When not writing about her imaginary friends, Carol Moncado hangs out with her family and a dog who weighs less than most hardback books. Her favorite activity is watching NCIS, unless Castle is on - or Girl Meets World (with her four kids, of course!). She believes peanut butter M&Ms are the perfect food and Dr. Pepper should come in an IV. If her kids, and dog, aren’t racing around her big backyard in Southwest Missouri, she’s teaching American Government at a community college. She's President of MozArks ACFW and can be found on Facebook, her website, and the InspyRomance blog.
How to connect with Carol...
Website: www.carolmoncado.com
I blog weekly at: www.inspyromance.com/blog
Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolgm
Twitter: www.twitter.com/carolmoncado
Purchase: More than A Princess
Author Interview | Carol Moncado
You and Writing
Tell us a little bit about yourself: How did you start writing? What has kept you writing? ...I’ve written off and on my whole life. I co-wrote some stories with friends in elementary school and junior high. I didn’t write as much in high school or college but started writing for fun not long after I got my Master’s degree in 2001. I didn’t get serious until about 2009, though. What keeps me writing? The voices in my head would drive me crazy if I didn’t let them out to play ;).
Do you have a favorite book or work that you’ve written? If so, why?
...My absolute favorite I’ve written has the working title Grace to Save and most likely will release next summer. If you’ve read any of my current releases, you may remember Travis Harders (or his mom, Julie Harders). It’s his story. A story of prodigals and redemption and, above all, grace. I love all of my stories, but (shhh! Don’t tell!) I do have favorites ;).
If published, what was the hardest thing about publishing? The easiest?
...Last year, after spending five years, and a dozen manuscripts, pursuing traditional publishing, I decided to start my own indie publishing company. It’s not easy. In fact, the writing may be the easiest part. I love the drafting phase (except when I hate it). The creating. The story unfolding as I go. I love having edited. The being done part, the finished product. But I don’t love the process at all. And there’s so much to learn about being your own publisher! Fortunately, I’ve had great friends and great resources (like the Christian Indie Authors group on Facebook) to help me out.
Tell us a little bit about what you’re working on currently?
...Right now, I’m working on Hand-Me-Down Princess. It’s the story of Prince Malachi of Mevendia. He’s the spare and his father has insisted he follow the laws still on the books regarding arranged marriages for the royal family. Jessabelle is this mousy, super awkward/shy girl happiest in the background. She’s never met Prince Malachi but she knows the Crown Prince refused to marry her. Twice. There’s a whole bunch of twists and turns sort-of-kind-of planned out but I can’t wait to see what happens!
Why are you writing it?
...Why? I started Crown Prince William’s story about five years ago. It’ll probably be a while before I get back around to it, but I’d written these two other royalty stories and finally decided I couldn’t just keep making new pretend worlds with fictional countries in them, so I gave them a common history and that gave me lots of royal relationships to play with ;). The first book was Good Enough for a Princess. The second one is the (still untitled) sequel to Hand-Me-Down Princess. I needed a way to tie it all together. That’s when book 3 in this series, Prince from her Past, popped into place, followed quickly by the foundations of this book 1.
Do you have a favorite character in this work? If so, why?
...Oh! Prince Malachi! Right now, he’s still totally Prince Charming! I’m sure he’ll have his moments, but /big waffy sigh/ I hope everyone else loves him as much as I do.
What is one take-away from your book that you hope readers identify with?
...Our identity isn’t found in who we marry or what we do or even what our heritage is. Our identity should be found in the King who has adopted all of us into His family. We’re each a “child of the one true King.” (Yes, that’s a Matthew West song ;)) That’s where our identity should be.
Writing
Where do you find inspiration for your story/characters? Are they based on real life or pure imagination or both?
...A little of both. There’s a bit of me in every character. Some characters are based loosely on people I know but usually it’s more of “ooo! I love this quirk!” from person 1 and “Ee! That’s a great idiosyncrasy!” and smash them all together to make someone completely new.
...One character – Travis Harders, mentioned earlier – was named for my favorite shift manager at my favorite Panera. He insisted I name a character after him. I did and finished the first draft about six weeks later. A couple weeks after that… The real Travis was killed in a car accident. Physically, Travis Harders is a lot like the real one. His personality probably matches some, but it’s more a figment of my imagination.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors for writing and/or publishing?
...Write. Write. Write some more. And read. A lot. And then some more. And not just books about writing, but good books in all genres you enjoy whether you write them or not. Polish. Put it out there in a crit group or on submissions. Then learn from your experience and do it all again.
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| From Flickr by xiaopobao
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You
What is a favorite memory you have of your mother?
...My mom died when I was ten. She was diagnosed with cancer in August. My birthday was in November. She wasn’t working and we were broke. Instead of some big thing, she gave me ten envelopes tied together with pink curling ribbon. Each one said something like “10 chocolate chips” or “10 pennies.” The last one said “1 shopping trip with Mom.” I’m not sure if we ever got to go on that trip. A week later, she was in the hospital with pneumonia and never fully regained her strength. She died in March, three days after her 40th birthday.
...I’ll be 40 this year…
If you had to choose one type of food, what kind would it be?
...Does chocolate count? If so…that! If no, Italian! Hey – I married one!
April showers bring May flowers – or so they say. Do you have a favorite flower? If so, why is it your favorite? ...Carnations are actually one of my favorites. When it comes to having them around the house, I prefer them because of the smell. For purely aesthetic reasons, probably not, but there ya go ;).
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Thank you so much for being on the blog today Carol! I'm totally with you on the peanut butter and chocolate combo! And I think that's awesome that you started your own publishing company. Isn't it funny that the things we love often have a lot of things we dislike along with them? Love your take-away there too, I think it's easy to get wrapped up in what we're doing and who we are or are with, but ultimate we are the Lord's and that's first in importance! And wow, what a powerful story about the man your character was named after. Amazing that his "legacy" (in a sense) is carried on in your books! And thank you so much for sharing such a sweet memory about your mother. I love having the chance to have different authors on the blog and to hear their stories! Thank you for sharing so willingly :)
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