Erica Vetsch's Blog, page 172

CC&C Girls Photo Shoot Outtakes

You might have noticed that Coffee Cups & Camisoles has a new look! Last September, we gathered together at the 2015 ACFW Conference in Dallas, Texas and had a blast! One of the items on our to-do list was to take a picture for our blog. As you can see by the pictures below, we had a little fun...only a little.

These ladies are just as hilarious and authentic in person as they are on this blog. We had some difficulty getting serious, and there are several where we're not all looking at the camera (reminds me of trying to take pictures of my four children!!)...but eventually, we pulled ourselves together...sort of. :) I hope you enjoy a few outtakes, as well as some of my favorite shots from the photo session with Emilie of E.A. Creative Photography.











Your Turn: Do you enjoy photo shoots? Do you take annual pictures with your family?

We have a winner from my debut cover reveal post last week! Congratulations, Katrina Epperson!! I'll contact you soon.

Gabrielle Meyer
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His Prairie Sweetheart - Norwegian Foods

One of the best things about traveling is sampling the local cuisine, don't you agree? I remember the first time I had grits, fried green tomatoes, and buffalo burgers. Cheese curds and hot dish and mustard pretzels. I now tie those foods to the places I was when I first sampled them.

Which is why I wanted to bring food into the clash of cultures in His Prairie Sweetheart. Savannah Cox is a Southern Belle. She's familiar with collard greens, cornbread, fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits and gravy, friend green tomatoes, grits, and pecan pie. And Elias is a Minnesotan, half-Irish and half-Norwegian. He's used to krumkake, rommegrot, lutefisk, and lefse.

Elias goads Savannah into trying lutefisk,  a Scandinavian dish prepared by soaking dried cod in lye to tenderize it, then skinning, boning, and boiling the fish to a gelatinous consistency. Yeah, sounds delightful, doesn't it? But Savannah is game to try it, much to the admiration of Elias's family and friends.

A homesick Savannah, in turn, introduces Elias to the foods of her own background and tradition, sharing her heritage with him. He's a fan of her buttermilk biscuits and fried chicken.

Their story is not dissimilar to my own, since I was from Kansas, and my husband is from Minnesota. In Kansas, we put ranch dressing on everything, and BBQ is sweet and smoky and takes all day to prepare. Peter had never eaten cole slaw, and his version of salad was just lettuce with a little 1000 Island on it.

Conversely, I'd never eaten cheese curds, didn't know what a hot dish was, and had never in all my born days seen pickled herring on a salad bar or heard of putting cheese inside the burger.

After more than twenty-five years of marriage, we've melded into our own unique blend of Kansas and Minnesota, of midwest and northerner. We enjoy the foods of each other's culture, and we're richer for having experienced them.

How about you? What food is native to your home place? Are you an adventurous eater?



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When Your Spouse Crosses the Line

My husband crossed the line this weekend. He touched my coffee thermos from Starbucks. My $26.00 coffee thermos from Starbucks. He more than touched it. He manhandled it with all the care someone would give a cockroach in a wedding bouquet. He treated it like an infestation.

APPARENTLY (*insert exasperated sigh here*) he doesn't want it sitting in the coffee cup holder in MY vehicle. Well, I suppose my Honda CRV isn't exactly MINE but if you trace our financial history back to when we were first engaged, I DID contribute greatly to paying off his car loan. Which means, that's a credit I'm owed toward our current vehicle which I interpret as giving me full rights to putting whatever thermos I want in the coffee cup holder.

Just sayin' ...

He took my CRV this morning - I let him - my daughter was involved and it was in her best interest. My coffee thermos was sitting on the work bench in the garage when I had to use the pulley-system to hoist myself into his mile-high pick up truck. My coffee thermos is now in the coffee holder in his truck. I'm not sure how he thought he would benefit...

