Good Monday Morning Readers!
Today, Candee Fick visits
Lagniappe to discuss her latest
release, Catch of a Lifetime.
Tell us a little about Catch
of a Lifetime
Catch of a Lifetime
is a contemporary, inspirational romance that tells the story of a rookie
college football coach and a football-hating graduate student, athletic trainer
who must work together to salvage the season while avoiding a scandal. Cassie’s
past is affecting her present and until she can get past the bitterness and
stereotypes, she won’t be ready to step into the future. Of course, Reed’s competitive
drive to win will be affected by his growing attraction to the new girl and their
requirement to interact professionally around the team.
He breathes football. She shudders at the very mention of the sport. After a tragedy involving a football player destroyed her family, athletic trainer and graduate student Cassie moves across the country looking for a fresh start, but a change in financial aid lands her in the middle of her worst nightmare. Meanwhile, rookie coach Reed worries his dream career will slip away as injuries plague his players and his star receiver teeters on the brink of ineligibility. As the two work together to salvage the season, sparks fly, and Reed must eventually choose between the game he cherishes and the woman he loves.
Do you listen to
music when you write? If so, what's on your writing playlist these days?
I love music, especially when it helps me get into the mood
of the setting as I write a particular scene. For instance, when writing Catch of a Lifetime, I listened to the
soundtrack from the movie Rudy when
writing some of the football action scenes. For a different story set in the
mountains, I tried a playlist full of nature sounds. Currently, I’m
brainstorming a book that’s set around a dinner theater that is running the
show “White Christmas,” so I’ve got that musical score feeding my imagination.
Quite a variety!
Give readers your
brand/tagline and share how you came up with it.
My tagline is “Stories of Faith, Hope, and Love.” That trio
of characteristics comes right out of the Bible, but applies to my niche of
Christian (faith) romantic (love) fiction (stories) that leave readers with
hope for the future. My desire is that readers are encouraged as they discover
a little bit more about God’s love for them packaged in a fictional adventure.
What
are the biggest misconception people have about your subject/genre?
When some people think of a romance, they picture a line of
“bodice-ripper” covers near the grocery store checkout and find it hard to pair
that idea with the Christian faith. However, the Bible is the greatest love
story ever told since it depicts God’s pursuit of a relationship with us, Jesus
laying down His life to buy our freedom, and ends with a wedding feast and
happily-ever-after eternity. I believe a Christian romance can be a reflection
of that same love story in ways our frail humanity better understands. In
addition to flawed characters trying to serve and love each other, the strand
of faith woven through their relationship can point readers to the only One who
can ultimately satisfy their longings.
If you weren't a
writer, what would be another dream job?
Hands down, I’d be a librarian so I could hang out with stories
every day. Of course, I might get in trouble for reading the books instead of
shelving them, so perhaps I should be a book reviewer instead. Or an editor.
Anything with books, right?
Where
did your love of books/storytelling/reading/writing come from?
My mother taught me to read at the age of four, so by the time I
reached kindergarten, I was already beyond the dry adventures of Dick and Jane
and their dog Spot. However, my imagination was fed by my grandmother who sent
new books for every special occasion. Often those characters lived in my brain
and acted out new adventures while I waited a new book to arrive. Of course the
more I read, the more I imagined stories I wished were available to read.
Eventually I started writing down those ideas.
What
can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?
If you enjoyed my book, tell someone! Word of mouth is the best
marketing tool available and yet authors are dependent on readers to do it.
Recommend the book to friends and acquaintances in your circle of influence. Even
buy a copy as a gift. But please go to Amazon, Goodreads, and/or other
book-related sites on the Internet and tell your virtual friends what you loved
about the book. The more people who chime in with a review, the higher the book
ranks in those mysterious search algorithms and the more often it gets included
in the “people who viewed this also viewed” suggestions so more readers can
find it.
What can we expect from you in the
future?
My second contracted book is currently with my publisher’s
editor and is due to release in September 2016. Tentatively-titled Dance Over Me, it tells the story of a
fledgling actress searching for her place on the stage and her long-lost
brother. It takes place at a dinner theater so imagine tap dancing, musical
numbers, and Big Band trumpet playing by the hero. I’m currently plotting the
sequel and recording ideas for book three in that series.
Please include buy
links and your website/FB/Twitter etc links.
Please
leave a question you’d like readers to answer.
If you are a football fan, who is your favorite team and why? If
you would rather do without football, what other sport/band/show are you a fan
of?
LIGHTNING
ROUND
Nora Roberts or Diana
Gabaldon? Diana Gabaldon
Sandals or FlipFlops? FlipFlops
Artist: Monet or Van
Gough Monet
Women’s Fiction or
Romance? Romance
Plotter, Pantser, or
Planster? Planster
Candee Fick is the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job or writing, she can be found cheering on the home team at football, basketball, baseball, and Special Olympics games. In what little free time remains, she enjoys exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.
Candy, thanks for sharing!
Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe.
I pray you find
"a little something extra"
in each of your days.
Marian
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