neighborhood pub or brewery _X_A swank bar where you would be wearing your highest heels and drinking [name your beverage of choice here] ___A wine-tasting bar that serves hors d’oeuvres to cleanse your palate ___[Fill in with a place/beverage that I’ve missed] Probably some place swanky wearing a kickass pair of shoes and drinking a lemon drop martini. And that’s because I don’t get that much. I spend a good deal of time with my squabbling kids at football games and baseball fields. I love the opportunity to get gussied up and go out someplace fancy. A true luxury. Liz will be available today to answer questions about writing about small-town life, her writing process, and A Little Texas–or Bubba–throughout the day. Please join us! You can learn more about Liz’s Oak Stand, Texas books at her website: http://www.liztalleybooks.com/index.php
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Honey, do I have some nose-bleed heels for you! You’ll probably have to stuff the toes, though. *sigh*
My B&N order should arrive any day now with last two Liz Talley books (I received gift cards for Christmas!) Can’t wait!
In high school, I could (and did) regularly run the half mile to the bus stop wearing four-inch spiked heels (while carrying a massive load of books and folders in one arm. Backpacks weren’t in yet). Today, I wobble all over the place (and trip and skin my knee) if the heels are over 1.5 inches. But you and Liz can wear the heels, Gwynlyn!
I used to work for eight hours in high heels and never give it a thought when I was younger. Last year, at the National Convention, I wore tall, tall heels for the award ceremony and by the end of the night my poor feet thought I’d crippled them. Not to mention I had to walk veeery slowly to make sure I didn’t careen into anyone.
Ugh, I can’t wear anything higher than a 3″ heel anymore.
I never could wear heels very well. At 5’10″, I didn’t really see the need — I was already taller than most of the guys in my class.
I love heels! I don’t get to wear them that often so I usually go ridiculous when I do.
Great interview, Elise! I’m in shock that you used to wear 4 inch spike heels much less run in them to the bus stop.
Dang, Elise. I’m impressed! I could walk a marathon in them, but run? Not and stay upright.
I love wearing high heels, but only about every month or two. LOL. I just can’t handle wearing them often. I don’t know how some women do it. Everytime I go to a football game, there’s always some gal running around in mile-high strappy sandals or pumps. Really? You’re at a football game. Get a clue.
For years, I never went anywhere without my heels. I didn’t even own a pair of tennis shoes. Now? Well, let’s say this gal’s ankles ain’t what they used to be.
I wanted to wear heels for the Golden Heart awards ceremony…got some from Zappos, tried them on, couldn’t cross the room in them without hanging onto the furniture. I looked like an arthritic drunk.
LOL
Arthritic drunk is a completely apt description of me in high heels. I love them on everyone else (including my heroines) except me.
Great interview, ladies. Can’t wait to read this book!
Thanks for having me on again. I know, everyone’s like “Again?” I know. I have back to back books out (a good thing) but even I’m tired of myself. LOL.
Thanks, Elise, for a lovely interview. I had fun doing it
We’re more like “Again! Yay!”
I’m with Jamie. And I’m in awe at how you’re keeping up the writing pace. Can you talk a bit about what that’s like? How do you keep meeting those deadlines?
Right now I’m on deadline hell. I have the fifth book in the Oak Stand series due Feb. 1st, so I’m writing fast and furiously on it. I’m not sure how I’m going to pull this one out. I agreed to write it in three months. Unfortunately life intervened in a big way with a move, two holidays, two kids with flu and my brother’s wedding. Um, not cool. So, I think I made a bad decision agreeing to such a short time frame.
So to answer your question, it’s hard. It’s work. I feel like a real writer. And I’m scared to death I’m writing crap.
Wow, Liz, talk about having a lot on your plate! It sounds like the next few weeks will be really tough–but the Rubies have full confidence in your being able to pull it off. The good news is that you know Oak Stand inside and out at this point. That should be a big help. We’re rooting for you!!
Liz, so happy for you! Must get the latest of the series!
I’ve got you down as having won a book on another blog I guested on. So I’m sending you one. When I get to the post office. Kids are well and I’m nearly over my traumatic root canal. I’ll get it to you soon
Ouch. Root canal. *Shudder.* I know, I know, I have a fear of dentists…
Me, too. And I’m married to mine
No, really? Now that’s funny.
Wait, wait….did your husband PERFORM your root canal??? That’s trust, baby.
I did! Hurray! oh, big hugs on that root canal! ugh.
You keep writing them, we’ll keep reading them.
