Cate: Please welcome Annette Snyder. Annette, will you please share a short bio with us?
Annette: I call a small town in the heart of the Midwest, habitat of cornfields and combines, my home. In an old house, with my husband and two dogs, I sit and write.
Annette: I call a small town in the heart of the Midwest, habitat of cornfields and combines, my home. In an old house, with my husband and two dogs, I sit and write.
My four grown children visit often and the grandkids cause beautiful havoc.
All my life, I paid attention to things around me, stories from my parents, friends, grandparents and great-grandparents and one day I compiled those stories together and wrote a book. It was that one book that started a wave of ideas and the story characters just keep pestering me so I continue to write all the time, work when necessary and vacation as much as possible.
Cate: Ah, that’s the life. :) Tell us about Drive Thru and where it's available.
Annette: Drive Thru, available at www.whiskeycreekpress.com www.fictionwise.com and its affiliates, www.growne.com www.nebraskaatthemarket.com and several stores throughout Nebraska including the Archway National Monument gift shop, Kearney, Nebraska. Drive Thru is book two in the Packard Family, Contemporary Romance series. Book one, Intimate Flames, was a 2011 EPIC Finalist.
Annette: Drive Thru, available at www.whiskeycreekpress.com www.fictionwise.com and its affiliates, www.growne.com www.nebraskaatthemarket.com and several stores throughout Nebraska including the Archway National Monument gift shop, Kearney, Nebraska. Drive Thru is book two in the Packard Family, Contemporary Romance series. Book one, Intimate Flames, was a 2011 EPIC Finalist.
Cate: Congrats! Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
Annette: Love isn’t one of Marie Packard’s priorities. Single parenthood and a hectic work schedule occupy her unruffled life. Necessities represent security. Life is slow and easy and that works for her.
Ellis Donifan loves the draw of attention from paparazzi and fans. Each film, coupled with shouting fans and action of the set, is another star on his walk of fame. Life is a whirlwind of hectic activity and he likes it that way.The frenzied, movie star schedule isn’t the choice for Ben Sutter but having a celebrity as a client has its perks. Posh hotels, world travel and a substantial salary are the norm and fame seeking starlets are part of limousine driver territory. It isn’t perfect but that’s Hollywood.
What happens on a stormy winter night when three people find their lives entwined purely by accident? Can Ellis curb his desire for publicity? Can Ben put aside uncertainties about overzealous fans? Will Marie choose financial security with the debonair, action film star or emotional happiness with a charming limousine driver?
Cate: Wonderful. Can you tell us why we're going to love your hero?
Annette: Marie Packard is an independent woman who’s doing the best with what she’s got. Her daughter comes first, job second and until a movie star crashes into Marie’s life, love isn’t even a flicker. The world needs more strong women. The men of the story, Ellis and Ben, well they’re both just delicious and can offer Marie two options—should she choose to add the element of romance to her life.
Annette: Marie Packard is an independent woman who’s doing the best with what she’s got. Her daughter comes first, job second and until a movie star crashes into Marie’s life, love isn’t even a flicker. The world needs more strong women. The men of the story, Ellis and Ben, well they’re both just delicious and can offer Marie two options—should she choose to add the element of romance to her life.
Cate: Very cool. Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.
Annette: Drive Thru approaches real world challenges of single parenthood and the economy as pertaining to security of any job, even if it pays less than it should. How does a single parent make end meet and still try and better her life by taking the chance with the hectic schedule of being a nontraditional student, a parent and falling in love?
Cate: What's next for you?
Annette: I’ve got a release in May 2012. Respectable Affair, book three in the WWII Viveka’s War series explores where Virginia Seidle’s story began—before Viveka’s War and Eureka Springs.
Annette: I’ve got a release in May 2012. Respectable Affair, book three in the WWII Viveka’s War series explores where Virginia Seidle’s story began—before Viveka’s War and Eureka Springs.
Cate: What inspired you to draft your first story?
Annette: Years ago my best friend told me the story of how her family migrated to South Dakota and the challenges they faced along the way. It was an amazing tale. I mixed that with the stories I heard from my great grandparents (because I’m only a third generation American and my great grandparents came ‘across the pond’ when they were very young. I was fortunate enough to know them—I paid attention to what they said because I thought the stories they told were amazing) and I wrote Travis Pass, the first book of seven in my 1800’s series. When it was published, I gave the first copy to my best friend.
Annette: Years ago my best friend told me the story of how her family migrated to South Dakota and the challenges they faced along the way. It was an amazing tale. I mixed that with the stories I heard from my great grandparents (because I’m only a third generation American and my great grandparents came ‘across the pond’ when they were very young. I was fortunate enough to know them—I paid attention to what they said because I thought the stories they told were amazing) and I wrote Travis Pass, the first book of seven in my 1800’s series. When it was published, I gave the first copy to my best friend.
Cate: Love that. Do you have a writing routine?
Annette: Wake at four, write for several hours, go to the real job at eight, come home, write more…laundry, dishes, a very poor job at dusting! You know, all that regular stuff. Then there’s the extra stuff that goes with writing, the promo, the signings and speaking engagements—and more. I also run a blog, www.annettesnyder.blogspot.com
Cate: Yes, real life intrudes too often, lol. Where can readers find you on the web?
Annette: http://annettesnyder.atspace.com or my blog which is accessible through there or by using the link above. Whiskey Creek Press, Fictionwise, GROW Nebraska—or just Google me and I pop right up.
Cate: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Annette: I would like to say, “Please have a safe and happy holiday season. Warm wishes for a prosperous new year wherever you are.”
Annette: Wake at four, write for several hours, go to the real job at eight, come home, write more…laundry, dishes, a very poor job at dusting! You know, all that regular stuff. Then there’s the extra stuff that goes with writing, the promo, the signings and speaking engagements—and more. I also run a blog, www.annettesnyder.blogspot.com
Cate: Yes, real life intrudes too often, lol. Where can readers find you on the web?
Annette: http://annettesnyder.atspace.com or my blog which is accessible through there or by using the link above. Whiskey Creek Press, Fictionwise, GROW Nebraska—or just Google me and I pop right up.
Cate: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Annette: I would like to say, “Please have a safe and happy holiday season. Warm wishes for a prosperous new year wherever you are.”
Cate: Lovely. The same to you, Annette!
Readers, Annette is giving away an autographed novel from her published works (just check her website http://annettesnyder.atspace.com for that info) to a random commenter... so start commenting. She'll pick a winner next Sunday, Dec. 4, and announce the winner here.
Thanks so much for being my guest, Annette! Best of luck to you.
