Sippin' Southern Poison with T. Lynn Ocean
You really can't judge a book by its cover. And in the case of T. Lynn Ocean it's as true of the author as it is of her latest thriller, Southern Poison. The cover is bright and cheerful and you might think this is a chick-lit novel. You look at the author photo of a young, smiling woman in a cowboy hat and dangling earrings and you might think that it's a southern belle who has written chick-lit.Then you go to page one and those assumptions get blown all to hell. What you have here is a thriller in every sense of the word. Fast-paced, wickedly funny, vicious, violent, and packed with believable characters caught up in a series of escalating adventures that leave you breathless.
Ocean's protagonist is Jersey Barnes, a tall, capable, acerbic and very tough modern woman who takes no crap from anyone and dishes out the damage with the best of them. She was tough when we first met her in Southern Fatality, and she keeps getting tougher and more interesting. No wonder Publishers Weekly calls her the "Southern-styled answer to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum..."
I had a chat with Lynn about her tough and iconic female action hero.
Southern Poison continues the adventures of Jersey Barnes. Introduce us to this tough and sexy ex-MP.
If she were to knock on my front door and waltz into my life, we'd be best friends. Of course, she could kick my ass. But I'm having so much fun writing Jersey! The manuscript for Southern Fatality (first in the Jersey Barnes series) was written from the first person male POV. Having grown up as a tomboy, I thought it would be cool to write a book with a male lead character. But just as I was finishing the manuscript, the lead character woke me up in the middle of the night and told me that he was really a female. I'm like, cripes, you couldn't have said something SOONER? After I thought about it, the change made perfect sense. I did a complete rewrite and the character of Jersey was born. Take a hardcore military-trained dude, stuff him inside the body of a 5'8" tall female with a penchant for quality lingerie and a dry wit. Oh yeah, and strap on a weapon. She's having trouble leaving home without one--even in retirement.
Tell us about the book. What can we expect in Southern Poison?
I write to entertain and it's my hope that readers will finish the last chapter with the same feeling you get when walking out of a theater after watching a great movie with a happy, satisfying ending. In Southern Poison, Jersey dodges an assassin, interrupts a glitterati wedding, stops the bad guys from distributing a tainted product, tries to keep her trouble-making father and his poker buddies out of jail, investigates a budding romance, and tries to retire--again.
How has the fan reaction been?
As a relatively new author, it's the best feeling in the world to see my reader base grow with each book. One comment I hear repeatedly is that people like to laugh--they like that I mingle humor with drama. I also get great feedback on my characters. In any event, I love getting emails. Feedback from readers is my fuel.
Jersey, Ox, Soup, Trish and Spud--they're all remarkably realistic characters. Did you draw on real people to create them?
I'm not sure. But I am a huge believer in the power of the subconscious mind. I feed my SM by doing research and sketching out characters and brainstorming with friends...and then I go to bed and let that part of my brain go to work. Surprises the heck out of me sometimes at what it comes up with.
Despite the action and violence, your novels have a sense of humor.
Laughing is good for the soul.
Other than Jersey herself, which character is the most fun to write?
That would have to be her father, Spud. They've been estranged nearly her whole life and now he shares the living quarters above her pub on the Cape Fear River, called The Block. He's opinionated and often illogical but he's also a retired cop with some street smarts.
Your novels really move. Discuss your process for establishing and maintaining such a breakneck pace.
I suppose I write in much the same way I read other people's fiction. I wanna know what happens next!
What's up next for T. Lynn Ocean?
Just finished the manuscript (working title Southern Peril) for Jersey Barnes book #3. It involves a state Supreme Court judge, a local restaurant, a group of cosmetic surgeons, and a twenty-year-old mystery. Oh, yeah. And Spud is on a self-improvement kick to stay young for his new girlfriend. Aside from that, I'm working on a standalone, a mystery that takes place in the wine industry.
We writers often walk a crooked career path. What roads led you to where you are now?
Penny tour: I found myself needing a job with good benefits such as health insurance and landed on the doorstep of Time Warner Cable. I didn't have a clue about television--other than I watched it occasionally--but the production manager hired me anyway because of my background in writing and photography. Within a month, I was making 30-second commercials and loving it. Over the next five years, I was on a team of four producers with a crazy boss and hectic schedule. We did everything from half-hour programming to commercials to music videos. Can honestly say it was the most fun I ever had at a 'real' job! Until now.
