One of the real joys of my job is meeting other writers.  Several years ago I had the opportunity to speak at a book festival in St. Louis, and Julie Compton, was on the same panel to promote Tell No Lies, her first novel.  I liked her immediately.  Beautiful, intelligent, witty and warm.  Really, all in one package.  She was delightful.

Julie and I have stayed in touch ever since.  With Rescuing Olivia, her brand new book on the shelves, I thought you would enjoy getting to know her, too.  Julie graciously agreed to this interview.  Stay tuned for what else she agreed to, as well.

1–Lawyer to novelist, why and how did you make it happen?

It’s a toss-up which came first, my love of writing or my love of arguing. I do know I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I’ve always had stories bouncing around in my head. But I’ve always loved to argue, too (and still do). Especially when I feel like I’m championing the underdog. So even though I earned an undergraduate degree in English literature, law school seemed like a natural progression.   Interestingly enough, what I loved most about both law school and the practice of law was the writing.

I didn’t stop practicing law with the goal of becoming a writer, though. After I had my second daughter, I decided to become a stay-at-home mom. After a few months, I realized I needed to be involved in something more cerebral than changing diapers and watching Barney.  It dawned on me that if I was ever going to try to write seriously, that was the perfect time. I signed up for an evening creative writing workshop at the local YMCA (taught by a then struggling writer, John Dalton, who went on to publish the award-winning novel Heaven Lake – I highly recommend it!). I haven’t stopped writing since, even during the few years I went back to work.

But no answer to this question would be complete without mentioning my husband. I give him the most credit because he has willingly taken on the role of the sole provider for our family so that I could pursue a dream.

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Remember the popular movie Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner and Amy Madigan?  Well, I don’t.  At least not much, just two things, really.  One, Field of Dreams was a baseball movie, and while I enjoyed Little League games when my sons were younger, then Cleveland Indian’s games when I lived in Ohio, I prefer my baseball in real life, not on the big screen.

The second thing I remember is: “If you build it, he will come.”  The phrase was catchy enough to enter our lexicon, and now we pull it out from time to time when it suits us, although often changing it slightly to serve our purposes.

Apparently “If we build it, they will come,” is the Facebook motto.  Because Facebook is supremely fond of building ”applications” to enhance the pleasures of their members, sell more ads, and generally assume worldwide control of cognitive functioning. 

I actually love my Facebook page, and love the generous wealth of applications, as well.  I’ve only just begun to explore the possibilities.  But last week, my assistant and I couldn’t resist trying the quiz application. 

The result is a new quiz titled: Which Happiness Key Character Are You Most Like? 

Here’s the fun part.  All you have to do is answer eight questions–and the quiz is multiple choice with no wrong answers–then Facebook will determine which character you most resemble, and as a thank you, send you a description of the character along with a color photograph. 

But the fun never stops around here.  In addition to finding out a bit more about the novel, if you take the quiz and email me your result, then you’ll be entered in a giveaway.  In early October we’ll do a drawing for each character, and the winner in each category will receive an autographed copy of Happiness Key, plus a key lime pie candle in a glass lidded jar. 

So find out if you’re most like Tracy, Wanda, Janya or Alice.  And if you don’t want to take the quiz on Facebook, email me and I’ll make sure you get a copy.  It won’t be quite as cool, but it will get the job done.

Oh, did you notice that the subject line of this blog has “Happiness” in it?  That means you can comment on this blog entry to enter the other contest for Happiness Key, all details on my contest page.  I told you the fun never stops.  Now, do you believe me?