The only thing that hanging out with writer friends, is getting to cheer on their new releases. And I'm so excited to have Cara here today to talk writing -- both fiction and nonfiction -- plus mugs and dogs and seriously can you stand the cuteness in that picture????? Oh, and coconut because ... COCONUT!!!!!! If we were at a coffee shop, what would you order? Tea! Some kind of black tea with an interesting flavor. My current favorite is Salted Caramel Chocolate tea, but I also love anything with coconut in it! At home, do you have one go-to mug or do you pick by mood or whatever is within reach? Oh, yes, I have a go-to mug. It’s actually a hand made pottery beer-stein from an artist in Virginia. I’ve measured it and it holds 24 ounces! It would be rare to ever find me writing without that mug at my elbow – black tea in the morning, green tea after lunch, and rooibos tea in the evenings. As a writer, I’m obsessed with writing process. I love hearing how others work their magic. What’s your process like? Do you have certain routines/rituals? I generally start my day early, before dawn, with a dog nestled at my side and my first cup of tea. I read pieces from several inspiring books and then journal briefly. After getting myself and the menagerie fed (our three dogs, foster dogs, foster cats, horses, chickens, and barn cat), I’ll settle in and work through the morning into the afternoon on ‘nonfiction’ tasks: my blogs, freelance articles, the current non-fiction WIP, answering emails, pitching articles or querying for reviews, or Who Will Let the Dogs Out (the non-profit, I co-founded to raise awareness and resources for shelter dogs). The afternoons are reserved for my fiction. Writing then is a habit that grew out of my children’s nap schedules. Those kids are now adults, but I still write stories from 1-3pm most days. Any time left after I’ve spent all my words, I devote to social media and reading other people’s writing—either for students if I’m teaching or other author’s if they’ve requested it. That’s my dream schedule, but a houseful of foster dogs, puppies and/or kittens, plus a small farm to manage, and three starter-adult children who still need me on occasion means most days are interrupted often. I’m so excited that Blind Turn is available for everyone to enjoy (I’m so honored that I had the opportunity to read an advance copy). What was the idea (or coffee bean maybe? :-) ) that triggered this story? Thanks so much for being a reader. The support I’ve gotten from other authors has made publishing during a pandemic a little less lonely. As far as the inspiration for Blind Turn, the hardest thing I’ve done as a mom is teach my kids to drive. After having their lives in your hands for years, suddenly you have to put your life in their hands. About the time my oldest was learning to drive, there was a horrific accident in the county just east of us. A young driver hit an Amish buggy and killed the family inside. That accident haunted me and probably made me jumpier than need be in the passenger seat. I couldn’t shake it, so I wrote through the idea of how lives move on after a good kid does something so terribly tragic. It helped remind my worried mama soul that even in the worst of circumstances, we can find a way through. You also write non-fiction. How do you juggle the demands of two very different writing endeavors? Sometimes I don’t do it very well! I tend to lean in one direction or another when a book is in its launch period. But dividing my days does help. The nonfiction mornings are busy and active—lots of email or research or phone calls, plus sometimes I’m testing out a product or an idea. I can write nonfiction fast, so that’s the tempo of my mornings. I can also write nonfiction pretty much anywhere/anytime and love a good deadline. For fiction I have to switch gears. I definitely need quiet and solitude to work. When my kids were living here, that meant I didn’t write fiction in the summers because there were too many chances of being interrupted. (And I’m not nice to people who interrupt me when I’m in the midst of a story…just ask my poor husband.) The worlds of fiction and nonfiction publishing have been very different experiences, but there is plenty of overlap. I worry, often, that I can’t dig deep enough into either to be truly successful. It’s made me redefine success. Its also made me face up to the limits of what one person can do in a day. I love that you've been able to redefine success and limits. That's something I'm still struggling with. Can you give us a hint about what you’re working on next? I'm wrestling with too many projects and am hoping to settle on just one or two soon. I’m exploring another ‘dog book’ idea—working through the storyline and writing scenes. I’m also marinating two different fiction manuscripts—one is mostly finished but my agent is demanding a huge overhaul, so to avoid that task, I’ve been dabbling with another one that is nearer to my heart (but not quite so ‘commercial’). Plus, I have a nonfiction project about parenting and breaking an unruly horse (I promise there is overlap!), that has languished a long time on my laptop. That last one made me laugh. My teenage boy is much easier than the majority of horses I've worked with. :-) Back to the coffee shop. Do you eavesdrop on folks at neighboring tables or tune everyone out? I eavesdrop terribly – even if they aren’t speaking. I love to watch body language, study wardrobe choices, guess ages, and imagine lives. I can tune everyone out if I must. I wrote my newspaper column and started my first blog in a coffee shop, four hours a week while my oldest son was taking fencing classes. Finally tell me something about yourself that will make the people at the next table scoot closer to hear better … or maybe scoot further away. ;-) I grew up with Chris Coons, the senator from Delaware who took Biden’s seat and was recently in the running for a cabinet seat. His mom was my piano teacher and became one my mom’s best friends, so our families spent time together. I even lived with Chris (as a roommate) briefly when I was in Wilmington. He convinced me to be a mentor for his I Have a Dream project and he taught me how to make homemade pizza. He’s a great guy—the real deal when it comes to wanting to help people and make the world a better place. Plus, he’s wickedly funny and smarter than anyone I know. Where to find Cara ... www.carawrites.com whowillletthedogsout.org Facebook and on Instagram
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