Chasing Hope Book Blog Tour and #Giveaway #LoneStarLit

INTERVIEW WITH DANA WAYNE

Why did you choose to write romance?

I am all about the romance. Let’s face it – we live in a very hectic and stress-filled world today. Reading, particularly a romance novel with its guaranteed HEA, allows us to escape for a while and live vicariously through the authors’ words. I write with a lot of emotion because I believe romance is about that – emotion – not just sex. There’s that, too, but it is secondary to the emotional journey my characters are on.

What do think most characterizes your writing?

I strive to write with a lot of emotion – not just words. I want the reader to feel what the MC’s feel, hear what they hear, see what they see. When someone tells me they laughed or cried or stayed up late reading or couldn’t put my book down, that is music to my ears because it tells me I am doing what I tried to do.

What was the hardest part about writing Chasing Hope?

Deciding how to handle Max’s PTSD. That is such a serious subject and affects a large number of people today, not just soldiers, though that is what most of us think when we hear the term. The more I researched it, the more I knew I was not qualified to delve too deeply into it and that a romance novel was not the place to do it, either. But I did want to have it be a part of the story which is why I chose to have Max over a year post treatment where he has developed some coping skills with help of his psychiatrist.

Do you or have you ever considered writing under a pen name?

As a matter of fact, Dana Wayne is my pen name. I have always wanted to write and one day, when I was a freshman in high school, I was talking with my mother about my desire to one day be a writer but thought my name didn’t sound very ‘writery.’ After much brainstorming, we came up with Dana, which is a play on my middle name of Dianna, and I said “I love it!” She immediately said Wayne because John Wayne was her favorite actor and Dana Wayne was born. Unfortunately, she passed away before I published my first book but never failed to ask what Dana was working on, always ending with “Never give up on your dream.”

What book do you wish you could have written?

Actually, there are two very different ones. First is the ultimate romance, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I have read it at least six or eight times and worn out three DVDs of the BBC production. The other is Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard. It came out in the late ‘80s, and I’ve read it multiple times, too. It’s a romantic suspense that had me laughing out loud in places and holding my breath in others. The ending blew my mind. The two MCs are among my favorites to this day.

Is there a person you credit for being your inspiration for reading and/or writing?

My father, without a doubt. He had a stack of paperback westerns beside his chair and devoured one or two every day. I can remember sitting on his lap as he read passages to me and being fascinated at how someone could paint a picture with words so vivid I saw it in my mind. That’s when I decided that one day, I would be a writer. The first book I ever owned was Riders of The Purple Sage by Zane Grey and still have a copy to this day.

Do you have a mantra for writing and/or life?

This too, shall pass. Life gets hectic, your writing muse takes a vacation, people disappoint you, stuff happens. But it will pass. Maybe like a kidney stone, but it will pass.  My husband tells me I am the eternal optimist. He claims I could walk into a room full of horse manure and start looking for the pony. I rather like being that way. It doesn’t mean I ignore the bad or unpleasant stuff. I don’t. I simply choose not to dwell on it. There’s a pony out there somewhere, and I’ll find him. Eventually.