Catherine Castle has been writing all her life. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. Besides writing, Catherine
loves traveling with her husband, singing, and attending theatre. In the winter she loves to quilt and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place to be is in her garden. She’s passionate about gardening and even won a“Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.
Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist and is a 2013 EPIC
finalist.
QUESTIONS
How long have you been an author?
If you count the first book I ever wrote as making me an author I have to answer since I was a teen and wrote a longhand, sappy teen-idol based romance. If you mean as an adult, I freelanced as a non-fiction writer for about 10 years. During that time I began to write fiction and submit my books to publishers. It took another 10 years after writing The Nun and the Narc to get it published. It’s been a long road for me to publication.
Have there been any surprises along the way?
The purchase of The Nun and the Narc was a surprise since it had been turned down by a number of agents and editors who thought it outside the norm for an inspirational romance. I had decided that if I hadn’t sold it by the end of the year, I was going to self publish. Then I pitched to Debby Gilbert at a conference over breakfast and she asked for the book, even though I said it had been a hard sell for me since it didn’t fit conventional guidelines.
Why this story? What was your inspiration to write it?
Honestly, this story started as a contest entry because I wanted to see if I could write
an inspirational romance that wasn’t preachy. It didn’t work at first, because the heroine wasn’t who she needed to be. I kept getting stalled until one of my critique partners suggested I make the heroine a nun. I liked the idea, and I changed Margaret to Sister Margaret Mary, a slightly misfit-for-religious-order novice who is about to take her vows when she returns home from her Mexico mission trip. After the good sister came on the scene, the story took off. It
was magical the way the book practically wrote itself.
What was your favorite part of the book to write?
I rather like the car chase in the Mexican marketplace and the scenes where Sister Margaret Mary uses unconventional methods to escape her captors.
Is there a message you want your readers to take away from this book?
I’d like the readers to see that you can serve God in many ways, and what’s a calling for someone may not be your calling. Sometimes we put pressure on ourselves to do what everyone else is doing, but we are individuals with different talents and strengths. We should
use what we do best to serve God and others.
Do you have any other upcoming releases or projects you would like to talk about?
I’m in the middle of deciding which of my partially written books I’m going to tackle next for submission. I have a sweet romantic comedy, an inspirational historical, and a couple of ideas for sweet romances with an inspirational element. Right now I’m leaning toward the sweet romantic comedy. I’m also working on a gardening devotional that I’m considering for self publishing. I tend to work on multiple projects at a time. I think it keeps things fresh.
Where can readers find you?
I have a website where I blog and I’m also on Twitter, FB, and Goodreads. I also guest blog on a regular basis at Stitches Thru Time: http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/ and SMP authors blog site: http://smpauthors.wordpress.com/
Fun Questions:
Who is on your "to be read" shelf?
There isn’t enough room to list all my TBR books. I’d say some of the top of the pile choices are Iced Chiffon and Killer in Crinolines, cozy mysteries by Duffy Brown and Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. The hubby put The Killing of Jesus – A History, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard on the pile recently, and I have Best of Covered Wagon Women by Kenneth L. Holmes and Mama, I am Still Alive – A Composite Diary of 1861 in the Confederacy edited by Jeff Toalson, a couple of non-fiction reads for research on book ideas.
What are you reading now?
When I opened my Kindle The Salty Carmel Christmas by Barbara Lohr came up. I believe it’s a YA book by a fellow Ohio Valley Romance Author member. Another open book on the Kindle is Effie’s Outlaw by Karen Lopp, a fellow Soul Mate author. I’m sure there are others
open in the Kindle, but those two are at the top of the list right now.
If you could only pick one book from your childhood to preserve for others to read, what would it be?
Any book that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote, I loved her books as a child and we read them to our daughter when she was little. Actually, her father read them to her. Her books made me want to go back to the 1800s and live in that era.
How do you find your muse?
In the chores of life. I’m not one to sit at the computer and stare at a blank page. I tend to avoid the office and think about what I’m going to write until I have everything ordered in my mind, or at least outlined. Then, when I can’t avoid it any longer—and trust me, I do mundane things like cleaning the toilets to avoid the computer—I’ll sit down and the words just flow.
Where is your favorite spot to write?
My office. I’ve got my desk chair adjusted just so, my little electric fireplace to keep me warm, and all my stuff cluttered around me. When I shut the door I’m in my own little world. I have to have no distractions when I write.
What book do you think should be made into a movie?
Oh, wow. How to answer this one. There are so many good books out there that I don’t think I could choose. Some of the best ones have already made it to the big screen, like The Narnia
Chronicles, the Lord of the Rings books, Harry Potter series, Unsafe Haven and The Help, to mention just a few. I think I’ll leave the answer to this question to Hollywood.
loves traveling with her husband, singing, and attending theatre. In the winter she loves to quilt and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place to be is in her garden. She’s passionate about gardening and even won a“Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.
Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist and is a 2013 EPIC
finalist.
QUESTIONS
How long have you been an author?
