Debra St.John on Wild Wedding Weekend

Emma: Today, I am featuring an interview with Debra St. John, author of Wild Wedding Weekend, available from The Wild Rose Press.

Blurb: All Abby Walker has ever wanted is to live a normal life in her small suburban-Chicago house. After traveling around the world in her youth, staying put in one spot is a dream come true. But when she winds up on a game show as a favor to a friend, her life takes an adventurous turn she isn’t at all prepared for.

Noah Grant has put his small-town Indiana roots behind him. He travels all over the world, enjoying the freedom and adventure. He has no intention of settling down anytime soon, if ever. But then he finds himself married to Abby in a bizarre quirk of fate, and he realizes his life will never be the same.

Their passion flares as hot as the sultry Caribbean air. But is passion enough to turn their Wild Wedding Weekend into a lifetime of love?

Welcome, Debra.

Quick questions for you as a reader:

1. Where do you like to settle in for a good read? In the summer I like to sit out on my front porch in a rocker or out back by our pond. In the winter it’s curled up in bed before I go to sleep.

2. What is your favorite genre? I do like romance best, mostly contemporary, although I am a huge vampire fan.

3. What length do you favor…shorts/novellas/novels? Full length novels.

4. Whose POV do you prefer…hero/heroine/villain? Definitely the hero and heroine. I don’t really want to know what’s going on inside the villain’s head.

5. Do you like first/second/third person? Third. I love being able to feel the emotions of both the hero and the heroine. I like seeing through their own thoughts and feelings how they grow and change throughout the course of the novel.

Emma: What has been your greatest fear you’ve had to overcome as a writer?

Debra: Will I be able to write another book? The one I’m working on right now is fighting me a little bit. I think I need to sit back and let my characters (and the story) do their own thing at this point.

Emma: What/who has been your greatest inspiration?

Debra: Family and friends telling me how proud they are of me that I’ve written a book. I think they get almost as excited as I am when I tell them I’ve sold another one. Fellow authors’ success stories are very inspirational. Being a part of a writers’ group provides inspiration, support, and encouragement.

Emma: What do you hope to accomplish with your writing? Do you have a goal?

Debra: I’d love to simply provide readers with a good story they’ll remember long after they’ve gotten to the happily ever after. On a more concrete level, I’d like to finish the three-book series I’ve dreamed about writing for years now. This Time for Always was the first in the series. This Can’t Be Love was recently contracted by The Wild Rose Press. So now I need to write the last one, This Feels Like Home, and hopefully sell it to make the trilogy complete!

(Woohoo! You can do it!)

Emma: What makes your writing unique?

Debra: I like to use places I’ve actually been as the settings for my books. From there I add my fictional characters and their stories.

Emma: What appeals to you about your genre?

Debra: The happily every after! When two people can overcome obstacles and conflicts to find true love, that’s good stuff. And in a world with so much bad news on tv, the newspapers, and on-line, it’s nice to have something with a bit of guaranteed happiness built right in.

Emma: How do you deal with criticism?

Debra: It’s always a bit disappointing and discouraging at first, but without criticism, we never learn, right? I belong to a fabulous local RWA chapter, and without the valuable feedback I’ve received from critique sessions, I never would have been published.

Emma: What do you do when you hit a wall? (Can’t figure out a character’s emotions, where the plot should go next, etc.)
Debra: Besides tear my hair out? (Just kidding! ) I guess I try to put myself in the character’s shoes. I’ll have conversations out loud with the other character and see what happens. Acting out a scene can be helpful as well. Sometimes something as simple as moving to a different room in the house to write helps to chip past that wall. Another thing that seems to work for me at times is jumping off of the computer, pulling out pen and paper, and doing some writing the old fashioned way. Somehow a blank piece of paper seems less intimidating than a blank computer screen.

Emma: What other works have you published?
Debra: This Time for Always, my debut novel, was published in 2008. I recently got a contract for This Can’t Be Love, but I don’t have a release date for that yet. We’re in the final editing stages of that one. I also have a free read, Mistletoe and Folly, available through The Wild Rose Press.

Emma: What are you working on now?
Debra: It’s a story tentatively called Family Secrets about two people who fall in love despite a slew of family complications. I’m meeting my editor in person at a conference at the end of the month, and I hope to pitch it to her. Quite a thrill, since all of our communication so far has been via e-mail. Hopefully I’ll have somewhat of a semblance of a finished product! I’ve also been busy doing promotion (setting up a blog tour, etc.) for Wild Wedding Weekend, which was released today!
(Good luck!)

Emma: Thank you for your time, Debra, and good luck with your future books!
Debra: Emma, thanks so much for having me here today to celebrate the release of Wild Wedding Weekend!