DEBORAH A. MARSHALL - "V" Paperback Author

 

After battling the flu, Deb was kind enough to answer the below questions!  Due to her busy schedule, Part II will be following shortly, so keep checking back!

Thank you, Deb!  Your kindness toward the fans is overwhelming!

Special thanks to Tamie Kwist.

THE INTERVIEW
(3/16 - 17/01)

1.    Have you always been an East-coast girl?  Where did you grow up?

My Dad was in the Navy, so our family was, too!  Born in Chelsea, MA (a suburb of Boston), I grew up all over New England, mostly, with a three-year tour in France and Belgium.  I spent first and second grade -- and then my last two years of high school -- in North Kingstown, RI, where my Mom still lives.  (My parents liked it so much from the first time that my Dad retired there.)

2.    Was writing something you always wanted to do? If so, is there a story to share about when you were little and dreaming of becoming a writer?

I've always enjoyed a good story, wherever I found it!  I have deliciously scary memories of being around five or six years old, bundled up in a blanket and my jammies and going to the drive-in movies with my Dad.  I was determined to be very grown-up and stay awake to see spooky classics like "Corridors of Blood," with Boris Karloff, and "Day of the Triffids."  (This was a long time before "PG-13" and "R" ratings were around to protect impressionable young minds from warping.)

I still remember the poem I wrote in first grade, that my teacher wanted to publish in the elementary school paper...but the sixth grade teacher who was editor thought I'd copied it from somewhere!  And then later, fifth grade I think, I did some cheerful copying -- well, adapting, really.  I'd seen the movie of "The House of the Seven Gables," and I wanted to write my own version.  My teacher commended my "Excellent expression for a child your age!"  Various encouragements like this as I was growing up helped a lot.

3.    Did you ever want to be something else other than a writer?

Oh yeah, all kinds of things.  I remember playing "house"...I was "Daddy," who put on a hat and briefcase and left.  (I wasn't sure what that meant, exactly, but it seemed to me to beat "Mommy's" role of serving "tea" to dolls and teddy bears.)  And following a big crush on my third grade teacher, Mrs. Ramsey, I wanted to be a teacher. Eventually I became a professional trainer, career coach, and internal consultant in a couple of government agencies.  (I got the briefcase but skipped the hat, and I never did acquire many domestic skills.)

I sang along with the Beatles and dreamed of being a singer.  I joined some volunteer singing group and have performed at Carnegie Hall and The White House!

In high school, for a little while, I wanted to be Mr. Spock.  (Well, sort of...he really seemed to have it all together, and I wanted to, too.)  That particular dream didn't happen -- just as well!

Perhaps because I've had so many of my own dreams come true, it's a special pleasure and blessing to me to help others.  Currently, I work with teams and individuals, helping them identify what's most important to them and then sharing strategies they can apply to get the results and successes they seek.   

4. Was your family supportive when you told them you wanted to write or did they want you to become a doctor? :)

Writing was always more for fun, a hobby for me, and a way for a lonely and socially awkward kid to connect with other people.  My dear and beloved Grandma Marshall would sit and listen to hours of my scribblings of "scientific fiction," as she called it.  She didn't pretend to understand all of it, but her patient caring and listening sparked my efforts.
 
5.    Brothers and/or Sisters?  If so, are they on the creative or  scientific side?

I (mostly) enjoyed the company of my younger sister, Sandy, until I was eleven.  Tragically, we were in a terrible car accident, and Sandy was killed by a drunk driver just days after her tenth birthday.  Writing became a way for me to cope with my loss and grief, to impose a certain order on a universe that had spun out of control.  She was a sunny, feminine little thing with a generous heart and a healthy sort of mischief.  I was rather jealous of her, I'm afraid, but I like to imagine we would have grown up to become best of friends.

6.    What other works have you done that fans can look up/read?

I worked with Ann on the fourth book in her original series, "StarBridge," about alien and human kids attending a school together on an asteroid several hundred years from now.  Our  book, _StarBridge Book 4:  Serpent's Gift_, was published in 1992 by Ace-Berkeley.  The book won national recognition on that year's "List of Books for the Teen Age," a "best-of-category" list of recommendations sent to schools and libraries.
 
