Joan Chandler

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Joan Chandler was born and raised in the deep South, and while she loves to visit faraway places, she can’t imagine living anywhere else. She is married with two amazing children. Joan lives a sort of “double life” By day, she gives the appearance of being a straight-laced accountant. But by night, she writes sizzling love stories that feature characters who are willing to try anything! Her goal with each book is to create a heroine that the reader will in some way identify with, and then introduce a drop-dead gorgeous leading man who is so romantic and charismatic that he woos not only that heroine, but the reader as well!

Joan is an avid reader, often finishing a book from cover to cover in one day. She also enjoys traveling with her family, camping and watching college football.

Q: Why did you become a writer?

A. I have always loved to write. When we were young, my sister and I used to keep notebooks under our beds, and we’d fill them up with stories about being married to celebrities and all the details of our imaginary lives. I started my first novel when I was pregnant with my first child, but writing took a backseat to motherhood after he was born, and it took me years to finish that story. For the longest time, I considered writing to be a just great hobby but was eventually convinced by my family to seek actual publication. I still have to pinch myself sometimes to prove that this isn’t a dream!

 

Q: Tell us what a typical writing day is like.

A: I often work long hours at my ‘day job’, so I have to make a real effort to find time to write during the week. It’s not always possible, especially since my youngest child still needs a lot of Mommy time. If I don’t accomplish much during the week, I try to make up for it on weekends. And I am definitely a late night writer while everyone else is asleep and the cat is my only company.

 

Q: Do your characters come to you first, or the plot, or the world of the story?

A: I usually get an idea for a plot first, and then the main characters fall into place fairly easily after that.

 

Q: What do you do to relax?

A: I am an avid reader, and that is probably my favorite way to relax. I also love a ‘girls’ night out’, whether it’s me with my sisters and friends, or just my daughter and me. We also have two huge dogs–a Cane Corso and a Golden Retriever mix–and walking them is a great way to unwind.

 

Q: What's on your bedside reading table right now? 

A: Gone With the Wind. I’ve read it so many times and I never get tired of it.

 

Q: What’s your guilty pleasure?

A: Surfing the net for celebrity gossip. I wrote a story about celebrity stalkers, and spent a lot of time on the internet trying to get a feel for the obsession some fans have for their favorite entertainers. There are a few websites that I got addicted to because they post such random things on any given day.

 

Q. What would you do if money was no object?

A: I would buy a small house on this little island on the Gulf Coast. It’s accessible only by boat or bridge, so there is very little traffic. It’s the most peaceful place, with its sounds of waves breaking and birds chirping. Each time I visit, I can’t help but think how prolific I’d be if only I lived there. I would love to spend every morning sipping coffee in my bathrobe as I sat on the deck, madly typing away on my laptop. It would be amazing!

 

Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? 

A: Don’t give up…it takes a lot of time to hammer out a manuscript but stick with it, and when you finally finish it, words can’t describe that feeling of accomplishment! Also, make sure you back up your work on an external media file. My computer crashed not too long ago, and if I hadn’t had my work on a secondary file, I would have lost several years worth of writing material!

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