Author Interview ~ Cara Putman

Hi, Cara! Welcome to The Borrowed Book. We are featuring your new book, Rainbow's End. One of your collaborators on this project, Valerie Comer, was a guest with us not too long ago. From Valerie’s interview, I know that one of the central themes involves a treasure hunt. Have you ever participated in something similar in real life?

You know, I haven’t participated in a geo-caching adventure. Though after doing the research, this is exactly the kind of weekend adventure my husband and kids would love. I hope to try it this summer.

How did your story for the collection come about?

I was actually invited to become part of the collection after my co-authors Valerie Comer and Nicole O’Dell had the essential bones of the idea: a church located in the Ozarks hosts a geo-caching contest. Then I got to play with that idea and create my characters and their dilemmas to fit within that framework. Because most of my stories have an attorney in them somewhere, I made the hero an older student who’s getting ready to start law school. And the heroine has a stalker that is the impetus for her to leave her home for a couple months and join the treasure hunt.

How did collaborating with this team impact you? Did you know any of the other authors before you worked together on this collection?

Nicole and I were already very good friends and prayer partners. I knew but Valerie was a newcomer to me. It was such fun to work with these ladies. We had a great time brainstorming, working on each other’s stories, and finding ways to make the pieces fit together as a cohesive whole.

What is the hardest thing about writing a part of a novella collection?

Making sure that my story intertwines well with the setting and characters that the other authors create. It’s a challenge, but fun, too.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

What a good question. Reagan, the heroine, just seemed to beg for her name. The hero went through several iterations. By the time I landed on Colton Ryan, I realized that’s one of my nephew’s names. Guess I’ll have to get busy naming heroes after my other nephews.

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading Tricia Goyer’s next Amish novel The Memory Jar for endorsement. And then I’m on to Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert, The Soul Saver by Dineen Miller, and My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade.

That's quite a list! I'm surprised you find time, what with your busy schedule. What other books have you written, whether published or not?

This is my 14th novel. This spring I participated in another novella collection Cherry Blossom Capers, set in D.C. and released in January. Then in April a full-length novel A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island released. While these are contemporary romances with mystery elements, I’ve also written seven novels set during World War II plus four other contemporary romances with either strong suspense or mystery threads.

What did you want the reader to take away from your story?

That sometimes we need to confront our past to be set free from it. And we have to trust God with our futures or we might miss the prize standing in front of us.

What is the best piece of advice you received as an author?

To join American Christian Fiction Writers (www.acfw.com). I am convinced I would not be published and have written 15 books since 2006 without ACFW.

Thanks so much for having me!

About the Author...

Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney and a teacher at her church as well as lecturer at Purdue. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. She loves bringing history and romance to life.

An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara left small town Nebraska and headed to Washington, D.C., to launch her career in public policy.

Cara is an author chasing hard after God as she lives a crazy life. She invites you to join her on that journey. Find her at:

Website: http://www.caraputman.com/
Blog: http://blog.caraputman.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/caraputman
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cara_putman
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/caraputman