What is one of your favorite ways to learn about your characters?
I used to learn about the characters in the first draft—the discovery draft. Now that I submit outlines to my editor before completing full books, I try to plot the story as fully as I can but still leave room for surprises.
What is the most difficult thing about writing?
Walking away from the characters when the book is done.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I’m a hybrid. Sometimes the plot comes first and I can start an outline. Sometimes the character pops into my mind or walks onto the page, and I just have to let him or her go and see what happens.
What do you like best about writing?
I’m a life-long reader, and to me, books and writing are the best things ever. What I like best about writing is being able to share my stories with readers.
What do you like about writing series books?
Coming back to the characters and settings I already love and know so well. It’s like dropping in for a visit with old friends, which is what my characters become to me—and, I hope, to my readers.
Can you write love scenes at any time or do you have to be “in the mood?”
Now, this might seem like an odd response but…I don’t have to be in the mood, my characters do. Not all my books have love scenes, and many of them are behind closed doors. When there is a full love scene, it’s usually more about the characters’ thoughts, feelings, and dreams of the future. And of course, it’s about the reason they shouldn’t be with that person at that very moment!
If the characters have let me get to know them well by then, I’m good to go. If not, I have lots of work to do before I can bring them together in a love scene.
Do you find it harder to write novels or short stories?
I’ve written and published in both forms and have to say that for me, novels are harder, because their length requires much more complexity in the plots.
Would you tell us about your latest release?
A Rancher of Her Own is book 2 in The Hitching Post Hotel series. The series features a matchmaking grandpa who is trying to get his three granddaughters settled with their perfect matches. But Pete and Jane are complete opposites. Pete is a rugged rancher whose world revolves around his kids and his hometown. Jane is a successful photojournalist who travels all over the globe and calls the world her home. And she’s got no plans at all of settling down to raise a family.
What are you working on now?
I’m just wrapping up The Lawman’s Christmas Proposal, book 3 in the series, which will debut in December. This story brings together former teenaged sweethearts. Mitch is a cop who was injured during a takedown gone bad, and Andi is a widow whose husband was killed on the job. Mitch can’t not be a cop, and Andi won’t risk letting her children—or herself—get close to another man in a dangerous profession.
I’m also working on new books about three confirmed bachelor cowboys who return to their hometown only to find someone’s got unexpected plans for them. Keep your fingers crossed on those, please!
If the main characters in your latest release were invited to a masquerade party, what costumes would they wear?
Jane might dress as Morticia Addams from The Addams Family because she’d love the black dress. Pete would rather be at home with his kids, so he’d wear his old jeans and a Western shirt and try to pretend it wasn’t a masquerade party—or maybe even a party at all.
What makes the hero hot?
No matter what kind of hot hero the reader likes, Pete’s their man! He’s got lots of hard, honed muscles that Jane really appreciates. On the other hand, his love for his kids really makes some readers swoon.
Do you have a favorite character or characters you feel especially close to?
Well, first a disclaimer—I love all my characters, even the nosy, interfering ones! LOL I especially love Grandpa Jed from these Hitching Post Hotel books. But I’ll pick a couple of others:
I’m very close to Sam from A Rancher’s Pride, the first of my Flagman’s Folly books. He discovers he’s a daddy when his ex-wife swings by to abandon the child he’d never known, and then he discovers his little girl, Becky, is deaf, and he can’t communicate with her. He’s such a good man, and to this day, the angst I put him through makes me feel guilty. Oh, and of course, I love four-year-old Becky, too.
Another character is Tina, the heroine of the first Hitching Post Hotel story, The Cowboy’s Little Surprise. She’s a quiet bookkeeper with a big heart, as well as a single mom keeping a huge secret. And during her story, she learns she’s not the only one who has something to hide.
Would you tell us how long you have been writing?
Technically, since I could hold a crayon and before I could write or spell. But “officially,” I wrote my first full-length story—with beginning, middle, and end and a fully illustrated cover—when I was nine. And I wrote my first novel in the eighth grade.
What is your favorite comfort food?
You saved the best question almost for last. Comfort food would have to be something chocolate. I almost never write a book or a blog post without mentioning chocolate. 😉
Do you have an excerpt from your latest release you would like to share?
Sure. Thanks for asking! This clip from A Rancher of Her Own shows one of the issues Pete and Jane are trying–not so successfully—to overcome:
Pete’s shoulders went back. Instead of simply putting space between them, the movement seemed to make him taller and broader. And menacing.
She shook her head, both to deny the feeling and to shake some sense into herself. These reactions were completely unlike her, and falling apart wouldn’t do a thing to add to her credibility. “I know your wife—”
“Ex-wife.”
“—ex-wife hasn’t been back to Cowboy Creek for a while, and I’ve come up with an idea that might bring her around. Grandpa’s determined to make the Hitching Post a destination wedding locale, and in order to do that, we could use a hook. A draw. A name and face to put on the website.” The more she talked about her brainstorm, the more excited she became. “Marina, as a local-girl-turned-celebrity, would be perfect as the spokesperson for the hotel. And at the same time, she could—”
“Forget it.”
“But she—”
“It won’t work.”
She frowned. “How can you say that when you haven’t heard the rest of my idea yet?”
“I don’t need to hear it. It won’t work.”
“Because you’re determined not to let it work.”
“It’s got nothing to do with me.”
It’s got everything to do with you.
Find A Rancher of Her Own:
Author Bio
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom.
When she was very young, Barbara learned from her mom about the storytelling magic in books—and she’s been hooked ever since. She hopes you will enjoy reading her books and will find your own magic in them!
Barbara’s new series, The Hitching Post Hotel, features a matchmaking grandpa determined to see his three granddaughters wed. The series began in April 2015 with The Cowboy’s Little Surprise and continues with A Rancher of Her Own in July and The Lawman’s Christmas Proposal in December.
She loves to chat with readers, and you can find her online at the following locations:
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Newsletter ~ Blog ~ Amazon ~ Harlequin ~ Goodreads
Social
Kate – thanks for inviting me to drop in for the interview and for asking such great questions!
Readers – I’ll be around and would love to chat, so feel free to leave questions or comments.