Blog
Interview With Author Patricia Bradley
I am so thrilled to welcome debut novelist and friend, Patricia Bradley. I had the great pleasure of getting to know Patricia when we were both finalists in the 2012 ACFW Genesis Contest (fortunately, not in the same category!), and I’m thrilled to see that very manuscript Shadows of the Past, making on store shelves this month.
Carla: Welcome, Patricia! Would youtell us a little about your book?
Patricia: Shadows of the Past is a romantic suspense and is the story of a daughter searching for answers of why her father abandoned his family. Unfortunately someone doesn’t want her to find those answers and will do anything to stop her. Including murder.
Carla: What inspired this particular novel?
Patricia: Taylor just popped into my head one morning during my quiet time. She told me someone was trying to kill her. So, of course I had to find out why.
Carla: What can we look forward to next from you?
Patricia: In October, A Promise to Protect comes out. It’s the second book in the Logan Point series and is the story of Ben Logan, one of the secondary characters in Shadows of the Past. Here’s the log line: A sheriff lets his guard down and puts the woman he loves in the crosshairs of a brutal killer
Carla: Shadows of the Past takes place in Mississippi, where you happen to make your home. What character in your most recent novel is most like you? Was that intentional, or did it just come about in the course of the writing?
Patricia: I had to ask my sister this one because I never know how people perceive me. Certainly different from the way I see myself. Lol. But my sister says that the detective, Livy Reynolds is most like me. And it’s certainly not intentional. Each character more or less tells me what they are like.
Carla: Why did you choose the particular theme in your most recent novel? What were you trying to say to your readers?
Patricia: The story I’m working on now is the third book in the series, and it’s a story of restoration. I want to show readers that God can restore any relationship if we put it in His hands and follow His blueprint.
Carla: Which do you think is more important: to entertain or teach/inform?
Patricia: Definitely to entertain. But along the way I hope readers learn something.
Carla: Are you a pantser, a plotter, or somewhere in between? One-and-done or successive drafts? Same the every time or different with each book?
Patricia: I am definitely a plotter in the early stages, but once I start writing, I give the characters free rein to change the story. I usually write the fast draft where sometimes I write blah, blah, blah when I’m having trouble with a scene. I don’t stop to research, just * it and keep writing. It usually takes me nine weeks to write a 95,000 word story. Then on the second draft I fix the blah, blah, blahs and look up whatever needs researching. One more draft to add layers, and then I send it in. Of course, then there are the rewrites from the editor.
Carla: Favorite activity for procrastinating when you should be writing?
Patricia: Email and FaceBook…and sometimes pottery.
Carla: Best invention of the 20th-21st century?
Patricia: A dishwasher. Fooled you, huh? I just redid my kitchen and bought myself a dishwasher.
Carla: Biggest personal splurge?
Patricia: The dishwasher.
Carla: Most hated chore?
Patricia: Don’t really have one since I bought the dishwasher.
Carla: If you could live anywhere in the world and cost/making a living were not an issue, where would it be?
Patricia: Hawaii 🙂
Carla: Dog, cat, or other pet?
Patricia: I have a rescue cat, Suzy, who wakes me up every morning at 5 a.m. by sitting on my chest and purring. Sometimes she puts her nose to my nose.
Aww, that’s sweet! This was great fun, Patricia! Thanks for joining me today! Readers, be sure to see the giveaway widget below for your chance to win a copy of Shadows of the Past as well as other great books and prizes!
About Patricia
Patricia Bradley lives in North Mississippi and is a former abstinence educator and co-author of RISE To Your Dreams, an abstinence curriculum. But her heart is tuned to suspense. Patricia’s mini-mysteries have been published in Woman’s World, and her debut novel, Shadows of the Past, is the first of three set in Mississippi andwill release February 4, 2014. She will present a workshop, Writing 50,000 words in 30 days, at the Midsouth Christian Writer’s Conference in Collierville, TN on March 8, 2014. When she’s not writing, she likes to throw mud on a wheel and see what happens.
Contact Patricia: Website | Twitter
About Shadows of the Past
Heart-Tugging Heroes With Becky Wade
Recently, my awesome contemporary-romance-writer friend Becky Wade asked me to chat at Writes of Passage about creating memorable heroes. And while most of us have already consumed our V-Day treats (or took advantage of the post-Valentine’s Day clearance at the grocery store!), I couldn’t resist a replay on my own blog. Pull up a chair and a cup of coffee and join us for a chat! We’d love to have your comments below.
Becky: So Carla…. What do you think makes a hero unforgettable? For me, the number one most important thing is a balance of attraction and sympathy. That is to say 1) I’m attracted to him and find him desirable. And 2) I have sympathy for him…there’s something about him or his backstory that makes me feel true compassion for him.
