Getting To Know Us With Fran McNabb

Yes, we all have bios on this website, but there is so much MORE to know about our Classic and Cozy bloggers. So the 2nd Friday of each month is dedicated to getting to know us better.  This month I'd like to introduce you to Fran McNabb.

Okay, inquiring minds want to know…why a writer? Certainly not for the fame and fortune…or maybe it is?

Writing books was a natural progression for me. I taught high school English and journalism until I took an early retirement. After raising two sons and teaching for twenty-three years, I was totally bored sitting at home. That’s when I got serious about writing. I had written a few pieces earlier, but after joining RWA, I knew what I wanted to do.

When did you first put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to create your classic and cozy characters?

My attempts at writing books was way back in the early 1980’s. I wrote a couple of books, but after getting several rejections for them, I put away the idea of being an author. I knew nothing about publishing and didn’t realize that everyone got rejections! I had a lot to learn!

Do you have a set writing schedule?

 I’m a morning person so when I’m in the middle of a manuscript, I like to write after my two cups of coffee and my email check. I have a bad habit of getting so involved that I forget to change out of my pj’s until I have to leave the house. 

Is there a certain routine, food/drink, or location that summons forth the muses for you?

I have a chase lounge in my sunroom that overlooks a bayou harbor. If I don’t get too distracted with the activity on the water, I can write for hours.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I have always lived on the Gulf Coast and I love the water. From spring until late fall my husband and I love being on a boat. I love to fish and my favorite type is wade fishing at the nearby islands or “floating the grass beds” along the islands. The boat floats with the tide and with no motors running, the time is wonderfully quiet. I also like to paint.

I imagine you’ve been reading all of your life (all great writers have.)  What was your favorite book as a child?

This might seem strange to most people, but I don’t remember reading as a child or seeing books in my house. I don’t think I started reading until junior high when I could walk to the city library. 

Do you re-read books?  If so, which one have you re-read the most?

My all-time favorite book is Exodus by Leon Uris. I read it in my early 30’s and was so amazed with the author’s ability to pull me into the story, that I think it’s the first time I fell in love with a character, and I think I write a little bit of Ari into all of my heroes.

But there’s more to life than reading, writing (and arithmetic)…what is your most memorable adventure in your life?

I’m not a very adventurous person. I like safe and peaceful!! I guess my most memorable adventure wasn’t by choice. I was a child living on Ship Island, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico.  My parents worked with my mom’s family, and my brother and I lived the “island life.” One day we were caught in a tropical storm and had to spend the night in Fort Massachusetts, a Civil War fort. I can still remember the feelings I had that night and have used the setting in several of my books.

If you were on American Idol, what song would you sing to WOW! the judges? 

First, singing in front of anyone would never happen, but if a miracle happened and I found a voice, I would have to sing an old classic, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

What are you currently working on? What can we readers look forward to seeing from you?

I’m working on a book whose hero was introduced in my new book SAVING THE CHILDREN, the first in what I hope will be a series. SAVING THE CHILDREN was released on April 29 by The Wild Rose Press and is set in South America. I loved writing that book because I love having children in my stories. The first book has orphans, the second related book has troubled teens, and third one being worked on now has seniors in a nursing home. (Okay, they’re not children, but I love them too!)

Last question…movie rights…who’ll play your current main characters when Hollywood comes knocking on your door? 

I worried a long time over this answer because I don’t watch many movies so I asked my Facebook friends to comment and, wow, did I have a lot of gorgeous guys to check out. I couldn’t pick one, but if I had to choose, I’d have to have a sit-down meeting with these three guys: Jim Caviezel, Bradley Cooper, and Channing Tatum. I couldn’t go wrong with any of them!

Catch more of Fran McNabb the fourth Monday of every month here on the Classic and Cozy Blog.  

For a complete list of Fran’s books click on over to her website www.FranMcNabb.com

Getting To Know Us -- Jean C. Gordon

 

Yes, we all have bios on this website, but there is so much MORE to know about our Classic and Cozy bloggers.  So the 2nd Friday of each month is dedicated to getting to know us better. This month I'd like to introduce you to me, Jean C. Gordon. I’m interviewing myself.

