Joyce Oroz, Author Of Secure The Ranch: An Interview
I've had people tell me they are between books, looking for something new to read; a new author, a new genre.
There are more writers than ever before: More good writers, more not so good writers.
The choices of things to read are enormous.
The purpose of interviewing a writer is to give you, the reader, a chance to hear from the writer directly, to hear the writer's own voice.
Joyce Oroz writes about the things she loves; painting, animals, California, relationships, mystery and adventure.
Her ambition is to entertain, speed up the heartbeat, raise the hair on the back of your neck and make you laugh.
What's the title and genre of you book? Secure the Ranch is a contemporary murder mystery.
It is a fast-paced suspenseful adventure with laughs at every turn.
I try to create interesting characters and relationships that grow and change.
I write about people from a wide range of cultures and generations.
Who is the audience for this book? Secure the Ranch is an adventure mystery that appeals to adult men and women.
Women between the ages of forty and seventy identify with my fifty-year-old protagonist, Josephine who paints murals for a living and ferrets out bad guys on the side.
She is a slightly flawed, but very sincere widow who finds herself in deep trouble.
Is this book part of a series? Secure the Ranch is my first novel in the Josephine Stuart Mystery Series.
It is a "Nancy Drew" type mystery with double the adventure, suspense and fun.
My second book in the series is "Read My Lipstick".
The third book, "Shaking in Her Flip Flops".
Describe your protagonist (hero), physically and emotionally and describe the challenges the protagonist needs to overcome and the motivation for overcoming them.
Josephine Stuart is a fifty-year-old widow.
She has her own mural-painting business with two regular employees, Alicia Quintana and Kyle Larson.
She also has a handsome neighbor, David Galaz, who seems to have his eye on her.
She is a self-made woman who takes pride in her ability to paint for a living.
Unfortunately, the mural business has been slow.
Because of her financial situation, she jumps into a painting contract at the Munger Mansion atop a lonely mountain near the town of Boulder Creek.
Even when strange and terrible things happen, she feels she must finish the job.
Quote a passage from your book that you love.
..
I helped him to the ground, noticing his whole backside was crimson.
I stifled a cry with my hand.
Tears welled up as I embraced the best friend a person could have.
Down close, hugging him, he smelled like strawberries.
Once I realized Solow was wearing strawberries and a few other food groups, I relaxed considerably.
He had polished off a pound of ground round, a pint of cookies and cream ice cream and a dozen raw eggs.
He had been literally rolling in groceries under the dash.
Every dog's dream...
Elaborate on the meaning of the passage.
There is nothing really profound in this excerpt, but I think it's a good visual, and Solow is an important character in the story.
Actually, he has an active role in all my stories.
What is your philosophy or writing? I am a mural artist turned writer.
When my (mature) body could no longer stand up to the hard physical work of painting murals, I searched for another creative outlet.
One night a vivid dream laid out a simple but complete children's story.
I quickly wrote everything down word-for-word and then spent a year illustrating it.
I discovered it was the writing I enjoyed, more than the painting.
After writing twenty-seven children's stories, I decided it was time to write a real book.
I finished Secure the Ranch and was hooked.
I write because I love to write, and I love to share the fun with my friends.
What surprising things did you learn while writing this book? The first surprise was the realization that I love to write-even more than I loved to paint.
I was surprised by the fact that my characters introduce themselves and lead me to places I never expected to go.
I was surprised that I could stick with a six-day writing schedule for nine months, and I was blown away when the story came full circle on page 343.
More surprising than that is the fact that my next book took nine months and ended on page 343! How has your upbringing influenced you writing? I think I am eager to try new things because my parents never warned me that I might fail.
My folks are hardworking and very creative.
Guess some of it rubbed off on me.
I was close to, and greatly influenced by my grandparents and several uncles who wrote philosophical and religious books I never read.
Joyce Oroz
There are more writers than ever before: More good writers, more not so good writers.
The choices of things to read are enormous.
The purpose of interviewing a writer is to give you, the reader, a chance to hear from the writer directly, to hear the writer's own voice.
Joyce Oroz writes about the things she loves; painting, animals, California, relationships, mystery and adventure.
Her ambition is to entertain, speed up the heartbeat, raise the hair on the back of your neck and make you laugh.
What's the title and genre of you book? Secure the Ranch is a contemporary murder mystery.
It is a fast-paced suspenseful adventure with laughs at every turn.
I try to create interesting characters and relationships that grow and change.
I write about people from a wide range of cultures and generations.
Who is the audience for this book? Secure the Ranch is an adventure mystery that appeals to adult men and women.
Women between the ages of forty and seventy identify with my fifty-year-old protagonist, Josephine who paints murals for a living and ferrets out bad guys on the side.
She is a slightly flawed, but very sincere widow who finds herself in deep trouble.
Is this book part of a series? Secure the Ranch is my first novel in the Josephine Stuart Mystery Series.
It is a "Nancy Drew" type mystery with double the adventure, suspense and fun.
My second book in the series is "Read My Lipstick".
The third book, "Shaking in Her Flip Flops".
Describe your protagonist (hero), physically and emotionally and describe the challenges the protagonist needs to overcome and the motivation for overcoming them.
Josephine Stuart is a fifty-year-old widow.
She has her own mural-painting business with two regular employees, Alicia Quintana and Kyle Larson.
She also has a handsome neighbor, David Galaz, who seems to have his eye on her.
She is a self-made woman who takes pride in her ability to paint for a living.
Unfortunately, the mural business has been slow.
Because of her financial situation, she jumps into a painting contract at the Munger Mansion atop a lonely mountain near the town of Boulder Creek.
Even when strange and terrible things happen, she feels she must finish the job.
Quote a passage from your book that you love.
..
I helped him to the ground, noticing his whole backside was crimson.
I stifled a cry with my hand.
Tears welled up as I embraced the best friend a person could have.
Down close, hugging him, he smelled like strawberries.
Once I realized Solow was wearing strawberries and a few other food groups, I relaxed considerably.
He had polished off a pound of ground round, a pint of cookies and cream ice cream and a dozen raw eggs.
He had been literally rolling in groceries under the dash.
Every dog's dream...
Elaborate on the meaning of the passage.
There is nothing really profound in this excerpt, but I think it's a good visual, and Solow is an important character in the story.
Actually, he has an active role in all my stories.
What is your philosophy or writing? I am a mural artist turned writer.
When my (mature) body could no longer stand up to the hard physical work of painting murals, I searched for another creative outlet.
One night a vivid dream laid out a simple but complete children's story.
I quickly wrote everything down word-for-word and then spent a year illustrating it.
I discovered it was the writing I enjoyed, more than the painting.
After writing twenty-seven children's stories, I decided it was time to write a real book.
I finished Secure the Ranch and was hooked.
I write because I love to write, and I love to share the fun with my friends.
What surprising things did you learn while writing this book? The first surprise was the realization that I love to write-even more than I loved to paint.
I was surprised by the fact that my characters introduce themselves and lead me to places I never expected to go.
I was surprised that I could stick with a six-day writing schedule for nine months, and I was blown away when the story came full circle on page 343.
More surprising than that is the fact that my next book took nine months and ended on page 343! How has your upbringing influenced you writing? I think I am eager to try new things because my parents never warned me that I might fail.
My folks are hardworking and very creative.
Guess some of it rubbed off on me.
I was close to, and greatly influenced by my grandparents and several uncles who wrote philosophical and religious books I never read.
Joyce Oroz
