Featured writer today is Katie Schickel, author of Housewitch and the upcoming The Mermaid's Secret. I can personally recommmend Housewitch. It's a captivating read that I couldn't put down! Here's more about Katie:

 
Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you as a person?
I’m a mom and a writer. I’m a fresh-air enthusiast, adventurer, and ocean lover. I’d take a weekend camping over a weekend at the spa anytime. I get cranky if I’m away from the ocean for too long. Surfing is my latest passion. I’ve hitchhiked across Australia, been marooned in Panama, surrounded by thousands of barracuda in Key West, and I can name every country in Africa. I love to tell stories.
 
How did you know you wanted to be a writer?
When I was in college, I had no idea what I wanted to do in life (rather, I had LOTS of ideas, but couldn’t narrow it down). Last semester of senior year, I took a class called Intro to Journalism that blew my mind. The professor was a staff writer for TIME Magazine and a former reporter for The Washington Post. He sent us on assignments around the city, got us interviewing people from all walks of life, and I was hooked. My first job out of college was with a daily newspaper as a reporter on the police beat. I’ve written and edited for several magazines as well. I came into fiction writing late in life.
 
What is your favorite of all the things you’ve written?
That’s tough. There’s a scene in my next book, The Mermaid’s Secret, that makes me giggle every time I read it. My main character, who is sometimes a mermaid sometimes a human, encounters a young girl dressed up as a fairy. The two mystical creatures have a charming conversation about being magical.
 
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on a novel about a cupid who has lost his faith in love.
 
What is your best memory from your childhood?
Playing in the treehouse with my brother and sister in our backyard. In my memory is was the tallest treehouse in the world with many levels and secret hideouts. In reality, I’m fairly certain it was a piece of plywood stuck in an apple tree.
 
Tell us about a book you’d recommend. Why do you love it?
Euphoria by Lily King. The writing is gorgeous, the story is riveting, and the characters are deep and complex.
 
How do you come up with ideas for your books?
I keep a folder that I stock with notes, interesting articles, dreams, and impressions. I’m lucky in that I have a husband who is a great brainstorm partner.
 
Describe a perfect writing day.
At the computer at 8 a.m. Internet is down, so I can’t go online. Bang out 1,000 words by 10 a.m. Go to the gym. Come back, write another 500 words. Walk the dog. Get a call from my agent telling me I’ve just landed a contract. Celebrate that evening with kale salad and steaming bowl of parsnip soup. Go to bed at a reasonable hour.
 
Describe a terrible writing day.
At the computer at 8:00. Futz around on twitter and Facebook for a couple hours. Have a snack. Write a sentence. Spend an hour putting things into my shopping cart on Athleta. Write another sentence. Eat. Nap. Get one more sentence in before kids come home. Snack. Tell myself I can get work done after dinner. Heat up some leftover mac-and-cheese. Sit on the couch watching reality TV til 11 p.m. Beat myself up for being such a useless slacker.
 
Do you ever make public appearances? Where can we meet you in person?
My appearances are between Boston and Portland, Maine. I post my appearances on my website, katieschickel.com.
 
Where can we find your titles?
Independent bookstores, Barnes & Noble stores, and Books-a-Million stores. Online, I’m on amazon, B&N, BAM, Powells, Indie Bound, Kobo, and Indigo.
 
Click on the book cover below to link straight to Amazon and get your copy today!
 

 

 

 
Spend some time with BethAnn Buehler, a fab writer and blogger!
 
Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you as a person? 
I'm a former teacher turned stay-at-home mom to a kiddo with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a very mild form of Autism.  It's the hardest job I've ever had but it's my favorite.  I started writing as a career to carve out personal time for myself as a way to escape some of the stress in my daily life.  I know it sounds corny but I love "love."  I love the underdog, the person who deals with their own brokenness and finds the courage to make their life happen against the odds.  That's why I write romance.  I really want the happily-ever-after.
 
 
How did you know you wanted to be a writer? 
I grew up in a very poor area of Indianapolis.  All we had was a run down grocery store, a gas station and a public library.  For as long as I can remember, books have been a bright spot in my life.  I wrote my first serious story when I was in fourth grade.  I completed a novella and entered it in the junior high school talent competition three years later.  I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember.
 
