TURNABOUT’S FAIR PLAY–It’s Out! And I’m Answering Your Questions
We begin today’s post with this:
The picture I took with my phone yesterday afternoon at the Lifeway Store in the Cool Springs shopping area in Franklin, TN, showing Turnabout’s Fair Play on the shelf.
Then, there’s this:
Which means that Amazon also has it in stock. Has anyone else seen it or gotten a shipping confirmation if you pre-ordered it?
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Your Questions Answered
- Janet Kerr asked: “I am wondering if this Matchmaker series is autobiographical in any way?”
and Audry asked: “You’ve said before that there’s an autobiographical component to at least some of your heroines. Are any of them based in whole or part on other people in your life?”
Any writer who states that there is no autobiographical component in what he or she writes and that they never use people they know in their character development is lying. Or at least very confused and naive. One of the biggest truths behind “write what you know” is that who you are and who you know inform and impact everything you write. Let’s see . . . ways in which the characters in The Matchmakers series are autobiographical . . .
Like Zarah, I’m most likely to be found in the kitchen during a party or an event. I also don’t like “mixer” games that force me to talk to people I don’t know, I love history, and throw myself wholeheartedly into my work—sometimes to my own detriment. Also, like Zarah, I fell in love for the first time when I was very young—she at seventeen, I at nineteen/twenty. But whereas Bobby also fell in love with Zarah, the man I fell in love with felt only friendship for me.
Like Caylor, I have an advanced degree in English (Creative Writing), I’m a published romance author, I have short hair, I love to sing (and used to sing in my church choirs and ensembles and do special music on Sunday mornings, but I haven’t done that in a few years now), I love the Reese’s peanut butter Christmas trees (and pumpkins and Easter eggs. . .), and I love teaching and am trying to figure out if going back to school to pursue another M.A. or even a Ph.D. to work toward becoming an English professor is something I can afford to do. Also, like Caylor, I have highly intelligent, successful parents—one in the medical sciences and one in the computer field—from whom I’ve lived at quite a geographical distance ever since my mid-twenties (though nowhere near as far as Switzerland). In fact, Caylor may be one of the most autobiographical characters I’ve written—at least in my published stories!
Like Flannery, I’ve worked professionally as an editor in the Christian book publishing industry. Also, like Flannery, I have a few hobbies and leisure activities that I prefer to keep to myself. Unlike Flannery, though, I don’t have a treadmill in my house (and her condo is smaller by far than my house!) and I’m allergic to cats (and not overly fond of them, either).
As far as other people in my life . . . I don’t purposely set out to base characters on people I know. In fact, if I ever feel that a character is reminding me too much of someone I know, then I know I need to start making changes. I can see bits and pieces of friends and family in my characters in ways in which they’d probably never recognize themselves. I have a cousin who works for the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, so that inspired where I sent Caylor’s mother to work. My maternal grandfather, in addition to being a chemistry professor at LSU, was a painter, so I made Dylan an artist and drew upon some of my favorite memories of my childhood summers, sitting beside my grandfather at his drawing table, watching him paint and listening to him talk about the craft. My parents’ grandparent nicknames are Cookie and Big Daddy, and my dad’s favorite actor is John Wayne, so that inspired not just the names for Flannery and Jamie’s grandparents but also the physical templates for them (since I love the movies Duke made with Maureen O’Hara). So that’s how I incorporate people I know into my writing—by taking inspiration from them and using it to serve my purposes!
- Sarah asked: “Is it difficult to come up with titles for your books? Do you decide the title after the whole draft is done?”
Because I’m selling my books long before they’re published, and because I’m selling them off of not much more than a summary and some cleverly composed marketing copy based on what I think the book is going to be about when I write the proposal, I have to have the title in place before I can submit it. For me, the title is very important. In most cases, the title of the book is the first marketing copy the consumer ever sees. For my books, because I write romance, I like for readers to know as soon as they see the title that it’s a romance novel—thus the inclusion of the words love or romance in many of my titles. With this current book, however, the title I gave it reflects the theme of the book better than anything else I tried out on it. And that’s something very important to me, too—making sure the title reflects the theme of the book, usually in more than the on obvious way. (For example, with Love Remains, not only is it a story of former lovers [using the word in the purest form] discovering if any of that first love still remains, but Zarah is a historical preservationist, so she literally loves remains.) So far in my career, the only book that’s had its title changed from what I originally named it was the first one, Stand-In Groom, which was originally titled Happy Endings Inc. after Anne’s wedding planning business. The marketing department decided that HEI wasn’t a strong enough title—too much like a few dozen other romance novels on the market—and that we needed something a little more unique. Though it was hard to let go of a title I’d been using for three years (and you can still find blog posts here prior to 2008 in which I talk about that book by the old title), in the long run, I’m so glad they pushed me to come up with something different.
