Welcome back, Carol. Why
do you write the kind of books you do?
I love words and the images they create. I love the sound of
language. Even as a teen, I’d answer test essays so that their cadences sounded
pleasant to me. The flow of language was as important as a correct answer.
Romance and problems of everyday life intrigue me, too. With
these two elements, I gravitate to women’s fiction—both to read and to write.
Besides when you came
to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?
To pick the happiest is impossible. The day I knew I had
conceived tops the list, as does the day I held my daughter in my arms. Then
again, grandchildren are the sweet revenge grandparents have on their children,
and recently we had an unexpected bundle of energy born to us. Marrying my
husband tops the list.
God’s blessed me in so many ways, it’s impossible to pick
one day.
How has being
published changed your life?
It’s made me busier, and sadly, it seems I write less of
what I love because promotion becomes an issue. I spend more time on publicity
and blog writing than on dreaming.
However, published or not, I’ve loved the connection with
fellow writers. I belong to two great crit groups. Conferences become class
reunions as I meet all my cyber-writing friends. This writing world has
broadened my base of friendships.
What are you reading
right now?
I just finished Girl
on the Train. It was a wonderful book that kept me guessing until the very
last moment. The book on my bedside table now is Long for the Bomb: Oak
Ridge and Atomic Nostalgia.
My reading tastes are eclectic. We moved close to Oak Ridge , and the
history of my locales fascinate me.
What is your current
work in progress?
In Her Defense is
the working title. It’s a clash between a public defender and a district
attorney and their families and clients. It is women’s fiction, but this one
has a heavy dose of romance, as my first novel DWF: Divorced White Female did. In In Her Defense, the wayward daughter of the DA causes an accident
that confines the mother of Birdie Swanson—the protagonist—to her daughter’s
home. As a public defender, Birdie has to find a way to care for a mother who
can’t return to her Minnesota
home. On top of this, Birdie must deal with oddball clients, deal with the DA,
and stay sane.
It’s a humorous novel influenced by my dear friend and
public defender, Claire Knittel who is guiding me through the public defender
process.
Because of this book, I got to watch a murder tried in my
former hometown of Malone , NY . Unfortunately, Claire lost the case.
However, my DA friend won. So for me—win-win.
What would be your
dream vacation?
A safari with a side trip to the cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast .
I’d love to see the big animals of Africa and experience the culture of the Ivory Coast
where my newest release, Waters of Separation, is set for
half the story.
How do you choose
your settings for each book?
It’s a pretty organic process. For DWF: Divorced White Female, my debut novel, I kept the setting in
my hometown. I figured if Jodie Piccoult can set hers in New
Hampshire , or Lisa Scottaline in Philadelphia because these authors live
there, then so could I. After all, someday I’ll be as well-known as Lisa Scottaline.
In Waters of Separation, I had to
choose Africa for half of it because it deals
with child labor in the cacao sector. We get most of our chocolate from the Ivory Coast .
The American portions of the book were set where I grew up on Long Island because
of the State Hospital
and the currents off the Nissequogue
River , both elements
essential to the plot.
My last book, unpublished, is in a Rensselaerville, NY
knock-off because I love that area of New
York , and I needed a rural setting to make the plot
work.
If you could spend an
evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?
Does it have to be one person? If not, my former church
mates from Lifeway Community Church
in Northern New York . We moved to Tennessee at the
beginning of June, and I desperately miss them. These folks supported my
writing, my move, and my life. Together we celebrated Super Bowls and the
Fourth of July and picnics after church. We shared Christmases and Easter and
communion. And they all bought my first book!
What are your
hobbies, besides writing and reading?
With this question and me—this blog could be very long.
Currently, I’m obsessed with stained glass making. I scrapbook, as well. I play
the bassoon, garden, run, and kayak. And my secret passion: watching American
Ninja Warriors.
What is your most
difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?
Currently, that obstacle is summer. No matter how determined
I get, summer comes, and I can’t write a word. If you read the answers to #9,
you can see that a lot of what I love is summer oriented. Plus, I’ve always
lived a distance from my family, so it’s a time of family visits.
I can’t really overcome it. People would be angry with me if
I outlawed summer. I end up overcoming by writing extra over the winter.
What advice would you
give to a beginning author?
Several things: believe the advice of good critique
partners. Some people are hyper-critical, and you’ll identify them soon enough.
Ignore those. Use overly-negative comments for thickening your skin. For the
others, take their advice, incorporate it and grow. When your book is
published, you can’t change things in it any more. And believe me, even after
57.5 revisions, you’ll still want to make changes.
The second thing is not to quit. The temptation to chuck it
and join the Benedictine monks instead will be strong. Don’t do it. Go to
conferences, connect with others. If book one doesn’t do it, put it aside and
book two or three or four may. The publishing world is replete with famous authors,
like Stephen King, who nearly quit, but the last attempt catapulted their
careers.
Tell us about the
featured book.
Africa’s secrets resurrect the despair physician assistant
Anna Haas buried in America .
Her pregnancy and the discovery of boys bound by slavery in the cacao sector of
the Côte d’Ivoire
revive her childhood guilt. Her mother’s suicide claimed the lives of the two
small sisters Anna had vowed to protect.
Her failure to save them was unforgivable.
It will not happen with these boys.
