1–What is the title of your latest release?
ABOVE THE FOLD. (That’s the term for a front-page headline on a newspaper, literally above the halfway point where it’s folded.)
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Punk rock Lois Lane in 1980s New York City.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
That was a long and winding road. I first wrote this book in the early 2000s, and it took place during that time. I didn’t sell it (and self-publishing wasn’t an option then) but that was likely a good thing because I’ve improved as a writer over the years.
However, despite shelving it, the story never left me. I’d fiddle with it over the years, but newsroom work kept changing so fast that every revision was instantly dated. When it came time to revise once more, my then-agent, Saritza Hernandez, suggested I set the story in the 1980s. That turned out to be the click that turned the key on the whole story.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Hah! That would be exhausting. I’d hang out with her at a club or to grab a drink or follow her around on the job, but I suspect all three of those things would be more than a little dangerous. On the other hand, there’s a bit of Trisha in me, especially the reporter part, so I’d likely get a contact high from being with her while she works.
Plus, I kinda have little crush on Grayson, her love interest, the uptight hero to Trisha’s impulsive mess.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Irreverent, Incorrigible, and Irresistible. (Those are Grayson’s words for her.)
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned so much about the history of New York City, the punk movement, and the various other cultural explosions that were happening in New York City in the 1970s and the 1980s. I tried specially to find a definition of “punk” and the one I liked best was “a cry of rage against the system.”
There were a great many non-straight/non-cis non-white people who were part of this movement but, unfortunately, they were pushed to the margins by history. Their stories are finally coming out.
I especially recommend “Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliche,” a terrific documentary about the history of one punk pioneer, though it is more focused on the British punk scene. X-Ray Spex, Poly’s band, had a song called “The Day the World Went Day-Glo” and I think about that a lot in relation to Trisha’s world. She grew up in the dirty, gritty 70s, and she’s about to be hit full force by the shiny 80s. (The book takes place in 1984, so this is right during the transition time.)
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit constantly. I prefer revisions over writing the first draft. When I’m writing the first draft, I usually write a scene or two a day, then the next day, I revise those scenes, and go forward. I repeat that process until I have a draft. That draft is usually a hot mess.
I tend to go through the manuscripts three times: once for plot and character arcs, once to correct bad writing, like passive verbs, too much dialogue, etc., and once to polish. It usually takes longer than I’d like but I’ve tried shortcuts, and this is my process.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Dark chocolate nonpareils!
9–Describe your writing space/office!
I have a desk rather than an office that I fill with little comfort items. There are the pencil holders my kids made for me, a black & white photo of a forest path a late friend gave me, a Build-A-Bear Gandalf, my Coast Guard Academy hat, a stuffed wolf, a ceramic typewriter pen holder, and various small superhero figures.
I just get a smile looking at the stuff. It puts me in a good mood.
The desk is located in my family room. I have the MacBook Pro set up on a stand so I can use an ergonomic keyboard with it.
10–Who is an author you admire?
Admire personally and admiring their writing are two separate things.
An author who is both to me is Jennifer Crusie. Many years ago, I was a newbie fiction writer and stumbled onto her Yahoo loop. Not only did I fall in love with her writing, but she became a mentor to a number of us in the group. She was the first person to critique a scene from what became “Above the Fold.” As I recall, her comments were something like “you have a fabulous, fascinating character in Trisha, but you have no plot.” This was absolutely true. Jenny then went on to teach us about conflict, plotting, and everything you really need to know about writing. The cherries on the cover of “Bet Me” are a tribute to that yahoo loop.
I always remember the help Jenny gave to me when I encounter new writers. She never said that we couldn’t, only that we needed tools, and she gave us those tools to be good writers. I try to do the same and pay it forward.
Writers who I don’t know but whose work I love? Lois McMaster Bujold. Beverly Jenkins. Nora Roberts. Kurt Busiek. Priest sometimes known as Christopher Priest. Fonda Lee. Alex White.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
“Bet Me” is the obvious answer because I read beta-read that book and it’s so intensely tied up with my own writing journey.
But I think the books we fell in love with as kids and teens are the ones that really change your life by opening your mind.
For me, that was Tolkien’s “Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings,” the Claremont/Byrne “X-Men” run that included the Dark Phoenix saga, and Sue Grafton’s Alphabet mysteries. Those books showed me what’s possible in fiction, from creating an incredible world, to telling intense stories with a diverse range of characters, to providing me with a female protagonist could lead a series. (I am older, so this wasn’t the norm when I was growing up.)
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was in the car. (Why do all things happen in the car?) I’d just dropped off my daughter for a library program and my agent sent me an email about City Owl Press wanting both Trisha & Grayson books. I was crying so hard; I could hardly read the email. (I was parked.)
This had been nearly a 20-year process and I’d published other books previously but, I admit, Trisha & Grayson were always, always special, the stories that I adored the most. That call hit me harder than anything since my call about finaling in RWA’s Golden Heart in 2004.
To have these stories sell, after so many years of disappointments and revisions, I was just overcome.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read every genre except horror, though sometimes my suspense/urban fantasy reading slips into horror.