As far as waiting until after the manuscript is finished . . . considering that most of the time, my books are already up on Amazon with the cover designed before I finish writing them—waiting to come up with a title at that point would be a little late in the process. 😉
- Lady DragonKeeper wrote: “. . .how about a reflection on your thoughts about the Matchmakers trilogy (now that they’re all published)? Are they your favorite works so far? Is there anything that you would change or go back to? What did you love about writing the series? What drove you crazy during the writing process?”
Um . . . why don’t I tackle answering these questions on Saturday—which not only gives me more of a chance to think about my answer, but more space in which to write about it (and one more post for people to leave comments on to get one more entry in the contest).
What are your thoughts so far on Turnabout’s Fair Play? What are you expecting when you read it? What do you hope to learn about Jamie and Flannery? And if you’ve read the other two books in the series, what do you hope to see from Zarah/Bobby and Caylor/Dylan? And since I’ve already said I’ll be continuing this tomorrow . . . if you have any other questions you’d like me to answer, post them today and I’ll include them in tomorrow’s post.
Comments are closed.
KayeDacus.com 
I would love to know your first step in writing a book. Once you have an idea in mind, do you immediately begin writing or do you immerse yourself in research before you being writing?
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Or do I just put it all off until two weeks before deadline? 😉
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I think I’m going to tackle this on Writer-Talk Tuesday next week instead of trying to get to it in Saturday’s post.
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I’m totally with you on the games that force you to talk to people you don’t know. I hate those! I think if you want to become a professor, you should go for it! (I know about finances though so I understand if that is something that might hold you back)
Question:
What do you do when you hit a road block and can’t think of what to write next?
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Great question!
I could probably start teaching as an adjunct right now, with the right combination of school and hiring crunch. Since my MA is a nontraditional degree (it was a pass-fail grading system and there’s no way to show that I have 18 hours of coursework in my major field, since we took one- to two-hour seminars all day on campus for the first week of the semester, then spent the rest of the semester on our writing/critiquing/reading), so it’s hard to get the HR department at a college to see beyond that. Plus I don’t want to be relegated to only being able to teach Freshman Comp, so that’s why I’ve considered going back to school in a traditional English program, which would qualify me to teach other courses. (Most colleges only hire MFA holders to teach even introductory Creative Writing courses.)
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This is another question I think I’ll hold until Writer-Talk Tuesday.
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Zarah and Bobby need to get married!
Caylor and Dylan, well, I see their relationship evolving more slowly. Because secrets were involved, building trust takes time.
Sometimes talking to people you don’t know is easier than talking to people you do, and who might judge you or have an opinion you may not want to hear. People you don’t know typically become people you’ll never see again.
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Actually, I worry more about people I don’t know passing judgment on me or saying something I don’t want to hear than people I do know!
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Turnabout’s Fair Play must have had alot of pre-orders from Amazon because it says it’s temporarily out of stock. I haven’t pre-ordered, but was waiting for them to say it was available. I can’t wait to read this book and have a feeling it will be my favorite out of the whole series! 🙂
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They’re showing six left in stock now. Did you get yours ordered?
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Oh, yes! It should be here next week. 🙂 Yay!
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I’m with Patricia – we need at least ONE wedding out of our previous couples! 🙂
I know what you mean about “mixer” games. I’m the kind of person who sits in the corner with a small group of known quantities, or quietly watching and smiling until someone gets up the nerve to speak to me. I love ACFW conferences, but it does exhaust me! Unlike my husband, who apparently thinks you can’t know too many people or ask too many questions, I have a problem knowing unnecessary info about people I’ll never see again. I try to remind him that the gift of mercy is NOT high on my list of spiritual gifts! 😉
I’ve loved Zarah and Caylor, and can’t wait to get to know Flannery. Zarah’s probably the most like me, so I definitely identified with her. Caylor is musical and writes, so I identified with her in those areas. Flannery definitely intrigues me!
