An Authorial Interview with Allie Pleiter

Authorial Mom: Welcome to the Authorial Moms blog, Allie! Tell us a little about yourself. How many kids do you have? How old are they?

Allie Pleiter: I have a nineteen year old daughter and a fifteen year old son.

AM: What do you write? How many books have you written/published? How old are they?

AP: I’ve written fiction and non-fiction.  I have two parenting books, BECOMING A CHIEF HOME OFFICER, and FACING EVERY MOM’S FEARS.  I also have over a dozen inspirational novels for Love Inspired/Steeple Hill, the most recent of which are YUKON WEDDING, MISSION OF HOPE and BLUEGRASS EASTER.  Last year was my tenth anniversary as a published author!

AM: That's amazing! Congratulations. Tell me about a typical day. How do you write with kids around? Or do you have to ship them off to school or grandparents’ houses to get anything done?

Author Allie Pleiter

AP: Typical day?  I don’t think I ever get one of those words.  My kids are rather self-sufficient these days, but back when they were little I remember writing from the nanosecond they got on the bus until the nanosecond they got off.  My first book was written almost entirely in McDonald’s while my little ones were in the ball pit.  Summers, while the teens are underfoot blasting their stereos, are still challenging.

AM: Did you write before you had kids, or after? What changed with your writing when you had kids?

AP: I’ve only written with kids.  I think there’s an advantage to learning how to write with distractions and kids are fabulous teachers at that.

AM:  How old will one or more of your children have to be before they’re allowed to read your books?

AP: Love Inspired books are “sweet” romances, without sensuality but definitely with romantic attraction.  As such, I’d be comfortable with either of my teenagers (and anyone 13 or older) reading my books---if they ever wanted to.  My teenage daughter helped me with social media one summer, and I told her she had to read my current release.  She asked if she got paid for that like her other work.  I figured I’d have to pay anyone else, so she read my book “on the clock.”  I couldn’t resist asking her what she thought of it.  Her response was, “Like, if you weren’t related to me?”  I told her not to finish the thought. My son says he’ll only read my books if I put zombies and vampires in them.  He’ll have a long wait.

AM: Becoming an author means having a public persona. How do you combine motherhood with the demands of a public life? Do you feature your kids, keep them shielded under pseudonyms, or leave them out of the equation entirely? Have they asserted their opinion(s) on this matter?

AP: Once I asked my daughter if she was bothered by my public persona.  Her response was to roll her eyes and say, “Come on Mom, you’re not that famous.”  It’s hard to write parenting books without talking about your kids, but I do try to get their approval, think about what’s out there so it doesn’t embarrass them, and protect their privacy to a certain degree.  I’m write about them but never in sensitive detail.

AM: Most Moms I know have a limited amount of free time. Give me a few reasons why they should dedicate some of that time to your characters. What’s in it for us?

AP: You’ll come away with an encouraging, laughing adventure that will teach you something significant.  It will lift you up, not angst you out.  And you have my permission to read my books in the bathroom, because I know it may be the only place you ever get to be alone.

AM: Let’s have a little fun with fill-in-the-blanks. “The floor of my kitchen is so ___ you can ___ it.”

AP: “The floor is my kitchen is so carefully crafted in its color and texture you can not tell if it’s dirty.”  That strategy is my greatest--or perhaps my only--domestic achievement.

AM: That's quite an achievement--one that I wish I'd thought of! What’s up next for you?

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AP: I’ve just had a new release, the launch book of the Alaskan Brides continuity mini-series from Love Inspired, YUKON WEDDING.  This story is a grand adventure wrapped around a very tender romance, so it was great fun to write.  Then I take a bit of a break and my next book, FALLING FOR THE FIREMEN, launches a new series of mine in 2012 set in the fictional Illinois town of Gordon Falls.  I think fans of my Kentucky Corners series will really enjoy the Gordon Falls books, for they’ll have the same small-town cast of vibrant characters. 

   AM: Where can we find you and your books online?

AP: Find out all about my speaking, my parenting books, and my novels at www.alliepleiter.com.  If you’re a knitter, you can also see my flex a different set of writing muscles at www.DestiKNITions.blogspot.com, where I have a travel/knitting blog from all my promotion/research adventures (and I do love me a good adventure!)