This interview was done before Cara had her baby girl Saturday night. I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS and give everyone a sneak peak at baby Rebecca!
Cara Putman is back with two more books! And one of them is the very first book she came to my critique book with! It just goes to show you what hard work, discipline and talent can get you! You can read my first interview with her here!
Has your writing schedule changed since your first contract?
Not really. The way that the schedule has changed is that I now do 90% of my writing under contract. The rest of the time is spent on new proposals. So that means I now have deadlines, some of which collide, that I have to hit. Fortunately, I’ve always worked well under deadline, but it can get crazy!
I’m afraid of writing under a deadline. Afraid I’ll loose the joy of writing. Afraid my work won’t be as good because it will be rushed, and afraid my priorities will be skewed. Do you ever feel this way and how do you handle this?
Writing under deadline is different from when you can do it with as much lead time as you want to give it. Since I’ve been focused on publication from the beginning, I often gave myself artificial deadlines to keep me moving. The change now that I have “real” deadlines is that I have to write whether or not I feel like it. My latest book, Captive Dreams, was work for the first month. For some reason, I struggled to get into the characters’ heads and enjoy the plot. I was afraid the book was terrible. Fortunately, I sent it to my first readers, and they really liked it, so I kept moving forward. Then as I read back through it, I realized how much I liked it. But it definitely felt like work occasionally.
Do you have any more books under contract or in front of an editor?
I do! I just signed a contract to write The Complete Idiots Guide to Business Law, my first non-fiction book. I still laugh when I think about the title, but because I teach this class at Purdue, think it should be fun, if different, to write. I also have a commitment for a three book contract for another World War Two series and am starting to work on the first book in that series. I’ve set myself up with colliding deadlines again, since the CIG is due September 15th, and the next novel is due October 1. I must be crazy!
Do you have and agent? If so, who?
I do. I have Karen Solem for my fiction projects. She is fantastic and the perfect foil for an over-achiever like me. I have a second agent for the CIG project, since she approached me about the book.
Did you get your agent before or after you sold your first book?
I had been talking to Karen through a good friend before I got the first contract, but did not sign anything with her until a couple months after. One thing I really appreciate about Karen is she is looking at the long term picture of my career…where I want to go, what I want to write, and she’ll call me back to that vision when I get excited about something that doesn’t necessarily fit that plan.
What would you tell writing moms and dads looking for that agent who will sell their first book?
Attend writer’s conferences. Nine times out of ten that is how you will find an agent and be able to determine if your personality and vision meshes with theirs. I met Karen through one of her clients, but actually met her in person before we signed. There were other agents I was interested in, but once I met Karen face-to-face, I knew we would be a good fit. And don’t forget to pray for the right match.
What will do if the next contract never comes?
Panic. Seriously, God put me in a position for about six weeks earlier this spring where I didn’t have a contract. There was lots in the works, but no contract. I floundered and had to come back to a point of relinquishing my writing to him. I tried to learn from the last period like that and relax and enjoy the break. With my personality, I think God wanted to ask me if I was relying on Him or me. Honestly, I needed that time to work on some proposals. But it was still very hard. However, that’s writing. It is cyclical, and if I truly want to make this a career I need to accept that there will be time periods without a contract and trust God in those times, too.
You definitely fit the Writer…Interrupted model. Can you list off some of the things that take you away from the computer?
Let’s see, the list is kind of crazy…
1) Kid’s activities
2) Homeschooling Abigail, and in the fall adding Jonathan to that mix
3) Leading Bible studies at church
4) Serving on the ACFW board
5) Marketing books as they release
6) Reading
7) Spending time with my husband and kids
Sleep LOL
9) Email. Trying hard to control this rather than let it control me.
You’re expecting a baby anytime and have two little ones at home whom you homeschool. How do you think this new little one will affect your writing, volunteer work, lawyering and teaching, did I miss anything else :)? Or maybe a better question to ask is how do you plan on balancing it all?
I’m not sure yet. I start teaching at Purdue again, during the baby’s due week. Since we’ve already spent a few hours at the hospital, I’m really hoping the baby comes soon! But one of the keys is that I’m learning to ask for help. I already have a gal lined up to come watch the kids at our house two mornings a week during the summer while I teach. I’ll try to write a couple hours those mornings, too, since the oldest two will be having fun with her.
The hard part for me is keeping a focus on my kids and making them a priority when I have deadlines looming. I pray I’m getting better, but keep that foremost in my mind. I’m also asking God what I should step away from…that’s a hard one because I enjoy everything I do. But reality is something will probably have to change. And I want to hear from Him first.
I know my third child pushed me over the edge, productivity wise. I was someone who always showed up 15 minutes early, but with my third I was lucky to make it on time. And with four kids, I’m lucky if I remember an appointment. 15 minutes early has now turned into 15 minutes late. Have you considered how an extra person to dress, feed and care for may affect your routine and writing? Is this something you’re planning for or are you just going to take it one day at a time?
Because I’m under double deadline this summer, I’ll have to stay disciplined. Fortunately, I’ve usually been good at that. So yes, I have an eye on the changes adding a person to the mix will bring, but I’m counting on the fact that my 7 and 4 year old can do many things themselves.
Thanks so much for doing this interview! I know my questions are rarely about books, but they’re questions I’m searching for answers in my own life!
Thanks for having me! Great questions as usual. And right where I’m at right now 
A MURDER AT INTERMISSION
How could a killer have struck in a crowded theater? That was the question plaguing TV news reporter Dani Richards. She’d been in the box next to the victim — and hadn’t heard or seen a thing. Now the very man who broke Dani’s heart years ago is investigating the murder. And when her coverage of the story led the killer to stalk her, police officer and former flame Caleb Jamison insisted on protecting her. Dani was afraid to let Caleb close again. Yet she had no choice. The killer’s sinister phone calls left no doubt that he’d come for Dani next.
With a stalker closing in, will television journalist Dani Richards trust her former love and police investigator Caleb Jamison to help her and God to rescue her?
With her dreams shattered, will Lainie Gardner allow God and a soldier at Fort Robinson to breathe life into new dreams that will bring her more joy than she imagined?
Lainie has no dreams left
Lainie Gardner dreamed of becoming a nurse. Of serving her country. Of doing something important in the war. But rheumatic fever changed all that, and instead of running home, Lainie is determined to find a job at Fort Robinson in Nebraska’s sandhills.
Tom Hamilton had dreams, too. Dreams of preparing the horses at Fort Robinson for duty on the warfront. Instead, he is assigned to train war dogs and their handlers, meaning that each day he must face the fear he’s had of dogs since he was bitten as a child.
Lainie and Tom wonder why God seems to have denied them their dreams. But is it possible new dreams will bring them more joy than they ever imagined?
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