Today, we’re speaking with Inkubator Books’ author Daco S. Auffenorde. Daco is the author of the psychological thriller The Forgotten Girl.
Inkubator Books: When did you start writing?
Daco Auffenorde: Like many authors, I began writing stories as soon as I could pick up a pencil and form letters. My first work was a review of a story about a boy and a whale—with a sketch included. In the days before the internet and email, I handwrote letters to my best friend, who’d moved far away. I included in those letters sometimes outlandish stories about the events in my life. Looking back, I’d call those letters comedic memoirs, often with a dash of horror!
Later, I began penning poetry and then finally turned to adult fiction, and specifically thriller and suspense. I eventually got several of my stories published. My first action/psychological thriller, Cover Your Tracks, released October 2020.
IB: What does a typical day of writing look like for you?
DA: Once the family is situated for the day, I head straight to my computer and write, often for hours and into the night. I approach writing with persistence and a fury to get the story “on paper” (or should I say, in a computer file). On some days, I do research for my stories and post on social media.
IB: Do you base your characters off people you know or are they all the product of your imagination?
DA: I draw all my characters completely from my imagination. I visualize what they look like, how they sound, and what their behavior will be in any given circumstance. The plot idea may hit me first, but I never start writing without a character in mind. Other characters often come to life later. My latest work, The Forgotten Girl, is a psychological thriller—an amnesia story that I’m thrilled to be publishing with Inkubator Books. In The Forgotten Girl, a few new characters popped into the story during the writing process. Once I place a character in a situation, the action often defines traits and personality.
IB: What’s the most difficult part of your writing process?
DA: Interruptions and the lack of enough hours in the day.
B: What comes first for you – plot or characters?
DA: Plot and the main characters typically come to me at the same time. Since the characters are so integrated with the plot, it’s impossible to separate the two.
IB: Which of your books is your favorite? Why?
DA: That’s like asking which of your children is your favorite. I think writers fall in love with each of their stories. Writing a novel is such a long and arduous process that if you don’t love what you’re writing, you won’t turn out a good product. Our stories become like children to us—nurtured, cared for, and then sent out into the world to do great things. But if I had to name a favorite, it’s always my latest, which at the moment is The Forgotten Girl.
IB: How would you describe your ideal reader?
DA: I had a reviewer once say that my novel was a masterpiece. True or not, this is the type of reader all writers want. We want a reader who doesn’t gloss over the details. We want a reader who gets the entirety of the story—someone who follows all the threads, subplots, and nuances. When my avid-reader daughter opened a book when she was quite a bit younger, she told me that she only read the dialogue, that the narrative was just fluff and filler, so she just skimmed over it. When she got older, her approach changed radically. Now she appreciates the narrative!
IB: What are you doing when you aren’t writing?
DA: I love to paint with watercolors, so I’ll spend hours painting when I’m not writing. My other activities include golf, hiking, lap swimming, and birdwatching. I enjoy visiting museums and attending symphonies and opera, and have recently begun attending plays again. While visiting Chicago recently, I attended The Play That Goes Wrong, which was a delight.
IB: What does your writing space look like?
DA: I have a beautiful classical wood desk with a wood inset of the world map on its surface. When I left my law practice to write full time, I decided that I needed to invest in a desk that was both aesthetically pleasing and a reminder that the world is a fascinating place. My desk sits in front of a two-story wall of windows that look out over the forested edge of a mountain top. I love nature, so it’s a great working environment.
Is the desk tidy and pristine? Not exactly. The top is crowded with photographs, a lamp, two computer screens, paper weights, loose papers, notes, calendars, dictionaries, books I’ve read or am reading for research, a little Star Wars character named BB-8 (a gift from my son), and usually a water, coffee, or hot tea nearby. Oh, and pens and pencils and lip balm. You know, the typical for an author.
IB: Have you ever traveled to research for a book?
DA: I love to travel and explore new places and cultures. I’ve been to the Hamptons, which is one of the settings in The Forgotten Girl. If given the opportunity, I would travel to all the places that I write about. Mostly, I travel with Google Earth. I feel strongly that it’s important to see the places that I write about. That little Google car captures quite a bit—landscapes, towns, even people and their dress and expressions. There’s a wealth of information that Google Earth picks up. So using the internet is the next best thing if you can’t be there. Articles, travel blogs, and videos also are invaluable.
IB: What genres do you like to read? Who are some of your favorite authors?
DA: I write thrillers, but I’m often drawn to other genres for enjoyment. And I’m in a couple of book clubs, which broadens my reading base. I love literary fiction. Some of my favorites include The Dutch House, The Gentleman from Moscow, A Man Called Ove, and The Lacuna. And I’ve recently decided that I’ve got to get back to the classics that I’ve never read, even venturing back to Hans Christian Anderson’s catalog of children’s stories, which are voluminous. My recent read was the gothic short story The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe, and I quite enjoyed revisiting that one.
IB: How do you come up with names for your characters?
