And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

Has Laura Mills-Alcott always wanted to be a romance novelist?

No, not at all. Her dream had been to become a famous singer and songwriter in the world of country music.

Following her dream, she moved to Nashville after graduating from high school. Laura didn't become the new Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn, but she did live the adventure of a struggling songstress. After some of her music was published and writing a few advertising jingles, Laura returned to Ohio and settled down. She married, had 3 beautiful children, divorced, and moved on with her life. Deciding to write a book was somewhat of a spur of the moment decision.

"...I decided I was going to write a book (I was too tired to put the typewriter away, and writing a book seemed like a good enough excuse to leave it out on the kitchen table for a while longer)."

The book Laura was writing wasn't a romance, so she put it on the shelf. It was while listening to Dolly Parton's rendition of "Barbara Allen" that she decided to write THE BRIAR AND THE ROSE.

Personally, I don't find it too surprising that Laura switched from writing country music ballads to writing romance. If you think about it, both have basically the same elements. Having grown up listening to my father's country music (Donna Fargo and Conway Twitty were my first concerts *G*), I'm very familiar with both. There's always tragedy, loss, and emotional situations in both. Love lost and found. Perhaps the only difference is the fact that country music ballads don't always have a happy ending.

Laura has had her share of these same elements in her own life. Ups and downs, fortune and misfortune. When I wrote to Laura with my questions, I was somewhat apprehensive because I wanted to ask about all of these things. As I always do, I gave her the option to skip any questions she preferred not to answer. She didn't skip any of them, and just from her answers I came to some conclusions: This is a very patient, strong, determined and multi-talented lady.

Hearing her tell of the country songs she wrote as a young girl, I had to laugh and decided she was destined to write country music or romance novels. *G* Laura was very open in talking about the circumstances of her ex-husband's death and how she and the children are dealing with it, which shows just how strong and loving she and her family is.

Read Laura's interview below, then visit her website and read more about her and the exerpt from her book THE BRIAR AND THE ROSE.

1. You live in N.E. Ohio, but are you originally from there?

Actually, I was born and raised in NE Ohio (snow belt, lake effect, only two seasons - tropical and arctic). I've also lived in Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta and Chicago.

2. Your first book, THE BRIAR AND THE ROSE, will be released this November and has gotten excellent reviews. How exciting is this for you?

It's very exciting. And a huge relief. Every time the book is sent out for review, I worry and fret, and every time I receive a review by email, I open it with one eye closed for fear the email will be from a reviewer that didn't like the story or the writing or some other aspect of the book. Knock on wood, every review I've received back has been very positive.

3. How did the idea for your book come about?

THE BRIAR AND THE ROSE is based on the ballad "Barbara Allen". I first heard this ballad on Dolly Parton's "Heartsongs" album (one of Dolly's best, by the way). The ending of that song was so sad and so tragic, that I was haunted by it. So when I got around to writing my first romance, I decided to base it on that ballad.

4. I enjoyed your website very much. After my visit there, I've found lots of things to ask about. *G* First, you are obviously very talented musically. To quote: "I play the guitar, piano, French horn, sax, trumpet and have been known to pick out a tune or two on the five-string banjo. I recently purchased a violin and fully intend to teach myself to play it." Wow. Have you taught yourself to play all of these instruments or did you take lessons?

I took piano lessons for a couple years from our next door neighbor. In fifth grade I took up the flute so I could be in the band. By seventh grade, I discovered the beauty of the French horn, and surprised my band director by bringing in my own horn to band one Monday about half way through the school year. With his guidance, I taught myself to play. By the end of seventh grade, I'd advanced enough that I was chosen for the senior high band a year early. I took about a half dozen banjo lessons when I was fifteen. All the other instruments, I taught myself.

5. Not only do you play music, you've written it and have had it published. Would we have heard anything you've written played on the radio?

Probably not. My musical influences were the singers who sang the old, sad songs. Most of the music I wrote was very traditional, at a time when "country pop" was all the rage. I wrote pitiful country songs, story songs. And I wrote traditional gospel songs with four part harmony when Christian music was going contemporary. So my music was recorded by smaller artists, and didn't get any airplay to my knowledge. I also wrote jingles for local companies.

When I was a teenager, I wrote a song about a little girl and her grandfather, who were poor, and the little girl wanted only one gift, and that was a Christmas tree. So on Christmas Eve, the grandfather went out into the bitter cold, and searched all night for the perfect tree and chopped it down. He took it home and decorated it. By the time he'd finished, a fever warmed his brow. And when the little girl awoke on Christmas morning, the old man had died beneath the Christmas tree. (I took this sad and pathetic stuff seriously, and submitted the lyrics to the high school newspaper for the Christmas edition - the journalism instructor thought I was being a wiseass and told me I was "sick". I was crushed and just didn't understand how she could miss the beauty of a tragic ending!)

At sixteen, I wrote another song from a little girl's point of view - a little girl who's been ill for a long time, who is ready for it to be over and is telling her mother. "Mommy, what's it feel like to die? Does it hurt, will it make me cry? Will the angels help me learn how to fly? Mommy, what's it feel like to die?" That one didn't end happily, either (but the folks in the Nashville Songwriters Association really liked it).

At seventeen, I wrote a song about a young girl who left Birmingham to move to New Orleans, because she craved excitement. By the time that song was over, she'd become a prostitute, and was too ashamed to go home. "But there's a bottle of pills and some whiskey on the shelf... They're my last chance of escaping this agony and hell.. I just hope that Mom and Daddy will one day understand... This was the only way I could return to Birmingham."

I sort of got more tragic as time went on, if you can believe it - and truth be told, I was a very happy child with an almost storybook happy life and wonderful parents. I just loved melodrama. After high school, I moved to Nashville with $400.00 and my songs. Over time, my music went more of a folk direction. I got married, went through a production internship (I really wanted to be a producer), had children, returned to Ohio because of family obligations, got divorced, and had to support my family as single mother. And ultimately, I realized that though I love writing songs, I needed to write something else.

Sue's Clues Interview of Laura Mills-Alcott continues...