Greetings, inspy romance friends. We hope this finds you well and enjoying the start of the Advent season. Today we’re excited to share an interview with a delightful author, Rachel Hauck. So grab your favorite beverage, perhaps a Christmas cookie or two, and read more about the inspiration behind her latest release, as well as what we can expect from Rachel in 2016. She’s also giving away an autographed copy of The Wedding Chapel (woot! woot!) so stay tuned for more details about how can you enter to win.
Rachel, you mentioned at the ACFW conference that The Wedding Chapel came about when an editor prompted you for the premise of your next novel and you casually mentioned a chapel you happened to be driving by. The editor said, “Great! Go with it.” Were you excited, inspired, petrified? Tell us a little more about the creative process of breathing life into this novel.
RH: The reason I mentioned the wedding chapel in the first place was I felt inspired by the sight of that chapel, up on the hill, in the glen. When the editorial team got excited about it, my thoughts started churning. I love the creative process of figuring out what a story is going to be. It’s making the ideas work that make me sweat. I was excited and inspired by a wedding chapel story, digging deep to figure out how to make it different and interesting.
I knew I wanted to write dual timelines, and a post World War 2 character was already in my mind. Though over time, he changed some and morphed some, but my original inspiration gave birth to the story you read today.
As a reader, I appreciated that the characters in this novel wrestled with the gritty, messy, challenging aspects of loving people who are imperfect. One character in particular struggles with a heap of baggage and giving up the right to be angry. Yet another “…craved the escape of being another character. Of living a life written by others.” Did you begin with these themes in the forefront of your mind or did it come about organically as you wrote?
RH: The historical characters sort of developed as I developed the story. The sisters were not part of my original inspiration but I definitely wanted to deal with unrequited love. As I created Colette, the historical heroine, her sister came to life in my mind.
As a follow-up to the previous question: what message do you hope readers take away from reading The Wedding Chapel?
RH: Love and family are the backbone of life. Are your actions today going to be the actions you regret or regard as you face the end of your life. Bitterness and jealousy bear no good fruit. Forgive. Love well. No hurt is really worth holding onto. That’s the beauty of the Cross.
One character in this novel is an award-winning soap opera actress, another a photographer. You’ve also written about royalty, cooking show hosts, country music stars … just to name a few. How do you choose your characters’ professions?
RH: Good question. I chose professions that interest me. Things I want to research or investigate. Probably all the things I wanted to be as a kid growing up.
Do you have a favorite character from a novel you’ve written that you found especially difficult to say goodbye to when the novel was finished?
RH: All characters are my favorite. There’s a certain sadness saying goodbye to them but a relief… Then joy at seeing them come to life in the final book. But Jade Benson from the Songbird Novels with Sara Evans was a really special character for me. I was really sad when I wrote The End on her story.
Your author bio mentions you write from an ivory tower? Even in the most idyllic setting for writing, how do you stay motivated to keep writing? Music? Deadlines? Consistent word count goals?
RH: I’m pragmatic about it. I treat it like a job. I simply “go to work” every day. When I’m on deadline I know how many words I have to write a day and about how long it will take me to accomplish the goal. After awhile, I learned my best approach to a novel and that becomes part of my planning and process.
I do listen to music much more than I used to but I keep it very low. I hop on Facebook or check email every now and then, okay, every minute (ha!) then get right back to work!
The big thing about meeting deadlines is not to go by how you feel. Just do the work.
What’s on the horizon for you? What can readers look forward to in 2016?
RH: Ooo, I just finished The Wedding Shop which comes out July 2016. Later in the year, A Royal Christmas Wedding in October 2016.
Just for fun: if you could have dinner with any three people living or dead, who would you invite and why?
RH: I’d love to have dinner with my grandparents again, especially my Grandpa Hayes because he died when I was one and a half. I’d like to talk to my great grandparents. I’m going to count those as one, okay? I’d also invite the apostle Paul and King Solomon.
My grandparents to learn about my family, to learn about their lives. Paul to hear first hand about his life and what it was like to be so intense and devoted to the Gospel. I’m sure I’d be convicted by his first word. King Solomon because he was the wisest man to ever live.
Thank you for visiting with us, Rachel. The Wedding Chapel is a delightful read!
A lonely wedding chapel built as a tribute to lost love just might hold the long-awaited secret to hope and reconciliation.
For sixty years, the wedding chapel has stood silent and empty. Retired football hall-of-famer Jimmy “Coach” Westbrook built the chapel by hand, stone by stone, for his beautiful and beloved Collette Greer, whom he lost so many years ago. The chapel is a sanctuary for his memories, a monument to true love, and a testament to his survival of the deepest pain and loss.
Photographer Taylor Branson left her hometown of Heart’s Bend, Tennessee to make a new life for herself in New York. Taylor had lots to run away from, not least of all a family history of broken promises and broken dreams. Love catches Taylor off guard when she falls for Jack Forester, a successful advertising executive, and their whirlwind romance leads to an elopement – and then to second guesses. Jack, in spite of his very real love for Taylor, is battling his own demons and struggles to show her his true self and the depths of his love for her.
