Books by Lauraine Henderson

  The Spirit of Christmas

The Triple Date Dare

 Building a Life

More author questions – Lauraine Henderson

How much do you write each day?

Even though I have a great deal of flexibility in my day-to-day responsibilities (my children are all grown and moved away), I don’t always write every day. I like to have a little bit of an external push, so I usually participate in NaNoWriMo in November. Otherwise, I write when the housework is done, the bills are paid, my schoolwork is done (I’m currently enrolled on online university) and my teeny little day job is completed. I can’t seem to write if I have anything hanging over my head. That being said, I spend most of my day at my desk and often, writing becomes part of it. And when I do write, time sometimes gets away from me. My husband is supportive, but I try not to write at night so I can spend time with him.

How do you promote your books?

This is an area I am still learning about. I started a blog which I rarely post to. *grimace* I’m considering a website, but it is a little of a vicious cycle of not wanting to spend money until I make money and not being able to make money until I do some marketing which means spending money.

There are two things I have done for sure: I create bookmarks of my book covers with Vistaprint.com which I give away whenever it seems appropriate and I pay for a book tour and Facebook party with Singing Librarian Books because it brings in reviews and provides a little more exposure.

I have also joined two groups: ANWA (American Night Writers Association) and LDStorymakers Guild which allow me to post my books on their website.

My most recent project was published in partnership with BooksYouCanTrust.com, who took care of all up-front costs and when those costs are reimbursed, we will share the subsequent royalties. Since they have spent a bit of time and energy getting my book to press, so to speak, they will be promoting it as well. As readers see this new project, they will be directed to Amazon, where my others books are available for sale.

I am currently considering using Amazon’s book deals and offering one of my books free for a day to see what kind of response I’ll get. This was recommended at the most recent writer’s conference I attended.

What kind of research do you do?

There’s an old saying of ‘write what you know.’ So far, I have taken that to heart. My first novel, The Triple-Date Dare, took place on the Oregon coast (a place I know well), the main characters were a fledgling author and a policeman (my cousin is retired police), and the story involved three dates, two of which I took from personal experiences.

My third book, Building a Life, takes place during a house building project. My husband has been a general contractor for 30 years and has built for our family eight houses. Needless to say, I had easy access to a pretty dependable resource if I couldn’t remember something from my own experience. The main character also plays soccer, a sport my son excelled at and I integrated his experiences on the field into the story.

My current work-in-progress involves an elderly person suffering a stroke. I didn’t have any close personal experience, so I admit, I just Googled the recovery time and process of a stroke. Google gave me enough information for this supporting character. The story also involves small fires at a campground, which I took from family experiences, as well as a sailing adventure during a freak storm, also from family history.

Since most of my stories are about relationships, I try to use snippets of things I know about other people (without giving away anything personal) or imagine myself in someone else’s shoes, which is a little harder. I pay attention at meetings, gatherings, and parties and listen to others’ personal stories which I then make notes of (with permission) for use in a future story. Using personal stories is my best resource and because I’m older (almost 60), I have lots of years to draw from!

Lauraine Henderson

"On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur; L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux."

I haven't posted in quite some time but I am endeavoring to change that. So here goes my first of what I hope will be many posts supporting other authors.

1.      How did you get started as an author? What or whom inspired you?

I started writing in high school and always dreamed of being a freelance writer. After I married, my writing was limited to yearly Christmas newsletters and business letters. I started writing the stories of our family adventures and vacations which led to writing my first novel. I was inspired by authors of clean romance who sometimes added religious undertones to their writing; authors like Staci Stallings, Heather Horrocks, and Jaclyn Hawkes. I wanted to write something that sent a message of spiritual hope, yet left no doubt about it being a romance.

2.      What writing projects are you currently working on? What can you tell us about these projects?

I just released my third novel, Building a Life, which I published through a company called BooksYouCanTrust.com and is available on Amazon. It’s the story about a young pregnant widow who decides to hire a contractor to finish her late husband’s building project. Sparks fly between them as she helps on the house and the handsome contractor introduces her to goals beyond survival while she navigates her deceased husband’s hidden past.

My current work in progress is called Daisies in the Driveway. Here is the book description:

Allison Lockwood and Gavin Hunt have been offered the chance to take over their respective grandparents' Bed and Breakfast and Campground, The Lazy Daisy Inn. Allison is in between teaching jobs and decides to put her career on hold to help out her grandfather. The timing couldn't be better for Gavin, who has left the legal world, disillusioned with helping people getting divorced and looking to put down roots. 

Veronica and Oliver, the grandparents, are getting married and retiring. They've given Ally and Gavin six months to prove themselves, but their rules are a little archaic. Allison must do the cooking, even though she doesn't cook. Gavin must do the maintenance on all equipment, even though he's not sure which tool will get the job done.

Together they help each other behind Ronnie and Oliver's back, fight fires, endure raging storms, and share a few passionate kisses. But there's more than fires to fight when Oliver demands Gavin keep his hands off his granddaughter and Allison thinks Gavin has a girlfriend in the wings...a girlfriend expecting his baby.

Ride along with Gavin and Allison as they figure out where they fit in their new life and learn the lesson taught by the Daisies in the Driveway.

I also have two more novels in the wings. One about a history teacher with a traumatic childhood and the woman he falls in love with, only to discover their pasts have some common ground. It’s called Nothing Left to Lose. The other is a road trip romp about a brother and sister and a family friend as they travel from Hawaii to Arizona for the sister’s wedding. It’s called Firecracker.

3.      When did you write your first novel?

I started writing my first novel in 2013, in between reading a lot, working full time, painting, and running my household. Pieces and parts of scenes and events would come to my mind and I couldn’t rest until my thoughts were written down. I discovered LDStorymakers writers’ conference in 2014, but couldn’t attend as I was preparing to move from Hawaii back to the mainland at the time. The classes offered that year introduced me to a wonderful writer’s computer program called Scrivner and with that program, I began to put together the scenes and events I had already written in an order that began looking like a real novel. For the next two years, I pecked away at that story plus two others. When my daughter Amy had the good fortune to meet Joan Sowards in December 2015, she introduced us via email and Joan was kind enough to read my rough draft and offer invaluable advice to make it better. I took the first chapter to LDStorymakers in 2016 and received additional wonderful feedback. Finally, after multiple revisions, I self-published on Amazon via their self-publishing arm, Createspace.com. It was a wonderful experience and helped me bring my first story to fruition.

4.      What do you want readers to take away from reading your novel?

For the most part, I want readers to have fun with my stories; laugh a little, cry a little. But I also want them to hear the spiritual message designed for that particular novel. I would love it if I can clarify any misunderstandings people have of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and what we believe. I want my readers to smile at the end of the story and feel as though they were able to see inside the lives of people they didn’t know in the beginning of the book, but who feel like friends at the end. If my readers walk away from my book glad they took the time to read it and look forward to the next book, I will consider it a success.

5.      What hobbies do you enjoy when you are not writing?

I am also an artist, painting in oil, water-color, and acrylics. I paint close-focus flowers and children. I read a great deal, enjoying a wide variety of clean romance writers. I also enjoy sewing, knitting, crocheting, and making beaded jewelry. I still have a part time ‘day’ job and I’m currently enrolled in college, so I don’t have any problems staying busy.