Why do you write the kind of books you do?
It’s no great secret that my mom (Cathy Marie Hake) also
writes Inspirational Historical Romance. Most people assume that’s the reason I
write what I do—and let’s face it; I was raised to love the Lord, history, and
books. It’s only natural to combine them, and I started doing so early on. After
reading a short story I wrote about a young woman on a voyage to the Americas, my
fourth grade teacher, Miss Mary Meek, was the first person to tell me I should
write!
Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest
day in your life?
I’d always been nearsighted and worn coke-bottle glasses for
everything except reading, but by my early twenties I was two degrees away from
legal blindness. I had a powerful fear of anything happening to my eyes, but I
prayed and gathered every ounce of courage to undergo LASIK surgery. The day of
the surgery, I went home with bandages on my eyes. The second day things were a
little blurry and I was light sensitive. By day three… I could see! That clarity and freedom is a
continual blessing J
How has being published changed your life?
Since I began early, when I was in high school, I don’t know
that it changed my life so much as shaped it!
What are you reading right now?
Reader’s Digest: How
to Do Just About Anything
I love this book! Over 400 pages, it’s like an instruction
manual for basics on a wide range of skills, from butchering to building,
gardening to baking, old tips and tricks for almost every topic. Just leafing
through gives me ideas.
What would be your dream vacation?
A castle tour through Ireland
and Scotland
How do you choose your settings for each book?
Since my books are historicals, the time and place are
always vital elements. Sometimes the setting itself and/or an historic event is
the impetus behind the story. Sometimes the story is more character driven, but
requires certain criteria from a setting, so I have to find the right one. It
just depends on which tale I’m telling!
If you could spend an evening with one person who is
currently alive, who would it be and why?
I keep looking at this question and something inside me
crumples a little. My grandfather passed away two weeks ago. He’s no longer
alive, so he’s not a valid answer. Nevertheless, he’s the one I’d want.
What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?
I collect and repair vintage jewelry—particularly
rhinestones!
What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you
overcome it?
Deadlines—and I don’t think I overcome them. At best, they
overcome me. But they make for great motivation J
What advice would you give to a beginning author?
The first (and often hardest) thing is to stop plotting and
researching and actually write the story. Then (probably the next hardest) you
have to let someone else read it and (this is absolutely key) take in the
honest feedback. Never stop trying to improve your writing and your story!
Tell us about the featured book.
When Short and Bubbly
Meets Tall and Dark,
Chase Dunstan sees Lacey as more than just a pretty face. She’s
also a chatterbox. And too curious for her own good. Which makes her the worst
thing of all: In His Way. Nevermind that her steady babbling drives away every
animal he’s supposed to be hunting to earn his keep—and keep his cover. How is
a man supposed to hunt for clues into a suspicious mine collapse with a
beribboned, parasol-toting tagalong?
Will Pride or Love Determine Their
Future?
With Lacey determined to learn independence from a man
desperate to be free of her, sparks fly in the fertile forest surrounding
Hopefalls. Will Chase be honest about what he’s really hunting in the Rocky Mountains and accept Lacey’s help in uncovering the
truth? Or will deception tear apart their shared adventure—and the love God
nurtured through it? It all depends on which heart knows best, and which is most
determined…
Please give us the first page of the book.
Chapter One
Dead men told no tales, but jailbirds sang aplenty. Chase
Dunstan knew Braden Lyman, victim of a mine collapse, wouldn’t be telling
anything. Neither had anyone associated with the man Chase once respected and
worked with.
Which
brought him to the jailbird; an associate foolish enough to miss their
rendezvous four days and three counties back. Getting thrown in a cell was no
excuse for failure.
“What did you find out?” Chase
waited while his quarry paced the small room, still not responding. He waited
while the other man drank a dipperful of water and almost choked. A dry throat
and slippery nerves made anything hard to swallow, and the man before him dealt
lies thick enough to block a bison.
But Chase
knew what all good trackers knew; waiting was the longest part of the hunt. So
he tested his patience against man instead of an animal until Robert Kane
faltered.
“You’re not
going to like it.” When Kane finally spoke, Chase didn’t so much as shift on
the hard wooden seat he’d chosen. “That much, I can tell you plain and simple.”
“That much,
I already knew when I found you in a cell.”
I can hardly wait to read it. How can readers find you on
the Internet?
KellyEileenHake.com Thank you, Kelly, for the fun interview.
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Tall, Dark, and Determined (Husbands for Hire)
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