I grew up in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, then lived in Europe before coming back to Colorado. I have two sons, one who's in college and the other who's in high school. I started my writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor of two different papers. After winning several national journalism awards, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service, I decided to get serious about my lifelong dream of writing fiction. My first book was published in 2003, and it's been a crazy ride since.
I have been in love with fiction since I discovered 'Misty of Chincoteague' at the age of 9. By the time I was 12, I'd read all of Marguerite Henry's books, along with the entire Nancy Drew series, the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Ayn Rand. Already at that age, I knew I wanted to be a novelist when I grew up.
Then, when I was 15, something extraordinary happened. I discovered romance novels. I gave up depressing Russian classics for stories that made my heart beat faster — tales of bravery, passion, and love.
I had the good fortune of becoming an exchange student during my senior year of high school and went to Denmark. I fell in love with the small Scandinavian country and stayed for almost three years, traveling throughout Europe and learning to speak Danish fluently. My time visiting European castles and cathedrals awakened in me a love of history. When I returned to the United States, I got a degree in Classics — Latin, Greek, ancient history, and archaeology
Although I did work on a master's degree in archaeology, I realized that I was using college to avoid the challenge of building the career I truly wanted — that of a fiction author. I dropped out of graduate school and went to work for a newspaper and held almost every position in the newsroom before becoming editor. Over the years, I've won numerous awards for my work as a columnist and journalist.
I now write historical romance and comtemporary romantic suspense. I love nothing more than the moment my characters come alive in their own time period and begin interacting with the world they inhabit. Through them, I am able to travel to other times and places — colonial America, 18th-century Ireland, the Viking age.
I live in Boulder, Colorado, next to the unbelievable beauty of the Rocky Mountains. I love to hike and especially enjoy watching birds and wildlife with my two teen-age sons, Alec and Benjamin. My other interests include drawing and painting, quilting, listening to music, horseback riding, world travel and reading.
Music
Music is an incredibly important part of writing for me. Not only does it help me concentrate, but the right playlist can put me in the mood for my story and even inspire aspects of a character's personality. It’s not just the lyrics; sometimes it’s just the emotional feel of the music that makes it resonate with a particular character or book.
Because readers sometimes ask, I thought I’d share the playlists for my novels. MP3 players weren’t around when I write my first few books, but I can tell you which bands I listened to and which songs were most important for those books. See if this music rings true for my stories for you.
Sweet Release:
Loreena McKinnett’s Mask and the Mirror, Elemental, The Book of Secrets and The Visit. (Particularly inspiring was “Stolen Child,” a poem of W.B. Yeats set to music. It has dogs barking in the background as frantic parents search for their human child. This made me think of Alec’s attempt to reach Cassie while being hunted by dogs.)
The soundtrack to Gladiator (believe it or not!)
The soundrack to Braveheart.
Carnal Gift:
I listened to a lot of Altan and Colcannon for this CD. Alton is an Irish band, and Colcannon is headed by Mick Bolger, who is from Ireland but lives in Denver. Many of their tunes are in Irish Gaelic.
Bit o’ trivia: Mick also did the Irish Gaelic translations for Carnal.
Altan CDs included: Blackwater, The Blue Idol, Runaway Sunday, and Another Sky.
Colcannon CDs included: Corvus and Trad. Find Colcannon on the web at www.colcannon.com and tell them hello for me.
Soundtracks included: The Secret of Roan Inish, Braveheart, A Beautiful Mind and The Mask of Zorro.
Ride the Fire:
Altan, Colcannon and Loreena McKennitt all found their way into the writing of this book.
But at this point, I also pulled out my favorite Scottish group, Old Blind Dogs, particularly their CDs Five and The World’s Room. I can’t say enough about these guys! If you love men in kilts, this is your Scottish trad band.
Soundtracks included: The Last of the Mohicans, Shakespeare in Love, and the others already mentioned. One reader said she could hear the Mohicans soundtrack playing while she read the story. Funny — so could I!
Surrender:
Now we come to the advent of MP3 players and real playlists. I hope you enjoy these bands as much as I did. Particularly inspiring for the character of Iain and his brothers was “Exile,” “The Queen and the Soldier,” and “MacPherson’s Rant,” a song about an unjust execution that really occurred. The song “Mill o’ Tifty” felt very “Annie” to me.
Bit o’ trivia: I play a bit of tin whistle and love to play “Leaving Lochboisdale,” a sad tune about saying goodbye.
Second bit o’ trivia: I had the pleasure of interviewing Old Blind Dogs, or “the Dogs,” as they are known to fans, when they passed through Denver.
“I Am Stretched on Your Grave,” from Hourglass by Kate Rusby
“Exile,” from Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts by Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts
“The Cruel Sister,” from Close to the Bone by Old Blind Dogs
“The Twa Corbies,” from Close to the Bone by Old Blind Dogs
“MacPherson’s Rant,” from Close to the Bone by Old Blind Dogs
“The Trooper and the Maid,” from Close to the Bone by Old Blind Dogs
“The Battle of Harlaw,” from Five by Old Blind Dogs
“Leaving Lochboisedale,” from Five by Old Blind Dogs
“Malcom Ferguson/Finbar Saunders,” from Legacy by Old Blind Dogs
“The Lancashire Lads,” from Legacy by Old Blind Dogs
“The Rose and the Lindsey O’,” from Legacy by Old Blind Dogs
“The Bonnie Earl o’ Moray,” from Legacy by Old Blind Dogs
“The Birkin’ Tree,” from Legacy by Old Blind Dogs
“Tibbie Fowler/Breton Dance,” from Legacy by Old Blind Dogs
“Monymusk Lads,” from The Gab o’ Mey by Old Blind Dogs
“Mill o’ Tifty,” The World’s Room by Old Blind Dogs
“The Queen and the Soldier,” from Suzanne Vega by Suzanne Vega (Kate Rusby also did a version of this song with Kathryn Roberts, but I prefer Suzanne’s.)
