CC: Welcome back to the
blog, Barbara.
BWD:
Thanks, Caroline. It’s a pleasure
to drop in again! I'm looking forward to chatting with readers and giving away a book. Details on that will be at the end of my post.
CC: Tell us something about
yourself. How long have you been
writing?
BWD:
I’ve always been a storyteller and started writing when I was about
four, though in those days spelling and even printing legibly were optional. My first book was “published” when I was nine,
complete with hand-illustrated cover. I
typed “The End” on my first full-length novel when I was in the eighth grade. This was a mystery with a romance subplot, and
it had a sequel. As I’m now a romance
writer, I haven’t strayed far from my roots.
CC: I “wrote” and
illustrated books when I was very young too. As I remember, they all involved a
princess (me) in a pretty dress, a knight on a white horse, and a castle. Where do you prefer to work? Do use a PC or laptop?
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| Broken laptop |
My best place to write
is at my office desk, which I think comes from years of being a secretary
sitting at a computer. It’s just a
natural place for me to work, and I can write so much faster on a computer than
in longhand. In fact, I write so much,
I’ve worn out more than a few laptops and keyboards. LOL
 |
| Old Keyboard with missing letters |
When I’m brainstorming
or away from a computer—such as in bed in the middle of the night or riding in
a taxi—I’m fine with paper and pen, too.
CC: I have keys that look
like those—no letters left on them, but I love a particular type keyboard. My husband keeps a version of this favorite
keyboard in reserve so I can change as one bites the dust. Can you
tell readers something about what you write?
BWD:
I would love to. And I also love to chat, so I hope your readers will free to leave comments and questions for me if they have any. I'll be giving away an autographed print book, winner's choice of my available backlist, to one reader (U.S./Canada mailing address, please) who leaves a comment by midnight Monday night, May 22nd.
I’m currently
writing short contemporary romances for both Harlequin Western Romance and
Entangled Bliss. The Westerns are
small-town stories filled with cowboys and ranchers, cute kids, loving yet
interfering family members, and nosy but caring neighbors. The Bliss books all contain the same fun
elements, just minus the cowboys and ranchers.
CC: Congratulations on the
release of your new book. Please tell us
about it.
BWD:
Thanks for asking! The new
release is The Rancher’s Baby Proposal.
In this story, the hero, Reagan, returns
to his hometown with his young son. Reagan’s
parents have both died and he wants to clear out and sell his family’s ranch so
he can put the memories and the town behind him for good. Unfortunately for him, the heroine wants
nothing more than for him to stay in Cowboy Creek—with her.
Here’s the back cover blurb from the
book:
HER SECRET COWBOY CRUSH
Ally Martinez has always been known as a fun and flirty kind of
gal. But deep down she’s never forgotten the cowboy who left town. When her
crush Reagan Chase comes home after a five-year absence, Ally knows this is her
big chance. The guy I’ve always wanted.
Only Reagan has something different in mind…
Still reeling from his last relationship, Reagan needs a
babysitter for his month-old son. With Ally’s help, he can get his family’s
ranch ready for sale and get out of Cowboy Creek. The problem? Ally is one
seriously cute distraction. But Reagan will do whatever it takes to keep his
heart safe. Even if it means losing the only place—and the only woman—he can
call home.
CC: That sounds great! This book is part of a series, isn’t it?
BWD:
Yes. It’s the newest story in my
Hitching Post Hotel series. The books
are written so that each one stands alone.
The hero and heroine reach their happy ending by the last page of their story,
which means the books don’t necessarily need to be read in order. That’s true of all my books.
CC: Tell us more about the
Hitching Post Hotel.
The Hitching Post is set on a ranch in
Cowboy Creek, New Mexico. Jed Garland
owns both the ranch and the hotel, and his granddaughters are in the process of
helping him turn the hotel into a destination wedding locale. The series began as a trio of books with the
matchmaking Jed bound and determined to match his three granddaughters with men
he’d handpicked for them. Of course he
runs out of granddaughters eventually!
But readers love Jed and his “girls,” and they wanted more stories about
all the Garlands and the Hitching Post.
At that point, Grandpa Jed moved on to matching up family friends. :)
CC: What about your books
for Entangled Bliss?
BWD:
The series is called Snowflake Valley.
This is a tiny town in Nevada nestled between two snow-covered
mountains. It’s also a tourist town
dedicated to Christmas, and the first books in the series are all set during different
winter holidays, which is making them very fun to write.
The series revolves around sisters who
find love in Snowflake Valley—whether they like the idea or not! Again, these are stand-alone stories. Book one, Snowbound
with Mr. Wrong, was out in November and the second is due to release this
August.
CC: Can you share a sample from The Rancher’s Baby
Proposal?
BWD:
I would love to. And I also love
to chat, so I hope your readers will feel free to leave comments and questions
for me if they have any.
I’ll introduce the sample by saying
that though the heroine, Ally, is doing a great job with Reagan’s son, she’s only
now learning to feel comfortable around children. This excerpt comes from one of my favorite
scenes starring Ally with Reagan’s one-month-old baby. Hope you and your readers enjoy it!
Ally
attempted to light a tall white candle with a match that bobbed and shook and
went out in her hand.
She struck another match and tried again. She
had to get these candles lit.
“When you’re planning a seduction,” she told
Sean, “you need to set the right mood.” She shot a look across the room at him
in his infant seat. “But don’t go getting any ideas, you hear me? You’re way
too young to think about seducing a girl.”
Finished with the lighting ceremony, she waved
her hand, gesturing at the candles and pewter holder she had brought from home,
the china and glasses and silverware she had found in the dining room hutch
here and had washed in the kitchen sink, the vase of hot pink and flaming red
tulips she had picked up at the L-G Store.
“What do you think, baby? Is it all a go?”
She walked over to stand beside him. To be
safe, she had placed his seat on one of the sturdy pine captain’s chairs from
the kitchen set, which she had moved far away from the candles on the table.
As she looked down, Sean shifted his arm.
“Oh, you think it deserves a fist bump, huh?”
She reached over to touch her knuckles to his tiny hand. “Thanks for the vote
of confidence.”
For a moment, her own confidence began to
flicker like the flames on the candles. Then she lifted her chin and stiffened
her spine. With her arms held straight out at her sides, she twirled once
slowly in front of Sean. “And what do you think of this?”
When she looked down at him again, his eyes
had closed. He had drifted off to sleep.
“Great,”
she whispered. “I hope that’s not your way of telling me what to expect with
your daddy.”
CC: It sounds like Ally is
doing a fine job with the baby so far!
BWD:
To be honest, she’s making much better progress with Sean than with his daddy.
CC: Thanks again for
visiting. Before you go, can you tell readers
a little more about you and where they can find out more about you and your
books?
BWD: Absolutely. I'll share my "offiical" bio here and will list some links below. Thank you again for inviting me to stop by!
 |
| Barbara White Daille, Author |
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. Barbara also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of
it, she enjoys writing about those subjects, too!
Barbara
wrote her first short story at the age of nine, then typed "The End"
to her first novel many years later...in the eighth grade. Now she's writing
contemporary romance on a daily basis, with an ongoing series from Harlequin Western
Romance (The Hitching Post Hotel) and a new series from Entangled Bliss
(Snowflake Valley). Sign up for her newsletter to
keep up with the latest in her writing life:
http://barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter.
Find Barbara and her books online:
Find The Rancher’s Baby Proposal
at any of these locations:
