Author Interview: Carmen DeSousa (and a giveaway)

 

Today please welcome Carmen DeSousa to WiLoveBooks. She is the author of She Belongs To Me , Land of the Noonday Sun, and Entangled Dreams (all of which have been reviewed here at WLB). She also has a short story, The Pit Stop (This Stop Could Be Life or Death), which is free at Amazon and Smashwords, if you are interested in reading a sample of her work. Keep reading to find out how to win a copy of She Belongs to Me.

While Carmen DeSousa does not write "Christian" books, she does share her characters' Christian beliefs. Her characters are real people who come with real flaws; no perfect people allowed. She characterizes her stories as modern-day fairytales, as they are overflowing with romance, mystery, suspense, and of course, tragedy. After all, what would a fairytale be without a tragic event setting the stage? All of her novels are sensual, but not erotic, gripping but not graphic and will hopefully make you cry, laugh, love, and hope.

Carmen’s first two novels, She Belongs To Me and Land of the Noonday Sun, have reached bestseller status right alongside Nicholas Sparks, J.D. Robb, and other great authors. Her third novel, Entangled Dreams, just released September 2012.



Describe your ideal writing space. How does it compare to reality?

Ahh…I live in paradise. My area of Florida has some of the top-rated beaches in the nation. My husband and I take Fridays off together, and when the weather is nice, we’ll kayak out to Honeymoon Island or Caladesi, the place where my first-kiss from She Belongs to Me takes place. I download my work in progress onto my Kindle and I’ll read everything I’ve wrote up to that point, highlighting any areas that need a little ‘oomph!’

On any other day, my home office overlooks a beautiful arica palm and a canary date palm tree in my yard, as well as a sparkling pool. The only way it could be better is if I finally talk my hubby into building a waterfall in our backyard. I love waterfalls, which is evident in my books. Not only does the sound of water drown out surrounding noise, the negative ions create a great writing environment.


What is the first story you remember writing and what was it about?

Hehe… giant fleas, but that’s all I remember. My first real story was in college. It was about a divorced single mother who goes to live with her father. It is mostly about her son, who thinks that his grandfather is the greatest man on earth. Until he dies. The boy is furious that his grandfather would leave him because he said he never would. The title: He Walked on Water

My professor loved it, even admitted I was the only student who ever made him cry. Someday, I’m going to rifle through all my junk in the attic and find that story.


Name a memorable book from your childhood. Why is it memorable?

James and the Giant Peach. It was my first introduction to reading. I loved my third-grade teacher because every day after lunch, she’d read to the class. I asked for the book after she finished and she gave it to me; it made me feel special. I’d always wished someone would read to me as I’d always seen in movies. So, as a parent, I made sure I read to my children.


If you could ask any writer (living or dead) a question, who would it be and what would you ask?

Dang…I already looked up all of those. Hmm… I guess I’d have to say Sidney Sheldon, because he was my first, and an author I believe was a pioneer in the romantic-suspense genre. My questions: What made you decide to write romantic-suspense when most male writers only wrote mystery thrillers? And how did you get in the woman’s head so well?


If you could pick any of the worlds or characters you have created, which would you want to visit or spend a day with?

Well, I write about where I live and want to live, Florida and North Carolina, two of my favorite states. So, I guess I’d have to spend a day with Chad from Land of the Noonday Sun. I put him through more issues than any of my characters, and he fought to overcome every one of them. My favorite thing would be for him to take me down the roughest whitewater river in North Carolina, the Cheoah River. I may even fall in and let him save me. LOL!


What is one thing you like to do when you are not reading or writing?

Honestly, I rarely do anything but read and write—or think about writing. And because my fifteen-year-old son is also an avid reader and writer, and my husband is a non-fiction writer, my answer below hopefully isn’t as pathetic as it sounds. When I’m not behind my desk working, I’m usually—as I mentioned above—with my hubby. We spend hours on the beach or in a coffee shop reading and writing.

My author brain never turns off. Everything I see, touch, smell, or hear has me thinking, “How can I put this into a story?” I type notes into my iPhone daily, I wake up in the middle of the night and jot down the next scene of my current WIP; I literally spend about ninety percent of my life working out my current or future stories. I rarely watch TV, and the only way my husband can get me to watch a movie is if he puts on a romantic comedy. And though I’d rather read or write, it’s his cue to me that he wants me to cuddle up beside him. :)


Aww. Sweet. :) Thanks for answering my questions!

 

Carmen loves talking about all things books, so please connect with her via one of the links below:
Website

 

Twitter

 

Facebook

 

Goodreads

 

***If you'd like to register to win a FREE copy of She Belongs To Me, simply go to Carmen's Facebook page and leave a message saying @WiLoveBooks sent me. She'll do a drawing at the end of the week!