Michigan Book Tour Featured Author: Kaye Dacus

Okay, maybe featuring myself isn’t the must humble thing to do. But I’m one of the authors going on the book tour next week, and I did say that I’d be featuring all of the authors. 🙂

It’s the wedding of the century…will the real groom please stand up?
When wedding planner Anne Hawthorne meets George Laurence, she thinks she’s found the man of her dreams. But when he turns out to be a client, her “dream” quickly turns into a nightmare. Will Anne risk her heart and career on this engaging Englishman? George came to Louisiana to plan his employer’s wedding and pose as the groom. But how can he feign affection for a supposed fiancée when he’s so achingly attracted to the wedding planner? And what will happen when Anne discovers his role has been Stand-In Groom only? Will she ever trust George again? Can God help these two find a happy ending?

What do you like best about being a writer?
What I love best about being a writer is that I get to do what I love every single day, whether I like it or not. 🙂 I love writing stories that elicit emotion from others–especially laughter and joy–and that’s how I approach the work when I sit down to do it. Plus, one of my favorite things is when my writing makes me laugh when I go back and re-read it. When that happens, I know I’ve done what I was supposed to do.

What’s one thing you have to have within reach while writing?
Post-it Notes. I’m addicted to them. I have to have at least one pad of them nearby (usually the ones in the pop-up dispenser that stays right next to my computer—and I have an identical dispenser that sits on my nightstand, since I often write at night in bed). Most of the continuity notes that I need for the book I’m currently writing are all written on Post-its and stuck either to the perimeter of my computer monitor or on the wall behind it.

Pop, Soda, or Coke? What do you call it, and what’s your favorite variety?
I grew up saying coke (in New Mexico and Louisiana), but now usually call it soda, having picked that up when I lived in the Washington DC area. My favorite, which I can’t have anymore, is Dr. Pepper. Most of the time now, though, I drink fruit-flavored, sugar-free fizzy water, hot tea with lemon, or Diet Coke.

Describe your favorite pair of shoes.
I’m wearing them right now! They’re a pair of fabric “ballet slipper” flats that have a brown, gray, and off-white swirly pattern to them with a wide brown band that goes across the top of the foot. They’re so comfortable, they’re like wearing house-shoes!

Many years ago, my niece wrote to ask me what I wear when I’m writing . . . because she was going to a career day for which she had to dress up as the occupation she wants to be when she grows up. Here’s how I answered her:
It really depends on the day. Most of the time, I’m wearing jeans and a sweater or blouse, sometimes a pair of exercise pants and a T-shirt or sweatshirt. Sometimes, I’m all dressed up, because I can write no matter where I am!

What’s the most fun/interesting/crazy/scary/unique hands-on research you’ve done for a book?
To research my heroine’s job for A Case for Love (Book 3 of the Brides of Bonneterre series), I spend several hours one morning at the local CBS-affiliate TV station to watch them shoot their mid-day “Talk of the Town” program. The main host, Meryll Rose, was wonderful! She spent about twenty minutes before the program talking to me, explaining everything that she does. I got to watch part of the live-broadcast show from the control room and part of it from the studio.

Candles. We all have them. But do you burn them? What scents are your favorite?
Having grown up in a household full of people allergic to all different kinds of fragrances, I’ve never cared much for scented candles. However, by being picky about them, I have managed to find some over time that I’ve enjoyed. Right now, I have a large candle-in-a-jar on the shelf above my computer that’s “Flirty Fruits & Berry Bliss” scented. I also love the fragrances that come out in the Fall, like apple & cinnamon and pumpkin-pie spice.

Have you ever re-gifted something someone’s given you?
Yes–candles.

If you were to write a novel about what your life would have been like if you’d become what you wanted to be at eight years old, what kind of character would the story be about?
It would be about Princess Leia as a veterinarian. Yep, when I was eight, I wanted to be both Princess Leia and a veterinarian. Hmmm…actually, that idea has possibilities…

Have you ever gone on a book-signing tour before? What are you looking forward to next week? What makes you nervous?
I just did my first book signing this past weekend. While I was nervous going into it—especially since it was in a nontraditional setting of a clothing store—it was a wonderful experience. I sold 13 books and signed a few more that people brought in. In fact, one young lady who was in Nashville on spring break, from Alabama, saw the posters in the store window a few days ahead of time and made her parents bring her back just to have me sign her book! It was a wonderful experience that gave me just the confidence boost I needed going into this book signing tour. What I am still nervous about is that with three other stellar authors there, no one’s going to want my book because theirs are all so wonderful. So that’s a bit daunting to me.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
“Above all else: FINISH YOUR FIRST DRAFT.” I heard that at the first professional writers’ conference I ever attended, and it transformed my entire approach to writing.

What’s your biggest dream for the future?
My biggest dream is to be able to continue writing, to continue doing what it is that I love doing above all else.
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Kaye Dacus is an author and editor who has been writing fiction for more than twenty years. Pursuing her passion for writing, she earned a Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She is a former Vice President and long-time member of American Christian Fiction Writers, and is also a founding member of Middle Tennessee Christian Writers. Kaye lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and writes contemporary and historical romances.