It's hard living with a non-coffee drinker. They just don't understand ... but I love him dearly anyway. Although, if he touches my thermos again I just might touch his hunting bow! :)

How 'bout you? Ever have problems sharing in your marriage? :) :)
____________________________________________________

Professional coffee drinker and best-selling author, Jaime Jo Wright, resides in the hills of Wisconsin writing spirited and gritty turn-of- the-century romance stained with suspense. Her day job finds her
working as a Director of Sales & Associate Relations. She’s wife to a rock climbing, bow-hunting Pre-K teacher, mom to a coffee-drinking little girl and a little boy she fondly refers to as her mischievous “Peter Pan.” Jaime completes her persona by being an admitted social media junkie and a coffee snob. She is a member of ACFW, has seen her work on both the ECPA and Publisher’s Weekly top ten best-sellers list for inspirational fiction, and has the best writing sisters ever!

www.jaimejowright.com
www.facebook.com/jaimejowright
twitter.com/jaimejowright
pinterest.com/jaimejowright
Instagram.com/jaimejowright
Periscope: @jaimejowright
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13916081.Jaime_Jo_Wright

I Shall Not Forget: Writing What I Know

Fiction writers are told the best way to create good writing content is to start by writing what you know. 

I know rural living. I live in the woods on a dead end dirt road. I love having my feet in the grass, and my fingers in the flower gardens.

My fourth novel is in the the early stages of research and plotting. Writing what I know doesn't mean that I am placing my heroine in the woods at the end of a dirt road. But it does mean she's going to love flowers and fauna.

It so happens that the opening scenes of my story are set in the woods during the spring. So this week when I went walking with my husband in our woods, I was wondering what my heroine might have seen or experienced and how her surroundings might impact her story. I started snapping photos.



 Trillium
Wild Phlox
 Solomen's Seal
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
I've been walking these woods since I was old enough to stand up. I simply love the green wild plants and the way they show off God's creation! I decided my heroine will use a large volume of artistic reproductions of botanicals to teach her young charge about the forest. Next I embarked on making a Pinterest board for research ideas:Anne's Botanical Pinterest Board
Anyone studying botanicals and botany in the 17th, 18th, and 19th century didn't have Google search, or the iPhone camera I used to study my great finds. They drew their own and had them printed in volumes. What a lovely combination of the arts and science! That's a passion I can share with my heroine. 
The volumes of print botanical reproductions are fantastic collections of art. For instance, thistitle page from The Compleat Florist from 1747, a gardening guide by an anonymous author containing 100 engraved hand-colored plates. Can you imagine engraving 100 of these and not taking credit? I had to wonder if it was a woman's handiwork.

One of my favorite memories is taking a hike through a cedar swamp in the northern woods of Michigan, not too unlike the climate of my story in Wisconsin. While hiking, my husband and I discovered a rare and protected blooming Lady Slipper. I was thrilled to find a print of this Lady Slipper while doing my research and can't wait to see how my heroine might include this in her story.

Jeanne Koch (after) G. Severeyns (chromolithographer) Ladies Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium) Botanical Prints from Les Cypripediées 
 And look at this lovely unsigned rendition of blue Forget-Me-Nots: 


I can't wait to see where these Forget-Me-Not flowers fit into my heroines story. Last weekend when my daughter was home, she'd been given a package of Forget-Me-Not seeds. She and her Daddy scattered them in our wild flower garden. When she's off in Ireland for the summer, perhaps even for the year--I shall not forget...
So, writing what you know, means writing from your heart.If my heroine shall not forget the young girl in her charge, I shall know how her heart feels when she discovers these blue beauties!
And even if there exists other stories where the heroine is all about botanicals, none of them shall have been from my heart. Only my heroine springs forth from what I know--and I know I shall not forget...
I shall not forget the bond between mother's and daughters.I shall not forget the tie between beauty and love.I shall not forget the yearning to touch creation.I shall never forget the paths which I've walkedalone in the forest, with my love.
-------------Blog post by Anne Love-




Writer of Historical Romance inspired by her family roots. 



Nurse Practitioner by day. 



Wife, mother, writer by night. 



Coffee drinker--any time.


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Book Report & #Giveaway of #SisterDear, by @LauraMcNeillbks

"Sister Dear" was a trip from the norm for me in my reading materials. The cover snagged my attention (especially the cock-eyed "E" in "Dear" - genius design). Then the author's name intrigued me. I'd heard of some controversy around her first novel because it was more of a cross-over -- meaning: published by the CBA but not overtly inspirational Christian fiction and easily marketable to the general market.

