Word Museum recently had a chance to interview Chrissy Hartmann, author of Rescuing Whiskey’s Salvation and Cherishing Whiskey’s Salvation. Chrissy is from Northeast Ohio. She loves to go on adventures with her guide dog, Winnie. You might see her at the library or the local coffee shop. You can read more about Chrissy and her books on her website at https://chrissyhartmann.com.
Tell us a little about yourself and the types of books you write…
Hi and thanks! I’m glad to be here on the interview. So you want to know a little about me.
I started writing about ten or so years ago. My older brother dared me to write a story that I’d like the ending, since I’d complain to him the ones I did read, I didn’t like their endings. Plus, to be honest, I needed to figure out something to do with my life since my dream job of becoming a research librarian at that time didn’t look like it was going to be fulfilled. Why?
Well, I lost my eyesight due to bilateral retinal detachments. I won’t go into that though. It’s too long of a story. I had a talking computer that I taught myself how to use and I loved to write notes, send cards, emails, do research, and loved reading books. So I thought why not. And I began. But first, I wrote short stories. Love those! I believe it actually helped me to narrow down what I wanted to say because I limited my stories to 2,000 words. I’m not too bad at it either. I won two short story contests. And if you’re wondering, I write them in the style of who I think are the three greatest short story writers, Shirley Jackson, Marilyn Todd, and yes, Ernest Hemingway. From there I branched out to romances. Different type of genre from my shorts. But I love reading romances just as much as what I call “shattered shorts.”
I love history but won’t write any historical romances. Not that I couldn’t it’s just I write slow enough and I’d find myself going down too many rabbit holes that I’d never get anything written. So I picked contemporary sweet western romances. I’m from Ohio and live in farm country. Plus my great grandpa, grandpa, uncle, and cousin are all veterinarians and they don’t take care of just the little animals, but the big ones too.
I know for a fact that my cousin treated buffalos… they were my dad’s of course. My grandpa took care of mostly the big animals, which meant horses and cows. I love them both. Plus, watching westerns as a kid with my dad I figured had to pay off some day. I figured why not be a big fish in a little pond and go with the western theme genre for romance. Plus, it fits the sweet type better. And I’ll admit, I love the cowboy way of life–especially the boots. I probably have eight to ten pairs in my closet if not more. But let’s keep that on the down low, not sure if my hubby understands how many boots I have in my collection and I’d love to add more.
And then there’s my Eagle Scout son… he probably thinks I’m crazy for wearing them. But he doesn’t understand the whole concept about girls and their shoes. Other things that might interest you is that I have a dog guide, Winnie, and my black fluffball of a kitten. She’s actually full grown now, but she’s tiny and has a bobtail. I keep myself busy with reading, writing, cooking, drinking coffee, spinning vinyl with the hubby, following politics, and just hanging with our resident Eagle Scout. Plus, when I do get the chance, I love to go out for coffee. Pumpkin is my favorite, but it’s not always around so I do love those white mocha oatmeal expressos .
Plus now, I’m starting my own business to go along with my author career of author interviews, beta reading, manuscript sensitivity critiques, book reviews, and author and book shout outs at Prickle Forrest Books. I love to hang with my writer friends whether it’s doing write-ins or going to some sort of book festival, or writing conferences. And let’s not forget about the writer retreats. Love those the best! Nothing like hanging out for a weekend with a bunch of excited writers.
When did you first start writing?
I’ve always loved to write. I’ve always kept a journal of some sort and a diary from the time I was little, but no short stories or books until I lost my eyesight in 1995, but the real writing came in 2013 or around there. I got serious about it when I joined a local writers guild in 2014 and I’ve never stopped.
My first best and winner was written in 2014, a short story called Black Sky Midafternoon. I hope to have that in a collection of shorts later this year.
You face some challenges other writers might not have. Would you share a bit about them and your process to succeed?
