INTERVIEW WITH Ali Vali

February Newsletter 2006

By Connie Ward, BSB Publicist/Author Liaison

What made you decide to become a fiction writer?

I was sitting on a beach reading the third of the Harry Potter books that my partner had given me for Christmas several years ago and started wondering, not if I could duplicate the writing, but if I could write something more than five pages long. On the way home I thought some more about it, and I started not long after. Now, the more I write the more I enjoy it.

What type of stories do you write and why?

I write romances mostly because I’m a hopeless romantic at heart. Sappy I know, but true. One of the things I’ve enjoyed writing over the years, long before the characters that fill my stories started to fill my head with ideas, were love letters. I write love letters, send flowers, and enjoy showing my partner how much I love her as often as I can. I was lucky that I found a girl who inspired that in me and still does—she just loves sappy. It’s just that now the love letters are about three hundred plus pages and revolve around a storyline. They can’t take my butch card away from me for admitting that, right?

What does/do your family/friends think about your writing?

They’re amazed more often than not, but proud. Of course you have to know my parents. I could dig ditches for a living and they’d be proud of me, but the stories and how well they’ve been received have just kicked that up a notch. That makes me feel incredibly lucky to have that unwavering support.

My partner reads as I write and edits for me as I go along, so that’s where the “amazed” factor comes in. She just looks at me sometimes and just shakes her head before asking, “Why haven’t you been doing this longer?” That question is way better than the usual, “What were you thinking?”

Where do you get your ideas?

I’m a huge fanatic when it comes to my lawn. Some would call it borderline obsessive, I call it meticulous, and don’t worry, I do have a point in this. Most Saturdays you can find me walking behind a Toro cutting grass, and it not only makes my yard look great but it’s a great time to work through storylines. That’s one of the places I get ideas; the other comes on the seat of my bike.  

I pedal around every morning and basically ride myself out of writing ruts sometimes. The fact I’m focused on talking to myself during the rides in the mornings is the reason I think I got this nerdy reflector vest as one of my Christmas gifts this year. My partner is afraid I’ll be hit by a car, and I joke with her that it’s in her best interest that I don’t since—who would cut the grass?

How do you write? Do you plan everything out or just write?

I just write mostly. My editors are most probably cringing, but I just write. The only thing I do write out ahead of time, since I find it the hardest thing in putting a story together, is a list of characters. Naming characters is an important part of the story since from the time you start until you go through the editing process to the final product, you spend lots of time with them.  

Working with Shelley Thrasher on The Devil Inside made me see the importance of writing out a time line as well. I learned a lot from her, Stacia, and Rad during the editing process, which I’ll carry over in my future works. But mostly you’ll find me with a cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or beer, depending on my mood, and a pen and paper. When I say I write, I really do write the stories. It’s seldom that I can type and move the storyline along at the same time. If you’re wondering, yes, I can walk and chew gum at the same time.

What makes The Devil Inside special to you?

Devil was a two-year labor of fun. I hate to sound like my head won’t fit through the door, but I absolutely love these characters. Years ago I had the privilege of meeting one of New Orleans’ “connected” guys. Not that I admire mobsters, but Jimmy was, I have to admit, one of my favorite people. Not for the life he led but for his ability to weave a story. I love a good storyteller since I aspire to be just that—a good weaver of tales. As a writer I think it’s an important part of the mix. 

We’d have dinner about once a month and he would tell me stories over a bowl of pasta. He was definitely a big Casanova, so our dinners were fun for him as well because he wasn’t doing any wooing, just a night of friendly conversation with a willing listener.  

Jimmy died nine years ago, and I still miss him and his unending stream of stories. When I thought of Derby Cain Casey, I went the exact opposite of him in that Cain was more settled in her ways, but she was smooth, confident, and smart. Those would be the three words that pop into my head when I picture him. As I wrote Devil, it was special because I got to think about a dear friend I lost and the time we spent together. My greatest hope is that he’d have been happy to see I learned a little storytelling from the master.

How much of yourself and the people you know are in your characters?

This is a great question. Every character I write has a little quirk of mine, some of my partner’s, and some of our friends’. I love coffee; the color white, especially in crisp, starched shirts; and I love to laugh. Sound familiar?  

A lot of my secondary characters, which are as important to me as the main characters, are based marginally on our friends. You all have to remember we live in New Orleans, smack dab in the middle of the South. Eccentricity is a requirement here.

Which lesbian authors inspired you most?

Radclyffe, Karin Kallmaker and Jennifer Fulton. Each of them has a different writing style, but they all make you believe in strong, independent, and sexy women who know how to love. Asking me to pick a favorite, though, is like asking me to pick a favorite chocolate—it can’t be done. There hasn’t been anything that they’ve written that I don’t like so it’s hard to pick a favorite.

Do you have any suggestions for new writers?

My main suggestion is to write what you love. Find your niche as it were and work hard to improve your craft. When you feel you’re ready to share your work, the most important thing is to find people who will treat you with respect and honor your words. I found that with the folks at Bold Strokes Books, and I’m extremely lucky for that.

When you’re not writing, what do you do for fun?

I’m a rabid LSU fan, so I love watching my Tigers play. A Saturday night in heaven is spending it in Tiger stadium or Death Valley as we affectionately call it, screaming my head off. I love spending time with my girlfriend doing whatever. And I like foraging Magazine Street in New Orleans looking for antique bookends. I collect bookends and umbrellas.  

Don’t laugh; I have a great collection of umbrellas from all over the world. They’re great reminders of trips we’ve taken, and they’re useful when it rains.

Which is your favorite among the books/stories you've written and why?

Each story is special to me, but Carly’s Sound will forever be one of my favorites. Ten years ago my partner was diagnosed with cancer. My family is going through that right now with my mom, and it’s hard to see someone you love suffer.  

When I helped my partner through it, though, I have to admit to being scared out of my mind. I tired to always be strong for her, but there were times when I cursed the heavens for putting her through the misery of the chemotherapy and other treatments.  

About five years after she was cured, we were at a concert, and I looked at her having a great time dancing to Billy Joel’s music. Right then, the story came to me in one neatly wrapped package. It shocked me that when I sat down and wrote it, it only took about three weeks from beginning to end to complete the first draft.  

We sat outside on a chaise lounge one Saturday after I finished with the yard, and I read it to her. She laughed and she cried along with me through the parts I still can’t read without crying, and then she smacked me for killing her. In a nutshell that story was mostly about a woman I loved and lost to cancer, and the woman I ended up once she finished the treatments. Cancer is a life-changing experience no matter who you are and how strong you think are. The one thing it did for us was to learn to live the hell out of life, and I mean every single moment of it. Not that we didn’t before, but now we know that nothing about our days are guaranteed, so please don’t ever waste a single one. 

So while Carly was born out of that painful experience, all my stories I hope have those strong women who love fiercely and live with just as much gusto.