Carla: I’d have to agree with you there. I think the tricky thing when WRITING heroes though is understanding that everyone has a different standard of attractiveness –at least physical attractiveness — and being specific enough that readers can picture him, but also universal enough that every woman could get his appeal.
Becky: I weigh this balance often when writing. As a reader I tend to think that when writers err on this point, they err on the side of giving me too little detail. I want to be able to see my fictional hero when I’m reading. My imagination will still ‘see’ him in a way that appeals to me personally, but I do want to know what he’s wearing, if he has stubble, how the sun is hitting his hair, etc.
Carla: I think that’s why it’s so essential to get the reader into the head of the heroine quickly — so we feel her attraction and it makes sense to us.
Becky: Agreed. In my opinion, another effective and quick way to reveal a hero’s attractiveness is to show him at the outset of a novel being smart/brave/competent/larger than life at something. My friend Dani Pettrey did a great job of this in Submerged. The first time we meet her hero, he’s diving into Alaskan waters to rescue survivors trapped underwater in an airplane. I hardly knew what he looked like physically, but I was already attracted to him because of his bravery and competence.
I’m also attracted to heroes that think and speak like men. This is admittedly difficult for the female writer to pull off. But when I’m in the head of a hero who feels authentically masculine to me, I recognize it right away, and I’m much more apt to swoon over him.
Carla: For me, I have to find the hero interesting. Whether it’s because he’s mysterious, he has an interesting job or talent, or just because I have the feeling that there’s more than meets the eye, that curiosity to know more is what hooks me in.
Becky: Yep, the best heroes are not only brave and competent, they’re also layered and flawed. And I love it when a hero has a secret and I have to keep reading to understand him and to uncover his secret.
Carla: Based on the popularity of classic characters like Mr. Darcy, Heathcliff, and Mr. Rochester, I’d have to say that brooding and intriguing is popular with a lot of female readers.
Becky: Brooding is ever popular among female readers, including me! The idea of love spearing into the life of a wounded and closed-off man and transforming him from the inside out is incredibly powerful and… for lack of a better word, ROMANTIC. It makes us all sigh and has tremendous enduring appeal.
Carla: What do you think? Are you a fan of the boy next door or the dark and mysterious stranger?
Becky: Of the two, I prefer dark and mysterious. A nice, normal, well-scrubbed boy next door isn’t, well, sexy enough for me. He doesn’t have the layers and flaws we mentioned earlier. I do, however, like some cousins of the boy next door. For example:
- The charming lady’s man. He’s jaded and all that easy confidence is hiding something deep within.
- The humble and hardworking hero. He loves the heroine deeply but doesn’t consider himself good enough for her.
- The powerful, successful man. He’s risen to the pinnacle of his profession but his reserve is covering the fact that he’s achieved greatness in everything he thought mattered, only to realize that love matters more.
Carla: Ah, this must be why I like your books so much, Becky. As much as I enjoy dark and mysterious, I love reading and writing those “almost-boy-next door” types. I’ve got a particular weakness for the charming lady’s man and the successful businessman who has found success isn’t enough. Maybe I relate to the motivation behind those attitudes, because I find it easy to get into those heroes’ heads. What about you? Is one easier for you to write than the other?
Becky: The brooding hero is the hardest for me to write because THEY DON’T LIKE TO TALK. On the other hand, they’re the ones that lend themselves most easily to romance. The other guys are easier to put into scenes, but I have to work harder with them to get the romantic sparks flying.
What about you, Carla? Any other hero types that appeal to you?
Carla: We’ve been talking mostly contemporary, but if we expand into historical and/or fantasy, I really do enjoy:
- The reluctant warrior hero. You know, the man who would have preferred to do anything else with his life, but finds himself in circumstances beyond his control and adapts accordingly. There’s always so much drama, and yes, romance, associated with that type.
Becky: Any thoughts on internal qualities that make a hero great?
Carla: I think no matter the type of hero, integrity is crucial. He might be surly, unpleasant, or erratic like the brooding classic heroes I mentioned before, but if he has an honorable spirit, I know the heroine is going to be in good hands when she finally breaks through that shell. I want to know that the hero is going to be worthy of her.
Becky: Amen! Yes.
Carla: What are the qualities you think make for a memorable hero?
Becky: Willingness to sacrifice. For me, sacrifice is a strong litmus test for true love. I always like to challenge my hero to see just how much he’s willing to give up for his heroine. The best heroes are willing to give up a great deal indeed.
