Nat and I have been friends for 12+ years, (Holy cow that dates me!!) and I am super proud of her! Why?!?! Because she followed her dream, worked really hard and WROTE A BOOK!!! Any of you who know me know that I am not a reader. Sadly, I'm just not. However, when I read her book I couldn't put it down. I finished it in 24 hours! No, I'm not kidding. It was that good and I want to share it all with you. Here is some info on her book and I hope you all take the time to buy it and read it! You won't be sorry!
How long did this book take from the first sentence to the published book? Was that longer/shorter than you expected?
It took just under five years. It was shorter than expected because I never thought it would happen! I had read all the statistics of first time author’s getting published with a traditional publisher and the low percentage and time frame was eye-opening. So I kept a level-head through the whole process knowing that my chance of getting published (without self-publishing) was extremely low. Thankfully I ended up being happily surprised with a contract to be published.
Did you randomly pick the character’s names, or do they mean something to you?
Some of the female names had been on our girl baby name list over the years (Ava, Lucy, Julia). The remaining names were randomly picked, but I tried to fit the name to each character. For example, Matthew. I liked how common the name is, how the name is solid and goes with his character and personality that is strong and compassionate. Also, Matthew means “Gift of God,” which I found fitting for his relationship with Ava.
How did you come up with the setting/location of the story? Is it based in places you know?
I wanted a setting that I could be familiar with and visit if I need to. I chose Rockford, IL. It reminded me a lot of South Bend and I did hours of research on the city, its landmarks and activities to help add to my storyline. Since I hadn’t been there before, I got on Google Earth and I could see what the city looked like and how it was laid out to help me visualize better as I wrote the scenes and the places where my characters went.
What’s your proudest moment?
When I got the e-mail that the publisher loved my book. If you had been a fly on the wall you would have seen me double check the e-mail twice, just to make sure I read it correctly. Then you would have seen me jumping up and down, praising God and thanking Him while my children looked at me like I was a crazy woman...which, let’s be honest, probably isn’t too different from any other day. And then you would have seen my kids and I (Greg would have joined in, but he wasn’t home) turn on some music and bust out the best dance party EVER!
Can you tell she is a lot of fun?! :) Buy the book ya'all! Here is a link to where you can buy it.
http://www.amazon.com/Rescued-Heart-Romance/dp/1618080733/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378165764&sr=1-1&keywords=a+rescued+heart
Once I finish the book I'm on, Natalie's is next! I got it in the mail last week! I can't wait!
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