When Taylor takes a photography assignment in Heart’s Bend, she is thrown back into her own past and encounters family secrets buried deep beneath the sands of time. And when Taylor and Coach’s journeys collide, they each rediscover the heartbeat of their own dreams as they learn that the love they long to hold is well worth waiting for.
Author Bio: Rachel Hauck is a USA Today Best Selling, and award-winning author of critically acclaimed novels such as The Wedding Dress, Love Starts with Elle, and Once Upon A Prince.
She also penned the Songbird Novels with multi-platinum recording artist, Sara Evans. Booklist named their novel, Softly and Tenderly, one of 2011 Top Ten Inspirationals.
A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, Rachel worked in the corporate software world before planting her backside in an uncomfortable chair to write full-time in 2004.
She serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers and leads worship at their annual conference. She is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, and conference speaker.
Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pets, and writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.
“Hauck writes with an authenticity that is hard to find.”
Celebrity Cafe
“Rachel Hauck’s stories are filled with twists and turns that leave the reader breathless and longing for more. She … stirs hearts for God.”
Debbie Macomber – #1 NYT bestselling author
“This is classic romance at its very best.”
Debbie Macomber – #1 NYT bestselling author of Once Upon A Prince
“I have become the biggest Rachel Hauck fan! Not only from working with her in writing my books, but just reading her stand-alone novels! She is truly so smart, witty and seems to have a direct insight to human nature and our emotions. She knows the right things to say that always confirm what I’m feeling, and I’m sure many many others too!”
Award-winning, multiplatinum recording artist Sara Evans
Giveaway details: One fortunate reader will receive an autographed copy of The Wedding Chapel. Please leave a comment below and share your favorite detail about attending a wedding. Easy peasy, right? Contest closes at midnight EST on Saturday, December 5th.
A Pacific Northwest girl at heart, Heidi was blessed to spend her formative years in Alaska. Her unique upbringing, coupled with Alaska's breathtaking scenery, fueled her active imagination and loosely inspired her debut novel, Unraveled. Heidi graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sports Medicine from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and a Master's Degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After a brief career as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Heidi married her husband, Steve. They live in North Carolina with their three active little boys. When Heidi isn't stepping on Legos, chauffeuring the boys around suburbia or watching one of their many sporting events, she loves to read and write heartwarming romance.
When I attend a wedding there are a lot of details that interest me. I like to see the colors of the bridesmaids’ dresses, the wedding cake, the wedding favors, the music, the food, the table decorations, the way the church is decorated…
The last wedding I attended, I was the mother of the groom! My favorite part of that wedding was the son/mother dance to Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are”!
Weddings are for some, the culmination of childhood dreams. With the beautiful flowers, a flowing white wedding dress and the handsome prince who is promising to love, honor and cherish forever.
The last wedding I attended was my daughters and it was nothing like the movies. The bride was stressed, the groom had been sick since the middle of the night and we were setting up the reception at 6 in the morning. Yet, when the magic hour arrived and my daughter stepped to the end of the aisle, my future son in-law was instantly well, my daughter took a deep breath and was peaceful and all the details that were so important an hour ago no longer mattered.
Weddings are not about all the details but about the promises being made and the love being shared. I love weddings but moreover I love that two people who were lost are no longer.
Terrific interview, ladies.Thank you for giving us a peek at your writing process, Rachel.
One thing I enjoy about attending a wedding is watching two families merge into one.
I once attended a wedding where the groom’s tux caught on fire during the ceremony (too close to the candles). Lots of excitement!
Linda, how sweet! :) Thanks for stopping by!
The best thing my husband said to me during the planning process was “if we have to get married in blue jeans, we will. But we’re getting married.” Shew… the pressure was off. :) I think we forget weddings are about the marriage not the ceremony. But we “technically” only get one shot at a wedding so we want it to be perfect.
Absolutely! Such a picture of heaven. ;)
LOL! Now that has to go into a book!
Welcome to Inspy Romance, Rachel! At the most recent wedding I attended, the fourth groomsman was a very tall, thin young man who started to wobble during the ceremony. The pastor (also the groom’s father) sent him to sit on the front pew with his head between his knees. Then the pastor commented to the gathered friends that the air must be much thinner up where this young man had to breathe! After a few minutes, the young man returned to the church platform.
That’s a hard question to answer briefly because my husband and I used to be wedding photographers years ago. I’ve been to many both personally and professionally. The one thing which seemed to be at every wedding is that inevitably something would good wrong. It could be big or little, but it always happened. What I loved to see is how the individuals handled it. Most just adapted smoothly but there were a few who it was very difficult.
When the individuals involved handled the issue with calmness the while day turned out to be a blessing.
On another note, I LOVE how families come together, there is joy in the air, many smiles and much laughter.
I always tried to make the day a special day with lots of warm memories.
My favorite part of a wedding is watching the bride and groom say thier vows and how they handle things that didn’t go as planned. I love Rachel’s books! Thanks for a great interview and a chance to win!
