OUAC Welcomes:
Barbara White Daille
I read Barbara’s second book in the Flagman’s Folly series earlier this month. I really enjoyed the small town setting. Be sure to check out my review tomorrow! Barbara is going to spend a little time at OUAC and answer a few questions for us. I hope you enjoy them!

 

 

OUAC: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

BWD: I’m originally from the East coast but relocated to the sunny Southwest with my husband’s job transfer. As I hate the cold, the move was fine with me—though I will say the summers exceed my warm-weather expectations! Also, it was a big culture shock to go from a small town surrounded by big cities to a small town where we find lizards in the front yard and scorpions in the bathroom.  

I’ve been making up stories since I was nine years old and am happy to have found a home writing for Harlequin American Romance. My books are short contemporary, category romances. Of course, my stories focus on the heroes and heroines, but I also have lots of room for kids and quirky small-town characters. I hope my books give readers a heartwarming, emotionally satisfying feeling.

OUAC: Do you have any books sitting in Mt. Read Me?

BWD: I love that description for the To-Be-Read pile! I joke that my own TBR pile has morphed into a room divider. LOL Yes, I have books sitting around the house, just waiting for me to dive into them. There are so many, I couldn’t begin to list them. And now, thanks to you, I think I’ll change the “room divider” into a “mountain range.”

OUAC: Do you have any books on your keeper shelf?

BWD: Yes, I do—all kinds of books from those I read and loved as a child up to the romances I read now. Again, there are so many. And as some of them are written my friends, I’d rather not name names for fear of forgetting to mention some of them.

But I will say the books on my keeper shelves have earned their spots because the characters have stuck with me and their stories have touched me. A book doesn’t have to leave me sobbing—either out of happiness or out of sympathy for the characters. But when I read and when I write, I like those stories that bring a tear to my eye and touch my heart.

OUAC: What are some of your favorite pastimes?

BWD: I write full-time and have a part-time second job, which doesn’t leave me a lot of room in my schedule right now for hobbies. Number one, of course, is reading!

Other than that, to name a few, I like baking, eating chocolate , going to see plays at our local theatres, and doing crossword and other types of puzzles. When I lived back East, my mom and I used to do the Sunday Times puzzle together every weekend. I also enjoy indoor gardening—though I’ve become deadly to houseplants since I moved to the dry Southwest.

OUAC: Do you have any guilty pleasures? (Chocolate, Reality TV, etc.)

BWD: As mentioned above—eating chocolate. I also love taking a good book into a long, long bubble bath. You know, the kind of bath where your skin turns all prune-y wrinkled by the time you get out.

Since I’ve become an author, reading has now turned into both a pleasure and a job. It’s only a guilty pleasure when I get so involved in the book I don’t get back to work when I should!

OUAC: Can you walk us through a normal writing day for you?

BWD: Sure can! My day starts off with e-mail—checking for messages from my editor, business contacts, friends, and fans. I’m trying to touch base at Facebook and Twitter more regularly, too.

And when I’m on a blog tour, as I am now for THE RODEO MAN’S DAUGHTER, I spend time chatting with people who drop by the tour stops. (Readers can find the full tour schedule at my website.) That goes on throughout the day, as some people will pop in at the site in the evening or even days later. So I go back for several days to check for comments and questions.

On a regular day, after I’ve caught up with the e-mail and Facebook/Twitter chatting, I get going on the latest book. Once I have the computer file open, I really buckle down and make great progress.

OUAC: What advice would you give any aspiring writers reading this?

BWD: Never give up. As with anything, if it’s what you want, it’s worth the work—and worth waiting for! If you’re submitting to publishers, it can be a long, daunting, and sometimes heart-wrenching process. The best thing I can say to that is to share advice I’ve heard is given to salesmen over and over again:
Each “no” is that much closer to a “yes.”

Good luck!

OUAC: What drew you to writing category romance?

BWD: I love so many things about category romance. Practically speaking, I like shorter, faster-paced stories, both when I read and when I write. And I like being able to sit down and devour a book all at once. (See my comment about bubble baths above! LOL)

When it comes to the writing, I love getting into my characters’ heads and writing quirky characters that make me laugh, heroines I relate to, and heroes I fall in love with.

