Sister Claire lives a simple, sheltered life as a Sister of the Little Heart. After being forced out onto the streets as a teenager, she joined the convent seeking food, shelter and a home. She was content and thought she found some sliver of happiness. She creates a job at the local Catholic school and is ready to begin her first year as a middle school music teacher. All is going well until David walks into her life at a PTA meeting. This sexy, middle-aged school teacher turns her world on its head.
As a widower, David never thought he could feel love for another woman after he lost his wife six years ago. But this new, young nun catches his eye, and their chemistry is undeniable. As professional colleagues, they keep a distance from one another for weeks, until their slow, steady buildup of attraction can’t be denied any longer. How are they going to keep their affair hidden from the watchful eyes of the teachers, parents, and other nuns? How does the fourteen year age difference affect their relationship? And how can they find happiness together if Sister Claire is just that… a nun?
Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for the author of For I Have Sinned, Wendy Goldberry!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m an erotic romance writer, born and raised in Philadelphia. I write by night, but by day I’m a legal assistant for an insurance defense firm. I love curling up with my cats and my husband and watching movies, or reading with a cup of coffee and a bar of chocolate.
2. When did you start writing?
I’ve been writing since I was eight years old. I wrote a short poem about my aunt, and I’ve been writing ever since. I don’t write poetry anymore, but I love writing steamy romances. I’ve written two full-length novels which are in their finial editing stages and I’ve published my first novella, “For I Have Sinned” just a few weeks ago.
3. How did you arrive at your novella’s title?
The title of my novella, “For I Have Sinned,” is based on the Catholic sacrament of Reconciliation. I grew up in a strict Catholic household, and my story is about a nun who falls in love with an older man. Nuns/Sisters aren’t allowed to marry, let alone have relationships, so the title stemmed from the main character’s Catholic roots and the idea of penance and wrongdoing and sin.
4. Using five words or less, describe the protagonist in For I Have Sinned.
Sexually repressed, musically talented Sister (a Sister is similar to a nun for those unfamiliar with Catholicism)
5. What does a typical writing session look like for you?
My writing sessions take place at my little desk in my dining room. My writing sessions used to take place in my bedroom while I sat on my bed, but a couple of years ago my back started giving me problems and I’ve had to resort to using a desk like a normal human being. I need either no noise, or if my surroundings are too loud (I live around very noisy neighbors) then I have classical music playing in the background. I’ve been listening to a lot of André Rieu lately, and I love listening to Chopin. Because my schedule is so sporadic, I don’t set word counts for myself very often. I try to write until I’m exhausted or until I have to go out and run errands or see friends. I consider it a successful writing session if I hit two thousand words, or if I finish a chapter.
6. How do you feel about outlines? Are you for or against them?
I absolutely need an outline to work. I get so easily sidetracked if I don’t have one. For example, I have a women’s fiction piece I’ve been toying with for nearly three years. I told myself I wouldn’t write an outline for it and three years later, the first draft is only about halfway done. Outlines help me move a story along.
7. What are you currently reading?
I just finished Big Little Lies by Lisa Moriarty and I loved it. I highly recommend it. She is a brilliant writer! I’m currently reading The Last Good Girl which is a series by legal thriller writer Allison Leotta, who is fantastic. Her books keep me on the edge of my seat. On my to-be-read list is Nobody’s Fool by Sarah Hegger and I am eagerly waiting for the release of Feversong by Karen Marie Moning.
8. What is your favorite book?
My favorite book is actually a book about writing. On Writing by Stephen King is a book I read about once a year, and every time I read it, I learn something new. If you’re a writer, you must read this book!
9. Any project in the works?
I have two series I’m currently working on and one stand-alone novel. The first series is a BDSM series about friends turned lovers. The second series is based in a zombie apocalypse setting with a colorful cast of characters. The stand-alone book is actually a romance novel about Peter Pan and the idea behind it was what would happen if “the boy who never grew up” couldn’t get back to Neverland and therefore was forced to grow up? It’s been such fun writing that!
10. How long does it usually take you to write a book?
It’s difficult to judge how long a novel takes me to write because I work on multiple projects at once. Working on just one project at a time is boring and I get too easily sidetracked. It takes me roughly a year to write one book, but that’s because I’m working on other books in the meantime and writing is not my full-time job (yet).
11. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Read! For the love of God, read! If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write anything worth reading. And I forget where I heard this bit of advice before, but someone once told me that writing your first draft is like shoveling sand into a sandbox. You’ll make sandcastles out of it later, but first you need the sand. The good bits and the bad. Even if you don’t like what’s coming out, keep writing. You can go back, edit, and make sandcastles with it later, but first you need the sand.
And now for a game of “Which Do/Would You Prefer?”
1. Cake or ice-cream?
Ice cream on top of cake
2. Ebook or physical book?
Physical book
3. Nights out or nights in?
Nights in
4. Living in the city or living in the country?
Living in the city! I’m a city girl, through and through.
5. Having telepathy or having telekinesis?
Having telepathy
6. To find true love or to win the lottery?
Win the lottery (I already found my true love!)
7. Reading or writing?
Reading! If you’re not a reader, you shouldn’t be a writer!
8. Being drawn into a tornado or being drawn into a whirlpool?
Tornado! (Actually I’ve always wondered what the inside of a tornado would be like. I compare my thoughts to a tornado and my standing in the center with a butterfly net trying to capture a thought and make sense of it.)
9. Going without internet access for a week or going without watching any movies/television shows for a week?
No internet for a week. I have a lot of movies I need to watch!
10. Staying awake for forty-eight hours (continuous) or walking for twenty-four hours (also continuous)?
Walking for twenty-four hours
11. To never read another book or to never watch another film?
Never watch another film (though the thought of either one of those is devastating!)
12. Spending half a day locked in a coffin (there would be a hole for air, of course) or spending two days trapped at the bottom of a well?
A coffin, for sure. I can sleep for half a day, no sweat!
13. Finding yourself caught in the middle of a hurricane or finding yourself caught in the middle of a snowstorm? (Note: in both scenarios, you’d be outdoors and have no access to shelter.)
I’ll say snowstorm because I have been caught in one before. I twisted my ankle walking a mile and a half from the train station to my college, downhill, in a snowstorm at night. Thanks to the kindness of a couple of strangers in a pickup truck, they picked me up when I was half a mile from the school and dropped me off at the front gate.
14. Finding yourself trapped in the universe of The Walking Dead or finding yourself trapped in a slasher film?
I actually have a series I’m working on where the setting is similar to The Walking Dead, so I’m going to have to go with that. I think I’d be able to survive a zombie apocalypse.
15. Have every day be Saturday or have every day be Halloween?
Have every day be Halloween! So many costumes and tons of candy!
Thank you for joining us, Wendy!
Readers: want to connect with Wendy? You can find her on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, and Instagram. Also, be sure to check out her author website.
Coffee with Architects of Worlds Afar 