Release Date: December 9 , 2014
Once Kate makes her spontaneous decision, her life is on the fast track and the real adventure begins. Caught between two men, she begins to realize that though she turned up in the Wrong Place, she might have arrived just at the Right Time.
I attended a writing conference in Kansas City in 2012. I thoroughly enjoyed several workshops presented by agent Mary Sue Seymour. In one of her workshops, she encouraged writers to find a great, eye-catching first line with which to start a story. In that class, she had us all come up with opening lines. I came up with “Stop the wedding!” “Wrong Place, Right Time” stems from that one line and opening scene that I created in that class. That particular scene got moved back farther into the book, but it still exists! And once I got home from the conference, I couldn’t help but finish the story I started!
2. Tell us about the editing process, were there any surprises?
Oh, just a few dozen! The initial shock and awe was the announcement from my editor that she believed after the story was edited that it would no longer be a full length, paperback printable novel. Instead, it would likely be a novella and released in e-book format only. This was disheartening to me, but I agreed with her that we needed to go with story and do what was best with it. The first round of edits returned with red computer comments and changes stuffed into every margin. I’ve never seen so much red! And though it was a grueling process, I learned a lot about my writing style, what I can do better, and how to make things flow. I’ve never claimed to be an editor. Reading through my stuff and seeing it for what it is and not for what I meant it to be is really hard. And that’s why I take editing advice very seriously from those who I believe know what they are doing!
3. What is your favorite genre to write in and why?
I’ve written a little bit of everything in my career. I have a family drama, a thriller, a Christian romance, and a Christian novel. But I’d have to say I’ve really enjoyed the romantic comedy genre the most. An agent I met at a writing conference encouraged me to try the romance genre. She said if writers can break in there, they can garner support and go on to write other things. I gave it a try and though I had no idea what I was writing had a comedic slant, I enjoyed the romance aspects. Honestly, I think I enjoy most whatever genre I’m writing in at that moment. I just love to write! But I’m going to go with romance/romantic comedy as my favorite since that’s what publishers seem to be wanting from me!
4. Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
Oh yes, there are always pieces of me in characters. I’ve heard the advice “write what you know” and I’ve taken it to heart! In “Wrong Place, Right Time,” the main character, Kate Covington, has plenty of my characteristics. She’s in TV news as a traffic reporter, for one. I did that exact job for about 5 months on a fill in basis. I feel like I was a bumbling traffic reporter much like she is in the novella! She also isn’t really all that into hair and makeup and clothes, just like me. On the other hand, there are plenty of fabricated aspects in every character I write as well. Sometimes I take things from people I know and sometimes I grab things from thin air. It’s the beauty of writing fiction!
5. Which was the hardest character for you to write and why?
I struggled with Chad Leida a bit. He’s the main male character in this book. I wanted him to come off full of himself, but he needed to have a softer side that he let show eventually as well. Striking a balance and letting Kate see the right areas of his personality at the right time without giving him too much softness was a challenge. Hank Leida was also hard. He’s Chad’s father and he comes across like a grand ole rancher. And yet he’s also caught up in the fast lane of the financial world. It was also a hard balance to strike.
6. What do you want your readers to gain from this novel?
I want readers to walk away from this novel with a smile on their faces and a light feeling in their hearts. I want to give them a chuckle or two and brighten their days. The overall message is that even when things don’t go as you expect or even as you want, it might be for good reason. And who knows, things might turn out even better than you’d hoped.
Brooke Williams is an award-winning author and freelance writer. She has written hundreds of articles as well as several novels, including Someone Always Loved You and Beyond the Bars. Brooke has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morningside College, with a double major in Mass Communications and Religious Studies. She has twelve years of experience in radio broadcasting, both behind the scenes and on-air. She was also a television traffic reporter for a brief time. Brooke and her husband Sean married in 2002 and have two daughters, Kaelyn and Sadie.
“Really really fantastic book! I had a very hard time putting my kindle down when my work breaks were over. Loved everything..the plot, the characters, the romance. Definitely recommend.This won’t be the only Brooke Williams book I read.” – Carrie Goodreads Review
Thanks so much for having on me on your blog! I appreciate the support! Your interview questions were fun to answer!
You are very welcome. Hope your book does well. I will post reviews by the end of this week.