Anyway, sign me up! You know how Jaime dabbles with adventure. I will say, this book was nothing to dabble with--it was a jump in with both feet and fully commit novel. I LOVED IT!

McNeill's story centers around a woman just released from prison after being falsely accused of murder. It's about her readjustment to life, and really, how her sister has moved in and almost assumed her persona. It's a psychological novel, less of a mystery. While our heroine is pursuing the truth behind the murder, her troubled sister, emotionally-traumatized daughter, and the loss of her future, had me full invested in the story. There were hints of "Gone Girl" in novel. Stylistically and also psychologically.

Sister Dear is a gritty, in-your-face story about two sisters, the pursuit of redemption, the jealousy born of lust for what is not yours, and the dysfunction of two sisters who long to love, but live at odds.

I highly recommend "Sister Dear", but knowing our readership here at the CCC blog, I will qualify a few things: there is some mild language, and mild physical interaction between lovers (mostly implied). The book is not afraid to tackle some intense scenes. Most assuredly not a romance or feel-good novel in the sense of a reader looking for warm fuzzies or a bold, spiritual theme. The themes are woven throughout with subtly and it will most assuredly cause you to think.

Laura McNeill has made her mark on my reading shelf. I am impressed with her writing, her thoughts, the emotions the characters evoked, and the interwoven spiritual impressions that made me step back and cautiously analyze who I was rooting for and why.

Want to try this novel? We're giving away a copy today and I'm really excited to be able to do so!


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_________________________________________
Professional coffee drinker and best-selling author, Jaime Jo Wright, resides in the hills of Wisconsin writing spirited and gritty turn-of- the-century romance stained with suspense. Her day job finds her working as a Director of Sales & Associate Relations. She’s wife to a rock climbing, bow-hunting Pre-K teacher, mom to a coffee-drinking little girl and a little boy she fondly refers to as her mischievous “Peter Pan.” Jaime completes her persona by being an admitted social media junkie and a coffee snob. She is a member of ACFW, has seen her work on both the ECPA and Publisher’s Weekly top ten best-sellers list for inspirational fiction, and has the best writing sisters ever!

www.jaimejowright.com
www.facebook.com/jaimejowright
twitter.com/jaimejowright
pinterest.com/jaimejowright
Instagram.com/jaimejowright
Periscope: @jaimejowright
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13916081.Jaime_Jo_Wright

Debut Book Cover

This week on Facebook, I had the privilege of revealing my first solo book cover! I wanted so badly to wait until today to make the big reveal here...but I couldn't wait a moment longer than necessary!!

When I saw my book cover for the first time a few weeks ago, I cried. Not only because it was my own cover (I've shared two others on novella collections), but because the art team gave me the picture of Marjorie and baby Laura that I had imagined in my mind and heart. Seriously, they couldn't have done a better job.

Yesterday, Erica shared about her first Love Inspired Historical cover. She talked about the art sheet we have to fill out, and how time-consuming it is--but I'm reminded of why they ask us to fill those out with such detail. It enables them to create a cover like this:


Isn't that the sweetest picture ever? What I love is that in the story, Marjorie has never held a baby in her life...but within days, she's cuddling Laura as if the baby had been made for her arms. I can feel the love Marjorie has for Laura in this scene.

A couple months ago, I wrote two blog posts about the images I gave the art team for my September release, A Mother in the Making . You can go here to see more images for the hero and heroine, and here to see more images for the setting ideas.

This is the picture I sent for the heroine, Marjorie Maren.

Actress Kate HudsonAnd these are the pictures of the type of clothing I envisioned her in.



I also sent pictures of the third-floor day nursery under the attic eaves that plays a part in my story.





The cover they created is heart-warming, tender, and period-authentic. It is a wonderful representation of my story and the characters inside the book. I'm in love!

To celebrate the release of my debut cover, I'm offering an advance copy to one blog reader! I should have my author copies a couple months before the release date. As soon as I do, I'll mail it to the winner. Please fill out the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win (U.S. citizens only).

