Angela Raines is the pen name of Doris McCraw.
Doris is an actor, historian, poet, photographer, and (of course) writer.
After she retired Doris decided to pursue her other dreams. She performs as
Helen (Hunt) Jackson, Katharine Lee Bates, as stand alone historic characters.
She researched and wrote on Karol W Smith, Colorado's first film commissioner,
and currently is researching the early women doctors of Colorado prior to 1900.
She writes and post haiku with her photographs, five days a week on her
fivesevenfive page.
Connect with the Author here:
~ Blog ~ Amazon ~
She also contributes to these blogs
~ Sweet American Sweethearts ~
~ Prairie Rose Publications ~
~ Writing Wranglers and Warriors ~
She also contributes to these blogs
~ Sweet American Sweethearts ~
~ Prairie Rose Publications ~
~ Writing Wranglers and Warriors ~
Josephine, Josie,
Forrester FOLLOWS her DREAM and heads to the Eastern Plains of Colorado to be
the doctor for the new town of Kiowa Wells. She faces the challenges of not
only being a woman doctor, but earning the trust of the people in and near the
town. Her life is complicated when William Murphy, a lawman, becomes her
patient after being shot and losing his memory. Can these two find the love and
happiness they deserve, despite a threat from the past? Can they get past their
own beliefs about life and love and societies expectations to find the love and
happiness they both deserve?
Q&A with the Author
1. Tell us about things you enjoy — what
you do for fun or personal satisfaction besides writing?
I loved to hike and take trips to the mountains. Of course research is a
passion and am considered somewhat of an expert on the women doctors in
Colorado prior to 1900.
2. When did you first realize you were
an author?
I don’t know that I ever realized it, I just always seemed to be a
storyteller. I wrote plays as young as six.
3. Have you done anything
writing-related, but besides actually writing your books, that seemed to get a
lot of positive response? Something that encouraged you?
I spent over three years writing haiku five days a week and posted on a
haiku blog I have. I am now working on writing haiku sonnets which I hope to
start posting soon.
4. What is the thing you struggle with
the most while writing? And how do you defeat it?
Putting my seat in the chair and writing. I attend an improv writing
group and it is there the characters finally will start telling me how they
want their story to unfold. When I make
the weekly meetings (weather permitting) a lot of basic writing gets done.
5. What is the “message” of your
writing? (For example, is your purpose to encourage old-fashioned values,
encourage romance, or do you have different purposes in different books?)
I realized a lot of my stories are about redemption, and finding a place
in life. Being honest and kind to yourself and following your dreams.
6. What are your thoughts/feelings on
ebook vs. print book?
Ebooks are great for some stories. I love that they can be carried
anywhere. (you should see the list on my
e-reader) At the same time, I love the
feel of a book in my hand. My bookshelves are a testament to that. Also, I
prefer print books when I’m researching, especially if I want to have the
information on hand.
7. How many books do you have
out? Are you planning a specific number altogether, either in this series
or separately?
I have one novel and numerous novellas. Three of the novellas are
characters from one town, and I will continue telling the stories of the
population of Agate Gulch. The town of Kiowa Wells, in Josie’s Dream is also a
wealth of people I have come to love and hope to tell their stories in the
future.
8. Are your characters/stories/scenes,
etc. based on anything in real life?
I try to add historic elements and facts to all of my stories. As a
lover of history, I think it important to ground the story in what was and add
the what could have been.
9. What are your future projects?
I will be writing another Medieval short
story this year, along with a non-fiction book on women doctors. A couple of
novels are on the agenda for 2018. I like to take the time to research and let
the stories and characters come to me. Once that happens things move fairly
quickly.
To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page
Thank you for highlighting Josie's story. I appreciate it. Angela/Doris
ReplyDelete