Friday, March 18, 2016

Interview with novelist Cheri Champagne

I’m wrapping up with the week by chatting with Cheri Champagne about the first book in a new historical romance series, Love’s Misadventure.

Bio:
Cheri started writing as a child, and began reading historical romance novels at the age of fifteen. She took several creative writing and English courses in college and university, but graduated with an Applied Business Technology degree. She worked for several years before her first son was born, and decided thereafter to stay home.

Still passionate about her sizzling historical romances, Cheri combined her loves and writes as often as she can manage, continuing to come up with a seemingly never-ending supply of plots.

She married her high school sweetheart and they live in BC, Canada with their four young children and their dog.

Welcome, Cheri. Please tell us about your current release.
Love’s Misadventure is the first book in the Mason Siblings series, and is due to be released on March 15th, 2016.

Best friends, Anna and Lane, are caught in the struggle against French spies and are swept away in a harrowing misadventure that nearly costs them not only their lives, but their friendship and love, as well.

What inspired you to write this book?
Honestly? My husband. I’m an avid reader of historical romances, and after a few particularly wonderful reads about spies in the Regency period, I began to crave more. Despite still loving the books I read, I sought adventure and intrigue. At the time, I couldn’t find any in bookstores (there are now some amazing and exciting novels from very talented authors, both with and without spies), so my husband suggested that I try my hand at it. Once I put my fingers to the keyboard, I couldn’t stop!

What exciting story are you working on next?
Currently I’m working on the substantive edits for my second novel, the second in the Mason Siblings series, entitled The Trouble with Love. It features two of the secondary characters from Love’s Misadventure. I also happen to be writing my seventh novel, the third in the Seductive Spies series, called To Woo a Troublesome Spy.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I considered myself a writer when I was four. Of course, I wrote only scribbles, but I certainly filled up notebooks! As a teen I wrote short stories and poetry, and in college and university I studied Creative Writing and English Literature, but I’d always considered my writing something I merely did for my own enjoyment, rather than for sharing with others. It was only after I’d finished writing my first novel that I’d truly begun to think of myself as a writer.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
No, I don’t write full-time. I am also the Acquisitions Manager for Pandamoon Publishing and a stay-at-home mom of four children aged seven and under. I spend a great deal of time corresponding with authors, reading submissions, doing household chores, and taking care of my children

Gratefully, I get a lot of help from my husband and my mom. When my husband comes home from work he takes over for me so I can sneak away. In addition to that, my mom looks after my kids at least one day per week, which is amazing. I owe a great deal to both of them!

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m not sure if you would call it a quirk, but I like to listen to classical music when I write. The trouble is, I have to find the perfectly timed song that suits the scene I’m writing before I can put my hands to the keyboard.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I chose something different every week, none of which reflected what I was actually good at. Most frequently, though, I said that I wanted to be a teacher. I would make my stuffed animals and dolls fill out homework so I could grade them. We’d also put on talent shows and pageants.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Sometimes those voices in your head are characters asking to be put in a book! Thank you so much for reading what I’ve got to say! It’s been a pleasure.

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Thanks for being here today, Cheri! Happy writing!

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