Here's a little more about the book:

Matchmaking with a Mission  

Practical, steady, levelheaded: all qualities single father Dr. John Orton expects in both a governess and a wife. But his children's temporary governess Miss Marjorie Maren seems set on finding him an impractical woman to love…despite his plans of marrying solely for convenience. Nothing could be more exasperating to the handsome widower—except his increasing interest in Marjorie.

Vivacious and fun-loving: that's the kind of bride the reserved doctor needs. Before Marjorie leaves to pursue her acting dreams, she intends to match him with a suitable wife candidate. Yet growing affection for her four charges and their dashing father has awakened a new hope—that she might be his perfect bride. But can she convince her employer to take a chance on love and claim real happiness before it slips away?



Your Turn: What do you love to see on a book cover (people, animals, babies, outdoor/indoor scenes)? Does the cover influence your decision to buy and read a book?

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Gabrielle Meyer
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Release Time for His Prairie Sweetheart

It's finally here! The release of His Prairie Sweetheart!

What a journey this has been. From the Blurb2Book contest a year ago, through edits, and new titles, and fabulous cover art, research, field trips, scouting out experts in harps and the Norwegian language and collies...

So many fun things have happened to me as a result of writing this story. One of those was filling out the most detailed art fact sheet EVER! When a publisher begins designing cover art for a story, they ask the author for input. I picked out scenes that were pivotal in the book, gave my hero and heroine's main characteristics, scouted out pictures that I thought looked like them, detailed their wardrobes and the settings. It took hours to fill out all the pages of cover art direction.

But the results were very much worth it!!!

Here are the photographs I sent in for my hero Elias Parker, heroine Savannah Cox, and the beautiful collie, Captain.


This is the actor David Conrad. I first saw him in the TV series
 Ghost Whisperer, and I always thought he had a nice face.
I found this lovely lady on Pinterest by searching "Blonde Wedding Updo."
 The moment I saw her I knew she was Savannah Cox.

My wonderful friend and book reviewer Renee Chaw has beautiful collies,
and I asked if I could use one as a template for Captain,
Elias's dog in His Prairie Sweetheart. She graciously
 said yes and sent several photos. This one was my favoriteI cannot believe that the Love Inspired Historical art department nailed it so well! Elias is wearing the coat I described, Savannah's hair is spot on, the schoolhouse, the snow, the collie...Sigh. Perfect for the story!

As a little fillip to release week, the male cover model on the book, Samy Osman, posted on Facebook and Twitter about the cover! You can find the post by clicking HERE.

Samy has appeared on more than 60 Harlequin and Love Inspired covers. You can visit his website at www.samyosman.com

I believe I'll be requesting Samy Osman for my next story, since he closely resembles my bounty hunter, Thomas Beaufort....perhaps I have a type? :D

Anyway, to celebrate the release of His Prairie Sweetheart, I'm going to give away a copy of the book (ebook to international residents, ebook or print to US resident.) All you have to do to enter is use the rafflecopter form below!

For your blog comment, tell me if you've ever been to Minnesota. :)




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#Beautiful Tuesday

Some work days are rough. Especially when my boss sends me off to a coffee shop to work in solitude and prepare for two days of a rigorous training that I'll be leading.  ;) He knows I need to focus and prepare so it's well done and worth it for those that will be learning from us. Teaching workshops may be one of my favorite parts of my job. Preparing for them a close second.

The sunshine is streaming in from the windows behind me as I curl up in a white, leather sofa with my salted caramel latte on a vintage steamer trunk.

I'm looking forward to lunch break too. Because these came.

Galley edits for "Gold Haven Heiress" -- part of Barbour Publishing's, "California Gold Rush Collection" coming out August 1st. My novella is the last of nine stories. I'm really pleased to read through this final, before-it-goes-to-print, copy to catch any final mistakes or changes that need to be made.

But yes ... day job first. Don't worry. I have ethics. I don't sit here editing when I'm supposed to be planning for my workshops.

Really, my point behind this entire post is to invite you into my beautiful Tuesday. Sometimes, as my sister says, you need to go away, just yourself, and "just breathe". So today, I'm breathing, deeply, of peace ... of tranquility ... of thankfulness that I have so many blessings in amidst the chaos.