I agree! Thanks so much for the chat, Becky, and for letting me share your post on my blog today. Readers, don’t forget to check Becky’s upcoming book, Meant to Be Mine, releasing in May 2014. And we’d love to hear what you think makes a romantic hero memorable in the comments below!
About Meant to Be Mine
Ty Porter has always been irresistible to Celia Park. All through high school–irresistible. When their paths cross again after college–still irresistible. This time, though, Ty seems to feel exactly the same way about Celia. Their whirlwind romance deposits them at a street-corner Las Vegas wedding chapel.
The next morning they wake to a marriage certificate and a dose of cold reality. Celia’s ready to be Ty’s wife, but Ty’s not ready to be her husband. He’s a professional bull rider, he lives on the road, and he’s long planned to settle down with the hometown girl he’s known since childhood.
Five and a half years pass. Celia’s buried her dreams so that she can afford to raise her daughter. Ty’s achieved all of his goals. Or thought he had, until he looks again into the eyes of the woman he couldn’t forget and into the face of the child he never knew he had.
How much will Ty sacrifice to win back Celia’s trust and prove to her that their spontaneous marriage can still become the love of a lifetime?
Order Meant to Be Mine: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Baker Publishing
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.carlalaureano.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Au-photo.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Becky Wade makes her home in Dallas, Texas with her husband, three children, and one adoring (and adored) cavalier spaniel. Her first contemporary romance, My Stubborn Heart, was named a finalist for an INSPY Award and for Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award. Undeniably Yours is available now and Meant to Be Mine is coming in May. To learn more about Becky, go to www.BeckyWade.com.[/author_info] [/author]
Tags: Becky Wade, Five Days in Skye, Heroes, inspirational, Leading Men, Meant to Be Mine, writing romance
Interview with Author Susan May Warren
Today, I’m thrilled to welcome one of the most recognizable (and awarded!) names in Christian Fiction, Susan May Warren. I came to Susan’s books somewhat later than a lot of you readers, but My Foolish Heart remains one of my favorites from the last several years. Today she’s here to talk about her newest novel, the second book in the Christiansen Family series, It Had To Be You.
Carla: Welcome, Susan! Can you tell us a little about your book?
Susan: I just love the characters of Jace and Eden. Eden is your typical older sister – wanting the best for her brother. But he’s a professional hockey player and certainly doesn’t need her meddling – except, maybe he does, because he’s managed to drive his life into the ground. More than anything, she wants to be an investigative reporter, but somehow she’s stuck in the obits department, unable to escape. I juxtaposed her with tough guy Jace Jackobsen. As an “enforcer” for the MN Wild, he’s known for his brawling on the ice – and has paid the price in broken bones, fines and suspensions. One more concussion could cost him his life.
I decided these two not only needed each other, but they needed a project to work on together – enter John Doe, a boy they find in the hospital while visiting Owen after he’s injured. I loved the adventure of tracking down the identity of this boy, and how in the end, it helps them discover their own identities. I call it a modern day Good Samaritan story – but the lives they save are their own.
Carla: Okay, I’ll admit, I’m hooked. But then again, I was intrigued when I heard It Had to Be You involves professional hockey. What inspired this particular story?
Susan: This book idea came together from a few different “nuggets.” The first nugget came from an event at a track meet a few years ago where I saw the event that I wrote about in the book – a boy who was disqualified and it cost his team their chance at the state finals. The second nugget came while watching the summer Olympics a couple years ago. I watched these athletes, and heard the stories of all that their families did to get them there, and I began to wonder about what happened to the family if their athlete failed. Or…once the competition was over. And, what if there was a non-athletic sibling in the family – did they get left behind?
Finally, the last nugget came this fall, while cheering on my son in football. He wasn’t playing up to snuff, and my husband and I sat town to ask why. He told me that he didn’t want his only reputation in school to be of a “tough guy” on the filed. (He played defensive end). Interesting.
I put these nuggets together and thought – what if I wrote a story about a sibling, who feels outside the limelight of her awesome brother, and a hero who feels trapped by his reputation as a tough guy. I knew I wanted to write about hockey (this is Minnesota, after all!) so the story just sort of fell together. The nugget about the track star became the backbone of my subplot….
And that’s all I’m going to say about that. 🙂
Carla: It’s clear that you love Minnesota in the way you handle the descriptions of the place and the people. But you were also a missionary in Siberia for eight years. How did those experiences change your perspective? How do they inform your writing?
Susan: Great question! I think the biggest thing Russia did for me was to teach me to look deeper into the WHY of a person’s behavior. I learned to love Russians like my own family and my experiences there made me a better person. I also set my first book in Russia, so I’ll always be grateful for the rich experience of 
living there.