DA: When I think of a character name, sometimes I start with a letter and begin sounding out names. I’ll also look at movie credits and think, “Hey, that’s a great name, I should remember that one.” If my character is from a different country, I’ll do an internet search to find commonly, and not so commonly, used names. I’ll toy around with the first and last names until I find a full name that sounds right for the character. In The Forgotten Girl, I wanted a name for the lead female that spoke to the character’s desperate situation and melancholy personality, so I chose Blue. I also wanted a name that was edgy and modern, not widely used.
IB: What was your favorite childhood book?
DA: All Things Great and Small by James Herriot.
IB: Have you ever abandoned a book you were writing? How did you know it was the right thing to do?
DA: I’ve never quite abandoned a book, I’ve just tucked a few away in a file to revisit later. Many times, a story needs time to simmer. In those cases, I store the idea away in the back of my mind and let my subconscious do its job. If you put a project away for long enough, even for only a few months, you can pick it back up and look at it as though you’ve never even written it. When you’re ready, you just toss the junk and fix the problems. As for editing, if the work is too fresh in your mind, you’re too close to the story, and you won’t be able to see the flaws. A good editor can also steer an author and a book in the right direction. So, as best-selling author Nora Roberts has said many times, ‘if it’s on the page, it’s fixable. Don’t junk it, rewrite.’
IB: Do you have any tips for first-time authors?
DA: The best advice is to take time to learn the craft. When I first started, I wish I’d been more prepared. Eventually, I went to writing conferences, learned from established writers, and interacted with other authors. If a budget doesn’t permit this, there are many online sources for learning the craft. And while you’re immersing yourself in craft and the industry, develop your brand and social media presence. You’re your own cheerleader. If you have a publisher that supports you and your work, that’s a bonus. I feel very fortunate that Inkubator Books is on my side.
IB: Who inspires you?
DA: My late father. He was a Renaissance man. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. He was a physicist who published many articles in his field. He read avidly, made his own bread, grew a garden (from which, as a very small child, I had the unfortunate experience of inadvertently eating a slug, no thank you!). He built his own house, made our first television, and told me that I could do anything I wanted. Unlike many men of his generation, he never assumed that I was limited because I was female. He let me make my own choices in life without dictating what I should do. His advice: be happy and do what you want. He started a novel, but before he could finish, he became afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, to which he eventually, and sadly, succumbed.
IB: If you could eliminate one thing from your daily life, what would it be?
DA: I wish I could spend less time housecleaning and more time writing.
IB: Do you have any pets?
DA: I have a Balinese cat named Kiki. She always follows me around the house and talks to me constantly. Imagine having to tell a sweet little kitty to hush up! Kiki is my writing companion and little friend. Thankfully, she enjoys a good nap. I’d like to adopt a greyhound dog, but I’m not quite ready for another pet. One day soon though, I hope.
IB: How do you approach your genre in a unique way?
DA: I put myself into the shoes of my protagonist(s). When I wrote The Forgotten Girl, I tried to imagine what my lead female character must’ve felt when she woke up from a coma and didn’t know where she was. Or what she must’ve felt when she realized she couldn’t remember anything about her life except her name. I think it’s important to insert yourself into your character’s psyche so that you portray them genuinely on the page.
IB: How do you manage the “whodunit” aspects of your story as far as clues and revelations? Do you outline?
DA: Every author outlines in some sense—whether the plot points are stuck in their head or whether the author writes out the meticulous details. If you don’t have an idea about where your story is going, you’ll remain on page one. Typically, I jot down a few words for each chapter. But I always know where my plot is going from page one to the end.
As for clues and revelations, The Forgotten Girl is a thriller with an element of mystery. It’s important to pepper the clues in slowly so the tension build. Both the challenge and the fun of The Forgotten Girl is that the protagonist and the reader uncover clues at the same time. In an amnesia story, there has to be one clue that leads to other clues. Blue finds that key clue almost accidentally. Then memories come back slowly. But can she trust her memories?
IB: How do you relax?
DA: I enjoy an occasional dinner out and a nice bottle of wine. I also enjoy cooking. That’s relaxation. Otherwise, sitting idle doesn’t work for me. I’m the type of person who likes to check off accomplishments.
IB: Who are your first readers when you write a new book?
DA: I have two readers. One is my husband, who is also an author. He reads for content and development; the other is a close girlfriend, who reads for content and general impressions. I think it’s important to have trusted readers who are experienced with the writing process themselves. Otherwise, you’ll go chasing windmills to please.
IB: What’s one thing you wish your readers knew about you?
DA: I would’ve been an astronaut if I’d had the math gene. I would also have enjoyed studying the cosmos like my father did. I love everything science.
IB: Which do you enjoy writing more: dialogue or internal thoughts?
DA: Maybe because I’m a chatty person, I prefer writing dialogue. I write as if I’m directing and choreographing a movie. I’ve often been told my novels unfold like movies. I’m very visual, so I try to put what I see and hear on the page as if in real time; I have the characters speak as if I were in the scene.
Thanks to Daco for sitting down with us today.
Want to read Daco’s books? Check out her titles on Amazon.
You can find her at the following places:
Website: https://www.authordaco.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDaco/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorDaco
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dacoauffenorde/