A husband who would die for me without question ...
Kids who think I hang the moon ...
Sisters who embrace me on a week when I feel crushed ...
A boss who knows when and where I am more profitable and sends me there ...
A God who teaches me how to chill ...

What is a blessing of your beautiful Tuesday?


Professional coffee drinker and best-selling author, Jaime Jo Wright, resides in the hills of Wisconsin writing spirited and gritty turn-of- the-century romance stained with suspense. Her day job finds her working as a Director of Sales & Associate Relations. She’s wife to a rock climbing, bow-hunting Pre-K teacher, mom to a coffee-drinking little girl and a little boy she fondly refers to as her mischievous “Peter Pan.” Jaime completes her persona by being an admitted social media junkie and a coffee snob. She is a member of ACFW, has seen her work on both the ECPA and Publisher’s Weekly top ten best-sellers list for inspirational fiction, and has the best writing sisters ever!

www.jaimejowright.com
www.facebook.com/jaimejowright
twitter.com/jaimejowright
pinterest.com/jaimejowright
Instagram.com/jaimejowright
Periscope: @jaimejowright

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13916081.Jaime_Jo_Wright

Peterson, Bono, Metaphors & Quantum Physics...

My mother's favorite things at family dinnertime is to go around the table and share what everyone is doing. It may produce an initial groan, awww, Grandma, do we have too? But as the years have gone by and our family spreads out and grows up, it's been a rich time of staying connected.

Last Sunday, I was blessed to get a basic lesson in quantum physics from my nephew that still has me pondering. I have no claim on uber intelligence. That's why I first loved his explanation--because I could understand it. He explained that our current computing world is bound in a binary expression of "ones or zeros"---sort of like an electric current exists as a positive or negative charge. The information either is there--a one, or it's not--a zero. My nephew tells me our world is reaching near capacity to store and use binary information. But thankfully in comes quantum physics, where there are ones, zeros, and a third factor--the point at which one looks at the ones and zeros--the point at which one examines the truth converges to determine the expression of it. He explained it using cats, TNT dynamite, and the point at which you look to see if the TNT blew up the cat, known as Schrodinger's Cat theory.

(My awesome nephews!)
Confused yet?  It's okay. There won't be a test.
I may have just flunked it anyway. #notaphysicist

But, the point that struck me is that God is not limited. Not by binary information, nor by quantum physics--which in themselves are pretty cool. Yet, it's not the thing itself that points to God that is amazing, but the God that the thing reflects. Our God is so infinitely ginormous--even bigger than the quadrillion possibilities in physics. I love that.

Stories. Songs. Lyrics. Quantum physics. 

All metaphors that point to God.

Eugene Peterson, author of The Jesus Way describes metaphor like this:

"Metaphor does that, makes me a participant in creating the meaning and entering into the action of the word. I can no longer understand the word by looking it up in the dictionary, for it is no longer just itself. It is alive and moving, inviting me to participate in the meaning. When the writers of scripture use metaphor, we get involved with God, whether we want to or not, sometimes whether we know it or not."

I can no more understand physics if I had looked them up in the dictionary, but somehow when my nephew explained it, it seemed like a metaphor for the unending, unlimited ways in which God reveals Himself to us.

There's something about letting our lives be honest before God that makes Him real. It's that point, like in quantum physics--the point at which you look for Him and to Him, the truth converges with our experiences. For a moment, I could imagine I understood it.

I loved this week's interview between Bono and Eugene Peterson as they talked about this and the Psalms. Take time to watch this:


And so...whether Psalm, romantic fiction, cats, art, song, story, food, home, or quantum physics--through these we can see Jesus.
God comes near.
Holy Spirit breathes on us and in us.
And we are transformed and not alone.
This is holy.

I love Eugene's words: "Imagination is a way to get INSIDE the truth."

This is why I write. Because I believe that even in imaginary stories, He comes, creates, and brings truth alive. Of course it's not the fiction itself that matters, nor the cat or TNT, nor the art or even the home--but the truth that is discovered there between you and God--that's what matters.

II Corinthians 3:16-18
Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
-------------Blog post by Anne Love-




Writer of Historical Romance inspired by her family roots. 