Soundtracks included especially Last of the Mohicans, but also Kingdom of Heaven and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Extreme Exposure:
This was a big switch for me. I’d never written romantic suspense before, or even tried my hand at a contemporary. I couldn’t listen to my beloved OBD while writing this story, so I opted to update to the 21st century. I deleted much of this playlist, but here are the tunes I remember.
Most inspirational for me was “Superman” by Five for Fighting, which I played for endless hours on repeat. As a result, my iTunes program tells me it’s the most-played tune in my collection.
“Clocks,” from A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay
“Superman,” from America Town by Five for Fighting
“Sexual Healing,” from Midnight Love by Marvin Gaye
“Hoy Es Adios,” from Shaman by Santana
“Nothing at All, from Shaman by Santana
“8 Mile,” 8 Mile Soundtrack by Eminem
“Lose Yourself,” 8 Mile Soundtrack by Eminem
“You Gotta Be,” from I Ain’t Movin’ by De’ree
There were also a host of U2 songs from Achtung Baby, Zooropa, Pop and All That You Can’t Leave Behind.
Hard Evidence:
This playlist goes, hands down, to Nickelback and gangsta rap. Eminem, Santana, Foreigner, Five for Fighting, Incubus and a host of others are on this list, but top honors are shared by Nickelback’s All the Right Reasons CD and a mixed CD I got from Joe Thunder, an Aurora-based hip-hop artist.
On that CD are tunes, but no titles or artist names. Among the artists are the CD are Joe Thunder, Black Pegasus (Brass Knuckle Entertainment) and D.O. The Fabulous Drifter. You can hunt for them online if you like hip-hop. Because I have no titles I can’t reproduce the hip-hop portion of the list, but it was really important. Much of Hard Evidence is set in Aurora (Saudi Aurora, as we call it—or A-Town), and what could be more authentic to the feel of that part of the Denver metro area than hip-hop straight off the streets?
Tremendously inspiring for me was Nickelback’s song “Savin’ Me,” which became Julian’s theme song. I interviewed Nickelback prior to their Denver show a few months after finishing this book and was able to tell them that I’d used their latest CD as the “soundtrack” for my latest novel.
Bit of trivia: Big Head Todd & The Monsters hail from my hometown. We were covering their shows back when I was a cub reporter.
“Broken Hearted Savior,” from Sister Sweetly by Big Head Todd & the Monsters
“Bittersweet,” from Sister Sweetly by Big Head Todd & the Monsters
“The World I Know,” from Collective Soul by Collective Soul
“St. Theresa,” from Relish by Joan Osborne
“Drive,” from Make Yourself by Incubus
“Bury My Lovely,” from October Project by October Project
“Tonight, Tonight, Tonight,” from Invisible Touch by Genesis
“Just a Job to Do,” from Genesis by Genesis
“Handy Man,” from The Best of James Taylor by James Taylor
“Fire & Rain,” from The Best of James Taylor by James Taylor
“One,” from Achtung Baby by U2
“Discoteque,” from Pop by U2
“Miami,” from Pop by U2
“Mofo,” from Pop by U2
“If You Wear That Velvet Dress,” from Pop by U2
“Drops of Jupiter,” from Alive at Last by Train
“How You Remind Me,” from Silver Side Up by Nickelback
“Photograph,” All the Right Reasons by Nickelback
“Savin’ Me,” All the Right Reasons by Nickelback
“Far Away,” All the Right Reasons by Nickelback
“If Everyone Cared,” All the Right Reasons by Nickelback
Books
Unlawful Contact
Available April 1 2008!
Taken hostage by a convicted murderer while reporting at a prison, Sophie Alton has no idea that the man holding the gun to her head is the bad boy who was her first love in high school. Condemned to life without parole, Marc Hunter finds himself with no choice but to break out of prison after his younger sister disappears with her baby.
Though he regrets what he has to put Sophie through, he can’t let anything get in the way of his stopping the corrupt officials who are set on destroying what’s left of his family. But being near Sophie rekindles memories for both of them. As the passion between them heats up, so does the conspiracy to put both of them in their graves.
"Powerful, sexy and unforgettable, Unlawful Contact is the kind of story I love to read. Pamela Clare is a dazzling talent."
—New York Times bestseller Lori Foster
hi Pamela! I just finished reading surrender! I have Extreme Exposure to read and then Untamed. I can't wait to read that one next! I hope you will have other's published in the future. Keep up the great stories! Pam
Hi Pamela! Just finished reading Unlawful Contact and wanted to stop by and say WOW! Loved It! Nearly singed my fingers. Looking forward to reading more.
Hey Pamela! Stopping by to show the love! November is right around the corner and Untamed is released. Lets hope that I don't have another run-in with the postal truck LOL!