Her interference prompts a corrupt government to threaten
the thriving mission and the lives of Anna and her friends. Her action also
threatens her marriage.
However, doing nothing will destroy her.
The story weaves from past to present and across two continents
as Anna fights for love, faith, and redemption.
Please give us the
first page of the book.
...Anna Haas’s hand dropped to her own stomach, and she
shivered. Was she ready? She shelved her fear, and focused on enjoying a walk
with Essi. "Everything's perfect. Come on. I'll walk with you a little."
Anna stifled a yawn. "Then I'm catching a nap. This heat has turned my
eyelids to lead." She tugged her blouse, damp with sweat and humidity,
away from her. "Even though it's the afternoon, I'm putting on my
nightgown."
They giggled and chatted until they reached the village
crossroads. It veered off the piste Essi normally used, but today, instead of
following the narrow path, Essi planned to meet with her village friends. Anna
hugged her good-bye and leaned against a banana tree while Essi waddled toward
the village proper.
Here the village cacao farms, matted with cassava plants and
banana trees, melded with the forest. The cacao trees reminded her of the white
birch at home, the bark gray and black, the boles small enough for her to
encircle with her hands.
However, the cacao pods were the real oddities. The size of
over-ripe acorn squash, colored green or a maroonish red, flecked with brown,
they resembled rippled footballs clinging to the sides of trees. They didn't
hang, like fruit back home, off branches, hidden in the leaves, but right on
the trunks.
She wanted to linger, to savor the flawless beauty, cherish
the culmination of the lifelong dream of exploring Africa
that she and her father had shared.
Children squealed as her husband let them out of the school
for recess. Piping voices sliced through the forest, out-shrieking the monkeys.
Their voices like her sisters' had been.
Her sisters.
Lately, their memory dogged her. They had shared the dream
of Africa , too—or at least Camille had.
She pushed away the thoughts along with the strands of her
hair clinging to the sweat on her face. Her hair, caught up in a ponytail, gave
her a headache. Besides making her dizzy, the humidity must have added a pound
to her hair. She wanted to shave her head.
With her eyes heavy with fatigue, she turned toward her home
when her name rang out.
She turned, shaded her eyes against the mid-day glare.
"Madame Docteur! Aidez-nous."
She squinted down the trailhead. Ibraham? She craned her
neck, her mouth opened in concentration as he ran toward her. He carried
someone.
Kwame?
Blood like a tribal scar smeared Ibraham's face, stained his
chest and darkened his shorts—the blood already a copperish brown. Her hand
flew to her throat, and she forgot to breathe. Only a little boy. Were both
hurt? The Burkinabé teen moved too fast to be wounded. Surely all that blood
didn't come from Kwame...?
Interesting. How can
readers find you on the Internet?
On facebook: carol.d.mcclain
On twitter: @carol_mcclain
Website: www.carolmcclain/wix.com/author
On goodreads
And my books can be found on the Desert Breeze website or
the usual places books can be found online: Barnes and Noble, Amazon, etc.
Thank you, Carol, for sharing this new book with us. I never knew how cacao grew on the tree. I'm eager to read this book. I know my readers are, too.
Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Waters of SeparationLeave 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.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
13 comments:
I had no idea where the chocolate I eat comes from. I take those kind of things for granted, not wondering how it effects others.
Martha
Wisconsin
An intriguing beginning thank you.
Mary P
QLD AUSTRALIA
Thanks for sharing the first page.
Connie from KY
cps1950@gmail.com
A good beginning. kamundsen44ATyahooDOTcom. North Platte Nebraska.
Thanks, all.
And Martha, that's one of the reasons for the genesis of this book. Although it ended up not being as much about the chocolate and child labor and more about the protagonist and her issues, global economic equity and decency is a theme dear to me.
Carol, I found your comment about publicity, blogging, etc. taking you from your first love of writing to be very interesting. I love to read and enjoy discovering new Christian authors who write the kinds of books I enjoy. I also enjoy it when I win a book in a giveaway. But I find that the time I take reading blogs, newsletters, Facebook posts, etc. takes me away from reading the books I enjoy so much. I have read over 100 books already this year. I probably would have read closer to 200 if I hadn't been spending so much time reading these other things. I have often wondered where authors find time to write books when I see so many Facebook posts, blog posts, newsletters, etc. I hope to get an opportunity to read your books.
Edward A in VA
Enter me in your awesome giveaway!!
Conway, SC.
Wow, what a story! So looking forward to reading it! :-) Thanks also for the chance! Kim
I've always loved reading books on Africa! The richness of its culture is just something you wouldn't trade for. Also, we grown cacao here in the Philippines so I already know chocolate comes from trees. In fact, we have a legend on this enchanted lady who tends an entire plantation of cacao. Quite creepy though, as thousands already claim to have witnessed her giant ship. But, ah, I'd love to read this book!
Katherine
Philippines
Katherine, that legend is fascinating. My book incorporates the legend of Abla Pokou. I love the back story of cultures.
KVWriter, I do hope you get a chance to read it. Right now,it's only out in ebook. I think Amazon is having a problem with the print books. My traditional publisher uses Create Space. Of all the works I've written, this is the one closest to my heart.
Edward, I hear your complaint--believe me. And I envy your ability to read so much. I'm quite slow at reading. I do hope you enjoy Waters of Separation.
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