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.
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| 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.
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| 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
Original e-book
version
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:
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| 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.
