Interview with Donna K. Weaver, Author of A Change of Plans

Today, faithful blog readers, we have the wonderful Donna K. Weaver for an interview. Welcome, Donna!

How did you come up with the title A Change of Plans?

I never knew coming up with a title could be so hard. It took me a year after I wrote the dang book. That challenge is that there are three distinct parts to A Change of Plans and I didn’t know which one to focus on for a title. I fully expected my publisher to choose a new one, but they said they liked it.

Sometimes titles are so easy, sometimes not. Glad your publisher liked A Change of Plans! Is there a message in A Change of Plans that you want readers to grasp?

Maybe that life can still be good even when you go through really bad experiences. That while those bad things impact you, you mustn’t let them define you.

Very nice. What book are you reading now?

I’m a huge Brandon Sanderson fan, and I’m listening to his The Rithmatist.

What are your current projects?

I’m editing a companion novel to A Change of Plans, staring one of the secondary male characters. It’s funny because I almost wrote him out but realized I’d come to love him too much—and that not only was I going to keep him in but I needed to tell his story.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Getting Part 2 right. Some of it was trying to find the right approach. I wasn’t into telling a raunchy story about a man and a woman marooned on an island, but making it a how-to survival story wasn’t quite right either. Hopefully, between me and my editors, we got it right.

How long does it take you to write a book?

First draft? I’m fast. My first drafts are really a very long outline—that’s why I love the NaNoWriMo experience. I wrote 80,000 words for A Change of Plans in 30 days and the companion novel in 18. Of course, that first edit is when I do my real writing. That definitely takes longer. I can only compare it to painting. An artist preparing a canvass will do some rough sketches to put all the elements in their places. It’s only later that s/he will add the colors and texture and shading. That’s what I do with my editing.

I tend to write the same way so I know what you mean exactly! Time for some fun questions. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Someone thin and gorgeous. Wouldn’t hurt if she could act, too.

LOL! If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?

This is easy. I have a daughter (and 4 grandchildren) living on Kauai. I would quit my day job and go live with them. I’d have enough money to pay for medical insurance. 

Thanks for dropping by! Readers, at the bottom of the post is a giveaway so be sure to enter!

When Lyn sets off on her supposedly uncomplicated and unromantic cruise, she never dreams it will include pirates. All the 25-year-old, Colorado high school teacher wants to do is forget that her dead fiancé was a cheating scumbag. Lyn plans a vacation diversion; fate provides Braedon, an intriguing surgeon. She finds herself drawn to him: his gentle humor, his love of music, and even his willingness to let her take him down during morning karate practices. Against the backdrop of the ship's make-believe world and temporary friendships, her emotions come alive.

However, fear is an emotion, too. Unaware of the sensitive waters he's navigating, Braedon moves to take their relationship beyond friendship--on the very anniversary Lyn is on the cruise to forget. Lyn's painful memories are too powerful, and she runs from Braedon and what he has to offer.

Their confusing relationship is bad enough, but when the pair finds themselves on one of the cruise's snorkeling excursions in American Samoa things get worse. Paradise turns to piracy when their party is kidnapped and Lyn's fear of a fairytale turns grim. Now she must fight alongside the man she rejected, first for their freedom and then against storms, sharks, and shipwreck.

Find it: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads | Rhemalda Store

What people are saying about A CHANGE OF PLANS...

"A Change of Plans will keep readers up way too late in this fast-paced tale of love lost and found again." ~Melanie Jacobson, author of The List, Not My Type, Twitterpated, and Smart Move

"A Change of Plans is lots of romance sprinkled with pirates, shipwreck and adventure. Donna Weaver spins a tale that you will fall in love with, think about for days afterward, and then go back and read again. I laughed, I cried, and I couldn't put it down." ~Betsy Love author of Identity and Soulfire

"A captivating tale of love, grief, and hope that will tug at your heartstrings until the very end." ~Laura Josephson, author of the Rising series and Confessions from the Realm of the Underworld

"When someone says pirates and novel in the same sentence, I usually say, "Thanks, but no." Not in this case. Ms. Weaver brings a warm humor to her story of romance, travel and overcoming skeletons in one's past with her vivid characters and delightful scenes." ~Shaunna Gonzales, author of Dark Days of Promise

Donna K. Weaver has always loved reading and creating stories, thus she’s been ever entertained. A Navy brat and U.S. Army veteran, she’s lived in many U.S. states as well as South Korea, the Philippines, and Germany. An avid cruiser, she’s sailed the Pacific four times. When she retired from Shorei Kempo Karate with a black belt, she decided it was time to put her imaginary friends and places on paper. She lives in Utah with her husband. They have six children and eight grandchildren.

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