Robert Valleau Q & A
- Michelle Connor
- Mar 23, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 28, 2019
What is your name?
Robert Valleau
When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?
The day I realize I could write better than I could draw. When I was a kid I wanted to be a cartoonist like Walt Disney or Charles Schulz. My art teacher loved my stories but not so much my drawings.
What genre books do you write?
Historical fiction adventure with a touch of mystery/romance.
What is the name of your book/books?
The Dusty Road Chronicles (three-book series): Mystic Dreams and Dusty Roads; Black Mesa Magic; Love's Hidden View. And a stand-alone novel, The Lost Rose of Winter. My debut novel, Mystic Dreams and Dusty Roads, has been contracted for film (award-winning producer, Douglas B. Maddox, DBM Films).
Were there alternate endings you considered?
Yes, only my debut novel, but I kept my original ending because of its impact upon the reader and development of the story line in the prequel and sequel.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Believe in yourself. Never give up. Keep writing no matter what!
Does your family support your career as a writer?
My family has always been supportive.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
Ha! My lead characters, in my three-book series, are all female -- ages 12, 17 and 28. I could never truly write from a female psyche, but I tried to come close. I had a few female friends critique what I wrote. At times, I felt I was living that movie, "What Women Want," with Mel Gibson.
Does writing energise or exhaust you?
I feel energized by it, except when I'm writing an emotional scene.
What items do you surround yourself with when you write?
Not much except a good cup of coffee.
What is your favourite genre of books to read?
Drama.
What is your favourite childhood book?
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Love Mark Twain.
Do you have a favourite author or one who inspires you to write?
Nicholas Sparks.
What words of wisdom would you give to someone who wants to be an author?
To be an author takes stamina. Maybe throw in patience, too.
Feisty twelve-year-old Peep Holler finds living with her single alcoholic father challenging as she struggles with adolescence, faith and unforeseen tragedies at the beginning of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl years. But her greatest challenge yet lies just ahead.
One day, Peep innocently uncovers a dark secret which drives her further from her estranged father, and, if revealed, could rip apart her best friend's family. While Peep copes with this secret, however, an untimely event occurs that alters her life perception . . . and sets her on a course that affects entire generations.
Betrayed by a friend. Loved by a stranger. Saved by a man she barely knows.
After her best friend abandons her, Savannah J. Palmer's quest for true love leaves a trail of unanswered questions. A chance meeting with a stranger offers hope of a match made in heaven, but not without consequences. At the end of her quest, an acquaintance rescues her from a disastrous fate...but is he the one she wants to pin her dreams upon?
The Black Mesa, in northwestern Oklahoma, is an enchanting backdrop for this action adventure prequel to Robert Valleau's debut novel, Mystic Dreams and Dusty Roads. It's an unforgettable story about love, betrayal and redemption during one of the most exciting times in American history -- the dawn of the twentieth century.
When billionaire Virginia Ann "Peep" Holler dies, a battle for her estate begins. However, she leaves all of her wealth and Jodi’s Place – a popular Oklahoma ranch dedicated to helping wayward kids – to Abigail Brennan. Abby, a young single mother and favored protege, is elated. But her enthusiasm does not match her experience. After a few bad choices, the ranch becomes embroiled in financial turmoil causing some board members to vie for its ownership.
In the meantime, Abby discovers a plot by a local oil baron who wants to seize control of Jodi’s Place, for its rich oil reserves, and end its usefulness to troubled youth. Just when she thinks the inevitable is about to happen, Abby meets an attractive newcomer in town who may hold the key to saving the ranch and helping her out of her dilemma...but not without a price.
In spite of the cost, can Abby trust this newcomer to aid her in saving Jodi's Place? Or will Peep's fortune and good name be ruined by forces she cannot control or tame?
Two souls, united for a brief moment in war-torn western Europe during World War II, is more than a coincidence. Major Daniel Humphrey, a former high school teacher, is injured while on a reconnaissance mission for General Patton’s Third Army at the start of winter in 1944. He is transported to a hospital in Nancy, France, where he meets a pretty American nurse named Cassandra Burns. For him, it is love at first sight, but it is only temporary. The next day she disappears, and he is told she never existed. However, the rose she left on his pillow tells him otherwise.
After the war ends the following spring, Daniel confirms Cassie’s existence but she did not return to the states. Fearing she died or is missing, he visits the place where they first met and unknowingly opens a Pandora box of intrigue that changes his life forever.
Cassie is an American spy and married to one of Hitler’s most notorious spymasters for the Eastern Front — Oberfuhrer Erik Bauer. Now, armed with information about Bauer’s plans to destroy the West’s restructuring efforts, Cassie is on the run.
Cassie wants out of the espionage game, but what price will she pay for leaving? Can Daniel find Cassie before Bauer and his band of Hitler loyalists find her first? Is Bauer the only threat to Cassie's safety, or is someone more sinister hiding in the shadows?
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