I can’t say I love writing the conflict that comes with the ups and downs of their relationships—because I don’t like conflict in real life. But it does bring me a lot of satisfaction when I’ve managed to help two people who were meant to be together.

OUAC: What is your favorite part of your career?

BWD: Hearing from readers.

I’ve always been a huge reader, and what I say in my bio is absolutely true: I only hope I can give those who read my books the same happiness I’ve found in other authors’ stories.

When a reader tells me she worried over my characters, laughed out loud at the “funny parts,” shed a tear at a touching moment, or tells me anything else to explain how she enjoyed the book, it makes my day. And it tells me I’m meant to be doing what I’m doing: writing.

OUAC: How did you choose Nate’s name? I found it unique to use a traditional boy’s name for a girl.

BWD: Thank you for asking about Nate! She’s one of my all time-favorite kid characters.

This has to be a two-part answer:
When Nate’s mother became pregnant, she was an unhappy girl from a small town in a bad situation. Despite all that, she loved her baby more than anything in the world. And, as we hope all mamas do, she wanted the best and had big dreams for her daughter. So she gave her a long, beautiful name to grow into: Anastasia Lynn LaSalle.

Well, then that little girl did start to grow. She sprouted up into a hard-ridin’, rodeo-lovin’ little tomboy who wanted no part of that girly-girl name. LOL She insisted upon being called Nate. And Nate she is.

OUAC: Do you have a favorite scene in The Rodeo Man’s Duaghter? (As few spoilers as possible)

BWD: Oh, that’s a tough question! And it’s hard to pick just one scene. There are some conversations between Tess and Caleb that give me chills. Some that make me cry. (Both in good ways!) But one of my favorite scenes happens with Caleb and Nate.

Between the book’s title and the cover copy, I guess it’s not a spoiler to say that Nate is Caleb and Tess’s daughter, though he doesn’t know it at the start. And he learns the truth before Nate does.

There’s a scene that occurs after Nate is told Caleb’s her daddy. She’s trying to come to terms with the news, trying to understand what it means for her, and that scene breaks my heart. (Okay, I’m in tears now just writing about it.)

OUAC: Is there another Flagman’s Folly book on the way? If so, can you tell us about it?

BWD: Yes, there is. Thanks for asking!
HONORABLE RANCHER will be out in August 2012.

This book tells the story of Ben Sawyer, a man whose best friend died an Army hero. Ben’s fighting both to keep the promise he made to take care of his friend’s family and to keep his hands off the woman he’s loved since kindergarten—his best friend’s widow.

There’s more to it than that, of course, and Dana’s just as interested in him. I won’t give any spoilers, but…let’s just say that no matter how things seem, Ben does remain an HONORABLE RANCHER.

OUAC:  Can you tell us a little bit about what you’re working on now?

BWD: I’m currently working on another story set in Flagman’s Folly that I just love, with a character who has played a small part in all of the books so far and a rancher who’s at risk of losing everything.

Along with that, I’m working on another idea that I just adore, too. A crotchety-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside grandpa comes up with a scheme to bring his granddaughters back into his life. And I’ve got some seriously hot heroes to pair up with each of those women.
These are all at the idea stage, so, readers, please keep your fingers crossed that my editor likes them. (smile)

Thank you so much for stopping in Barbara! I can’t wait for another trip to Flagman’s Folly!

The Rodeo Man’s Daughter by Barbara White Daille  in stores now! Originally from the East Coast, award-winning author Barbara White Daille now lives with her husband in the warm, sunny Southwest, where they love the lizards in the front yard but could do without the scorpions in the bathroom.From the time she was a toddler, Barbara found herself fascinated by those things her mom called “books.” Once she learned the words between the covers held the magic of storytelling, she wanted to see her words in print so she could weave that spell for others. Barbara hopes you will enjoy reading her stories and will find your own storytelling magic in them! Please look for Barbara online at: www.barbarawhitedaille.com http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

To celebrate the release of THE RODEO MAN’S DAUGHTER, Barbara is offering an autographed copy of the first Flagman’s Folly title, A RANCHER’S PRIDE, to one lucky commenter. To be entered in the drawing, please leave a comment or question for Barbara here at the blog by Sunday, February 12.