Interview with the author:
1) How did this story come to you?
I received a call from Rachel Meisel, the senior editor at Summerside, asking if I would be interested in writing something light and funny for a town they thought had a cute name. It was Holiday, Florida. Living in Tampa, I’m sorry to tell you that I didn’t even know I was only 30 minutes from Holiday! So my friend Marian and I went on an exploration trip, thinking we’d spend the day there. But when we arrived, we quickly learned that a whole day in Holiday was a pretty funny idea. There wasn’t much to the place! But we started driving through the residential streets there, trying to find some inspiration. Just when I was feeling a little light on creativity, I turned a corner (literally and figuratively!). Two elderly women in spandex and fanny packs were power-walking down the street in front of my car, showing no signs of moving to the side. I kind of groaned while I waited, glanced over at the front yard of one of the houses on that street, and there were these two ridiculous pink flamingo lawn ornaments staring back at me. The connection was made right then and there! Love Finds You in Holiday, Florida turned out to be filled with quirky characters in a hysterical community of people.
Bostonian Cassie Constantine is only in Florida long enough to use her Christmas break to get the vacation house that she’s always despised ready for the real estate market. But her widow status is like a target on her back, and the elderly matchmakers around town manage to sidetrack her mission at every turn. Holiday is a land mine of golf tournaments, ballroom dancing competitions, shuffleboard and day trips. But the biggest obstacle of all? Nope, not Sophie the crazy Collie. It's Richard Dillon, the stuffed shirt she’s paired with on the dance floor. He makes her heartbeat tap faster than the rhythm of The Quickstep.
2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
Due to some fairly poor planning on my part, as well as some accidental scheduling hiccups that were out of my control, I had three contracted books come up with deadlines very close to each other. Since I also work a full-time day job, it was an extremely delicate balance to meet all three of those deadlines. I ended up taking some vacation time for Holiday, or we might not be talking about it right now. I did a lot of fretting, praying and brainstorming during those weeks, but when both Summerside editors came back telling me how much they loved the end product, I could breathe easier. Now that I’ve gone back and read it all the way through, I’m really excited about the finished product.
3) What do you love most about being a writer?
The process. I really love storytelling. I have a very visual style, and most of my stories are character driven. That gives me a wonderful opportunity to really get to know my characters as I’m writing. I’m often sad to see my friends go when I write the final lines of a book.
4) What frustrates you about being a writer?
Rules. Don’t get me wrong, I do know that those RULES FOR WRITERS are there for a purpose, and it’s important to know them. But when you come up with a strategy to break them, and it’s really working, it can be very frustrating when other writers want to cling so vehemently to their rules that they take the adventure out of it!
5) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
Hmmm. Well … I suppose #1 would have to be that I’m very, very shy. People who have met me are often stunned by this admission because my characters are so quirky and out there, but it’s true.
#2: I’m a cancer survivor. More people probably know now than they did before because my devotional coming out this month (Be Still … and Let Your Nail Polish Dry) has been earmarked for a portion of the royalties to be sent to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Because of that, I’ve done several interviews about my battle with the disease, and I’ve begun talking about it for the first time. I’m 5-1/2 years cancer-free now though!
#3: I spent 15 years as a publicist to soap stars. I had my own business in Los Angeles and had clients on General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, Bold & Beautiful, etc. It was a whole other life than the one I live now.
6) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I’ve got The Big 5-OH! coming out in February, and I’m just finishing Always the Baker, Never the Bride, my second comedy for Abingdon Press’ new fiction line, which will be out in the fall of 2010. It’s a funny account of a diabetic baker who can’t eat her own confections. After this, I’ll have a couple of months before I have to start writing my next Love Finds You book. Between now and then, it’s promotion for Love Finds You in Holiday, Florida and NAPS. Lots and lots of naps.
7) Parting comments?
I’ve been so blessed over the last couple of years. Although I’ve been writing for a very long time, I finally broke into the inspirational market last year with Love Finds You in Snowball, Arkansas, and that was a benchmark book for me in my personal mission to deliver uplifting, Christian-based fiction that can touch a reader’s spirit as well as make them laugh out loud. Especially after cancer, I know firsthand the importance of finding something to laugh about in times of challenge and struggle. I live my life by that scripture that says that a merry heart is like good medicine, and I’m so grateful to the many readers who have encouraged me in finding my voice and living this dream of mine. There’s just so much bad secular fiction out there, and I’m committed to the ministry of painting my little corner of the world with Godly hues so that people have something to turn to. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have helped me do that, and to all of you who are just starting to join me in the cause. I’m continually humbled and thankful for the turns my life has taken on this road, and every time a reader tells me they laughed AND cried through one of my books, I know that God is doing what He promised. It’s life-changing, and I’m so grateful.
Web site: http://www.sandradbricker.com/
Personal blog: http://sandradbricker.blogspot.com/
Group blog: http://bestilldevos.blogspot.com/
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