The Hesitant Heiress Q & A with Author Dawn
Crandall
Would
you marry in order to claim an inheritance?
I
guess it depends.
Author Dawn Crandall addresses that very question in her
debut novel, The Hesitant Heiress. Written in a manner that would please Jane
Austin herself, and any fan, but with a voice that is truly her own. The
Hesitant Heiress is a read sure to please! Elegantly written, intriguing, a
hint of suspense and description that throws you into the Victorian era. Dawn
invites you to follow Amaryllis Brigham as she struggles through past hurt and
rejection to find God’s place and plan for her life—a journey with which many
of us can relate.
Today, we are fortunate enough to have Dawn as our guest!
Dawn thank you for being here with us today!
Dawn: Thank you, Hannah! I’m so glad you chose to have our
interview to take place on my first ever book release day! I’m probably at home
right now freaking out… and trying to take care of my four month old… and doing
a terrible job at that because I’m so distracted….
Me: I can only imagine! A first ever book release is something to get excited about! I’ve had the privilege of meeting you and chatting a bit,
but there’s more I’d like to know about you, and I’m sure our readers could
agree. When did you begin writing, and what do you love most
about being an Author?
Dawn: I began writing The
Hesitant Heiress (or back then, Amaryllis
Brigham) in January of 2010. I’d been thinking about it for a few years
while working full-time, but it wasn’t until we moved closer to my hometown
that my husband encouraged me not to find a job, but to write. (Although I
actually did work a little, I was a nanny for an infant of a friend of
mine—writing during naptime on my laptop or iPod Touch).
What I like best about being an author is hearing from my
readers. It’s amazing to learn what each reader pulls from the story.
Me: What inspired you to write The Hesitant Heiress?
Dawn: I honestly don’t know. I just started out that January
with no plan (though I don’t always write like that now!) except to have fun
with it. That was my primary goal. Not to be published, but to write a book
that I would enjoy writing AND reading.
Me: What was the easiest part about writing your novel? The
hardest?
Dawn: The easiest part was writing the awesome, intense
“love and war” relationship between Amaryllis and Nathan Everstone. The hardest
part was getting about three-fourths of the way through the book and not
knowing how to get to the ending I had planned.
Me: Well you succeeded! I'm keeping hush about the ending! The Hesitant Heiress has strong spiritual themes which I
admire. Your faith seems to have shaped
your writing. Could you elaborate more on that observation
Dawn: Writing a spiritual journey arc into my main
character’s beginning-to-end arc is one of my favorite parts of writing. I love
figuring out and understanding the psychology of why people/characters do what they
do. And then, if you throw in a spiritual journey in which God is also chasing
after them, loving them and guiding them to where He wants them, or even where
they can best find Him… What’s better than that?
Me: I couldn't agree more, Dawn! God is good, even when we are crazy! Is there a book(s) and or author(s) that have influenced
you in your writing and life?
Dawn: There are a lot of classics like Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë,
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and Christy by Catherine Marshall—all books
written from first person point of view… but that’s not all they have in
common. It’s the refreshingly blunt honesty of the heroine as she tells her
story that I’m so in love with.
Me: Many Authors use personal experiences in their writing.
With that said, are there any instances or characters in the Hesitant Heiress
in which you can relate to personally?
Dawn: Yes… not that this book is anywhere close based on any
part of my life, there are times when Amaryllis goes through things that create
the same kind of emotions I’ve felt in similar situations. But even in situations
I’ve never been in, for some reason, I find it very easy to conjure up the
correct emotions and so closely commiserate with what they might be feeling.
Me: What message do you hope readers receive from this
captivating novel?
Dawn: That God does indeed know what He’s doing, and that He
even works through our fumbling about as we’re trying to make sense of
things.
Me: Preach it, Dawn! I really loved Amaryllis Brigham’s character, and I’m not
sure if it’s because I actually liked her personality or that your writing style
made me feel like I was on this journey with her. Will her character appear in
the other novels that I hear are coming out?
 |
| Book Two |
Dawn: They do show up for the next book, but not as main
players. I think you will all be pleased with seeing them again though. And oh,
can I just say how very strange it was for me to write Amaryllis doing things
in book two… but from Meredyth’s first person perspective? That was the
weirdest thing ever! But I was sooooo into Meredyth, I really saw Amaryllis as
Meredyth saw her! ……Okay, I’m done with the crazy-writer-talk now…..
Me: Haha, crazy-writer-talk! I completely understand! Okay, so, I adore history and all of the nitty gritty details. You
impressed me with your ability to paint scenes so accurately to the time
period. What kind of research did you use to help make your novel historically
accurate?