Being blind and writing a book does have some challenges. I have no trouble writing the actual book. Brainstorming doesn’t seem to be a problem for me. But what I have the most trouble with is book covers, formatting of books, setting up websites, taking pictures, and going to author events such as conferences and workshops. I have a number of wonderful people who help me out with attending conferences or special events to get me in the right place, but after that, I mainly depend on all my technological expertise and gadgets.
Computer science never thrilled me until I lost my eyesight. Now I love all the things they’ve come up with. Although, they still haven’t really mastered the whole formatting thing for a book to be published. But I resolved that issue on my own by having another writer friend, Darrell, create a template for me. I just cut and paste the manuscript in it and viola it’s formatted. I have a small trusted group who helps me with my book covers. I tell my designer what I want, she designs it and then my extra eyeballers let me know what is good and not so good about it.
My computer and iPad and iPhone are straight from heaven. They all talk and I can navigate around them with no trouble to do research or just work on the manuscript. So if you find me out at the local coffee shop and I have my phone out with a keyboard, well, then I’m probably working on the latest manuscript. I also use these things to read books. I’ll be honest, I really miss seeing the print on books, but digital books are fantastic and audio books are even better, as long as you have the right narrator. I love doing social media too for my author career. It’s a lot of fun and when a few years back the iPhone came out with being able to describe pictures I took or let me take them myself, I was in heaven. So if you check out my website https://chrissyhartmann.com don’t be surprised, I took most of the pictures, but did have help from my hubby and son who is a graphic artist and is a genius at photoshop.
What was your favorite thing to do as a child?
I loved to write in my diary and write letters to pen-pals. I still have one to this day from 7th grade from England. It’s a lot easier now to keep in touch because we do it all on social media. I also loved to play board games and Euchre with my family. I still do both now even though the resident Eagle Scout is not a fan of Euchre.
What are some of your other interests? What do you do when you aren’t writing?
What? Not writing? Are you kidding? Okay, well I used to decorate my geese every day. I have two lawn geese that I would shop for clothes for them on EBay and Etsy, but had to stop when I realized they had more and nicer clothes than me. They still get decorated daily and I love dressing them up, probably because when I was a kid I never had a baby doll.
Now with the more adult-like activities, I do manage to go to wineries, local ones especially and quaint coffee shops. I’m a huge lover of history so anywhere we can go to learn about history I’m there. In college, I took a class on Colonial Williamsburg for credit toward my degree. We spent a week there studying the place. I took the class three more times for independent credits just because I love colonial history so much.
I also like to walk on my treadmill reading books or go out with my dog guide, but she’s retired now so that doesn’t happen too much now. Sports are a huge part of my life too when it comes to my hubby. We love the Indians, Browns, and the Buckeyes. So if we can go to a game, we go. Other than that, we like to go listen to cover bands on the square or at local wineries. There’s a favorite place we go in the summer called the Blue Barn Winery that has music every weekend from the end of May to the beginning of October. It’s a great place for music and hanging with friends. And don’t forget the dancing! One of these days, I’ll add a place like this into one of my books.
Favorite season of the year and favorite thing about that season?
Definitely has to be the fall. Love the colors even if I can’t see them anymore. Plus the smells of bonfires and apple cider are fantastic. And let’s not forget about Thanksgiving. I love it because pumpkins are out and I love pumpkin everything. Plus, family comes home and there’s no pressure to get presents or bear the snowy cold weather. Just get to sit around, eat fabulous food, talk, and play in all the gorgeous leaves. And don’t forget about the boots. I get to drag them out of the closet and start wearing them again, even though, I’ll admit, I probably only put them away for 6 weeks at the most.
I love the cool weather. I’m not a fan of snow or heat. And I am not fond of air conditioning either because I get too cold in it. Fall and spring suit me just fine. I love wearing jeans, a hoody, and my boots. Plus, I no longer have to explain why I’m wearing hoody’s because now it’s justifiable with the leaves on the ground and cooler temps.
How long does it take you to write a book from start to finish on average?
