Shannon Taylor Vannatter | Author Chat

It's getting warmer outside so I'll be doing iced coffee with coconut today, but make sure you've got something to sip on as we chat with Shannon Taylor Vannater today. She is...

...a stay-at-home mom/pastor’s wife/award winning author. She once climbed a mountain wearing gold wedge-heeled sandals which became known as her hiking boots. Shannon writes inspirational contemporary romance and it took her nine years to get published in the traditional market.

Shannon hopes to entertain Christian women and plant seeds in the non-believer’s heart as her characters struggle with real-life issues. Their journeys, from ordinary lives to extraordinary romance through Christ-centered relationships, demonstrate that love doesn’t conquer all—Jesus does. In her spare time, she loves hanging out with her family, flea marketing, and doing craft projects.

Let's get real...

Would you rather live in a story world you’ve created for a year OR live three days in a story world someone else has created? If second option, which story world?
Mine. That way I’d be sure to get a happy ending.

How many words do you write a day? 
If it’s a bad day – 1,000. If it’s a good day and things are flowing – 2,000 to 2,500. The most words I’ve ever written in a day was 6,500. The story was flying from my fingertips. I wish that would happen more often.

Least favorite food?
Spinach or turnips. Entirely too green. I figure that must be what grass tastes like.

If you were forced to do karaoke what song would you pick?
Amazing Grace. My son has fought sleep since he was three weeks old. I used to rock him to sleep and sing Amazing Grace. It was the only song I knew all words, all the verses, and I could sing over and over. When he was a toddler, he hated the song because he knew it meant sleep. He’s fifteen now and still hates to go to bed, but he is learning to appreciate the power of a good night’s sleep.

If your book became a movie, who would you cast for your main characters? For Landry – Isla Fisher. I used her for inspiration while I wrote the book. For Chase, I don’t know this cowboy’s name. I found him on Pinterest.

What is your favorite mode of transportation: plane, train, or car?
Car. I’ve never flown and don’t plan to. I never liked the idea of it and a plane crash in the Florida everglades several years back cinched it for me. Imagine surviving a crash to be eaten by crocodiles. Shiver. I’ve never rode a train either, but that might not be so bad. I’m not afraid of dying since I know where I’m going. But I’d prefer to go peacefully, not in panic mode.

What’s one thing you must have/do in the morning?
Coffee. I can drink it any time, even right before bed, and it doesn’t keep me awake. But it seems to help me wake up in the morning. And I’m so not a morning person.

What does a ‘normal’ day look like for you?
During the school year, I get up at seven, which hurts me since I’m a night owl. I zone out while my son gets ready for school since that’s all I’m capable of at that hour. I hug him before he leaves and my husband takes him to school. My husband is a full-time pastor, so he hangs out at the church or visits people most days. I wear an oversized T shirt and big stretchy shorts or warm ups. I brush my teeth and hair. I’m at the computer by 8:00. I write until 2:00, then get dressed in my public clothes and put my makeup on.

I don’t answer the door before 2:00 unless you’re here to fix my air-conditioning or my internet. Not because it’s my writing time, but because I don’t let anyone other than close family see me unfixed. I’ve always been that way. We pick up our son from school, then we go somewhere or come back home. If home, my husband and I usually work on flea market projects for our booth or some home remodeling project, while our son fishes or hangs with friends. By seven or eight, we’re finished with our projects. We visit or watch movies together until ten or eleven.

In the summer, I get to live my night owl tendencies. I get up at ten, spend most days with my family, then write from ten until two a.m.

Question for Readers: Are you a morning person or night owl? What kind of schedule do you keep?

Connect with Shannon...
Website: http://shannontaylorvannatter.com
Blog: http://shannontaylorvannatter.com/blog
Facebook: http://facebook.com/shannontaylorvannatter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/29672798-shannon-vannatter
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/stvannatter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stvauthor

Giveaway details: Comment to enter the drawing for a copy of Winning Over the Cowboy. Eleven copies will be split among names drawn during the blog tour from April 3 -20. One winner will receive a fishing themed memory board personally crafted by the author. This fabric is special because my son loves to fish as do the characters in the book. Great for displaying kids or grandkids or as a gift for the little fisherman in your life. Deadline April 27th. Winners will be revealed on the author’s blog on April 29th. Go to my website http://shannontaylorvannatter.com and sign up for my newsletter to enter more giveaways and get a free book download.

