Join Me in Welcoming my Friend, Rose McCauley!  

 How long have you known that you were a writer? Did you receive a clear “call?” Or have you just loved writing all your life?

I have loved to write all my life, and remember making little books that my mom would stitch together on her treadle sewing machine. Wish I had some of them now! I was also editor of my HS newspaper. But, during the years of raising my three children, teaching school and Sunday School, sports, girl scouts, etc. the main writing I did was on school forms! The last few years before I retired, I started jotting down ideas for books, which encouraged me to retire and actually write some of them down!

What is the genre you write in? Would you explain what it is? 

I write both romance and women’s fiction.  I think romance is pretty self-explanatory (LOL) although I should mention that it usually includes a HEA—happily ever after ending! Women’s fiction often includes a romance, but also can include other elements such as problems, drama, suspense, etc. It doesn’t have to end in a HEA ending, but the ones I like and write do!

How do you spend your writing days?

Right now I am spending most of my writing time on emails, blogs and other forms of marketing my first book. Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? I once participated in the BIAM (Book in a Month) drive and wrote over 50,000 words that month, with my daily average ranging from 1,000 words to 5,000, depending on what else I had going on that day.

Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?

The novella I have out right now is only 20,000 words long, and it took me a month to write, so I guess a whole novel would take 4-5 months.

You recently had a book published. Would you take this time to describe it to us?

Christmas Belles of Georgia is about identical quadruplets who are adopted by different families when their mother dies shortly after their birth. They have no idea the others exist until they get a letter from a lawyer. The four stories are each told by a different author from each girl’s POV and chronicles the 4 months leading up to their first meeting on Christmas Day.

Ooooh! Sounds great. How and where can readers buy your books?

They will be sold at WalMart and Sam’s Clubs and most Christian bookstores as well as online outlets. I even have buttons on my website to make it super-easy to order.

What is the spiritual message in your book?

I hope it encourages us all to remember that Jesus IS the reason for the season, and that we give to others because of all that He gave for us.

What can readers expect to get from reading it? A happy read that will put you in the Christmas spirit!
Do you ever feel like giving up?

Not right now, but I have in the past.

Most people don’t understand the stress, the work, and the joy of being a writer. How tenuous becoming a writer is. Do you care to share how it feels, what discouraging/encouraging times you’ve gone through?

I wrote about it on my blog, (see the September 22, 2010 post) but the short version is that I told my roommate Jennifer Johnson last year at conference that if I didn’t get a contract by the following year (2011) I would take a break and seek out God’s next plan for my life. That very day I got my first contract in front of 600 people at last year’s ACFW conference!
Would you explain how you “chose” (or were chosen by) a publisher? Do you just go “inny, minny, miny, moe?”

Barbour Publishing chose me after I submitted many proposals over the past 7 years! Maybe they got tired of me pestering them! LOL They are a great publishing house to work with.

Now, that you’re published, can you sit back and relax from the success you’ve experienced?

Definitely not! I have four proposals out there right now, and a meeting set up with an agent.

Do you mind telling us some of your likes and dislikes? Hobbies, interests?

I love to read, of course! Other hobbies are walking daily and scrapbooking, although my scrapbook time is more limited now. Where would you like to travel if you could? I have been very fortunate to travel more than I ever thought I would! My husband and I say we travel less than I want to, but more than he wants to! We have traveled to most of the states, including Hawaii and Alaska. And I have been to 10 countries in Europe and also to Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Barbados, and the Bahamas. My favorite place would be Hawaii and any place I haven’t been yet!

Would you give us your blog or webpage so everyone can check it out?

I hope everyone will check out my website at www.rosemccauley.com and be sure to visit my blog at http://www.rosemccauley.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment to be entered into my monthly drawing.

Anything else you’d like to share?

For any Christian writer who isn’t already a member, hurry to http://www.acfw.com/ to join American Christian Fiction Writers.

Promotional information?

My book is available at WalMart and Sam’s Clubs, other bookstores, and the usual online places, or you can order from the buttons on my site!

Bio: Rose Allen McCauley is happy to live in the beautiful bluegrass region of Kentucky on a farm surrounded by God’s creation. She has been writing for over ten years and has been published in several non-fiction anthologies and devotionals. She is thrilled for this to be her first published fiction because Christmas books are her favorites. She has a growing collection of Christmas books, and this one will takes its rightful place among them.

A retired schoolteacher who has been happily married to her college sweetheart for over 43 years, she is also mother to three grown children and their spouses and Mimi to three lovely, lively grandkids! You can reach her through her website http://www.rosemccauley.com/ or blogsite at http://www.rosemccauley.blogspot.com/ 


Thank you, Rose, for joining us!
Blessings to all.