Interview with Deborah J. Lightfoot, Author of Adverse Reactions

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?

I don’t remember and can’t even guess where the original idea came from. I actually started the book in 2005, but managed only 24,000 words before hitting a wall. I got stuck at the first plot point. So I shoved the manuscript into a file cabinet and returned to writing the epic fantasy that eventually became my six-book Waterspell series. But I never forgot that partial manuscript. Last summer, I unearthed it and read what I’d written 20 years before. What I found in those rough-draft pages—the compelling urgency of it—surprised me.

The awful situation the protagonist is in as the story opens grabbed and held me. And more than that: my mind leapt ahead when I reached the first plot point. A score of years earlier, I hadn’t known where the story went from there. But now I did. The logical and dramatic next steps in the quest for justice were clear. During the book’s 20-year incubation, I’d done a lot of writing and a lot of living. I’d gained experience, deepened my understanding of people and their motivations, and observed the good and the evil of which humans are capable. All of that equipped me to finish the story, and to do it in a way that has been personally fulfilling.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?

Adverse Reactions is a post-apocalyptic, paranormal, suspense-thriller, Western fantasy. It crosses genres! The Great Plains setting evokes the theme song from the movie “Once Upon a Time in the West.” Another classic film score that would fit is “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I mainly read and write fantasy, with a fair amount of science fiction on the side. As a kid, the first book I bought with my own money was Daybreak—2250 A.D., post-apocalyptic science fiction by the great Andre Norton. I fell in love with Norton’s books and her writing style. Currently, I’m catching up on her Witch World fantasy novels that I somehow missed in my adolescence.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

So many! Too many! Besides the Witch World books, which are numerous, I’m into the Sally Lockhart mysteries by Philip Pullman, published between 1985 and 1994. The final book of that series came out just a year before The Golden Compass.

I recently listened to the audiobooks of The Book of Dust sequels, and as a fantasy writer, I was interested in Pullman’s transition from mystery to fantasy. I’m enjoying the Sally Lockhart books, but honestly, I wouldn’t have thought they were written by the same man who would go on to write the incomparable His Dark Materials. Pullman made an inspired leap with Lyra Belacqua’s story, his masterpiece.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

I’d have to say it’s when my protagonist, Devin, meets Mike Sutter, a complicated man who is the definition of “morally gray.” Sometimes he’s kind and generous. Other times, he’s ruthless to the point of cruelty. He’s got his own agenda, as Devin soon discovers.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I sit down at the computer, and in strict and unvarying order, I arrange these: —Web browser, taskbar bottom-left, ready to look up synonyms and make sure a word really means what I think it means —Word processing program center-screen; plain old Word, nothing fancy —Dictionary, taskbar bottom-right, my trusty Merriam-Webster —On the writing desk nearby, a hardback copy of the Oxford Thesaurus (American Edition) I cannot proceed without those things at my fingertips, and in that order. I also require a cup of coffee, a mug of water, and the hum of the air conditioner. Those will keep me pounding the keyboard for hours, until the coffee and water dictate a break. 😊