7.    Did you attend sci-fi conventions regularly?

Oh, Yes!  Ever since I read about the first Star Trek convention in NYC in 1973, I determined to go (and did, starting in 1974.)  Living in Wash. DC made it easy for me to access cons in New York and Boston, as well as our own "Disclaves" and "Balticons."  One of my bigger thrills following _V:  Death Tide_ was being invited as a guest to the World Science Fiction Convention in 1985 in Melbourne, Australia, as well as several local and regional conventions. 

I started going to conventions to hear from the TV stars and writers...and continued going to meet new friends and reconnect with old ones!  Then I got busy and interested in other things and hadn't been in awhile.  But I was easily persuaded to attend the "Boskone" in Framingham, MA four weeks ago, where I had a joyous reunion with my best friends from sixth and seventh grade!
 
8.    Describe working with Ann Crispin. (your feelings, too, remembering back 16 years ago--excitement?, scared?, etc.)

Mostly, Ann and I had a lot of fun writing _V:  Death Tide_ together. It gave us even more reasons to hang around and talk on the phone (and I gained seven pounds enjoying her good cooking, as well as learning a lot from her!). 

Yeah, "excitement" and "scared" were certainly also part of my feelings.  She had three books published by then, was serious and dedicated to her craft, and I didn't want to disappoint her or anyone else involved.  On top of that, we only had nine weeks to write the book (and I was working fulltime).  I had to acquire new writing habits, shifting gears from my casual, write-when-I'm-in-the-mood mode to a steady average of five pages a day.  (One of the things I'm proudest of to this day is finishing the book a day ahead of schedule!)
   
9.    What type of full-time job did you have when got the good news to co-author Death Tide?

I was creating and delivering training programs for managers, executives, and employees at the (then) Veterans Administration.  (I remember running down the staid governmental halls of the eleventh floor, yelling and grinning, when Ann called me that September day with word of our contract!)  My wonderful co-workers took on several of my training trips and projects, so that I could take a couple of weeks off and otherwise stick around close to home to work on the book.  In addition to my grateful acknowledgement in the book to the "(056) gang," I took them all out to lunch when it was done. 

10.    Did you receive any fan mail or hear fans talking about Death Tide?

Ann got some lovely notes and passed them along to me.  The publisher, Pinnacle Books, went bankrupt about a month after the book came out, so the book went out of print pretty quickly.  I do remember some people at conventions saying that _V:  Death Tide_ was their favorite in the series.  I also observed someone on a plane reading Ann's _V_ book, and of course, had to make a cheerful comment about how I know her, etc.

11.    Why the name change to Rollison?  Is Deb Rollison your professional name now, or does Deborah A. Marshall still appear on your work?

For those of us who love fantasy and science fiction, it's especially gratifying when reality surpasses your wildest and biggest dreams!  I was convinced "marriage" would never be a part of my own life-book, when I left the VA in 1991 to go to the U. S. General Services Administration (GSA).  As a training specialist, I occasionally spent some money, and our Budget Officer tracked my spending.  I'll spare you the mushy details -- suffice it to stay that I started tracking _him,_ and he, me.  We've been married 4-3/4 joyful, blessed years (and I tend to continue spending money, and he continues to track it).

As an aside, we weren't the oldest people in Montgomery County, MD to ever apply for a first-time marriage license -- but I was 43-1/2 and Tom was 38 when we married.  So for all you romantics out there, take heed and take heart!  The right one is definitely worth waiting for, and it's never too late.

As a second aside, I asked Tom what he thought about the last name business, just before we married in June '96.  "You should use whatever name you like," he said.  "However, I would be honored if you shared my name."  Well, put that way -- !  So it's now, and forever, "Deb Rollison."

12.   What or who influences you when writing a story?

Everything, anything, and anyone!  Seriously, I never know exactly what will grab my fancy.  In general terms, for me there seems to be a sudden juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated items or events that sparks a story idea. 

