Books-and-Authors.net: Where did you grow up and was reading and
writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and
why?
Barbara Fifield : Barbara Fifield is a former military brat. Her
father was a major in the US Army. She is the older of two girls and
lived in Germany, Japan, Rochester, New York, Michigan, Ohio and
Oklahoma, where she was also born at Ft. Sill. Since there was no
television in Germany in the 50’s and she lived off base where few
Americans lived and had mostly German kids to play with, she read a
lot. She started writing at 11 when she won a writing contest in 6th
grade at Harding Elementary School in Rochester for a short story
she wrote. Her classmates loved it so much they had her read it
three times in front of the class! She decided to be a writer after
that and wrote mostly poetry, short stories and plays. She began
writing her first novel at 18 and finished it at 21, but it was
never published. A vanity publisher recommended she toss it in the
waste basket and write another book! Good advice. She has since
written three novels, two of which have been published, and the
third she is reworking from a novel she wrote 40 years, ago, with a
different title. Classics were my earliest influences, including
Dickens, Somerset Maugham, Hemmingway, Faulkner, the Bronte sisters,
Harding, and Victor Hugo. The classical authors are very good at
dealing with character, and my books are driven by characters more
than plots.
Books-and-Authors.net: Why do you write ?
Barbara Fifield : She writes because it is emotionally
therapeutic for her to express herself with words. Some people paint
or sculpt. She writes.
Books-and-Authors.net: Discuss your novel LUCIFER RISING ?
Barbara Fifield : Lucifer Rising, a paranormal romance, is
based on a true story. After her husband passed away in 2005, she
searched for spiritual meaning in her life and spotted an ad in the
Penny Saver, stating, “an earth angel searching for another earth
angel.” She thought, “What an interesting ad.” She replied and met a
Reiki healing master who held touch healings in his family room on
Wednesday evenings. She began attending his healings as she felt she
needed emotional healing. But he was also interested in a dancing
partner (which also takes place in the book). Dancing was his way of
meeting women. He turned out to be a lothario, with paranormal
abilities in astral projection and other paranormal abilities. All
is detailed in her biographical novella. She changed names to avoid
possible lawsuits.
Books-and-Authors.net: Who is Elsa Eldridge? Who is Tyrell?
Barbara Fifield : Elsa Eldridge is a reporter for the Daytona
Beach newspaper. Although, Barbara never wrote for this particular
paper, she has a degree in journalism from the State University of
New York at New Paltz and once wrote stories for eight newspapers in
the Hudson Valley, New York. Tyrell is the leader of the faith
healing cult detailed in the story. The description of his healing
room is an actual description of the real healing room where the
activities took place. Tyrell’s name is a play on words of his real
name, which she won’t reveal here. The author was inspired to write
a paranormal romance based on their relationship. One scene in the
book where Tyrell visits Elsa at night in an astral projection
actually happened. Although she had requested it out of curiosity,
it was a scary experience.
Books-and-Authors.net: Where did the inspiration come from for
LUCIFER RISING id you research cults?.
Barbara Fifield : This writer has always been interested in
the paranormal, thus her interest in writing a novel about it. As so
much of the book is based on real experiences, she didn’t have to
use too much imagination.
Books-and-Authors.net: How would you describe your writing
style and genre?
Barbara Fifield : She uses a lot of dialogue and going
into the minds of her characters. Having worked as a psychotherapist
with a Master’s degree in psychotherapy, she has learned to tap
people’s feelings. The characters’ behaviors are quite plausible,
just like real people are.
Books-and-Authors.net: If Hollywood called and asked you to cast
LUCIFER RISING - Who would you cast and why?
Barbara Fifield : Jack Nicholson would make a great Lucifer with his
evil and sly grimacing. He once played the devil in a film. Sandra
Bulloch, Elsa. If Sally Field were younger, she would be great.
However, the character is in her late 40’s or early 50’s and has a
daughter with a small kid. So Ms. Field may be too old for the part.
Books-and-Authors.net: What are readers saying about LUCIFER
RISING?
Barbara Fifield : Most readers like her book. There are
several positive reviews of it on Amazon, as well.
Books-and-Authors.net: What do you hope to achieve with
LUCIFER RISING ?
Barbara Fifield : She believes the novel would make a great
thriller, with a lot of special effects! It’s quite scary in parts
and deals with a conflicted heroine who is both attracted and
repelled by the antagonist, Tyrell. She keeps returning to him
several times. The ending is a surprise.
Books-and-Authors.net: What was the last book you read?
Barbara Fifield : The last novel this writer read was Light on
Snow by Anita Shreve. She also likes Alice Hoffman’s novels. She
reads a lot of metaphysical books and is reading Dolores Cannon’s
Keepers of the Garden, about aliens. A fascinating read! She also
likes memoirs such as Memoir of a Milk Carton Kid. The author of
this was recently interviewed on Dr. Phil’s show.
Books-and-Authors.net: What's next?
Barbara Fifield : Although she continues to write her novel, Letting
Go, she also markets on the internet her published books. She writes
on a lot of writer sites, sharing her book with others and plans to
change her web site, www.fifieldauthor.com, into a blog and begin
blogging. Marketing should progress faster after that. Other books
are on the horizon, a memoir about her army brat days and more
novels. Barbara
Characters are an important
part of any story but they alone can not carry a novel. A great
plot can carry weak characters but not the reverse. 
