Sara Orwig's Blog

I’ve done a lot of interviews over the years along with my fair share of book signings, talking engagements and the like. I do fewer now I guess because of a personal preference and an effort to slow down, although somehow every day feels busier than the last. I’ve got a May 1st deadline right now so that’s taking much of my focus, but doing an interview recently for the local Edmond Outlook magazine was kind of a nice pause. It’s nice to take a moment and look at where I am. My husband and I are enjoying a full life that includes visits from family, balance/yoga classes when we remember, and other happenings. Writing has always been a joy and a constant, and always will be.

The following is the interview as printed, so enjoy and thanks for reading! My book deadline is looming so I best get back to getting book #110 on paper! Happy reading — Sara 

109 Romance Novels and Counting Q&A with Harlequin author Sara Orwig

With a garage filled with books instead of cars, Orwig has dedicated the majority of her life to reading and writing and doesn’t plan to stop. With 109 under her belt, Outlook visited with this Harlequin author to learn more about her books, writing process and future plans.

Why did you pick this genre?
I used to read mysteries often and still love them. Once when I was home alone, I tried to write my own mystery, but as I wrote the first chapter, I got so frightened that I had to stop writing and leave the house. That was the end of thoughts of becoming a mystery writer. I spent one summer reading historical romances by Barbara Cartland and her books inspired me. I felt like I had found my niche.

How did you get started with Harlequin?
I had written four unpublished historical romance novels when I got an agent who sold my first two to a California publisher. She sold the next two historical romances to Harlequin through their UK publishing division, Mills & Boon. I then sold to other publishers as well as Harlequin. Now, I write exclusively for Harlequin and in January I had my 71st Harlequin novel released (my 109th published book.)

Out of your 109 books, which one is your favorite and why?
“The Fairfax Brew” is my favorite. It has more humor than most of my books. It’s set in the 1800s. I wrote it before I was published, for myself more than for a market, and it became my 4th published book when Harlequin bought it and brought it out as a Harlequin Regency Romance.

Where do you get your inspiration for each book?
My husband likes to say it’s him! I get my inspiration from my imagination. I like thinking of characters falling in love and the pitfalls and problems they have to overcome.

Do you plan on retiring?
I’ve always said I never wanted to retire. I think maybe God was listening.

How closely do your plots refl ect real women’s lives?
Everyone has problems to deal with at some point in time. I try to write strong, compassionate women who love and are loved by determined, exciting men—two people who are attracted to each other, solving the problems they encounter and finally—as the old saying goes, “love conquers all”—have a happy ending. I had a strong mother and have had strong women in my life. I think my plots reflect these real lives even though the characters are imaginary.

How long does it take for you to write a book?
I’ve written larger historical romances that when published were over 500 pages. With mainstream fiction or historical books, the research takes more time. Family Fortunes was mainstream fiction and took a little over six months. My romance novels often take three to four months, depending on my schedule.

How do you choose your character’s names?
To choose my characters’ names, I keep lists of popular baby names. I also keep books of names. I try to avoid family and friends’ names. Most names I choose are popular ordinary names.

For more information on Sara and her books visit saraorwig.com

In honor of HarperCollins Publishers’ 200th anniversary, Harlequin is sharing stories of why people like to read. For me, reading has always be a part of my life as far back as I can remember. My grandfather and my dad both read to me before I could read.  I loved my books even before I could read them! I remember when I got my first allowance… I saved my money and bought a book—my first purchase. I still remember how exciting that was and how much I carried that book around with me. I read because it’s simply is a way of life! Why do I eat food? Because I’m hungry! Both are clearly essential components to life.

And I never grew out of it.   I cannot recall the words, “I’m bored,” ever being said when I was growing up by anyone in my family, my friends or by me because we all loved to read. 

Short stories, novels, non-fiction—I loved everything. The book with the most profound influence on my life has to be the King James Bible.  Books educate, inform, entertain and take me places I never could go otherwise.  I remember certain books I like and read them over and over again.   It could be books, ebooks, newspapers, magazines… the vehicle doesn’t matter so much as the journey. All of those wonderful sources of information, too,  along with entertainment. I still love to read and have been so blessed to make a career out of the world of words, literature and stories. Sharing others adventures on paper and also getting to share my own has been more rewarding than I could have imagined.