The Rancher Stakes His Claim

When she inherits half a dude ranch after losing her best friend, Landry Malone is determined to see Eden's legacy flourish. That is if her friend's broad-shouldered cowboy brother will give her the chance. Chase Donovan isn't happy that his sister left their family business to an outsider—and he's determined to test Landry's mettle, hoping she'll give up her claim. Soon Chase is impressed by Landry's ability to rise to every challenge he puts in her way—and worried that his attraction to the perky spitfire seems to know no end. Finally working together to ensure the ranch's future, will their business partnership be the foundation for something more?

Purchase: Winning Over the Cowboy

Shannon Taylor Vannatter {Writer Wednesday} GIVEAWAY

You may remember Shannon from her previous post (you can find that here). I've happily invited her back and am excited to announce that she will be offering a GIVEAWAY of her novel Arkansas Weddings. This giveaway will run until 9pm next Monday evening (when I return from the ACFW conference :D) and I will announce the winner on Tuesday September 17th. To enter, please leave a comment below. I will enter all names of the commenter into a hat (ok, let's be honest, it's going to be a bowl...) and draw a winner! 

A little bit about Shannon...

Shannon Taylor Vannatter is a stay-at-home mom and pastor’s wife. Her debut novel won the 2011 Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award. When not writing, she runs circles in the care and feeding of her husband, their son, and church congregation. Home is a central Arkansas zoo with two charcoal gray cats, a chocolate lab, and three dachshunds in weenie dog heaven. If given the chance to clean house or write, she’d rather write. Her goal is to hire Alice from the Brady Bunch.

How to connect with Shannon...

Website: shannonvannatter.com
Blog: shannonvannatter.com/blog
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/4603969.Shannon_Taylor_Vannatter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shannontaylorvannatter
Twitter: @stvauthor
Purchase her book [here]

Author Interview | Shannon Taylor Vannatter

 
You & Writing

If published, what was the hardest thing about publishing?
...Deadlines. It can be stressful when I’m writing a book with a deadline. Midway through when I’m really on a roll with the book, I get edits from my publisher on a different book with a different deadline. I have to stop working and do my edits. Get them turned in on time, then pick up where I left off on the book I was writing. I finally told myself if I want to be a writer—this is it. Deal with it. I don’t stress out as much anymore and remind myself that deadlines are a good thing to have.

The easiest?
...The books are easier to write these days. They seem to just flow out of me. 

Your Writing

...Arkansas Weddings is a 3 in 1 collection of my first three published books. Each story is set in Romance and Rose Bud. Both small towns are real and in west central, Arkansas. The Romance Post Office provides a re-mailing service. People send their Valentine cards and wedding invitations there to be re-mailed with a unique hand-stamped postmark from Romance. Couples also go there to get married at the post office or the Romance Waterfalls. Rose Bud’s claim to fame is the Darden Gifford House. The house was built in the late 1800’s and is on the historical registry. I incorporated the local flavor into all three stories.

Here’s the back cover copy:

Arkansas Weddings: Love’s never easy in three Arkansas romances.

Pastor Grayson loves his wife. The problem is, Sara was killed by a hit-and-run driver two years ago. He knows he needs to move on, but it’s not until florist Adrea Welch arrives at his church that the seeds of healing are planted in his heart.

Laken left home eight years ago and never looked back. Who knew when she applied for the promotion to postmaster that she’d end up in Romance, Arkansas, and much too close to her past—and Hayden Winters?

Shell doesn’t have a good reputation. But no matter what everyone in Rose Bud, Arkansas, thinks of her, she’s back in town with a job to do. Ryler also has reasons for being in Rose Bud, and they don’t include Shell.

But God’s love can soften the hardest heart and overcome the darkest past. These hearts may not know it, but they’re about to change.

Why are you/did you write it?
...The first story—White Roses came from my dad getting my mom and me flowers or a balloon every Valentine’s Day. And I thought if anything happened to either of us, he’d probably continue the tradition and take his gifts to the cemetery. Once I caught the interest of an editor, the publisher wanted to make the book into a series. 

...Book 2 was based on this line from White Roses: Sylvie’s husband, an alcoholic, never stepped foot in church. Their two children, both grown and gone with lives of their own, never came for a visit. Instead of having empathy for the plight of Helen and Wade, since alcoholism controlled Sylvie’s life as well, she took all her heartache and picked apart the lives of others.
...That’s all I had to go on when I decided that one of Sylvie’s children could be female. After I delved into Lauren Kroft’s psyche, I decided she never came home because her mother is a gossip maven and her father is the town drunk. Enter the heroine for White Doves.

