Denise M. Colby – When Plans Go Awry Includes a School Marm, a Reluctant Rancher, & a Clever Rooster

Congratulations to Denise M. Colby on Her Heartwarming Debut Novel, When Plans Go Awry!

I got to know the amazing Denise years ago through a couple writing groups we both belong to. She often presented workshops on social media topics and always encouraged all of us in our own writing journeys. All the while, she continued to work on her book about an old-timey schoolhouse and school marm in the west, occasionally giving us updates. I love her clever mind and collaborative spirit which you’ll learn more about in the following interview. 

Finally, Denise’s dream has come true, and her debut Christian historical romance novel, When Plans Go Awry (Best-laid Plans, Book One), is published and hot off the press:

Teaser: Olivia Carmichael escapes her past to be the next schoolmarm in the ranching community of Washton, California. Her plan? Live a quiet spinster life, never to depend on anyone again. Luke Taylor selected a mail-order bride, a necessity to help raise his two younger sisters. His plans don’t include being responsible for the beautiful new schoolmarm. Olivia’s carefully laid-out plans are challenged at every turn. Luke’s mail-order bride is not what he expected. Will Luke and Olivia learn to trust God’s plan for their lives?

Her book (good for summer reading!) is available at various book sellers including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Some Fun Facts About Denise and Her Research 

• Denise grew up near Sacramento, California, in the area in which the story is set and always enjoyed visiting Old Town Sacramento as a child.
• Her fictional town, Washton, is located across the Sacramento River. 
• She loves history and is constantly contemplating how it was to live in the 1800s.
• She did a lot of research on early schoolteachers and conditions they faced: https://denisemcolby.com/history-harriet-bishop/.
• She shares her home in Southern California with her husband, three boys, and their new Labrador puppy named Ace.
• She loves to read, sing, tap dance, watch movies with her family, and spend date nights with her husband at Disneyland.
• She is fascinated with one-room schoolhouses and has written about them on her website: https://denisemcolby.com/old-schoolhouses/.
• She researched “olden day” school children’s strict codes of behavior with punishments that were enforced with “lashes.”

The Interview! 

Nancy, Q#1: Where did the idea for your story come from?

Denise: When I went with my son on his 4^th grade field trip, the class visited a one-room schoolhouse and the first seed of an idea was planted. I pictured the schoolteacher in it and wondered what her story was. The plot continued to grow in my imagination when I returned two years later with my 2^nd son, so I began writing it out. Here’s a blog about that experience: https://denisemcolby.com/the-one-room-schoolhouse-did-it/.

Nancy, Q#2: Tell us a little about your story.

Denise: One of my taglines (“Can a young debutante who flees out west after losing everything learn to trust again?”) sums up the struggle my heroine, Olivia, faces throughout the story. The overall theme is related to how we plan out things and want to control what happens, but God is truly the one in control. We may not see it right away, but His plan and His timing work out better than we could ever imagine. My main Bible verse for the book is Proverbs 16:9 – “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

Nancy, Q#3: Is the story based on any historical facts?

Denise:

• The American Woman’s Association was founded by Catherine Beecher in 1852, its mission to recruit and train teachers for frontier schools before sending women into the West to civilize the young. This also is the school my heroine, Olivia, found in Cincinnati that trained her and sent her to Washton (the fictional town in my story). 
• The Sacramento River did, in fact, flood several times, and after the last one in 1862, thousands of yards of dirt were brought in to raise the street level (which took several years to happen).
• There are a few others, but I don’t want to give away anything else!

Nancy, Q#4: Is there anything else that’s unique about your story?

Denise: Olivia, my heroine, keeps a journal, and each chapter starts with a snippet from her journal. I love journaling and wanted to incorporate this into the story, so I wrote a blog post about it. https://denisemcolby.com/incorporating-a-character-journal-into-my-story/.

I also have a rooster named Bert in it. Everyone loves Bert and he was super fun to write. Here’s a blog post about him. https://denisemcolby.com/rooster-character-named-bert/

Nancy, Q#5: What do you hope for others to get out of the book?

Denise: I really hope that readers will mostly be encouraged and feel hope. I wanted to create an uplifting story they could relate to. Early feedback from my launch team has been so encouraging. It’s been exciting to find out which characters and chapters spoke to them the most. 

Nancy, Q#6: Describe your challenges writing this book?

Denise: It took me over twelve years to get to this stage. I didn’t spend full time on it with a day job and family, but so many times I almost gave up. God kept nudging me saying he wasn’t done yet with my writing journey. I entered several different writing contests through the years, and for every two writers that liked it, there would be one that didn’t. Everyone had an opinion on where to start the book, so I’d make adjustments, but then the comments in the next contest would be to put back in the parts that I took out. I finally had to take a step back and figure out what God wanted my story to be. And I feel that that is what has been published. I’m so thankful. The journey has been well worth it.

Nancy, Q#7: Which character was the most difficult to write?

Denise: My heroine Olivia. When I first started writing, I had no idea what I was doing, and because I don’t like to judge others, it took me a long while to be comfortable selecting her flaws and allowing them to show in a way that wouldn’t grate on me.

Nancy, Q#8: What surprised you about the book or writing process?

Denise: How pieces sort of fell into place. I have no idea where my idea for the mail-order bride came to be, nor how I was going to resolve it. As I fleshed out scenes, they almost wrote themselves. I’ve heard other authors say this, so it was exciting to experience it myself (and a little weird at the same time). One of the other surprises was to have my character journal in the book, something I also love to do. And I’m happy with how it turned out.

Nancy, Q#9: What did you learn while writing this book?

Denise: Don’t give up. Baby steps. Perseverance. Learn to create with God (and don’t be afraid to ask other authors for help). The author community is very special, and I have made some amazing friends.

Nancy, Q#10: What would you recommend to just starting out writers out there?

Denise: There is always something to learn and try and test. Be open to feedback. Join a writers group, or two, or three. I belong to four different ones, and they each provide a different focus for me through different seasons of my writing.

Nancy: What’s coming next?

Denise: I’m currently working on Book 2 in the Best-laid Plans series titled A Slight Change of Plans. 

Where Else Can Readers Find You Online?

• Website: www.denisemcolby.com
• Blog: www.denisemcolby.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/denisemcolbywrites/
• BookBub Author Page – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/denise-m-colby
• GoodReads – author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49068259.Denise_M_Colby
• Fiction Finder Author page: https://www.fictionfinder.com/author/detail/2545
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisem.colby/

Thanks for joining us, Denise! I enjoyed talking with you about your debut Christian historical romance, When Plans Go Awry, and am inspired by your writing and research! Keep writing, and we’ll keep reading!–xox Nancy

Drop by below to leave a congratulations comment for Denise as her debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, enters the world of readers.