To read other authors’ reasons for reading go to Harlequin’s website section “why I read.” Make sure you have some time because reading other author’s thoughts is a great way to lose track of time and share the feelings of other book lovers… there are a lot of us!! #WhyIRead

ps. The photo is a candid shot of what’s on my book stack today. Looks like I’m currently in an adventure phase!  #whyiread

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I was interviewed by Fresh Fiction to discuss my March release “Reunited with the Rancher” which is my 102nd book in print! I also talk about my career, traditions and this & that. Read that here. Thanks Fresh Fiction!

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Congratulations to December 2016 winners of the 12 DAYS OF DESIRE GIVEAWAY!! Three winners were chosen and more contests will be coming up in 2017. Sign up to join in the fun – best wishes!

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Huge $1.99 sale this week on eBooks! Fifty one of my books are on sale until Oct 25th.  Visit my page at Amazon to see them  –  or – go to Harlequin’s site to see them.

The sale runs through ALL major US eBook retailers: Amazon, Nook, Google Play, Kobo, iBooks and Harlequin.com.

Happy Reading!! Here’s the full list of titles on sale…

EXPECTING THE RANCHER’S CHILD

THAT NIGHT WITH THE RICH RANCHER

THE RANCHER’S SECRET SON

PREGNANT BY THE TEXAN

AT THE RANCHER’S REQUEST

THE TEXAN’S FORBIDDEN FIANCÉE

KISSED BY A RANCHER

A TEXAN IN HER BED

DEEP IN A TEXAN’S HEART

SEDUCED BY THE WEALTHY PLAYBOY

WORLD’S MOST ELIGIBLE TEXAN

HIGHLY COMPROMISED POSITION

THE PLAYBOY MEETS HIS MATCH

ENTANGLED WITH A TEXAN

HER TEXAN TO TAME

DAKOTA DADDY

GALAHAD IN BLUE JEANS

HER TORRID TEMPORARY MARRIAGE

WILD WESTERN NIGHTS

TEXAS-SIZED TEMPTATION

THE TEXAN’S CONTRACT MARRIAGE

MONTANA MISTRESS

WED TO THE TEXAN

THE CONSUMMATE COWBOY

THE COWBOY’S SEDUCTIVE PROPOSAL

A LONE STAR LOVE AFFAIR

ONE TEXAS NIGHT…

RELENTLESS PURSUIT

MARRYING THE LONE STAR MAVERICK

PREGNANT AT THE WEDDING

BABES IN ARMS

FALCON’S LAIR

MIDNIGHT UNDER THE MISTLETOE

TEXAS TYCOON’S CHRISTMAS FIANC‚E

WYOMING WEDDING

SHUT UP AND KISS ME

ESTATE AFFAIR

TEMPTING THE TEXAS TYCOON

COWBOY’S SECRET CHILD

THE RELUCTANT HEIRESS

BRING ON THE NIGHT

STANDING OUTSIDE THE FIRE

DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES

THE RANCHER, THE BABY & THE NANNY

COWBOY’S SPECIAL WOMAN

SEDUCED BY THE ENEMY

THE BRIDE’S CHOICE

ONE TOUGH COWBOY

DO YOU TAKE THIS ENEMY?

A BABY FOR MOMMY

HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT

PREGNANT WITH THE FIRST HEIR

REVENGE OF THE SECOND SON

SCANDALS FROM THE THIRD BRIDE

 

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Time to celebrate!  My 100th published romance book is hitting the shelves this week. I wanted to do something to show my appreciation for readers, so I’m holding several giveaways—Books and eBooks— that you can enter. Enter on my website, and also look for giveaways on Goodreads.com and Amazon.com this month, too. Best of luck to you all!  —Sara

Win an autographed "Expecting the Rancher's Child"


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Enter for a chance to win
one of 5 Autographed copies of Expecting the Rancher's Child
Book 1 of 4 in the Callahan's Clan series. Release date July 5, 2016.
The 100th published romance book by Sara Orwig. Giveaway ends and winners chosen on July 15, 2016.

