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Author Natalie R. Collins Rob Holden: Natalie R. Collins, welcome to ReadersRoom.co ... but wait! You have been here before -- seated in the chair I am now seated in! Natalie R. Collins: Thank you Rob. Why, it does seem very familiar in here. Rob Holden: The interviewer is now the interviewee! Natalie R. Collins: The tables are turned! Whew, who turned up the heat? Rob Holden: Okay, let's start this chat off talking about your last book, Wives and Sisters. Tell our readers a bit about it! Natalie R. Collins: Wives and Sistersis the story of Allison Jensen, a young Mormon girl who is straining against the bands of fundamental religion. She suffers trauma and abuse at the hands of her tyrannically religious father, yet manages to stay strong and keep going, not just for her sake, but that of her family. It's a mystery, suspense, and so much more. Rob Holden: Tell me a bit about Allison, and where her character came from. Natalie R. Collins: Allison is large parts me, and also large parts of other ex-Mormons I have met. She had her birth in an incident that happened to me when I was six. I was held at gunpoint, along with my sister and two of our friends. It colored my life and became the starting point of Wives and Sisters. I took that incident, and some other things that happened to me, and then added in stories and bits of pieces of things I'd heard from other people. Allison is a very complicated character. But not because she wanted to be. I think she would have preferred her life to be simple, but we don't always grow when life is simple. The most important thing for me was to show that despite the past, you don't have to destroy yourself. Rob Holden: The novel essentially follows Allison from her childhood to the present, and one of the things I found fascinating about it was her ability to reinvent herself at different points of her life. Was that intended from the outset, or did it evolve in the writing of the novel? Natalie R. Collins: It evolved. I don't write from a strict outline, ever. I have a basic idea for a character, and they take over from there. Sometimes, they take over TOO much, and it frightens me. But I knew that Allison would be complicated. You couldn't have her life, and not be complicated. And she doesn't even know, herself, what is necessary for her growth. That only comes with time. And I don't think she reinvents herself. She actually grows into what she always meant to be, despite her upbringing. Despite all the tragedies of her life. Rob Holden: Let's talk a bit about her upbringing -- and yours, for that matter -- because it really does have a lot to do with who Allison is. Tell us something about it.

Natalie R. Collins: My upbringing. Well, I was raised a member of the LDS Church, by faithful parents, and they remain faithful to this day. But I questioned the tenets from a very early age. It never seemed right to me, always a fit that didn't work. When I was eighteen, I left, but not before doing a lot of research. I thought, "If I'm going to say it isn't true, I better have fact behind me." I never just dismissed it, like many think. I also didn't get my feelings hurt, or leave because I couldn't live up to its standards. IT couldn't live up to mine, and that's hard for faithful Mormons to understand. But I do not believe it to be truth, and so I have attempted to move on, but I am unable to do so, because it colors my life every day.

Rob Holden: And so you write about it?

Natalie R. Collins: I write about the culture in which I live and dwell on a daily basis. I write about both good and bad. And believe me, not all Mormons are bad, and not all are good. They are just people, trying to live to a higher standard. Climbing up to that higher standard, sometimes you fall off the ladder, and it's a LOT longer way down.

Rob Holden: Natalie, the Mormon community in general has not be thrilled with Wives and Sisters. Can you tell us how you deal with that, still living in a heavily Mormon community?

Natalie R. Collins: At first, it was really hard. I thought I had prepared myself, but I really wasn't prepared for the onslaught. First, the LDS authorities asked for advanced copies of the book before there was a catalog, any promotion, etc. There was nothing but my Web site, and I guess they had been following my exploits, because my agent and editor were shocked at the request. The Church kind of dismissed it, because I'm not Martha Nibley Beck, with such a famous father. They said, "It's an unknown book by an unknown author." But it did make a splash, and then the hatemail started. At first, it would needle me, but after a while, I discovered a GREAT way to deal with it. I started blogging it, and responding to it, with humor, on my blog. And at that point, I found it didn't bother me so much. But it, of course, has not gone away.

Rob Holden: And your blog can be found where?

Natalie R. Collins: http://www.nataliercollins.com/weblog/

Rob Holden: Nor, I would suspect, is it likely to go away any time soon.

