Enter for a chance to win two copies of The Territory. Contest open in the United States only.
Number One Novels: Congratulations on the publication of your first book! Tell me a little about it—what's your pitch?
Tricia Fields: Thank you! It’s been a long time coming, so I’m thrilled to finally see all the pieces falling into place. Here’s the publisher’s brief synopsis of the book:
At the end of State Road 170 and just past a ghost town lies Artemis, population 2,500. The townspeople sought out this remote corner of Western Texas in hopes of living lives of solitude and independence. None of them realized that their small town would become a hot spot for Mexican drug runners, whose turf battles have turned both sides of the Rio Grande into a war zone. After arresting one of the cartel's hit men and killing another, Chief of Police Josie Gray finds her life at risk for doing a job that some would rather see her quit. And when the town's self-appointed protector of the Second Amendment is murdered and his cache of weapons disappears, it's clear that she doesn't have to pick sides in this war. She's battling them both.
Set in a desert landscape as beautiful as it is dangerous, The Territory captures the current border issues from the eyes of a tough, compelling heroine and richly evokes the American Southwest.
NON: How did you get the idea for your novel?
TF: I fell in love with the southwest in the '80s after reading Edward Abbey’s, Desert Solitaire. While having never lived in the desert, I’ve spent years there in my mind, drawn to authors such as Tony Hillerman, Elmore Leonard, and Larry McMurtry. Over the past ten years I’ve been drawn as well to the story in northern Mexico: the spread of the cartels, the chaos along the border, the inability of local and national authorities to gain control, and the destruction of lives on both sides of the border. Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas is considered by many to be the most dangerous city in the world. It is terrifying - and it is on our doorstep.
The following questions framed almost everything I read concerning the southwest over the past few years: How are people’s lives affected when their town is overtaken by criminals and their lives consumed with fear? How are the good people of Mexico, the good people along both sides of the border, holding it together in the middle of such chaos? How would a female chief of police protect a town facing the fear of anarchy when resources are scarce to nonexistent? The search for answers to these questions ultimately led to the development of a female cop who is tough enough, and flawed enough, to take the job, and was eventually the impetus behind The Territory.
NON: No two authors seem to take the same route to publication, but almost every author has an interesting story about their journey. How did you get published? Did you use an agent? How did you find out that your book had sold?
TF: I submitted my manuscript to the Tony Hillerman contest for Best First Mystery set in the southwest. My story is set in West Texas, so it was a good fit, but I really didn’t expect anything to come of it. Four months later, I received a phone call from an editor at St. Martin’s asking if I had placed my book. He explained that I had won the Hillerman prize. Within two weeks I had received a book contract and was working on my first edit. Two months later I attended the Wordharvest conference in Santa Fe to accept the award and to meet with Peter Joseph, editor from St. Martins.
Because I was signing a fairly basic publishing contract for the first book I didn’t sign with an agent. And, Peter was a great support, and walked me through the various expectations for an author during their first year of publication. I recently signed with agent Dominick Abel for my second book. There’s a blog on my website that details that story (too long for this post) but it’s a nice series of connections. I’ll just say this – I had received 26 agent rejections prior to winning the Hillerman. Since then, things have fallen into place like I had always imagined. I didn’t sign a publishing contract until book number six – so if you’re reading this and have only written a book or two, don’t give up. It takes lots of patience and perseverance!
NON: I think that names say a lot about a person, especially a fictional person. How did you decide on your protagonist’s full name? Did you have any other names that were in the running?
TF: I’m a huge Clint Eastwood fan. I love his old westerns, especially The Outlaw Josey Wales. So, in my own mind, my protagonist, Josie Gray, is a modern-day female version. And, her last name seemed fitting in light of the desert setting and the bleak outlook on life that she has – one that she constantly battles. Josie, like her male counterpart, is complicated, deeply private, and introspective; the kind of character I think about long after the movie is over… or the last page is turned.
NON: Do you have another book in the works?
TF: Yes, draft one of book two is complete. I’m just entering the editing phase. And, the first scene of my third book has morphed into something I’m really excited about exploring. I sat down at the computer a few days ago and was able to spin out a basic plot outline based on my mental image of that scene. I have no doubt it will all completely change, but at least I have something to focus my energy on while I’m editing my second book.
NON: What's your writing routine? Do you write in the mornings, nights, daily, or when the mood strikes you?
TF: I am a curriculum coordinator for a public school corporation during the day, and I have two high school–aged girls who are active in sports and band. I’ve learned to write whenever I can. As I mentioned before, I typically write in the living room or at the kitchen table, on my laptop, in the evenings or on the weekends. I also have school holiday breaks that come in handy for writing marathons.
I’m a procrastinator my nature, so I’ve learned to set writing goals for myself, and to stick with them. Otherwise, with my day job and kids' schedules I wouldn’t get anything accomplished. It would be too easy to slack off. I set weekly and monthly writing goals, and I log them on an Excel spreadsheet. It’s a great motivator for me.
NON: What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?
TF: I procrastinate with little things: meaningless house chores, a third cup of coffee, checking the online bank statement, checking email (a huge time-sucker but it’s awfully tempting), starting something for dinner, giving the dogs fresh water, starting a load of laundry. Really, you’d think I’d rather just sit at the computer and write!
NON: What’s your favorite non-essential item on your desk?
TF: I don’t have a desk. I write all over the place with my laptop – the car, the porch swing, bed, the couch. I typically harass the kids into turning off the TV so that I can work on my laptop in the living room. I love to write surrounded by my kids and husband, but the TV can be distracting. My husband, fortunately, prefers sports when he has the TV on, so I’m happy with the football season right now. Sporting events are like white noise to me. I can get lost in my writing, and not miss a thing going on with the rest of the family.
NON: What are you currently reading?
TF: I just finished an excellent book by Tom Zoellner called Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock that Shaped the World. I read it while researching for my last book. It’s a fascinating account of the bizarre history of uranium, from secret mines in the Congo all the way to the bombs that destroyed Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Most amazing to me were his accounts of the scientists who unlocked the secrets inside the heaviest natural element on earth. Once they understood the instability of the atom, there were an amazing number of discoveries that led directly to the atomic bomb – and what a ride it was. Zoellner illustrates the capacity for horror locked inside this rock without ever becoming melodramatic or using scare tactics. The facts do that just fine on their own! It’s a fascinating book.
Publisher: Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books
Hardcover: 278 pages
ISBN: 978-0-312-61378-5
eBook ISBN: 0312613784
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