Fallen Angel Reviews would like to welcome Sarah Black and Josh Lanyon. Thanks so much for taking the time to sit and chat with us.

Hello Sarah, I love the link on your site. Have you been to Monument Valley? The picture reminds me of Monument Valley, but not for sure if it is. I have visited twice and just thought it absolutely awesome; I was captivated by the whole area. Sarah the cover with the lake, the boats are lovely. I love camping and hiking, with all the good stuff that comes along with it. Is that you holding the baby?

S: That is Monument Valley. The photo is by Leroy Dejolie, who is a Navajo photographer who works up on the Colorado Plateau with one of those old, large-format cameras. I lived out on the reservation for five years, and drove right by that site to get to the grocery store. The other pictures under the bio page on my web site are Glacier National Park, where I went camping with my son this summer. That baby I'm holding is also that long-legged kid in front of the tent! I haven't aged at all, though.

Josh, I notice that you have quite a number of books under your belt. How many Partners in Crime do you plan on composing?

J: The plan is to do one every six months. To get the series rolling we did two of them within three months last year, but that's a tough schedule. One every six months between all our other projects seems workable.

Josh, where do you get the ideas for the books?

J: For the Partners in Crime series, Sarah and I usually kick around some themes or motifs that we'd like to explore. For the second one, we decided to do noirish historicals with a Christmas theme. I love Sarah because she's always game for my nuttiest ideas.

Sarah and Josh: Do you like penning books with others?

S: Well, we don't write together beyond discussing ideas and time settings, like that. Our style of writing is very different, which I think makes for an interesting contrast when two novellas are together in the same volume, like we did with the Partners in Crime stories.

J: Right. I think, though, that the energy is a little different when I know Sarah is working on the same project, even though our pieces of the project are different. It's sort of fun, to tell you the truth, to know she's suffering for the same cause.

Sarah and Josh: What intrigues you most about your characters?

S: I think I write about men because they are a mystery to me. I think up these characters, listen to them talk, then I have things happen to them, and I learn all about them, watching what they do. I'm fascinated by men, but I would never claim to understand them! Like the way they communicate, so differently from women.

J: I usually write my main characters in pairs, so it gives me a chance to explore dynamics within a relationship. Basically what happens is one of the characters comes to me, and then I think of his worst nightmare for a boyfriend. Nah, I'm kidding, but I do think carefully about what kind of guy would be good for my protag -- or what kind of guy would be bad -- and either way the story is how they make a relationship out of their differences. I like a lot of conflict in a story, but it has to be real, genuine and character-based.

Sarah and Josh: How long does it normally take you to finish a book?

S: Two to three months for a novella, like the ones we've published in Partners in Crime. Double that for a novel. It goes faster if I like what's happening in the story, because I can't wait to get back to work.

J: SARAH! Who are you kidding? You write a novella before breakfast. Sarah is incredibly prolific -- prolific in that she writes fast and yet she writes very, very well.

I, on the other hand…am not so fast. It takes me about a month for the first draft, and then a couple of days after I get my edits, to do my rewrite.

Do either of you have a certain ritual that gets you in the mood for writing your books?

S: Sometimes I'll write short stories or flash with the ideas from the story- my novella Fearless was about a hate crime. I wrote and published several short stories and flash about hate crimes before I started on the main course.

J: I find that staying drunk for the week before I have to begin writing really helps. No, seriously, it's my job, so it's not about "getting in the mood." I have deadlines, and I meet them, that's pretty much it.

And I know enough not to take the first draft too seriously. The magic happens on draft 2.

Sarah and Josh: What does your writing place look like?

S: The dining room table? Crowded with books and bills. We eat on the couch.

J: I have an office upstairs with a big armoire for my TV and VCR and stereo, so that I can amuse myself while I work. I've got a couple of tall bookshelves crammed with reference books, and a reasonably comfortable chair -- I use a laptop. It's not exactly neat, but it is pretty organized.

Sarah and Josh: If you could meet any famous person in the world who would it be and why?

S: Edgar Allen Poe, James Joyce, D. H, Lawrence--writers who wrote what they wanted to write, even when everyone diss'd them and told them they were crazy. Oh, make that four people. Georgia O'Keefe. I just want to go for a walk with her and D.H. Lawrence, over their New Mexico ranch land outside Taos. The most beautiful country in the world, I think.

J: (laughing) And Sarah would cook dinner for everyone too! If it's a living person…I'm feeling antisocial at the moment, but if it's anyone whoever lived…I think I'd like to have a few drinks with Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. And then we could go over to Sarah's for dinner.

Sarah and Josh: If you could go back in time, where and when would you go and what is the one thing you would bring with you?

S: Sixteenth century Venice, and I would bring a trunk full of strong antibiotics. Change history. Probably get burned as a witch.

J: Hmmm. I'm pretty much a 20th Century child. I'd like to visit the 1930s or maybe the 1940s. Scotland, I think. I'd bring my thermal underwear -- and if we get to bring something home, I'm bringing a couple of bottles of uisce beatha.

Sarah and Josh: Which room in your home would you say is your favorite?

S: The kitchen. I love to experiment and try new recipes, new spices and herbs. Tonight I tried to make a Cuban dish I remember eating when I was a kid. Something was missing, though. I think allspice or something like that.

J: The bedroom.

Sarah and Josh: If a genie gave you three wise wishes, what would you wish for?

S: More patience, more kindness, and I want more people to love in my life.

J: That the people I love stay well and healthy, that I'm able to spend the rest of my life doing what I love, that I never look back and regret not taking a chance.

Why not share your website and any other links that the readers can click and get to know more about Sarah Black and Josh Lanyon?

www.sarahblack.net
http://www.joshlanyon.com

I would like to take this time to thank both of you for being with us today. I enjoyed it. Sarah and Josh, I wish you the success in your writing endeavor. Thanks again.

Interviewed by: Linda L.