Author interview with Karen Witemeyer

Hey Karen thank you so much for visiting!!

Since I know this interview is last minute I’ll get right to the questions!!

Do you like to bake?? Were any of the baked goods you mentioned something you love?

I do enjoy baking, but I don’t have the time to do it very often. Muffins or cookies occasionally. Last weekend I made some zucchini bread for a potluck at church. I am definitely a carb addict. Bread, rolls, muffins . . . I love them all. I don’t have much experience working with yeast doughs, I leave that to the professionals, but there’s nothing better than the smell of fresh yeast rolls right out of the oven, slathered with butter, and ready to eat. I bake up the frozen variety, but yes, there was a reason Abigail was known for the best yeast rolls in the county. Yum!

Looks yummy!!!

What inspired you to center this story around a bakery?

The bakery idea came when I needed a heroine who was a business owner. My hero would have no use for a seamstress or a milliner, but a man’s gotta eat, right? I recently had a cafe cook heroine (my novella in The Christmas Heirloom), so I decided to go for a baker. Since Zach’s character was already established in a previous book (More Than Meets the Eye), my motivation was to find him the perfect match. However, I wanted his match to be someone unexpected by society. He’s tall, swarthy, and ruggedly handsome. It would be all too easy to pair him with a typically beautiful romance heroine. But Zach needed more than surface attraction to push him out of his self-imposed exile. He needed someone who would challenge him to become a better version of himself. Someone who shared the one thing that defined his character–devotion to family. Enter Abigail Kemp. She’s too plump to be considered beautiful by society’s standards but she’s a talented baker and a determined business woman. She refuses to give up when roadblocks are thrown in her way and is dedicated to providing a livelihood for her younger sister. Her character is exactly what Zach needs, and his appreciation of her curves helps Abby get past her insecurities and start believing that she truly is fearfully and wonderfully made.

What’s your favorite baked good??

That’s a tough one. There are so many! I love a good oatmeal raisin cookie. Oh, and blackberry cobbler. And apple muffins. And yeast rolls. And sweet cornbread. And biscuits. And cinnamon rolls. And . . .

Did you visit different bakeries to see if anything inspired you to add them to your story?

No, but looking back on it, that would have been a great way to research. Ha! I did research what breads were typical of the time period which led me to some items I was less familiar with, like popovers.

I know I’m focusing on the baking part lol I’m a baker myself! And just felt an instant connection to Abigail!!

Did you find a real state ordinance that said women couldn’t own a business?

No, that part of the story was completely fictional. While it’s true that 19th century women faced many more challenges in running their own businesses than men did (societal belief that their place was in the home, banks being less likely to view them as a worthy investments, fewer careers viewed as “acceptable” for their gender, etc.), there were occasional women like Abigail who broke through the barriers and established themselves as businesswomen. The town of Honey Grove is a real place, and I found wonderful research resources on their Preservation League website, but nowhere did they list a city ordinance forbidding women to own businesses inside the town limits. I took a bit of fictional license there.

And lastly What do you munch on while writing??

I try not to munch too much while writing. I’ve been known to grab a Dove dark chocolate square for sustenance before heading to the writing cave, but usually I keep myself fueled with hot tea sweetened with honey. A little caffeine and sugar to keep the creative juices flowing.

Again thank you sooo much for stopping by!!!

Thanks for having me!

Don’t forget to check out Karens newest release

More Than Words Can Say