It's time once again for The Girlfriends Cyber Circuit! Alison Kent, author of over 20 novels and 8 novellas, is currently making the blog rounds to promote her latest novel, Larger than Life. Here's a synopsis:

After being beaten and left for dead in the New Mexico desert, Smithson Group agent Mick Savin tries to piece together his last few days. He remembers bits and pieces: gathering crucial intel. An ambush by Spectra thugs. And then…nothing, except waking up in some medical center in rural West Texas. His mission was top secret. So how did he end up here?

The answer is Neva Case. If the former big-city attorney hadn’t been out in her pick-up, Mick wouldn’t be alive. Mick’s never met anyone quite like Neva. She’s smart, sexy, and passionate. She also has a secret. Neva runs the Big Brown Barn, an underground shelter for young girls forced into unwanted polygamist marriages. Neva would do anything for these girls—and that’s what worries Mick. Neva may be trusting, but Mick’s instincts tell him that something’s not quite right. He’s not about to let someone get to Neva and the girls on his watch. Especially when one of the girls brings trouble straight to the barn's front door . . .

Now, with the shelter in unimaginable danger and time running out, Mick is in for the fight of his life, one that could cost him the woman he’s come to love more than anything…

I had the chance to ask Alison a few questions about her work...

> --You are such a prolific author. Where do you find your inspiration?

Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on how you look at it *g* - I
have more ideas than I'll ever have time to write. Most are a simple
case of "what if" after I've read a magazine or newspaper article, or
watched one of the primetime news shows. And it's not even that I write
that article or that show into a story. It's that I take one little
piece, whatever most sparked my interest, and build something around it.
LARGER THAN LIFE had its spark in such a newspiece. The next book I'll
be working on was inspired by the movie National Treasure. I watched it
and thought, "I want to do that!" *g* There won't be a bit of
resemblance between the two, of course, but I loved the idea of two or
more parties searching for the same valuable artifact, and voila!
Hardly an original concept - the originality is all in the execution.
*g*

> --Could you give us a peek into your writing life? What's your process like?

Even when I start with a spark as described above, the first thing I
develop is characters. I'm a very character-driven writer so I have to
know these people that I'm sending on these adventures. And, no. I
don't do character outlines or charts or anything more in depth than
naming my cast and finding pictures and tacking it all up on my
character board. I'm visually oriented and need to "see" my people and
places. Since I work with a 3-act structure and Vogler's Writer's
Journey, the next step is to plot out my main turning points - then hope
like mad I can fill in all the pages between!

> What are you working on now?

I'm just starting to outline the road trip adventure mentioned above.
This is the scary stage, hoping that I can actually pull off what I've
imagined!

> --Any words of advice for new writers?

Something that I've only put into practice recently. Protect the work.
This is from the fabulous Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Too many times we
ask for input on our work way too soon, and it ends up being a committee
project or ends up diluted with nothing left of our original voice.
I've learned to write through, and ask for help only when all hope is
lost. *g*

> --Because this is a Fruitful interview, what is your favorite fruit and why?

Key limes, of course, since they're the main ingredient in my all time
favorite dessert, Key Lime Pie!

>--One of my favorites, too (especially the ones from Trader Joe's--mmmm)! Thanks so much, Alison!