...Book 3 came from this line from White Roses: Just two years ago, she’d been the soon-to-be bride blissfully planning her own ceremony. Until three weeks before the big event, when Wade crushed her illusions with his curvy blond floozy, clad only in a towel.
...From the time I wrote that line, I wanted to delve into the floozy. What would make a woman bust up an engagement? Why was she like that? I soon learned Shell Evans had a chip on her shoulder. Raised by a promiscuous mother, Shell learned everything in the school of hard knocks. And it skewed her view of the world. Low self-esteem put her on a constant search for love and she looked for it in all the wrong places just as her mother had. And Shell became the unlikely heroine of White Pearls.

Do you have a favorite character in this work?
...Shell

If so, why?
...I love taking a bad girl character, finding out what made her that way, and redeeming her.

What is one take-away from your book that you hope readers identify with?
...All my books are geared toward one theme: Love doesn’t make the world go round—God does. I don’t think we can have a truly fulfilling love without God in the center of the relationship.

Writing

Where do you find inspiration for your story/characters? Are they based on real life or pure imagination or both?
...I find inspiration for characters everywhere. Real life, headlines, snippets of conversation. When I see someone acting in a unique, strange, or interesting way, I wonder why they act that way. And those ponderings often become a character.

When you write, what is your overall intention with your stories?
...I write in the hopes that a reader struggling with similar issues will gain insight on their situation from my characters. And my constant prayer is that a reader will loan my book to a non-believer and my characters will plant seeds.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors for writing and/or publishing?
...Join a local writing group, attend local conferences. Join American Christian Fiction Writers, take their online classes, and attend as many of their national conferences as you can afford. Also, Seekerville is a great place for writers to learn the craft. One of my critique partners never belonged to a writer’s group or attended a conference. She learned everything from the Seekerville archives and sold the first book she ever wrote.

You

When you get an idea for a novel, what is the first thing that you do?
...I write it down. I have what I call an idea book. It’s a thick, heavy, nicely bound journal. Every idea goes in that book. I go to bed with it on my nightside table and have often awakened in the middle of the night and written my dreams down. I have a book that comes out in April next year that’s based on a dream.
September is Classical Music Month (who knew?). In keeping with that theme, do you have a favorite character from a classical novel?
...Scarlett O’Hara. She’s so selfish and manipulative. But I end up rooting for her anyway.

What is your favorite fall snack food?
...Sunflower seeds. That’s pretty much my year round snack food. Especially when I’m doing edits for my publisher. When I’m editing, I’m not reading the story or getting involved. I’m simply looking for inconsistencies, plot problems, and character issues. It makes me so sleepy and I’ve found that sunflower seeds keep me awake. But, this summer my feet kept swelling. I finally figured out it was the salt intake and laid off them. I might have to find another snack.

                                                  _____________________________

Thank you for joining us on the blog again, Shannon. I loved being able to "get into your head" a little bit about your book Arkansas Weddings! I am right there with you, always intrigued by peoples character and what makes them tick. I will admit right here and now that I'm a people watcher ;)

I love that you have a book coming out based on a dream as well. I have definitely gained inspiration from dreams. Instead of a notebook, I use a handy app called  Evernote, and it already holds 10 ideas I have for future books!!! You need to check it out, writers, if you haven't already. It keeps everything updated on all my devices plus it's so much easier to type something in than turn on the light in the middle of the night ;) But to each her own!

Thanks again - we hope to hear more from you in the future, Shannon.

Don't forget to post a comment for a chance to win a copy of Arkansas Weddings...

Winner Winner Winner

Yea! I have a winner for Shannon's book Rodeo Regrets!

Congratulations to...

Angela Chesnut



















You have won a copy of Rodeo Regrets! We'll be getting in touch with you to get your copy to you. I'm sure you will enjoy it :)

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment for Shannon! Check tomorrow for another {Writer Wednesday} author.

Giveaway ends tomorrow!

Have you checked out my interview with Shannon Taylor Vannatter? You can read it [here] and then leave a comment because she is giving away a copy of her latest novel, Rodeo Regrets!

Make sure you stop by and leave a comment by:

12:00PM

(Pacific Standard Time) 

I'll announce the winner tomorrow evening!!!

Looking forward to seeing who will win :)

Shannon Taylor Vannatter {Writer Wednesday}

A little bit about Shannon...