Nurse Practitioner by day. 



Wife, mother, writer by night. 



Coffee drinker--any time.


Find me on:FacebookFind me on: PinterestFind me on: GoodreadsFind me on: Twitter
Find me on: InstagramRepresented by Sarah Freese, WordServe Literary

Introducing @KARAISAAC & a #Giveaway of #CloseToYou

This is a blog post I have waited YEARS to post. In 2009, I (Jaime) received an email from a New Zealand author who was coming to my writer's conference and had been told she and I might be a good "writer-match". Little did we know that email would launch Kara Isaac and I into going on 7 years of die-hard communication, love, writing, family, sisterhood, and loyalty.
She called me last year--all the way from New Zealand, mind you--to tell me she'd been offered a contract for a book I'd fallen in love with the first time I'd read it. It was written under a different title then, but that was the call that brought Close to You into fruition. And, can I just say, this "call", was more like "omigosh, omigosh, omigosh" and "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh I want to scream right now" and Kara declaring, "I'm hiding in a conference room at work trying not to be hysterical" (or something to that effect).

Now her book is on AMAZON!

A disgraced scholar running from her past and an entrepreneur chasing his future find themselves thrown together—and fall in love—on a Tolkien tour of New Zealand.

Allison Shire (yes, like where the Hobbits live) is a disgraced academic who is done with love. Her belief in “happily ever after” ended the day she discovered her husband was still married to a wife she knew nothing about. She finally finds a use for her English degree by guiding tours through the famous sites featured in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. By living life on the road and traveling New Zealand as a luxury tour guide, Allison manages to outrun the pain of her past she can’t face.

Jackson Gregory was on the cusp of making it big. Then suddenly his girlfriend left him—for his biggest business competitor—and took his most guarded commercial secrets with her. To make matters worse, the Iowa farm that has been in his family for generations is facing foreclosure. Determined to save his parents from financial ruin, he’ll do whatever it takes to convince his wealthy great-uncle to invest in his next scheme, which means accompanying him to the bottom of the world to spend three weeks pretending to be a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan, even though he knows nothing about the stories. The one thing that stands between him and his goal is a know-it-all tour guide who can’t stand him and pegged him as a fake the moment he walked off the plane.

When Allison leads the group through the famous sites of the Tolkien movies, she and Jackson start to see each other differently, and as they keep getting thrown together on the tour, they find themselves drawn to each other. Neither expected to fall in love again, but can they find a way beyond their regrets to take a chance on the one thing they’re not looking for?
So today, I have the great joy and treasure of introducing you to my writing sister, Kara Isaac.
__________________________________________
What authors do you like to read?

Ahhhh so many! That’s like asking me to pic a favorite child ;-) In women’s fiction I love Susan Meissner, Kate Morton, Lisa Wingate and Amy Sorrells. I read a lot of contemporary romance and am a fan of Becky Wade, Melissa Tagg, Carla Laureano, Katie Ganshert, Denise Hunter and Hillary Manton Lodge to name just a few.

What book or books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?

Becky Wade’s My Stubborn Heart was the novel that helped me believe that there might be space for my voice in Christian fiction. Donald Maass’ Write The Breakout Novel was my first real craft book that I read that transformed my writing. Also Jill Elizabeth Nelson’s Rivet Your Readers With Deep POV. I’m about to start Allie Pleitner’s The Chunky Method because I really need to learn how to write in small gaps of time. Apart from that the biggest influence has just been reading widely and taking inspiration from wherever I find it :)

What’s more important: characters or plot?

I’m a very character driven writer. They are always what show up in my head first. As my critique partners know, plot often comes much much later! (to the point where sometimes I’m still working it out after the manuscript is supposedly written!)

For me the characters drive everything, until I know who the characters are and what compels them the plot just doesn’t come together.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author and what would it be?

I write romantic comedies but my characters still grapple with some very real issues. For example, the main characters in Close To You both struggle with forms of rejection, abandonment and not believing they are deserving of a second chance. However, I don’t think I could ever write a main character who suffers from an eating disorder. I had an acquaintance who died from anorexia in her late twenties and so I can’t see how something so life destroying could ever have a place in a more
light-hearted style story.

