Author Interview ~ Lorraine Beatty

Lorraine Beatty was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, but has been blessed to live in Germany, Connecticut, and Baton Rouge. She now calls Mississippi home. She and husband Joe have two sons and six grandchildren. Lorraine started writing in Junior High and has written for trade books, newspapers and company newsletters. She is a member of RWA, ACFW and is a charter member, and past president of Magnolia State Romance Writers. In her spare time she likes to work in her garden, travel, and spend time with her family.

Hi, Lorraine! Welcome to The Borrowed Book. Tell us a little about yourself. How did your writing journey begin?

I’ve been writing stories since seventh grade. I had a teacher who required us to write a story every Monday. I was in heaven. Later I wrote fan fiction for years before trying a novel. I was one of those writers every hates – I sold the first book I submitted. I wrote for Silhouette Special Edition for a while but circumstances caused me to stop writing for a while. When I started back again I wanted to write Christian stories

Thank goodness for teachers who love to teach! I had a fifth grade teacher who influenced me the same way. So, how long did you write before you sold your first book?

I’d been writing fan fiction just for fun for nearly ten years. It was a good training ground.

Absolutely. I believe nothing I've ever written, published or not, has been wasted. What book(s) are you reading, or have read lately?

I’ve been reading a lot of Love Inspired. I’ve sold two books to them recently and I’m trying to keep current on the kind of plots and characters they want. I’ve also read Sandra Robbins, Angel of the Cove, McCarver and Ashley’s Lily and I’m just starting Elizabeth Ludwig’s, No Safe Harbor.

Thanks for the plug! :-) Which fictional literary character most inspired/inspires you?

Anne of Green Gables. I still admire her spunk, her determination in spite of being different. I wanted to look at life with optimism like she did.

Now that you are published, do you still experience rejections? If so, how are these rejections different or similar to the ones you received before becoming published?

Yes, and I’m sure there will always be books that won’t sell. That still hurts and I spend a little time pouting but the difference is, I’ve learned to focus on the next book and the next idea. It helps to have things constantly in the works.

I agree completely. Now, tell us a little about your latest release:

Beautiful Dreamer is the story of a woman who longs for security and has her life all planned on how to make that happen. Until she agrees to show a visiting movie location scout around St Augustine. He makes her long for things she’d buried, like romance a family and travel.

Sounds like an interesting premise! If you could only share one line from BEAUTIFUL DREAMER, which one would you choose and why?

I’m tired of living my life bound by fear and a need for control. I’m giving it all to you.

I think it’s a reoccurring theme in most of our lives. The hardest thing in the world is to fully relinquish control of our lives over the Lord, but it’s the only way to find peace.

What inspired you to choose the setting for your novel?

Actually a friend who wrote for Heartsong discovered that the editor had honeymooned in St Augustine and really love the city. He thought setting a series there might be a good hook to get the book sold. He was right. LOL

Sounds like you may have stumbled onto something. LOL! What kind of research did you have to do for this book? Can you share some articles or website links you found particularly helpful?

I kept trying to get over to St Augustine to do some onsite research but never made it. I was there once when I was young so I had some recollection of the feel but basically I did all the research through Google street view. It was actually kind of fun. Having been to Florida many times there wasn’t anyone website that stands out as helpful, but I did use YouTube to take tours of the city and that was very helpful to get a feel for things.

Tell us what new projects you’re working on.

I just finished the revisions for Restoring His Heart, book 2 in the Dover, Mississippi series. It will be released next June. Book 1, Rekindled Romance will be out in April. Now I’m writing a novella for a Barbour Christmas collection. The theme is Plantation Christmas Weddings, set in four different Plantations in Natchez, Mississippi. The stories are contemporary romances.

What is the one question you were afraid I would ask…and how would you answer?

Wow. I actually hadn’t thought about that. I supposed asking why my first try at being published didn’t last. There were lots of family issues going on at the time, but probably the biggest culprit was lack of understanding about the reality of being published. I think many writer think that once you’re published it’s a cake walk from there on. All you have to do is write another book. I wasn’t prepared for the need to fit into a format, to write the books a certain way to suit the publishers genre. That’s one of the things I tried to learn well the second time around.

It's been so fun visiting with you, Lorraine. I know our readers are going to want to learn more about you. Where can they connect with you?

http://www.facebook.com/Lorrainebeattyauthor?ref=hl
http://pinterest.com/lcbeatty/
http://lorrainebeatty.blogspot.com/