Thanks, Kelly. This heroine is right up your alley. Wise-crackin and fun. But the one I’m writing now is like your Lily….she’s even an actress and he’s a cop. The other day I started thinking about your book Lily in Wonderland and then I panicked. Started wondering if reading it had leaked into my subconscience. But other than the characters being similar, the story is way different
I do that all the time. I think – what a great concept only I’d do it like…..
I’m a Southern girl, born and bred, and I think it’s really hard to capture the warmth and charm of the small-town South. But Liz just does a pitch-perfect job of allowing her characters to be complex and genuine and deeply Southern.
Thanks, Beth. I think it’s hard not to over-do Southerness. I think I will face the same thing about Louisiana when I start my next series. Everyone thinks people in Louisiana paddle to school in a pirouge, have a pet alligator, eat gumbo 24/7 and call each other “cher.” Um…okay, some people do. But not most
I love regional writers. I’ve always been interested in how different towns and states shape the people who live there in ways that are strikingly different from the folks in other towns and states. I always look for how a writer handles the setting (and by that I mean the people and the local manners/customs as much as the physical space in which the book is set). Liz does a great job building Oak Stand into a real, live community (and, unlike me, she keeps the location of all the shops and restaurants and such in her head!)
One thing I love about Liz is that I think she’d be perfectly comfortable in ANY of those locations — though I admit that the swanky bar/high heels combo is probably the best.
I’m behind on the series, but I’m looking forward to catching up. Liz, do you know yet which books you’ll be signing at RWA Nationals?
Elise gave me a choice and I was like “all of the above.” Yeah, I’m not a particular kind of girl. I can get my girlie side on painting my nails and trying out a new eyeshadow technique one hour and be tugging off my shoes and playing a game of wiffle ball in the side yard the next hour. I think most of us are like that, so I like to make my characters really rounded.
Oh, goodie! Can’t wait. I can’t believe you’ve got the third book out already!
I know. Time flies whether you’re having fun or not. LOL.
I grew up in Texas and LOVE reading stories like yours, Liz. Congratulations on the latest! (And I know what you mean about the bars in Texas – met my husband who is totally NOT a cowboy “kicker dancin’” at The Bluebonnet Palace outside of San Antonio. Honest-to-goodness, they have a real live bull-riding ring in the back room and country dancing in the front. LOTS of fun.)
I miss Texas. Sigh.
I totally believe it, Anne Marie. Texas is a neat state – very diverse. Most people think about stark West Texas when they think Texas, but I can attest that East Texas has rolling hills and pine trees. I remember an older lady in my chapter getting so peeved because an editor wrote on her revisions “Get rid of the trees. There are no trees in Texas.” Made her mad as a wet red hen. Newsflash – there are trees in Texas. And bars with mechanical bulls. LOL
I grew up in Texas, Anne Marie. One of my family’s favorite places to go for dinner was called the “Steak and Stomp.” There was a mechanical bull toward the back, plus live music for the Texas two-step. I’d wear my cowboy hat there and watch my parents cut up the floor with their dancing. Totally fun.
Yeah, the Bluebonnet’s lots of fun – but they’re REAL LIVE bulls. Crazy!
And I almost went to school in East Texas. I believe their mascot was the Lumberjack, so yeah – lots of trees!
Good luck with the latest book, Liz. I know you’ll make that deadline. And don’t worry about if some of it needs touching up. That’s what revisions are for, right?
Great interview!!! I love the term organic writer. That’s me as well, I think. I plot like crazy, but when the time comes, I actually change quite a bit as I go. Plot or no plot, it still has to flow and feel right. That is a common misconception about plotters. They we stick like gorilla glue to that outline. Nope. Just don’t.
I cannot WAIT til your books arrive, Liz! So excited!
~D~
Yeah, in spite of my spreadsheets and charts (fairly new additions to my writing repertoire from the past two years), I started out as a “pantser” and really do see myself as an organic writer. The charting and spreadsheets have helped me be more efficient, but it’s what happens on the page that matters–and I’m often surprised by what happens on the page.
This is exactly how I write. I turned in a synopsis on the one I’m writing now, but it has taken a huge turn with a deranged deacon who is now stalking my heroine. Had no clue that was going to happen, but I’m rolling with it. I think I have to be flexible with my story.
Exactly! Sometimes those twists just come out of nowhere and they simply can’t be planned. They have to evolve.
Fun interview!!
I’m so NOT a Southern girl (sign me up for the clotted cream and scones at the Anglophile place, or else a grubby urban coffee bar where all the servers are tattooed and pierced) but I’ve absolutely loved my first two visits to Oak Stand (in VEGAS TWO-STEP and THE WAY TO TEXAS.)