How important are names to you in your books and how do you choose them?
Names! Oh I’m so bad with names, especially of secondary characters! Main characters I usually settle on their names pretty quickly but in my first four manuscripts I had four different female characters named Kat and I didn’t even realize until someone pointed it out. Reading Close To You I’ve just realized that Jackson’s niece in Close To You and Emelia’s cousin in Can’t Help Falling (my October release) are both called the same thing as well!

What secret talents do you have? Because here at the CCC blog we have all kinds of them ;)

I can touch the tip of my nose with my tongue – is that too much information? ;-) (and no you can’t have a photo!) I also make a great cheesecake.

What were you like as a child? Steady-going like our Anne, a tornado like Jaime, and adventurous soul like Erica, or an avid-reader like Gabrielle?

I was an avid-reader like Gabrielle. My absolute favorite place to be was the library. During school holidays my parents would just drop me off at our city one for hours at a time. There weren’t many things that would appeal more than reading a good book – I especially loved the adventure series. Nancy Drew, Hardy Books, Famous Five, Trixie Belden, Secret Seven were all much beloved so I’m sure I aspired to be an adventurous soul like Erica!

Characters often find themselves in situations they aren't sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?

I regularly find myself into conversations I can’t get out of with my two very inquisitive children. My four-year-old especially has a mind like a steel trap and a great sense for when he’s not being told the whole story so he just asks and asks until he’s satisfied. That has been fun recently with some pointed questions about where his new cousin came from! I’ve give up trying to obfuscate and just started telling him the truth (in limited detail) and then I just wait for it to come back and embarrass me.

We were in the hospital recently and a doctor walked in who may or may not have been pregnant. He poked his finger in her belly and said accusingly “I know what you’ve got in there!” Thank goodness she was actually pregnant!

What’s your writing goals for 2016?

The first four months have been pretty busy preparing for the release of Close To You and edits for Can’t Help Falling. I’m hoping to soon get started on a new story starring one of the secondary characters from Close To You :)

Lastly, will you leave us with a snippet from your book that is one of your favorites and gives us a glimpse into its pages?

That’s like asking me to chose my favourite child! This is an interaction between Allie and her best friend, Kat. I love their interactions because Kat is the kind of friend that doesn’t have much of a filter :)



“You know what else I think I’m right about?” Kat leaned forward.

“What?”

“I think you like the delays. They give you something to hide behind because as long as you’re still technically ‘married,’ you don’t have to take a chance on another guy. You have an excuse not to grapple with putting your heart back out there.”

Seriously? Kat thought she wanted to live in limbo? “You think I like this? You think I like being legally attached to a guy who cost me everything? I can’t even touch my own bank accounts because he and his lawyers convinced some stupid judge I might pilfer the so-called marital assets.”

“I’m not saying you like it, but I think you’ve grown used to it, even comfortable, and I definitely think it’s less scary than the alternative.” Kat reached forward and pulled the tub of mousse toward her. “The rest of your life is a long time to be afraid of getting hurt. At some point you’re going to have a take a chance on a guy again, Allie. And sure, you might get hurt. But you also might find the love of your life.”

“I’m pretty sure Jackson isn’t the love of my life.” He couldn’t be. Who fell in love in two weeks? That only happened in cheesy Hollywood rom-coms.

“How sure? Sure enough to not tell him the truth in all its miserable glory? Sure enough to let him leave and not spend the rest of your life wondering if you missed out on something that could have been great? Tell him the truth. Tell him the scary, ugly truth, and let the chips fall where they will. Nothing good ever comes out of hiding stuff this big.”

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Yes, you all, that is my girl!! And she is hosting an amazing giveaway too!! A copy of her book, a Starbucks gift card (she knows my love language), and a package of Double-Stuffed Oreos. Why? You ask? Because Kara devours them when writing under pressure, and because . . . wait for it . . . you can't get Double-Stuffed Oreos in New Zealand!! Can you imagine? I try to keep her stocked up by shipping them overseas for her most penny-dreadful moments of writing. So be sure to enter!! and visit Kara's super-de-dooper website http://www.karaisaac.com


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