Suzanne Woods Fisher's Blog, page 144

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Monday!

My day started today with a lovely surprise! My very kind husband, just home from a two week business trip to South America, zoomed downtown and brought back a cup of Starbucks to me! NICE!

Then I received an email about this thoughtful review about "The Waiting" from a teacher: Insomniacs Guide To Reading.

This awesome teacher writes a blog to recommend books to fellow teachers. Her mom gave her a copy of my book. I love what spoke to her in this book--different elements than other reviewers. Really insightful comments!

Plus, I think it is amazing that a busy teacher finds time to keep up a blog of good books with her colleagues, and her students, too.

What makes you pick a book? For me, it's usually a friend's recommendation.  There's a great article in Publisher's Weekly about reasons a kid picks up a book. According to the article, librarians affect up to 24 percent of a teen's book choosing decisions. Be nice to your librarian! They are so important!

Last piece of notable news today...I opened up the Wall Street Journal and found that the Amish are on the front page! "Bakin' Whoopie: A Pie Fight Starts Over a Cream-Filled Cake" I always get a kick out of soft topics in the WSJ...a newspaper that takes itself rather seriously.

Which brings me back to Valentine's Day. I have two whoopie pies from Whole Foods, hidden in a brown bag in the fridge for tonight's dinner. A bookend to a lovely day!

I am working on final edits for a manuscript for book that will be released January 1st...tentatively titled "The Bee Season." Also am expecting galleys, any day now, for "A Lancaster County Christmas"(releasing September). And in between, am trying to keep up with my word count for a novel I'm working on...due to editor August 1.

And all of gets squeezed around playing with little Blake, when he's awake, fed and happy!



Hope your Monday is off to a wonderful start. And if not...turn the day around and make it wonderful! Do something kind for someone else...that will change your day. That person's, too.

Author Spotlight: Marta Perry

Welcome to Author Spotlight! Each week will feature a different author. We'll get the scoop behind their writing life and dish a little. The authors will also be giving away a copy of their latest book. FUN.

The winner from last week's Author Spotlight with Ann Gabhart is Regina Merrick! Please email my assistant Amy with your mailing address. (amy@litfusegroup.com)

This week is Marta Perry is in the Spotlight! To win a copy of Marta's latest book, Sarah's Gift, leave a comment on this post!

Share a little bit about yourself. Married with kids? Empty nester? Do you work full-time and write when you can squeeze it in?  

I'm married to my college sweetheart, and we have three grown kids who have presented us with six beautiful grandkids ranging in age from 3 to 10. I now write full time and love it, but there was a time when I worked part-time, raised kids, and wrote as well.

I've lived in rural Pennsylvania all my life, and my husband and I live in a century-and-a-half-old farmhouse on 25 acres in a pastoral Pennsylvania valley. When the snow flies, we escape to our second home on the South Carolina coast for a few months.

And share something about your writing. What's your genre(s), your areas of interest…

I currently write the Pleasant Valley Amish romance series for Berkley Books, as well as an Amish Suspense series for HQN Books and series books for Love Inspired. I enjoy both romance and romantic suspense, and bringing in the Amish element has been a natural step for me, since I'm Pennsylvania Dutch myself and have always lived around the Plain People.

How did you get started writing? Did you have a dream of being a published author? 

When I was eight years old, I read my first Nancy Drew book, The Secret in the Old Clock. Most little girls read that and want to be Nancy Drew. I finished it and wanted to be the person who wrote that wonderful story! It took me a long time to pursue that dream, but eventually I realized that if God was leading me in that direction, I'd better follow!

After you started writing seriously--how long was it before you were published? 

I started writing with short children's stories for Sunday School Take-Home papers. My first submission came back with a form rejection slip. I summoned up my courage and sent it out again—another form rejection, but this time a real live editor had taken the time to write on it, "Nice story. Try us again." I don't know who that person was, but I wish I could thank him or her. That comment encouraged me to send the story out again, and this time it sold! I received a check for $15, took my husband out to dinner, and announced that I was a writer!

