Bonnie Calhoun Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. Hmmm…I’m a little bit crazy and a little bit country. LOL…no lie…everyone that knows me will tell you I’m three buns short of a Baker’s dozen (I probably ate them when they weren’t looking…the buns are on my buns *snort-giggle*) and I live in the country…so there, and that’ll hold ya!

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. Oh writing grew from a natural extension of teenaged angst. I come from the Dear Diary set. We were always writing as teenagers, so writing has always been a form of expression for me…and I tend to be very expressive.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break??
A. Hmm…another one that I have to think about. Probably the best breakdown of the highlights is: It was a God thing. Seriously.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release?
A: Sloane Templeton is forced to take over the family bookstore after her mother’s untimely passing and she quickly discovers that someone is trying to kill her. And it’s not her Aunt Verline. Verline fancies herself as the Iron Chef when in reality you need a cast iron stomach to partake of her culinary disasters. Her husband Bert died last year, but the coroner was pretty certain that it wasn’t because of her cooking. Then there’s a book club of little old people named the Granny Oakleys…but they never read books.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Cooking The Books?
A: It’s a group of people that I know who all seemed to fit into the circumstance. LOL…I can’t tell you too much or it will give away the plot or future continuations of the plot.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: That as a woman, you can always overcome your circumstances if you rely on the Lord. Phil 4:13…“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?
A: Favorite chapter or scene…any thing with Aunt Verline in it!

Q: What inspires you to write?
A. I’m an entertainer. People inspire me to write to entertain them with stories that will give them hope that they are not the only one in a bizarre situation and that they can come through it and be victorious.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?
A: I’ve been in the industry for several years in other capacities, so there weren’t any “rose-colored glasses” moments that I wasn’t prepared for.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?
A: That is totally a one word answer…W-R-I-T-E…but I could probably add a slightly different piece of advice….w-r-i-t-e…or this way….write, write, write. Seriously, that’s the key to getting published. My agent Terry Burns has a motto. Publishing isn’t a submission process, it’s a survival process.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m working on another novel for Abingdon Press. It’s for their Quilts of Love series. Mine is titled Pieces of the Heart and it will publish August of 2013. This is actually backstory for my character, Sloane Templeton. In Cooking The Books, you find that Sloane is a 3rd generation battered woman. Pieces of the Heart is the story of Sloane’s grandmother during WWII.

Q: What is something your readers might be surprised to learn about you?
A. ROFLOL…I’m thinking that after a couple dozen interviews there’s not much people don’t know about me, and the things that y’all don’t know…I’d have to kill ya if I told ya!

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?
A. That’s easy…website design and social media…Considering word count, I have written several full novels on Facebook!

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?
A. I’d like to tell all the people that have read my books…or will read my books, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope I have entertained you, and with God’s grace I will continue to do so.