If you count the first book I ever wrote as making me an author I have to answer since I was a teen and wrote a longhand, sappy teen-idol based romance. If you mean as an adult, I freelanced as a non-fiction writer for about 10 years. During that time I began to write fiction and submit my books to publishers. It took another 10 years after writing The Nun and the Narc to get it published. It’s been a long road for me to publication.
Have there been any surprises along the way?
The purchase of The Nun and the Narc was a surprise since it had been turned down by a number of agents and editors who thought it outside the norm for an inspirational romance. I had decided that if I hadn’t sold it by the end of the year, I was going to self publish. Then I pitched to Debby Gilbert at a conference over breakfast and she asked for the book, even though I said it had been a hard sell for me since it didn’t fit conventional guidelines.
Why this story? What was your inspiration to write it?
Honestly, this story started as a contest entry because I wanted to see if I could write
an inspirational romance that wasn’t preachy. It didn’t work at first, because the heroine wasn’t who she needed to be. I kept getting stalled until one of my critique partners suggested I make the heroine a nun. I liked the idea, and I changed Margaret to Sister Margaret Mary, a slightly misfit-for-religious-order novice who is about to take her vows when she returns home from her Mexico mission trip. After the good sister came on the scene, the story took off. It
was magical the way the book practically wrote itself.
What was your favorite part of the book to write?
I rather like the car chase in the Mexican marketplace and the scenes where Sister Margaret Mary uses unconventional methods to escape her captors.
Is there a message you want your readers to take away from this book?
I’d like the readers to see that you can serve God in many ways, and what’s a calling for someone may not be your calling. Sometimes we put pressure on ourselves to do what everyone else is doing, but we are individuals with different talents and strengths. We should
use what we do best to serve God and others.
Do you have any other upcoming releases or projects you would like to talk about?
I’m in the middle of deciding which of my partially written books I’m going to tackle next for submission. I have a sweet romantic comedy, an inspirational historical, and a couple of ideas for sweet romances with an inspirational element. Right now I’m leaning toward the sweet romantic comedy. I’m also working on a gardening devotional that I’m considering for self publishing. I tend to work on multiple projects at a time. I think it keeps things fresh.
Where can readers find you?
I have a website where I blog and I’m also on Twitter, FB, and Goodreads. I also guest blog on a regular basis at Stitches Thru Time: http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/ and SMP authors blog site: http://smpauthors.wordpress.com/
Fun Questions:
Who is on your "to be read" shelf?
There isn’t enough room to list all my TBR books. I’d say some of the top of the pile choices are Iced Chiffon and Killer in Crinolines, cozy mysteries by Duffy Brown and Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. The hubby put The Killing of Jesus – A History, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard on the pile recently, and I have Best of Covered Wagon Women by Kenneth L. Holmes and Mama, I am Still Alive – A Composite Diary of 1861 in the Confederacy edited by Jeff Toalson, a couple of non-fiction reads for research on book ideas.
What are you reading now?
When I opened my Kindle The Salty Carmel Christmas by Barbara Lohr came up. I believe it’s a YA book by a fellow Ohio Valley Romance Author member. Another open book on the Kindle is Effie’s Outlaw by Karen Lopp, a fellow Soul Mate author. I’m sure there are others
open in the Kindle, but those two are at the top of the list right now.
If you could only pick one book from your childhood to preserve for others to read, what would it be?
Any book that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote, I loved her books as a child and we read them to our daughter when she was little. Actually, her father read them to her. Her books made me want to go back to the 1800s and live in that era.
How do you find your muse?
In the chores of life. I’m not one to sit at the computer and stare at a blank page. I tend to avoid the office and think about what I’m going to write until I have everything ordered in my mind, or at least outlined. Then, when I can’t avoid it any longer—and trust me, I do mundane things like cleaning the toilets to avoid the computer—I’ll sit down and the words just flow.
Where is your favorite spot to write?
My office. I’ve got my desk chair adjusted just so, my little electric fireplace to keep me warm, and all my stuff cluttered around me. When I shut the door I’m in my own little world. I have to have no distractions when I write.
What book do you think should be made into a movie?
Oh, wow. How to answer this one. There are so many good books out there that I don’t think I could choose. Some of the best ones have already made it to the big screen, like The Narnia
Chronicles, the Lord of the Rings books, Harry Potter series, Unsafe Haven and The Help, to mention just a few. I think I’ll leave the answer to this question to Hollywood.
Where novice Sister Margaret Mary goes, trouble follows. When she
barges into a drug deal the local Mexican drug lord captures her. To escape she must depend on undercover DEA agent Jed Bond. Jed’s attitude toward her is exasperating, but when she finds herself inexplicable attracted to him he becomes more dangerous than the men who have captured them, because he is making her doubt her decision to take her final vows. Escape back to the nunnery is imperative, but life at the convent, if she can still take her final vows, willnever be the same.
Nuns shouldn’t look, talk, act, or kiss like Sister Margaret Mary
O’Connor—at least that’s what
Jed Bond thinks. She hampers his escape plans with her compulsiveness
and compassion and in the process makes Jed question his own beliefs. After years of walling up his emotions in an attempt to become the best agent possible, Sister Margaret is crumbling Jed’s defenses and opening his heart. To lure her away from the church would be unforgivable—to lose her unbearable.