A LITTLE TEXAS is next up on my Kindle! I love your voice, Amy, and adore all your characters!
Thanks, Elisa. I have a soft-spot for many of my characters. I wish they were real. Especially Ester (from The Way to Texas.) I love fiesty older ladies. She’s so fun. I want to play Wii with her and then sit down over coffee and hear of her youthful misadventures.
And I’ll totally do tea with you. I’ll bring scones and lemon curd. Don’t forget, I started with Regencies
Got it in the store yesterday. I did leave a pink sticky with “Buy this book-it’s great!”
Congrats and squees of delight
LOL. I can just see the book store clerks whispering “What’s that lady sticking on all those books?”
Thanks for going above and beyond the Ruby call of duty!
Wasn’t book store it’s the gorcery that has a very nice slection of books. Ever since I got caught rearranging books at B&N I get the stink eye when they see me so I don’t go so often.
You’re awesome, Rita!
Oh dear, my TBR pile keeps getting longer and longer. How am I going to keep up with it, when all of you gals keep writing books? I’ve got all three of your books on my Kindle waiting in line. Now if I could just find time to read, these days.
Which brings me to my question — how do you have the time to turn out so many stories over such a short time period? I’m in awe. I could not do it.
In any case, I’m looking forward to reading these books –I love small town and southern-set romances. There is nothing that rings my chimes better than a man with a drawl. I married me one of those, and he’s a definite keeper.
Yeah, I have a thing for guys with a drawl, too.
I don’t know how I’m doing it. I have two kids, for heaven’s sake. I think I’m managing because I have this whole pride thing going on. Like I have to keep on keepin’ on. My husband still thinks of my writing as my little “hobby” and I’m super competitve and want it to be a career. So I’m cranking them out.
But then again, I love it. I love when I hit upon an idea that makes the story come together. It’s a high. Writing stories is my own personal crack. I’m an addict. A story junkie. I should have known this would happen to me. Do you know how many spankings I got as a kid for making up stories? LOL.
Looks great, Liz. I put your first book on the e-wish list for my new Nook. (I’m so far behind on my TBR pile that it’ll take me YEARS to catch up.)
Thanks, Arlene. I hope you enjoy my stories. The good thing is they are light, sexy and fun…nothing too complex to bog you down. So they are easy to read in one afternoon, unlike some books that you have to ingest slowly.
Arlene, I know what you mean about the TBR pile. But it’s so much fun to look at it, smile, and say, “I know the women who wrote these!”
Your books are like comfort food for my soul, Liz. Keep writing them.
That’s a great description, Shea. They are a bit like Macaroni and cheese or a bowl of ice cream. I’ll take it!
Love those Southern stories. And a deranged deacon? Sounds wonderful.
The reason Amy is such a success is that she is driven. She always has been. Give her a project and it will turn out perfect. Something she didn’t mention in her busy life is that she is helping me with the rehersal supper for her brother and my son’s wedding. Don’t know what I would do without her. She says I’m getting demanding in my old (?) age. When you need perfection you can be demanding. lol Her writing is so good and she is so talented. I read her books and I want them to keep going and not end. Now that is a good book.
Aw, thanks, Mom. Yeah, I’ve always been driven. Probably a little too competitive at times. LOL. I’m so glad that you like my books, but then again, if you didn’t, you wouldn’t let on anyway. You are, after all, my biggest fan
what a sweet mom, welcome Ms. Rogers. We think Amy is a keeper herself.
My Liz Talley books (along with other Ruby releases) arrived today. Thank heaven I received B&N gift cards for Christmas. Even so, I ran out of card before I ran out of books. *sigh*
Thanks, everyone, for an awesome day. The past two months have been crazy for me and I haven’t been able to focus much on my books being out. It’s so nice to have an awesome blog and FANTASTIC group of ladies to share with. I’m so blessed that I finaled in the Golden Heart in 09. God was looking out for me when he blessed me with the Rubies. And not only the Rubies but terrific friends that visit us daily…I’m so thankful for you, too.
Chiming in awfully late – congrats to you, Liz!!!! And thank you for the interview, Ms. Hayes.
So sorry I missed all the fun here today. Great interview, and can’t wait to read it!! I live Oak Stand!
I meant LOVE Oak Stand!
Happy release day! I’ll be looking for this one.
[...] published since finaling in the Golden Heart in 2009. You can check out some interviews with Liz here, here, and [...]
Some local places that you would be able to find antique tables are generally antique shops.
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