Tag Archives: Caryl McAdoo

Spotlight on Historical Romance + Author Interview — Texas Times

29 Oct

About The Book

Book: Texas Times

Author: Caryl McAdoo

Genre: Historical Romance

Release Date: September 8, 2023

A prim and proper country girl is thrown into a mayhem of madams and mercy killing when Alexandria Bell inherits her estranged uncle’s portion of a big city’s premier newspaper, the Texas Times. She does find the pickin’s better in Dallas as before she knows it, three suitors vie for her attentions. One makes her laugh, one speaks to her heart, and the third possesses such a way with words, he make her envious of his talent . . . but she’s his boss. Come along on Alex’s new career adventure and see if any are successful in winning her heart and hand.Click here to get your copy!

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About The Author

Award-winning author Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory, and her best-selling tales—coming up on seventy titles now published—delight readers all around the world. The prolific writer also enjoys singing the new songs the Lord gives her; you may listen to those at her YouTube channel.

She loves working in the yard at The Peaceable, her home tucked away on twenty acres, mowing and planting flowers. She lives there with Ron, her high school sweetheart and husband of fifty-five years, five dogs, two dairy goats she milks daily, a flock of chickens, and a plethora of barn cats.

The couple shares four children and twenty-seven grandsugars, six are greats. Caryl and Ron love their quiet, country life in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas and wait expectantly for God to open the next door so they may do His will.

More from Caryl

I can’t imagine the Cross Timbers Romance Family Saga coming to an end anytime soon, but I’m up to nine books in it! I love these characters so much and the fact that some of those beautiful fictitious people I love from my first family saga (Texas Romances) show up from time to time—I mean they all live in Texas so . . . !

This book nine, TEXAS TIMES has been so much fun because of its background setting—a Dallas newspaper in 1877. It lends itself to anything happening at any time, so the adventure and pace of the story know no bounds!

I introduce a new female character as my heroine in TEXAS TIMES, Alexandria who is moving to Dallas from the tiny Texas Hill Country community of Spicewood to assume a new position at the newspaper there after inheriting a forty-five percent ownership of it.

The Cross Timbers’ characters show up in TEXAS TIMES as the heroes. There’s Amos Humble, the paper’s star reporter and son of Landry and Arlene Humble (book three TEXAS TEARS) and Stephen O’Neal, the first class fiddler son of Flynn and Alicia (book one GONE TO TEXAS.) So I’m still in the third generation with no telling how many more books to go!

This story covers a lot. Forgiveness of others and one’s self, God’s supernatural miracles, His giftings, His plans and purposes for our lives, the importance of truth… I could go on and on. I pray you all will enjoy this fast-paced story and that it gives God glory!

BLESSINGS!

Q & A with Caryl McAdoo

Was there a special someone, such as a teacher, parent, or other relative, who encouraged you to pursue writing?

My husband Ron was always a reader, and after finishing a book called Noah, he thought it was so bad and had nothing to do with the Biblical hero, that if that lady made it to print, he and I could write a book and get published!

We hand wrote a 380 page manuscript that was rejected, rejected, rejected. The Lord led us to the DFW Writers Workshop where we learned the craft and six years later, our first book ANTIQUING IN NORTH TEXAS, a non-fiction, debuted!
 

Why did you choose historical Christian Romance genre?

Almost ten years after joining the workshop and nine titles later, we met our New York agent, Mary Sue Seymour (would you believe her maiden name was McAdoo? It was definitely a “God-thing”), and she told us if we would write a historical Christan romance set in the 1800s, she’d sell it.

Nine weeks later, she signed us to a contract after we sent VOW UNBROKEN to her. Two moths after that, she sold it to Simon & Schuster! We loved the genre and now have three family sagas and many more (39 in the genre)! They are never outdated, I love the research, and the sweeter, more moral times.

What types of research do you pursue? Books, on-site visits, etc. 

Most of our research is done online. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s so very convenient! An author can think up any bit of information to put in their book like what games did children play with or what were some slang words used in the 1880s or how much did it cost to mail a letter in 1865?

Ask Google, and voila! The answer is at your fingertips. And while you’re reading one thing, you most always come across other interesting information! It reminds me of the Scripture that says knowledge will increase in the end days—which I totally believe we are living in now!.

