Cara Putman+Mackinac Island+Book Giveaway
Happy Monday to you. I have all my advice giving out of my system, so let us move on to gentler topics.
Today I'm happy to have friend and wonder-woman Cara C. Putman on the blog. Cara is a wife, mom, ACFW board member, attorney, professor, author, blogger, and she makes Martha Stewart look lazy. She's also one of the most positive, encouraging people I know.
Cara has a new book out, A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island. Stay tuned til the end of the post where I'll give you instructions on how to win a copy. Here is the back cover copy of the novel:
Join attorney Alanna Stone as she returns home despite her determination to never set foot on Mackinac Island again. Once again in close proximity to Jonathan Covington, her first love, she vows to protect her privacy and her heart from the man who still makes her pulse race. But when her worst fears are realized and history repeats itself—landing her in the midst of a murder investigation—Jonathan may be her only hope. Will they be able to lay aside the past and let God heal their hearts, or will reconciliation come too late?
J: I have never been to Mackinac Island, though I've heard wonderful things about it. I'm sure your book is like a mini-vacation there. Tell us about the setting and why you chose it.
C: Mackinac Island transports visitors back to a time that is slower-paced. Travel is by horse drawn carriage (what's more romantic?!), bike (a bike for 2 sounds pretty romantic to me!), or by foot (stroll quaint streets? Sign me up!) In my mind Mackinac is a perfect place to escape for a long weekend or second honeymoon, so it became a great setting for a novel.
J: Sounds very quaint indeed. So your main character, Alanna Stone, is an attorney, as are you. Tell us what you like about this character. How are you different?
C: She's working the big cases, and I'm working estate planning and adoptions. I love litigation, but it's just not a good fit at this stage of my life. I can't go to court at the whim of a judge and homeschool my kids. So I live trials vicariously through my characters like Alanna.
J: This novel is a love story involving old flames. I LOVE that plot–where the hero and heroine were once a couple long ago, it didn't end well, and years later are thrown together again. How does this play out in the book?
C: In Mackinac Island, they had a high school love that both thought would carry them into the future. Then a tragedy happens, and Alanna runs. When she's forced to come back, she moves into her childhood home–next door to Jonathan. This forces them to confront their mistakes. The question is whether their old love will ignite a new flame.
J: …whether an old love will ignite a new flame. That could totally be a Carrie Underwood song.
The book deals with the theme of escaping the past. Who can't relate to that to some degree?
C: Alanna has avoided the island for 11 years because of the fall-out of the past. Avoidance was her path to escape the pain. Now she's been forced home, and is faced with the choice of running…again…or seeking the truth. Like many of us, she thought running would spare her the pain. Instead, it just let it fester. Now she has to chose whether to let the truth set her free–a choice many of us face at least once in our lives.
J: Imagine that A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island is a movie. Who would you cast?
C: Alanna Stone would be played by Reese Witherspoon. Jonathan Covington, her old flame, would be played by Josh Lucas. I love their look and chemistry in Sweet Home Alabama.
J: Oh, gosh, I love that movie. I could watch it again and again.
Sometimes being an author can one big sacrifice. Did you have to travel to Mackinac Island for research?
C: I did. I'd been there once about three years before the idea came to me. Then we returned while the story was really a germ of an idea. So while my husband and kids did fun things like visit Fort Mackinac, I was interviewing the chief of police to see what would happen if someone was murdered on the island.
J: Probably not every day they get tourists asking those kinds of questions. Cara, you're also doing some serious traveling this summer.
C: We've got the opportunity to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip this summer. It means seven weeks of family togetherness. Pray for us!
But this trip is a kiss from heaven–and a reminder that God delights in giving His kids good gifts. It's been a heart-dream to do something like this with our kids, but I thought it was an impossibility. I can sense God smiling as I type that. He is so good!
J: You are an awesome contemporary writer, but I think historicals, specifically the WWII era, is where your heart is at. What's the draw of that era for you?
C: It's the romance of a time in our country where men honored women, women were stepping into new roles, and the country had pulled together in a way that affected every one. There was a clear black and white. And a generation gave it their all to fight for right. I just adore that time and those people who still insist they didn't do anything special. Seventy years later, history says something different.
J: I love that as well. There will never be another generation like that. Sadly.
So what's next for you?
C: I've got some ideas for more WWII stories, stories I can't wait to tell. I'm also working on new ideas. It's hard to go anywhere and not generate potential ideas. With three books releasing between January and May of this year, I'm also very busy spreading the word about my books.
Okay, speed round. This is where I stop being all friendly and ask the tough, hard-hitting questions your readers need to know.
1. Favorite ice cream?
French Vanilla
2. Favorite song this week?
“Alive” by Natalie Grant
3. Dream vacation?
Couple of week to tour Europe with no set itinerary
4. Your last meal would be…?
Eggplant Parmesan
5. (Let the record show she picked a VEGETABLE for her last meal) Moving on.
An object in your home that represents you?
My library of books
6. Your sister would say you are:
Nuts
7. Your husband would say you are:
An overachiever
8. Your best friend would say you are:
Committed and passionate
9. If you could travel back in time (and not to WWII), where would that be?
No fair taking out WWII! I would travel back to Queen Victoria's time. I'd love to talk to her.
10. Favorite movie?
Hard to pick one, but You've Got Mail would top the list.
11. Annoying habit?
Inability to say no.
12. Now that's a job interview answer! Well done. (Yet also true.)
Favorite TV show?
Castle, though Missing is a close second.
13. If you weren't a writer, lawyer, or teacher, you would be:
A politician. I've always had a problem with small dreams. LOL!
Thanks for stopping by, Cara! You can find this fab author at her WEBSITE.
Cara is giving away a copy of A Wedding Transpires in Mackinac Island.
Leave a comment on today's post which answers the question: If YOU could travel back in time, where would you go and why.
You have until Sunday night at some vague time in the p.m.
Winner announced Monday, May 7th.
Can't wait to read your answers!
