First, if we were meeting at a coffee shop I’d be drinking a Latte. What would you order? Half-caf skinny vanilla latte. I keep trying other drinks, but this is my go-to.
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions.
How many books in your Cross Springs Series can we expect to see? As for the Cross Springs series, the jury is out. I am working on the fourth novel and second novella now and just taking the stories as they unfold. The fourth novel features Connie’s sister-in-law, Lacey Burns, who just sort of showed up and demanded her own book. That’s how all my books happen. The characters just show up and make demands! As long as the residents of Cross Springs keep insisting I write their books, I will do so. I do have plans for a series set in the mountains of east Tennessee, though. Those people are starting to demand some attention, too.
What was it like to put out a Boxed Set with every Author from Red Door Reads? I can only imagine the planning session for that one 😉 As for the Red Door Reads box set, it was surprisingly easy to get everyone on board. Which is astonishing, considering there are 20 of us! The actual work of coordinating all of that wasn’t my responsibility, but I got secondhand accounts of how much work it was. My hat is off to the Red Doorians who made it happen. They are true heroines!
8 Tantalizing Tidbit
- A Must read book and why? Scarlett Bailey’s “Married By Christmas.” It is not strictly romance, but more of a chick lit book. It’s a Christmas book, which is why I picked it up initially, but it speaks in a very candid way about the profound importance women put on getting married, even when they know they are likely making a mistake. This book was also as much about the friendship between the heroine and her bestie as it was about the old love she left and the new one she found. It is smart, funny and heart-wrenching, with a very satisfying ending. I was very impressed with how Bailey pulled the story off and how profoundly good it was. Highly recommended!
- What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown? Well, my hometown is Nashville, TN, and there are tons of must-see places there. That one would be a gimme. But I now live in Raleigh, NC, which is much less attractive from a tourist’s perspective. I think our shining stars, though, are our museums. We have some really splendid state museums housed in Raleigh and the NC Museum of Art is not to be missed. They have a surprisingly varied and impressive collection of art. They have wonderful docents, too, who will tell you anything and everything you could want to know about each work there. They also have fantastic special exhibits, like the Rodin statues they had a few years ago and the Porsche exhibit two years past. Amazing! They have one right now that is 66 works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Hals and their Contemporaries. I really want to go. Wonder if I can con my husband into that one or if I need to wait for one of my daughters to get home for the holidays?
- Castles or Beaches? Castles! Especially if they are along the Rhine and I can see them while cruising down the river. Dream vacation.
- When you are traveling do you prefer to road trip it or fly it? Road trip, if possible. I love to drive. Like, really love it. I also love to listen to music really loud, sing along and keep time with the tiny maracas I keep in the car. For some reason, driving makes me insanely happy. I think a road trip across the country with my mother or one of my sisters or daughters would be the most fun ever. Any sights seen along the way are gravy!
- What is your guilty pleasure?My guilty pleasure is binge-watching, whether it’s back-to-back episodes of a TV show, all the movies in a series or simply a collection of movies that appeal to me. I recently binged on Wes Anderson movies. What a treat! Sadly, my husband doesn’t really “get” Wes Anderson movies. I needed one of my kids around to enjoy it with me!
- Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Um…I think I gave myself away in the guilty pleasure question. I have binge-watched every TV show I’ve seen in the past decade. I watch nothing when it airs, but wait for whole seasons to be available. I watched all of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ (the remake, of course) in about a week. All the shows and all the seasons!
- What’s your favorite TV show and why? ‘Sherlock.’ It’s funny, intelligent, fast and all about friends. Plus, I miss so many things I can watch each episode at least 4 times before picking up every nuance and enjoying every joke. That is the sign of a great show!
- What is your guilty pleasure?My guilty pleasure is binge-watching, whether it’s back-to-back episodes of a TV show, all the movies in a series or simply a collection of movies that appeal to me. I recently binged on Wes Anderson movies. What a treat! Sadly, my husband doesn’t really “get” Wes Anderson movies. I needed one of my kids around to enjoy it with me!
Thank you for taking the time to chat!
BIO:
Caren Crane grew up in Nashville, TN, and as a result does not care for country music. However, she cares a great deal about family, friends and men in boots. She blames her love of reading on a childhood devoid of TV and heavy on amusing oneself. Reading books was a lot more fun than playing with Barbies and playing “library” was far superior to playing “school.”
Caren now lives in North Carolina with her tall, handsome husband and a semi-feral and very demanding rescue cat. She fills all her books with family, friends and happy-ever-after endings. Which all books should feature, in her opinion. Connect with Caren on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CarenCraneAuthor or get the latest book news at https://www.CarenCrane.com.
