I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Kari’s bio:
Kari Trumbo is a bestselling author of Christian and sweet romance, she also writes women’s fiction under the name Teri Blake. As Teri, she reached the USA Today bestseller list with her book The Rosewood Diary.
She writes swoony heroes and places that become characters with historical detail and heart. She’s a stay-at-home mom to four vibrant children. When she isn’t writing, or editing, she pretends to keep up with them.
Kari loves reading, listening to contemporary Christian music, singing when no one’s listening, and curling up near the wood stove when winter hits. She makes her home in central Minnesota, land of frigid toes and mosquitoes the size of compact cars, with her husband of over twenty years. They have two daughters, two sons, one cat, and one hungry wood stove.
Kari will be on my blog three times! Twice for a two-part interview (part one is here), and then I’ll post an excerpt of her book, Better Than First.
I’ll also post a special knitting pattern for a drawstring purse that Kari’s heroine uses in her novella, January Hope, in the Save the Date anthology!
And here, he’s me and Kari (second time around)!
Camy: What was the funnest part of writing January Hope?
Kari: For me, it was picking the characters and choosing how they would interact, then realizing that I couldn’t fit all of that into the word count constraints of the collection. Because of that, I’ll be releasing it as a full novel in January of 2022 (a time slip novel).
Camy: That’s so awesome! I’ll be doing the same thing—I’ll be releasing The Wedding Kimono as an extended novella later next year since I had to cut more than 10,000 words for the collection, and it’s the first book in a new contemporary romantic suspense series set in Hawaii. :)
What's your favorite scene from January Hope?
Kari: Absolutely when she gets behind the wheel for the first time. Cleo has had some hurts and she’s terrified to drive. Writing the scene where she begins to overcome her biggest fear was really beautiful.
Camy: That sounds so powerful! I can’t wait to read it!
Do you have a special verse specifically to inspire your writing?
Kari: I don’t, but I do have a “life” verse, one that I go to all the time. Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any creature, shall be able to separate from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Camy: That’s a great verse!
What's your next novel to be released?
Kari: My next release is Tidewater Summer, under my Teri Blake pen name. It’s a women’s fiction novel set in the beautiful Outer Banks about sisters coming together to heal from the wounds of divorce.
Camy: That sounds like it’ll be so good!
Okay, last question is a bit silly. You know (or maybe you don't know) how much I LOVE FOOD. One of my favorite restaurants is this Vietnamese sandwich shop that makes a pork and pate sandwich with cilantro on fresh-baked baguettes (dreamy sigh). What's your favorite ethnic food to eat and why?
Kari: Well, in rural Minnesota, we are never sure if what we are eating is a genuine ethnic food or something people made up to seem ethnic. But my favorite (probably) Mexican dish is the Jalisco at a local restaurant. It’s got seasoned rice, onions, green peppers, cubed beef, and shrimp, served in a skillet with tortillas. Yum!
Camy: That sounds mouthwatering!!!
Next week, I’ll post an excerpt of Kari’s book, Better Than First, and also a knitting pattern of the cute lace drawstring bag used by Kari’s heroine in her novella January Hope in the Save the Date anthology!
Preorder Save the Date for only 99 cents! Releases September 15th!
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