What does a typical writing day look like? Are you structured or informal in your writing schedule?

Ron ad I usually write early in the morning and on his computer. He goes over what I wrote the day before, then takes the story on, telling me I’m behind when he’s through. I sit in his chair, go over what he’s written, and continue the story. 

This goes back and forth from the beginning to the end of the manuscript. We hardly ever go back to change or add something. He has final say on male dialogue and actions and I have same foe the feminine characters! We average writing a thousand words a day (4 pages). That’s usually all done by nine or ten o’clock.

We say we write for discovery. We have an idea of our heroines and hero’s background information—we decide it through discussion—to know how they’ve gotten where they are and who it’s made them. Past that, we have no idea where the story is going or what will happen to our characters until we write it.   

Readers always want to know what is next for an author. Do you have any works in progress you can share about?

Well, we just finished writing THE GINGERS LOVE THEIR MYRRH, book one of a new multi-author project I’ve organized “Grandmothers Know Best” that launches in January 2024. 

Though the writing is complete, it is still a work in progress as many things must happen before it’s a book. Editing (I have several editors who go over it), making corrections, working with my cover designer Randi Gammons, formatting (designing the interior of the book), then bringing it all together and uploading it at Amazon.

ANSWERING THE CALL is the story we’re actually writing right now. It will be book three in my New Beginnings Family Saga, but first, the “episodes—rather than chapters—are published at Kindle Vella as Season Three, same name.

As soon as it’s finished, and it will be soon, we’ll be starting on MAIL-ORDER SHEPHERD, a part of the “Husbands of Honor” Collection, multi-author project being organized by another author. The twist is a lady needs the help of a man and places an ad.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 18

An Author’s Take, October 19

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 20

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, October 21 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 22

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 23

Texas Book-aholic, October 24

ABBA’s Prayer Warrior Princess, October 25

Pause for Tales, October 26

Sylvan Musings, October 27 (Author Interview)

The Lit Lady, October 27

For Him and MY Family, October 28

By The Book, October 29 (Author Interview)

Exploring the Written Word, October 29

Holly’s Book Corner, October 30

Cover Lover Book Review, October 31

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Caryl is giving away the prize of a $50 Amazon gift card and signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/28798/texas-times-celebration-tour-giveaway

Book Spotlight And Author Interview — Lilah by Caryl McAdoo

9 Jun

About The Book

Book:  Lilah

Author: Caryl McAdoo

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: May 3, 2020

How can death, betrayal, a rash proposal, and revenge lead to romance?

An abusive controller compels reluctant travelers westward. To flee her foul stepfather, Lilah proposes marriage to the wagon train scout, which only leaves Padraig thinking she’s a bit soft in the head. It’s 1855. Come join the journey along the Oregon Trail with Captain Cumby. Wagon Ho!

 

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

 

 

About The Author

Award-winning author Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory, and her best-selling novels — over fifty published — delight Christian readers around the world. The prolific writer also enjoys singing the new songs the Lord gives her — listen to a few at YouTube. Sharing four children and eighteen grandsugars with Ron, her high-school-sweetheart-husband of over fifty years, she lives in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas. The McAdoos wait expectantly for God to open the next door.

 

 

More from Caryl

Writing Lilah wasn’t as easy as some of the past stories because of dealing with such an evil man—her uncle then stepfather, forcing himself on her mother after Papa passed. But my young heroine’s courage, spunk, and daunting outspokenness had me grinning in no time.

Straight off the bat, the fifteen-year-old proposes to the first single man she runs into! It almost reminds me of my own romance, when on the second night of our life together (we’d had our first date the evening before) my husband Ron told me, “I know it doesn’t mean much now, but I love you.”

Later I learned he’d told his mother that same night that he’d met the girl he was going to marry. She didn’t share that until after we were an old married couple with two little boys.

We all have our own love stories, and I’d love to hear yours! This is the reason I so love writing romance! And historical romance is even better because I loved the way women were so honored back then. For the most part, they stayed home and reared their own children and worked hard as the helpmate of their husbands.

Plus, I love the research for the era of the novels and once written, a historical is never out of date! Contemporary romance will be outdated almost as soon as it’s written these days due to the technology. In my lifetime—the first twenty years of such is now considered as “history” by the publishing industry!—things have changed extraordinarily!

