Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest Rangeley Wallace author of THINGS ARE GOING TO SLIDE.

Rangeley is also the author of No Defense and lives in Washington, D.C. She attended Washington College of Law, American University and was a fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for Public Interest Representation where she received her LLM. She has practiced public interest law, corporate law, anti-trust law and criminal law.

Good day Rangeley and thanks for participating in our interview

Norm:

What is the one thing other people always seem to get wrong about you?

Rangeley:

That's a hard question, but I don't think people get much, if anything, wrong about me as I am very direct and straight forward (sometimes to a fault).

Norm:

If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?

Rangeley:

I feel as though I am in the Ms. America pageant! And, my answer is similar to so many of theirs -- world peace -- or, in direct answer to your question, no more violence. Wow, wouldn't that be amazing? And just think of all the wonderful things we could do with all that money if we weren't spending it on wars and weapons (such as food, housing, education, and health care for everyone).

Norm:

What pet peeve do you have about other people?

Rangeley:

My answer relates directly to your first question. It bugs me when I try to talk to folks who aren't direct and straight forward, who have layers of defenses so you never know who they really are or what they really think. I also don't like it when people treat cashiers, waitresses, and the like as though they are invisible. I once was a cashier and also a waitress so I'm sensitive to that. I was raised to say hello and thank you to everyone.

Norm:

How did you get started in writing? What keeps you going? As a follow up, please tell our readers about your philosophy of writing and what do you see as the influences on your writing?

Rangeley:

After practicing law for over a decade, I took a break from the law to spend more time with my three young children. I'd always wanted to write but never had the time or the guts to try. I started taking creative writing courses all over town and the next thing you know I was hooked. I keep writing because I can't not write.

I love the process of figuring out who my characters are, what they want, and where they are going.

As for my philosophy of writing, once I find a character, I try to be true to her and see where she takes me and the writing. The influences on my writing are wide and broad, from literature to chick lit, from growing up in a home that valued reading above almost anything to having a baby brother who is a brilliant novelist.

Norm:

What motivated you to become a lawyer? Does your writing career ever conflict with your career as a lawyer?

Rangeley:

Like many in the 70s, I became a lawyer to save the world. Although I haven't managed that yet, I have helped a few folks along the way.

Writing conflicts with law which conflicts with my four children which conflicts with everything else I like to do. I think you make time for what's most important in your life.

Norm:

How did you decide you were ready to write THINGS ARE GOING TO SLIDE and did you know the end of the book at the beginning?

Rangeley:

I knew I wanted to write about a character in a clinical law setting after I'd spent a few years teaching clinical law. It's such a very rich environment for storytelling.

I did not know the end of the book when I began. In fact, I tried a few different stories along the way until I found what I thought was the right one for Marilee.

Norm:

What is the most favorite part of your book?

Rangeley:

As a mom, my favorite part is towards the end when Ellie and her aunt Dede hop around the hospital room while Marilee rests with her new son. The legal resolution appeals to my intellect, but the relationships tug at my heartstrings.

Norm:

How did you create the character of Marilee Carson Cooper and is there anything of you in her character?

Rangeley:

Marilee is much nicer than I am! When I began to think about writing about a law school professor who teaches clinical law, I knew I wanted her to be on the young side, just starting out her legal career and facing some uphill battles. The story developed from that.

Norm:

What do you want your work to do? Entertain people? Provoke thinking?

Rangeley:

I hope my work entertains and provokes thinking. In my first book, No Defense, the focus is on a father-daughter relationship but there's also a story relating to an unsolved civil rights murder.

Coming from the South, I have lived my adult life under the cloud of the many unsolved civil-rights murders and wanted to address the issue.

In this book, I write about Shaken Baby Syndrome in the hope that readers will think about our justice system and the way prosecutors use the syndrome to get
convictions, often with little direct evidence.

Norm:

In fiction as well as in non-fiction, writers very often take liberties with their material to tell a good story or make a point. But how much is too much?

Rangeley:

I know many writers of fiction and non-fiction take liberties, something I have tried not to do in both my books. I don't object to it, as long as readers know that facts have been changed or events exaggerated. I try not to do either, however, because I want to portray my characters in realistic situations.

Norm:

What do you think of the Internet market for writers?

Rangeley:

It's like the Wild West! I find it overwhelming. My last book was published by a traditional publisher, St. Martin's , as a hardback and then a paperback, and they took care of the publicity. For this book, I am spending a lot of time contacting bloggers and trying to drum up some interest. On the other hand, it's great that anyone can get in the mix and let the readers decide what they like.

Norm:.

Where can our readers find out more about you and THINGS ARE GOING TO SLIDE?

Rangeley:

My webpage  is one source of information though it's being updated; it should be an even better source in the next few weeks. Also, I am on Facebook and twitter: just check out Rangeley Wallace on either site.

Norm:

Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Rangeley:

I hope people enjoy this book. The publisher priced it at just $4.99 to encourage folks to give it a try. And, I'd love to
get feedback, good or bad.

Thanks, Norm.

Norm:

Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors


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