Special: What, Where, When, Why, How with Celia Yeary

Today, we're having a special Guest on a different day -- Celia was originally scheduled for February 11th, but due to a snafu on my part, I double-scheduled that day! I offered to host Celia on the day of her choice, so here she is.

Please, give her a warm welcome!

What was the title of the first book you ever wrote (published or not?)

Texas Blue. This is a full-length novel and will be my second published one. I wrote Texas Blue out of boredom; I’d never written anything in my life, but I was trying to become better acquainted with WORD, and to do that, I began a story. It was not an intentional act—I just wrote one sentence after the other and soon, I had a novel. True, it needed tons of work, but I did it. However, I kept writing more and more novels, submitting a little, enough to realize I had no idea what I was doing. Several years after Texas Blue, I wrote All my Hopes and Dreams based on a hero and a heroine from that first novel.

When do you wake up in the morning?

Not until I want to or need to. But after years of working and teaching, one becomes accustomed to waking at a certain time, so even though I don’t work at a paying job, I still tend to awaken early.

Where would you spend your vacation if time and money were no object?

Wow, where would I NOT go, might be a better question. We’ve traveled quite a lot, and there are places I might go again. You cannot see everything on one vacation. The location would need to be some place without hot, humid weather, or cold, freezing temperatures, or high winds, or monsoons, or arid conditions. So, what does that leave? Aha! Greece. I would rent one of those little white villas on the mountainside overlooking the ocean, read and write part of every day; walk to the village in my sandals, wide-brimmed hat, and long flowing skirt, and buy bread, wine, and ingredients to make a Greek salad; and sit at a sidewalk café in the afternoons and people-watch. Yes, that sounds perfect. And since money is no object, I would stay there three months. And don’t call me.

Why does black absorb heat?

The question should be: do we care why black absorbs heat? Then the answer would be, yes, of course, we care, because you can literally burn up in a black car in the summertime. If you lived in Texas as I do, you know always to buy a vehicle with a light-colored interior, and preferably no leather seats. You could scorch your...self. How many people have you ever seen wearing a black swimsuit and sunbathing on a black towel? None. They know better; black absorbs heat and they would be very uncomfortable. If you were imprisoned in a black box, what would happen to you? See, you already know the answer. Now, that’s science put to a very practical use.

5. How good are you at playing chess?

Every bit as good as my five-year-old grandson. You see, we’re learning together. So far, we know the difference between black and white, the name of each piece, and how to place them on the board. After that, we go get ice cream and sit on the porch and watch the birds. I’m telling you, it’s a difficult game. The best strategy is to follow my advice: take it slowly, think about it for a while, then play checkers.

As a fifth generation Texan, I love to read and research all aspects of the state. Even though my degrees are in science and education, I find the history, the people, and our ancestors much more interesting topics, which provide endless characters and situations to create love stories.

Although my husband and I travel, no place on earth is more precious to my heart than our home in the Texas Hill Country, surrounded by acres of live oaks and whitetail deer. Romance novels are not my only form of reading material, but they are my favorite, and I wouldn’t leave home without several tucked away in my luggage. Being a member of Romance Writers of America has provided information, encouragement, and guidelines to help me on my exciting journey. What fun it is!

www.celiayeary.com
www.thewildrosepress.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thebookspa