Today I’d like to welcome Carla Neggers, who recently published the third novel in her marvelous romantic suspense Sharpe and Donovan series, Declan’s Cross (reviewed here). Here she is to do a bit of Q&A!
Where do you do most of your writing? Do you have a certain place that inspires you most?
Carla: I do most of my writing in my office at our house on our hilltop in Vermont. I look out at a huge old maple tree on the edge of the woods. Great view when I need to think! But I don’t stay in my office. I migrate to other parts of the house, local cafes…and Ireland. Ireland is an incredible place to write.
How did your own trip to Ireland inspire this book? What inspired you most?
Carla: When I started thinking about Declan’s Cross, I knew that Emma and Colin were taking a break in Ireland. What could go wrong? I had no idea but I knew that something would! Then my husband and I visited Ardmore, a lovely village in the heart of Saint Declan country on the south Irish coast…and I got to thinking what if Emma’s grandfather, a renowned art detective, had investigated an unsolved Irish art theft, and what if an American with no apparent connection to the theft disappeared? Throw in Julianne Maroney, the hotheaded marine biologist with an on/off relationship with Colin’s lobsterman brother, Andy, and Declan’s Cross started taking shape.
Your books have been described as being very down-to-earth. Do you think your strong sense of roots and your big family have something to do with that?
Carla: No doubt! Having six brothers and sisters helps keep me grounded. We grew up in rural New England but our father was Dutch — he’d been a sailor -– and our mother is from the Florida Panhandle. Imagining their lives before we were born, in such different places, fueled my imagination. My Dutch cousin Christine and I were pen-pals as kids. I used to try to picture her life in Holland. We finally met as adults when I visited her in her pretty Dutch village, not unlike the one I’d imagined for her. “Roots” don’t necessarily involve people down the street!
Favorite place to read?
Carla: In bed, under a cozy comforter…whether it’s at home or on the road.
About Carla Neggers
Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 60 novels, with translations in 24 languages. Born and raised on the western edge of the beautiful Quabbin Reservoir in rural Massachusetts, Carla grew up with tales of her father’s life as a Dutch sailor and her mother’s childhood in northwest Florida.At a young age, Carla began penning her own stories on a branch high up in her favorite sugar maple. Now she enjoys spending time at the family homestead (now a tree farm) with her six brothers and sisters and their families. When she’s not writing, Carla loves to travel, hike, kayak, garden, and, of course, dive into a good book. She lives with her family in Vermont, near Quechee Gorge.
To learn more about Carla, visit her website or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~
Carla is kindly giving away a hardcover copy of Declan’s Cross to one lucky winner (U.S. and Canada only). To enter, please use the Rafflecopter below.
Format read: ebook borrowed from the library
Format read: ebook borrowed from the Library