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I can give away this much information: There is more than one wedding in the book.
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😀 I’m feeling a little bouncy, now . . .
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I’m really excited to read this book. From all the times Flannery and Jamie have taken over the blog they seem to me like a very interesting pair. And I just looked on Amazon and it says that its in stock!
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Yes, Amazon is shipping it already. And most Lifeway stores have it out on the shelves. But for some reason, ChristianBook.com is showing that it’s releasing on Nov. 15 . . . ????
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Looks like it’s in stock at B&N.com and Lifeway.com, too.
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I enjoyed this post and seeing how you “fit” into your stories. I didn’t know what turnabout meant and I looked it up. It really is a catchy, intriguing title. I agree that title’s are important and I love choosing them. LOOK how many books you have had published in such a short period of time!! You are amazing and an inspiration!
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When I took this photo after putting copies of TFP up on my “brag” shelf in the living room, I stood back and stared at it in stunned silence for a few minutes. The thought kept running through my head: I did this? I wrote these books? How did this ever happen to me? What was God thinking when He put me on this path? Why me and not someone else who’s a “better Christian” than I am and who’s been struggling with trying to get published so much longer than I did? It was a strange, surreal experience, and something I still have no answers for.
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God is just really cool like that, isn’t He? Remember, He INVENTED grace!
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I’ve always liked the titles of your books –the Matchmaker titles especially. All the hard work you put into coming up with the titles show!
I’m really excited about “Turnabout’s Fair Play” –the little peeks we’ve seen from your blog has me rooting for Flannery and Jamie already. LOL, talk about sparks and fire …
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And prior to getting published, I always considered myself as a failure at coming up with titles!
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I love the titles of the Matchmaker series too, they’re all very clever.
Also, having followed your blog since just after Stand-in-Groom came out (and yes, I admit it, reading a lot of the archive too) I actually picked up on most of the similarities you listed between you and both Zarah and Caylor 😉
Is it weird to look back at years of blogging and see how much of your personal life has accumulated on the internet? Obviously there’s tons more that you don’t blog about, but it might weird me out a little. On the other hand, part of the reason I like reading your blog so much is that aside from being well written, it has just the right blend of interesting writing and industry talk combined with personal stuff to make you seem very real. (You know – as opposed to all those fake bloggers out there 🙂 )
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After living alone for almost sixteen years, I figure that there’s no one here with whom to share my personal life, ideas, thoughts, and dreams, so I might as well share them publicly for anyone who might care to read/listen. Thankfully, there are people like you who don’t run screaming in the opposite direction or report me to some authority so that the men in the white coats come to take me away! 😀
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Oh, and BTW, I laughed so hard over the end of your comment, I think I may have sprained my diaphragm!
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😀
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It’s interesting to know in what ways you are like your characters and how you base your characters on people you know, without having them being totally alike.
Thanks for giving us so many details about your books.
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It’s really interesting to see how you relate to your characters! There are a couple of authors that I read and after many, multiple books of theirs I begin to see similarities between the books and the author’s life. I imagine most of us bloggers also blog about what is familiar 🙂
I’m looking forward to reading the book!
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Okay, I have a question. It’s not book related though so feel free to skip it for tomorrow’s post or not answer it at all. I’m just naturally curious. As a huge reader, it is impossible for me to buy every book I’d like to read. I very rarely buy books- our library system is (from what I understand) one of the best in the country and I am able to use inter-library loan for almost all the books on my to-read list. As an author who makes her living from writing/selling books, what is your take on libraries/ people utilizing them to borrow books instead of buy?
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I had a witty question [even though it’s too late] but it flew right out. Interesting to see how your characters are like you in many ways. I’m horrid at titles. Well, the three book series I pitched at conference I think has decent titles. Anything else I’ve ever come up with… not so much. And trying to come up with them BEFORE writing the book? Almost as bad as trying to write a synopsis before writing the stinkin’ thing. Ah well.
Still can’t wait to get my hands on this one! Birthday is in about 10 days. If I don’t win it, well, all the birthday money is going to books anyway so… ;).
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