Elin Hilderbrand's winter wonderland...plus a book giveaway

Today I am thrilled to introduce our latest author interview, Elin Hilderbrand. Not only is she a full time mom, author, and member of her community, but she is also (thankfully) a Breast Cancer Survivor. What better way to celebrate her than in October, during Breast Cancer Awareness month. I have read every single book that Elin has written and I'm proud to call myself one of her biggest fans. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ask Elin some personal questions and get to know a little more about her and what makes her so amazing. Melissa A and I were pleased to find out that she is a fan of Billy Joel, a musician we both love! Her latest novel, Winter Stroll, was published earlier this week. It is the sequel to Winter Street, which was published last year and is now on paperback. To celebrate, Little, Brown has THREE sets of both Winter Street and Winter Stroll to give away to some lucky US readers!

Thanks for joining us here at Chick Lit Central, Elin. We are so honored to have you! #mamastrong

Visit Elin at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

To which of all of your main characters have you felt the most connected? 
Of any of my main characters, I think I feel the most connected to Margaret Quinn in the WINTER STREET series. That's a current answer. I've been writing novels since before my kids were born so I personally have done a lot of growing and changing since my first novel was published; I've not only raised my kids into teenagers, I've gotten divorced, fought breast cancer and I'm in the midst of buying a big, beautiful house now. Margaret is a very busy, very high profile woman who sacrificed a lot of mommy time in order to focus on her career (she's the anchor of the CBS Evening News). I have my own guilt about being a working mother and so I made Margaret into a working mother hero as a guide to myself.

Do you have any writing rituals or superstitions when working on a new project?
Rituals: I write longhand, I work outside when the weather permits, if I'm inside and it's raining or gloomy I light candles in my Ted Muehling candlesticks which are very precious to me.

Do you listen to a specific playlist or band/artist when writing? 
I listen only to classical music when I'm writing. I was the same way in high school -- classical only during homework, otherwise I got distracted.

Do you have any hidden or odd talents? 
I know all the state capitals. And all of the presidents, in order.

Who has been the biggest inspiration to you in your life and why? 
I have a few heroes and all of them are self-made women, women who have done amazing things in their careers on their own: Diane von Fursternberg is a great example. Love her. She's gorgeous, strong, independent, successful, a mother and a grandmother, but most of all, she is herself. Her autobiography says it all: The Woman I Wanted to Be. I fell like I get closer to being the woman I always wanted to be very day -- still a few things yet to accomplish...

If you could time travel, what year(s) would you go to and why? 
As a 50th birthday present to myself, I'm planning on writing a novel called SUMMER '69 which will come out in summer 2019. I would love to be able to come back to Nantucket in 1969 and see how things were then. Luckily, I have friends in their 70s who still have sharp memories and who kept good photo albums...

Thanks to Elin for chatting with us and to Little, Brown for sharing her books with our readers.

~Introduction and interview by Melissa Patafio.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


US only. Giveaway ends October 20th at midnight EST.