Cara Colter’s ‘The Wedding Planner’s Big Day’ is out in March and we got the chance to meet this love author recently for a cup of tea and a catch up. Here are five things you might not have ever known about her… but be prepared, you might not be reading her material in quite the same way after this:

1) Some of my best friends call me Porkchop

2) I found out this past summer that I am a direct descendant of Egill Skallagrimsson, one of the first Viking settlers in Iceland.  My ancestor was a warrior and a poet. The Sagas are full of his exploits.

 

3) I love the Big Island of Hawaii, and when I am there, I try to swim the 1.2 mile King’s Swim as often as possible. 

4) My grandson, an expert on these matters, says that I make the world’s best chocolate chip cookies (fun fact number one may be a result of too much sampling of my own wares!)

5) I have been charged by a grizzly bear (fun fact number two is probably why I didn’t expire of fright on the spot!)

Tell us the best advice you were ever given as a writer?

The best advice I was ever given was the very unromantic “butt to chair.”  In my experience, writers who fail are unable to develop the discipline it takes to say no to all of life’s many distractions and temptations, and spend time, every single day, writing.  After all these years, I still love to write.  It is as necessary to me as breathing, and it is part of my daily routine, even if I am not working on a book.    I hope that passion for what I do is in every word I commit to paper!

Talk us through your writing process

I begin my day by journaling.  Then I clear my mind by taking my dog for a walk.  I am usually writing by nine a.m. and will write until lunch time.  Afternoons are generally not a good writing time for me, but I often like to go over what I have written in the morning that night.  There is a different energy at night, my writing is structured in the morning, at night it tends to feel more free flowing. 

What is in store for your readers next?   

I have taken a break from writing romance, and have spent the past six months writing the story of my heart.  The tale,  begins in Iceland, where I spent several weeks last summer. It links four generations of women, and portrays how their choices and tragedies, and especially their secrets, shape the fates of next generation. I am excited – and terrified – to see what happens next, but I hope my readers will be part of this great new adventure.  

Thanks so much for talking to us Cara. You can pick up ‘The Wedding Planner’s Big Day’ big day now.

By The Mills & Boon team