Welcome, Zoe. Tell us
how much of yourself you write into your characters.
Especially with Calculated Risk, I wrote a lot of
myself into Cisney, a marketing rep, and into Nick, the analytical actuary.
(Actuaries evaluate financial risks for insurance companies.) I’m a retired
actuary. Two popular personality tests confirmed I’m creative and expressive on
one hand and analytical and introverted on the other. So it was easy to get into
the heads of expressive, vibrant Cisney and analytical, numbers-man Nick. My analytical
husband, also a retired actuary, was good model for Nick.
The tests have shown
that I am equally strong in both sides of my brain as well. What is the
quirkiest thing you have ever done?
When I was twenty, I accepted a ride in a taxi with a drunk
American stranger in his fifties in Bangkok ,
Thailand . That
was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. When I was ten, my sister, two friends,
and I walked on ice to the middle of a lake and all fell through. That was plain
dumb. But quirky? Well, at a come-as-your-character dinner, I dressed up like
Cisney with yellow stickies plastered all over my suit and hair. Attendees
didn’t remember my name, but the next day, they said, “You’re the one who had
adhesive notes stuck to her outfit.” So, the quirky part is, I’m going to wear
my Cisney costume to my upcoming book signing and to my launch party.
When did you first
discover that you were a writer?
Others have said if you write anything, even journals,
you’re a writer. I didn’t start calling myself a writer until I wrote
contemporary Christian short stories to explain to myself what I read in the
Bible and heard in Bible studies. People liked the stories, so I self-published
two books of them. Then I performed dramatic readings of the stories in several
venues, including a male juvenile correctional center. I felt guilty calling
myself a writer at that time. But now, I believe if one spends time writing on
a regular basis, he’s a writer. That doesn’t mean he’s a good writer.
Tell us the range of
the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
I especially enjoy witty romances with sassy or droll
heroines. Much to my husband’s chagrin at bedtime, I laugh through Jenny B.
Jones’s adult and young adult books. Reading her books gave me permission to
use my dormant writer’s voice. Check out her Just Between You and Me, So Not Happening (YA), and In Between (YA). I also loved the
heroine in Talking to the Dead by
Bonnie Grove. In addition to romances, I like suspense, legal thrillers, and
historical fiction. On the non-fiction side, I read biographies and books
classified as Christian living or spiritual growth.
How do you keep your
sanity in our run, run, run world?
I spend considerable time in the early morning praising,
praying, reading devotionals, and studying the Bible. And I’m blessed to have a
husband who loves me, supports me while I treat writing like a 9 to 6 job, and
does all the laundry, grocery shopping, and vacuuming. I won’t say I’m calm and
serene. (I grind my teeth while I sleep.) But my life is full and good.
My husband is like
yours. We truly are blessed. How do you choose your characters’ names?
Cisney is my deceased maternal grandmother’s middle name. I
liked it. For Nick, I looked for an unusual last name. Finally, I asked my
husband what was the least common surname of someone he knew from his past.
LeCrone. The name fit Nick.
What is the
accomplishment that you are most proud of?
My college freshman math teacher assigned a “marbles”
problem. My three roommates worked on it for an hour and gave up. I worked on
it all afternoon and evening. Well after midnight, I climbed into my top bunk.
But the problem wouldn’t go away. I had my hands in the air, using my fingers for
marbles. Then the solution hit me. The answer wasn’t one case but a set of
cases. On the floor outside our room, I scribbled like crazy, writing out cases.
Someone approached and asked me a question. I’d been in “marble world” so long
I couldn’t compute what she said. The next day the professor asked smugly if
any of us got the answer. Two of us out of fifty had. I shot my hand up so forcefully,
the professor chose me to put it on the board. After I started writing the second
of multiple cases, he smiled and nodded. So exhilarating.
If you were an
animal, which one would you be, and why?
A puma. I startle very easily. Two kinds of people cause me
to jump: quiet people who are suddenly there and loud people who come in
talking. One Christmas, I gave everyone in the office rattles to wear so they
wouldn’t scare me. At another company, the chief actuary started rapping on my
outer office wall for ten feet so he wouldn’t scare me when he reached the
door. So, if I were a stealthy puma, I could startle others for a change.
What is your favorite
food?
Potpourri. I like to bring all kinds of foods from the
pantry that are in bits and put a little of each on a plate. For example, one
meal might be: Froot Loops, Craisins, peanuts, and dark-chocolate-covered
pomegranate nuggets. Another might be: small chunks of ham, cherries, chips,
and almonds.
What is the problem
with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
Characterization. For a while, I’d been adding traits to
people like I was dressing and accessorizing paper dolls. In my first four
“practice” books, I avoided letting my hero and heroine have family near them. To
me, creating parents and siblings was too much painstaking work. Then during a
couple of short stories I wrote, I found my voice. I felt free to just let the
characters be who they are. I loved writing all the members in Nick’s family.
Their quirks surfaced so easily. For me, it’s easier to model characters using
bits from several people I know. Cisney’s mother was the hardest to write
because she’s somewhat like my deceased mother.
