Sunday Brunch with... Carolyn Brown
Happy Sunday!
Today, a lovely guest has accepteded to brunch with us an tell us more about her new novel, The Sometimes Sisters, published on February 27, 2018 by Montlake Romance.
I’m pleased to introduce…
Carolyn Brown
Describe yourself with three adjectives.
Carolyn: Positive, focused, disciplined
Choose three adjectives for your last novel, The Sometimes Sisters.
Carolyn: Emotional, humorous, satisfying
What was the best thing about writing The Sometimes Sisters?
Carolyn: Having all the characters in my head for those weeks. I could so relate to each one of them and seeing them go from sisters who could hardly stand to be in the same room with each other to opening up about the baggage they were hauling around—that was the best thing about writing it. The best thing since it’s hit the market has been all the amazing reviews.
How did you come up with the title?
Carolyn: I have an amazing team at Montlake who helps me with titles. We’d been throwing ideas back and forth and when this one came up, we all agreed that it fit the storyline best of all.
What makes a book special to you?
Carolyn: Emotion. Pure and simple. If I can relate to the characters, whether I’m reading or writing a book, then it becomes real to me.
Do you find yourself more interested in plot-driven or character driven works?
Carolyn: Character driven. A beautiful plot is something to be desired, but the characters have to drive the book forward to fulfill that plot.
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
Carolyn: I never write a book that’s set in a location I haven’t visited, so whatever time it takes to do a road trip to that location is the beginning of my research. Sometimes I think a place is exactly where I want to set a book, and when Mr. B, my husband, and I drive there, it just isn’t right. I had two or three places located for The Sometimes Sisters but when I saw that little area at the end of the bridge over Lake Palestine, my heart and soul could see the whole story played out like a movie right there.
If you could be one of your characters for a day, who would it be and why?
Carolyn: Probably Dana. From my own personal experience of being one of the children that a father turned his back on, I could relate to her so well.
Could you choose a paragraph of The Sometimes Sisters which has particularly touched you during the writing process, and why?
Carolyn: This paragraph is about the very moment that Annie died. Zed realizes that he’s got to let her go and take the next step. It was one of those moments when tears rolled down my cheeks as I wrote the scene.
They’d talked about this moment for three months and gotten all the pieces in order. Even though they’d argue about things sometimes, the plan was in place for the next step, as she called it. And now it was up to him to make sure that her wishes were carried out. But dear sweet Jesus, he’d never thought about the pain when he’d have to let her go for good.
Can you share a bit about your next project?
Carolyn: I write both women’s fiction and cowboy romance. Cowboy Bold debuts a new series, The Longhorn Canyon Series, in May. Then July 3, Small Town Rumors, another stand alone women’s fiction book will be on the shelves. September will see Cowboy Honor, the second book in the Longhorn Canyon Series. Presently I’m working on Cowboy Brave, the third cowboy book, with a possible publication date of Jan. 2019. Then in February, The Magnolia Inn, has a possible pub date. I’ve just signed a two book contract to write two more women’s fiction books which will be out later in 2019.
Would you like to share a happy photo and tell us more about that moment?
Carolyn: This was taken a couple of years ago when I won the National Reader’s Choice Award for The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop. That is Silver James with me, presenting the award. It was my very first award for a women’s fiction book, and I was dancing on air!
Thank you, Carolyn, for being with us today and for kindly sharing 2 Kindle copies of The Sometimes Sisters with our readers!
About the author
Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She was born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma. These days she and her husband make their home in Davis, Oklahoma, a small town of less than three thousand people where everyone knows everyone, knows what they are doing and with whom, and read the weekly newspaper to see who got caught.
A plaque hangs on her office wall that says I know the voices are not real but they have such great ideas. That is her motto and muse as she goes through the days with quirky characters in her head, telling their stories, one by one, and loving her job.She has been married almost half a century to a retired English teacher that she calls Mr. B and he does not read her books before they are published because she cannot afford a divorce. They have three grown children.—and enough grandchildren to keep them busy and young.
When Carolyn is not writing she likes to sit in the back yard and watch the two tom cats protect the yard from all kinds of wicked varmints like crickets, other cats, spiders and blue jays.
For more about Carolyn, check her website HERE!
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Looks like a great read and I love the eye catching cover!
It looks like a wonderful read! Thanks so much for the chance!!!
Looks like a wonderful read! I spend my summers on Lake Erie and I think this would be the perfect book when I’m there this summer. Adding it to my #tbr!
Thank you for reading our spotlight, Melanie. Yes, I recommend it. 🙂 Now, you also have a chance to win it! Good luck! 🙂
Love the interview!! My last read was Dropout and I loved that even though the path you are on is good, it might not be your right path and it was ok to change paths
Thanks for sharing, Angel!