Today I want you to meet Doug and Elyse, the authors of the wonderful romance novel The Christmas Diary. They have also kindly agreed to giveaway 3 copies of their novel! Look for the details on that at the end of the interview.

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future? 

Doug:  Most certainly the future.

Elyse:  Most certainly the past.  I would like to experience the silence and stillness of NYC before electricity and cars were invented.

If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose?

Doug:  Benjamin Franklin, William Shakespeare, Dolly Madison, Abigail Adams and St. Teresa of Avila.

Elyse:  Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, Mary Oliver, William Butler Yeats, and Richard Wilbur.

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?

Doug:  A lot of Balance Power bars, The Bhagavad-Gita and Emily Dickinson’s poems.

Elyse:  Assuming I had enough food and water, I’d go for the complete works of Shakespeare, a big, fat notebook, and enough pens to last a lifetime.

What is one book everyone should read?

Doug:  The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Elyse:  The essay What I Believe by E.M. Forster.

If you could have any superpower what would you choose? 

Doug: Flight.

Elyse:  The ability to inculcate compassion.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Doug:  Definitely vanilla.  It’s smooth, it’s simple, it’s easy to eat.

Elyse:  Doug has sung the praises of vanilla ice cream for so long that he’s made me a convert.  But of course, I top it with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, walnuts, and cookie pieces.

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

Doug: A big ole New York City Bagel.

Elyse:  Peach pancakes with real maple syrup and lots of butter.

Night owl, or early bird?

Doug: I can hoot or tweet.  Hooting is more natural.

Elyse: Definitely a night owl.

Pet Peeves?

Doug:  Bad music pumped into TV news, restaurants, TV ads and retail stores.

Elyse:  Bad food prepared badly.  That includes most fast food.

Skittles or M&Ms?

Both:  Definitely M&Ms

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.

Both:  The Astrologer’s Daughter has strong characters, is a fast enjoyable read and includes astrology, presidential politics, love and sex.

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?

Both:  Elyse Douglas will publish two Christmas books in September:  The Christmas Diary and Christmas Ever After.  Both stories are about strong women who need a little Christmas magic to uncover the secrets of their hearts.

What inspired you to want to become a writer? 

Doug:  The love of reading, listening to and telling stories.  One of the best story tellers I ever met was a janitor I worked with one summer when I was in college.  The other great story teller was my paternal grandfather, Pappy.  He was the grandson of Uncle Johnny Shell, who I wrote about in my blog “My 134-Year-Old Kentucky ‘Uncle’”.

Elyse:  As long as I can remember, I’ve kept journals and written poems.  Writing novels is a more recent adventure.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.

Both:  Some very favorable unsolicited reviews, both for The Astrologer’s Daughter and our other novel, Wanting Rita.

If you could jump into a book, and live in that world, which would it be? 

Doug:  Any story that has an extravagant beach house, with lots of sand, sea and brazen sun in a broad blue sky.  Then whatever villain came my way I could take him/her down.

Elyse:  A world in which soul mates search for and discover each other… preferably in a beach location!

Thank you, Doug and Elyse, for this opportunity to learn more about you!

Giveaway details: 3 ebook copies of The Christmas Diary, a contemporary romance novel. Enter to win through the Rafflecopter below.

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Good Luck!