Author Spotlight - Q&A with Shirley Kiger Connelly

STEPH: I don't know much about "That Impossible Dream." What's it about?

SHIRLEY: Geraldine Jordan has lived all her life with an unpleasant disability. She learns the meaning of painful rejection early. Any probability of obtaining a respectable suitor one day to someone like Alistair McKenna the man of her lifetime dreams is slim to none.

When Geraldine is passed off to live with her controlling-zealot Uncle Henry, she grows weary of waiting for that impossible dream -- until a treasured aunt arranges a potential marriage with an esteemed Chicago banker in search of a wife and mother for his young ward. But Geraldine’s disgruntled Uncle Henry whose always believed her unsuitable for any man of status, sets out to block the betrothal. He quickly demotes Geraldine to status of a common servant, hiring her off to a family in need of a governess.

Will the shattered Geraldine be forced to abandon all hope when she suddenly learns the prospective groom-to-be her aunt arranged for her was none other than her life-long love, Alistair McKenna?

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

SHIRLEY: Everything I write seems to me to take forever, Steph. This one took me a year.

STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

SHIRLEY: Since this was the second in my Decisions series, I didn’t have to do too much research except for the area of Chicago, where Geraldine must go. Also, as it is about a young woman with a disability, I didn’t find that difficult either. That’s because my model for Geraldine, has character traits and reactions to her problems that are similar to what I’ve seen in my physically challenged daughter.

STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

SHIRLEY: The cover artist did an awesome job. Since the story is so much about a dream that’s impossible for my heroine, the artist showed the house Geraldine must go to, but with an gated area that looks very difficult to go through. I was more than pleased with her vision.

STEPH: Geraldine is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weakness?

SHIRLEY: Geraldine’s strengths are her determination, her sweet disposition, her faith, and I believe, her stubbornness. Her weaknesses probably would have to be the difficulties she believes she has with her disability. That and her over-sensitivity about how she might look to others. She’s a typical woman, really, who has a thing about her appearance. I decided to emphasize that in the story.

STEPH: What does Alistair find appealing about her?

SHIRLEY: Her perseverance, her uprightness, that he hasn’t seen in most of the women he’s known before, her faith, and that she lives it.

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

SHIRLEY: Not to give up, even if things don’t look like they are going the way you might have hoped they would. And if something other than your dreams are headed your way, try to look for the good in them, rather than the bad, no matter how difficult it might be.

STEPH: As a writer, where do you draw inspiration from?

SHIRLEY: Mostly from God. Sometimes from past experiences that have taken place throughout my life or that I’ve seen.

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

SHIRLEY: I use a Kindle. Although I love print books, at night before I go to sleep and whenever I’m traveling my Kindle works best. I really hope to get myself an ipad soon.

STEPH: Fun question: Autumn is the season for baking. Do you do any autumn baking? Pies? Cookies? Specialties?

SHIRLEY: I love to do apple pies and pumpkin pies. Not sure how I’m going to work that this year, since my husband and I are trying to go gluten free. My cookies are the pits, so I avoid them, except for eating of course. Specialties? Baked squash with brown sugar and butter and nuts, scalloped potatoes, fresh clam or mushroom soup. Autumn is my favorite time of year…could it be because I’m a redhead and those are just my colors?


Buy links:

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-353/Decisions-Book-Two-cln--That/Detail.bok

http://www.amazon.com/Decisions-Book-One-Yesterday-ebook/dp/B005HB7GPY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349308630&sr=8-2&keywords=say+goodbye+to+yesterday

my website: http://shirleykigerconnolly.com
my author page at facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShirleyKigerConnollyAuthor?ref=digest_email#!/ShirleyKigerConnollyAuthor
my twitter: http://twitter.com/shirleyhere

Review snippet from Decisions Book One: Say Goodbye to Yesterday: “From heartache to love to forgiveness and redemption, this novel will leave the reader breathless. The best part of this story is that it's the first in a series so there's more to come! I am excited to see what Ms. Connolly has in store with the second book. Take a trip into time, learn to accept your actions and move on with new friends and a fantastic story line! – Reviews by Molly…Romance Reviews