Dawn: Thank you! I’m so glad you think I did a good job! I
love writing descriptions—but the thing that I like best is writing them from
where the main character is coming from. Everything anyone describes is always
colored by where they are coming from.
And really, I don’t really think of anything I ever do as
research. I actually have so much fun finding out about history that it’s just
something I’ve always done, even before I started writing.
Me: You’ve had a busy year! A new book, and a baby! You’re a
first time Momma and Author! How are you adjusting, and how in the world are
you finding time to write?
Dawn: Um, considering I just had my baby four months ago,
and I’ve been pretty busy preparing for this book launch between diapers and
bottles… I haven’t actually figured it out yet. I’ve tried a few different
things… but I seriously have a very difficult time prying myself away from Mr.
Adorable. I think I’m going to have to take a weekend away every once in a while.
Me: Yes, you are totally going to have to get away! Come down to Tennessee with me for a writer's weekend! lol! Alright, let’s have a little fun getting to know you J
· Favorite hobbies:
Me: LOVE the pinterest board!
· Describe your “best day ever:”
Dawn: I’m a very
low-key celebrator...
Me: Low key parties are sometimes the best!
· Dessert you find impossible to say no to:
Dawn: Chocolate
Lava Cake. Yummmm!
Me: Yes, YUMMM!
· Dream vacation:
Dawn: Spending forever on the rocky
coast of Acadia National Park/Mount Desert Island, Maine—and yes, that’s why I
wrote it into my book!
Me: I've never been to Maine, but after checking out all the picks, it's on my list of places to visit now!
· Three most important things in your life, in
order of top priority:
Dawn: God, my husband, my son… (I’m still not used to saying
that!!!)
Me: Amen to that! Any parting thoughts, comments, etc. you would like to
add for your viewers?
Dawn: Don’t give up on your dreams—if it’s what you want
more than anything, keep trying. I’d given up on having a baby a long time ago,
and I’ve given up thinking this book—as different as it is from most—would ever
be published so many times in the last few years. And now they’ve both become
reality. At this time last year, I never would have imagined that this is how
2014 would turn out!
Me: Thank you so much for being here today with us Dawn!! Hey sweet readers, please take a moment to comment below for a chance to win AMAZING prizes. Also, feel free to connect with Dawn and read more about The Hesitant Heiress via the info provided below.
{Connect With Dawn}
Facebook: facebook.com/DawnCrandallWritesFirst
Book Review Blog: APassionforPages.blogspot.com
GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/dawn_crandall
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/dawnwritesfirst
Email: dawncrandallwritesfirst@gmail.com
Twitter: @dawnwritesfirst
{About Dawn Crandall}
A graduate of Taylor
University with a degree in Christian Education, and a former bookseller at
Barnes & Noble, Dawn Crandall didn’t begin writing until 2010 when her
husband found out about her long-buried dream of writing a book. Without a
doubt about someday becoming traditionally published, he encouraged her to quit
working in order to focus on writing The
Hesitant Heiress. It didn’t take her long to realize that writing books was
what she was made to do. Dawn is represented by Joyce Hart of Hartline
Literary.
Apart from writing books,
Dawn is also a first-time mom to a precious little boy (born March 2014) and
also serves with her husband in a pre-marriage mentor program at their local
church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Dawn is a member of the
American Christian Fiction Writers, secretary for the Indiana ACFW Chapter
(Hoosier Ink), and associate member of the Great Lakes ACFW Chapter.
The Everstone Chronicles is
Dawn’s first series with Whitaker House. All three books composing the series
were semifinalists in
ACFW’s prestigious Genesis Writing Contest, the third book going on to become a
finalist in 2013.
{About The Hesitant Heiress}
After being unjustly expelled from the Boston
Conservatory of Music, Amaryllis Brigham sees her dreams of founding a music
academy disappearing before her very eyes. Now the only way to achieve her goal
comes with high stakes for someone set on avoiding men as much as possible:
marry within the year to inherit her grandmother’s fortune. Amaryllis
reluctantly takes part in her aunt’s society, intent on getting to the west
coast on her own… and without a husband.
Despite her own misgivings, she soon finds
herself falling in love with the most unlikely of men, Nathan Everstone, whose
father not only had a part in her expulsion, but whose ominous presence has
haunted her dreams for a decade since her mother’s tragic death. Nathan turns
out to be much more than he seems and everything she never knew she wanted. But
just as everything Amaryllis has recently hoped for comes to fruition, it all
falls apart when she finds that the real culprit who has been managing her life
isn't who she thought at all.
Hannah Conway, a
Kentucky native, Army Wife, Stay at Home Mother of two, and Speaker, lives near
Fort Campbell, KY where she and her family are currently stationed. 
