CHAT WITH BARBARA WHITE DAILLE #Romanticidea

Hi, Readers!  Thank you for checking out this Summer Blog Exchange, and I hope you’ll feel free to chat.

Caroline, I appreciate your hosting me at your blog today and for the great Q&A questions.

Here’s my suggestion for a romantic idea to enjoy this summer:

Invite your sweetheart out for a very special night—rekindle your romance by taking him or her to the place where had your first date.

Caroline’s Interview Questions

Please tell us about growing up.

Originally, I’m from the East coast, where I grew up as the oldest of four. We were all girls, and I remember my dad sometimes running through all our names before he finally got to the one he wanted. That seemed funny at the time—unless we were being called out for something we shouldn’t have done!  J

I was definitely a shy kid, a good student, and a huge bookworm. Whenever we had free time in school or I was at home on my own, I’d have a book in my hands. We used to visit our grandparents on their farm for a month each summer, and the first day we arrived, my grandfather would take me to the library in town to get my visitor’s card. He got a bit frustrated with me, I think, because I would check out the maximum number of books…and then I would want him to drive me to town again the next day because I’d already finished reading everything.

Libraries will always be a big part of my life. Since grade school, I’ve volunteered in school libraries, have worked full-time in a town library, and now that my husband and I have relocated to the Southwest, I’m currently a volunteer at my local library. It gets me away from the writing desk once in a while and puts me in contact with books, a win-win as far as I’m concerned!

Food is also a very big part of my life. lol So in case anyone is wondering, my favorite foods are pizza and anything made with chocolate.

 

Chocolate--The author's friend

Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

My favorite books to read are romance, romantic suspense, and mystery. When I was a kid, it was all mystery, all the time. I grew up with the Bobbsey Twins, Trixie Belden, and Nancy Drew. Anybody read any of those?  I still have all my Trixie Belden books and re-read them from time to time. And once in a while when I’m at the library, I check out a few Nancy Drew books just for fun.

Even back then, I liked stories that blended mystery with romance. Trixie had Jim, Honey had Brian, Nancy had Ned. And I had fun putting myself in the places of all those heroines. J

I read those books, too. When you’re not writing, what’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?

Being a writer doesn’t leave me much time for many other things, but when I do have time to myself, I read, of course!  When my husband and I sit down to watch some TV together, we lean toward BBC Mysteries and new and older TV shows with a mystery/investigative slant, such as CSI, NCIS, Law & Order, and Blue Bloods.

You named my favorite shows plus Madame Secretary. How long have you been writing?

Telling stories?  Since before I could write, or at least before I knew the alphabet!  Writing for real?  I scribbled my first short story in crayon when I was about five, but wrote my first “self-published” short story—with a hand-illustrated cover, no less!—when I was in fourth grade. And I wrote my first novel when I was in eighth grade. As you might guess, it was a mystery with a romance woven through it.

  

Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude? PC or laptop?

Distractions and I don’t do well together. I’m very lucky to be able to work from home and have an office door I can close, as I need solitude and quiet to write.

Currently, I’m working on two laptops. One is supposed to be for writing only and the other for e-mail, Internet, etc., although due to some computer problems lately - caused by an upgrade to A Program That Shall Remain Nameless - I’ve had to switch back and forth while one or the other of the laptops is in the shop.

One of my favorite keepsakes is a small statue my husband gave me, which always sits on my writing desk.

I Love You This Much Bear Statue

Are you a plotter or a pantzer?

I always call myself a hybrid, a plotster, because my books usually start off with the bare bones of a plot. I write as much as I know, then I stop and plot forward, and then write again.

This has changed a bit now that I’m published, because I submit proposals to my editors instead of full manuscripts, and with those I turn in a complete outline. Still, when it’s time to sit down and write the book, there’s enough room to let my imagination have fun with twists and turns of the plot.

An outline is only the road map for me and there are many side trips. Do you do your research before you begin a new project, or as you go along?

As I go along. My books are not research-heavy. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to reading, which is why it’s wonderful we all have so many books to choose from. I write what I like to read:  stories that move at a fairly good pace, filled with dialogue, characterization, and touches of description, rather than with details of research.

Tell us about your writing schedule. Do you set goals? Do you write daily?

I do set goals, although now they’re called deadlines! J  But seriously, I work on interim goals that all lead me to reach those deadlines. And though I do try to write daily, there are some days that are filled with other things, such as writing blog posts and/or interviews like this one, preparing for a new release, or working on ideas for future books.

