Willow Rose - Nailbiting Page-Turners With Twists You Won't See Coming

Willow Rose is a multi-million-copy best-selling Author and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 70 novels. Several of her books have reached the top 10 of ALL books on Amazon in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than three million books all over the world. She writes Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy. Willow's books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners with twists you won't see coming. That's why her fans call her The Queen of Scream. Willow lives on Florida's Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and watch the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about her book, No Other Way.

Please give us a short introduction to what No Other Way is about.

No Other Way is the third book in my Harry Hunter mystery series. In this book we meet three women on a road trip to Key West. They are going to celebrate a birthday for one of them, but only two of them return. When they give their statements to the police, their stories don’t completely match. Harry Hunter gets involved in the story when the son of one of them shoots his dad at church one morning, while Harry is there with his family. While everyone else is focused on the boy and getting him convicted, Harry can’t stop thinking about the one question no one else seems to care about: Why would a young teenager try to kill this own father? Being the father of a teenager himself, he realizes there has to be more to the story than what people around him are seeing.

What inspired you to write about three women who went on a road trip to Key West?

It was a sentence that randomly popped into my head: "Three women went on a roadtrip, only two returned." Since the books take place in Miami I thought a trip to Key West would be the right place to go.

The book also includes a scene where a young boy shoots his father in church.

Why did you take this approach? I was sitting in church myself one day some time ago, and there was a young boy and his father arguing in the seats in front of me, and then I had the thought: What if one of them pulls out a gun right now? That’s usually how it happens to me, when I get ideas for books. It’s always me thinking about something terrible happening right now. It’s a blessing and a curse, because it often makes me fear things that will never happen.

Tell us more about Detective Harry Hunter. What makes him tick?

Harry is a devoted father and husband first and foremost. He wants to keep his loved ones safe. But he’s also very much a detective and can’t stand injustice. His wife has been in a vegetative state for the past three years but is awake now and he is trying to help her get better. In this book he finds a new treatment and finally sees the results he has been waiting for. But as his wife gets better, the truth about what really happened to her is also revealed and realizing the truth, puts him a difficult situation.

No Other Way contains a lot of twists and turns. Did you plan them all out or did some of it just "happen" while writing?

I plan everything. I usually walk around with a book for a couple of weeks, rolling it over in my mind and then when I sit down and write it, most of the details and storyline is already planned out. Sometimes something happens that I don’t plan, but that is not very often anymore.

How do you balance all of the demands of a successful writing career (writing, appearances, etc.) and the myriad personal life demands?

I write when the kids are in school, just like I would got to work in an office somewhere if I had another job. Once the kids are back, I stop so I can take care of them and be a mom. I don’t write during the weekends. I do however constantly work on a book in my head and sometimes I am caught drifting off into a daydream while planning my next book. Most of my best ideas have come to me while playing with the kids or walking the dog.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I love creating worlds and people that readers can enjoy hanging out with. I love the fact that I can’t help myself. I have to write. I don’t feel well if I am not working on a book or if it has been a while since I last wrote, like during spring break. Writing makes me feel good.

Harry Hunter has a lot on his plate in this book. Why?

Because that is life, I think. We all have a lot going on all the time and pressure added to us. Maybe not the kind he is facing, but still. It makes him a more interesting person.

Was there a particular character whose voice you found it easiest to write in?

Harry is easy to write. I think it’s because I love him so much. He’s just a genuinely good guy. He doesn’t always make the right choices, but we forgive him because he’s such a good soul. He means well.

How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?

About three to four weeks. But at that time I have been working on it for at least another four weeks in my mind.

What are you working on right now?

I am writing the 4th book in the Harry Hunter series, but it’s not going as fast as I want it to. I have been struggling slightly through this pandemic crisis and haven’t been able to write a lot. I keep losing my focus and I feel like what my imagination can come up with pales in comparison with reality these days. But the past couple of days have been better and I think I’ll get back to my usual self in a few days. At least I hope so. It’s not an easy time we live in right now and a lot of people are struggling. It makes me so sad to think about.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

They can sign up for my newsletter or follow me on social media. If they just want to check out my books, they can go to Amazon and find my author page.