Aside from a cup of good, strong coffee, what helps you get all of your "brain cylinders" firing so you can write well? Do you have any favorite places and routines when you write? How many hours a day do you spend writing? 

I'm a tea drinker, so I'll have to skip the coffee part!  I get up, breakfast and do twenty minutes of exercise, dress, and go to the computer. And the next day I do that over again. When I'm constantly involved in the story that way, I find it fairly easy to get back into it and get quickly to work. With my schedule, I don't have time to wait for inspiration—I start writing and trust that the inspiration will come. I try to do my new writing in the morning if at all possible, leaving the later hours for working on things like edits, blogs, interviews, etc.

What has been the biggest help to you in the journey to publication? Writers' conferences? Writing groups? Your mom as your first draft reader? 

I started writing when there was no internet, few writers' conferences, fewer still writing groups. I didn't know another soul who wrote fiction! My education at that time consisted of reading every copy of Writer's Digest and The Writer, reading heavily in the genre I wanted to write, and writing every day. I love the easy access I have now to other writers, with support only a mouse-click away, but I know that it can be done without when necessary.

Is the "writer's life" what you thought it would be? 

I still love writing, but I didn't realize that there would be so much 'business' to writing. In a way, those years before you sell are golden, because then you're writing only for the joy of it. It gets much more complicated when there are contracts involved, though I wouldn't trade it for any life I can imagine. If I won the lottery tomorrow (which is very unlikely, since I never buy a ticket!), I'd still go to the computer and start writing my pages for the day.

What are your biggest distractions?  

My husband standing behind me while I'm typing, waiting for me to stop so he can ask me something. Just ask me, already!

What was one of the best moments in your career and what was one of the worst? 

I'm not sure I can choose, because it keeps changing. As we progress through our careers, our goals continue to move out ahead of us, and I think that's how it should be.

What do you least like about being a writer? Most like? 

I love creating the story—when it's still in my mind, it's perfect, but when I start putting it down on the page, it invariably falls short.

What is the role and importance of an agent? 

I didn't have an agent during the years I wrote for Love Inspired, because I felt able to handle the category contracts on my own. When I was ready to market a longer series, however, I knew that I didn't want to venture into those deep waters without an advocate. And my agent is amazing!

What advice would you give to new writers? 

Read, read, read and write, write, write. There are no shortcuts, and all of us have to write a certain amount of dreck before we get down to the real stories that only we can tell.

Pretend I'm a customer at a bookstore looking for a good book. Give me a one or two sentence promo to convince me to buy your book. 

Sarah's Gift: An Amish midwife faces the destruction of all that is most dear to her when an English doctor files charges against her.

What's on the book horizon for you? 

I'm writing the third in the Amish suspense series, Judgment in Plain Sight; an e-book novella that will be on the Harlequin website in May, Lost in Plain Sight; and I'm starting work on the sixth book in the Pleasant Valley series.

Last question, how can readers find you and your books? Go to my website at www.martaperry.com; look for me at Marta Perry Books on Facebook; or write to me at marta@martaperry.com. If readers would like a signed bookmark and my brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes, they should just send me their mailing addresses.

Thank you for sharing your writing life with my bleaders! (blog + readers = bleaders)

Thursday on Amish Wisdom: Singer/Songwriter Staci Frenes

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in - go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.

I'm thrilled to have Staci on the show this week. I met her a few months ago at an event where she was the speaker. She's a talented singer/songwriter and we'll be playing a few of her songs. We'll also be chatting about making room in our lives for the good stuff. You need to hear this! Thursday at 4:00 PM CST.

