Meet Dawn Cahill!

I'd like to give a warm Stitches Thru Time welcome to author Dawn Cahill. Draw up a chair and get to know this interesting woman!

Linda:  You’ve been writing since you were young. When did you know you want to pursue publication?

Dawn: The idea of publication was always a given. But it wasn’t until last year, when I finished my first novel, “Sapphire Secrets,” that I actually had anything to publish.

LM: Your most recent book is “Paint the Storm.” (available for pre-order now, with a release date of October 10, 2016). Where did you find your inspiration for the story?

Dawn: Paint the Storm was the first novel I ever completed, and it was due to my sister’s encouragement. This was 3 1/2 years ago after the last of my sons had left for college. My sister and I both realized, this is the perfect time to take that writing dream of mine off the mothballs and turn it into reality.

LM: Do you have an unusual research story to share?

Dawn: Yes, a couple years ago I had a chance to visit San Francisco, where Paint the Storm is set, with a band I was part of at the time. We marched in the Chinese New Year parade which took us through the Financial District, where I had set my opening scene. So I was able to tweak the scene and add in real-life details. The best perk? The trip qualified as research, so I was able to claim the trip as a business expense.

LM: The age old question for writers-are you a “pantster” or a plotter?

Dawn: Most definitely a pantster! I may have a general idea where the story is going, but mostly my characters and the story itself decide where they are going to go. That happened in Sapphire Secrets. In what I like to call my “epiphany moment”, the big plot twist suddenly made itself known after I was well into the manuscript!

LM: What is your favorite scene in “Paint the Storm?”

Dawn: Ha ha, it would have to be when Meg’s friend Camille teases her for blushing over the hero J So of course Meg blushes even more!

LM: What is your next project? Perhaps “Mitch and the Martian? LOL!

Dawn: Oh, I’d love to finish that one! But of course, we have an up-close and personal knowledge of Mars now. So much of it will have to be tweaked to account for that. As you know, no sign of life was found on Mars. So how do I make Mitch and his friends believable? Well, that’s a secret, and you’ll find out if/when I ever finish it!

LM: What are your passions outside of writing?

Dawn: Dancing, singing, and hiking. I do all 3 every chance I get.

LM: What else do you want folks to know about you?

Dawn is my pen name, also my childhood nickname. Only my closest friends and family know about my writing career, and I’m going to keep it that way for awhile, for various reasons. Someday when I retire from my job, I’ll tell the world!