Shannon Taylor Vannatter is a stay-at-home mom and pastor’s wife. Her debut novel won the 2011 Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award. When not writing, she runs circles in the care and feeding of her husband, their son, and church congregation. Home is a central Arkansas zoo with two charcoal gray cats, a chocolate lab, and three dachshunds in weenie dog heaven. If given the chance to clean house or write, she’d rather write. Her goal is to hire Alice from the Brady Bunch.
 

How to connect with Shannon...


Website: shannonvannatter.com
Blog: shannonvannatter.com/blog
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/4603969.Shannon_Taylor_Vannatter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shannontaylorvannatter
Twitter: @stvauthor
Purchase her book:  http://www.christianbook.com/rodeo-regrets-shannon-vannatter/9780373486663/pd/486662

Author Interview | Shannon Taylor Vannatter

You and Writing

Tell us a little bit about yourself: How did you start writing?
...I went to the library looking for clean romance and couldn’t find any. It hit me that the story I’d had in my head since I was a teenager could be a book. I decided if I couldn’t find any clean romance, I’d write one. But my characters kept talking to God and I realized I couldn’t write a romance without God being in it. So I changed my focus to inspirational romance.

What has kept you writing?
...I can’t stop. During the years of rejection and frustration, I tried. But that’s when the stories in my head really started spinning and wouldn’t leave them alone until I got them in my computer.

Do you have a favorite book or work that you’ve written?
...White Roses

If so, why?
...It was my first published book. I wrote it about the time after sixteen and a half years my husband answered the call to preach. Even though I’d been a Christian since my teens and was very involved in church, I didn’t think I was preacher’s wife material. In White Roses, the heroine dates a widowed pastor and doesn’t think she measures up to his dead wife.

What was the hardest thing about publishing?
...I stopped counting at two hundred rejections. It was very frustrating working so hard for something and not knowing what you’re doing wrong. It took nine and a half years of learning the craft before everything finally clicked in place for me.

The easiest?
...My fifth contracted book. That’s when writing under deadline became easy for me and I finally realized I can do this without pulling my hair out.

Your Writing

Tell us a little bit about your book or what you’re working on currently?
...Rodeo Regrets is the fourth title in my Texas rodeo series. Each book stands alone, but continues where the last one left off. I thought I was finished with the series, but after Harlequin bought Heartsong Presents, my agent contacted the editor there to tell her about me. My agent learned the editor had just read book two in the series and wanted to know if I had anything similar.
...I had one dangling character. She was the rodeo slut who’d hit on every hero I created, got pregnant two books ago, and skipped town. I decided it was time to find out why she was like that and what it would take to change her into a heroine.

Here’s the back cover copy:

NATALIE WENTWORTH'S PAST IS ABOUT TO CATCH UP WITH HER

Natalie once dreamed of finding true love. Then Lane Gray broke her heart. After running wild to fill the emptiness inside her, she heads back to her hometown to heal. But when she sees the cowboy she once loved so much, she finds him hard to resist.

Lane Gray is a changed man. The handsome cowboy wants Natalie's forgiveness-and more. Natalie has made plenty of mistakes in her life, but so has Lane. Could falling for each other again be the worst one yet? Or the path to redemption?

Why are did you write it?
...The heroine, Natalie has lived a promiscuous lifestyle and regrets her past. I’m hoping it will be a cautionary tale to young girls who think everyone’s doing it and it’s no big deal.

Do you have a favorite character in this work?
...Natalie.

If so, why?
...She’s very wounded. I actually began to feel sorry for her. But then, she’s very tough too. She won’t stay down long.

You

How do you like to celebrate the 4th of July?
...We usually do fireworks at our house. This year, my son is eleven. We let him and his friend shoot them off. They had a blast. Literally.

How are you making the most of your time this summer for writing and relaxing?
...I’ve stayed up until 2:00 in the morning and slept until 10:00 to complete book 6 in this series. I try really hard not to work when my son is home and awake. So, I keep odd hours or work on the book when he has a friend over or goes home with a friend. When he’s home, we both love to swim and we have an above ground pool, so we swim a lot.

_______________________

Thank you so much for sharing with my readers and I! I love how you said you went looking for something good to read and, when you couldn't find it you decided to write it! I love that :) I'm happy to know that it got a little easier working under a dead line at book 5 for you...I'm looking forward to that day *fingers crossed*. I think that's great that you keep odd hours to get things done! I can only imagine how difficult it is to get writing done when you have a family to take care of. Props to all mothers who write!!!

Well, I'm finally going to be posting some waaaay over-due RE:View posts soon! Be on the lookout, I've read some good books recently!