.@melissa_keir~ Charmaine Gordon Interview

I'm so excited to share an interview with Charmaine with you. She was willing to sit in the hot seat and share some insights into herself and her writing.

What television sitcom is most like your family? Why? I never watch sitcoms, not even when I worked on One Life to Live, All My Children and Another World.

I loved Another World. We need to talk about all the dirt. But later... in secret! What’s your favorite thing to do to relax? Relax? What’s that? I’m extremely busy and every summer my daughter, who is a fine teacher, takes my granddaughter and me to the beach. Yippee! Where I also write and dance.

If you could go back in time to when you were seven years old, what wisdom or advice would you pass on to yourself? Don’t get married so fast. Find a career, be a real person before settling down but this was many years ago when girls married oh so young.

For what are you grateful? My two youngest kids who are closest to me after the loss of my sweetheart and then my dear second husband. Also I’m grateful for my granddaughter whom I’ve raised since birth.

At what age were you the happiest? What triggered such joy? #1 my first love-37 tears of happiness until I lost him. Then acting for 12 years-what I call the Sweet Time where I met Mike Nichols, Billy Crystal, Harrison Ford and Anthony Hopkins and so many more.

OOhhh... now there's more dish to tell! What is the number one lie you tell yourself? Someday I’ll be well known as a writer. How is that working out? So far, not too well.

Now about you as an author…What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult? John Sandford and Elmore Leonard

Did anyone in your life influence you or encouraged you to be a writer? (teacher, family member, friend) No way. Be a mother, they said. YIKES!

What is your favorite aspect on writing? Your least? I love writing. I finish one book and two days later I begin another story.

Do you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing? No. The cats, all three of them find a place and get comfy while I write.

Do you have a common theme or item that appears in each of your books? I write about real people in real situations with lots of humor.

What have you learned the most from being in the writing business? Promo sucks, for me writing is the easy part. I’d love to know eventually readers will know my name.

Tell us about your latest release: (blurb, excerpt, cover)
When Double Becomes Single

Blurb:
Before that awful night, Sharon Michaels had never even driven herself at night… eaten at a table for one… or made plans on her own. Alone after losing her husband – her rock– she’s left with a business to run, a great son and his wonderful wife and children – far away in Denmark, a bad son and his nasty wife, and two teenage grandchildren she barely knows. Step by step, she finds her way into the world of singles and learns to Survive and Thrive!

Available in all eformats and amazon and B&N paperbacks

EXCERPT:
The touch of her husband’s lips on hers warmed Sharon Michaels all the way home from the hospital. Remembering his whispered I love you before she left released a cascade of tears. She groped in her bag for a tissue, found none and used the sleeve of her good winter coat as a blotter. Mac would fix Barry. Their favorite doctor always knew the magical potion to apply. Even when Fred, their difficult teenager now in his thirties, started using marijuana and refused to stop, Mac knew what to do. Tough Love was the prescription. No driver’s license and other privileges allowed until he straightened out. So Barry’s bad cough should be easy like the croup. Hmm. Fred still held a grudge against us. Get home and go to sleep.

Exhausted after hours visiting with her husband at Community Hospital in Suffern, New York, Sharon stripped and pulled on flannel pajamas. Too tired to shower, she brushed her teeth, washed her face and slipped under the comforter on this chilly night. The phone rang. She picked it up. Mac Bloom, the family doctor said something she couldn’t quite hear.

“Crisis? Is that what you said? What do you mean crisis? I left him at the hospital about an hour ago. We kissed and said I love you the way we’ve always done for thirty six years.”

Their doctor for many a long time sighed. She heard urgency and sadness in his voice. “Sharon, is anyone at home with you?

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How did you decide on your story plot? It came to me, demanded to be told and so I wrote page after page until I finished.

How did you choose your characters names and location for your story? The story takes place right here in Rockland County, New City, NY.

Do you have a favorite scene? She goes to the dog park with her two big rescue dogs and meets a man, an actor in the latest show Chicago. By chance she invites him for dinner. He notices the piano and tells her he has an audition for Amos to sing Cellophane. Would she help him? She hasn’t played in a long time but after a few bumbles, she helps him with suggestions. He gets the part.  Why? It removes a barrier in her life. She joins a band to play at Old folks' home and more-a way to give back.

Do you have a character that you identify with? Oh yes. The heroine and I share many characteristics. Who and why? Read it and see. In fact, I’ll gift a copy to you, my friend.

You can contact Charmaine at: Website | Twitter | Facebook

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