Interview With Author Sandra Dailey

Please welcome my fellow Wild Rose Press author, Sandra Dailey!

Thank you for hosting me on your blog today, Babette. I’ve found so many new friends in ‘The Rose Garden’, but I love reaching out to their friends and readers as well. Everyone is invited to leave questions or comments and I’ll do my best to respond.

 My current release, ‘The Chief’s Proposal’ is a marriage of convenience story. My heroine, Ginny Dearing, is a young white school teacher from a city in Michigan. My hero, Brett Silverfeather, is a Native American sheriff from a small town in Georgia. They need each other to achieve their separate goals, but they’re opposites in every way. Their differences bring a lot of spice to the melting pot.

How do you come up with ideas? I find ideas everywhere; eavesdropping in waiting rooms and grocery lines, from news stories or song lyrics, and yes, from dreams. I have an index box on my desk full of ideas.

What do you enjoy most about writing? I’ve loved telling stories since I was little. I had four younger siblings to entertain, then four children as an adult, followed by all my grandchildren. Now I can share stories with a larger audience.

Where do you start when writing? Research, plotting, character, or…? I have to form my main characters as soon as I have an idea. I write an extensive bio for each of them.

What is the best thing about being an author? Working my own hours, in my pajamas, without makeup.

What do you like to read? Everything; romance, mystery, suspense, paranormal, and cereal boxes.

These are few of my favorite things:

• Football
• Thunderstorms
• Wood

Here’s an excerpt from ‘The Chief’s Proposal’, after my main characters first meet:

“You know, you could have called,” Brett blurted. “I expected you to be here early this morning. I didn’t know if you’d had an accident and died on the side of the road or just changed your mind and stayed up north.”

Ginny wished she’d done either one at that particular moment. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and slouched slightly. “I didn’t have your number.”

“You knew I worked for the sheriff’s department. You could have called the office at any time. What held you up for so long—sightseeing, souvenir shopping, or mountain climbing?”

Ginny’s temper rose to a bubbling boil. “You have no idea what I’ve been through in the last forty-one hours. This was supposed to be a leisurely drive down I-75. My route was supposed to practically take me from my front door to yours.

“Instead, I’ve driven through monsoons in four different states. There were nothing but eighteen wheelers and RVs around me, throwing water over my windshield. It was like being the marble in a pinball machine, a wet and foggy pinball machine.

“The number of accidents was incredible. I spent hours just sitting still. It’s a good thing there was nothing to drink because there were also no bathrooms. I pictured myself turning into a big, dried up piece of jerky.” She stopped for a breath.

“I was only detoured off the interstate four times, which believe it or not, was lucky. I lost count of the construction sites at twelve. That was when one of my tires blew out.

“At that point, I decided to stop for the night. I’d intended to get a nice hot shower and a good night’s sleep. Do you want to know what I got instead? A shower in a tub, with what I hope was rust in the bottom, which only gave lukewarm water. And, a bar next door that featured a very loud band until four in the morning. Is that even legal? There was a neon sign outside flashing Redneck Rendezvous…all night long.

“I started back out this morning at the crack of dawn. The only thing to eat for miles was stale donuts and acid based coffee. Where’s all that great southern cuisine I always hear about?” Another breath.

“Do you want to know how my day was today? I drove through more rain, huge vehicles, accidents, and construction sites. The only difference, it was even hotter. For Heaven’s sake, is this Georgia or did I take a wrong turn into hell? My car doesn’t have air conditioning, that’s right, no air. And, my radio is broken, no tunes either.”

Ginny threw her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. “I should have asked the doctor for a tetanus shot and a valium.”

Brett was impressed. She had barely taken a breath. She might have broken his record for endurance in the tantrums and tirades category. He turned to her and said, “You still could have called.”

So, that was their first conversation. Ginny saw her life going south in more ways than one.

My Bio:

I live in North Florida, near Gainesville, with my husband. During my time off the computer, I work as a home healthcare provider for the elderly. My husband and I have a combined family of two sons, two daughters, and seven granddaughters.

‘The Chief’s Proposal’ is the first book I’ve submitted for publishing. I’ve been blessed to have it accepted by The Wild Rose Press.

To contact me:

www.sandradailey.blogspot.com
www.sandradailey.com
www.facebook.com/sandradailey.author

Buy links:

Wild Rose Press http://bit.ly/PSiSNR

Amazon http://amzn.to/MCNbDU

Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/RTDJ01