Even though you’ve answered this, I’ll ask the question: Do you write full time or do you have a day job.

Full time and then some. There’s always another page to write, a blog to draft, a story to plot…  Or a book to read, which for an author is often considered a job requirement.

Tell us something about yourself that might surprise readers.

Hmm…let’s see…  Well, I’ve driven all of the following:  car, van, truck, motorcycle, bus, forklift, tractor, fire engine, and Model-T Ford!

What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

I’ve been a life-long reader and became an author because of my love of books. I hope that my stories will bring readers as much pleasure as other authors’ books have brought to me.

What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Never give up!

Tell us about your latest release.

Thank you for asking. I have a new release, Cowboy in Charge, coming up July 1. This is a new book in my current series, The Hitching Post Hotel, where the hotel owner is a matchmaking grandpa.

I’m also thrilled to say that as of June 1, A Rancher’s Pride, the first of my Flagman’s Folly books was reissued in a special Larger Print edition (while still available in e-book format). More on both books is below.

Here’s the back cover copy and a quick peek at the opening scene of A Rancher’s Pride:

A RANCHER’S PRIDE:

His Whole World is in Her Hands

Sam Robertson's life just changed. In one short day, he found out that he's a daddy; that his beautiful little girl, Becky, is deaf; and that her aunt, sign language teacher Kayla Ward, intends to fight him for custody.

There are plenty of reasons Sam shouldn't fall for Kayla. A city girl like her has no place on his ranch, particularly when she's his ex-wife's gorgeous sister. But thanks to the judge's orders, Sam's spending a lot of time with Kayla, trying to give Becky the stable home she's never known.

Despite their ongoing custody battle, Sam and Kayla's love for Becky brings them closer than they ever expected, and Sam knows that no matter who wins in court, he could still lose—Kayla or his daughter.

Excerpt

The minute Sam Robertson saw his mother’s frozen expression, he knew something terrible had happened. He hadn’t seen that look on Sharleen’s face since the night his daddy died.

He tossed his Stetson onto the hook by the kitchen door and crossed the room to where she sat by the round pine table. The mouthwatering smell of beef and vegetables came from a bubbling pot of stew on the stove. He was home later than normal, but the table wasn’t yet set for their supper. “Mom?  What is it?  What’s wrong?”

She shook her head for a second, as if she couldn’t speak. Lines crinkled the skin around her blue eyes. She looked about ten years older than when he’d left for the north pasture early that morning.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Sam...”  She cleared her throat and started again. “Ronnie was here.”

“Ronnie?”  He frowned. He hadn’t seen his ex-wife in five years. If things had worked the way he wanted, he’d have never heard her name again. “What did she want after all this time?  Just stopping by to say hello?”

“She said she’s settling down again. With another man.”

“That’s what has you upset?  You should know better.”  Sam laughed shortly. “And we should both pity the poor guy. So, what did she do, drop off an invitation to the wedding?”

“No.”  Sharleen brushed her fingertips across the hair near her temple.

A nervous gesture he hadn’t seen, either, since the months right after his daddy’s death. Whatever the news, she didn’t know how to cope with telling him. How bad could it be?  He’d written his ex out of his life a long time ago. She couldn’t do anything to affect him.

He sank into the chair beside hers. “Come on. Just let me have it. What did she want?”

Sharleen took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Finally, she said, “She dropped something off, but not an invitation. She brought a little girl with her. Four years old. Ronnie left her here. She said she’s your daughter.”

Where to find the book

Larger Print re-issue

Publisher: Harlequin http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=64731    

Original e-book version

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Ranchers-Pride-Barbara-White-Daille-ebook/dp/B004U73TFC

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ranchers-pride-barbara-white-daille/1100382659?ean=9781459202337

Books-A-Million http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Ranchers-Pride/Barbara-White-Daille/Q805260264?id=6631563407959

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/a-rancher-s-pride 

How can readers learn more about you?

I love to chat and hope your readers will stop by to visit me and sign up for my newsletter. To say hello and to learn more about me and my books, they can check out any of the following locations:

Website  http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Blog  http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog
Twitter  https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille
Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
Amazon Author Page  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002J6B0QQ
Newsletter  http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter

Barbara White Daille

Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom.

The first of her Flagman’s Folly stories, A Rancher’s Pride, is available in Larger Print from Harlequin. You can also find the original version at most major e-tailers.

The next book in Barbara’s popular The Hitching Post Hotel series, Cowboy in Charge, releases July 2016, with other books in the series to follow. In November 2016, she begins a new sweet romance series for Entangled Bliss.