More about Staci: Staci Frenes is a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter whose folky-pop music you might hear on CCM or mainstream radio, major TV networks such as NBC, CBS and ABC, and feature films. She tours nationally, singing, speaking and leading worship.  Her latest CD,  Snapshots, is an eclectic group of songwriting demos about love & friendship, faith & change. Staci is a World Vision artist and speaks on behalf of children who live in the poorest areas, many of whom are orphaned and vulnerable. She makes her home in Northern California with her husband, their two kids and yellow lab, Jazz. For more about Staci, please visit www.stacifrenes.com .
  Please leave a comment {HERE} for a chance to win one of Staci's CDs! One winner will be chosen at random and notified next week via email. Don't forget to leave your email addy! :)
What Staci would tell you over coffee:
When I was eight, my Grandma hung proudly on her wall a song I wrote which began, You're awfully sweet, you smell like meat!  From that stunning start I was a flurry of journals and scribbled rhymes that lifted off the page and became melodies. At twelve I begged my non-musical parents for piano and guitar lessons to put these melodies to music. By the time I entered the tumultuous teenage years, writing songs was how I made sense of my friendships, my faith, loneliness, fear. It was how I analyzed, deconstructed and put back together life in all its beautiful chaos. I felt both saved and discovered by it.

During the winter of my twelfth year I was also discovered and saved by an understanding of God and His love for me, something I'd never been told before. I committed my life to Him, and remember, even at such a young age, feeling the beautiful synchronicity of this new faith and my passion for writing songs. The two were inseparable, and became the closest thing to a calling as I have ever known.

I was raised by hardworking, loving and practical parents who recognized my musical leanings but advised me to have some way to earn a living. So, I got a BA in English from UC Berkeley and taught school while spending weekends playing my songs wherever I could: churches, coffeehouses, festivals. I met a boy named Abe who shared my love for God, for music, and for laughing a lot. We got married, and eventually added two beautiful kids (a boy and a girl) and a yellow lab to our family. After a few years and a few albums, I quit teaching and now I travel and sing and write songs, plus make lunches, walk the dog and do dishes.

I want to keep working diligently, with discipline and passion at this thing I'm called to do.  I want to create and find opportunities for my gift because I believe it is the least I can do with what I've been given. It's my investment, my offering, my worship.

Conversations with Dad

On Saturday afternoon, my son Gary and I dropped by to see Dad. Gary has this wonderful joie de vivre. He walked into the Alzheimer's unit with a big smile. He saw my dad and gave him the family two-note whistle (up, down, up down, up down).

(Just a side note...I think that's such a smart way to greet someone with dementia. Other family members go up to Dad, expecting him to remember them. Not fair! Too hard! Gary greeted Dad as if to say, "Hey! I know you!) 

Dad's face lit up--not sure at that point if he recognized Gary or if he just was pleased to have company...but then he shuffled up to Gary. When Dad reached Gary, he leaned over and tightened up his tie knot. It's something he has done with his grandsons for years! Such a grandfatherly thing to do.


Such a small moment...but it warmed our hearts.

Author Spotlight: Ann Gabhart

Welcome to Author Spotlight! Each week will feature a different author. We'll get the scoop behind their writing life and dish a little. The authors will also be giving away a copy of their latest book. FUN.

The winner from last week's Author Spotlight with Patti Lacy is Kristie! Please email my assistant Amy with your mailing address. (amy@litfusegroup.com)

This week is Ann Gabhart is in the Spotlight! To win a copy of Ann's latest book, Angel Sister, leave a comment on this post!

Share a little bit about yourself. Married with kids?

I'm a country girl. I was born in an old farmhouse that was built around a log cabin about a mile from where I live now. To say my roots go deep in this land might be an understatement. My father's family have farmed this land for several generations. I married a man with a farming background and we still live on a farm. We have three children, all happily married, and nine beautiful grandkids. 

I like being country. And I like being a writer. While I know where the country part comes from, I have no idea how I got the writing bug. I can only think the Lord must have had some extra writing seeds on hand when I was born and decided to drop them in me. 

Share a bit about your writing – what you write. Why you write.

