Ruth Ann Nordin's Books
Springfield, NE
ph: 402-953-0133
ruth
More Information on My Books
I've had three interviews on other people's blogs, so I thought I would post them since I see other authors doing this. What is neat about these interviews is that they give a "behind the book" information that you wouldn't otherwise know.
Interview for An Unlikely Place for Love (thanks to The Bookworm)
I am happy to say that Ruth Ann Nordin, the author of An Unlikely Place for Love, has taken time out of her busy schedule to grant me a blog interview! Thank you Ruth Ann.
Bookworm: Welcome Ruth Ann, and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to grant me a blog interview. Please tell us a bit about yourself.
Ruth Ann: Thank you for interviewing me, Naida. I appreciate it! I am a stay-at-home mom of four young boys and the wife of an active duty military member. When I'm not running around doing the wife and mom thing, I read and write. I began reading and writing since I was 13 and it's bloomed into something I am passionate about. It's the one thing that gets me through some of my hectic days when I'm doing the fourth laundry load of the day, giving another bath to one of my sons, cooking a different meal because I have a picky eater, etc. I don't care what anyone says. Motherhood is the toughest job on the planet. :)
Bookworm: What inspired you to write An Unlikely Place for Love?
Ruth Nordin: I love to read books and watch movies where the woman is disguised as a man because there are so many funny things that can happen, specifically when another woman happens to find the disguised woman attractive. There's just too many interesting ways to handle that situation.
Bookworm:What was the hardest thing about writing this book? How long did it take you to write?
Ruth Nordin: The hardest part about writing it was how to handle Chad finding out that Kate was disguised as Billy. Originally, he was angry because he felt betrayed, but that didn't seem to work with the comedy part of it. I wanted to keep it fun and upbeat. So I rewrote the part where he found out about four times before I got it right. Because of this part of the book, it took me three months to finish the first draft. Typically, it takes me two months to finish a story.
Bookworm: In An Unlikely Place for Love, Kate Tanner goes from being Kate to playing the part of Billy. This has her on a huge run-around, and it all seems so hectic for her. She gets herself into some very funny predicaments, I was laughing out loud when she was dancing with Lacy. How did you come up with these different scenarios? Was it difficult writing funny scenes?
Ruth Nordin: I'm glad you found those parts funny because my favorite parts of this book are whenever "Billy" and Lacy were together. The first two times Kate (as "Billy") and Lacy were together came naturally. I just kept asking myself, "What is it that men do that disgust me?" But as the story progressed, I did have trouble thinking up new ways for Lacy to be attracted to "Billy", no matter how badly "Billy" appeared. The hardest part was how to end it so that Lacy and "Billy" could be happy, especially when "Billy's" wife showed up. I rewrote Lacy's reaction to that three times.
Bookworm:This book is part of a trilogy, with The Cold Wife and An Inconvenient Marriage being the other two books. Which of your own characters is your favorite? Which book are you most proud of?
Ruth Nordin: My favorite character is Kate Tanner. She was as strong-willed as my other female leads but she had a carefree attitude about things and could bend into unfamiliar situations and win people over. I am most proud of An Unlikely Place for Love. It is, to date, my favorite one.
Bookworm:Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Ruth Nordin: I love to hear from my readers. It's the highlight of my day. I systematically add additional chapters of my books on my website http://www.ruthannnordin.com so readers can get an idea of what my writing is like and see if what I'm writing is something they are interested in. I am also going to offer two or three of my books for free, starting in late January. I am still working through some last minute revisions on a book not published yet. I am going to offer a contemporary romantic comedy called With This Ring, I Thee Dread about a couple forced to marry and stranded in a remote cabin in Alaska. I am also going to offer An Unlikely Place for Love. I still haven't decided on what or if there will be a third book available. I do offer sample chapters of my works in progress on my website as well for anyone interested in what I'll be publishing in the future.
Bookworm: Who are your favorite authors and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Ruth Nordin: My favorite authors are as follows: Carolyn Davidson (writes historical romances) because she writes tender romances with old fashioned values. Lois Lowry (who wrote The Giver) because her book, though sad, had me turning the pages until I finished it in one sitting, and she had great ideas that I thought were intriguing. Sarah Pawley (who writes historical fiction) because her romances are realistic. She's done her research and I love her writing style. Nathaniel Hawthorne because I read that he was ready to give up writing when his wife encouraged him to keep at it and that's when he wrote The Scarlet Letter. The book was required reading in high school, but the twists and turns in it captivated me and he was one of my top favorite authors ever since.
Bookworm: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Ruth Nordin: The best advice I can offer is to write what you are passionate about. I have tried writing stories that others wanted me to write but the quality wasn't what it could have been. These days I write what I'm inspired to and I am eager to get out of bed in the morning. Now learning how to improve my writing is also fun because it's something I want to do. Passion really does make all the difference.
Bookworm: Last but not least, if you were stranded on a deserted island, and were allowed to bring 3 items with you, what would they be?
