20 Questions with… Debra Clopton

Get ready to fall in love with Debra Clopton all over again! As a bestselling romance author, Clopton has captured the hearts of readers with her charming and heartwarming stories featuring cute cowboys, bright blue skies, and lots of witty banter.

Get to know the woman behind the pen (or keyboard) as she candidly answers our 20 Questions. From her inspirations and favorite reads to her writing process and tips, Debra Clopton opens up about her life, work, and passion for the romance genre.

And don’t miss the exciting Buy 1, Get 1 FREE special indie offer on select eBooks from Debra Clopton! Plus, she’s got another new series starter, The Trouble with a Small Town Cowboy, dropping late May.

Read on in our latest 20 Questions with… Debra Clopton!

 

1. What’s your best virtue as an author?

Being able to put pain and love tangled up with laughter in a book is God’s gift to me, and I always use it for that purpose for others.

 

2. What’s your most quirky author habit?

I move around a lot as I write: this room, that room, or traipsing across the pastures. I have written some of my funniest scenes on airplanes.

 

3. What’s your favorite quality in a protagonist.

Strength, and fighting to be strong through hard times.

 

4. What’s your favorite quality in an antagonist?

I don’t write them. The worst is when my two old checker players, Applegate Thornton and Stanley Orr, fight over their game. Gives a lot of smiles to my Mule Hollow books, so I guess it doesn’t count.

 

5. If you could ask any other author, past or present, a question who would it be and what would you ask?

I would ask the fast-writing, talented Nora Roberts. “What’s your best advice on writing?” She’s given the answer at conferences over the years, and the answer she gives is, “Sit your “rump” in the chair and write.” (I used rump, a milder word than the one she used 🙂 but both work because that’s what I did and still do! Thank you, Nora, for the perfect advice!

 

6. When you aren’t writing, you are …?

Playing with my grandkids! Hanging out with my husband or my family enjoying my time with all of them.

 

7. What was your easiest book to write?

My first published book, originally titled The Trouble with Lacy Brown, now titled Dream With Me, Cowboy, flowed from me as the blonde hairdresser sat on the door of her topless pink caddy and told me the story, making me laugh when I needed it. And it began my writing career. I’m now writing The Trouble With a Small Town Cowboy a story that takes place 8 years after the original series…it’s fun to catch up with the folks of Mule Hollow.

 

8. What was your hardest book to write?

When I woke up with Cherish Me, Cowboy on my mind, I had to write it because it is about a hero and a heroine who had both lost the loves of their life like I had. It was difficult, but I had to write it because I knew I wasn’t alone in these feelings. It came deeply from my personal experience, and I realized if ever I needed laughter relief, this story needed a lot. So, I filled it with side characters who could make everyone laugh. And they did. It is one of the funniest books I’ve ever written, and I even won an award for it. But, it was the relief needed in the tough book. It hit funny with those who hadn’t suffered, and it hit the heart of those hurting readers. Their letters told me it gave them hope. And though I didn’t then, I now know personally that love can happen again, because I met Chuck on a blind date set up by worried friends, and like my characters, I too found my heart had room in it for more true love.

One of my newest series deals with finding love again after loss, Star Gazer Inn of Corpus Christi Bay has touched many, and I’m blessed by the reviews from those it touches.

 

9. What’s your ideal writing place?

Pastures! I walk our nearly three hundred acres in summer and winter, dictating my books as the cows watch me.

 

10. Your favorite childhood book.

Nancy Drew books.

 

11. What is the book you’ve reread the most?

The Bible, it’s full of powerful words of love. In fiction, RaeAnne Thayne’s The Christmas Ranch touched me deeply.

 

12. Who’s your favorite hero from literature.

Rafe Santiago from RaeAnne’s The Christmas Ranch. Rafe inspired me to make my heroes even stronger.

 

13. Who’s your favorite villain from literature?

Books are my escape, so I stay away from villains in fiction.

 

14. What will be the name of your autobiography?

Finding My Way, Creating My Own Happily Ever-After in Love and Life

 

15. What’s your favorite comfort food?

Banana Laffy Taffy—if you’ve read my second book, Be My Love, Cowboy, it’s also Samantha the donkey’s favorite too.

 

16. What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a novel?

Smile, eat some Banana Laffy Taffy, and then start the next book.

 

17. What’s a secret talent you have?

I love to paint but prefer writing. When my brain is weary from writing all day, I say some hilarious things without meaning too. Then I get to watch my husband laugh and anyone else who heard my mixed-up words. So, I guess I’m an unknown comic.

 

18. Where have you always wanted to travel?

I’m blessed to travel a lot with Chuck. We love Niagara Falls, Canada, and Kauai, Hawaii, but one day we might travel to Italy. But, I love traveling in the USA, where so many wonderful places give me ideas for my books.

 

19. What’s one tip for aspiring authors?

As I said earlier, Nora Roberts’ advice, “Sit your “rump” in the chair and write. Add to that, let your true voice come alive—my voice is what finally sold me, and my wonderful editor Krista Stroever told me not to let anyone take it away in edits.

 

20. Puppies or kittens?

Puppies. But a stray black cat adopted us. He would let me feed him but not touch him for a year. Now, Kitty Kitty sits on the patio and waits for me to pet him… and I do 🙂

 

 

About Debra Clopton:

USA Today and international bestselling author Debra Clopton has sold over 3 million books. She writes wholesome, sweet contemporary and western romances set in Texas and on the beaches of Florida. Her series are clean and wholesome reads and she has also written many inspirational romances. Her many awards include The Book Sellers Best, Romantic Times Magazine’s Book of the Year the Readers Choice Award, and many more. She’s also a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Finalist and a triple finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award.

A sixth-generation Texan, Debra lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband Chuck. She loves to travel and spend time with her family. She has written for Harlequin and Harper Collins Christian and now with DCP Publishing LLC. Since opening DCP Publishing LLC her books are selling worldwide and are regulars on the Top 100 list and Bestseller list in USA and around the world.

She loves helping people smile with her wholesome stories.

 

Connect with Debra Clopton:

Website: debraclopton.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/debra.clopton.5

 

Want to learn more about your favorite authors? Check out our series 20 Questions with… to get to know other bestselling authors!

Comments are closed.