(As I may have mentioned for _V:  Death Tide_, it started with getting to meet the actors, see the set, and watch a couple of scenes being filmed...and then, a couple of days later, going on a tour of Catalina Island, off the coast of CA, and learning kelp grows there over a foot a day, faster than anywhere else in the world.  Suddenly, Visitors + Kelp = Big Trouble for Planet Earth, as well as some of the characters we're all fond of.)

I have cheerfully broad and eclectic tastes.  So I write initially to please myself.  Then I edit with the idea of my presumed audience. 

13.    Is fiction/sci-fi the main thing you enjoy to write about, or do you enjoy other genres as well?

I enjoy a good story, whether in fictional or non-fiction form.  (An article I wrote about the volunteer music group I sing with, the "VA-National Medical Musical Group," will be published in an upcoming issue of the _Veterans Health Systems Journal_, a national publication focusing on health care issues for veterans.)

I haven't written much for awhile, preferring other activities.  (I'm a bit too social a being to spend the proper amount of time and discipline sitting in front of my computer.)  Still, lately an idea for a ghost story has been stirring up the old dust in my writer's attic.  And I'm making some preliminary notes for a book on gratitude.  (I have a lot to be grateful for, and would love to be known someday as someone who lived a life of gratitude.  There's nothing like writing as a tool to teach yourself what you want to learn!)

14.    Please describe all of your memories when you visited the "V" set!  Was it for a few days, a week?  Did you get to meet with the actors to ask them about their characters, or did you write the book based on what you've seen from the TV show itself?

We just had one day on the set, but what a day!  All this time later, my memories are fragmented and impressionistic.  We got to meet briefly Marc Singer, Jane Badler, Robert Englund, Faye Grant, June Chadwick, and Michael Ironside.  As you know or can imagine, in real life they're much more relaxed, very kind, even better looking, and frankly even more interesting than their characters.  (I believe the people behind the characters influenced our book for the better.) 

I remember everyone else in the cast remarking how lovely and sweet Jane Badler was in real life -- the antithesis of her Evil Lizard Queen Diana.  She and June Chadwick (the also-charming actress who played Lydia) were great friends off-screen, happily chatting and laughing in between filming the takes of spitting and hissing at one another.

There was a lot of waiting and down-time between takes, I remember -- mostly so the "gaffers" could climb up into the scaffolding and readjust the lights for the next scene.  You had to watch your step in the cavernous, warehouse-like set, because equipment was everywhere, and cables snaked underfoot.  We were allowed to stand behind a bedroom "window" and watch a scene where Mike Donovan was sitting on a bed, shirtless, talking  with Julie.  (When I saw the actual episode on TV some weeks later, I was amazed that we were completely invisible.)

I remember meeting the "animal wrangler," a large, tanned man wearing a lot of gold chains and a California-wide smile.  He was in charge of the mice who would be "eaten" that day.  (He showed us the device that mimicked Diana's mouth opening very wide, projected as a shadow.  The mouse dropped in and down a little chute, like a slide, landing perfectly unharmed.)

When I checked my files last night, I found my little red felt pennant with the "Visitors" symbol, and full of cast autographs.  (Robert Englund wrote, "Thank You!," along with his name, and "Willie."  He, too, was very sweet and gracious; not a hint of his even more famous role, "Nightmare on Elm Street"'s "Freddie," to come!)

15.    Did you read any of the "V" books prior to or after Death Tide?

I sure did!  It really helped that Ann had written the novelization of _V_ and collaborated with Howie Weinstein on _V:  East Coast Crisis_. They had such a good feel for the universe and the characters.  (And it's especially fun when writers you admire are also your friends -- you can hear their own voices coming through the characters, now and then.) 

Ann also had copies of about six of the scripts and some script treatments/proposals for the upcoming "V" TV series.  That gave us a format and some of the set-up for our script proposal.  We also had black-and-white publicity photos, with Post-it Note annotations for colorations (e.g., "Robin:  Brown-Brown" [meaning, "Brown hair, brown eyes,"] etc.)  This way, we could describe the characters accurately.

16.    If "V" were to come back and you were asked to write another "V" novel, would you be interested?

Absolutely!  In fact, I'd be thrilled and honored! 