Ruth Nordin: This was the hardest question to answer. :) This is what I finally decided on: the Bible, a pop-up tent for shelter, and a thick blanket. (I was going to mention a couple of other books but I like so many I couldn't decide which to take along, and I'm no good at building things, so I'd better bring the tent and something to keep warm on the cool nights.)
Again, thank you Naida for the interview!
Bookworm: Thank you Ruth Ann, it's been a pleasure. And wow, a mother of 4! I agree motherhood is the toughest job. Best of luck with everything!
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If you haven't read An Unlikely Place for Love yet, I do recommend it. There's romance, humor and a clever plot in this fun and entertaining read.Interview for An Inconvenient Marriage (thanks to The Bookworm)
I'd like to welcome Ruth Ann Nordin back to my blog for another fun interview! I just finished reading and reviewing Ruth Ann's book An Inconvenient Marriage.
Bookworm: Welcome back to my blog Ruth! Thank you for taking the time to chat again. I just finished reading your book, An Inconvenient Marriage, it was sweet and funny too. What inspired you to write this book? How long did it take you to write?
Ruth Ann: Hi, Naida! Thanks for interviewing me again. I'm pleased that you enjoyed An Inconvenient Marriage. After An Unlikely Place for Love, it's my favorite one that I've written so far. The idea that inspired me to write the book was the idea of two people getting married who didn't want to get married but were forced to. I also wanted to write a story about a strong male character who has a good heart under his hard exterior, and I wanted to write about a strong female who isn't afraid to stand up to him...or anyone else for that matter. Those were the two thoughts I went with when I started the book.
Bookworm: In An Inconvenient Marriage, one of the main characters, Sue, is pretty feisty. She starts a scene in public more than once, and has a reputation for being a bit stubborn. But she is also intelligent, and has a strong sense of self. How did you come up with a character like Sue? Is she based on someone you know?
Ruth Ann: Since Jake Mitchell, the hero, is such a dominant character, I needed someone to balance him out so that the sparks and chemisty could fly between them. My initial thought was to have them not getting along for most of the book, but as I wrote it, they kept getting along so I decided let them argue enough until I could throw in an outside force to upset things for Jake, which were the suitors who came by for Sue. That is why I made Sue the way I did. As strong as she is, she is willing to do what she can to get along with people as long as they understand they have to respect her. I have to admit that out of all my female leads, Sue most mirrors me, except for her excellent dancing and horse riding skills. I am a horrible dancer and I won't go near a horse.
Bookworm: The characters make references to Shakespeare and Jane Austen, are these among your favorite authors?
Ruth Ann: I do like them, though I admit I have only read Shakespeare. I have watched the movie Sense and Sensibility (based on Jane Austen's book), and it's one of my favorite movies. I think both authors had excellent storylines.
Bookworm: An Inconvenient Marriage made me laugh a few times. I really liked when Jake invited the suitors over, then made them eat Sue's awful cooking in an attempt to make them lose interest in her. How did you come up with the ideas for scenes like this? Is it harder writing the funnier scenes or the romantic ones?
Ruth Ann: I'll be honest. Originally, An Inconvenient Marriage was not supposed to be a comedy. I didn't even know I could write a comedy. When Jake and Sue came up with the idea to get married in order for him to get his inheritance and for her to save her family's farm, I thought they would keep the marriage a secret. But then Sue was talking with her friend Belinda and the marriage slipped out in the dialogue, so I thought I'd go along with it. Since people knew, I had to think of a way to keep the story interesting, so when Jake watched the Christmas play and noticed that men were starting to take an interest in Sue, he begins to show signs of jealousy. This is when the book became a comedy. A lot of the funny scenes just popped up as I wrote it, though I struggled with the dinner scene you mentioned. That was the hardest part of the entire book. The actual part of Jake telling the men horrible things about her and their reaction to her awful cooking did come naturally, but when she discovered what Jake was doing, she kept getting too mad or he kept getting too guilty. And neither reaction was at the core of who they were or how I wanted the comedy part of the book to go. I actually wrote the rest of the book before I went back and rewrote that one scene about five times. I am very happy with it and it is my favorite scene in all of the books I've written, so the aggravation of "this isn't right!" did pay off. I think that the romantic scenes are harder to do than the funny scenes because with romance, you don't want to get too sappy and you don't want to skim through the emotions either. So getting the feeling and mood just right is a bigger challenge.
Bookworm: If this book were to be made into a film, what actors would you want to play Sue and Jake?
Ruth Ann: When I wrote Jake in chapter one, I based him off of Jonathan Frakes in his role as Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation when he had the beard. Cameron Diaz would be a good actress to play Sue because of how she handled herself in the movie "What Happens in Vegas".
Bookworm: Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?
Ruth Ann: I want to thank people who read my books and I love to hear from them. Writing is much more fun when I know people enjoy what I write. I also want to tell them that I have three free ebooks I have written and they can be found on my website at http://www.ruthannnordin.com/free_ebooks. One is a historical romantic comedy called An Unlikely Place for Love. The second is a contemporary romantic comedy called With This Ring, I Thee Dread. And the third is a historical romance called Romancing Adrienne.
