Today I'm pleased to introduce you to Abby Cavenaugh—a writer after my own heart. She's a hardworking, romantic-movie-watching, chocolate-loving, all-around cool person, and she's here today to talk with us about her new novel, Going Home Again, as well as tell us a little more about herself. Thanks for sharing your time with me, Abby!
Your novel has just
been published. That’s so exciting! Quick! Give us the title and genre of your book
and a 30-word or less tagline. Title—Going Home Again; Genre—contemporary
romance/women’s fiction; Tagline—Alyssa’s high school crush never knew she was
alive. Now, how much will she risk for a second chance with the one who got
away?
How did you come up
with the title of your book? I thought it was a fitting title, given what
happens in the book, although I don’t want to give the ending away. ;)
What is it about romance novels that captivates you? Are you a romantic? I’ve always loved movies like Sleepless in Seattle and Serendipity. I love the idea that there’s one special person out there for everyone, a soul mate, if you will. Even if soul mates aren’t real, I’d like to believe they are.
I love those movies. I actually own them, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I've watched them so many times that I can quote from them. In fact, every time someone says horses and my sister or my mom are around, we always sing, Harses, harses, harses.
Funny enough, I wouldn’t consider myself a
romantic. I guess I am at heart, since I write romance, but when I’m in a
relationship, I’m not easily swayed by flowers or candlelit dinners. I’m more
of a realistic romantic, I’d say. I’m more about the feelings behind actions,
rather than the actions just for the sake of “being romantic,” if that makes
sense.
Tell us a little bit
about your cover art. Who designed it? Why did you go with that particular
image/artwork? My
publisher, Swoon Romance, and editor Georgia McBride put it all together. They
have a cover artist they work with on all their covers, and we went through
several designs before we settled on this one. I knew I wanted the beach on the
cover, since the story takes place in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, and
once I saw the couple walking, I just kind of knew that was the right one, and
it seemed to fit the story perfectly!
Where is the most
romantic place you’ve ever been or would love to visit? I think Wilmington and
Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, are very romantic places. There are several
riverfront and oceanfront restaurants with outdoor dining that are perfect for
dates!
However,
I think probably the most romantic place I haven’t been is Venice, Italy. It’s
on my bucket list!
Other than Going Home Again,
what other projects are you working on at the moment? I am currently writing another romantic women’s fiction manuscript at
the moment. It focuses on being single in your late thirties. I hope people
will like it as much as they’ve liked Going
Home Again!
Do you have a special time when you write? Whenever I can! I’ve written on lunch breaks at the day job, in the
middle of the night, when I first wake up in the morning … so basically
whenever inspiration strikes, I go for it!
I especially love those times when I'm in bed, desperately trying to sleep, and an idea forces me to get up.
What are the essentials you need when sitting down to write? (tea,
music, pajamas, chocolate, etc.?) I need music. I
have playlists for each of my manuscripts, but I don’t necessarily have to
listen to them to write that particular manuscript. I also like to have Diet
Coke and chocolate. When I’m writing or not. :)
Where do your ideas come from? Mostly from my
imagination … from me extrapolating on “what if” thoughts. I have a lot of
ideas either in the shower or when I’m driving and can’t write them down. Ha!
What is the most difficult thing about writing? Definitely the waiting. You wait for inspiration to strike. Once you’ve
finished a manuscript, you wait to hear back from queries. You wait until you
can announce a deal. You wait for the release date. A lot of waiting for a very
impatient person like myself!
What is the easiest thing about writing? The writing itself, once it starts flowing.
What is your favorite
quote and why? “Don’t
give up. Don’t ever give up.” –Legendary N.C. State basketball coach Jim
Valvano
I’m
a lifelong N.C. State fan, and this quote means the world to me. I reference it
all the time.
What book are you reading now? I am currently
reading These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen
and loving every word of it. It’s exactly the kind of book I’ve always loved.
About women, romantic relationships, friendships, family, work … what we all go
through. I wish I could write even half that wonderfully!
What is a novel you think everyone should read? I would say The Lord of the Rings
trilogy. I’m not a big fantasy fan, but these books are so profound to me.
There’s a lesson in it for all of us.
What do you do when you’re not writing? I watch a lot of HGTV. I read a lot. I love movies and I love
shopping.
