Getting to Know Caroline Clemmons

The Write Way Café welcomes author Caroline Clemmons, whose understanding of what a hero is comes from personal experience.

Tell us a little about your McClintock series.
So glad you asked. ☺ The McClintock’s are a close-knit, loving, ranching family that live in the Texas Hill Country near Bandera and Medina. The first in the series was Dallas McClintock in THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE. That book is perma-free at most online vendors. Dallas is injured saving the life of beautiful Cenora O’Neill and ends up trapped in marriage to her to save her from the bully head of a band of Irish Travelers. The second is Cenora’s brother, Finn O’Neill, in O’NEILL’S TEXAS BRIDE. To earn his chance at a ranch, he agrees to work undercover at a coal mine to ferret out a saboteur and clears Stella Clayton’s father of suspicion before he marries Stella. Book three is McCLINTOCK’S RELUCTANT BRIDE and features Josh McClintock and his reluctant bride, Nettie Clayton. In that book, Daniel’s horse is shot and he is pinned with his back on a sharp rock, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. We join Daniel two years later in the current book, DANIEL McCLINTOCK. Clara Van Hoosan comes to the McClintock ranch from Amsterdam as a mechanotherapist, the early name for physical therapist.

If Daniel McClintock was made into a movie, who would play your main characters, and why?
Chris Hemsworth or Hunter Parrish. Actually, no actor matches the vision in my head, but these are the closest I can name.

What or who has been instrumental in or to your writing journey?
My biggest influence has been my husband who I call Hero. I couldn’t accomplish nearly as much without him. My entire family has been supportive, but Hero is my greatest support.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?  What’s your best writing advice for others?
Advice to me: Don’t let someone else steal your dream.
To others: Keep learning and honing your skill—persevere.

What “keepers” are in your home library?
With so many wonderful books available, choosing is difficult. Here are three on which I rely: PRINCE CHARMING by Julie Garwood, LORD PERFECT by Loretta Chase, and FALLON by Louis L’Amour (actually all of his westerns). I reread those about once a year. I love the way Loretta Chase phrases descriptions. Julie Garwood also has a definite way with words and this book includes both English Victorian and American West scenes.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment? 
Criticism: A reader said the hero in THE MOST UNSUITABLE HUSBAND was unredeemable. He wasn’t and redeemed himself by the end of the book. As it turns out, all her other reviews were for sweet inspirational.
Compliment: A fan wrote that with my writing she could “see” the characters and places in the book as if she were there.

We’re adding books to our Café menu.  Would your book be a drink, an appetizer, an entrée or a dessert?  What would you call it? 
The entrée because there’s meat in it and it gives food for thought as well as entertaining the reader.

What is your favorite social media?  Why?
Facebook because one sees the photo of the person and can interact with many from one comment.

Do you have any compulsions you must do for no particular reason?
To accomplish my best writing, I must be in my office alone at my desktop. That’s where I write faster and where I prefer to spend my time. I’m happy there in what my family calls my “pink writing cave”. When writing, I listen to classical music on Pandora.

Tell us about the book in your closet.
I have a 4-part series of women’s fiction I may get around to one of these days in the not-too-distant future.

And now for the fun stuff! 

What is your biggest shopping downfall?
Books, of course! Books, books, and more books—both paper and e-books. Most of my paper books are for reference for writing. When purchasing a book to read, I choose an e-book unless the cost is the same as the paper book.

Are you a glass half empty or glass half full personality? 
I’m a glass half full person, also keeping in mind the glass can be refilled.

What is something you do that people would be surprised at?
I enjoy genealogy. I’ve contributed to several genealogical journals and have written family books for my mother-in-law’s family and my mom’s family. In addition, my brother and I collected material, anecdotes, and photos for a book on my father’s family.

Are you a dog/cat/other person?
Both.  Hero and I have three cats. Our little shih tzu passed away a year ago and we are just now ready to adopt another. All our pets have been rescues.

What is your favorite season and why?
Spring is my favorite. Spring is such a hopeful time of year.

A compassionate woman…
Clara Van Hoosan entered training when she finished school at sixteen. Now, at twenty-two, she is one of the best heilgymnast in the new field of mechanotherapy. When her supervisor receives a request for someone to travel to Texas in America and help a paralytic patient, Clara is pleased to accept. On her arrival in McClintock Falls, she is surprised that the patient she thought would be a teenage boy is a very handsome man her age.

A desperate man…
Two years ago Daniel McClintock was paralyzed from the waist down. He is deeply discouraged and wonders if he is bound to live his life an invalid. Each week he becomes more depressed although not idle. He keeps books for the ranch and paints landscapes with sales donated to the church. The local doctor learns of a new type of treatment developed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Daniel can’t go there, so his family writes for a therapist trained in the new treatment to come to them.

A surprise arrives…
Everyone is expecting a man when Clara Van Hoosan arrives. As she and Daniel work together, they become attracted. She believes his is the normal attachment a patient feels toward a therapist and will fade once he’s healed. She tries to hide her feelings for him. Daniel knows she’s The One if only he can convince her to remain in McClintock Falls.

Amazon

About Caroline:
     Through a crazy twist of fate, Caroline Clemmons was not born on a Texas ranch. To make up for this tragic error, she writes about handsome cowboys, feisty ranch women, and scheming villains in a small office her family calls her pink cave. She and her Hero live in North Central Texas cowboy country where they ride herd on their rescued cats and dogs. The books she creates there have made her an Amazon bestselling author and won several awards. Find her on her blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google+, and Pinterest.
     Click on her Amazon Author Page for a complete list of her books and follow her there.
Follow her on BookBub.
     Subscribe to Caroline’s newsletter here to receive a FREE novella of HAPPY IS THE BRIDE, a humorous historical wedding disaster that ends happily—but you knew it would, didn’t you?
     She loves to hear from readers at caroline@carolineclemmons.com.