Bookworm: Last but not least, if you could go anywhere in the world, that you haven't been to yet, where would it be?
Ruth Ann: I would go to the east coast of Maine and spend some time near the ocean. I'd especially love to do this in the fall when the leaves change color. Again, thank you Naida for the interview. You ask some great questions and it was a lot of fun to answer!
Bookworm: Thanks again Ruth Ann for the interview. How cool that you based Jake's character off of Jonathan Frakes as Riker from Star Trek!
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If you haven't read An Inconvenient Marriage, I recommend it. It's a sweet romance, that will have you laughing a few times as well.Interview for An Inconvenient Marriage (thanks to KIMBOOKS)
1. An Unlikely Place for Love is a historical romance novel. What is your favorite period of history and why?
My favorite time period is between 1870 - 1910. What I like about it is that it's after the Civil War and before World War I. I am not big into war and have no desire to research that part of America's history. I also love the west and feel the time period frees me up to "live out west" in America through my writing. I like the idea of that time. There was a sense of community and old fashioned values that I find refreshing, and there's nothing sexier to me than a cowboy or farmer on a horse.
2. Where do you find your biggest inspiration when writing? What motivated or inspired you to write An Unlikely Place for Love?
My biggest motivation is reading other people's books. I will come across something in a book and think, "What if this happened instead?" That's when I get most of my ideas. I wrote An Unlikely Place for Love for two reasons. One is because I liked the character Kate Walker in An Inconvenient Marriage. She was a minor character in that book, but I liked her. I also wanted to write a romance about a woman disguised as a man and the possible mishaps she would get into while in her disguise.
3. What character do you identify with most? Why?
I am most like Chad Walker because he's a hard working person who does his best at anything he does. He is dependable and honest, and though this isn't always a positive, he is stubborn. However, he does manage to have a sense of humor when he opens up to Kate. Likewise, it's the people around me who usually bring out the best in me.
4. Kate finds her self in several predicaments during the course of the novel. What is your favorite situation she gets herself into and why? Do you have a life experience which is reflected in this situation?
My favorite situation she gets herself into is whenever she's in her "Billy" disguise and Lacy Montgomery keeps throwing herself at "him". I still laugh when I think of the part in the book when Kate, dressed as "Billy", tells Lacy that "he's" not ready to settle down, that "he" sleeps around a lot, that "he's a drunk", but when Lacy still drools over "him", "he" finally farts and says, "I better go before more comes out." You would think that would dissuade Lacy, but it didn't. In fact, the harder Kate tries to offend Lacy, the more Lacy clings to "Billy".
5. What did you learn when writing An Unlikely Place for Love?
I learned that it's hard to write comedy. I kept writing scenes that got too serious. Chad was unnecessarily hard on Kate when he discovered her true identity. So I rewrote that part four times before I got it right. It was a comedy, so I wanted to keep it light. I also learned the value of editing. I combed through the manuscript more than I had with anything I wrote before this book and I'm happy with the finished product, but it wasn't always easy to go through the same passage over and over because I wanted to write my next book. The last thing I learned was the value of reading other books with similar plots and time periods to the one I wanted to write. I gathered some great ideas and research this way. For example, I didn't know that women wore binding to hold down their breasts. Now I know they do.
6. What are you working on right now?
I actually finished it [The Cold Wife] and it's available. The Cold Wife was written because I liked Jake Mitchell's best friend Justin Monroe from An Inconvenient Marriage. I wanted to write Justin's love story. I decided to use an arranged marriage for this plot. Justin loved Carrie Allen who was his best friend's sister, but she never acknowledged him. When she's forced to marry him, she resents him and insists that they get an annulment. So he offers her the deal that they are married for one month and when the month is up, she's allowed to be freed from the vows if she still wishes to be. I hadn't done a book where the heroine is reluctant to be with the man so I thought this would be interesting to pursue. It's another romantic comedy, and I did give an update in how Kate and Chad were doing.
In case anyone is interested, the timeline for the three books are An Unlikely Place for Love (1886), The Cold Wife (1894), and An Inconvenient Marriage (1890). These books are not part of a series but they do have some of the same characters.
I am working North Dakota Romance: A Time Travel Romantic Comedy which starts in the present day and go back to the 1880's. I am currently revising two historical romances: Eye of the Beholder and His Redeeming Bride.
7. You said you are going to offer three of your books as free PDF downloads? What are they and when will they be available?
I am going to post three free eBooks on my website http://www.ruthannnordin.com. One will be a contemporary romantic comedy and it is called With This Ring, I Thee Dread. (Available January 15). Another is a historical romance and it is called Romancing Adrienne. (Available January 20). The third is An Unlikely Place for Love because it was nominated for the 15th Annual EVVY Award and I want to post it to celebrate. (Available January 20). I am not sure how long I'll keep them up but I am thinking a good six months to a year might be sufficient.
Springfield, NE
ph: 402-953-0133
ruth
