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.
Good Luck!
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