I started writing down stories when I was about ten years old and have been writing ever since. I've written lots of different types of stories. That first story long ago was a mystery fashioned along the lines of the Hardy Boy mysteries I enjoyed reading. Never finished that story. I guess I outgrew it. As a teen I wrote typical teenage angst stories nobody in their right mind would ever want to read. I broke into publication with personal experience pieces for Christian magazines. And then I began writing my second novel – you know, the one after that one where I was a Hardy boy mystery solver. I haven't looked back since. I love coming up with characters who I can get to know and live with for months, even years as I write down their stories. I've had over twenty novels published in several different genres. I wrote for the general market for years before Revell Books published my first inspirational novel, The Scent of Lilacs, in 2005. I love writing for the inspirational market where I can tell the whole story – the one about whatever's happening in my characters' lives along with their faith journeys. Readers have enjoyed my Shaker books, but I don't consider myself a "Shaker" writer. If I had to pick a label for my writing right now, it would be a "historical" writer. I enjoy discovering an interesting historical event or era and plopping my characters down in that time and seeing what happens. 

Why do I write? I write because I love to tell stories. I write because I love spilling out words on paper or the computer screen. I write because the Lord blessed me with the gift of words.

Tell us about your current release.

Angel Sister is a story about a family during the Great Depression years. Kate Merritt is fourteen and the middle sister in her family. The responsible sister. When the pressures of the economic times cause her father to turn to the bottle for relief and her mother begins to shut him away, Kate works to hold her family together. And then a little girl is abandoned on the church steps, and the Merritt family will never be the same. The story's romance is between the parents. A flashback WW I story of how they fell in love is woven throughout the book as they try to hold onto that love in the face of the problems besetting them.

Where did you get the idea for this story?

My characters and events are completely fictional, but the seed of the idea came from the stories my mom and her sisters used to tell me about growing up during the Depression years. They were so happy in spite of the hard times and some family hard times too. I borrowed their background. Their dad was a blacksmith and served in WW I. My dad in the book is a blacksmith and served in WW I. There were four sisters in their family. There are four sisters – sort of – in my family. They had a number of odd characters in their community. I picked two of them, imagined reasons for their oddities and dropped them into my story. Mostly I tried to carry over the underlying feeling of family love and perseverance through hard times that I heard in my mom's stories to my fictional family's story in Angel Sister. 

Was it hard taking the stories your mother told you and turning them into a fictional story?

It was harder than I thought it would be. When I wrote my first inspirational novel, The Scent of Lilacs, I used a lot of my memories from growing up in the Sixties for the background. That worked pretty well for me since it helped me find a loving editor for my book and I had so much fun writing about Jocie and her friends in my fictional Hollyhill, Kentucky. The setting, Main Street and the little country church, came straight from what I remembered things were like in my hometown in the Sixties. So I thought it would be a good idea to borrow another background that although I hadn't experienced that era or place firsthand, I did know it through my mother's stories of growing up during the 1930s. I also wanted to in some way tell my mother's story, to show her wonderful spunky spirit.  So I came up with the idea for the story. I had the background, the skeleton of the story with my characters in place. But then the words didn't want to come. I had to realize I wasn't writing a memoir. I was writing fiction. While some of the story carries a few germs of truth from my mother's stories, I had to make the characters mine and separate them from my memories of mom and her sisters. The story I told didn't really happen. I just gathered my people and said what if we pretend it did. And then the Merritt family came to life and told me their story.

Who is your favorite character in this book and why?

It's hard for me to pick a favorite character in any of my books because I have to get under all their skins. Of course there are definitely some characters I wouldn't pick as my best friends, but it's good for a writer to try to turn a sympathetic eye even on her unsavory characters while she's putting them into a story.  Of course in Angel Sister, Kate has to be a favorite since she's the one with my mom's spunky fix things attitude. She's innocent and tough at the same time. Then Lorena captured my heart from her first appearance on the church house steps where she's trying to cover up her toes with her skirt tail. Last I fell in love with Victor, Kate's father, as he struggled with his demons and yet wanted so much to hang onto Nadine's love.

What did you like the most about writing this book?

I definitely liked best getting to go back down memory lane with my mother. Her stories of growing up echoed in my head even while I was making up my own song to sing to her memory tune. I liked getting to know these characters and sharing their challenges and experiencing their victories.

What did you like the least?

There's always a spot in every book where I wonder if my story is going to work. Angel Sister was no different.  I wondered if I was dragging my feet – or should that be fingers – on the plot. Would anybody like my people? Was Fern and her cedar palaces something anybody would believe? That middle sea of doubts shows up in every book and I have to do my best to sail through those doubts and finish the story. It's only after I write "The End" that I can really decide if the story is the one I hoped to tell.

