Spotlight & Giveaway: 'The Replacement Wife' by Caitlin Crews

Caitlin It’s nice to have you here today, thank you for taking time to visit and blog at HarlequinJunkie

Sara: If you had to sum up “The Replacement Wife” in 100 words or less, what would you say?

Caitlin: My editor called it “Mr. Rochester meets Gossip Girl,” which I really loved!

Sara: What sparked the idea for your novel “The Replacement Wife”?

Caitlin: I always loved those twin stories I read as a kid—the Wakefield twins pretending to be each other, the sadly-canceled Ringer.  I just wanted to play with that idea, with lookalike cousins.  (Hey, Patty Duke did it first!)

Sara: How did you come up with character in this book? How did you come up with this title?

Caitlin: The character was there from the start.  She was one of those who just appeared, pretty much fully-formed.  And I had nothing to do with the title—that was all the hard work of the excellent Mills & Boon editorial team!

Sara: What were the challenges you faced in bringing this book to life?

Caitlin: Well, as I recall, it was a tight deadline.  And some people don’t think the hero is particularly sympathetic.  But I like this story a lot.

Sara: Who is Caitlin Crews, what should we know about her?

Caitlin: I love romance novels.  Reading them, writing them, talking about them.  Getting to write them is a dream come true!

Sara: Tell us about the “CALL”

Caitlin: I didn’t really have a “call,” because I was already published when I started writing for Harlequin, so I got an email.  But it was a very exciting email!  I think I shrieked a little bit.  As you do.

Sara: What inspires you? Where do you get your ideas?

Caitlin: I wish there was a handy supermarket where I could spend a lazy afternoon, picking up ideas and putting them back down.  I don’t know where ideas come from.  They seem to dance around like fireflies, and every now and then you catch one and try to tell its story.

Sara: Are you a plotter or pantser?

Caitlin: I’m somewhere in between, leaning more toward the panster side of things.  I like to have a vague idea of where I’m going, but certainly don’t want a long, detailed outline.  Long, detailed outlines take all the magic out of it for me.  I’ve written books from long, detailed outlines, but the writing was never as much fun.

Sara: Do you have a favorite locale or setting for your novels?

Caitlin: Nope.  I’m pretty equal-opportunity when it comes to locales.  Is it gorgeous and would I want to go there, especially in an alpha hero’s private jet?  Then I’ll write about it.

Sara: Which of the books you have written is your favorite?

Caitlin: I like the book that’s just about to come out.  Whichever one that is.  It’s all edited and sparkling and pretty, and no one has pointed out all its flaws yet!

Sara: Is your writing space messy, organized or somewhere in between?  

Caitlin: I think it’s perfectly neat.  My husband disagrees.  I suppose I have a lot of piles of various things—books, papers, notes, etc.  As long as I know where everything is, I’m good.

Sara: What is the one thing you've always wanted to do, but never had the courage to try?

Caitlin: Sky-diving.  But I bet I will one day!

Sara: What are your current projects? Can you share a little of your current work with us? Is this book part of a series?

Caitlin: I just submitted my latest Presents, a story of a Russian MMA fighter turned action movie star and his Ivy League professor heroine.  I had a lot of fun with it!

On a lighter note...

Sara: Would you rather be ugly and loved or beautiful and lonely?

Caitlin: Loved, of course.  Love is everything.

Sara: Rather find true love or be filthy rich?

Caitlin: I like to think I can have both!

Sara: Be sentenced to death or 50 yrs in jail?

Caitlin: This is a terrible question. I’d prefer to enact my daring escape from jail and live in a remote mountain village, thank you.

Sara: Sing in the rain or dance in the streets

Caitlin: I’ve always found that if you start with one, you end up with both.  It’s the Gene Kelly effect. 

Sara: What do you do to unwind and relax?

Caitlin: What’s that?  I don’t relax.  I have deadlines!

Sara: What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

Caitlin: I actually have no other marketable skills, so it’s lucky this worked out!

Sara: What will you do if you have a time machine?

Caitlin: Funny you should ask.  I wrote a book about that, under my other name.  (http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Love-80s-Megan-Crane/dp/1849169993/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338578788&sr=8-1)

Sara: If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you have?

Caitlin: This is a very important question.  The answer, obviously, is Goddess dressing.  It is the best dressing of all time.  I would eat it on anything—IT IS THAT GOOD.

Thanks Caitlin for the fun interview.

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