Carla: What can we look forward to next from you?
Susan: A fun story about a wanna-be Iron Chef who goes to Hawaii and gets involved in a cooking contest! She’s paired with an unlikely chef – hockey star Maxwell Sharpe, and discovers that they can create something delicious – in the kitchen, and out. But when she discovers a terrible secret about him, she’ll have to choose between her happily after ever and the only man she’ll ever love. It’s called, When I Fall in Love, and it’s out in July 2014.
Carla: Put that one on my list too! Now for the “lightning round” portion of our interview… What character in your most recent novel is most like you? Was that intentional, or did it just come about in the course of the writing?
Susan: I just finished a novella for next Christmas called, Evergreen, and it’s about John and Ingrid Christiansen who are in the empty nest years of their lives…until they get an unexpected Christmas gift. Suddenly, they discover old wounds and fears resurfacing – the kind that could destroy their marriage. How do they keep their love Evergreen in the winter of their lives? 🙂
I loved this story because it resembled something that happened to my husband and I…and I loved sharing the truth that we discovered in it. I am very much like Ingrid Christiansen. But I’m also MaryAnn Wallace (The Great Christmas Bowl) and of course, PJ Sugar. (Okay, I’m probably a little of all my characters!)
Carla: Are you a pantser, a plotter, or somewhere in between? One-and-done or successive drafts? Same the every time or different with each book?
Susan: I am both. I plot out all the big pieces of the story – the Dark Moment of the past, the Inciting Incident, the Quest, the big Turning Points of Act 2, the Black Moment, the Epiphany and the Hurrah Ending. Then, I sit down and “tell myself the story” so that I can see how it flows and if it all goes together. When I sit down to write, I use this as a roadmap, but then I let myself craft each scene as it comes, knowing what my author objectives are, but letting the characters take the stage and tell the story.
Carla: What three items are essential to your writing process?
Susan: Popcorn (for those in-between scene snacks!) Soundtrack music (so I can get into the mood) and 
my Book Buddy – a workbook I use for every story (it contains the synopsis as well as prompts and helps for each chapter).
Carla: Best invention of the 20th-21st century?
Susan: TIVO. 🙂
Carla: What is currently on your desk?
Susan: Green Smoothie. My cell phone. My calendar/journal book.
Carla: Dog, cat, or other pet?
Susan: Dog. Named Gracie.
Thanks so much for joining me today, Susan! Readers, don’t forget, today’s post gives you several chances to win a copy of It Had to Be You as part of my great Winter Warm-Up Giveaway! ***Contest is now closed***
About Susan
Susan May Warren is the RITA, Christy and Carol award-winning, best-selling author of over forty novels. A popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation, she’s also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a craft and coaching community for novelists. Visit her at: www.susanmaywarren.com
About It Had to Be You
Eden Christiansen never imagined her role as her younger brother Owen’s cheerleader would keep her on the sidelines of her own life. Sure, it feels good to be needed, but looking after the reckless NHL rookie leaves little time for Eden to focus on her own career. She dreamed of making a name for herself as a reporter, but is stuck writing obits—and starting to fear she doesn’t have the chops to land a major story. If only someone would step up to mentor Owen . . . but she knows better than to expect help from team veteran and bad-boy enforcer Jace Jacobsen. Jace has built his career on the infamous reputation of his aggressive behavior—on and off the ice. Now at a crossroads about his future in hockey, that reputation has him trapped. And the guilt-trip he’s getting from Eden Christiansen isn’t making things any easier. But when Owen’s carelessness leads to a career-threatening injury and Eden stumbles upon a story that could be her big break, she and Jace are thrown together . . . and begin to wonder if they belong on the same team after all. Order It Had to Be You: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Christianbook.com
Tags: hockey, inspirational fiction, It Had to Be You, romance, Susan May Warren
Interview With Author Amy Matayo
I’m thrilled to welcome a good friend and fellow contemporary romance author, Amy Matayo. If you don’t already follow Amy on Facebook and Twitter, you’re going to want to–she keeps all of us in stitches with her dry sense of humor and lately, rants against snow in Arkansas.
Carla: Welcome, Amy! Your first book, The Wedding Game, debuted in November 2013, and it’s been getting great reviews. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Amy: The basic plot is a Hollywood playboy and a small-town Arkansas girl both need money, so they audition for The Wedding Game—a nationally televised Bachelor-type reality show—make the cut, and eventually win. But if they want their hands on the two million dollar prize, they have to stay married for six months and convince America by a revote at the end that they’ve fallen in love.
Carla: Well, it won’t surprise you that I liked the playboy part. Tell me, how did you come up with the idea of doing a Bachelor/Bachelorette type spinoff for your debut novel?