What do you wish you had known when you started writing that you know now?

I wish I had known that as much as I want to write, it's not always going to be easy to find the right words. I wish I could have really believed that rejections were just signposts on the way to acceptances and not been so discouraged by them. I wish I had written a dozen more books.

Tell us how you've dealt with discouragement during your writing career?

Sometimes people ask me what's the most important attribute for a writer and I always say perseverance or sometimes I just country it down and say plain old stubbornness. My stories have been rejected at times and I've been discouraged, but though I told myself over and over in my journal that I should give up, I never did. I always saw hope in the next story. So I never quit writing. The times I was most discouraged I used my journal as a place to vent and weep and somehow each time I got to the end of those journal entries, I was feeling a bit of hope rise out of the disappointments of the day. Tomorrow. Next year. Next book.

I love that Emily Dickinson poem/quote. "Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all." Hope – that's how I dealt with discouragement. Hopes that mirrored my prayers.

Tell us the most encouraging thing that has happened to you while writing a story.

I love it when characters show up out of nowhere. Suddenly they just appear on the stage of your story and make the plot thicken. The first time I remember that happening years ago I was writing a chapter book for young readers called Discovery at Coyote Point. The story seemed to be lagging, and then my character, a boy of twelve, got off the bus at his grandparents' house and a girl climbed down off the bus behind him. Just what the story needed.  So now I am always encouraged when my subconscious pushes that unexpected character or idea out to the forefront of my brain so my story will be better.

Do you have a pet? If so, tell us about it.

I'm a dog lover. When I was about eight, I got the dog hunger and started begging for a dog. It took a while, but finally a family friend showed up with a Collie/Spitz mix pup that I named Ollie after the friend. He wasn't as honored as I thought he would be. Ollie was my first dog and I've never been without a dog by my side since then. Right now I have three dogs. Coffee W. Crutcher is a registered Chocolate Lab given up by his owners because he was too rambunctious. We call him Dub for short. Oscar is a mostly black Lab who was dropped and given to us by the people who first took him in. He's one of those very good dogs. Last I have a Heinz 57 dog called Lucy who definitely has some Beagle in her because she loves to hunt, but her legs are so short she can never catch anything.

Pretend I'm a customer at a bookstore looking for a good book. Give me a one or two sentence promo to convince me to buy your book. 

This is a story of my heart about a family who I hope will capture your heart. They love. They cry. They persevere.

What's on the book horizon for you? 

The Blessed, my fourth Shaker novel, will be released this summer in July. Lacey Bishop is a character I came up with while planning my most recent Shaker book, The Seeker, but she so captured my imagination I didn't want to waste her as a minor character in that book. So I let her tell her whole story in this new book.  There's also a historical novel set in 1850s Louisville with a working title of Words of Fire that may be released early in 2012. And Revell plans to repackage and reissue my Hollyhill books. Right now I'm working on another Shaker novel.

Last question, how can readers find you and your books?

You can visit me at my website www.annhgabhart.com  to find out more about my books and sign up from my newsletter. You can keep up with what's going on in my writing life and down here on the farm by reading my blog, One Writer's Journal, at www.annhgabhart.blogspot.com.

You can also join the conversation on my Facebook author page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-H-Gabhart/132862247566. I'm even trying out Twitter now so you can look me up there if you "tweet."

Thank you for sharing your writing life with my bleaders! (blog + readers = bleaders)

 Thank you so much, Suzanne, for inviting me over to talk about my new book, Angel Sister. I love meeting new reading friends.
 

There's a Baby in the House!

Big news! There's a baby in the house!

Just a week or so ago, my son-in-law found out he was transferred from the East Coast to the West Coast. And...typical of corporate moves...they meant PRONTO. With all of the snow blasting the east coast, my daughter decided to come and stay with us with baby Blake while my son-in-law house hunts and starts his new position. Great news for us!

Little Blake is almost five months old now...just starting to get introduced to the joys of eating. Rice cereal! Yuk!