I enjoy seeing the groom’s face when he sees the bride.
Hey Rachel, hugs across the continent to you! I love, love the cover of this book and the story intrigues me. Excited to read it. I loved hearing a bit about your writing process. As for my favorite part of the wedding, I love watching the groom watching the bride come up the aisle even though we’re supposed to look at the bride.
If there are children in the bridal party, it’s always fun to watch them. At my own wedding, I remember thinking “this is all going too fast – I want to savor it!”
I love seeing which traditions the bride and groom choose to embrace and which go out the window. I think the ceremony should represent the couple, not necessarily what everyone else in the family or church has chosen to do before them.
I like when the bride and groom make the day about what they want and not just tradition. You can see their personalities come through the minute you walk through the door.
Oh no! He was probably locking his legs. I saw that once, where a groomsman passed out. He locked his knees. It can be stressful being up there in front of all those people!
Yea, once the wedding is in motion, you just have to go with it. We were at a wedding a few weeks ago and they couple chose to pour sand in a jar over the unity candle. Well no one opened the jars of sand. They were supposed to be in pretty vases, ready to pour. They had to tear them open during the ceremony. And they didn’t have any one sing or do a special song. So we just waited while they tore off the protective wrapping. Fun!
Rachel
Thanks Beth!
I love that weddings are a picture of heaven!
My dear buddy! How are you? Hello from the east coast. Miss you! :)
Children are scene stealers! But they add so much. I agree, my wedding went by so fast!
Agree! I love when couples branch out and do something different. Not just the ceremony every other bride and groom have done in the last year.
My favorite part of the wedding is when the bride first appears and just before she walks down the aisle (I can imagine a pregnant pause & hear a soulful sigh)….that momentary look of love when she spots her groom at the end waiting for her! The self-same look in the groom’s eyes when he sees his beautiful bride in all her splendor! Reminds me of the Bride of Christ and how we will someday see our “Groom” :-)
My other favorite part is the reception where you help celebrate the couples joy….eating, toasting the couple & watching that first dance! Such a fun time to be had by all.
Thank you for the chance to win a copy of Rachel’s newest book! I enjoyed the author interview and how she was inspired to write the story. I always love reading the backstory, it’s like getting into the mind of the author (scary huh?)
It’s good to be back at Inspy Romance, spent most of last week visiting my sister-in-law and niece. I’ve missed all of you :-)
I love to hear the vows especially if they are specific to the couple. When you have been a witness to some of the things that couple have gone through to be there, the vows are more poignant.
Sonnetta_jones@hotmail.com
My favorite part about weddings is seeing the groom’s face when he first sees his wife-to-be walking down the aisle toward him. The look of love and adoration on his face is priceless. It’s even more beautiful if he starts crying tears of joy! It makes me feel so giddy and excited for them! That look of love and devotion is something I hope every bride gets to experience, not just on her wedding day but every day of her life!
I have played for several weddings. I remember a wedding rehearsal I played for about 35 years ago. The groom loved the Pink Panther theme. The last time we went through the rehearsal as the bride to be started down the aisle I played it. There faces were incredible. Horrified bride and laughing groom. We started again and did it correctly but everyone but the bride was in on it before we did it. The bride to be was a very good friend of mine. I knew she would like it after the shock.
My favorite detail about weddings is seeing the love, not only of the bride and groom, but of their families. It’s also fun to see the beautiful flowers and dresses. I enjoy Rachel’s books so am glad for this chance to win The Wedding Chapel.
Good to have you back, Trixi!
I’ve read so many wonderful comments about “The Wedding Chapel” – thanks for the giveaway opportunity!! I’ve most enjoyed the weddings that were held outdoors – so many beautiful scenery/decor opportunities.
Thanks for the invite to share my thoughts:) when I go to weddings I always look at the groom when the bride enters , when he sees her for the first time in all her finery… More times that not the groom has the biggest smile ever and moisture in his eyes ! An amazing mix of what life will be like for both of them. I have several of your books Rachel and you do a great job of making life and Christ Jesus meet! Bravo. Blessings, Dianev
I’ve just started listening to The Wedding Dress on audio CD. It has been a very enjoyable ‘read’ while driving and working out on the treadmill. I look forward to more of Rachel’s books.
Me too!
Such good elements of every wedding, Trixie!
Oh, I love personal vows or vows that require more than an “I do.”
Yep! :)
How fun! I like the wedding to have some light humor. Breaks the tension-ice.
Thank you!
Love those things too, Pam.
Thanks Diane! :)
Sweet! I haven’t heard it yet!
I love everything about weddings, but my favorite thing is seeing the couple so much in love.
I believe you are right it’s not about the details but the commitment. Recently neighbors of mine helped a young couple get married and everyone chipped in with decorations, dresses, and food. The commitment they were making to each other was their focus. I can’t help but believe their marriage will be stronger for it.
Vows are my favorite part of a wedding, especially if they are self-written. I like the hear a person’s heart.
My brother and his wife incorporated footwashing into their ceremony and it was really neat.