#RomanceInAMonth #AuthorInterview Chantel Rhondeau on Happy Endings #romance #writing

Chantel Rhondeau is a romance/romantic suspense author who joined my inaugural Romance In A Month class. She completed her first draft within a month of writing and is busy revising and editing. Here's a sneak peak of her story, Happy Endings.

Happy Endings (McCallister's Paradise - 1)

Coming Early 2015

Contemporary Romance

Handsome, wealthy Quinn McCallister is the most eligible bachelor on McCallister’s Paradise. Making his family's island resort a success is all that matters to this workaholic. Everything changes when he meets the beautiful new massage therapist...

Larissa Benner may have survived cancer, but its aftermath left plenty of problems besides the ever-looming fear of relapse. Her family nearly went bankrupt paying for her previous treatment. She desperately needs the full-time therapist position on the island and the benefits that come with it. The last thing she wants is problems with her boss, or a complicated office romance.

It’s hard for her to resist Quinn’s charms—or his passionate side. However, Quinn is married to his job. The choice between love and work is tough for him to juggle and has Larissa scared. If the cancer recurs, would he leave her to face it alone?

Chantel's here to tell us about her new book and also her experiences in the #RomanceInAMonth class.

Tell us about your writing. What types of stories do you like to write? 

I have mostly written romantic suspense, but after taking this class, I’m really enjoying contemporary romance without the mystery line!

What stimulates you to write? How do you motivate yourself on days you don’t feel like writing? 

It’s tough. Having deadlines is the most effective way to get me to write. That’s what I liked about the class. I basically had a deadline every day so that I could tell everyone what I did.

Before Romance in a Month, how involved were you with other authors? How long did it take you to write a first draft? 

I have some friends I talk to regularly, but nothing like this. First drafts were taking me from 3-5 months. My fastest before this was 2 months.

What made you sign up for Romance in a Month? What did you learn and enjoy the most about the class? 

Well, I signed up because Rachelle is the bomb! LOL I learned a lot about archetypes and tropes and I most enjoyed interacting with all the other writers throughout the class.

Tell us about the story you wrote for the class. Was it something you would never have written without the class? What about the class made your story different from how you would usually write? 
I had planned on something like Happy Endings for a while, but I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen. I knew the setting and that my heroine was a massage therapist. Through the class, I learned a lot more about the McCallister family and was able to streamline the story and keep on target. I have been nervous about writing contemporary romance, sure it would end up being boring, but I’m really pleased with Happy Endings. I think it is a great novel.

What do you do differently now that you’ve written a story with the class? What was something you liked most about the class? 

The daily questions were a big help to me, getting my brain thinking outside the box about things I might not normally know about my characters. In a few cases, this lead to new scenes I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I think in-depth interviewing of your characters is a great idea. You don’t have to write about everything you find out, but it is good information to know so that if you ever get stuck, you have some material to work with.

Do you think it is possible to continue writing a romance in a month consistently now that you have taken the class? 

It gives me great confidence knowing this is possible. One of the reasons I’m not releasing Happy Endings until early next year isn’t because it’s not ready (I could release it anytime), but because it is a series and I want to have the next two books written and released at the same time. I’m also writing a book for another series that is due in October and so I have a lot to get done!

Fortunately, I know it is possible now. Happy writing, everyone! I’m excited to participate in the next class!

Chantel, thanks for the kind words and for doing this interview. I've read Happy Endings and it is a great story and makes me want to meet more of the McCallister family.

I hope we’ll meet many more classmates for the next #RomanceInAMonth class.

From Sept 1 to Oct 15, 2014, we're opening up the Romance In A Month group. There is no cost for the class. If you're interested in writing along with a group of friendly, fun, and slightly crazy romance authors, please contact me (Rachelle) at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RachelleAyalaWriter.

The Romance In A Month textbook is available now on Amazon. It contains all of the lessons and slides [in bullet form], as well as resources for brainstorming, and a reading list. I hope you'll join us and share our adventure in writing a Romance In a Month [and every month after that].

Watch my blog for more author interviews and exciting news from the RomanceInAMonth authors or RIAMers - because writing romances are addictive.

If you're interested in joining us for the September-October class, please contact me at my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/rachelleayalawriter