He's working on sitting up...with a ton of pillows all around him.








On Wednesday, we celebrated my daughter's birthday. Baby Blake was seated in a little bumper chair as we were icing the cake. Big mistake!

Did you win the IPAD????

I've had such fun during this giveaway - thanks for entering The Search KINDLE giveaway and for coming to my Everything Is Coming Up Roses Facebook Party. (if you missed it you can see what happened by clicking on that link.)

I won't delay the news any longer... the winner of the IPAD is Stephanie Christmann, check out her blog at For The Luv of Sanity.

Congrats! My assistant, Amy, will be in touch for your mailing address. Enjoy.

Bertha Riehl's Rose Petal Jam

I thought some of you might enjoy Bertha's recipe for Rose Petal Jam.

Speaking of roses - I hope you'll be joining me at The Everything Is Coming Up Roses Facebook Party tonight. We'll be chatting about The Search, announcing the winner of the iPad, and you could even win ROSES delivered to your door for three months - for you AND a friend. Don't miss the fun!

Rose petal jam is actually a jelly (it doesn't contain fruit, so it will be clear). It has a delicate taste.  Try your rose petal jam with toast or scones or homemade biscuits.

Notes:

Use the rose petals from your garden—without any pesticides or spray. Bertha always thought the Old Fashioned varieties were best to use--dark red with a good scent.

Pick your roses after the morning dew has dried. Check they are fresh, clean and bug free. Pull the petals from the blooms and remove the bitter white (sometimes yellow) "pointy" base of each petal with a sharp knife.
credit: onceuponaplate.blogspot
You'll need these:

A blender, a small saucepan, sterilized jars with sealing lids, a wooden spoon, a strainer and a ladle.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of water
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
2 cups of granulated sugar
1 box (packet) of pectin
petals from 6 roses or about 2 cups

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, coarse chop the rose petals, slowly adding water. Pour mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat off to let the petals steep in the hot water.After 30 minutes, pour mixture through strainer to remove remaining pieces of the petals and place back onto the heat to simmer, covered for another 30 minutes.Add sugar, lemon juice and pectin and stir while simmering until sugar is dissolved.Bring to a boil for 10 minutes or until the mixture begins to set.Pour into hot sterilized jars, seal and refrigerate.
Additional notes…
You could add some edible or fresh petals to the mixture just before pouring into the jars. The color of the roses will change during the process. You might need to experiment with the recipe—depending on the water in your area, the roses, etc.

Have fun! Happy eating!

Thursday on Amish Wisdom: Cindy Woodsmall

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in - go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.

Don't miss Thursday's show - we'll be hearing from New York Times best-selling author, Cindy Woodsmall, whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Cindy will be sharing a sneak peak of her latest book, Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women, (and giving away 2 signed copies) and chatting about her experiences with the Amish. Can't wait.

More about Cindy: CINDY WOODSMALL is a New York Times best-selling author whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. She is the author of The Bridge of Peace, The Hope of Refuge, and The Sound of Sleigh Bells.

Her ability to authentically capture the heart of her characters comes from her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families. Cindy lives in Georgia with her husband, their three sons, and two amazing daughters-in-law.

For more information about Cindy or her other books, please visit www.cindywoodsmall.com .

More about Plain Wisdom: Two friends from different worlds—one Old Order Amish, one Englischer—share the truths that bring them together.

Best-selling novelist Cindy Woodsmall might seem to have little in common with Miriam Flaud, a woman immersed in the culture of Old Order Amish. But with nine children and almost 60 years of marriage between them, Cindy and Miriam both have found the secrets to facing life with strength and grace. Whether enduring financial setbacks, celebrating new babies and times of prosperity, grieving the crushing losses in the deaths of family and friends, or facing disappointments with their respective communities—through it all they find guidance for each day by looking to God.

With poignant recollections, unexpected insights, and humorous tales, the two women welcome you into their unique friendship.  You'll also gain a rare glimpse into the traditions and ways of the Amish as Miriam recalls special occasions and shares family recipes throughout the book.