I’m less likely to pick up a contemporary book but only because they don’t have any explosions or fights and yet, still, I’ll make exceptions. See Jenny Crusie and Kristan Higgins. I have a terrible soft spot for Regencies, especially the ones written by my friend, Christine Merrill.
Basically, I like anything with a good story and characters that I adore. So, romance, mystery, science fiction, action-adventure….they are all great for me and even better when a story combines all those elements. That’s not easy but when it’d done right, those authors have a reader for life in me.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Answer: So hard to choose. It must be a tie between “Mrs. Pettigrew Lives for a Day,” “Galaxy Quest,” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” Also, “Dirty Dancing”.
15–What is your favorite season?
Fall. It’s just so pretty where I live in New England.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Mostly quietly, with family and close friends, and good conversation. And cake. Cake is a must!
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
“Wynonna Earp!” I have such a love for this show, especially since it was based on a comic by one of my favorite comic authors, Beau Smith. I interviewed Beau years ago because I picked up this comic with the descendant of Wyatt Earp who fights monsters. Sold!
The show, however, took all the things I loved about the comic to another level. It introduced the Earp family, it brought back Doc Holliday, it created a community in Purgatory that included Wynonna’s sister Waverly, and the terrific Sheriff Nicole Haught. (Wayhaught is their shipping name, and I would argue that it’s the best shipping name ever.) There’s Marshall Dolls, and so many other great supporting characters. The show is fast-paced, irreverent, full of heart, and has wonderful dialogue. And, yes, I love Wynonna, the cranky, doughnut-eating, haunted, and funny heart of the show. I also love how the show worked motherhood into its’ very being. Kudos to showrunner Emily Andras and her creative team, Alas it’s only four seasons but you can find it on Netflix.
I also beat the drum all the time for “Person of Interest,” which I feel is highly underrated. It’s a police procedural but it’s also about the rise of artificial intelligence, what governments might do with it, and it has a beautifully written ending. Let’s just say the AI that provides the social security numbers of the people in trouble has a character arc and I don’t believe he has more than one page of lines through the series. Plus, Root and Shaw are simply a perfect couple.
HBO’s “Watchmen” was not only a brilliant follow-up to the graphic novel but a searing commentary on race and prejudice in America. It’s the best-written show I’ve ever watched.
“Everything, Everywhere All at Once” was the weirdest and yet most amazing movie I have watched in ages. I adore it.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian. I love a great Fettuccini Alfredo. And all those wonderful pastries for dessert.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
It’s a cliché but, yes, I read. There’s a lot of non-fiction baked into that, as I do research, plus comics, and whatever stories happen to catch my eye. I also walk with my kids every day in the woods near my house.
And travel. I love to travel. I don’t have a favorite destination because I find anywhere new interesting, but I do love San Diego.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
The sequel to Above the Fold will be out within the year. And for newsletter subscribers, I will have a very special novella that takes place between the two books available in August! You can also find my backlist, including my Phoenix Rising superhero romance series, and my Steampunk Detectives books wherever books are sold, in ebook form.
ABOVE THE FOLD by Corrina Lawson
In 1980s New York City, a crime reporter with little to lose risks the only thing that matters to uncover the truth….
Trisha Connell’s journalism reflects her punk rock lifestyle: relentless, confrontational, and bitingly honest. It’s a style that scores front-page headlines but has her forever teetering on the verge of victory or disaster. Now one crime will forever change Trisha’s life.
As she charges into the story of a sensational theft at an art museum, she discovers a murdered guard is someone she knew, a former foster kid who was adopted and supposed to be living a good life. To make it worse, the guard is suspected to be one of the thieves.
Determined to uncover the truth, Trisha bulls her way into the story, risking her life and career on what could be the story of the decade, if her editor doesn’t fire her first. She finds an ally in Edmund Grayson, a security expert assigned to the museum, who’s driven by his own guilt in failing to stop the murder.
Chasing the story will take Trisha from the punk clubs to the high society to the inner workings of newspapers of New York in the 1980s. It will take all her street skills to survive.
Romance Suspense | Mystery [City Owl Press, On Sale: June 1, 2023, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781648983870 / eISBN: 9781648983887]
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About Corrina Lawson
Corrina is former newspaper reporter with a degree in journalism from Boston University. She turned to writing fiction after her twins were born (they were kids three and four) to save her sanity. The twins are eleven now and she’s written eight books, a blend of romance with various genres. Corrina is currently an editor of GeekMom and a core contributor to its brother site, Geek Dad on Wired.com. She also writes for Sequential Tart, a webzine about comics and pop culture written solely by women. Often you can find her hanging out on comic book writer Gail Simone’s forum on Jinxworld. She has been a finalist in the national Golden Heart contest sponsored by the Romance Writers of America and is the winner of several regional RWA contests. Her superhero novel, Phoenix Rising and an alternate history novella, Freya’s Gift are currently available from Samhain Publishing. Her first published book, Dinah of Seneca, an alternate history romance, is currently available from The Wild Rose Press and the sequel, Eagle of Seneca, will be coming out in January. She’s also had an essay published in Chicken Soup for the Soul-Thanks Mom!
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