RPLA Showcase: Carol J. Post

Unpublished Romance

Trust My Heart

Carol J. Post

At the 2017 Royal Palm Literary Award Banquet, author Carol J. Post won First Place for her unpublished romance novel, Trust My Heart. Each year at the RPLA Banquet, authors experience the joy of earning accolades for all the hard work that is often done in the privacy of the home with little to no recognition. We’re showcasing the best of the best with our First Place winners spotlight. Not only does RPLA recognize extraordinary talent, but we’re giving readers an opportunity to sample excerpts from the winning stories.

A jaded big-city lawyer … a quirky small-town reporter … and a zany old matchmaker who won’t give up.

Carol J. Post writes fast-paced romantic suspense and enjoys sailing, hiking, and camping. Since her kids flew the nest, she spends her spare time spoiling her fat black cat and long-haired dachshund.

Read a sample of Trust My Heart

An interview with Carol:

Q. Where do you get your story ideas?

A.It’s sort of a group effort. I have two critique partners. Besides critiquing each other’s stories when we get them finished, about every four months or so, the three of us get together for several days at one of the ladies’ houses. She owns an Arabian horse farm outside Ocala, with a Victorian farmhouse, so the setting is super inspirational. I often come with a very basic idea, such as, “I want to write a story with a serial killer.” (Most of my stories are romantic suspense, although Trust My Heart doesn’t have the suspense element.) After several hours of bouncing ideas back and forth, I have the bones of a good story.

Q. Anything in particular about your award-winning RPLA entry that you’d like to share?

A. The seeds for Trust My Heart actually began back in the late 1990s. My daughter was about sixteen at the time, and we thought it would be fun to write a book together. Neither of us were published at the time, and I think we made it through about three chapters before we fizzled out. Years later, I decided to pick up that story and dust it off. Not much of the original draft remains, but Jami and Grant, the hero and heroine, are easily recognizable in those early pages, as are a few of the plot elements. Although most of my other heroines have some of my personality traits, Jami in Trust My Heart is a lot like my daughter, who is the complete opposite of me. In fact, a couple of times when I was stuck, I called her to help me with character development. Like my Kristi, Jami is a dreamer—artistic, idealistic and a bit scattered.

Q. Who do you credit with inspiring your writing?

A. A lot of other authors, too many to name. No matter how many books I’ve written, I always feel I can learn something from writers who do certain things well. I’m currently reading Something Like Family by Heather Burch. Heather has mastered tapping into the emotions of her readers and never fails to make me laugh and cry. I recently finished Devil’s Dance, Kristen Lamb’s debut novel. Kristen’s description not only transports the reader into the story, it also reveals character through the tone and language she uses. Her dialogue is amazing also.

Q. Any tips for new writers?

A. I always encourage new writers to join a writer’s group. I started my novel writing career back in the late 1990s but got discouraged and quit three different times. It wasn’t until 2010 that I found my way to Romance Writers of America and even later that I found Florida Writers Association. Besides all the great workshops presented at conferences and chapter meetings, the encouragement and support of fellow writers gave me what I needed to keep going until I got that first publishing contract in 2012.

Thank you for sharing with us today, Carol. You can visit Carol at: www.carolj.post.com