Guest Author Series - Welcome Carie Lawson

STEPH: I'd like to welcome fellow Desert Breeze Author, Carie Lawson the blog today. Carie, congratulations on your latest release, Beyond Summer. Can you tell us a little about it?

CARIE: Beyond Summer is the story of Zane McCord, a dedicated father who mistrusts anyone with a pretty face, and Carly Peterson, the beauty queen who becomes his son's nanny. Carly glides into Zane's life with her two daughters and changes Zane's mind about beauty, until her past catches up with her.

STEPH: During what time of the day do you write?

CARIE: Typically I set aside time in the afternoon, but sometimes I have to break down and work at night. My brain doesn't feel as quick by night though. I find that much more revising is needed with the work I do after dark.

STEPH: How much time do you spend marketing? Do you have a marketing plan?

CARIE: Marketing is absolutely the hardest part of writing. I try to allot a month of "writing time" strictly to marketing. But it really intimidates me, so I tend to avoid it. When my first book, Beyond Africa, released, I focused on getting my name out locally. With Beyond Summer, I wanted to get more reviews and blog tours. Christian fiction is a pretty small community when you get right down to it. So I'm trying to focus on that market this time. Only time will tell which one works better.

STEPH: What genres do you like to write and why?

CARIE:I write Christian romance--the Christian because I couldn't write anything apart from what I believe. The romance because it's fun. Who does like that fun, fluttery, falling in love feeling?

STEPH: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring writers?

CARIE: Absolutely. Writing is fun, but in order to be good at it--like anything else--it's necessary to spend time investing in the craft of writing. There are great books on writing, seminars, writer's groups. They are all wonderful avenues to help writers become more skilled.
STEPH: Do you have any marketing tips you can share?

CARIE: No, but if anyone reading this has any, I'd love to hear them:)

STEPH: Chocolate, Vanilla or Strawberry?

CARIE: Chocolate covered strawberries, silly.

STEPH: Print, Ebook, or both?

CARIE: Both. We've taken a great many trips to the library this summer, but I adore the convenience of my Kindle.

STEPH: What was the last movie you watched at a movie theatre?

CARIE: In a theatre...let's see, that would be Hannah Montana. However, our family hits the drive in several times a summer. It goes without saying that they are all kid's movies. Trying to think back, the last "grown up" movie I can recall seeing was Titanic.

STEPH: What's your favorite all time movie and why?

CARIE: You've Got Mail. It was charming. Every year when I shop for school supplies, I think of Tom Hank's line "I would buy you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils." I just loved it.

STEPH: Do you like to cook? Can you share a favorite dish with us?

CARIE: Cooking is the price of being a stay at home mom. And totally worth it. But no, I don't particularly love it. So I gravitate toward easy recipes. Here's one that's a hit with everyone.
4 Tbsp. melted butter
1 Tbsp. spicy mustard
2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup parmesan cheese
4 chicken breasts
Combine the butter and mustard in one bowl. Combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in the second. Dip chicken in the butter mixture then the bread crumb mixture. Pour the rest of the butter and bread crumbs over the chicken.
Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the bread crumbs are browned. You can add a bag of frozen broccoli to the pan if desired.

Thanks for being here today, Carie!
Good luck with sales!
Smiles
Steph

BUY LINKS FOR CARIE'S BOOK:
http://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Roots-Book-Two-ebook/dp/B0041HXOPG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1283358325&sr=8-2

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-106/Carie-Lawson-Twisted-Roots/Detail.bok

http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=searchresults&SEARCH=carie%20lawson

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-twistedrootsbooktwobeyondsummer-451413-151.html

Interview with Carie Lawson - author of "Beyond Africa"

Carie Lawson has a new release out with Desert Breeze, "Beyond Africa," a contemporary inspirational romance and I'm honored to have her pop into "Romance Under the Romance" today. Now, onto the interview.

STEPH - Where did you find the inspiration for Beyond Africa?

CARIE: The inspiration for Beyond Africa came from being a Geography teacher for a couple of years. Africa is such an interesting, inspiring place to begin with. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a sad history that I honestly didn't know much about before we started studying about it. I spent quite a bit of time researching the country before I wrote the book. I think missionaries willing to go to places like the DRC are far braver than anyone gives them credit for.


STEPH - Is Beyond Africa your first book?

CARIE: Yes. But after I finished it I wrote Beyond Summer and Beyond Ever After. Then Desert Breeze contracted the series and I went back and rewrote Beyond Africa. I think I ended up cutting about three quarters of the book and rewriting it using the current "rules" of writing--showing instead of telling and third person deep POV. It is without a doubt a much better book now than it was the first time.




STEPH - I haven't had a chance to read the book. Can you tell us a little about the plot?

CARIE: Sure. Lilly returns to the mission her parent worked at when she was a child. She's looking for security in one of the least secure places in the world. Case is the pilot who takes her to the mission...and can't stand the thought of leaving a young, vulnerable woman in a dangerous part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He keeps finding reasons to go back to the mission and check on Lilly, until he finds a way to convince her to leave.

STEPH - Cast the characters. Who do you see as Case? Lilly?

CARIE: Case looks like Matt Damon. No question there. Hmm, Lilly might be Laura Vandervoort. It's hard to cast her as a movie star because I see her as very vulnerable, a trait not super popular in Hollywood right now.

STEPH - What romance genres do you like to read?

CARIE: Contemporary Romance and Contemporary Christian Romance.


STEPH - Who are your favorite authors?

CARIE: Tamara Leigh and Susan May Warren.


STEPH: - What was the last movie you saw?

CARIE: Other than a kid's movie. I think Four Christmases. My husband and I watched it while wrapping presents.

Here's a link to Desert Breeze and Amazon where you can buy Carie's book. Thanks so much for popping in today, Carie!

*smiles*
Steph

Links: Desert Breeze: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-65/%3Ci%3ETwisted-Roots-Book-One-cln-%3C-fdsh-i%3E/Detail.bok

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Roots-Book-One-ebook/dp/B003AKY3WS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1268409215&sr=8-1