Natalie R. Collins: A funny thing happened on the way to the, er, Weblog. I discovered that despite my stance, not all Mormons automatically hated me. I discovered a whole different breed of Mormons. They are most likely NOT Utah Mormons, something you can read about on my blog. It's been quite a journey.

Rob Holden: Moving on, I know that you have just sold your next novel to St. Martins. Can you tell our readers a bit about that?

Natalie R. Collins: Well, I'm reluctant to get into it too much until I have a release date from my editor. She asked for revisions, and so I made them and sent it back to her. Now the ball is in her court. But it's called Behind Closed Doors. It's about a woman, raised Mormon, who discovers you can't, as the old country song says, know what goes on behind closed doors. A life that seems ideal to her proves to be anything but, when her best friend, whom she has lost contact with, goes missing. She thinks HER life is so messed up, but in looking for Melissa, she finds a way to fix it, and discovers that everyone has problems. Some just hide it better than others.

Rob Holden: Both Wives and Sisters and BCD seem to share the common thread of people's lives not being what they appear to be. Do you find that to be a difficult thing to write about?

Natalie R. Collins: Actually, I think it's something I discovered early on in life. EVERYBODY has a story. Things are rarely what they seem. The richest man living on the highest hill might have a terrible fear of heights. I remember the shock in our neighborhood when one of the best families moved away after one of their daughters became pregnant in high school. No one could believe it happened, and I remember, even then, thinking "WHY can't you believe it?" I've never met a person who wasn't tempted, at some point or another, or who doesn't make a mistake. No matter how good they are. I've always been fascinated by that aspect, and the strong desire of the LDS to pretend that if you just go to church, go to the temple, pay your tithing and follow the commandments, EVERYTHING will go right. Life doesn't work that way. So I put it into books.

Rob Holden: Your first novel, SisterWife, was published by a small independent publisher several years ago. Can you talk a bit about the difference between being with a small house, and one of the New York publishing powerhouses?

Natalie R. Collins: It's a huge difference. I had a great editor at Zumaya, Liz Burton, and so I took that positive away with me, but other than that, it's a lot like self-publishing, despite what anyone will tell you. Companies that start up using POD technology don't need to have a lot of money. They can literally start up overnight, but of course, that means there is no money for ARCs, for promotion, to hire people, etc. Liz did a great job editing it, and I still trust her instincts even with my work now. She's just the best editor around. And she does pick good books. I am reading an anthology published by Zumaya right now, Techno-Noir, and it's very good. But they simply don't have the support, and ability to back you up. Of course, being a new author, I didn't get a lot from my BIG publisher, either. Sometimes it feels like they just drop you out there to sink or swim, and hope, like The DaVinci Code, that you manage to make a splash one way or another. It's a matter of trying to fight your way out of the hordes and rise above. Not sure I succeeded at that, but I sure tried.

Rob Holden: Well, you didn't do quite as well as The DaVinci Code, but Wives and Sisters did quite well none the less. Now, I know that between working, raising a family and your endless hours here at ReadersRoom, you are a very busy lady! Where do you find the time to write?

Natalie R. Collins: In the midnight and early morning hours. Any time I can. Sometimes I just have to tell the family to GO away and let me write. Not always easy to do, of course. But very necessary. I'm in between things right now, waiting to hear from my editor on revisions, so I'm trying to come up with new ideas.

Rob Holden: Any we should know about?

Natalie R. Collins: I have a fun cozy mystery called Dancing off the Edge, set here in Utah, that I'm working on. And I am ruminating a bigger idea, set in the Flaming Gorge area of Utah, where it meets Wyoming, that has a LOT of potential.

Rob Holden: Now, all you have to do is fine the time to write them! Natalie R. Collins: Ah, the hard part.

Rob Holden: Okay, Nat, before we wrap this up, where can people find you on the net?

Natalie R. Collins: http://www.nataliercollins.com.

Rob Holden: Finally, is there anything you would like to say to your fans who might read this chat at ReadersRoom.com?

Natalie R. Collins: Thanks for reading, and writing. It is so gratifying to hear from people all over about how they enjoyed my book. And please, keep reading. I promise to keep the suspense high, the boredom low, and the characters just right...

Rob Holden: Natalie R. Collins, thank you for joining us here today, and best of luck in all your upcomming projects!

Natalie R. Collins: Thanks for letting ME talk about me!


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