The rich rancher's irresistible offer… From the moment they met, their intense attraction has been off the charts. It's rendered Blake Callahan's judgment inoperative. Because the billionaire rancher has offered millions to lure Sierra Benson away from her charity organization to work for him. The offer's just too good for the former designer to refuse.  

Working together at Blake's ranch, there's no escaping the powerful desire that draws them closer. But Blake's driven by his need for revenge against his father, while Sierra is all about helping those in need. So how will they bridge their differences when Sierra discovers she's pregnant?

"Dear Readers... I wanted to do something big to celebrate my 100th published Romance book! And also to show my appreciation for you, I'm holding several giveaways—Books and eBooks— that you can enter. Enter on my website, and also look for giveaways on Goodreads.com and Amazon.com. Best of luck to you all!" —Sara

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It’s Goodreads Romance Week starting today! Now through Feb 12th, Goodreads is celebrating Romance authors and books. To join in the fun, I just started taking questions on my Goodreads author page.  Please ask me any question you wish and while you are there, leave a review if you liked a book!

I’m planning on answering questions this Friday and will continue to do so about once a week in the future. I would love to hear from you! Thanks for reading.

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I didn’t know most of these!!!  Harlequin books have been around forever (almost ) and has been my publisher for nearly that long. I know how far reaching and amazing the Harlequin books & team are so these are not a huge surprise… but interesting!!

Harlequin publishes more than 110 titles each month in the USA!
Last year Harlequin sold approximately 3 books per second worldwide.
Over 1,300 authors from around the world are currently published by Harlequin.
Harlequin books are sold in 102 international markets in 34 languages.
In total, Harlequin has shipped more than 6.47 billion books around the world.
Harlequin contracts more than four original works of fiction EVERYDAY. (So if you dream of writing for Harlequin, send in your book! )
Harlequin began releasing ebooks over 10 years ago (in October 2005) and has published over 27,000 ebooks to date, in 16 languages.
Harlequin was the first major publisher to make ALL their new releases available in ebook format when published.
More than one-third of American women have read a Harlequin book at some point in their lives.

I love writing romances and Harlequin has always been the leader in the publishing world for this. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is hitting the used bookstore and finding old paperbacks… the older the book, the more interesting the cover and title is! I’ll never get tired of reading, and thankfully there’s always a book on hand.

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Harlequin is celebrating a “Sweet & Spicy Holiday” and I am sharing a family favorite recipe to add to the sweetness! This is my mother’s Strawberry Cake recipe, now officially passed down four generations! It’s beautiful (and delicious) so we make this not only at Christmas but also around Easter. This year, my grandson made this with me which was sweeter than the cake!

Strawberry Cake:

1 box white cake mix

3 TBSP sifted flour

1 regular pkg strawberry jello

1 C oil

1/4 C water

1/2 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained

4 eggs, one at a time

Mix together all ingredients except for eggs. Add one egg at a time. Beat two minutes after each addition. Pour into a greased and floured long cake pan and bake at 350 degrees, according to directions on mix box.

Frosting:

3/4 box powdered sugar

3/4 stick butter — bring to room temperature

1/2 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained

Bring butter to room temperature and blend with sugar and add strawberries. Let cake cool and cover with icing. Decorate with sprinkles or colored icing if desired. We have a Christmas tree as decoration with snow (powdered sugar) at the base and red hots on the tips of each branch for red balls. Colored green sprinkles for the Christmas tree with a gold star of sprinkles at the top. Enjoy!

Harlequin Books and I and many of my fellow authors are celebrating a Sweet and Spicy Holiday with all of our readers, December 7th-13th, bringing you recipes and goodies and a whole week of fun on Harlequin’s social media outlets.  Just look for the #sweetandspicyholiday hashtag and posts from Harlequin Books on Facebook and Twitter for new recipes every day!

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I’ve teamed up with Susan Mallery and twenty-two other romance authors to bring you the Categories for Christmas contest. Five lucky readers will each win 24 paperbacks plus a gorgeous @HarlequinBooks tote bag!! Sign up on the Contest page at SusanMallery.com here:http://susanmallery.com/members-contest.php (you will need to sign up to be a member, it’s free.) This contest includes my book “Kissed by a Rancher.” Good luck!

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