Amy: As for the idea, a couple of years ago I was watching Good Morning America while getting dressed for work. They were running a feature on Kim Kardashian, telling about her recently-announced divorce. Well, I had just watched clips from her televised wedding a few days earlier, so I knew she had only been married for a month or so. Annoyed, I turned to my oldest son and said “You know, pretty soon there’s going to be a reality show where two strangers get married for money. Wouldn’t that be awful?” I meant to sound outraged, but instead my brain started spinning. I started writing The Wedding Game the next day.
Carla: I loved that part of it. There is definitely a strong theme about the “unreality” of reality shows and the sort of relationships that develop within them. What can we look forward to next from you?
Amy: I’ve already written my next two, actually. Love Gone Wild is a sort-of sequel to The Wedding Game in that it’s reality-show based (a Survivor-type show set in the Alaskan wilderness). It comes out this March. And then later in the year will come Sway, a New Adult romance that intersperses a political theme of separation of church and state.
Carla: I’m looking forward to reading both of those (hint, hint…) Before we go, it’s time for the lightning round. (Oh, come on, I wasn’t going to pass up a game show reference!) First question: If you could live life as one of your characters (from any of your novels), which would you choose?
Amy: I would live the life of Anna, my character in Love Gone Wild. She gets to travel to Alaska and try to survive the wilderness for thirty days. That speaks to the adventurer side of me, which I rarely get to visit with four kids and lame adult responsibilities.
Carla: Speaking of adult responsibilities, what’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Amy: Shrink wrapper at DaySpring Cards. I looked like I Love Lucy trying to keep up with chocolates as they flew by on the conveyer belt.
Carla: Ha! That’s my favorite episode. Okay, are you a pantser, a plotter, or somewhere in between? One-and-done or successive drafts? Same the every time or different with each book?
Amy: A complete pantser who is trying desperately to transform into a plotter. It isn’t going well. As for drafts, my first are pretty clean, but I still require edits. It’s the same every time.
Carla: What three items are essential to your writing process?
Amy: Besides computer, I need a water bottle, my cell phone, and a pen/paper.
Carla: Right, so I can interrupt your work with Facebook messages. What song/album most influenced the writing of your current/most recent book? Why?
Sleeping With Sirens Feel album. It’s Indie and fun, and my latest book (that I’ve written) is music-based with the same feel.
Carla: And last but not least, favorite activity for procrastinating when you should be writing?
Amy: Social Media surfing. For me, it is a complete time-suck.
Ding ding, thank you for playing, Amy Matayo. (Yes, cue the “boos” for that seriously cheeseball game show tie in.) Seriously, thanks for dropping by today. It’s always fun to chat with you. And readers, don’t forget to enter my giveaway below, which will include a copy of The Wedding Game for one lucky winner as well as some other great prizes. ***Contest is now closed***
About Amy
I graduated from John Brown University with a degree in Journalism.
After graduation, I went to work for DaySpring Cards—a division of Hallmark—where I worked for seven years as Senior Writer and Editor.
After the birth of my first child I became a freelance writer before pursuing novel-writing full time.
My first contracted novel—The Wedding Game—won the 2012 ACFW Genesis Award. It released on November 16, 2013. My next book, Love Gone Wild, releases March 1.
As the mother of four children with a husband immersed in political life, I have very little free time. I prefer to spend that time enjoying intellectual pursuits such as: watching television with my feet propped up, watching movies with a bucket of popcorn, and watching my laundry pile high—with no desire to do anything about it.
It’s a fun life.
Connect with Amy: Web | Facebook | Twitter
About The Wedding Game
Cannon James has a plan: Sign on as a contestant for his father’s new reality show, marry a blonde hand-picked by the producers, and walk away two million dollars richer. It’s all been arranged. Easy. Clean. No regrets. Until Ellie McAllister ruins everything by winning the viewer’s vote. Now he has to convince America that he’s head over heels in love with her. Not easy to do since she’s a walking disaster.
Ellie McAllister has her own problems. She needs money, and she needs it now. Despite her parent’s objections and her belief that marriage is sacred, she signs on to The Wedding Game…and wins. Now she’s married to a guy she can’t stand, and if she wants her hands on the money, she has six months to make voters believe she loves him. Not easy to do since he’s the most arrogant man in America.
It doesn’t take long for Ellie and Cannon to realize they’ve made a mess of things…even less time for their feelings for one another to change. But is it too late for them? More importantly, can the worst decision they’ve ever made actually become one of the best?
Tags: Amy Matayo, Love Gone Wild, reality TV, The Wedding Game
