Interview with Carla Laureano, author of Five Days in Skye

All rrrrrrrrighty, I am moving to Scotland!!!

Hospitality consultant Andrea Sullivan has one last chance to snag a high-profile client or she'll have to kiss her dreams of promotion good-bye. When she's sent to meet Scottish celebrity chef James MacDonald on the Isle of Skye, she just wants to finish her work as efficiently as possible. Yet her client is not the opportunistic womanizer he portrays himself to be, and her attraction to him soon dredges up memories she'd rather leave buried. For James, renovating the family hotel is a fulfillment of his late father's dreams. When his hired consultant turns out to be beautiful, intelligent, and completely unimpressed by his public persona, he makes it his mission to win her over. He just never expects to fall under her spell.

Soon, both Andrea and James must face the reality that God may have a far different purpose for their lives—and that five days in Skye will forever change their outlook on life and love.

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Okay, I'm not really moving, but I betcha Carla's book has begun the emigration process for more than one reader!!

When I was given the opportunity to...okay, I begged for it...to read Five Days in Skye, I was already squealing.
When it arrived? I sat down and to read and wasn't just drawn in, ohhhh no. I was whooshed into their world like a kilt pin to Gerard Butler's tartan.
Okay, that maybe was not the BEST comparison, but whatever...I was hooked.
Tight writing, great wit, warm temperatures, relevant 21st century issues and a great ending.
I read it in one day. And folks, I quite happily give Five Days in Skye 5 stars out of 5.


I posed a few questions to the very witty Carla, read along , and then she has something to share with you.

And remember, I FAILED COPYING AND PASTING!!

1) How do you fit in writing while still being actively engaged as a mom of your very adorable boys?
Well first of all, thanks for calling my boys adorable! I think they are, but I’m admittedly biased!
I write whenever I can: early in the morning, during naps, while the kids are at school (though those hours are pretty slim since my preschooler only goes three mornings a week), after their bedtime. I do best with deadlines, but because I don’t have regular work hours, I have to be very “goal-based.” When I’m writing a first draft, I have a daily word count goal that I must meet. Some days I can get it done in two hours; other days, I’m up into the wee hours of the night.
Unless I make writing a non-negotiable part of my day, it’s very easy to push it aside in the demands of being a wife and mother.


2) What has been the most joyous lesson you've learned as a writer, and the most painful?
The most joyous: learning that God’s plans truly surpass my own dreams. I felt like it was time to start writing again, but I’d planned on going back to commercial copywriting for a while to bring in some extra income. Then I felt the nudge to query a completed manuscript that had been sitting on the shelf since my younger son was born. Within six months, I had an agent. Within a year, I had my first book contract. After years of writing, revising, querying, and trying to break into the business, things happened amazingly quickly. It taught me that “God’s timing” isn’t something we just tell ourselves when things aren’t going our way, but really something we need to pray for and aspire to. I’m still amazed.
The most painful lesson: you’re still the same person after a book contract that you were before. I think the temptation is to think when you reach “the next level,” things will be perfect. The same pressures, insecurities, and doubts remain; they’re just magnified. If anything, the transition from aspiring to professional writer has shown me how impossible it is to do this on my own. Realizing my complete dependence on God has been a truly humbling experience.


3) If and /or when you have those "I cannot do this!!" days, what keeps you going?
Good writing friends. I have been blessed with an incredible circle of friends that run the spectrum from aspiring to published to best-selling. I’m humbled by how often God uses them to deliver the message I need to hear at that particular time. Sometimes the message is “go eat chocolate and take a walk.” Sometimes the message is “whose power are you relying on – yours or God’s?” And sometimes they just provide a hug and a listening ear. The inspirational writing community is really pretty amazing.


4) If you had someone who discouraged you from writing, what would you say to them now?
I guess I’ve been fortunate that I have never really had anyone discourage me from writing. Had there been, it probably wouldn’t have made any difference. I was determined to be a writer from an early age, and I knew it was going to take a lot of years of work to get there. I suppose I’d just say that clearly God had His own plans for me.


5)Who makes you laugh the hardest?
My boys. They are total clowns. The older one has a very dry, sarcastic sort of wit that is completely unexpected. The younger one is just plain silly. Whenever music comes on, they do these goofy little dances around the house, and I just crack up.


6)Do you have a favourite Bible verse? Why this one and what does it say to you?My favorites tend to rotate (some past favorites: Romans 8:28, James 1:2-4). Right now, I’m meditating on Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” It reminds me that while I may not be able to see the whole picture, God has a purpose for every experience, whether success and trial.

To celebrate the release of Carla's book on June 10th, she is giving away a fabulous Scotland-themed gift basket including a paperback copy of Five Days in Skye, a beautiful coffee table photography book filled with images of Scotland, CDs of music that inspired the story, as well as plenty of imported British goodies for your own afternoon tea break! Enter below for your chance to win! A winner will be chosen at random and announced on her blog http://www.carlalaureano.com on release day.

If you want to enter the contest, you MUST do so on her website...because I can't figure out how to load Rafflecopter here...

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Carla, thank you SO MUCH for joining us at TFTR!

Remember, go to www.carlalaureano.com and click on 'contests' in the upper right  corner of her menu bar.