Tell us about the
featured book.
I decided to use the little known actuarial profession for
my hero. I like romances about extreme opposites, so I knew Cisney had to be a social
marketing rep. I maintain that opposites distract before they attract. This’s
true for Cisney and Nick. In the throes of being dumped by her overbearing
father’s choice, Cisney has rashly accepted Nick’s invitation to spend
Thanksgiving with his family. After Nick witnessed the dump-Cisney call, he extended
the invitation only because he felt sorry for her. Now she’d rather be skiing with
her single marketing friends in Colorado
than spending four days with a house infested with actuaries. And so the fun
begins.
Please give us the
first page of the book.
In search of the yellow sticky with her ideas for today’s
meeting, Cisney Baldwin sifted through papers on her desk. She had a choice:
honor her rash commitment to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Nick LeCrone
and his family, or lie and join her friends on the Colorado ski slopes.
Biting cold air and exhilarating speed might keep her mind
off slime-ball Jason. And, she’d need her Richmond
friends nearby to nurse her self-esteem after she told Daddy she’d lost his
pick for her future.
She planted fists on her hips and stared at the papers
sprinkled with yellow stickies that covered her workspace. Minutes before her
meetings with Nick, she could never put her fingers on her notes. Why did this
always happen?
How was she going to face him today, after he’d stood in her
office doorway last week and watched her disintegrate during Jason’s dump-Cisney
phone call? If only she’d stopped there, but no, she hung up and blubbered
about the end of her six-month relationship and having nowhere to go for
Thanksgiving.
She splayed her arms over her paper-covered desk and knocked
her head on the piles. This was all Jason’s fault. Jason needed space? Right.
What he needed was freedom to date that woman with a waist the size of his
muscular neck.
“Hi.”
Way to leave us
hanging, Zoe. How can readers find you on the Internet?
http://zoemmccarthy.comThank you, Zoe, for sharing your new book with us and giving us a peek into your life.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Calculated Risk - Christianbook.com
Calculated Risk - Amazon
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
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25 comments:
Lena, thank you for the wonderful interview with Zoe! Calculated Risk sounds like a fun book indeed. I'm looking forward to reading it. :)
Caryl in TEXAS
psalm103and138[at]gmail[dot]com
Hi Caryl, I hope you have as much fun reading Calculated Risk as I did writing it.
Linda, You're not the Linda Kish from my last church are you?
You hooked me, girl. I've been waiting for this one. I forgot to say I'm from Nebraska, just in case you forgot.
Congrats on your release, Zoe!! Wishing you many devoted readers!
Sue :)
LoRee, when we lived 3 years in Kansas, we visited Nebraska several times. Thanks for the encouragement. So nice to hear you were waiting for Calculated Risk. Music to my heart.
Hey Susan, thanks for your wish. I want to be devoted to my readers too.
Sounds like a funny book. I'd love to win a copy!
J.C. -Indiana-
Love all the sticky notes on the cover... Dee from NE
dkstevensne AT outlook DOTCom
Thanks J.C. and Deanna. Cisney and I love sticky notes on anything. Thank goodness for COSTCO, which sells them in bulk!
What a fun story. Well done!
janalynvoigt at gmail dot com
A novel with an actuary in it! Sounds great. Sheila in Oregon sheiladeeth at gmail dot com
This sounds like a fun book, thank you for the chance to win griperang at embarqmail dot com
Thanks, Janalyn, Sheila, and Angela. Yes, Angela, a book with an actuary. I had to show even analytical actuaries have red blood and romantic feelings. :0)
Enter me for the book copy!!
Conway, SC.
Tweeted and shared in a Facebook group! Congrats, Zoe.
I'd love to win your book.
susanjreinhardt AT gmail DOT com
By your definition, I am a writer, but I would never consider myself one. I had a couple of small things published in the 1970s, but never went any further with it. I did become an accountant, though, which is about as close to an actuary as you can get! lisajcowell(at)cs(dot)com in Ohio
Susan, Thank you for sharing Calculated Risk on your networks. I appreciate that.
Lisa, I've worked with lots of accountants in my actuarial career. We actuaries looked to you accountants to record the truth of what was happening and you accountants looked to us to help explain why it happened. We teamed up a lot.
As far as writing, I hope that if it remains a passion in your heart you will free it. Blessings on your work and God-given passions, Lisa.
I love reading stories about characters with professions that you don't hear about in romances. This sounds like a great read! Thanks for the giveaway.
Loraine from TX
Loraine, I like your adventurous nature. I think Nick is a fairly typical actuary.
I love it! This book sounds very unique. I've never read a novel about an actuary.
Tonja (Virginia)
"Calculated Risk" sounds like a hoot! Can't wait to read it! Thank you for the interview, the giveaway and the chance to win!
Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving!
Kelly Y in central VA
Tonja, I wasn't sure how readers would accept an actuary as a hero. But I fell in love with him, even if he is private, introverted, and hates to be wrong. He was perfect for expressive Cisney.
Kelly, I don't know if all readers will think it's a hoot, but I confess these characters had me laughing out loud.
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