Q&A with Lacey Baker

 

 

 

Lacey Baker is the author of the new novel Her Unexpected Match. Her many other books include the novel Homecoming. She also writes under the name AC Arthur. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Her Unexpected Match, and how did you create your characters Allie and Ryan?

 

A: I absolutely love living so close to coastal towns and the water, and I enjoy creating small communities where people can bond over cinnamon rolls and coffee and knows everybody in that community by their first name.

 

I’ve created many small towns in my writing career and wanted to have a more distant locale this time around, somewhere that really set this community apart from others. So, I figured an island that was still in the proximity of some of my favorite things about Maryland’s Eastern Shore was a great idea.

 

Once I had the island all figured out, Ryan and his family’s BBQ legacy came next because I needed a character to be settled on the island in a way that it would be extremely hard for him to leave. Allie had to be the polar opposite, someone without any roots to hold her down. I love these two together because they bring out the best in each other.

 

Q: The novel takes place on a beautiful island--how important is setting to you in your writing?

 

A: Setting is one of the first things I imagine when coming up with a new story (or series).

When I read, I always want to be swept away to another place or time. Even if it’s just to the next city over the bridge in my home state, I want to be able to imagine I’m there through the descriptions on the page.

 

So, when I write, I always take the time to give details on the setting, whether it’s something as general as street names, or something more detailed like the giant sun with all the planets orbiting it on top of the Galaxy Emporium on Crescent Island.

 

Q: The writer Sean D. Young called the book “A sweet and delightful story with witty and likable characters that give us laugh-out-loud moments and all the small-town feels.” What do you think of that description, and what did you see as the role of humor as you were writing the book?

 

A: I am forever grateful to the lovely Sean for this wonderful sentiment about my book. I feel the statement is accurate. And that’s always a good thing for me. Writing a story and having a reader (or in this case an author who is also a reader) feel something after reading that story.

 

I never intentionally set out to write funny books because I don’t consider myself a humorous person. Actually, of everyone in my household, I have the least sense of humor—my family members tell me this all the time.

 

What comes naturally to me, once I’ve gotten a real feel for my characters, is having them fall into scenarios or dialogue that makes them laugh. And ultimately, I guess, makes the reader laugh as well.

 

Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I always write a synopsis and/or an outline for my books because I like to have a general idea of where I’m going in a story. There are always moments when I stray away from something in the synopsis or the outline. Or rather, I’ll say the characters stray the moment they realize the story belongs to them—which is generally somewhere around the fifth or sixth chapters.

 

With Her Unexpected Match, the original ending I had planned via the synopsis was altered by Ryan’s ex doing a few unplanned things and then Ryan and Allie having to react. I made it to an almost similar end after that, but then I ended up adding and rearranging a few scenes during the writing of the second draft.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m currently writing book #2 in the Crescent Matchmaker series, titled His Reluctant Match. It’s a grumpy/sunshine book featuring Bella, Allie’s sister. It’s set in the fall so the scenery is gorgeous and Bella’s a photographer so she’s loving it as well.

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: There’s just one other thing I’d like to share about Her Unexpected Match. I definitely tried to eat every meal and dessert I wrote about in this book. I called it research but it was probably more on the side of greed.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb