About the Book

Book: Honeymoon’s Over

Author: Carol McClain

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction

Release date: September 27, 2023

Honeymoon’s Over

For better or worse.

Easy vows for newlyweds Chantel and Charlie. Having been widowed, they knew the worst of love was years away. Furthermore, at fifty, they wouldn’t live long enough for the bad to blossom.

Then they came home from their honeymoon.

Chantel’s pregnant daughter Sissy, living with them during her husband’s deployment, must remain on bed rest. Histrionic and bored, she’s a … challenge.

Chantel’s vegetarian son Graham moves in for a few weeks to help with his sister, but something doesn’t seem right. He never got along with his military-loving, meat-eating sibling. He didn’t have ulterior motives for coming to help, did he?

Charlie’s married daughter, Margo, could certainly enumerate the issues these adult children her father’s new wife had. On top of everything, how could her father have chosen that woman?

Then there’s Charlie’s father—lost in old-age absentmindedness. Certainly, he was only forgetful.

Thank heavens for jobs they love that get them out of the house. Except …

Should they have vowed for worse or better?

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I received a complimentary copy of this book and all opinions given are my own and not an endorsement of all author’s opinions.

Author Interview

Are any of your characters based off of yourself or those close to you?

Virtually all my characters have characteristics of those close to me—including me. Honeymoon’s Over is a classic example.

I based my latest novel on my brother’s second marriage. He moved his Antifa-loving, vegan son in with him and my new sister-in-law. Kathy had gluten issues, and his son, as a vegan,ate only gluten (exaggeration).

My brother’s daughter didn’t like his new wife—perhaps jealousy dominated her.

His wife also had an aging mother with dementia, and an adult son with OCD.

Add to the mix, three needy dogs

On top of everything, this union was viewed through my lens of humor. How could it succeed?

Don’t worry. It did.

The marriage was loving and successful despite these issues.Best of all, our family has Kathy—a fabulous sister.

In Borrowed Lives, the world of addiction inspired me. For many years, I worked with addicts. In my naiveté, I couldn’t fathom what humans put others through. Thus, gathered from my mentoring, the character Bean didn’t know her real name—based on a woman who didn’t know her name until she was sixteen.

When my characters don’t resemble others, I resembled them. In one book, I became an “addict” for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. In another, I fell in love with Africa. With the next book, I wanted to become a paramedic.

Yep. I live in an alternate universe.

Was your writing process spontaneous as it came to you or very planned and organized? Why?

To my dismay, I’m a pantser. Even as a child, I could not outline. Teachers would tell us to outline an essay and then write it. I couldn’t. I’d ask myself (too timid to confront my teacher), “How can I know what I’m going to write before I write it?” So, I would write my essay, and then form my outline.

I always graded quite well on those outlines.

In my earlier works, seat-of-the-pants worked well. Anything I wrote, I hadn’t written before, so novelty could reign. Now with eight novels under my belt, looking for different directions in my writing becomes a tangled mess.

My friends who outline can complete their works swiftly. I slog through bogs of false starts, and rewrite and refine before release.

Do you have a favorite time of day you are most productive in your writing?

For me, mornings are the greatest time to write. My mind is clear, and my schedule not cluttered with all the “to-do” things we must do. Yes, the busyness of life still exists, but my natural rhythm is to be quiet and to think and dream in the morning.

Why did you pick this genre for your book?

I write women’s fiction because I love people and their messy, beautiful lives. I’m philosophical, so noodling tangled issues intrigues me. The ending in women’s fiction isn’t fixed as in romance. For me, every book is different, ends differently, has different issues.

In other genres? I cannot figure out who the bad guy is in thrillers, nor how to solve the problems. Same goes for mystery. I love suspense, but I have to leave that genre to Steven James and Harlan Coben.

How many books do you personally own?

I’ve never counted. (Plus, counting would take forever and my dyslexic math skills would have me recounting after every seventeen—or was that seventy-one?—books.

Once my bookshelves can’t hold more tomes, I’m off to McKay’s to sell them (and of course come home with a couple of new ones.)

I love books. When I buy a new one, it’s as good as a precious gem piece of jewelry.

And at this moment—I actually own thousands because I discovered the library app Libby, and I own two library cards. So let the world fall away and let me read.

About the Author

Carol McClain is the award-winning author of five novels dealing with real people facing real problems. She is a consummate encourager, and no matter what your faith might look like, you will find compassion, humor and wisdom in her complexly layered, but ultimately readable work.

Aside from writing, she’s a skilled glass artist who has just made a foray into creating high-end jewelry. She’s also an avid hiker. She teaches Bible studies and mentors teens.

She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and too many animals to mention.

More from Carol

Disclaimer #1: Beware.

If we get to know each other, the humor of your life is liable to become fodder for my work. (Of course, with permission. Occasionally!) But don’t worry. I don’t write suspense, so you’ll never be in danger.

Background:

My brother married a widow when they were in their fifties.

He was a meatatarian. “Vegetables have rights,” he’d declare as he reached for a second round of bacon. He’d then heap on fried potatoes. The tubers were his nod to vegetables.

His wife was gluten intolerant and a health food lover of all foods green.

When he moved in with his wife, so did his vegan son who lived on gluten (and very few veggies). Gluten found its way onto her countertops, her refrigerator shelves, and dishes he didn’t wash.

Her son lived with her as well and came arrayed with the eccentricities my nephew lacked. The two sons made a complete, chaotic pair.

Add to them a diabetic mother who was starting dementia and my bet was on the fact this marriage was doomed.

Fortunately, I’m not prophetic. They remained happily married—despite my brother’s eating predilection. However, their situation made me laugh and became the fodder for Honeymoon’s Over.

Disclaimer #2: no HIPPA rules or privacy issues or personal matter have been disclosed. Names have been changed to protect the guilty (just don’t read the dedication, then the name change is mute.)

Disclaimer #3: If you’re expecting a sad, tearjerker, you’ll be disappointed. Oh, you will cry—tears of laughter. You’ll chortle throughout Honeymoon.