VAL TOBIN (Cont.)
INTERVIEW
MFRW:
VT: Why did you decide to write romance novels?
Relationships and love fascinate me, so it made
sense to write romance novels. The first strictly
romance novel I wrote was Injury. The Valiant
Chronicles books may not be primarily ro-
mance, but there’s a love story arc that’s inte-
gral to the plot.
MFRW: How much of your personality and life experi-
ences are in your writing?
All of my stories contain my personality and
life experiences to varying degrees. The Experi-
encers and A Ring of Truth (books one and two
of The Valiant Chronicles series) actually in-
clude incidents based on real events. I won’t
reveal what those were here, but readers will
probably be able to guess what are real and
what are fabricated.
VT:
MFRW:
VT:
What kind of research do you do for a book?
I do a variety of research, depending on what
the story requires. I’ll visit locations, such as
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, for Poison Pen.
I’ll consult with experts, such as martial arts or
gun experts. For The Experiencers, I consulted
with a hypnotherapist. Often, I’ll read books
on a subject I need to learn more about or
search the Internet using Google
Scholar. Researching poisons for
Poison Pen makes my browser his-
tory interesting reading.
MFRW:
Tell us about
your latest book. What motivated
the story? Where did the idea
come from? Where do your story
ideas usually come from?
5
VT: Poison Pen is my
latest release.
Patti Roberts
invited me to
contribute to a
series of books
with the theme
―about three authors.‖ The criterion given was
to write a romance story about three authors.
The idea to make it a murder mystery where
the reader knows who the killer is hit me im-
mediately. Tension comes from the interaction
between the killer and the other characters and
from not knowing if an innocent person will go
to prison for the crime. My authors are three
women: one has OCD, another has agorapho-
bia, and the third struggles with narcolepsy.
Each woman must come to terms with the
murder’s impact on her life, particularly how it
affects her love life. My ideas usually come
from contemplating ―what if‖ scenarios and
wool gathering.
MFRW: Do you feel humor is important in fiction and
why?
Yes, as long as it flows naturally and isn’t
forced. Humor breaks tension. If done well, it
enhances the story and develops character.
Laughing is
therapeutic.
VT: