Friday, November 29, 2013

The Wedding Date: Spotlight and Author Interview



Tell me about yourself, and your writing.
I’ll be glad to. Thanks for inviting me!

I’ve been an avid reader since I was a child, and I always knew in the back of my mind that someday I’d be a writer too. After college, I made a few false starts on writing a novel, but I just wasn’t ready. So I went to law school and I’ve had a great, successful career as an attorney.

Then one day, without forethought or planning, I picked up a pen and started writing. A week later I bought a laptop. Next thing I knew I was staying up till three in the morning, writing, writing, just wanting to know what was going to happen next. It was the most fun I’d ever had, and when I finally finished my opus, I started getting serious about the business of writing.

More manuscripts followed. I joined RWA, finaled in, then won, the Golden Heart, landed an agent and eventually a publishing contract with Avon. And here I am, a debut author!

How long have you been writing? How many published books do you have, and what genres?
I’ve been writing for ten years. THE WEDDING FAVOR, which goes on sale December 31, is the first book I sold. But THE WEDDING DATE ended up being my debut, simply because the production schedule is so much shorter for an e-novella.

Do you write in multiple genres or just one? If just one, do you ever consider straying outside your genre?
My first manuscript was a western historical that I still love and plan to revise (drastically) some day. For now, though, I’m happy writing contemporaries.

Are you a plotter or do you write from the seat of your pants?
Now that I have deadlines, I’m a semi-reformed pantser. Too much plotting and I lose interest; too little and I get into deadline trouble. I’m still finding the right balance.

What is a typical writing day like for you?
Three hours in the morning, lunch, walk my dog Bella two or three miles, three hours in the afternoon, dinner with my husband, two hours in the evening.

Who do you love to read? Favorite authors, favorite books?
Diana Gabaldon, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, JD Robb, Patrick O’Brian, Bernard Cornwell
Outlander, The Hunger Games trilogy, Gone with the Wind

What is something you'd like to accomplish in your writing career next year?
In 2014 I’ll be writing the next two books in the Save the Date series and pitching a new contemporary series – TBA!

If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be?
Time travel


If you could keep a mythical/ paranormal creature as a pet, what would you have?
Sapphira from Eragon

Tell us a little about your latest release.
My novella THE WEDDING DATE introduces my Save the Date series. It’s about Julie Marone, a realtor with a gift for matching couples with their dream houses. She even had one picked out for herself, until she lost her fiancé to cancer before they could move in. She’s had a grudge against doctors ever since, so when Cody Brown, ER doc, erstwhile bronc rider and all around hottie, asks her to find him a condo, she tries to send him packing. But he’s persistent, and with the help of Julie’s matchmaking sister Amelia, he angles to be Julie's date for Amelia's Christmas Eve wedding.

What is something that you absolutely can't live without? (Other than family members)
Toast: Italian bread, lots of butter. I eat it every day.

Could you ever co author a book with someone? If so, who would you choose, and what would you write?
I’m too much of a control freak for that!

What are some of your other hobbies outside of writing?
Painting, walking, groupie for my husband’s band

What is something you've always wanted to do, but haven't done yet. Why not?
Someday I’ll go up in a hot air balloon, but I haven’t gotten up the nerve yet.

If you were on the staff to have a book adapted to movie, what would you pick?
Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

What is a talent you wish you had, but don't?
Piano playing

Favorite color?
The gray/green of my husband’s eyes. Corny but true!

Weather: Hot or cold?
Neither. Give me spring or fall!

Favorite place to read?
On my swing in the summer, by the fire in the winter

Favorite meal
Pasta, with my own sauce and meatballs

Favorite non-alcoholic drink.
Coffee!

If you could travel anywhere and do anything, no limits or money holding you back, where would you go?
I’d be a bridge officer on the Enterprise, exploring strange new worlds

Thanks for having me – this was fun!
The Wedding Date
A Save the Date Novella
By: Cara Connelly
Releasing November 19th, 2013

Blurb

Julie Marone isn’t your ordinary matchmaker. Instead of setting up singles, she matches already-happy couples with their dream homes. It’s her calling. Her gift. And since she lost the other half of her own happy couple, it’s become her passion.
Cody Brown isn’t your ordinary cowboy. Instead of roping runaway steers, he wrangles sick kids and strung-out junkies as an ER doc. It’s his job. His responsibility. And since his brother lost his wife to a drunk driver, it’s his mission.
When Cody moves from Austin to Boston, he wants Julie to find him a condo, and fast. But she’s got issues with that. Because not only is Cody single, he’s a doctor to boot, and ever since her fiancé died, she’s got a major grudge against doctors.
Cody charms her into breaking her “couples-only” rule, but when he angles to be her date for her sister’s Christmas Eve wedding, he finds out Julie’s “no-doctor” rule is unbending. Still, he’s not quitting, because as hard as Julie fights it, there’s heat between them. If Cody has his way, they’ll be a couple by Christmas, and the next dream house Julie finds will be their own.



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Author Info
Cara Connelly is an award-winning author of contemporary romances. Her smart and sexy stories have won high praise, earning Cara several awards including the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart, the Valley Forge Romance Writers’ Sheila, and the Music City Romance Writers’ Melody of Love. Cara lives in rural upstate New York with her handsome husband Billy and magical rescue dog Bella. Cara is proudly represented by Jill Marsal of the Marsal/Lyon Literary Agency.
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