Author interview + Giveaway: Hallee Bridgeman

Hallee Bridgeman has long been one of my favorite authors. I am honored to host her on my blog today, as she’s hosted me on hers in the past.

We ran a giveaway previously, and because I was not able to contact one, and then a 2nd randomly drawn winner, Hallee graciously offered to offer her entire Dixon brothers series up for grabs again.

This month, you also have a chance to win a combo of awesome prizes. Make sure you comment, and then enter the rafflecopter giveaway to qualify! A winner will be drawn at the end of July!

If you enjoy this interview, please consider subscribing to my blog so you don’t miss out on future interviews and giveaways.

Welcome Hallee! Tell us a little about your newest release.

Daisy’s Decision wraps up the Dixon Brothers series. It is about the third triplet, Ken, and Daisy Ruiz.  Daisy has always had a huge crush on Ken – ever since she was in middle school and he was in high school. He never paid her any attention until he walked into her office one day to see how his construction company could partner with her ministry to build a house for a disadvantaged family. She can’t help but say yes. Ken Dixon is her dream date, after all! The only hitch in this perfect moment was that Daisy has just found out that she’s pregnant – and that the baby’s father is married.

But just one date can’t hurt anything. Right?

You have written many books with many characters going through some extremely difficult circumstances. Why has writing these kinds of characters been so important for you?

I don’t necessarily set out to write difficult circumstances. I just want to write realistic characters. The fact is that life is difficult and often messy. Statistics are staggering when it comes to abuse, violence, vice, sin. In order to write realistic stories with characters that can touch the hearts and minds of the readers, I need to be willing to write difficult circumstances.

I don’t sit down and think of a plot. I sit down and build characters. Their circumstances come out of that.

You have a romantic suspense series, as well as a line of cookbooks and other nonfiction. What has motivated you to write contemporary Christian romance at this time?

The first series I published was the Jewel Series. It was a contemporary romance. When my youngest son potty trained and slept through the night, my husband and I decided it was time for my writing to take precedence. I looked at the ten manuscripts I’d written long before I was a mom of three, and only the Jewel Series was contemporary romance. The rest were romantic suspense – only they’d been written prior to 9/11.

It was just easier to start with the Jewel Series than to completely gut and re-write the suspense to fit in a post-9/11 world. That series became a reader favorite. All of the books stayed in the top ten of Christian romance on Amazon for a year, and the top twenty for two years.

As much as my heart is in writing romantic suspense, I couldn’t just have the Jewel Series be where I start and stop contemporary romance. Writing the Dixon Brothers was an easy decision.

Who is your favorite character in Daisy’s Decision and why?

I love Ken. He is such a deep thinker and a genuinely nice guy.

Who is your favorite side character and why?

I really like Daisy’s cousin Camila. She truly loves Daisy, but isn’t afraid to tell her when she’s wrong. She also isn’t afraid to support her when she needs it the most.

What is something you’ve learned about yourself or about your writing process, through writing and publishing this story?­

I’ve always enjoyed writing men of action. Before I wrote Ken’s story, I would have said Jon was my favorite character, because he’s most likely the man who would step in front of a bullet, chase a bad guy from the scene of a crime, take a punch.

But Ken was brilliant to write. I had to dig deep and try to give the reader who he was with very little dialogue and not a lot of action. Everything about Ken happened inside of his own head – but then out of his head enough for the people around him to understand him. It really stretched my muscles.

What is coming up next for you in terms of writing? Can you tease us a little about your future projects?

I am currently writing a 3-book series for Revell Publishing that I’ve titled the Love and Honor Series. It’s about a Special Forces A-Team and involves various exciting events and locations.

Coming in January, I’m part of a 12-book collection titled Save the Date. Twelve months, twelve weddings. My month is May and I’m writing another book in my Red Blood and Bluegrass series called A Change of a Dress.

What is your favorite social media platform and why?

My initial reaction is Instagram, because that’s where I most interact with my children.

You contribute to various blogs – can you tell us a little bit about those?

Right now, the blogs I contribute to are http://www.LearnHowtoWriteaNovel.com and http://www.successfulchristianselfpublishing.com. Both of those blogs are designed to help writers. The first one is geared toward all sorts of writing advice and tips and tricks. The second one is owned by my husband and I and we focus on self-publishing helps – including all of the writing advice and tips and tricks.

Where can people find you online?

You can find me on my website at: http://www.halleebridgeman.com

Sign up for my newsletter and you’ll receive an ebook of Courting Calla for free.

What’re you giving away today?

All four Dixon Brothers books in paperback form, autographed.

I’m excited for this giveaway, and I hope our readers are too!

Your turn, readers! Have you read any of Hallee’s books? What’s been your favorite? If you have not, what book would you want to read?

Please remember to comment below, and then enter the rafflecopter giveaway here, in order to qualify!

About Hallee Bridgeman

Find all the Dixon Brothers books here: