Episodit
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Who doesn't love a good Christmas story? And who doesn't love celebrating someone's first novel? In this episode of Book Talk with Cara, we get to do both. Ann Swindell is my guest and we're talking about her brand-new novel Christmas in the Castle Library. This novel allowed Ann to explore novel writing after years of study and working with non-fiction including a devotional and spiritual memoir. As a student of writing, Ann considered what her favorite elements were and incorporated them into the novel: a historical mystery set inside a contemporary novel with royals in a created country. She wanted the story to be real enough to be believable yet whimsical enough to be fun. The result is this novel.
Ann doesn't know when she wasn't a writer because she always had journals as a child. Writing for her is an opportunity to commune with God and feel alive in the gifts she's been given. It's hard work, but she loves the editorial and collaborative process. I know you're going to enjoy this novel that welcomes you into Christmas.
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It's almost Christmas, and that means it's time to read Christmas books. Today I've got three delightful authors on Book Talk to talk about their novella collection A Louisiana Christmas to Remember. In these three, interconnected Christmas novellas, you experience three wonderful stories of love and hope. In A Louisiana Snow by Morgan Tarpley Smith, meet Mattie: A passionate visionary who learns to forgive and finds love in unexpected places… In Restoring Christmas by Betsy St. Amant, meet Jolene: An artist and prodigal daughter who discovers love exists in the very place she once called home… In A Christmas Reunion by Lenora Worth, meet Adale: A beautiful widow who finally dares to love again…
What I love about this Book Talk is we have three authors at different stages of their careers. Lenora Worth has written over 100 novels, Betsy St. Amant has written over 25, and this is Morgan Tarpley Smith's debut. They are at such different places but all love writing and story. Each of them showed signs of being a storyteller at a young age and fell in love with words as children. And that love of words and story carries them forward in writing today. They all have great advice for writers today as well. I really think you'll love meeting these three and learning more about A Louisiana Christmas to Remember.
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Today it is such a pleasure introducing you to my friend and author Tessa Afshar. She is the author of 12 award-winning, best-selling novels, but it has been a journey for her to get here. She first started writing in her twenties, but after two rejections stopped. Then years later felt called to finish one of her novels after years of starting many, but not getting past the first 20 or 30 pages. That first book that she finished was on Rahab, because Tessa found it fascinating that Rahab was a woman who literally lived in a wall. She found that God made the calling in the shape of her — she'd been prepared all along to write what she never thought she would — Biblical fiction.
In The Queen's Cook, Tessa has taken a twist on the story of Queen Esther, placing her as the mentor character. This series focuses on three women, each of whom has contact with Queen Esther and becomes friends with her in different ways. The book and series are embedded in the Persian Empire and the courts but without the focus being solely on the Queen.
You're going to enjoy this interview and learning more about Tessa and how she writes and researches her novels. There's so much that goes into them.
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Writing can be an intense process, and today I'm talking to a woman who has written 18 full-length novels since 2013 in addition to many shorter-length romantic suspense books. Patricia Bradley is wonderful at creating stories that pull you deeply into character-driven stories that are filled with questions because she starts with a question. What if?... As a plantser, she often feels like she's driving in a fog. She can only see so far down the road of the book and can only plot so far. Writing allows her to create something of a world she can control, but ultimately, she has to remain true to the characters and how they will overcome the challenges that are placed in front of them.
In her latest book, Deadly Revenge, Patricia has created a world filled with challenges that just might kill her characters. It's a twisty world out there, but one worth exploring.
You'll find Patricia writing something every day... even a grocery list... as she works to fill her books with characters who have motive, means, and opportunity. A lot can change as the story unfolds. This year you'll find her celebrating turning in her next book by taking the time to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas for the first time in years with family. I think it's about time!
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In this episode of Book Talk, I have the pleasure of introducing you to my friend Robin Jones Gunn. Robin is such a light — I adore spending time with her even if it's constrained to Zoom. Today we're talking about her brand new novel Tea with Elephants. We've both had the privilege of traveling to Kenya and going on safaris (mine much shorter than hers). Tea with Elephants is a story of friendships and the value we gain when we give each other the gift of ourselves. This story is a beautiful exploration of what happens when we strip down life that has gone too fast and take the next step of showing up.
I really love Robin's writing and her heart, but her writing rhythm might kill me. For years she got up to write from 3 to 7 a.m. She did this for 15 years y'all! that is one committed writer. Her advice to new writers applies to all of us regardless of where we are in life. Trust God and stop worrying.
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Y'all, I have been a huge fan of Irene Hannon's romantic suspense for years. I have so many of them on my bookshelf and can't get rid of them. It is a delight to host her on Book Talk today to talk about her latest book, Over the Edge. She first started writing at ten — and is now approaching 70 books published. That's pretty prolific! We share a love for Nancy Drew that propelled both of us into writing romantic suspense, but she started with contemporary romance. So if you love either genre, she releases a book a year you'll enjoy.
Irene gets her ideas not from a folder of ideas she curates, but from browsing the internet, looking through the paper, listening to conversations, and building a spiderweb from the ideas that spark her interest. She looks for that seed or thread that she can pull on and build from. Her favorite part of writing is the dialogue — she feels like a stenographer taking dictation. And the first sentence/scene is what she slaves over. Getting that and the characterization right sets the scene for everything else. I can't wait for you to get to know Irene Hannon in this conversation.
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Today it's delightful to welcome Mesu Andrews to Book Talk. In our conversation, Mesu shares how she never imagined being a writer. Then one day she got sick and needed to teach. The rest is history. Mesu likes to write about the unknown women in the Bible. That's exactly who she focuses on in her latest book, Brave. In this book, she explores what the life of one of King David's unknown wives might have been like. I really enjoyed the opportunity to dig deeper into Mesu, her books, and her writing. Her advice to writers? Don't be in such a hurry. Writing is a marathon. And get used to rewriting. The act of writing brings her joy as long as the collaboration. She loves editing and making things better because the first draft is about getting the story out. I know you'll love getting to know her.
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Welcome back to Book Talk, ya'll. In this episode, I have the pleasure of introducing you to my friend Michelle Griep. I love her historical romantic mysteries and our conversation was so much fun. We talked about her brand new novel Of Gold and Shadows, which is set in 1888 England. This one may have been inspired by Indiana Jones and the Mummy with its heroine who's an archaeologist who's focused on Egypt. You'll find the research tidbit that Michelle shared that she couldn't include in the novel. It was grossly fascinating.
Michelle is one of those writers who write in the morning and loves to craft stories that are really good adventures with intrigue, romance, and Biblical truth. She wants to get the words right the first time and would tell her younger writing self not to stress so much. Instead, she'd write for the joy of writing and turn to the next story more quickly.
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On this episode of Book Talk, I have the pleasure of introducing you to author Holly Varni. She carries a joy that is effervescent and carries through in our conversation. Holly writes books that might remind you of Jan Karon's Mitford series because of the small-town setting and strong sense of community. She also has strong senior citizens who bring their wit and wisdom to the young characters who need their help whether or not the younger characters realize it yet. When she started writing, it was to create simpler stories of joy and community for her mother, who was going through chemotherapy. As a hospice volunteer, Holly would also read her stories to these patients, and when the families would call and ask her to come on her off days to share the next segment of the story, she knew they were accomplishing shat she hoped because you can focus on agony and curiosity at the same time.
When she's writing, Holly is going for a laugh and smile which means the stories tip toward the ridiculous in a way that readers love. Her characters are forming community and family in the way that we all long for. She also creates strong female leads that have a unique strength. In The Blooming of Delphinium, it's a sweet strength that allows Delphinium to see the heart of people's character in a way others can't. I don't want to spoil it for you, so I won't say more. 🙂
Her advice to writers (and her younger author self) is to write for the joy of it. Writing is a sweet communion between her and the Holy Spirit, and if she were to lose that, it's time to stop. Writing has been a gift for her to cope with the challenges of life and it's been a sacred gift, she doesn't take lightly. She's got some fabulous writing advice that she shares as she talks about her journey to publication. I know you're going to enjoy our conversation and learning more about Holly and her books.
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I love celebrating, and today we're celebrating Kit Tosello's debut release The Color of Home. While we initially bonded over the teas we were each sipping, what we really connected about was the way that home and its theme resonated for each of us. Kit uses the power of story to ask important questions like am I where I belong in this season or am I playing it safe? Am I making my home in things? Such important thoughts to probe, no?
Kit loves to write in the morning, because she and her husband are entrepreneurial and have a tea shoppe and other endeavors she works with. She's more of a panster than a plotter because she needs to know her characters and then lets them go. She's always known she was a writer, so it's a joy to be at this stage in the process of her first book being released. I know you're going to love meeting Kit and learning more about her delightful contemporary novel.
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Welcome back to Book Talk, everyone. In today's episode, I'm delighted to introduce you to Melissa Koslin, who writes some really great romantic suspense. Her next novel, The Lost Library, started with the hero/aka the Beast, and she built the story from him. I love how for each author and each story, the genesis of the story can be so very different. After focusing on the beast, she looked for a historical mystery to build suspense around. I don't want to give too much away, but you'll love learning more about Melissa's writing and her process.
She's at at stage in life where she gets to write in short bursts and make the best of the moments she has. Because of it, Melissa is a plotter with flexibility. She gets joy in creating the background stories and interplay between characters, and it comes out in the writing.
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Today it is my pleasure to host my friend Carrie Turansky on Book Talk. Carrie writes the best books set in England during the Edwardian period. Her most recent book A Token of Love is set in the Foundling Hospital and Foundling Museum. I love the story of how she found the what-if for this book — but you'll have to listen or watch to learn all about it. 🙂 One of the questions she does like to ask herself though is what were Christians doing at the time and in the context of the book she is writing. It shows up in a real way in this time.
Originally, Carrie wrote contemporary novels, but she went to a conference and an editor told her she was interested in a book set in Downton Abbey England. Carrie had always loved classic English literature. She'd loved traveling to England and it shows up in the authenticity of her books.
This interview is packed with tips for aspiring writers and moments that readers are going to love of going behind the scenes in her writing. Carrie started writing at 12, but it was when she joined ACFW that her writing took off. She might never love getting a revision letter, but her books will always transport readers into a world they will love.
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Today I'm delighted you to Amanda Cox. Her fourth novel, Between Sound and Sea, is one that I'm excited about because one of the threads takes place during the Uboat attacks along the North Carolina coast. As you can imagine, the two of us geeked out on all the cool research we did on this topic—her for this novel and me for my novella Across the Shores. She also wondered what it would be like to be a lighthouse keeper during blackouts...and that's what led to her modern heroine doing a renovation of a lighthouse. Between the Sound and Sea is a story of hope, healing, and finding a sense of belonging told between the two storylines of Joey and Mae.
When I asked her what she would tell her younger writing self, she said to trust her process. Such great advice for any writer. Your process is your process. She's been a writer since she wrote and illustrated her first book as a seven-year-old and got her first rejection then too. Her biggest challenge is getting through the rough draft. I can relate to that one too! But the most fun is when the story thread clicks and she finds the symbolism.
You're going to love getting to know Amanda!
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It's always so fun to talk with Connilyn Cossette, and today's episode of Book Talk is a delight. In her latest novel, Shield of the Mighty, she brings a character from her prior series back — only now he's a grown-up soldier in Saul's army. The heroine is a widow who hates everything about Saul, so there is a clash from the first moment the two meet. Fundamentally this book is a story of moving from brokenness to healing, from vengeance to a place where you leave it all to God. She loves balancing the warrior mindset with romance and a bit of humor.
Connilyn has always wanted to be a writer, but she didn't have the confidence to attempt it until she was in her thirties. Now she would tell her younger self to read broadly so she could pull those ideas into her books earlier. As you listen you'll see that procrastination is a big challenge, but deadlines help immensely... There's so much good content in this episode, I can't wait to hear what you think!
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Jocelyn Green is one of those authors that I always love to talk with. She's such a smart writer who cares deeply about the history and characters of the books she writes. I love her books, but I love even more digging into why she picks the stories she does. Today we're talking about The Hudson Collection, her latest novel that is about a woman who is an ornithologist who is assigned to catalogue a bequeathed collection of stuffed birds for her museum. Elsa is a fascinating character who has so much depth and quiet beauty. And that's highlighted as she's next to the quiet hero, who has this depth that is so attractive.
There's an element of mystery, romance, threads of friendship and so much more woven into this book. It's a storm that will tug you in and not let go. And the research helps the story come to life. Those details pull us deeper into the story world but don't drag us out by slowing down the reality with too much information.
You'll love this Book Talk for how Jocelyn shares writing advice with us as well. Jocelyn shared the advice she would go back and give herself as she was starting to write. Just because it's hard doesn't mean she's doing it wrong.
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Today I have the fun of bringing together three of my writing friends for a conversation where we talk about our books, how we research, and whether our genres chose us or we chose them. Janine Rosche writes contemporary romance with women's fiction threads, and her latest book The Road Before Us released in May. Janyre Tromp writes historical, primarily WWII, with gritty realism and a thread of romance, and her latest Darkness Calls the Tiger also released in May. Susan Tuttle writes contemporary romance, and in her latest The Rare Jewel of Everleigh Wheaton, she adds romance and almost a caper. We're all so different, and it's such fun to chat about how we got our story ideas -- they are different, y'all.
I also asked them about how they got their covers, because each is PERFECT for the latest novel and I wondered how the publishers arrived at the covers. It's fun to learn some of the details my friends knew they wanted on their covers, and what was pure marketing magic. I think you're going to love this conversation as we delve into our love of books, writing, and research.
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Rachel Hauck is one of my dearest writing friends so it is always a treat to have her on Book Talk. I had such fun talking to her about her newest book Meet Me at the Starlight. We got all nostalgic about rollerskating and the place rollerskating rinks played in our growing-up years. Rachel's process is a little different than mine. She likes to just keep writing and trust that the story will reveal itself. I'm not that trusting I guess!
With her books, she tends to write about the types of people that we don't normally interact with. Princesses. Singers. Actors. She wants to take us into the life we don't nomally live or look into. I think that's part of what we love. If she were to give advice to her younger writing self, it would be to know her process and know that she will hate the book at one point but that it will be good eventually. Don't get paralyzed there. Great advice for all of us!
She also loves writing groups because writing is a solitary life and Rachel needs the water cooler time. She likes hearing about the business and staying up on trends. There's so much in this episode, y'all!
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Jen Turano is one of my favorite authors of the Gilded Age rom-com. She starts with a bang and romps through to the end, usually with a swirl of mystery and fun. Meeting Her Match is no different, so it is a delight to have Jen back on Book Talk. It was so much fun to talk about how she likes to have something happen to her characters — on steroids and then amp it up even more. She's currently writing a book every nine months, which gives her a little more time to breathe, as she cycles through writing, edits, marketing, and creating new ideas from her box of ideas. We talk about how you become more critical of your writing the longer you write and apply more pressure to yourself as you go. And how her heroes need to be genuine and flawed while also saving the heroines, who are no wilting damsels in distress. I think you will love this conversation!
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There is something so fun and sweet about introducing you to debut authors. That first book is such a precious and risky gift to the world. Today Nicole Miller is joining me on this episode of Book Talk. It was such fun to talk about her novel Until Our Time Comes, which is set in Poland during WWII. Nicole has long loved horses, so it isn't surprising that horses play a large role in this novel. She's also loved digging into bloodlines and wondered how to go about making an Arabian ugly. Research was a huge part of Until Our Time Comes. Not only as she researched the horses, but also as she tried to figure out how to get an American woman to Poland as the war was racing toward the country. Then there were all the questions about locations and boundary lines that changed over and over in that part of the world before, during, and after the war. Her joy in the process is so clear...It didn't feel like she really had a publishing contract until the novel appeared on Goodreads though. You're going to love meeting Nicole and learning more about Until Our Time Comes. I can't wait to hear what you think!
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One of my favorite things to do on Book Talk is introduce you to debut authors, and that's exactly what I get to do today. Jenny Erlingsson's debut book Her Part to Play is releasing, and I had such a good time connecting with Jenny from Iceland. Iceland, y'all! This book is her debut novel and was inspired by The Chosen because she became curious about the life behind the scenes on set. The heroine is a makeup artist, and Jenny spent a lot of time reading and talking to make-up artists to get the details right.
The theme of Her Part to Play takes a couple of approaches. First, do we perceive the new thing God is doing? Including that sometimes He just wants to change our vision without changing anything else. But also that we are a carrier of Jesus anywhere we go and that means we get to change the atmosphere. So much richness in this conversation. I hope you enjoy listening and meeting Jenny as much as I enjoyed talking with her!
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