Dear Readers, I have
loved reading Debra Clopton novels since I first found her years ago. She’s also a Texas
gal and she sets her novels in Texas
BIO: Debra
Clopton is a multi-award winning novelist and has written more than 22 novels.
Along with writing, Debra helps her husband teach the youth at their local Cowboy Church
Welcome, Debra. Tell
us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
There is a little of me in all of my books. I don’t know how
there couldn’t be. I’ve felt the pain of loss and the aftermath of grief. I’ve
also felt joy and peace and love. I can’t help but draw upon those emotions and
use them in my work. I feel that drawing on those true emotions makes the
stories richer, deeper, and able to touch reader’s hearts in a more personal
way.
What is the quirkiest
thing you have ever done?
Hmm, goodness, I’m not sure what would classify but I’ll go
with this: I’m really, really scared of driving in the mountains because I have
a horrible fear of heights—though I push myself, like when I made myself go to
the top of the Empire State building and had to stay up against the wall because
I couldn’t walk over to the edge, but I was up there and that made me happy. So
anyway, I went to a writing convention in Reno
and decided to stay a few days after the conference and go see Lake Tahoe . I asked the older man at the rental car place
for the safest directions. He must have misunderstood me, and he sent me the SCENIC
route, which was over the tallest mountain! By the time I realized I was on the
way up a very steep two-lane road over the mountain, I couldn’t turn around. I
drove extremely slow, backed up traffic and wanted to turn around so badly but
that would have meant I would have been on the outside lane and that was just
something I couldn’t force myself to do.
So I stayed against the mountain, stopped at every passing
cutout to let the irate travelers behind me pass, and I eventually made it over
the top and was blessed with the most amazing and beautiful view looking down
over Lake Tahoe. I loved it and was so thankful that the drive down to the lake
on that side was much flatter and less curvy than coming up. It just goes to
show that sometimes if we push ourselves we are rewarded with something
fantastic. I don’t want to do that drive again, but I’m glad it happened. That
was the year my first book came out, and it was a kind of celebration road trip.
When did you first
discover that you were a writer?
I started thinking about it the end of my senior year in
high school when my English teacher told me I needed to be a writer. That set a
desire in me but not a belief. Over 10 years later after starting a few books
and stopping, I woke up one morning and started writing and never stopped.
Tell us the range of
the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
I read to relax. I read how-to books on writing but when it
comes to what I really read, I love romance. I love happy endings and the best
way to make me stop reading you is to mess up the ending. We all deal with real
life every day. When I open a book I want a happy ending and that’s that!
How do you keep your
sanity in our run, run, run world?
Oh who said I have kept my sanity? Lol, I lost that a long
time ago … but to keep myself on track I make a list, and I prioritize, and I
am very disciplined.
How do you choose
your characters’ names?
I love this part! You may find this funny … I sit and stare
at my computer screen and then I type a first name and I stare at it. (Okay,
seriously this is it). Then I type another one and toss it around for a minute
and wait for inspiration. When the right name comes on the screen I just know
it. Sometimes I hear them speaking to me or I see their face. It doesn’t usually take long. Very seldom
have I had to change a name.
In Counting On a
Cowboy, Tru’s brother Bo started out with another name, and it was a little
too different so the editors asked me to change it. That was so hard to do. I
asked readers on my FB to help with that and we ended up with Bo, but I still
had to go through the process all over again. Bo had the same feel as the other
name so it worked. They asked me to change Tru also because of good reasons,
editing Tru and true can be a little hard but there was just no way I could
change his name. Tru Monahan’s name chose him and came to me from the moment I
started writing Four of Hearts Romance Series. So we just worked around editing
issues, and I believe all is well.
What is your favorite
food?
Cheesecake! Always has been and always will be. Love that
manna from heaven!
What is the problem
with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
Well, I’d say it was characterization. I kept not digging
deep enough into my characters and who they were. When I sat down to write The Trouble with Lacy Brown, my first
published novel, I had two goals in mind: to write a memorable, entertaining
story and to create a world and a main character that no one would call
cardboard! (I hate that term lol) Lacy Brown became as real to me as it gets
and so has the whole world of Mule Hollow. 22 books in that series and I
believe I’ve succeeded in my goals. With this new series I’m loving the
reviews! RT Magazine, Publishers Weekly and the Library Journal so far have all pointed
to my characters in some lovely way … that pleases me. I wanted Wishing Springs
and my cast of characters to be fun and real. And like my Mule Hollow
characters have become to readers through the years, I wanted Wishing Springs
and the Four of Hearts Romance group to become a place and group readers want
to return to. Hopefully I’ve succeeded.
Oh, I’m sure you did.
Tell us about the featured book.
Advice columnist
Maggie Hope will do anything to help her friend, top Houston TV show host who
helped Maggie when she had nothing and no one. Maggie will even interview
champion horse trainer Tru Monahan on live TV! Not the spotlight kind of gal
her nerves are already quaking when she meets the good-looking cowboy for the
interview. Sparks
fly both on-and-off camera and a casual bet that Tru can teach Maggie to ride a
cutting horse has both of them being forced by outside sources to go through
with the bet … and the story goes on from there. This story is filled with a
town of loving, but nosey, goodhearted people who I hope readers will love.
There is a subplot that will tug at heartstrings with the runaway and her baby.
And also the budding romance of the older couple in town adds another layer to
the small town, feel that I wanted this book to have. Oh, and of course there
are the cowboys…
Please give us the
first page of the book for my readers.
“What have you gotten me into, Amanda Jones?”
Staring at the rough-looking building, Maggie Hope clutched
her cell phone to her ear and fought down a hot flood of panic. “The sign says
The Bull Barn. What is this place?” she gritted through tense jaws.
Rustic was an understatement for the faded wooden building
sitting on the outskirts of Wishing
Springs , Texas
“Calm down, Mags,” Amanda croaked, the flu causing her to
sound like an eighty-year-old smoker, instead of the intimidatingly elegant,
thirty-five-year-old bombshell, who was the key ingredient of the most popular
morning show on Houston’s local channel. She coughed. “It may look a little
rough, but it’s the cowboy and local folks’ hangout.”
“But—it’s deserted. Lonesome. If it’s a hangout, where is
everyone?” It didn’t look like a place anyone would want to hang out in.
Especially Maggie. Dives brought back memories she worked hard to forget.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
My website is http://debraclopton.com
sign up for my newsletter! Monthly
giveaway and news of new releases coming in 2015
Facebook: http://facebook.com/debra.clopton.5
Twitter: @debraclopton, http://twitter.com/debraclopton
Purchase Links for Betting on Hope:
Christian Book: http://www.christianbook.com/betting-hope-four-hearts-ranch-romance/debra-clopton/9781401690496/pd/690496?event=ESRCG
Thank you, Debra, for sharing this first book of the new series with us. I know my readers will love it.
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