 
What is your favorite of all the things you’ve written? 
Cooper Hensen is my favorite hero (Faith 15) and I have to admit I fell in love with him the more I wrote about him. I will say the 5th book in the Men of Faith series features a married couple and Eric, my hero in that story, is really starting to get under my skin.  The million-dollar question everyone wants to know is if any of my books are about me. I have Whitney’s standoffish quality and share her love of tennis (Hope 22).  I have Cali’s loyalty to the people I love (Faith 15).  I have Abigail’s longing to be accepted and her heart for wanting the fairy tale (Charity 12).  An old character I wrote in my first novel series, The Rebel Canyon Series, which is currently being reworked to fit a more inspirational standard, Rachel, is the one woman that's always spoke to me the most. When I first created her, she was someone all together different and to say she's changed as her story has unfolded would be a huge understatement.  Wait until you meet her when that series is re-released. We'll have to talk.  As far as a book, the last story in the Men of Faith series is killing me.  I have no doubt it’s going to be my favorite when it’s completed.
 
 
What are you working on right now?
I’m currently in edits with book three in the Men of Faith series, Charity 12.  Books four and five are well underway and pull my attention away on a given day.
I find writing in the middle of series the hardest so I’m there right now, wrapping Charity 12 and heading into books four and five. In my mind, I see the end so taking the time to get it on paper is just brutal.  My first novel, Broken Destiny (currently unpublished) was the easiest to write but as I’ve gone back to rework it, I know why.  I thought I knew exactly what I was doing with that one and let me just say, nope.  Not even close.  What I didn’t know about the writing craft nearly six years ago amazes me. 
 
What is your best memory from your childhood? 
This is a tough one because so many things come to mind.  However, if I’m being totally honest, anything related to time I spent with my Grandma--any day we had together—would top the list.
 
Tell us about a book you’d recommend. Why do you love it? 
Most recently Corinne Michaels (The Consolation Duet), Brittainy Cherry (The Air He Breathes) and Heidi McLaughlin (Archer Brothers) have really tugged at my heart.  If a writer makes me cry, I’m hooked!
 
How do you come up with ideas for your books?
The Men of Faith series was born on a mountain in Utah.  I was hanging out and reading in the lodge at Deer Valley (Utah) while my husband and son were out skiing.  I took several books to read for the week since I don't ski and honestly, each one I finished left me flat.  By the end of the third day (and the fourth dissatisfying book), I ran to the gift shop, bought a notebook, refilled my hot chocolate for the hundredth time and Brody started talking.  With the Men of Faith series the characters walked through the door and started talking.  Brody, Cooper, Burke, Gage and Eric brought me their stories.
 
 
Describe a perfect writing day. 
Zero distractions and a completed to do list.
 
Describe a terrible writing day. 
I can only write if I have nothing else on the schedule:  no errands, no housework, no meal prep.  If there’s something else hanging over my head, I find I can’t focus on my characters as well as I prefer to.  And I need quiet.  In fact, I think I’m the only writer I know that can’t write to music.
 
Do you ever make public appearances? Where can we meet you in person?
I love speaking to reading groups and making the occasional book store and library appearance.  Most recently I’ve spoken to a group of young (to the craft, not in age!) writers and a genealogy group interested in weaving their work into a story.  I love helping new writers get their stories on paper.
 
 
What would you like us to know about you that I didn’t ask?
I love to research the finer details of my books.  That's to say if I state the name of a gun, let's say, I know enough about that weapon to know how far it shoots, the noise or lack thereof it makes when fired, its cost...  When I wrote more contemporary, erotic romance, I felt research was key and I found I had to be in a certain frame of mind to write heavier sex scenes.  The same goes for a fight scene.  If someone makes me mad, I guarantee my characters are going to fight when I write that day.  Now that I write inspirational romance, I work hard to make the story emotional and the relationships intimate without graphic sex.  For the Men of Faith series, I've consulted various doctors for the medically technical parts, an attorney for all of the legal parts and I have a military consultant for the weapons and communications aspect.  My brother-in-law is a former NFL player so I have a football specialist on my team as well.  I'm my own car buff so the wonderful cars my characters drive are all me.  I'm not so big on outlining although as the series grows, I've needed an outline just to make sure I give proper closure to the various storylines I've introduced.  I try to write everyday and usually set a goal of about 3,000 words.  My muse and I are both Type A personalities so we're very goal oriented.  However, given I’m raising a human, I don't always make it.