A freelance writer for more than ten years, T. Lynn Ocean's work regularly appears in magazines nationwide. Her newest novel, SOUTHERN FATALITY is the first in a fun mystery series featuring unconventional security specialist Jersey Barnes. Next in the series comes SOUTHERN POISON, due September 2nd. T. Lynn enjoys doing absolutely nothing anywhere with a fabulous view and going on road trips under the guise of doing research. She is certified firearms safety instructor and likes to shoot trap and sporting clays. The author lives in SC with her husband a few furry critters.
ITW contributing editor Jonathan Maberry is a multiple Bram Stoker Award winning author and co-creator/consulting producer for ABC/Disney's On the Slab. His latest book is Zombie CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead (Citadel Press).
If she were to knock on my front door and waltz into my life, we'd be best friends. Of course, she could kick my ass. But I'm having so much fun writing Jersey! The manuscript for Southern Fatality (first in the Jersey Barnes series) was written from the first person male POV. Having grown up as a tomboy, I thought it would be cool to write a book with a male lead character. But just as I was finishing the manuscript, the lead character woke me up in the middle of the night and told me that he was really a female. I'm like, cripes, you couldn't have said something SOONER? After I thought about it, the change made perfect sense. I did a complete rewrite and the character of Jersey was born. Take a hardcore military-trained dude, stuff him inside the body of a 5'8" tall female with a penchant for quality lingerie and a dry wit. Oh yeah, and strap on a weapon. She's having trouble leaving home without one--even in retirement.
Tell us about the book. What can we expect in Southern Poison?I write to entertain and it's my hope that readers will finish the last chapter with the same feeling you get when walking out of a theater after watching a great movie with a happy, satisfying ending. In Southern Poison, Jersey dodges an assassin, interrupts a glitterati wedding, stops the bad guys from distributing a tainted product, tries to keep her trouble-making father and his poker buddies out of jail, investigates a budding romance, and tries to retire--again.
How has the fan reaction been?
As a relatively new author, it's the best feeling in the world to see my reader base grow with each book. One comment I hear repeatedly is that people like to laugh--they like that I mingle humor with drama. I also get great feedback on my characters. In any event, I love getting emails. Feedback from readers is my fuel.
Jersey, Ox, Soup, Trish and Spud--they're all remarkably realistic characters. Did you draw on real people to create them?
I'm not sure. But I am a huge believer in the power of the subconscious mind. I feed my SM by doing research and sketching out characters and brainstorming with friends...and then I go to bed and let that part of my brain go to work. Surprises the heck out of me sometimes at what it comes up with.
Despite the action and violence, your novels have a sense of humor.
Laughing is good for the soul.
Other than Jersey herself, which character is the most fun to write?
That would have to be her father, Spud. They've been estranged nearly her whole life and now he shares the living quarters above her pub on the Cape Fear River, called The Block. He's opinionated and often illogical but he's also a retired cop with some street smarts.
Your novels really move. Discuss your process for establishing and maintaining such a breakneck pace.
I suppose I write in much the same way I read other people's fiction. I wanna know what happens next!
What's up next for T. Lynn Ocean?
Just finished the manuscript (working title Southern Peril) for Jersey Barnes book #3. It involves a state Supreme Court judge, a local restaurant, a group of cosmetic surgeons, and a twenty-year-old mystery. Oh, yeah. And Spud is on a self-improvement kick to stay young for his new girlfriend. Aside from that, I'm working on a standalone, a mystery that takes place in the wine industry.
We writers often walk a crooked career path. What roads led you to where you are now?
Penny tour: I found myself needing a job with good benefits such as health insurance and landed on the doorstep of Time Warner Cable. I didn't have a clue about television--other than I watched it occasionally--but the production manager hired me anyway because of my background in writing and photography. Within a month, I was making 30-second commercials and loving it. Over the next five years, I was on a team of four producers with a crazy boss and hectic schedule. We did everything from half-hour programming to commercials to music videos. Can honestly say it was the most fun I ever had at a 'real' job! Until now.
A freelance writer for more than ten years, T. Lynn Ocean's work regularly appears in magazines nationwide. Her newest novel, SOUTHERN FATALITY is the first in a fun mystery series featuring unconventional security specialist Jersey Barnes. Next in the series comes SOUTHERN POISON, due September 2nd. T. Lynn enjoys doing absolutely nothing anywhere with a fabulous view and going on road trips under the guise of doing research. She is certified firearms safety instructor and likes to shoot trap and sporting clays. The author lives in SC with her husband a few furry critters.
ITW contributing editor Jonathan Maberry is a multiple Bram Stoker Award winning author and co-creator/consulting producer for ABC/Disney's On the Slab. His latest book is Zombie CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead (Citadel Press).ThrillerFest
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