Candace Havens Interview – Erica Lucke Dean

What was the inspiration behind To Katie with Love?

I started writing the story while I was working as a business banker for Bank of America several years ago. I was in this smoky bar doing karaoke one night, waiting for my turn to go up and sing, and I realized there weren't any hot guys (other than my husband) in the crowd. Not that I was shopping, mind you, but I fully expected to see at least one guy with the ladies all around him. The odds say at least ONE guy in the room should be attractive, right? Well, nope. And it made me wonder what I would do if I was a single girl stuck in a room full of guys, none of which could catch my attention. So I grabbed a handful of bar napkins and borrowed a pen from the waitress (ok, so maybe I stole it...but I did give it back before we left) and I started scribbling down chapter one. Once I got back to work on Monday, the story had faded off into the distance until something happened that made me realize my poor lonely girl at the bar would fit in perfectly with the nutty people I worked with at the bank. I wrote the book in three months. Often times writing at my desk while I was supposed to be working.

What is your favorite type of hero?

My favorite hero is the dark brooding guy with secrets. Someone super romantic, but maybe a little bit dangerous. I mean, we're talking fantasy guys right? So maybe he's a vampire, or a dark magician, or even a possible assassin.

 What three movies, television shows or books would define your life?

I often feel like I'm living Bridget Jones's Diary (book or movie, take your pick.) It's as if Bridget Jones is me, or I'm her. Minus the smoking, drinking (I fall down after two wine coolers) and the English accent. Oh, and I don't have Mark Darcy (sorry to my hubby, but he's no Mark Darcy).  But the rest of it? Yeah...that's me.

I've always been a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so even a decade after the series ended, I can still sit for an all–day marathon of episodes without getting bored. I think the romance between Buffy and Angel has guided me as I write. Angel had his secrets and Buffy knew she should steer clear of him, but something just wouldn't let her walk away.

You said three, so I guess the third would have to be Cinderella. It may not be modern or empowering, but it goes back to that little girl fantasy of finding Prince Charming and having him rescue you from the evil forces keeping you locked up. It has magic, romance and suspense all in one, and it still defines what I want in a story. I think a lot of women still have that hope that someday their prince will come. And if I can write a story that gives that to them, we all win.

 What's your favorite part of writing?

Writing takes you to a place you can't get to by planes, trains or automobiles. And you get to pick that place. And you can be anyone you want to be when you get there.  It allows you to let go of the constraints that hold you to the real world and just be. Anything goes in that world. And I'm always at least ten years younger and weigh twenty pounds less.

 What actors do you see playing the roles in your books?

For To Katie With Love, I have an entire fantasy cast for the characters. Henry Cavill as Cooper Maxwell, Mandy Moore as Katie James, Diane Keaton as Silvia, Woody Harrelson as Phil, Bryce Dallas Howard as Vicky, and Helen Mirren as Katie's Mom. One of my fans made an amazing YouTube video of the casting with the song I played while writing it. It's pretty cool.

 Who influenced your writing?

As I kid, I read pretty much anything I could get my hands on. I used to hide out in my room reading Pippi Longstocking and The Hardy Boys Mysteries. As I got older I went through a Stephen King phase when all I read was the dark and creepy stuff. Now I'm fairly well–rounded and you can find me reading anything from Shakespeare to Stephenie Meyer, and just about everything in between. I would say I was influenced by literature, but no one writer in particular.

What kind of kid were you?

I was a dreamer and a storyteller. A remember being in class once, I couldn't have been more than eleven years old, and while I was working on the project the teacher had given us, I imagined I was a spy on a mission. I always had these grand ideas and plots in my head. I haven't changed that much, I don't think. LOL

 What is the first book that became a gateway drug for you into the literary world?

Like I said, I've always been a reader, but one book that stands above the rest is A Wrinkle In Time. Decades later, it still stands out as one of the best books I've ever read. I knew after reading it I would never be the same. Books can make you believe in magic again.

 Without giving away too much, can you reveal what's in store for the readers when they crack open To Katie With Love?

Readers can expect zany characters, humor, a lovely romance, and a few twists and turns. Our girl Katie is a shy banker obsessed with romance novels who falls head over heels in love with her rich, mysterious client, Cooper Maxwell. But Katie can't seem to leave well enough alone and sets out to discover what Cooper's hiding. And she might not like what she finds out.