Q. We’re so
glad to have you as a member of MCRW. Are you a native of
Nashville or somewhere else? If somewhere else, where, and how did
you end up here?
A. The answer to this question is
very long, so I'll give you the condensed one! I grew up in
small-town Kentucky, in a little place called Hardin -- I think
there were 400 people there back then, and they have about 600 now.
I went to college in the mountains of Kentucky, traveled quite a
bit, and eventually settled in northwest Tennessee.
I moved back to the Nashville area when I met my husband, Chuck. He
lives and breathes country music, so settling here was the most
natural thing in the world. We live in Centerville, where we are
just close enough to Nashville to attend the music industry events,
but far enough away that we don't get sucked into the lifestyle
24/7.
Q. What made
you decide to try your hand at writing romance novels (or at joining
RWA/MCRW)?
A. Most of the novels I have
written in the past, whether they were thrillers or mysteries or
erotica, all had strong elements of romance in them. Both readers
and reviewers made a point of asking when I would write romance
novels, so I had been tossing the idea around for a while. Take that
and combine it with the very special place in my life right now --
settling down with the love of my life -- and you can imagine how
romantic everything seems! It's been very easy to channel all that
happiness into my work, and romance novels were the natural result.
Who doesn't want a happily ever after?
Q. Tell us
about your "WIP" or work-in-progress? What in specific do you
write?
A. I have three works in progress
right now. The first is titled Skipper's Compass, the story of a
woman who is running from her old life of emotional abuse, and the
very unlikely man who makes her think there might be hope for love
again. Another one is a murder-mystery without a romantic element in
sight, tentatively called Serial Rodney. I'm also working on a novel
-- almost complete! -- on Pearl Buck. It's the first time I have
worked on a "companion novel" to a film, so I'm very excited about
exploring that entirely new corner of the writing world.
Q: How do you
balance your writing with your other responsibilities? (Yes, as
always, I'm looking for tips...)
A. Honestly, I'm not sure I've
found any tricks to it. I've been fortunate to see everything fall
into place. When the children are in school, I focus on my writing.
My office is in my home, so it's easy to keep up with the housework
between paragraphs...and that afternoon, it's a toss-up between who
gets home first, the kids or my husband. Whenever one of them walks
through the door, that's their time, and I try not to work then. It
all seems to somehow fit into a neat little puzzle, though I have no
idea how!
Q. What do you
do when you're not writing? Do you have a "day" job, hobbies,
obsessions?
A.
I write for a living, and it's my hobby, too! I really enjoy what I
do. When I'm not writing I'm surfing the internet looking for good
books, hitting antique stores, taking mini-vacations with my
husband, or cooking. I adore cooking...everything about it appeals
to me. My cast iron skillets and my chef's knife are practically
sacred. If I weren't a writer, I might wind up as a chef.
Q. Do you have
children, pets, plants, a spouse, dust bunnies, a thimble collection
or anything like that?
A. Children,
spouse, far too many pets. I collect old tin signs, old typewriters,
and old pens. Lately I'm into collecting Hatch Show Prints, too. And
let's not talk about the dust bunnies...I pretend they aren't there,
they allow me to ignore them, and it works out just fine, thank you.
Q. What are
some of your favorite books, romance and other?
A. There are a few books that have
really stuck with me over the years, and I keep coming back to them.
I'm a huge LaVyrle Spencer fan, and I've read all of her books many
times. Other books that really stand out for me are The Poisonwood
Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve, and
All Over But the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg. I also keep coming back to
Stephen King's On Writing and Lisey's Story.
Q. If you could
go on a dream vacation anywhere in the world on someone else's
perfectly legitimate dime, where would you go, who would you take,
and what would you do?
A. I would split the time between
the mountains of Virginia and the bustle of Los Angeles. A little
bit of quiet, then a little bit of wild. Sounds like a plan, doesn't
it?
Q: Tell us a
secret!
A. Ooooh...secrets! If this
were a game of truth or dare, I would take the dare, if that tells
you anything. Okay...the smell of coffee makes me feel sick. Is that
a secret, or just a quirk? Just to be sure, here's one that really
is a secret: I rarely watch television, but lately I have become a
junkie for the FOX show House. Maybe it's a Hugh Laurie fetish. If
my next book features a handsome British man, now you know where I
got the inspiration!
Read
more about Shannon at:
www.shannondauphin.com and
www.gwenmasters.com
