Denise Weimer has her finger in many publishing pots. She’s the managing editor of Heritage Beacon and Smitten, the historical and historical romance lines for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She’s also released several of her own historical and contemporary romance novels in the past few years. With another new book out, she managed to squeeze in some time to chat with me about her favorite books.
Congratulations on the new release, and thanks for your time! What was the last book you read that you couldn’t put down? Why?
I’ve read many I’ve enjoyed over the last year from my favorite authors of historical romance, but the last that really kept me turning pages was probably The Cumberland Bride by Shannon McNear. Non-stop action, deep point-of-view that let us experience the emotions of the compelling main characters, a sizzling attraction, and detailed scenery of the Appalachian Mountains in the late 1700s gave me everything I was looking for as a reader.
Where’s the most unusual place you’ve read a book?
When I was in middle school, I read Gone With the Wind on the school bus. I got a good bit of ribbing. I did a lot of reading before that, and my mom would read to me in elementary school, but that was the first large novel I actually remember tackling and also struggling to put down. I was just so frustrated by Scarlett continuing to sabotage herself. I kept hoping she’d eventually mature and figure out what she was doing wrong. Alas …
Have you ever finished a story and wished it had ended differently? How would you have changed the ending?
Well, again, there’s Gone With the Wind. Rhett walking out into the mist after Scarlett finally told him she loved him bothered me for years …
You aren’t the first person to want to change the end of that story! I’m a happily-ever-after girl myself, so that’s never been a favorite of mine.
But back to you: if you could change the ending of another story, what would you change? Why?
Besides GWTW, the other one that has always niggled was Little Women. I’ll answer another question by saying first that the March family is one I would’ve loved to have been part of when I was a young lady. As an only child, I would have prized tight-knit sisters and thrived on their theatricals, camaraderie, and social adventures. But I could never shake the feeling that Jo was intended to be with Laurie. I could never look at who they ended up with and say, “Well, I can see how that was better.” It just felt like a lost opportunity and a thing they’d always regret.
If you could turn any of your books into a movie, which would you pick? Who would cast as the main characters?
I’d probably select Bent Tree Bride, my new release, because it offers both forbidden romance and heart-pounding action in Creek Territory during the War of 1812. That setting is little depicted in books and movies, but in the Federal Era, the Southeastern U.S. was still just frontier, wrought with dangers from howling wolves to Native Americans fighting to keep their land. So many people groups came together to build a nation. What a fascinating backdrop for a story! And I believe this one is my best yet.
Share five books from your TBR (to be read) pile.
As an editor, most of the time, my TBR pile consists of books I will be editing. There are so many going through two imprints that I can hardly keep up, much less find time to write my own. I try to sneak downtime … such as after we moved this past summer … for pleasure reading. But everything goes in seasons.
This past winter, I semi-cleared my plate so I could devote some time to writing. I try not to read the work of others while I’m writing so that my work sounds like me rather than someone else. You know, kind of like you can pick up an accent? J This spring, I’ll be promoting my new release and back to editing. Maybe this summer, I can indulge again! My favorite authors include Shannon McNear, Michelle Griep, Laura Frantz, and Jocelyn Green.
She thought he was white. He thought she was Cherokee. They were both wrong.
Susanna Moore can’t get him out of her mind—the learned lieutenant who delivered the commission from Andrew Jackson making her father colonel of the Cherokee Regiment. But the next time she sees Lieutenant Sam Hicks, he’s leading a string of prisoners into a frontier fort, and he’s wearing the garb of a Cherokee scout rather than the suit of a white gentleman.
As both Susanna’s father and Sam’s commanding officer, Colonel Moore couldn’t have made his directive to stay away from his daughter clearer to Sam. He wants a better match for Susanna—like the stuffy doctor who escorted her to Creek Territory. Then a suspected spy forces Moore to rely on Sam for military intelligence and Susanna’s protection, making it impossible for either to guard their heart.
Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance and romantic suspense, mostly set in her home state of Georgia. She’s authored a dozen traditionally published novels and a number of novellas. As a managing editor for the historical imprints of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, she also helps others reach their publishing dreams. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.
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