BAT CRAZY - Carole Brown - One Free BookCaro

Bio: Brown not only has her award winning (Winner of the 2015 Christian Small Publisher Award in General Fiction, nominated for an Epic Award, RWA International Digital Awards finalist in Inspiration, Laurel Award finalist, Selah finalist; Genesis semi-finalist) debut novel, The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman, available for purchase now, but a companion book called West Virginia Scrapbook: From the Life of Caralynne Hayman, filled with tidbits of information about West Virginia.

A fun, lighthearted mystery series began with the first book: Hog Insane, introducing Denton and Alex Davies. Her WWII romantic suspense Spies series began with With Music In Their Hearts, began featuring three red-headed sisters, three spies, and three stories.

Besides being a member and active participant of many writing groups, Carole Brown enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?     

Welcome back, Carole. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I’m hoping to increase the volume of books I’m putting out. I’m not a fast writer, but I not only have a few almost “ready-to-go” books, but several are being researched and I’m preparing to begin the process of actually writing them. Some of these are stand alones which will fill in gaps between series and others are new series I’m hoping to begin.

On a different note, I want to study and develop a more strategic marketing plan. I’ve worked hard, but believe I can take what I’ve learned, and continue to learn, and hopefully create an even better plan.

Tell us a little about your family.

Oh, my, Lena. You don’t know how dangerous that is! Lol. Especially as I adore my grandsons!

My hubby and I have two sons, one daughter-in-law and one wanna-be daughter-in-law (lol), three adorable (we won’t talk about how ornery they are!) grandsons. Our grandsons are twelve, ten, and three.

We enjoy being with them as much as possible, whether at-home activities or traveling/vacationing together. We regularly ask them to visit overnight and try to see them every week.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Writing takes a lot of time. Add to that marketing, research and all the other things that go along with a writer’s life, and you learn quite quickly that you must be more selective in your reading habits. I love being able to endorse and review books for others and tend to lean toward those authors who’ve been so supportive of my own writing endeavors. I also love to encourage new authors by helping out as able. BUT reading for enjoyment and relaxation is important too! Saves sanity and a writer’s emotional life. J

What are you working on right now?

I’m really excited about the release of Bat Crazy! I struggled for several months with it—problems with the plot, brain freeze, life in general—but when everything began to come together, the words flew onto page! J

I’m releasing in November or early, early December a very light suspense.

The next few months I’ll be finishing the second book in my WWII Spies suspense series about 3 red-headed sisters.

Working on book 3 in my Denton and Alex Davies mystery series

And then I want to intensify my research on a couple of stand alones. I’m super antsy to get started on these!

What outside interests do you have?

Besides traveling and ministry, we also enjoy a bit of gardening—mine tends toward flower gardens and pools and hubby works mostly with our small vegetable garden. I want to create a few more miniature gardens, love scrap booking (fairly new interest), reading, dinners out, collecting music boxes (unique, old, or unusual), collecting quotes, and occasionally, elephants. 

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Once I know how my novel will be going, I study different settings. I think it’s super important to pick the right one so research on terrain, geography, wildlife, population, attitudes (sometimes) lingo, etc. are vital to a story’s strength and reality.

Like many authors, I can’t always visit every setting I’ll probably be choosing, but I do tend to pick out locales that we have visited in our travels. It kind of gives me a “feel” for the setting.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

If not a Biblical person, then no doubt, I’d choose someone from the WWII era. Perhaps a general, president, or even someone who had a hand in the way the war was won. It’s such an interesting period that just about anyone who served in the war is interesting to me.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

Hmmm. Not sure. Perhaps the reality of being a writer: the determination and persistence a writer needs to keep at the job and not quit or let discouragement stop their efforts, and the ability to market, to study the market and keep track of what works and what doesn’t.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

This has been a really hard year for me. With five deaths in as many months, and two of them very distressing, plus other “events” that was hard, I believe the Lord helped me to trust him more fully, to realize that he truly is the one who loves us deeper than any human can. I feel my faith is stronger than ever even though I realize trials and hard places will come again.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

Find out what God wants for your writing life and stick to that plan no matter what others or even yourself thinks it should be. That’s the only way to be successful and happy.

Write, write and write, then market. Learn from others, but also experiment and find what works for you and your books.

Never, never quit.

Tell us about the featured book.

Monster Bats with red eyes that attack humans? Denton doesn’t think so and Alex hopes not, but who are they to quibble with the local gossip?

Transmission problems and a blown tire land Denton and Alex Davies right in the middle of a dilapidated, unfriendly town that’s welcoming no strangers, least of all nosy ones with a bent toward solving mysteries.

But with support from the town detective—an admirer of the Davies—and their own tenacious personalities, Denton and Alex aren’t easily scared off. Not when warnings in the form of painted bats show up on the porch of their rented cabin, not when the mayor threatens to run them out of town and not even when Denton finds the cache of bones ...

An ancient story, a bit of a map, a lost jewel, and even a bat clan serve to provide the Davies and their sidekick, Taffy, the dog, their hardest case so far.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Taffy’s whine caught my attention but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

The explosion rocked our RV and sent it into a swerve-and-weave dance that had my heart pounding like an African drum. By the time I had us pulled over to the side of the road, sweat beaded my forehead and my hands shook as if I’d suddenly developed an extreme case of nerves.

The semi that flew past us rocked us again.

A soft sigh escaped Alex’s lips, and I glanced over at my wife to make sure she was okay.

“What on earth happened, Denton?” she asked, face white, her voice trembling,

I swung open my door. “Let’s find out.”

Turned out, we had a flat. I marched to the back of the RV and opened the compartment.

No tire. Not jack. “Why aren’t they here?”

“Doesn’t Max check this stuff?”

Alex’s tense question put me on alert. After effects of what could have been a serious accident. Fortunately, God in his heaven must have been looking out for us today.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaroleBrown.author

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/browncarole212

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sunnywrtr/boards/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5237997-carole-brown

Stitches in Time:  http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/

Barn Door Book Loft: http://www.barndoorbookloft.net/

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

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