Author Tim Hunniecutt joins me today to chat about his new contemporary romance, Getting to Yes.
Bio:
Tim Hunniecutt’s earliest memories include a love of words which he expressed by writing poems and stories for family and friends.
Tim attended Florida State University, where he studied psychology and English. Home for the summer after his first year, he met a girl and fell in love. The love she gave him inspired this story.
Tim lives with that same girl, now his wife, in Lithia, Florida. He loves traveling, playing escape games, spending time with his grandchildren, and ballroom dancing with her.
Welcome, Tim. What inspired you to write this book?
I have long thought my own romance formed the kernel of an interesting story. I have struggled with translating that into an actual novel that would include all the needed elements to make it successful. One day, an idea came to me on how to frame it, and that finally got me started. I worked hard to make it realistic as an example that anyone could read and see what it took for someone to be successful in love.
What exciting project are you working on next?
There are several themes I touched on in my first novel that I wanted to explore in more depth. My second novel will also be a romance exploring some of those, such as the enduring power of love to reshape our lives.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
From the beginning, even in Kindergarten, I wrote poems and songs and made up stories for family members, etc.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Writing is a weird job; you don’t just do it for forty hours a week and let it go. I find it consumes me, and even when I’m not actively doing it, I constantly think about scenes, characters, etc. I even woke in the middle of the night after dreaming about my book and characters and going to my computer to capture the scene from the dream. When I am deep into creating the original version of a book, the most I can take is four to five hours a day of actual writing new material. I find it physically and emotionally exhausting. If I do many other writer tasks such as editing, marketing, etc., I can spend more time on those in a day. When not creating new material, it more closely resembles a part-time job but one you might have to do on any day at any time.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I like to relax myself into it with music, preferably something emotional.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A writer
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I have done many things in my life and have been quite successful at several, but when I look back only one thing fundamentally changed my life and that was love. I thought if I am going to write novels, I want to create meaningful stories, and that is why I write about it. Love is the one thing that can make your life better regardless of your age or circumstances.