Author on the Couch: Nan Dixon, Second Session


Photo shoot 003 (2)Sometimes one session just isn’t enough!

This week on Author on the Couch I conduct a second session with,

Nan Dixon!

Nan is giving away a copy of THROUGH A MAGNOLIA FILTER. To be eligible to win, do these three things:

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  3. Check back to see who Nan’s winner is!

~First things first, if you missed Nan Dixon’s first session you can take a quick look at it HERE.


 

Me: Have there been any big changes in your life since our last session—good or bad? Tell us about them.

 

Nan: There have been both good and bad changes in my life—but I’ll talk about the good. I now A Savannah Christmas Wish -- Coverhave a second granddaughter – with a third grandchild on the way. There is so much joy in being a grandmother. I just spent a week with my newest granddaughter who lives in Massachusetts. It was my daughter’s first week back to work. My mother did the same thing for me—so I feel like I’m passing on an important tradition. (And getting lots of snuggle time in!)

 

Me: What a wonderful tradition!

How did you know you wanted to be a writer?

 

Nan: I always dreamed of being on the stage. ☺ But by the time I’d been in over 50 productions and was just coming out of high school; I’d burned out. And I wasn’t the writer in the family; my mother and one of my sisters were.

But in high school we had to keep journals and my teacher complimented my writing. And in college, my freshman English teacher wanted me to publish a short creative writing piece I wrote about fairies.

So the writing idea was always there. Even as captain of my university golf team, I wrote a Captain’s Log – modeled after Star Trek! (Golf date etc!) So the spark was there waiting to be feed some fuel.

I finally began writing after my third child was born. Never did finish that middle grade book. But I did join my local RWA chapter for a time.

 

Me: How do you deal with rejection or bad reviews? What advice can you give others about how to handle rejection and bad reviews?

nan

Nan: This is so apropos. I got a review last week that knocked me back—it wasn’t stellar, even though they still recommended the book. So I’m taking my own advice—take a few hours of grief time and then remind myself that writing is a very subjective art and if I can please 2 out of 3 people—I should be happy!

 

Me: What’s the secret to your success?

 

Nan: The secret isn’t really a secret. It’s knowing that success rarely comes immediately. You have to put in your 10,000 hours, get the rejection letters, enter contests and lose, and take the tough critiques to finally get published.

Tenacity is my secret.

 

Me: Nan–I love that answer. It feels so true to me. Tenacity is the key!

What do you collect? Why? What personal meaning does this item have for you?

 

Nan: Fun salt and pepper shakers! I can pick them up when I travel. They don’t take up much space in my suitcase, but I can remember the fun of the trip!

 

Me: Tell me a little bit about your Contemporary Romance novel THROUGH A MAGNOLIA FILTER.

 

Nan:

9780373610006-1Home is where his heart is…but what about hers?

 

Family was always a foreign concept to Liam Delaney. Until research into one of his documentary films brings him to Savannah and Dolley Fitzgerald’s B and B. Dolley’s passion for life and photography is infectious. When she becomes his apprentice, they’re the perfect team in every way. He’s finally found the home he’s always wanted, and it’s all because of her.

 

The only problem is that his dream is of a home and family, while Dolley craves adventure. They may be at odds, but Liam knows they can make both of their dreams come true together. He just needs to convince her…

 

 

Me: Share your favorite paragraph with us.

 

Nan: 

“You can’t work 24/7,” Dolley said.

 

Liam blinked, then frowned.

 

“You work every waking hour, don’t you?” she asked, appalled.

 

“I…” he rubbed his head. “Sometimes it’s easier. I’m more comfortable working.”

 

“That has to change.” She spun in the chair, her knees touching his thigh. “Since you’re teaching me about photography, I’m going to teach you how to lighten up. You’re now my apprentice in the world of having fun.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’ll teach you how to have fun.” She nodded. “You might even get assignments.”

 

“You wouldn’t.”

 

“Oh, yes, I would.” She grinned.

Dolley has dragged Liam to a Savannah pub. She’s extremely comfortable with people and groups, Liam would rather see the world behind the camera. Her goal during this scene is to get Liam to smile 5 times. It was fun seeing if I could get the hero to smile when he uncomfortable and out of his element. Since Liam has technical skills he’s teaching Dolley, I thought it would be nice to have something that Dolley could teach him so their power wasn’t so lopsided.


 

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Abbie Roads writes dark emotional novels featuring damaged characters, but always gives her hero and heroine a happy ending… after torturing them for three hundred pages. Her first novel RACE THE DARKNESS is available for PicMonResizedFinalRtDpre-order now!

 

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HtD-LargepicmonkeyCheck out Abbie Road’s second Novel HUNT THE DAWN, which is also available for pre-order!

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* FORMATTED BY ~MANNY GOODMAN~

About the author: abbieroads