Last year I discovered a new-to-me author whose book, An Improper Proposal, I truly enjoyed (and highly recommend). Today I’m excited to welcome Davalynn Spencer to my blog for a fun interview!

 

Sweet Historical Western Romance

He doesn’t need her sass. She doesn’t need his approval. But they both need a second chance.

Abandoned by her faithless husband for the Dakota gold fields, rancher’s daughter Elizabeth Beaumont returns to her hometown determined to prove she’s not the impetuous girl she once was. Armed with a new skill and old determination, she’s intent on making it on her own. Discovering that the new sheriff lives downstairs in the same boarding house wouldn’t be nearly so frustrating if he’d stay out of her affairs, quit calling her Betsy, and stop making her wonder if she could love again.

Garrett Wilson exchanged his deputy’s badge for a drover’s bedroll after his first attempt at law enforcement cost an innocent bystander his life. Now Wilson’s back wearing a star in a Front Range cow town, hunting an arsonist and falling for a woman who wants to know the secret behind his deepest scar. He can run again from his painful past, or he can stay and fight for the town that needs him and the woman who’s worked under his skin and into his heart.

A Little About Davalynn

Davalynn Spencer writes heart-tugging, Western romance set along the Front Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. She is the wife and mother of professional rodeo bullfighters and a recipient of the Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Inspirational Western Fiction. A former journalist and crime-beat reporter, Davalynn lives in Colorado where she caters to Blue the Cowdog and mouse detectors Annie and Oakley. She loves hearing from readers. Connect with her via her website at www.davalynnspencer.com.

Would you rather travel back in time to meet your ancestors or travel to the future to meet your descendants? 

Most definitely I would travel back in time. It’s a foundational thing. I’d want to see the stories I’ve heard from family members – my great-aunt hiding in a flour barrel from roaming Indians; my grandmother’s two friends who survived the Titanic as children; William F. Cody, to whom my mother insisted we were related. I fear that if I were to travel forward into the future, I might weep at the results of my own failures in the lives of my children.

Your great-aunt hid from Indians in a flour barrel? Now that sounds like a great story!

If you had to live somewhere else for one year, where would it be?

If I could choose where to live for a year, I would choose Scotland. It intrigues me, draws me, waves an arm at me to come over and walk in my ancestors’ footprints.

 

Well, it certainly photographs well! Can I come, too?

If you could only recommend one book to a child (ages 3-17) which would it be?

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Confession:  Although I saw the play as a child and I’ve seen the movie, I don’t recall actually read this book.

What’s the most romantic thing your husband has ever done for you?

One of my early contemporary romances (which will re-release late summer) was about a young woman who’d had her fill of electronic mail. What happened to letters? Hand-written letters, especially from someone dear. She receives such a note in the story (I won’t say more), and after my husband read the book, he wrote me a letter telling me what a good job I’d done on the story and how proud he was of me. (Tears here.) What was more romantic? The fact that he actually read my little romance book, or the fact that he acted on it, seeing me in the heroine?

Awwww! You just melted my heart. What a great hubby!

Aside from good writing, what do you look for in the romances you read?

I look for the cost of love and the power of redemption. Are the hero and heroine willing to pay the cost (and it should cost)? And is their love redemptive, restorative?

Yes, there is always a cost in a great romance, isn’t there?

How did you meet your husband and when did you know he was the one?

I first met my husband at church when I ran into him with my guitar case as I rushed out the side door. Later, he showed up at youth group (I was a senior in high school, he was attending the local college) and I just happened to notice his 70% cocoa-dark-chocolate eyes. And his cowboy hat. And his hands that weren’t soft-looking, but capable and manly and potentially full of tenderness when it counted. No wonder I’m #lovingthecowboy in the stories I write.

I love that you literally ran into him and that you noticed his hands. 

When does your next book release and what makes it special?

My newest historical release hit retailers on April 26, and I plan to re-release a contemporary romance in August. The recent release, An Unexpected Redemption, looks at forgiveness and the difficulty we sometimes face is offering it to ourselves.

I have been eagerly anticipating this one since I read (and loved) An Improper Proposal! Congratulations on its release!

Are you a plotter or a panster and what does your process say about you?

I am a total hybrid – a planster. Or plantser. Whatever. I pound out between 2,000 and 4,000 words, just to get my thoughts down, and then I start planning where things should go, what comes when, who does what. The layout is rough because I like to write as I watch the movie in my head. But I also need to know where I’m going if I want to get there.

I like that you described it as the movie in your head. Your process sounds very similar to mine. I tried doing more in-depth outlining in advance once and almost killed the story for myself. My characters need room to be themselves and surprise me.

Do you have any deleted scenes from your novels hiding on your computer?

Oh yes, I have a deleted scene full of romantic tension that will definitely make Book 3 of my current Front Range Brides series. I’d planned it for Book 1, but had to cut it. It didn’t fit in Book 2 (the April 26 release), but I’m determined to use it in Book 3 (which I haven’t yet written!).

Well, now I can’t wait for Book 3! 🙂 

Which charity is closest to your heart?

I don’t know that I would characterize this outreach as a “charity,” but it is near to my heart and I gladly support it: Heroes and Horses. It’s a Montana-based nonprofit that helps combat veterans suffering from PTSD to reintegrate via one-on-one work with and care for a horse (at no cost to the veteran). You can read more about H&H here: https://www.heroesandhorses.org/the-details/

That sounds like a great program!

Thank you for taking this time to chat with me! I enjoyed getting to know the writer behind the words.

 

Let’s Chat!

Don’t you just love Davalynn’s story about the handwritten letter? Do you have a similar story? What’s the most romantic thing your spouse has done for you? Tell me about it in the comments!

TWEETABLE:

Which historical romance author literally ran into her husband the first time they met? #AuthorInterview (Click to Tweet)

This author’s great aunt hid from Indians in a flour barrel! #AuthorInterview (Click to Tweet)