Interview with Sandra D. Bricker Author of Love Finds You in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California and Always the Baker, Never the Bride
This month I'm interviewing Sandra D. Bricker. She has given me copies of her new September and October releases and two of you subscribers will win them in this month's drawing.
JO:
Please tell us a little about yourself.
SANDIE: I am the proud adopted mommie to a 4-year-old
strawberry blonde collie named Sophie. I grew up in Cincinnati, lived most of
my adult life in Los Angeles, and now I live in Tampa with Sophie at my side. JO:
What do you enjoying doing when you're not writing? SANDIE: Lately, there hasn't been too much time when I'm not
writing. I work 40+ hours per week on a day job, so those hours belong to
someone else. Then I write on the weekends, and do promotional stuff in the
evenings during the week. But I'm not complaining! I've waited my whole life
for writing deadlines and book contracts.
JO:
Can you tell us any fun thing about you that might surprise our readers?
SANDIE: I'm not sure I have too many surprises left! LOL.
Let me think ... Oh! I kissed Pierce Brosnan once.
JO: How
did you get involved in writing?
SANDIE: I think I always knew I was going to be a writer. From a very
young age, I journaled; then I worked on the staff of my high school newspaper;
and my first article was published in The
Cincinnati Enquirer before I even graduated.
JO:
Where do you write? Do you have a dedicated office or a corner or nook in a
room?
SANDIE: I
do have a dedicated office, a very homey little place in soothing blues and
browns. I love that room! But lately it seems like I'm only in there long
enough to pay bills and answer emails. Oddly enough, I tend to do my best work
on the laptop, either on the living room sofa or propped up in bed with a bunch
of pillows and a cup of tea.
JO:
Do you know the title before you write a book or
after you finish it? SANDIE: You
know what? That's a question no one has ever asked me before! I usually DO know
my titles first. In fact, it's usually the very first thing I know about my
story, aside from a general idea about the hero and/or heroine.
JO:
Please tell us about Love Finds You in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
SANDIE: Carmel took a lot of
twisty paths to publication. It started out as a novel-in-progress titled A Jill in Sheep's Clothing, and the
thread running through it was a grade school paper the heroine had written
comparing people to sheep. When it was complete, I pitched it to Summerside (Press)
for their Love Finds You line and set
it in Shepherd, Montana. They contracted it, but came back to me a couple of
months later after the owner returned from a golf vacation in Carmel,
California. He was so enamored with the place that he wanted something very
special to be set there, and he asked if I would consider revising my book. I
was not particularly enthused about that, but in the spirit of being a team
player, I started the research. Being from California myself, it was probably
pretty easy to predict that I would fall in love with the place as well. My
sheep theme evolved into a thread of classic film, a natural progression since
Carmel is an artsy little village raised up in the arts community perspective.
When I finished that revision, I was so proud of what it had become. It was a
brand new book, far better than the original. So I guess I have Carlton Garborg
and his passion for golf to thank for what became one of the best writing
experiences I've had.
JO: What takeaway
value do you hope readers receive after reading your novel?
SANDIE: Annie Gray is all about
finding the spectacular things in life, but what she learns is that just
because something is spectacular, you can't just assume it's for you. Following
God's lead in all things, from love to employment to your friends, is a very
important detail in finding your own happy ending.
JO: Did you need to do any research for
this book?
SANDIE: Well, I
was already a Californian with a background in Hollywood and a driving passion
for classic film. So that helped! I did visit Carmel, and I talked to about
half a dozen people who know the place well.
JO: You had a release last month titled Always the Baker, Never the Bride. Please
tell us a little about that book; are the books similar or quite different?
SANDIE: The books are very
different! Baker is very Southern, and it's a much broader comedy than Carmel, with a fairly huge cast of
characters. It revolves around Emma Rae,
a pastry chef with a challenge: She's diabetic, and she can't indulge in her
own creations. Emma crosses paths
with Jackson, the owner of a wedding
destination hotel who is an escapee from Corporate America living out someone
else's dream and, consequently, floundering on his journey.
JO: How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book? SANDIE: Writing: Forever.
Selling: I was an aspiring screenwriter living in Hollywood when an
opportunity came my way in the early 90s to write one of the What Would You Do? novels that Group
Books was producing for Christian teens. The experience was addictive! After
that, I started seeking out more work-for-hire opportunities like it, and
eventually something started itching at the back of my brain. I was an avid fan
of romantic fiction back then and, with the help of a very pushy friend, I sat
down and wrote my first romance. And it was DREADFUL. Then I wrote two more
that were nearly as bad. I started taking workshops and reading the good stuff
until I wrote unWANTED: Husband and
sold it to Avalon Books. There was no stopping me from there. I was hooked.
JO: How do you find time to write?
SANDIE: That's the question of the year! I've been
called "maniacally organized" ... so that helps. I schedule my time like a very
strict budget in order to balance it with my day job. I always strive to block
out time so that the writing responsibilities don't spill over into the ones to
Corporate America, and vice versa. It's a very delicate balancing act, but I do
look forward to the day when I can retire from the day job. I'll wake up in the
morning, brew my tea, plop my hair into a ponytail and ... just write. Ahhhhh, what a feeling that would be! ...
Oh sorry. I got carried away. What was the question??
JO: What are you
working on now?
SANDIE: I'm currently penning one of two sequels to January's release, The Big 5-OH! The heroine's sisters are
the focus of the next two, The Big 4-OH!
and The Big 3-OH!, but all the
original characters come back as well. In addition, I'm just finishing up a
labor of love I'm co-authoring with Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, Debby
Mayne, and Trish Perry. It's a devotional called Delight Yourself in the Lord...Even on Bad Hair Days, and it's due
out next spring from Summerside Press. A portion of the proceeds will be
donated to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (www.ocrf.org). Diann Hunt and I
are both survivors, and OCRF is a wonderful organization working to find
effective diagnostics as well as an eventual cure for ovarian cancer.
JO: What advice
would you give to writers just starting out?
SANDIE: My advice to new
writers is always followed by a deep groan, but it's really solid guidance: FINISH SOMETHING. Many new writers
exist on proposals, a synopsis and three chapters. When The Call finally comes,
you're going to be expected to turn in a clean FULL MANUSCRIPT. I've seen more
writers flail at that point because they're not practiced in completing something.
So I tell them, if they want to invest in their future, park their butts in the
chair and write a full book. Then start a new one, and finish that one, too.
Eventually, selling on proposal is great, but in the beginning ... Hone your
craft and exercise those professional writing muscles. Finish what you start!
JO: Please tell our readers where they can get your books.
SANDIE: Amazon (www.amazon.com) is always a great outlet, or Christian
Book Distributors (www.cbd,com). They're also on bookstore shelves, like Barnes
& Noble. I think Walmart has picked them both up as well.
JO: Where can our
readers find you? SANDIE: Web
site:www.SandraDBricker.com
Blog:
http://SandraDBricker.blogspot.com
JO: Sandie,
thank you for sharing time with our readers in this interesting interview and
for the copies of your books, which two of my subscribers will win in a
drawing. ...Pierce Brosnan, huh?
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