To find out more about BethAnn and her current works, please visit her at her blog: bethannbuehler.blogspot.com, on Facebook: Author Bethann Buehler, or contact her via Email at babwrites@gmail.com or talking about a myriad of topics with her writing sisters at www.facebook.com/ScriptChics/
 
You can find BethAnn’s work at the following:
 
Amazon.com
AllRomanceebooks.com
BarnesandNoble.com

 
 

 

This week, I am featured in my community's weekly paper. It was very strange for me being on the other side of an interview - but also enlightening. Also featured in this issue are a couple of my coworkers and a former high school classmate. It's like old home week! Click HERE to read the story, and browse around my little town of Westfield, IN, for awhile. I'll enjoy my minor local celebrity while it lasts. Meanwhile, I'm off to choose the cover for the new Cate, which is slated to release in June barring any disasters or severe writer's block! I'll put up some excerpts soon. In the meantime, I hope you're all avoiding the winter doldrums and reading something great.

I had a revelation about myself the other day. An epiphany, if you will. I am "almost, but not quite" girl, and have been for the bulk of my life. I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a striver, but let's face it, there's a component of that as well. With the exception of hitting the (second) husband and kid jackpot, I've spent my life reaching for something I just can't touch.

One example includes my tragic attempt to wear a matchy miniskirt outfit circa 1986. I closely watched all the other girls in their zany, brightly colored minis with matching off-the-shoulder tops and leg warmers. Earnestly believing that a) I had the social stock and b) the confidence to pull off this look, I saved some babysitting money and conned my mother into driving me to Deb at Castleton mall. After much mulling, I purchased what I considered to be a super cute black and red striped number. Heart pounding, I wore it, complete with red leg warmers and Keds, to school the next day. All day long, I endured snickers, boys flipping up the back of the skirt, and I felt like a complete moron. I was NOT kicky miniskirt ensemble girl. I would NEVER be kicky miniskirt ensemble girl, no matter how hard I tried. I was almost that girl - but not quite. A similar experience occurred not much later, when I attempted to wear my permed hair with lace looped around it, like Madonna. I've mostly blocked that whole incident out of my mind.

Through the years, I've lived next to the fashionable address, driven serviceable, but not fancy, cars, and almost (but not quite) replicated delicious recipes for parties. I've hung on the fringes of friend groups, tried to make a business take off, and scored supporting roles in plays (but never the lead). I work out all the time, eat sorta well, but can't manage to get the body I want. I almost get enough sleep, but not enough that I'm not constantly exhausted.

What makes a person be an almost, but not quite, sort? I've pondered this for awhile now. What is it about me that I can't get on the leaderboard at Orangetheory Fitness EVER, no matter how hard I try? That I'm always finishing near the end of a running race, no matter how fast my Hobbit legs carry me? That I always get offered the part of the quirky best friend instead of a leading lady? That I get sooooooooooooooooo close, but the promotion goes to someone else? I know this sounds like a big whine, but hey - I'm 45 years old. There's honestly not a lot of time left for me to become an international superstar. Does it have to do with confidence? An underlying laziness? Goals larger than my actual capabilities? Can I change it? What do I have to do? PLEASE help if you can.

It's a bitterly cold (meaning below 70 degrees) day, worthy of relaxing and reading a great book. I am making a list of the best books ever for your reading pleasure. These are the books that are definitely at the top of my consciousness, as they always leave one satisfied and a little sleepy.

1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
2. The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah
3. I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
4. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
5. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin
6. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
9. Middlemarch by George Eliot
10. Anything written by Louisa May Alcott
11. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
12. The Children of Violence series by Doris Lessing
13. Ulysses by James Joyce
14. Windchill Summer by Norris Church Mailer
15. The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway
16. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
17. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
18. Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
19. For fun - anything by Meg Cabot
20. The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
21. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
22. Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
23. The Idiot Girls Action-Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro
24. In God we Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd
25. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
26. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
27. Anything written by Elin Hilderbrand
28. A Girl Called Zippy by Haven Kimmel
29. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
30. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

There are, of course, more out there. Please feel free to add your faves in the comments!