The Echo Holders by Lance Hawvermale

Can strange runes hold secrets of the heart?

Wild Women Authors is pleased to offer insight into that age old question while we feature The Echo Holders, a contemporary romantic suspense set deep in the forests of Colorado. This new release out of The Wild Rose Press is authored by Lance Hawvermale. First up is anthropologist Emily Radsco.

Tell us a bit about The Echo Holders. A long time ago, illiterate shepherds carved symbols on trees—runes of their lives, their dreams, their loves. I seek out those stories and try to piece them together, like a puzzle from the past. If you look closely enough, something extraordinary might be waiting to be found in the Colorado wilderness. I never expected to meet the love of my life along the way.

What made you choose anthropology for a profession? What matters most in this world of ours are human relationships. I find myself constantly wondering how one life fits into another, and how those lives build a community.

Knowing what you know now, if you had it to do over again, would you stick with anthropology or do something different? Destiny would have led me here one way or the other. I can’t help but try to find the answers to mysteries that no one else finds important. Are scientists supposed to believe in destiny? Probably not.

What is your biggest fear? Like everyone else, I suppose I’m afraid of losing myself. I don’t want to look around one day and see only dreams that someone else made for me.

Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Depending on the day, I identify with either Jane Eyre or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Someone once told me that life begins outside my comfort zone. I think that’s true for all of us.

Thanks for spending time with us, Em. Now, we'd like to chat with your creator.

Lance, which writer or character[s], from either books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on your writing? When I was in the 9th grade, I read a book by Ray Bradbury in which he used words all wrong. Nouns became adjectives. Verbs turned into weapons of war. I had never seen anyone transform language like that, creating it anew. I wrote Ray a letter a few years before he passed, and he was kind enough to reply.

With regard to research, where did you start for this novel? Did that lead you down different paths, thereby changing the original concept? I read an article about strange symbols on trees—dendroglyphs. Things like that fascinate me, little stories without endings. I wanted an ending. I couldn’t stop wondering about the people who had carved them, all those years ago. I set out to write a story about those people but discovered a romance along the way.

Tell us a bit about your publisher. How did you hear about them; what influenced you to submit to them; how is the submission process; what is the turn-around time from date of query to date of release? At a writers’ conference in Oklahoma, I overheard a colleague talking about her recent book deal. Shamelessly eavesdropping, I learned the name of the publisher, The Wild Rose Press. I queried TWRP in early August 2018, and THE ECHO HOLDERS was published in late January 2019. In the publishing world, that is an incredible turn-around time.

What are you reading right now? I am almost finished with Barack Obama’s DREAMS FROM MY FATHER and can’t wait to start the quirky Jasper Fforde’s new book, EARLY RISER.

What's next for you? My next release is a contemporary romance set in the wilds of Costa Rica: THE SECRET OF BREATHING DEEPLY.

Thanks Lance. This has been very special for us.

To learn more about Lance Hawvermale and the stories he creates, go to:

lancehawvermale.com.

Twitter: @LanceHawvermale

Facebook: facebook.com/hawvermale

To purchase The Echo Holders, go to:

https://www.amazon.com/Echo-Holders-Lance-Hawvermale/dp/1509224483

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Echo-Holders-Lance-Hawvermale-ebook/dp/B07LCYJRP7