I just re-read _V:  Death Tide_.  (You really do forget a lot of the details over time, and I didn't want to embarrass myself here.)  It was like spending time with dear old friends again, and I'd love to slip back down to the Club Creole and elsewhere with them, sip a (non-blender) drink or two, and see what they've been up to.

I was pleased and amused to see how well the book has held up over time.  If it was being updated for a reprint, though, I'd have Chris put on "music" or "a CD" instead of "a record," when Maggie came over to his place.  I'd have to put in a line or two about how the Visitors had infiltrated the Internet and cell phones, to justify Mike Donovan's in-person trip to the Brook Cove group on Long Island.  And Elias would be selling his famous "Club Creole" shirts for around $40 instead of $15.  (And I'd try to be a little more sparing in my use of adjectives and length of sentences!)

17.    What tv shows do you watch today, if any?  Which tv shows were your favorite growing up?

These days, the incredibly talented and clever comedians on "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" almost always make me laugh out loud.  I enjoy "Star Trek:  Voyager."  And when its cliff-hanger-pauses aren't making me crazy, I still like the "X-Files."  (Okay, I'll be honest and also admit to the occasional guilty pleasures of "Oprah" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?".)

TV shows that were seminal influences for me included "Mighty Mouse," "Supercar" (a British marionette show that pre-dated "Stingray" and "Fireball XL-5"), "My Favorite Martian," "The Man from U. N. C. L. E.," and the original "Star Trek."  My first serious (circa sixth grade) attempts at original fiction were a sort of "Supercar Meets My Favorite Martian."  Obviously, I'm deeply and forever indebted to "V."

18.    Who are your favorite authors and why?

Of all your questions so far, this is the hardest!  To answer it honestly and thoroughly, I could fill ten pages or more.

What I look for in a fiction book (science fiction or otherwise) are people I care about and can relate to, or at least understand.  Then I like to see them in interesting and unpredictable situations that call up both the best and worst in them, and see what they do.  If they bring a sense of humor to their troubles, all the better.)  So with these as criteria...

Our friendship aside, I've eagerly read anything Ann (A. C.) Crispin has written.  In the midst of the most fantastic environments and situations, her characters laugh, sweat, bleed, and otherwise come to life for me.  For similar reasons, Stephen King's books are among the few I'll buy in hardcover as soon as they come out.  Dan Simmons's first book, _Song of Kali_, won the Bram Stoker Award for Horror; his second, _The Fall of Hyperion_, won the Hugo Award for Science Fiction.  Read them, and you'll understand why.  John Maxim's books, including _Platforms_ and _Time Out of Mind_, gently then inexorably suck you into a vortex of spooky possibilities. 

Stephen King put Nelson De Mille's book, _The Gold Coast_, on his Top 100 Best Books List (in King's most recent book, _On Writing_.)  (De Mille's book was even better than the movie it became, "The General's Daughter.")  I'm currently enjoying our Baltimore-based Stephen Hunter's _Black Light_.  For a book _Publishers Weekly_ called "The scariest read of the year," go find _Fog Heart_, by Thomas Tessier.

And I haven't even mentioned Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Marion Zimmer Bradley...  I'll stop now, already knowing that however long I make this list, I'll leave out someone vital.
 
19.    What's your blood type? (JUST KIDDING--seeing if you're still awake after all of these questions!)

Rich, warm, and quite red!

20.  What's your favorite part in Death Tide?

Uh-oh, another toughie!  I thought I'd have a clearer answer to this after just re-reading the book...  At the time, it was probably the part I'd just finished! 

Ann and I had great fun over some wine one evening, coming up with the series of Visitor jokes -- the cornier, the better (Q:  What do Visitors call a jogger?  A:  Fast food.)  We can all be grateful that most of them didn't make it into the final draft!  I liked seeing how many ways Willie could twist English around and still make a certain kind of sense.  It was fun writing spit-and-hissy scenes between Diana and Lydia, and Mike and Ham...and the poignant, conflicted, and unstated passions between Mike and Julie, with some parallels between Maggie and Chris.