On average, since I’ve written three and have two published and have a fourth on the way it takes me anywhere from 9 months to a year. My novella, which is my latest book, took about 9 months. I wish I could write faster, but I also work part-time editing medical reports, so that takes a huge chunk of hours from my day. I’m hoping with the Prickle Forrest Books gig I will be able to go full time into writing and working for them. I can usually write a chapter in less than a week and a short story about the same. My problem is that I can’t force myself to write otherwise I hate the stuff. I don’t think I’ve ever kept anything that I’ve written when I force myself to write, it feels like a chore then and more like work. And talk about the pressure it puts on me, sheesh! No thanks.
Tell us a little about the location of your books and if you plan to continue with the same theme…
My books are in the contemporary sweet western romance genre. Right now they are based in Texas, near San Antonio — Whiskey, Texas — which is an imaginary town that lies just past the Texas sunset. My next set of contemporary sweet western romances is going to be based in Loveland, Colorado. My twin brother lives about 14 minutes from there and I hope to go out and stay with him to get a feel for the area. I picked that location because that’s where my Mom’s horse “Loveland Flossy” comes from. You can check out my website to see the poem I wrote about her, https://chrissyhartmann.com/mydarlings.
The next two I want to write, might not be the “same genre.” They’ll be contemporary sweet western romances , but with a little twist to them with more of a paranormal/fantasy style to them if I can pull it off. I’m excited to start on them. They’ll be a two book series, but the ones planned after that are a three book series. I already have the second book of that series written. The first one needs a huge overhaul, and the third in outline format. This series will have Easter eggs from my Whiskey Salvation Series pop into it to sort of tie them together, but no real common thread other than a mutual acquaintance. They’ll be located in Loveland, but the paranormal/fantasy I might drag back here to Ohio. I’ve got a lot of supporters here in my hometown and would love to feature them if I can.
What are you working on right now? What other projects do you have in the works?
I just finished writing a reader magnet for the Whiskey Salvation Series for those who sign up to my newsletter, which you can sign up for at my website on my blog page. Just go to https://chrissyhartmann.com/blog to find the link.
I hope to have it done hear real soon. I’ll be working next on my third book to the Whiskey Salvation series. My cowboy and an adorable real estate agent meet in Bermuda to try and help solve a mystery about a dead uncle and clowns. I’ve got about one-third written. I want to have it out by early 2024. So sign up for my newsletter to find out how it’s coming or check the website for an update. I’m also working on my stuff for Prickle Forrest Books, you know author interviews, book reviews, beta reads, shout-outs, and manuscript sensitivity reads.
Any big tours, promotions or appearances planned for the year?
Well, as an indie author, I love to do book festivals and author signings. I’ve done a few already this year for local libraries. I originally planned to attend as an indie author for a big one in July in Columbus , but found out the traditional authors are getting better treatment than indie and self-published authors so I turned them down. I have however signed up for a few more library book signings, a book festival in September, and hope to be on “Gunner Detroit’s” radio show this fall talking about my books.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Just remember that old saying, “If life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”
I’ve done just that with my writing.
I want to thank Lori Soard and Promo Warriors for the interview time and the great job she’s done with my website. Plus thank all my friends, family, and writing cohorts who have taken the time to help me when I needed it. And to close it out, my readers who have supported my writing and encouraged me on whether it be through social media, in person, and with their book reviews. I couldn’t have landed a better group of people to stand behind me. Thanks bunches!!!
And best of all, I want to thank God. He’s given me the talent to write and it’s an awesome gift. He brought me out of the darkest time of my life and let me know he’s not done with me. If it hadn’t been for his love and divine intervention of putting all these people in my life, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thank you all!
Thank You, Chrissy Hartmann!
A warm thank you to Chrissy Hartmann for her heartfelt words and input. If you’re interested in her series, you can click on either cover below to go to her website for a more in-depth description. Would you like to be interviewed by Word Museum? Drop Lori Soard a note or connect with her on social media for a chat.