Plain Wisdom is a heartwarming celebration of God, womanhood, and the search for beauty that unites us all. So grab your cup and your quilt and settle in for a soul-comforting read with Plain Wisdom.

Praise for Plain Wisdom

"A treasure chest, for sure… The wisdom in these stories is time-tested and true—plain and simple."
—Karen Kingsbury, New York Times best-selling author of Unlocked and Shades of Blue

"A fascinating comparison between two starkly different ways of life."
—Donald B. Kraybill, author of The Riddle of Amish Culture

For a chance to win 1 of 2 autographed copies of Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women leave a comment {HERE} (and your email address) and we'll select 2 commenters at random to receive Cindy's book. Winners will be notified next week via email.

Author Spotlight: Patti Lacy

Welcome to Author Spotlight! Each week will feature a different author. We'll get the scoop behind their writing life and dish a little. The authors will also be giving away a copy of their latest book. FUN.

The winner from last week's Author Spotlight with Lynn Dove is Seuss! Please email my assistant Amy with your mailing address. (amy@litfusegroup.com)

This week is Patti Lacy is in the Spotlight! To win a copy of Patti's latest book, The Rhythm of Secrets, leave a comment on this post! And be sure to scroll to the bottom of this email and find out how you can enter Pattie' NOOK Giveaway!

Share a little bit about yourself. Married with kids? Empty nester? Do you work full-time and write when you can squeeze it in?

I'm Patti Lacy, the Normal Novelist. Yep, I really do live in Normal, Illinois, a strange place for a woman who popped into this world from the back seat of a Buick!

After a court reporting career, I returned to the teaching roots established by an education degree from Baylor and my teacher parents and taught Humanities at a community college. In 2005, God whispered for me to write the story of my best friend, a brave Irishwoman who was banished from her beloved cliffs of County Clare, Ireland, when she was only five years old. Kregel Publications published that first story, An Irishwoman's Tale, and ever since, I've been consumed by the passion to write.

Oh! I have a sweet husband, two marvelous grown kids, a son-in-law, two granddogs, and a mutt named Laura!

Share something about your writing. What's your genre(s), your areas of interest?

I love to span seas and secrets, inspired by true stories of women. A five-year-old whose first memory is, "The little eejit's got to go." Two girls, one black, one white, working toys through spaces in a fence, whose chains, along with racism, try to stop them from being friends. A new mother, holding her baby for the first…and last…time during the span of a ten-minute cab ride. How can I NOT write such things?

Oh, the factoids. Sorry! I get carried away! I write women's fiction in the inspirational market.

How did you get started writing? Did you have a dream of being a published author?

I always get ahead of the questions, like having already answered this one. Sigh. Until 2005, all I'd written was embarrassing love letters, maudlin poetry, and esoteric papers for my master's work in literature.

After you started writing seriously--how long was it before you were published?

A little over a year. Attending Write to Publish in Wheaton accelerated my process…I would guess by years. Before you blanch, I really believe we all start writing when we begin reading. I've been gobbling books ever since I was five. Um, fifty years!

Aside from a cup of good, strong coffee, what helps you get all of your "brain cylinders" firing so you can write well? Do you have any favorite places and routines when you write? How many hours a day do you spend writing?

I ALWAYS write in my study, surrounded by my painting friends ( I love Scott Mutter, Herb Eaton, Angel Ambrose) my books, and MY MUSIC!!! Yes, I tap the keys to…Alicia Keyes, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jamey Johnson, Selah, David Crowder Band, the Fray, Tracy Chapman, Switchfoot…you name it! We're talking classical, Celtic, country, sacred, rap, blues, jazz.

My adult kids hooked me up with Pandora, which augments a great CD collection.

Hours in a day writing? Anywhere from five or six to ZERO!

What has been the biggest help to you in the journey to publication? Writers' conferences? Writing groups? Your mom as your first draft reader?

Soulmate critique partners, who GET what I'm doing and will not let me settle for less than the best. An agent who pushes me to the precipice…so I can fly.

