Honeymoon’s Over Interview and Giveaway

About the Book

Book: Honeymoon’s Over Author: Carol McClain Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction Release date: September 27, 2023 Honeymoon’s Over For better or worse. Easy vows for newlyweds Chantel and Charlie. Having been widowed, they knew the worst of love was years away. Furthermore, at fifty, they wouldn’t live long enough for the bad to blossom. Then they came home from their honeymoon. Chantel’s pregnant daughter Sissy, living with them during her husband’s deployment, must remain on bed rest. Histrionic and bored, she’s a … challenge. Chantel’s vegetarian son Graham moves in for a few weeks to help with his sister, but something doesn’t seem right. He never got along with his military-loving, meat-eating sibling. He didn’t have ulterior motives for coming to help, did he? Charlie’s married daughter, Margo, could certainly enumerate the issues these adult children her father’s new wife had. On top of everything, how could her father have chosen that woman? Then there’s Charlie’s father—lost in old-age absentmindedness. Certainly, he was only forgetful. Thank heavens for jobs they love that get them out of the house. Except … Should they have vowed for worse or better?  
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About the Author

Carol McClain is the award-winning author of five novels dealing with real people facing real problems. She is a consummate encourager, and no matter what your faith might look like, you will find compassion, humor and wisdom in her complexly layered, but ultimately readable work. Aside from writing, she’s a skilled glass artist who has just made a foray into creating high-end jewelry. She’s also an avid hiker. She teaches Bible studies and mentors teens. She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and too many animals to mention.  

More from Carol

Disclaimer #1: Beware. If we get to know each other, the humor of your life is liable to become fodder for my work. (Of course, with permission. Occasionally!) But don’t worry. I don’t write suspense, so you’ll never be in danger. Background: My brother married a widow when they were in their fifties. He was a meatatarian. “Vegetables have rights,” he’d declare as he reached for a second round of bacon. He’d then heap on fried potatoes. The tubers were his nod to vegetables. His wife was gluten intolerant and a health food lover of all foods green. When he moved in with his wife, so did his vegan son who lived on gluten (and very few veggies). Gluten found its way onto her countertops, her refrigerator shelves, and dishes he didn’t wash. Her son lived with her as well and came arrayed with the eccentricities my nephew lacked. The two sons made a complete, chaotic pair. Add to them a diabetic mother who was starting dementia and my bet was on the fact this marriage was doomed. Fortunately, I’m not prophetic. They remained happily married—despite my brother’s eating predilection. However, their situation made me laugh and became the fodder for Honeymoon’s Over. Disclaimer #2: no HIPPA rules or privacy issues or personal matter have been disclosed. Names have been changed to protect the guilty (just don’t read the dedication, then the name change is mute.) Disclaimer #3: If you’re expecting a sad, tearjerker, you’ll be disappointed. Oh, you will cry—tears of laughter. You’ll chortle throughout Honeymoon.

Interview with the Author

  1. Do you read books in this genre? If so, who do you like to read?

I read almost anything (except maybe sci-fi and romance). I absolutely love women’s fiction. In this genre, I explore the ‘what ifs’ real people face. The genre clarifies what is truly important—in the case of Honeymoon’s Over, the importance of marriage over other interests.

My favorite authors are Lisa Wingate, Susan Meissner, and much of Angela Hunt.

  1. What helps you to write? Do you eat snacks, listen to music?

I need silence. I may sip coffee, but that’s all. I’ll write for several hours, then I need a break.

One thing that really helps me break through issues in my plot, is movement. I love to run, but the Tennessee hills make running hard for me these days. Walking the roads, exploring the wildflowers and wildlife, feeling the breeze on my face, smelling autumn olive or honeysuckle frees my mind.

I discover new insights and can then get back to work.

  1. If you could travel back in time, what time period would you go to?

Given my life experiences, maybe I’d rather go forward in time. I’d had several serious medical snafus. If not for modern medicine, I would have died in childbirth.

I love flush toilets. I love showers. Going to the grocery store and not having to make the unforgiving Tennessee soil make my food is heavenly.

  1. What inspired you to write this book?

If I know you, beware. In some form you may end up being the inspiration for my book. This work is a work of humor as well as theme. I am a humorist. Even my most serious work is humorous. So, as you read the spark of inspiration and the characters I love, know they are viewed through the healing eyes of laughter.

In the case of Honeymoon’s Over, my spark was my brother and his new wife.

When Art married Kathy, he moved his Antifa-loving, vegan son in with him and my new sister-in-law. She had gluten issues, and his son, as a vegan, ate only gluten (exaggeration).

My brother’s daughter didn’t like his new wife—perhaps jealousy dominated her.

His wife also had an aging mother with dementia, and an adult son with OCD.

Add to the mix, three needy dogs

On top of everything, this union was viewed through my lens of humor. How could it succeed?

Don’t worry. It did.

The marriage was loving and successful despite these issues.

  1. Share with me a few of your favorite things.

I love:

Goats—they’re so happy and so much fun to watch dance in the fields.

Glass—I love the play of colors in the sunlight. I do create stained glass and fused glass art.

Art—I can bore my grandkids for hours exploring paintings in museums. They don’t seem to be amused at the brush strokes of Mary Cassatt or how Sargent makes material looks like silk or the effect of light on Rembrandt’s work.

Blog Stops

Girls in White Dresses, January 8

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, January 9

Stories By Gina, January 10 (Author Interview)

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, January 11 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 11

Artistic Nobody, January 12 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, January 13

Guild Master, January 14 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Acdemy, January 15

A Reader’s Brain, January 16 (Author Interview)

Back Porch Reads, January 17 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, January 17

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, January 18 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, January 19

Fiction Book Lover, January 20 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, January 21 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To  celebrate her tour, Carol is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54126


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