LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW - Camile Eide - One Free Book

Welcome, Camile. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

Novelists can’t avoid including a part of themselves in their characters, to some degree. So I like it when the characters surprise me. Elderly Scottish sisters Maggie and Grace in Like There’s No Tomorrow surprised me by taking center stage and tearing off with it. I had to do a wee bit of intervention. I’m definitely nothing like either of them. J

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Probably the quirkiest thing in recent years would be riding a stick pony around the local burger joint on a dare on my 50^th birthday while the diners all sang to me. There won’t be any repeats of that.

Well, you only have one 50^th birthday. When did you first discover that you were a writer?

Age 7. I wrote and illustrated sequels to the Peanuts comic strip in the paper.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I like well-written books with great subtle wit, heart-tugging drama, intelligence, strong romance, and a little touch of mystery. Some of my favorites blend most of these and include the work of Dale Cramer, Charles Martin, Deborah Raney, Debbie Macomber, Susan Meissner, Athol Dickson, Carla Stewart, Jenny B Jones, and many others. I am a huge fan of Jane Austen’s irony and subtle wit.    

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

I try to bite off no more than I can chew, and I’ve learned it’s okay to say, “No.” I say it often, just for practice. J

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I often look at the meaning of a name, both its actual meaning and its cultural sense to choose a name that suits the character. Emily is a sweet, old-fashioned name for a young woman who is lovely and kind. In my second book, the hero provides a loose retelling of Joseph in the Bible, a man who feeds people and cares for the fatherless, so his name, Joe Paterson, reflects that. In another book I hope to publish soon, I chose Eliza for the heroine because it seemed to fit the 1953 setting and the Golden Age of Hollywood backdrop for the story.

What accomplishment you are most proud of?

Getting the nerve to ask a cute co-worker out for a coke after work and spending the next 3 (plus) decades learning how to be a passable wife and mom in spite of past baggage and my total ignorance of what lasting, godly marriage looked like.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

Probably a monkey. They never take themselves seriously—or anything else, for that matter.

What is your favorite food?

Peanut M and Ms.

My favorite snack is dark chocolate M and Ms. I love the crunch as well as the chocolate, but I limit when I eat them. What problem with writing was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Being faced with a task far greater than my ability was both a curse and a blessing. I once got a ten-page “Memo” from my agent that meant a deep revision of an entire book. I had done the best I could and couldn’t see how I could ever make the changes she wanted. It wasn’t that I disagreed with her, I just didn’t see how I could pull it off. I spent a month staring at the manuscript. Another month whining to friends. I finally asked God to somehow do the reconstruction of this story because I just couldn’t. And that was when the ideas began to trickle in. It took realizing that anything truly worthwhile would always be beyond my ability to execute, and that I would always have to surrender and depend on God to get me there. I understand that no matter how good my skills are, I will always need God, my Source, because anything of great worth will—and ought to—be beyond my ability.

I’ve had similar rewrite letters from some of my editors. And I’ve had my time of walking through the house and complaining to God before I really prayed to Him to help me. Tell us about the featured book.

Scottish widower Ian MacLean is plagued by a mischievous grannie, bitter regrets, and an ache for something he’ll never have again. His only hope for freedom is to bring his grannie's sister home from America. But first, he'll have to convince her lovely companion, Emily, to let her go.

Emily Chapman devotes herself to foster youth and her beloved Aunt Grace. Caring for others quiets a secret fear she holds close to her heart. But when Ian appears, wanting to whisk Grace off to Scotland, everything Emily needs to protect—including her heart—is at risk.

Like There’s No Tomorrow is an amusing yet heart-tugging love story about two kind, single caretakers, two quirky, old Scottish sisters bent on reuniting, and too many agendas. It’s a tale of family, fiery furnaces, faith, and the gift of each new day.

Sounds wonderful. What a timely book, what with the Scottish vote yesterday in the news. Please give us the first page of the book.

Glasgow, Scotland

Ian MacLean had spent the last two years feeding chickens, hiding the kitchen knives from his mule-headed grannie, and questioning his sanity.

But if his luck held out, all that was about to change.

Feeling lighter than he had in months, Ian crossed the street, climbed into the old farm truck, and looked back at the row of flats he’d just left. Beyond the building and to the west, the lights of Glasgow cast a golden glow against the night sky.

Ian slipped the key into the ignition, but hesitated, studying the windows of his sister’s flat. When had he last felt so free?

His talk with his absentee brother-in-law had succeeded. Davy had not only come home, but he was home to stay. He’d given Ian his word. Ian could still see the look on his sister’s face when her husband walked in the door. Claire’s stunned silence proved that she could actually hold her tongue when she fancied.

Ian started the truck and smiled. All in a day’s work.

Aye, he’d helped Claire’s family, which had lifted a huge weight from his shoulders. Not that Claire or her kids were a burden. Ian loved his nieces and nephews as if they were his own, and as long as he drew breath, they would never go hungry. But more than food, those kids needed security and stability. They needed their da.

And now, Davy was home.

Ian tapped the pedal to bring the truck’s idle down to a low grumble. Only one obstacle to his freedom remained: Maggie MacLean. But if his luck held out and if all went as planned, he would soon be free of his daft grannie and her mind-numbing nonsense. Free to explore a world of possibilities. Free to write that series of feature articles that would take him to remarkable, far-away places.

But then, any dull place would do—as long as it took him away from Kirkhaven.

Ian glanced at the envelope tucked in the cracked visor above him. Mailing the latest letter to Aunt Grace was all he had left to do. The sooner it arrived in Oregon, the sooner his great-aunt could move back home to Scotland and take charge of her errant sister, Maggie.

And the sooner Ian could get on with his life, shackle-free.

I can hardly wait to read this story. How can readers find you on the Internet?

• Website: www.CamilleEide.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Camille.Eide
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CamilleEide (@CamilleEide)
• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/camilleeide/like-theres-no-tomorrow-a-novel/
• Along The Banks – www.camilleeide.wordpress.com
• Extreme Keyboarding – www.camilleeide.blogspot.com

Thank you, Camile, for sharing this new book with us.

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Like There's No Tomorrow

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