Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Guest Candace Morehouse

I'm pleased to welcome Candace Morehouse as my guest blogger today. She'll be sharing a little about herself and her latest novel. Please welcome Candace and leave her a comment. Remember, all commenter's names will be added to my monthly ebook drawing.

Here's a little about Candace.

Candace Morehouse enjoys writing romance that spans more than just time with her historical and contemporary novels. With two historical romances published, a contemporary romance coming out in October, and a romantic suspense she co-authored with Michael Davis releasing in January, 2010, her novels span many different places and times.

Originally from Wisconsin, Candace moved to New Mexico when she was entering her teens and it is there where her creative talent was honed. A country girl at heart, she currently enjoys living with her husband in the White Mountains of northern Arizona with Colby Jack, a purebred mutt, and Yogi, a Welsh Corgi. Her son is both webmaster and IT tech for her various pursuits as he attends ASU.

Here are a few questions for you, Candace.

Q: From where did you get the idea for your latest release?
A: I love the Edwardian era and enjoyed watching Upstairs, Downstairs when it aired on PBS. Plus, I love a good mystery. I took the two elements and combined them. Suspicion of Love was begun, and outlined, a good 15 years ago. I found that old manuscript about a year and a half ago, rewrote the first completed part, and then finished the rest.

Q: What do you like best about this book?
A: Suspicion of Love was a very fun book to write. I absolutely love researching, immersing myself in another era. I think it did that pretty well – maybe too well. Some people do not like reading the authentic dialogue with a more formal manner of speaking. But when I was writing it, I WAS Jacqueline, the heroine, and I think that shows.

Q: Tell me a bit about your background and what prompted you to write a book.
A: Ever since I was just knee-high to a grasshopper I wanted to write. My first book was written and illustrated by me at the age of 7 and entitled Mr. Fathead Goes to the Moon. Sadly, it did not make the best seller list! I’ve always loved to read, though. I was never a popular kid in school and reading books took me out of reality to experience another time and place. I’ve always loved reading romance books since I was teen, so that is why it is the genre I like to write.

Q: Which of the characters you’ve written is your favorite and why?
A: Samantha from Full Throttle (my first contemporary romance) is nearest and dearest to my heart. She is based quite a bit on me. I created her after my experience co-owning a motorcycle dynamometer business testing and performance tuning Harleys. Samantha is feisty, intelligent, and not afraid to get her hands dirty – the perfect woman for ex-motorcycle racer and playboy Linc Montgomery. Full Throttle will be released October 1st at Champagne Books.

Q: How do you get yourself into the mood to write? Any special rituals/habits?
A: When I was writing Suspicion of Love, I rented DVDs of Upstairs, Downstairs from the library as well as the very earliest motion picture recordings by Thomas Edison (which were fascinating, BTW). Watching those, along with listening to classical music and bringing up pictures of old London on the Internet, helped me get into character and figure out what Jacqueline and Stephen were going to do next.

Q: Are you a plotter (laying out all the plot points ahead of time) or a pantster (plotting by the seat of your pants)?
A: Pantster, for the most part. I have a general outline before I begin to write, but often my characters inform me of changes they want made along the way!

Q: The most important question: chocolate or vanilla?
A: I will probably get kicked out of the sisterhood for saying this, but I’m vanilla all the way.

Vanilla? That is different. The only time I prefer vanilla over chocolate is if it's homemade ice cream, but, to each his own.

Thank you for being my guest today, Candace. I look forward to reading Suspicion of Love and I'll be watching for your joint venture with Michael Davis -- your romantic suspense due out in January 2010.

Candace Morehouse "Writing romance that spans more than just time"
My romance novels available at http://www.champagnebooks.com/
http://www.candacemorehouse.com/

Thanks for stopping by today. Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda
Linda LaRoque ~Western Romance with a Twist in Time~ A Law of Her Own, Desires of the Heart, My Heart Will Find Yours, Flames on the Sky10-9, Forever Faithful, Investment of the Heart, When the Ocotillo Bloom
www.lindalaroque.com/ http://wwww.lindalaroqueauthor.blogspot.com/

13 comments:

  1. I'm vanilla, too, Candace! Us cowgirls must think alike. Keep writing those great stories.

    Stacey
    http://www.staceycoverstone.com

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  2. Oh, I am SO looking forward to Full Throttle!
    I'm chocolate all the way. Chocolate with caramel sauce!

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  3. Thanks for being here today, Candace. I'm enjoying the comments you're receiving.

    Oh gosh, now I'm getting hungry for a treat. How about coffee icecream with chocolate sauce.

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  4. It's all about the food and drink, Linda! Thanks for making those ice cream sundaes. *pout* But you didn't get any vanilla with caramel sauce for me and Stacey? Maybe Kimber will share her caramel sauce.

    For anyone who doesn't know, Linda and I co-edited Recipe for Romance. That was a lot of fun and there are a lot of great recipes in there.

    Now I'm hungry, dadgummit!

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  5. Kimber and I have something in common, I'm a chocolate and carmel sauce always....

    I love the idea of a mystery/romance during your time period. They were so straight laced (spell that up tight) it should be lot of fun. But how do you do mysteries as a panster?

    Allison Knight

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  6. Okay, okay. I just brought in the Bluebell vanilla and chocolate icecream to add to the coffee on hand. We have carmel sauce, chocolate sauce, and Kahlua so name your pleasure.

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  7. Allison - it IS hard to write a mystery as a pantster! Really, I didn't know how it was all going to turn out until the end when the real killer revealed himself and starting shooting people. Then he revealed that he'd killed someone else earlier! That darned killer was a wascally wabbit, for sure.

    Thanks for bringing in the vanilla, Linda. Now my sweet tooth is sated. And I'll just take some of that Kahlua and add it to my iced coffee...mmm!

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  8. Yes, I can confirm Candace is a definite panster all the way. Drove me crazy, being the AR type.

    Michael Davis
    Author of the year, 2008

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  9. But then Big Mike, driving you crazy is a short trip!
    Thanks for stopping by.

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  10. Great interview, like how your mind works Candace, and the questions, Linda, brought out some interesting information. As for the chocolate and vanilla issue, Zi and Angelica agree. It's BOTH! Yum!

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  11. Hello, Candace, you have an interesting background. Your work sounds good. I wish you well with it. -Laura H.

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  12. Thanks for stopping by Angelica, Zi, and Laura!
    It was a lot of fun interviewing with Linda and hope you enjoyed reading.
    Here's a toast to all us plain vanilla gals out there!

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  13. I'm vanilla too! *laughs* I still remember as a very young child, my grandfather took us to a 41 Flavors Baskin-Robbins for the first time.

    I asked for vanilla. He tried to explain that there were forty-one flavors and I could have Any Flavor I wanted.

    Me: "Any flavor?"

    Grandpa: "That's right, honey."

    Me: "Can I have vanilla?"

    D'oh!

    I love the Edwardian Era. Sounds like a wonderful story. (Though I'll always wonder about Mr. Fathead Goes to the Moon).

    Smiles,
    Chiron O'Keefe
    The Write Soul: www.chironokeefe.blogspot.com

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