Cheryl, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! Please tell us about your book.

Dancing in the Dark by Cheryl St John

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Book heat level (based on movie ratings): PG

He’d had his own baby. Without her.

Dusty Cavanaugh has loved Kendra Price since she walked into the school cafeteria and captured a dozen boyish hearts with the sweep of her stormy gray-green gaze and the lift of her chin. College, marriage, and children had been the plan. But then Dusty made a mistake.

Kendra Price had never wanted to be rich, but she’d wanted to be comfortable, which she was. She’d never wanted to be famous, but to live her passion to the fullest and dance, which she did. She’d wanted to marry Dusty, have babies and live happily ever after. It would never happen.

She’d wanted to dance, get married and have babies…all she had left was dance.
He had everything a man could want–except her forgiveness…

There had been no road map for life apart. Will love be enough to guide them back?

Describe the perfect vacation.

My favorite vacation isn’t likely to be everyone’s cup of tea. I don’t want to go to Disneyworld or on a cruise or relax on a beach. I simply love to head out with a very loose itinerary and a final destination, such as a tulip festival or a flea market. Thankfully my husband and I agree, so we don’t stress over a schedule. He loves museums and old architecture and I like to visit historic homes. When we spot a sign indicating an antique store, we veer that direction and browse for hours. Ideally, I’d have a large enough vehicle to shop and haul the purchases home. I’m a collector, so finding something I’ve been searching for is a thrill. Recently I found an original set of Trixie Belden paper dolls.

Tell us about your favorite toy as a child.

As a child, I loved paper dolls. I had several purchased sets, plus I drew and cut additional clothes for their wardrobes. I cut all the babies and children from Sears catalogs, so my paper doll couples had children. When my cousin and I got together and combined dolls, we created houses that took over entire rooms, and we dreamed up scenarios for our paper characters. It was a fantasyland I fully embraced. No wonder I became a writer—I still make up stories and fictional scenarios.

What are your hobbies?

My husband and I used to upcycle furniture and items for ourselves, and now we upcycle to sell. It’s part business and part enjoyment for me to find items and choose colors and hardware. He does the labor, and then I sell the finished products. We keep a photo album of all our before and after projects.

I read a lot. I love to bake. I dabble at crafts. It’s taken me years to accept that gathering items for crafts and actually doing the crafts are two different hobbies.

What kinds of things do you read when you’re researching a new book?

I start a three-ring binder for each book, and part of its content is research material. I’m still a paper person. I like to read and highlight and flag and have information at hand, so I print what I’m going to need later. I read about occupations and everything involved in a character’s job. Then I find articles or books about people with the same job and, if possible, find someone to interview.

I study up on the things my character likes to do and their interests. I read about the location and its history. Quite often I research situations, and I find information about factual people and circumstances. Most recently I’ve done a lot of research on child kidnapping survivors and the psychological effects of having been a kidnapping victim.

I also try to read a new author or recent popular fiction, but nothing with the same subject matter, because I want to be inspired, not influenced. However, I never let researching take the place of productivity. If I’m not producing pages, I’m only stalling, so I write—and research as I go.

If the hero of your latest book called you on the phone, what would be a perfect ringtone for him?

Perfect by Ed Sheeran. The line “Baby, I’m dancing in the dark, with you between my arms” was the inspiration for my title. I create a playlist for each new book. I don’t listen while I’m writing—I need quiet to write—but I listen often and add or remove songs as I’m moved to do so. The song plays a part in the book, so it will always remind me of Dusty and Kendra.

Where to buy Dancing in the Dark

Publisher: Aspen Gold Books
Universal link: https://books2read.com/u/4XZxe9
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dancing-in-the-dark-cheryl-st-john/1133927035
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dancing-in-the-dark/id1482159995
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dancing-in-the-dark-63

Cheryl St John on Social Media

Cheryl is the author of more than fifty historical and contemporary romances. Her stories have earned numerous awards and are published in over a dozen languages. In describing her stories of second chances and redemption, readers and reviewers use words like, “emotional punch, hometown feel, core values, believable characters and real-life situations.” Her bestselling non-fiction books, Writing With Emotion, Tension & Conflict and Write Smart, Write Happy by Writers Digest Books are available in print and digital.
Website http://www.cherylstjohn.net/
Twitter https://twitter.com/_CherylStJohn_
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CherylStJ
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/cheryl_stjohn/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cherylstjohn/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24516.Cheryl_St_John
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cheryl-st-john
Amazon Author Page https://tinyurl.com/y6js92y8
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