Tell us about yourself. Hello. My name is Carrie, but I use my initials as my pen name, C. L. Hunter. I was born in St. Louis, Mo, but was raised in northern Florida. I consider myself a Floridian as I still live in Florida. My friends, along with myself, call me the River Rat. (LOL) I live on the river. I write poetry and love flowers. You’ll find both of these characteristics/pleasures of mine, in all my work.
What prompted you to become a writer? As a young teenager, I’d write poems and send them to my grandparents in Arkansas. They owned a few local newspapers. (Back then, we had to write letters to communicate) Phone calls were seldom because everywhere you called it was long-distance and was very expensive. Anyway, I had children when I was young and it put a stop to my writing, that is, until I visited Ireland some years back. Something magical happened while I visited the mystical island. The stories started over there and continued when I arrived home.
What do readers like about your writing? Readers say that as they read my books they transform into the book and become a part of the story. Of course, they aren’t in the book directly, but they say that it’s like they are in the scenery, plot, the traveling and are transported to the places my books take them. I must say that hearing this makes my heart happy.
Is there a message weaved into your writing? Yes there is. I believe several, but the most visible message in my books is that there is always hope. That if you believe in yourself and life then you will find your heart’s desire no matter what hardship you’ve been through. That only we have the power to overcome tragedy. We just need to find the strength that is buried inside us to be strong enough to actually do the hard work and believe me once you do, you’ll find out that the benefits will amaze you.
What is it that you want to inspire in others or change in the world through your writing? As a woman I’ve seen and lived many heartaches. I never gave up hope that life was what we make it, not what was written on the walls for us, and not the path that everyone wanted us to walk – but for us to change our circumstances and to take the path that fulfills our happiness.
Tell us about your most recent book and why you wrote it? My Soul Belongs to You is the second book in the ‘Soul Mate’ series. The first book, Your Soul Was Made for Mine is a cross-continental love affair. It brings Nolan O’Neill from Ireland to the small town of Hilton Head, SC to meet Emmalyn Stone after a terrible loss. It takes a year for their lives to cross paths again, but once they do, there is no turning around for this match made in heaven. My Soul Belongs to You continues with Nolan’s best friend, Deacon O’Mallery, from Dublin, Ireland and Katlyn Reynolds from Hilton Head, SC. They both have come from scarred upbringings and it takes divine intervention to help these two see that they belong to one another. Drama blends with desire for an off-the-charts plot, creating the heavyweight champion of page-turners in this sensual romance. I wrote this book to tell Deacon and Kate’s story. They wanted to share their lives with the world. I helped them achieve that.