Okay, inquiring minds want to know…why a writer? Certainly not for the fame and fortune…or maybe it is?
I think my writing is a natural extension of my love of reading. All though school, I loved writing, even though my best subjects were math and science. I went on to study journalism in college and later combined my math skills with my writing to become a financial writer.

When did you first put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to create your classic and cozy characters?
I started seriously pursuing fiction writing — romance novels — in 1995, after writing romance reviews for the now long-defunct Paperback Trader. I sold my first romance novel, Bachelor Father, to Avalon Books in 1999. Four more followed before Avalon Books was sold to Amazon Montlake. Since 2010, I’ve written for Harlequin Love Inspired. 

Do you have a set writing schedule?
Last month, after working for many years as a financial writer and Editorial Manager for a financial publisher in Albany, NY, I became a full-time author and freelance financial writer. I’ve been trying to maintain an at-home work schedule similar to my old day-job schedule, starting about an hour later than I used to and stopping about an hour earlier, for roughly a seven-hour day. But I’ve taken advantage of the flexibility to make exceptions for some volunteer work on Tuesday morning and mid-day walks with our lab-mix Xena. And no more writing evenings or weekends.

Is there a certain routine, food/drink, or location that summons forth the muses for you?
No, I guess my muse is every present. Or maybe that’s never present, so it doesn’t matter where I am.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
As I said above, I love to read. I like taking walks with Xena and my husband and enjoy our grandchildren who live with us. We share a 175-year old farmhouse on 12 acres with my daughter and son-in-law. I have a small flock of chickens and volunteer one morning and one evening at my church’s Book Nook, a used book fellowship mission. My husband and I like to travel the U.S., and I have a collection of shot glasses from every state we’ve visited. Once I meet my current looming deadlines, my son-in-law and I are going to tackle some home repairs and renovations.

I imagine you’ve been reading all of your life (all great writers have.)  What was your favorite book as a child?
The one that sticks out most is The Secret Garden.

Do you re-read books?  If so, which one have you re-read the most?
I don’t re-read books. I have a few on my keeper shelf in the living room, but haven’t re-read them.

But there’s more to life than reading, writing (and arithmetic)…what is your most memorable adventure in your life?
The cross-country, from Western New York to Los Angeles, CA, that my husband and I took as 19- and 20-year-old newlyweds to finish college in Los Angeles. We drove an old F-100 Ford van with my piano and his motorcycle and all our other worldly belongings. Along the way, we camped without a tent, only our double sleeping bag, in Ohio, stopped in Iowa to see my husband’s cousin who couldn’t make our wedding. She was going to college at Iowa. My husband had the distinction (at that time) of being the only man to stay overnight at her sorority house. We go to stay in the rec room. Then, it was on to my aunt and uncle’s in Manhattan, KS. A perfectionist professor at Kansas State, he “helped” my husband repack the van for optimal weight distribution. We crossed the Texas panhandle at night. It was so flat and desolate, it was spooky. We’d seen the headlights of a car driving toward us, but the car wouldn’t reach us for ten minutes. We also went through the Mohave Desert at night to avoid the heat (no AC in our van). It was still 110 in Needles when we left. And, then we came back two year later in a Ford Courier pickup, but that’s another adventure.

If you were on American Idol, what song would you sing to WOW! the judges? 

Nothing I sang would wow the judges.

What are you currently working on? What can we readers look forward to seeing from you?
I’m working on copy edits for the second book, Holiday Homecoming, and writing the third book in my new series for Love Inspired, The Donnelly Brothers — Hometown boys make good . . . and find love. The first book of the series, Winning the Teacher’s Heart is in stores now

Celebrated motocross champion Jared Donnelly returns to his hometown Paradox Lake to rebuild his family’s tarnished reputation, a move that nearly tears high school teacher Becca Norton’s family apart.

Last question…movie rights…who’ll play your current main characters when Hollywood comes knocking on your door? 
Holiday Homecoming:  Chris Helmsworth as Connor Donnelly and Natalie Wood as Natalie Delacroix
Josh’s book: Bradley Cooper as Josh Donnelly and Troian Bellisario as Tessa Hamilton.
For a complete list of my books click on over to my Website, JeanCGordon.com, and while you’re there, sign up for my author newsletter. You can also keep in touch with me on my Facebook page.