Excerpt One:
Another row of pottery shattered, sending fragments into the car like tiny projectile rockets. Sending up a quick prayer, she covered her head.
Slamming the door shut as he passed, the man leapt over the trunk. He jerked open the driver’s door then jumped behind the wheel. Jamming the car into gear, he roared out into the market street. Shoppers and vendors screamed, leaping out of the car’s path.
Margaret scrambled into the passenger seat. “Stop this car immediately!”
“Keep down,” he ordered, “unless you want to get shot.”
The rear window glass erupted into the car’s interior, punctuating his words. The man fired at the attackers through the shattered back window.
“Shot?” Her voice rose an octave. “Oh, dear Lord in Heaven, what have I gotten into?”
“Trouble, Lady.” He fired off another round. “Big trouble.”
Margaret slid deeper into the front passenger seat, grabbing the door handle as the car careened around a corner.
I’m going to die. In a car crash. With a strange man. Heart pumping madly, she let go of the door handle just long enough to cross herself then grabbed it again as the car swerved. A guardian angel would be good here, Lord. And make it Dale Earnhardt! They swerved around another
corner and she held on for dear life.
Oh, Mother Superior, maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m not good nun material after all. Who else in the convent could get themselves into a mess like this?
Buy links & Author links:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Nun-Narc-ebook/dp/B00CHU9DH2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1368652543&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Nun+and+the+Narc
Print version:
http://www.amazon.com/Nun-Narc-Catherine-Castle/dp/1619352966/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380639013&sr=1-1&keywords=the+nun+and+the+narc
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-nun-and-the-narc-catherine-castle/1116942061?ean=9781619352964
Catherine’s website: http://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com
Catherine’s blog: http://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com/blog/
Catherine’s Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/catherinecastle
Catherine’s Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7085414.Catherine_Castle
Twitter: @AuthorCCastle
Facebook: http://facebook.com/catherinecastleauthor
GIVEAWAY:
Catherine will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter between this tour and her Name Before the Masses tour. So leave your comment, and follow the tour and comment for more chances to win.
barges into a drug deal the local Mexican drug lord captures her. To escape she must depend on undercover DEA agent Jed Bond. Jed’s attitude toward her is exasperating, but when she finds herself inexplicable attracted to him he becomes more dangerous than the men who have captured them, because he is making her doubt her decision to take her final vows. Escape back to the nunnery is imperative, but life at the convent, if she can still take her final vows, willnever be the same.
Nuns shouldn’t look, talk, act, or kiss like Sister Margaret Mary
O’Connor—at least that’s what
Jed Bond thinks. She hampers his escape plans with her compulsiveness
and compassion and in the process makes Jed question his own beliefs. After years of walling up his emotions in an attempt to become the best agent possible, Sister Margaret is crumbling Jed’s defenses and opening his heart. To lure her away from the church would be unforgivable—to lose her unbearable.
Excerpt One:
Another row of pottery shattered, sending fragments into the car like tiny projectile rockets. Sending up a quick prayer, she covered her head.
Slamming the door shut as he passed, the man leapt over the trunk. He jerked open the driver’s door then jumped behind the wheel. Jamming the car into gear, he roared out into the market street. Shoppers and vendors screamed, leaping out of the car’s path.
Margaret scrambled into the passenger seat. “Stop this car immediately!”
“Keep down,” he ordered, “unless you want to get shot.”
The rear window glass erupted into the car’s interior, punctuating his words. The man fired at the attackers through the shattered back window.
“Shot?” Her voice rose an octave. “Oh, dear Lord in Heaven, what have I gotten into?”
“Trouble, Lady.” He fired off another round. “Big trouble.”
Margaret slid deeper into the front passenger seat, grabbing the door handle as the car careened around a corner.
I’m going to die. In a car crash. With a strange man. Heart pumping madly, she let go of the door handle just long enough to cross herself then grabbed it again as the car swerved. A guardian angel would be good here, Lord. And make it Dale Earnhardt! They swerved around another
corner and she held on for dear life.
Oh, Mother Superior, maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m not good nun material after all. Who else in the convent could get themselves into a mess like this?
Buy links & Author links:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Nun-Narc-ebook/dp/B00CHU9DH2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1368652543&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Nun+and+the+Narc
Print version:
http://www.amazon.com/Nun-Narc-Catherine-Castle/dp/1619352966/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380639013&sr=1-1&keywords=the+nun+and+the+narc
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-nun-and-the-narc-catherine-castle/1116942061?ean=9781619352964
Catherine’s website: http://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com
Catherine’s blog: http://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com/blog/
Catherine’s Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/catherinecastle
Catherine’s Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7085414.Catherine_Castle
Twitter: @AuthorCCastle
Facebook: http://facebook.com/catherinecastleauthor
GIVEAWAY:
Catherine will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter between this tour and her Name Before the Masses tour. So leave your comment, and follow the tour and comment for more chances to win.
RSS Feed
