Author Interview with Delia Carnell

Good morning, Blog Studio audience! It’s now spring and I’m ready to see some trees and flowers budding and preparing for the kiss of the summer sun. I’m really sick of my winter clothes.

Today, I’m very happy to be interviewing author Delia Carnell. Please put your hands together and make her feel a very warm welcome.

**applause, applause**

**Delia comes through the curtains and holds out a book, then passes it to Carol Ann**

CAROL ANN: Delia welcome to the blog studio. Wow, what a gorgeous cover. Tell me about BRIANNA’S MAGIC.

DELIA: BRIANNA’S MAGIC is a St. Patrick’s Day story complete with a rollicking time in an Irish pub, magic, and of course - hot steamy love! Brianna O’Shea is an Irish witch living on the coast of Ireland in the shadow of the castle ruins that have been in her family for many, many generations. She loves to wander these sacred grounds where the magic feels the strongest to her. Along comes well-meaning but clueless American businessman, Michael Gallagher. His vision includes a fancy tourist resort on those same grounds, and he buys the land. What would a good Irish story be without a fight for the land? Well, it also wouldn’t be Irish if these two didn’t fall in love along the way. But what are these strange feelings Michael is having? Could the magic be in him as well? BRIANNA’S MAGIC is available now at Loose-Id.com


CAROL ANN: You also have a release coming in August, don’t you?

DELIA: I do! BLAME IT ON THE GHOST is an August release at Cerridwen Press. When I was a little girl, my family often vacationed on Indian Rocks Beach, just west of Tampa on the Gulf of Mexico. The area was dotted with tall Australian pines, swaying palms, and rustic tin-roofed cottages. Those quaint homes have all but disappeared these days, but the charm is still fresh in my memory. In this book, I have two authors housesitting for their old college professor in just such a home on Indian Rocks Beach. Neither expects the other to be there, and both want to be alone to work on books. Unfortunately, they are both stubborn. Neither will give in. Can they last through the summer without getting on each other’s last nerve? Oh, by the way, the house is haunted. So if they should just happen to fall in love this summer, they can always BLAME IT ON THE GHOST.

CAROL ANN: Do you write full time or do you hold another job as well?

DELIA: Writing is my main occupation, but I have a few writing-related supplements. I edit and proofread for three different publishers. Also, I teach a writing class at my local university.

CAROL ANN: You definitely keep yourself busy! And everything is writing related. Sometimes we all have someone we wish we could meet face to face. If you could meet anyone at all, living or dead, who would it be? Why? What would you talk about?

DELIA: Gosh, there are so many possible answers to this that I could never choose only one. Dozens of writers leap to mind. So, I’ll sneak out of that trap by saying Walt Disney. Here was a man who championed imagination and never took no for an answer. If you can imagine it, it can happen. Look what he did for an entire generation of baby boomers? We’re still under his spell, aren’t we?

CAROL ANN: Absolutely! Look at all the releases that keep coming out and each new generation that is enamored. Okay, so tell me what do you do for fun when you aren’t writing?

DELIA: First of all, writing IS fun! But I have a diverse collection of other things to occupy me. My Prince and I have season tickets to the Florida Orchestra, so that’s where you’ll find us most Friday nights. I also love movies, especially old black and white film noir. Come football season, don’t try to call me on Sunday afternoons! I don’t answer during the game. And I’ve been to Walt Disney World fifty-seven times. (Yeah, it’s a little odd that I know exactly how many times. I realize this.)

CAROL ANN: I’m sure that is some kind of record. You seem to be a very upbeat person, but I’m sure you have times when you feel down. When that happens, who can make you laugh?

DELIA: My best friend Jeanette has a way of putting everything into perspective for me. She’s the best one to call when I’m down. She can have me laughing in no time. BRIANNA’S MAGIC is dedicated to her and her wonderful husband John. They are the greatest!

CAROL ANN: She sounds like the kind of friend all of us should have. Here’s a fun question I like to ask. Do you collect anything? If so, tell me about your collection and how you got started with it.

DELIA: Oh, my gosh. Are you sure you want to hear all of my weird idiosyncrasies? Okay, first the normal things. I collect perfume bottles. They’re pretty, and I like the way the light shines through the glass. I collect Barbie dolls, but I don’t have any that are valuable. This is just something I started doing recently to justify buying them at my age. Here’s the weird one: when I go to a city, I have to buy a book by a local author. So I have A TALE OF TWO CITIES from London, CANNERY ROW from Monterey, California, ULYSSES from Dublin...you get the picture. I’m double-dipping on Hemingway. I bought TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT in Key West, but a friend who went skiing near Ketchum, Idaho brought me back a copy of MOVEABLE FEAST.

CAROL ANN: How fun, an eclectic collection! **laugh** It’s always a hoot to hear what things people collect and how they got started. My youngest daughter collected cows for the longest time. We were on vacation and she kept “mooing” at the cows to get them to moo back (which they didn’t) and my friend got her one of those little boxes that you turn over and it moos just like a cow. That started it. She had everything to do with cows. And then, when she got married she even got some “cow” kitchen items. **laugh** She hates that stuff now though. Okay, back to writing. Many new authors wonder how to "get the word" out about their books. Do you have a marketing strategy that you'd like to share?

DELIA: I wouldn’t say that I have a “strategy,” but I definitely work at putting my name out whenever I can. I have a website, a blog, a myspace...all the usual things. I post on loops when I can, and I carry bookmarks in my purse at all times because every time a new person finds out I’m a writer, they always want to know more. The bookmark has my name and some titles, but it also lists my publishers’ sites and my own sites. I’m a fanatic about looking at my tracking stats on my web and my blog. I’m always studying where my hits are coming from so I can build on that link.

CAROL ANN: I carry bookmarks with me, also. It’s always great fun to hand them out to strangers who are “impressed” that I’m an author. **smile** One thing I ask all my authors is to tell me what romance means to them. So, Delia, what does the word romance mean to you?

DELIA: Romance is that exciting and mysterious element that surrounds the attraction between two people. The sexual pull is easily enough gratified in a physical way. Romance is the piece that makes you fall in love. Whatever that is!

CAROL ANN: It’s amazing to me that I always get a new and refreshing answer to that question. Now for the last question of the day. Do you believe the pen is mightier than the sword? Why?

DELIA: Absolutely. The pen has always been mightier than the sword, but never more so than in this age of instant communication. The sword may be able to force a man to conform, but the pen can make him want to.

CAROL ANN: Thank you, Delia, for being my guest today. I’ve enjoyed chatting with you. Audience here is where you can learn more about Delia and her books.

http://www.deliacarnell.com/
http://deliacarnell.blogspot.com/