How do you relax? What do you do for fun? The beach is my happy place. I go there as often as I can to relax. The
constant of the waves soothes my soul.
For fun, I drive to Charlotte and go shopping at
the mall! There’s a two-story Barnes & Noble that I LOVE.
Charlotte is a beautiful city.
Other than novels, what else have you written? I’m a newspaper editor, so I regularly write stories for the paper. I
spent a couple of years writing for Wrightsville
Beach Magazine as well.
Fun Zone!
If you could be a fictional character from a romance novel, whom would
you choose? Alyssa from Going
Home Again because obviously, I made Michael Day up and he is perfect for
me. Haha!
If you were a kitchen appliance, what would you be? Interesting question … I guess I’d be a refrigerator because I’m so
chill. Bad-da-bump
I laughed!
Do you have any unique
talents or hobbies? Not really. Except funny faces I only do for my
family. Lol.
If you had Doc Brown’s delorean from Back to the Future, would you drive it into the future or into the
past? Where would you go? I think I would go to the best
night of my life, which is private, but I really want to relive that night
again and again.
Night owl or early bird? Night owl,
definitely!!! I am the furthest thing from a morning person imaginable.
What is one food you will never stop eating? CHOCOLATE!!!
You and me both, Abby.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A bestselling author of course!
Again, you and me both!
A chocolate Easter bunny walks through the
door right now wearing a sheriff’s badge and rain boots. What does it say and
why is it here? “I’m turning myself in
to be eaten.” I don’t know!! Hahaha!
And now, before you go,
how about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us:
“So it is Mike?” I added quickly, “I
mean, Michael Day?”
“Yes.”
Oh dear God. Breathe, Alyssa.
Greg Johnson continued, oblivious to my
mental freak-out. “He’s taking a few months off so he can go back home to North
Carolina. He hasn’t been there since the release of his Everything album, so it’s really important to him. He’s staying in
Wrightsville Beach, so your publication seems perfect.”
Clearly, I was supposed to say thank
you, but I remained silent, staring slack-jawed at my computer keyboard. Is this real life right now?
“Besides,” the agent went on, “by the
time your magazine comes out, he’ll be long gone, right? So he won’t have to
worry about his privacy, and with you being an old high school friend and all—”
“Oh, hold on,” I interrupted. “We weren’t
friends! I just knew who he was. I’m sure he doesn’t remember me.”
“You might be surprised. I’ll just
mention your name. Alyssa Jones, right?”
“No!” I exclaimed, my eyes bulging.
“Don’t do that!”
There was a long moment of silence
before he said uneasily, “Why not?”
I put a hand over my face, feeling like
that shy fourteen-year-old who preferred to hide her pimply face behind frizzy
dark hair, rather than ever speak to the boy she so adored. Oh my God, more
than twenty years ago. How was that even possible? And how did this guy still
have that effect on me?
I took a deep breath, reminding myself
I was in my thirties now, so what if the guy I lusted after for all my high
school years was coming back to town? Big deal.
I wished my heart would listen to reason.
Instead, it pounded like a splitting headache.
“I mean, I guess you can mention my
name. I just doubt he’ll recognize it.”
“Oh, okay.” I thought I heard a sigh of
relief. “So, do you think someone from your magazine would be willing to
interview him? He’s arriving there this afternoon, and plans to be there for a
few months.”
“He’s coming today?” I croaked.
“I thought we’d give him a few days to
get settled in. So … how’s your Friday look?”
I guzzled more water and grabbed my
calendar. Yes, I still scheduled all my appointments in a paper calendar. I’m
old school like that. Friday so far was totally blank. Of course, I usually had
one of my staff do most of the writing, but was I going to let one of them
interview Michael freakin’ Day? Hell, no!
“Actually, Friday’s wide open for me.”
“Great. So you’ll be doing the
interview yourself? Hold on one second. Let me get Michael on the line.”
WHAT?
I grabbed the arm of my chair. Why
hadn’t the bastard told me he might be putting Michael on the damn phone? I’d
thought this Greg Johnson and I were going to set this up ourselves. I had
never even spoken to Michael and now—
“Hello?” That sexy deep voice I hadn’t
heard in over fifteen years.
Follow Abby here:
Find Going
Home Again here:
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