I don’t know if any generation has seen such advances as my own. My parents’ watched the first televisions, but that can’t begin to compare with computers in every home. I believe we truly are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation—a peculiar people who will show forth the praises of Him Who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord with me and be blessed!
This Texas author hopes readers will love Lilah as I always am, “Praying my story gives God glory!”

 

Q&A with Caryl McAdoo

 

Why did you choose historical Christian romance genre?

I never could choose one genre. I have contemporary Christian romance, Biblical fiction, and stories for mid-grade readers and for Young Adults, but by far historical Christian romance is my favorite genre and the one my readers love most.

My author’s motto or tagline is “Praying my story gives God glory!” History can be considered HIS-story and while I never appreciated history in school, it was Ron’s favorite subject (another thing that makes our writing collaboration so successful). We’ve been enjoying being romantic for over fifty-four years now, since we were sixteen. (married at eighteen) God is Love. 

It seems so right.

How long does it usually take to craft your books? (from outlines/first drafts to final edits)

The agent, Mary Sue Seymour, told me to write the book on the way to DFW International Airport to catch her flight home. She’d flown in for a small writers’ conference in East Texas. That was the last Sunday of April, and we — my co-author husband and I — started writing it the next day. It took nine weeks to finish and send it to her. She sent a contract to represent us and sold it after a few edits in two months to Simon & Schuster!

They had eight different edits work on it and took almost two years, until March of 2014 to release it into the stores. I publish independently now and can’t imagine ever selling another title to a traditional publisher.

Now I can write a three hundred page story, get it edited and proofread (new eyes — NO author should ever try to be their own!), then formatted while working on the cover, and published at Amazon in two months if I’m in a hurry, not two years. That’s only ONE of the reasons I love being hybrid! 

What types of research do you pursue? Books, on-site visits, etc. 

It’s always different for each book. We took off and drove the Oregon / California Trail for research and also visited Washington on the Brazos in Central Texas to see where they voted to join the Union. We research what books came out that year for our characters to read or perhaps what plays were at the Theaters.

I like to study the vernacular of their slang then to include a little of that in the books. Ron researches about how wine barrels are made and how the pioneers fixed their broken wagon wheels! Then for BITTER HONEY, we researched vineyards and making wine and hunting alligators! 

What does a typical writing day look like? Are you structured or informal in your writing schedule? 

Ron, my husband often gets up very early, before the chickens or the sun. After he prays about an hour, he plays spider solitaire then writes. I get up dependent on when I went to sleep—he never knows unless I’m still awake when he gets up which happens frequently. He lets me sleep until I wake up which this morning was a little after ten.

After a cup of coffee and a little bite to break my fast, I go over what he’s written, adding what I want as I go then I write ahead and he will go over mine and write ahead. That’s how we go. We usually write about an hour each and almost always write over a thousand words per day.

When we’re ridin’ in the car (Walmart is 45 minutes away in Paris, Texas), we’ll discuss the story and where we want it to go next, and never know when we start how it’s going to end. We write for discovery.

Readers always want to know what is next for an author. Do you have any works in progress you can share about?

Coming June 9th is KENTUCKY BRIDE, book eight in the North & South: Civil War Brides Collection in which each state or territory that had any role in the war is highlighted for their most famous event in the order of each battle or incident.

There are thirty-seven books in all by seventeen authors. Reading the entire series in order will give a great overview of that terrible time in our country’s history.

Then in July, A NURSE FOR JACOB debuts. It’s in the Nursing the Heart Collection. 

And the title we’re writing now TEXAS TROUBLES is book five in the Cross Timbers Romance Family Saga AND also in the Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Collection!

 

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 6

For Him and My Family, June 7

deb’s Book Review, June 8

By The Book, June 9 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, June 10

Inklings and notions, June 11

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, June 12 (Author Interview)

Betti Mace, June 13

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 14

A Baker’s Perspective, June 15 (Author Interview)

D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, June 16

Artistic Nobody, June 17 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

My Devotional Thoughts, June 18 (Author Interview)

Connie’s History Classroom, June 19

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Caryl is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/fc1b/lilah-celebration-tour-giveaway