Q&A with Mary Connealy

Q&A

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602601429
• ISBN-13: 978-1602601420
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches

Is the Montana Marriage Series for those who loved the Lassoed in Texas Series?

Yes, more romantic comedy with cowboys. I'm being branded by Barbour, and dagnabbit, they really used a red hot iron. I had no idea until the lasso settled around my neck!

What is your favorite scene from Montana Rose? The Husband Tree? Wildflower Bride?

Montana Rose: My favorite scene is, I think when Cassie gets dragged by the horse, Buck, who has never forgiven her for spooking him the first day she came to live at the ranch.
She's trying to hide this fact from Red and when he sees her face all scratched up he goes ballistic. And Cassie doesn't want him to take all her chores away, she wants to help. Then, when he's in full blow rage, he gets real close to her and says, "Say it, Cass honey. Say that awful mean name you're thinking about me right now."
He's trying to get her to stand up for herself and fight back, but she's so obedient she just can't. But oh, she comes so close.

The Husband Tree: The scene that comes to mind is the first night Silas is at Belle's ranch and he's eating at their table, with Belle and her four daughters, and the girls, who have only always just said anything they wanted, very anti-male, spout these dreadful things and Belle realizes how she's poisoned their minds. And Silas is terrified of what he's gotten into.

Wildflower Bride: My favorite scene there might be when Tom Linscott first meets the heroine, Glowing Sun, a white woman raised by an Indian tribe when they find her with all her family dead. Tom grabs her to get her away from his vicious horse and she pulls knocks him to the ground and puts a knife to his throat.
Tom looks at the hero and says, "Does she pull a knife on every man she meets?"
The hero thinks a minute then says, "So far."

How would you relate your writing experience and research to some Creative Madness?

I think there is a strangeness to a writer. It's not really a very NORMAL pastime to sit alone and make stuff up....for thousands of pages. It's like nuclear powered daydreaming. So creative madness might be a very fair way to describe it.

Tell us about your blog and participation in other blogs...
I've got three blogs.
Seekerville
Petticoats & Pistols
My Blog
I love them all madly and spend waaaay to much time on them.

What is something that you have never told anyone in an author interview?

Wow, I can't even think of anything. I'm such a blabber mouth. I tell every single thing I know, then I start making stuff up. I doubt I have a single secret.

What is the one thing that you want to leave readers of Montana Rose pondering over?

Well, tough question. The first thing that comes to mind is the whole concept of a wife being submissive, because I deal with that a lot in the story. But at the end of the book is a moment I really like where Cassie talks about how allowing her first husband to so totally dominate her was a sin. It was weakness. And of course she behaved perfectly at all times and the people she's talking to tell her it wasn't a sin. But she talks about how sin is sin. Turning away from her faith, letting her husband be cruel and calling it submission was weak and its own kind of sin. And she doesn't have to break a commandment to fail to be the best person she can be, to miss opportunities to live for God. And when she failed at that it was a sin, just enough of a sin to make her know she needs salvation, everybody does.

For those of us, who cannot wait for more from our dear Mary Connealy, please tell us about your next planned project...

I've got a CHRISTMAS ROMANCE. I just love Christmas novels and I'm so thrilled that Barbour is letting me write one. I comes out in September. YAY! Another western historical romantic comedy, not part of a series. But a lot of fun.

Cowboy Christmas

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Barbour Books (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602601453
• ISBN-13: 978-1602601451

What can you tell us desperate for more about Cowboy Christmas?
Elijah Walker 's lost his father at the hands of a deceitful woman. The one thing he can't abide is lies.
Citified Annette Talbot is on the run from something and once she's home she's determined to stand and face danger. Hopefully, she can stand behind her tough Wyoming rancher father. It's easier to be brave with her pa's gun drawn.
Her father fails her but Elijah can't ignore a damsel in distress. But it doesn't take Elijah long to find out Annette is lying about something. Because he's powerfully drawn to the little liar, he turns his back on her, feeling contempt for her, and for himself.
Which leaves Annette her first perfect chance to stand up and face trouble bravely.
And that gets her into terrible trouble.
Annette nearly dies trying to escape that trouble. Walker can't help protecting her, especially since God pretty much dropped Annette straight into his unwilling arms.
But helping her isn't the same as trusting her, and that he will never do.
As Annette and Walker fight their attraction and danger draws near, Christmas approaches. The bickering twosome will get one special chance to heal old heartbreaks and follow their own star.

Who do you think your number one fan is if you had to name one?

You know it might be a cliche but I think it has to be my husband. He's really been so great and encouraging about my writing. I suspect it's because he's hoping I make a fortune and he's being nice so I'll share--but whatever his motives, he's a great fan.

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages I have a copy, and it's really TRADE not MMP!
  
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc (June 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602604185
• ISBN-13: 978-1602604186
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches

For people who have come to love your fiction set in the western historical environment, how do the adventures of Nosy in Nebraska differ? Will it attract the same or a different brand of readers?

About Nosy in Nebraska, I said Barbour Branded me (ouch!) and they did but I don't really think of myself as a historical western romantic comedy writer as I think of myself as a romantic comedy writer. So to go for the comedy in a contemporary cozy mystery isn't that big a leap...in my own fevered head. It may be for readers?

When you entered the world of writing, did you expect to write some cozy mysteries?

When I got my first book published I have 20 finished novels on my computer. That's 20 completely full length adult novels. I had children's books, middle grade books, poetry, plays. I don't count those in the twenty. I've written everything. Police procedurals, serial killers, sweet contemporary, suspenseful contemporary, gothic, just everything. So a cozy wasn't that scary but I did have to figure out what a cozy was. I really didn't quite understand it. And my editor told me that book two in Nosy in Nebraska isn't really a cozy, it's a suspense.

She told me too late to fix it though and she let it go through. Bless her HEART.

Why a mouse?

Two reasons for the mouse.
1) I'm terrified of them, so I could use that to make Carrie's mouse phobia real
2) I found out Algona, IA is the home of the world's largest Cheeto. It's true. Google it.
I thought, you know what? People will just use any excuse they can think of to hold a festival. So the mouse wasn't that much of a stretch.

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