An Interview with Joyce Anthony, Author of Storm

Just what DO an abused child, a prostitute, a disillusioned minister, a Vietnam vet and a homosexual have in common?
First--all of these belong to what I call "the forgotten"--people we meet every day, yet barely noticed and almost never get to know. Even the minister represents all those alone and lost in society. Secondly, my MC comes into all of their lives, and in some way changes all of them internally, except in one case where he is changed.

What drove you to write this story?
Storm wouldn't let me rest--I thought of him at odd hours of the day, dreamt of him at night--he wanted his story told and was determined I was going to tell it. I figured if I was going to get any rest, I'd better write the book :-)

Did anything in the characters or plot surprise you as you wrote it?
This book was full of surprises for me--Maggie, the amethyst-eyed
dog, just appeared out of nowhere--I didn't know she was there until she appeared. A couple other characters were the same way--it was almost as though I watched them walk into the story all on their own. I didn't do any outlining on this book. I knew the beginning and the end--and the rest just fell into place as I wrote. I started to feel at times like the story literally did write itself.

Why StarPublish for the publisher?
I wanted the control I could have with POD, but also wanted quality. I wanted to go with a place that actually was picky about what books they accepted--and was willing to speak up if something was lousy. Kristy Maguire, head of Star Publish, is like that--she maintains very high standards and isn't afraid to speak up, make suggestions, etc.. I trust her to see that I have put my best out there. In a way, I got the best of both worlds, quality that is expected by the big name publishers, yet more control that comes from POD.

What do you want readers to get from this book?
I want my readers to think. I want them to examine their lives and see the people around them in a different light. I want them to feel so strongly they can't just go about their lives as they are now--but instead need to act to change something, whether within themselves or within the world around them.

What are your future writing plans?
I am currently working on my second book, a nonfiction piece entitled Spirit of the Stallion. I also have two books planned out after that, a YA historical/paranormal entitled The Trees Remember and a young reader's book, The Gospel According to Rex.