I've been fascinated by tornadoes and by the La Brea Tarpits since I was little.  So I enjoyed working them into the story.  And I liked getting into Diana's head for an empathic moment or two, as she reminisced longingly about the hot sands of her home world.  I also felt sorry for Mike, whose professional roles and status had taken a real downturn (although maybe he's discovered there are more important things in life).

A bit of trivia:  Our original title for the book was _V:  Lifelink_. Our editor wanted something more punchy and dramatic, so we came up with _Death Tide_.  I jokingly referred to the book as "Killer Detergent."

21.    Please add anything else in here you feel the fans would love to read about, whether it's a story about you, "V", religion, anything  you  have strong feelings about!

Several people have asked me for advice on becoming a professional writer.  As a coach in several career- and life-skills areas, I cherish the times I've been able to help other people find success and greater pleasure in their own writing. 

A couple of excellent writers I've met have suggested, "Find out what it is that scares you the most, then write about it."  There are three reasons I think they make that suggestion:  (1)  If you can write about that, unblinkingly and honestly, then you can write about anything; (2) This is the most powerful place you can write from; and (3) this is both (paradoxically) the most personal and the most universal place you can come from to create a story that speaks to others.

The most successful writers I know (or know of) treat writing as a job, a sacred commitment -- or like exercise.  They may not even especially like doing it, at least not all the time, but they create strategies that work for them, and they love the results (and reap the rewards of their discipline). 

Commit to writing every day, whether it's 30 min. -- 2 hrs./day, or 3 -- 5 pages/day, or 500 -- 1,500 words/day.   Make and keep a promise to yourself to make certain writing goals a daily habit.  You'll find, as I did, that it doesn't really matter how you feel.  Like swimming in the ocean, what's at the surface (your moods or self-doubt, for example) don't need to be that important nor influential.  The ocean can be calm on the surface, or very stormy.  But once you dive in and down a few feet, it's all the same.

It's great fun as a writer, playing in someone else's garden or universe (like "V").  It's even more satisfying, and challenging, to create your own.

If you're interested in learning more about writing and being a writer, then check out some of my favorite books on the subject:

_Wild Mind -- Living the Writer's Life_ and _Writing Down the Bones_, by Natalie Goldberg, _Bird by Bird_, by Anne Lamott, 
_On Writing_, by Stephen King.  Most of all, just write!  Keep writing, and re-writing.  (Gene Roddenberry once said, in essence, "You have to write 500,000 to one million words to teach yourself how to write.)  If it's really your passion, just do it!

 ******

I'll end with a true story: 

"It was malignant, I'm afraid," the breast surgeon said, sitting across from me in the recovery room.  "I'm sorry."

For a moment, my life and universe shrank down to a narrow, blurry path.  My worst fears about the lump in my right breast had just loomed in front of me, blocking out light and hope.  I'd just turned 40...would I see my 41st birthday?

Dr. Ted paused, allowing me a few necessary tears, then he said, "For you, this'll be a pain in the butt.  But you'll be able to live 90 or 95% of your normal life."

I looked at him, and my life snapped back into focus.  Suddenly, I didn't have "cancer," I had "a pain in the butt" to deal with.  I'd had plenty of those in my life before and gotten past them just fine. 

So I arranged my treatments around my life, not the other way around.  I slowed down when I had to, speeded up when I wanted to, adding and subtracting activities as it made sense to do so.

A few months after my treatments ended, I saw Dr. Ted at a party.  "You were close," I said.  "But actually, I've been living about 110 or 115% of my life."  I thanked him again, not only for his skill as a surgeon, but his wisdom in creating a new, powerful, and positive vision for myself and my future.  ("Cancer is a gift to me that came in a really ugly package," Teresa, a breast cancer survivor, observed.)

A lot of people were praying for me then, and I believe that made all the difference.  That was almost eight years ago.  I'm fine, and still trying to live life at 115%.

Every day, I thank God for my countless blessings, including my husband Tom, loving family and friends, meaningful work, and continued good health.

I wish the same for all of you.  Yours in gratitude and lizardry, Deb

****

Tamie Kwist's recent note to Ann and me really touched us.  In addition to bringing back so many great memories, she reminds me of writing's power to connect to parts of ourselves and to one another.  (And now, we have the Internet, too!)