It’s Wednesday so it must be time for a new author to appear on my website. Today I welcome Laurie Boris, the author several award-winning novels and a contributing writer and editor for Indies Unlimited. She has just published a new novel, and I’m very pleased to have her visit today and talk about it. A Sudden Gust of Gravity, a psychological suspense romance, features Christina Davenport hoping to revive her career as a magician when she meets a surgical resident who sees beneath the surface of her makeup. How’s that for an intriguing premise? 

Laurie, I’m so pleased you took the time out of your release book to stop by and discuss A Sudden Gust of Gravity. Tell us a little bit about the premise.

When a mysterious, charming street performer hires Christina to be his assistant, she sees an opportunity to overcome her fears and become a magician in her own right, but as he grows jealous of the attention she’s getting, she wonders if cozying up to him is worth the price of admission.

The cover makes perfect sense. But how did you choose the title? 

The story had a series of working titles before I settled on A Sudden Gust of Gravity. It covers so many themes in the book, from carrying the weight of our pasts to managing the forces of gravity during Christina’s juggling performances. It’s also an old juggling joke, an excuse performers use when they drop something: “Must have been a sudden gust of gravity.”

That really is a multi-layered title. I love it when that happens. How did you come up with this idea? It’s unusual and fascinating. 

One day, a scene popped into my head: a power struggle between a magician and the down-on-her-luck waitress auditioning to become his assistant. Her first test is to get into a cramped box illusion, but she’s hiding the fact that she’s claustrophobic. I started asking questions, and the story grew from there…way too far, at one point, and I had to pull a few characters out. Maybe they belong in a different story.

I’ve had that happen. It’s good to put them in a file for some future use. Did you have to do much research for this book?

I was a magician’s assistant and street performer for about ten minutes a few decades ago, so I asked a friend from high school, currently working as a magician, to make sure I had my details (mostly) right. My goal was to let the readers in on a few secrets without giving away everything and earning the wrath of magicians everywhere. Apparently, this was meant to be a high-school-reunion project, because another gracious friend, now a doctor, gave me some advice about Devon, my young medical resident. I also asked Mama Google a few things. She’s fabulous.

She is a wonder, isn’t she? I once pumped gas for a few minutes when I was twenty, but that’s nothing compared to being a street magician. Who is the antagonist in your book? Did you enjoy creating this character?

Yes! Reynaldo the Magnificent (aka Ralph) is a quirky dude with a dark side and an ego the size of the Goodyear blimp. I had some fun with him.

Great! I sometimes have far too much fun creating my bad guys so I’m glad to see I’m not alone. You’ve written several novels, but is there another form of written expression you’d like to try?

I’d love to try a screenplay. It sounds like a tremendous writing challenge, to distill a novel into visual elements and dialogue.

People ask me if I’d like to do that, but it  doesn’t not interest me. . .yet! Do you have a favorite character that you created? 

I adore my characters, and Charlie from the Trager Family Secrets series is still my favorite. He’s kind, funny, smart, resourceful…yet vulnerable and real. At least to me. Devon Park, the young doctor from A Sudden Gust of Gravity, is another character I’ve fallen for hard. From his first scene with his five-year-old nephew, I was in love. Falling in love with all these fictional men is becoming a bad habit of mine.

At least you don’t have to pick up their dirty socks. Is there one author with whom you identify or hold up as your standard-bearer?

I have an author-girl-crush on Joyce Carol Oates. She’s strong, brilliant, prolific, and she has no fear. I want to be her when I grow up. If I ever grow up.

I hope you never grow up, Laurie. It’s been a pleasure to have you drop by today, and I look forward to reading your latest release. My best to you on its success.

About Laurie:  Laurie Boris has been writing fiction for over twenty-five years and is the award-winning author of five novels, a novella, and a bunch of short fiction. When not playing with the universe of imaginary people in her head, she’s a freelance copyeditor and enjoys baseball, reading, and avoiding housework.

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