Welcome to Christian Bookshelf Reviews, Deeanne!! Will
you tell us a little about yourself and your new book, It Happened
at the Fair?
My husband and I
have just celebrated our 30th anniversary. We have four grown children, a
daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and a dog named Cowboy—who makes a cameo
appearance in It Happened at the Fair.
A little about the
new book:
Our hero, Cullen McNamara, travels
to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with his most recent invention, but the noise
in the Fair’s Machinery Palace makes it impossible to communicate with
potential buyers. In an act of desperation, he hires Della Wentworth, a teacher
of the deaf, to tutor him in the art of lip-reading.
He becomes distracted watching her
lips and finds his attraction for her growing with each encounter. This isn’t
good because not only does he have big plans for his future, but he has a girl
back home. Della Wentworth could ruin everything.
What is something the average reader wouldn't know
about you?
Kristan Higgins, a wonderfully talented
author and very good friend of mine, leaned over at lunch one day and said, “We
have decided you were a cheerleader in high school and that you married the
captain of the football team. Are we right?”
“I was a cheerleader,” I admitted, “but I
didn’t marry the captain of the football team.”
“No?”
I shook my head. “He was Athlete of the Year
… twice.”
So there you have it. I’m a cliché. J
Do you have any writing quirks?
The following few sentences took me three
hours to write. I’ll explain why after your read it:
Cullen
curled his tongue against his teeth and whistled for the dog. “Cowboy! Come
here, fella. Get on up here and let’s see if this is working again.”
A
black-and-white border collie bounded across the yard and onto the
animal-powered treadmill, activating the flywheel, which moved the walking beam
up and down, which then pumped the churn-dasher attached to it.
The
backdoor opened again. “Charlie!” Mrs. Sappington called, stepping onto the
porch. “Oh, Cullen. Ya fixed it.”
Pushing
the brake lever, he stopped the treadmill and let Cowboy jump off. “It was no
problem, ma’am. Your new churn’s just a little shallower than the last. All I
had to do was drill a new hole closer to the fulcrum.”
She
smiled, her round cheeks rosy from the warmth of the kitchen. “The problem
wasn’t drillin’ the hole. The problem was knowing the exact spot ta drill it
in. I sure do ’preciate it.”
In this passage I was trying to give readers a
glimpse of Cullen’s mechanical genius. So first, I had to come up with
something original and interesting for him to invent. That took a lot of
hunting and discarding of ideas before stumbling across a dog-powered treadmill
that people used back in the day to power their butter churns and various other
devices.
Then, I had to figure out what parts of the
treadmill could break (so he could fix it). In order to do that, I had to read
up on exactly how it was built and how it worked.
Then I tried to find what its weak points
were. I ended up sending a diagram of it to my dad (who happens to be a
mechanical genius) and interviewing him. He described three different ways it
could break and why they might be a challenge for someone who wasn’t
mechanically minded. I chose the placement of the fulcrum because it was the
least complicated to describe and it also took into account some mathematical
calculations.
Bottom line, what looks like a little
interesting tidbit included for a bit of color (which it is) will many times have
taken me several hours to research and write.
Where do you like to write?
I write in a study
just off my breakfast room. I’m most productive when I have complete silence
and I have turned off the internet in order to keep from being distracted.
What is the best and/or worst part about being a
writer?
The best part is
receiving the finished bound book in the mail and hearing from my readers. The
worst part is the deadlines. Hate those. :-/
A few this-or-that questions:
Coffee or Tea? Coffee.
Early-bird or Night-owl? Early bird.
Cats or Dogs? Love them both! We currently have a dog, but I
grew up with cats.
Are you currently working on any new novels? If so,
could you give us a hint?
Readers can actually get a sneak peek at the two main characters in
next year’s book by downloading an electronic short story, Tempest in the White
City. It’s about Hunter Scott who
is one of the elite. An 1893 Chicago World’s Fair guard specifically chosen for
his height, physique, character and ability to serve and protect. When he is
overcome with debilitating abdominal pain, he stumbles to an infirmary only to
discover the doctor is female. Female.
But even worse, she has the nerve to diagnose him, the toughest man west of
anyplace east, with constipation—an unspeakable ailment in mixed company. The
two of them face off in the short story and my 2014 release will tell their
full story.
Thank you so much for being here! Is there anything
else you’d like to tell readers and where can we find you on the web?
Giveaway!
Want to win a copy of Deeanne's new book,
In Happened At The Fair? Enter via the
Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win. Giveaway is only open to residents of the
Continental US. Ends 5/14
a Rafflecopter giveaway
