Guest Blogger ~ Cathy Marie Hake

How did you go from Nursing to becoming an author?

As a nurse, I injured my back and was off work for three years and had a problem with pain. I ended up reading a lot just to escape the pain. One day my husband walked up to me and took a book out of my hands, shut it, laid it on the coffee table and said, “You’ve done enough reading, you need to start writing.”
Why did he say that?

We have two children and I was forever making up stories and telling them stories and he’d already lived through me every time we went on vacation having a perils of Pauline sort of thing where I would have the next portion of the story each time we got in the car. He was used to my imagination by then. He said that I needed to start writing.

I thought about what do I write? What I know is that the Lord loves me and I know the love of a really good man is the two things that get through anything in life. So I decided to write Christian romance.

What type of nurse were you?

I was a cancer nurse. I was in oncology for eight years. I loved it. It was a wonderful ministry. I would have stayed there forever. I had a terminal patient and his bed broke so we needed to move him from his bed to a different bed. I ended up injuring my back. It really has been kind of interesting in addition to writing, I also teach Lamaze and breast feeding. So I went from death to birth.

Where did you grow up?

I’m a native Californian.

Did you go to school to write?

God redeems all our experiences in life. I’ve always loved to read. I devoured books all my life. In college I majored in getting my bachelor’s in science in nursing but I minored in English. It was kind of a fun way of keeping up with that.

I met Tracy Bateman because a mutual friend knew that she was coming to California for a Romance Writer’s of America conference. She asked her if she’d mind taking a friend of hers around, show her Hollywood, Wax Museum, Gram’s Chinese Theater and the beach. I said sure, fine, I’d be happy to. I did not know Tracy or Becky Germany were editors at that time. I was just writing stories and really hadn’t looked at the market yet. A few days before they came out my friend said, “You do know that they’re editors, don’t you?”

How did you connect with Joyce Livingston?

Joyce and I were both writing together for Barbour. Just because we were writing for Barbour we would IM back and forth. One time I said to her that we ought to write something together. I said let’s do twins, companion heart songs. I would do one twin and she would do the other one.

She and I went through this long IM and basically plotted out the concept and pitched it and the readers were wild about it. We decided to go ahead and do two more and did those two together and now they’re coming out as San Diego. It’s been so wonderful.

Is this going to be a series?

We already have a second book coming out called Bittersweet.

What is the name of the series?
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What is your favorite scripture verse?

Micah 6:8 KJV

Tell us about Letter Perfect. How much of it is based on your life?

I don’t think you could ever say there’s any parallel between Ruth and me. Definitely not. I am the person who has slipped in her own driveway and shattered her own elbow. I am the woman who can look down at her shirt and say where did that spot come from?

Recently my daughter and I were at the corner bakery and I fell up the stairs. Other than just being the woman who can just open her mouth and not just swallow not just her foot but her knee and her thigh…no.

How did you come up with the idea for the story line?

I really don’t know where that story came from. I have books that I could tell you exactly where it came from. I have one book that started from a fortune cookie. This one I really do not know where it came from.

Do you prefer to write contemporary or historical fiction?

My favorite is historical fiction especially romance. I can’t say life was simpler back then It was a harder physical life but I think that the values and the morals are ones that I’m far more comfortable with. My parents collect antiques so I spent my entire childhood going through antique stores. I love history and think it’s fun to revisit a time I would have enjoyed living in.

What are some of the challenges you face as an author?

I would like about 60 hours in a day instead of 24. Time is always an issue. The other one is I think a creative mind is probably an oxymoron. I once had someone say that there are filers and there are pilers. I am a piler. Living in a small house and my daughter is also a published author, between us and all of the books we need for research, it’s a challenge.

How long did Letter Perfect take you to complete?

About 4 months.

How much research did Letter Perfect take?

Oodles. I had to research to find all of these little details like have who ruled in the Pony Express, which leg of the journey did they have? I make a historical time line for each book that has both regional and national occurrences. What the inventions are at the time. I spend an extreme amount of time on research and even went to Sacramento and met Tracey there. We did a research trip there and had a wonderful time. Our husbands met each other and they’re probably twins separated at birth.

Do you have any more projects on the horizon?

We’re working on a series that’s going to be taking place in historic Texas. At least three in the series. (No name yet.) Planning on every six months for a release.

I have several books that will be coming out with Barbour. I’m writing my last book with them right now because I signed an exclusive with them.

Do you have a Favorite character in Letter Perfect?

It would have to be Ruth because I am so much like her. I was constantly surprised when I was writing her of the things that would come out of her mouth and the things that she would do and I would just laugh and go, “I could do something just as crazy”.

Who is the person who most influenced your writing?

George Reyes, he wrote Curious George. It’s the very first book I checked out of the library. It opened up the magic of books and the written word and how it can take you someplace different and someplace wonderful and each book can be a wonderful experience.

What were your favorite books as a child?

Curious George. Was there a book that I didn’t read as a child? My sister and I would walk to the library and each pick out seven books because that was the limit and we would trade them half way through the week. We’d read fourteen books a week. We weren’t allowed to have T.V. I read all of the Newbury award winners, read Ellen Tebbits to Nancy Drew to Hardy Boys. Christy was a fabulous book in my child hood. All of the Anne of Green Gables books.

What message would you like your readers to take from Letter Perfect?

That perfection is essential to love. My husband taught me that. You’ll see that in the dedication.

What is your goal or mission as a writer?

To share the overwhelming, unstoppable love of God.