I wrote an article for an upcoming Inkwell Inspirations post (2/2 and 2/3) called, "It Takes a Village to Feed a Writer." In my case, it's totally true. The prayer partners, the great editors at the publishing houses, my dog Laura, who "muses from the chair in my study; most importantly, the Holy Spirit, Who whispers instruction, encouragement; truly a co-author!

Is the "writer's life" what you thought it would be? 

No! There are more highs and lows than I ever dreamed possible. My biggest lows have come at "big" moments, like book releases. I never dreamed what's involved in marketing a book, getting a book right, and the aftermath of cutting open your chest, extracting your heart, nestling it in novel pages, and leaving yourself exposed for the whole world to review!

What are your biggest distractions?

Juggling with the various hats of proposal-writer, creator, editor, mentor, seller, publicist.

What was one of the best moments in your career and what was one of the worst?

God has given me SO MANY wonderful moments? Selling out of An Irishwoman's Tale at Milwaukee's IrishFest and STILL corresponding with readers from all over the country.  Barnes & Noble book signings that reach from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Corpus Christi, Texas. Those special e-mails that explain in beautiful prose how my book touched lives.

Worst? Hmmm. When everything about the industry seems to be about $$$.  When the powers-that-be don't get it…and don't seem to be trying so hard.

What do you least like about being a writer? Most like?

The one-on-one writing sessions with God, the worn-out keys, and story snippets.

Dealing with…you guessed it!!...the money. Good thing my agent is a whiz at it!

What is the role and importance of an agent?

Asked and answered ... Natasha Kern is THE GREATEST!

What advice would you give to new writers?

Write for the Audience of One. If you don't it will NEVER BE ENOUGH. Trust me on this one.

Pretend I'm a customer at a bookstore looking for a good book. Give me a one- or two-sentence promo to convince me to buy your book.

I span seas, secrets, and the mysteries of women's hearts to show how God works for good in ALL things: even when your mother gives you away (An Irishwoman's Tale); even in the face of a brutal rape (What the Bayou Saw); even when you were coerced as a teenager to give away your beloved son (The Rhythm of Secrets); even when your family lost its precious jewel (Reclaiming Lily). If you love multicultural, romance, and women's issues, you just may love my books!

How'd ya like THOSE two sentences? :)
Warning: my books are Julie Lessman LOOOOONG

What's on the book horizon for you?

Reclaiming Lily releases with Baker Books in the fall of 2011. Two cultures. Two women. One child. It's a definitely different twist on a China adoption story!

Last question, how can readers find you and your books?

My books are either on the shelves of Barnes & Nobles, Borders, Christian bookstores like Family Christian Bookstore, or can be ordered. Then there's www.amazon.com!

Visit me, folks, at www.pattilacy.com.

I'd love to have you join my Facebook fam and see my daily Art Bite postings (see, I just can't leave that Humanities instructor role!)

Then there's the new Author Page , created JUST for Rhythm of Secrets Facebook party . Don't MISS IT! That Nook, you know…

Thank you for sharing your writing life with my bleaders! (blog + readers = bleaders)

Thank YOU. IT was a blast!

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Patti Lacy is celebrating the release of her latest book with a NOOK Giveaway, blog tour and Book Club Party!

Follow the blog tour and read the reviews!

Patti and her publisher, Kregel Publications, are giving away a NOOK prize package worth over $150 to one lucky winner!!!! 


Enter the Nook eReader Giveaway and you could win:
A brand new Nook eReader with Wi-Fi$25 gift certificate to Barnes & NobleTo enter, simply click on the icons below to fill out the entry form/s, then tell 5 or more friends about the contest. Oh, and enter soon! Winner will be announced on February 16th at Patti's Rhythm of Secrets Facebook Party .

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Patti will be announcing the winner of The Rhythm of Secrets NOOK giveaway at her Party on Facebook  February 16th! 
She'll be hosting a book club discussion of The Rhythm of Secrets and giving away other fun prizes! (signed copies of her books and gift certificates to Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, & iTunes!). Don't miss the fun at Patti's FB Author Page on February 16th at 5pm PST ( 6 pm MST, 7 pm CST, & 8 pm EST)!