INTERVIEW WITH BONNIE CALHOUN

Bonnie S. Calhoun is director of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, publisher of Christian Fiction Online magazine, the Northeast Zone Director for the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and the President of the Christian Authors Network (CAN). She is a Google-certified Top Contributor on the Blogger Help Forum and frequently conducts workshops on blogging and website construction as a faculty member at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference and the Colorado Christian Writers Conference. 

She and her husband, Bob, along with a dog and cat that consider her wait-staff, live in a log home on fifteen acres in the upstate area of Binghamton, New York.

Interview

SS:  Congratulations on an excellent novel. I absolutely fell in love with your novel’s protagonist, Sloane Templeton. I could be wrong, but I thought I saw more than a little of your sense of humor written into her personality. Is there any truth to this, and are there any other similarities lurking within the story?

Bonnie:  ROFLOL…I’m guilty! Sloane is me. I’ve taken a slight amount of poetic license with her but on the whole, that is the way that I would act…react…oh…one difference…I’m not afraid of guns, and my aim is spot on!

SS:  Which are your favorite characters, and are there any characters you “hate” for any reason? 

 

Bonnie:  Hmmm…well Trey is the ego of a person that I used to know. He met the same fate coincidentally... so I could say hate…but that is such a strong word…I’d say it’s more along the lines of a major, malfunctioning, chronic dislike that knows no bounds.

And my favorite would be…well…there are two! Aunt Verline embodies a pair of cooking aunts that I used to run from…er, uh…spend time with as a child. And Fifi…well she’s patterned after one of my sweet friends who is also a Penwright crit group buddy. (You can find her image in the book video.)

SS:  What is your favorite part of the story, and why? 

Bonnie:  Hmmm…I have several but I’d have to say the climax scene in top story of Sloane’s building, because I got to write it as total suspense without quips or quotes or anything extraneous to the action. Suspense is me…but sometimes I get scary for the average reader.

SS:  Besides having an excellent time reading the story, are there any lessons you hope to impart to your readers? 

Bonnie:  Most certainly! For the women readers…you can overcome anything…yourself, your circumstances, and your past. It sounds really simple…but all you need is faith that the Lord is with you, and will help you overcome, if you will only reach out.

And the second lesson is for the men…who think that the woman’s place is in the kitchen…that’s where the knives…and gun are kept!

SS:  What kinds of trouble do you have planned for Sloane Templeton in the future?

Bonnie:  Ohhh…lots of thought provoking problems that are situated in daily life. (Actually…of I told you, I’d have to kill you so you couldn’t share the plots with the unsuspecting…er, uh…readers!)

SS:  When did you first discover the desire to be a writer?

Bonnie:  As a teen, but I never really desired to be an actual author until I read the left Behind series (We’ll leave that one alone J)

SS:  Tell us about your path to publication?

Bonnie:  That’s difficult because I see all of it as God ordained, so I really didn’t have a concerted plan. I got my agent Terry Burns while having dinner with him (and I had an appointment to see a totally different agent for that conference) And my first publishing contract grew from an offhand comment that I made to the acq. Editor at the time. God was in the drivers seat and I’m just a passenger. (Jesus take the wheel!)

SS:  I can’t think of anyone with more pots in the fire than Bonnie Calhoun. In addition to managing the magazine, CFBA blog tours, and running your own clothing design business, when do you find time to write?

Bonnie:  All the time…in between the times…around the times…when I’m supposed to be asleep (sleep is sorely over-rated), actually any time I can fit it in. If I’m not busy with something I feel I’m being non-productive.

 SS:  What can Bonnie S. Calhoun fans look forward to in the near future?

Bonnie:  June of 2013 I have a Quilts of Love series coming out from Abingdon called Pieces of the Heart. This is not in the frame of Sloane Templeton snark, but it is actually back story for her character. Sloane is a third generation battered woman, and this is her grandmother’s story during World War II.

Then prayerfully there will be other stories for Sloane. I have at least a half dozen lined up. And I’d also like to try and dabble in another genre…the dystopia. Maybe I can get some of this pent up suspense aggression written down on paper in an interesting and thought provoking manner!

Bonnie is giving away a copy of COOKING THE BOOKS! Just leave a comment, along with your contact info for a chance to win!