Suzanne Woods Fisher's Blog, page 6
October 7, 2019
Author Spotlight with Jan Drexler
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Jan Drexler’s newest book, The Roll of the Drums.
Winner will be announced in the next Author Spotlight feature. Congratulations to Amy B. for winning a copy of Irene Hannon’s Dark Ambitions.
Please email my assistant Christen to claim your prize. Note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will get a small commission if you click and buy from that link.
Jan Drexler delighted Amish fans with The Sound of Distant Thunder, book one in The Amish of Weaver’s Creek series. Now she invites readers to travel back to Holmes County, Ohio, for another engaging story about the Weaver family in The Roll of the Drums.
Ruby Weaver is content being single in her 1863 conservative Amish community. However, Ruby’s ailing friend Lovinia has other ideas. Lovinia makes her husband, Gideon, promise to marry Ruby and has Ruby make a similar promise. With both Ruby and Gideon reluctant to keep their promises, a compromise must be reached. Ruby agrees to be a housekeeper and nanny to the children. Unfortunately, this arrangement raises eyebrows in the community. It soon becomes clear that Ruby must make a decision—marry Gideon or break her promise to her friend. Will Ruby accept Gideon’s proposal or turn her back on the family she has grown to love?
Gideon Fischer’s only desire is to get his family far away from the disastrous effects of the Civil War, find a peaceful place to live, and mourn the death of his wife. However, he has grown to enjoy Ruby’s company and appreciates her help with the housework and the children. But is she the right person to spend the rest of his life with?
Author Spotlight with Jan Drexler
What is a Bible verse that inspires you to keep on writing?
Joshua 1:9, without a doubt. “Have I not commanded you?” is the first part of that verse, but it is seldom quoted. God has given me my orders – He has commanded me. So then comes the rest of the verse: “Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Whenever I’m discouraged or my task seems too hard, this verse reminds me that God has called me, and He equips me for the task. I’m never in this alone.
Describe the moment that you knew you were born to write.
As I was growing up, I assumed that everyone spent their spare time making up stories. I didn’t think it was anything special, and it was a lot of fun. But in college, pursuing a degree in Creative Writing, I became discouraged. I never thought I would write a book, much less be a published author.
But many, many years later, after raising and homeschooling our children (a full-time career right there!) I found myself facing retirement as the children graduated from our homeschool one by one. That’s when my husband stepped in and bought a computer for me to use “for your writing.” Until he said that, I hadn’t realized how strong the urge to write had become. But he had seen it and recognized it. I’ll always be grateful to him for that.
________ is your escape from writing, because it makes you feel ________.
Spending time in the Black Hills, hiking, camping, or just driving though is my escape from writing because it makes me feel refreshed and renewed like nothing else. Fresh air, pine trees, blue skies…. It’s my happy place.
Name a book you’ve read that made a difference to you (or to others).
Other than the Bible, the next book that has been influential in my life is Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. His command of the language constantly amazes me and inspires me to dig deeper with every sentence I write. He also wrote an epic work that covered his story-world on a grand scale but was able to pull his readers into a small, intimate meal with friends, or into the depths of Gollum’s tormented soul.
What’s your strategy for coping with bad reviews?
I read all my reviews, bad or good. If multiple reviewers mention something they didn’t like, then I examine whatever it is. Sometimes it has helped me tighten my writing on the next book or start the next story differently.
On the other hand, if I don’t agree with the reviewer, I take a little while to soothe my hurt feelings with a bit of chocolate, then put it behind me. No writer can make every reader happy!
Purchase a copy of The Roll of the Drums
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Jan Drexler brings a unique understanding of Amish traditions and beliefs to her writing. Her ancestors were among the first Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren immigrants to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, and their experiences are the inspiration for her stories. Jan lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband, where she enjoys hiking and spending time with her expanding family. She is the author The Sound of Distant Thunder, Hannah’s Choice, Mattie’s Pledge (a 2017 Holt Medallion finalist), and Naomi’s Hope, as well as several LOVE INSPIRED historical novels.
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October 4, 2019
Caption This!
Last week’s caption winner goes to Erika Luther for “This traffic is ruff!”
Erika, send me an email with your mailing address and I’ll pop a book in the mail to you.
Here’s this week photo that’s waiting for your wit:
Caption away! And remember to check back next Friday to see if you might be this week’s winner.
October 1, 2019
Release Day for “Stitches in Time!” Let’s celebrate!
Luke Schrock is now the deacon for the little Amish church of Stoney Ridge. (Yes, yes, I know…hard to believe! After all, Luke’s a reformed juvenile delinquent. But you’ll soon see why…)
As a reluctant deacon, Luke asks one question of his church.
One small question.
And everything changes.
Help me celebrate the release of Stitches in Time ! Consider yourself invited to toss your name in the bonnet for a chance to win the wonderfully autumnal “Fall in Love with This Story” giveaway.
CLICK HERE to enter!
September 30, 2019
Author Spotlight with Irene Hannon
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Irene Hannon’s newest book, Dark Ambitions.
Winner will be announced in the next Author Spotlight feature. Congratulations to Wendy Newcomb for winning a copy of Regina Scott’s A Distance too Grand.
Please email my assistant Christen to claim your prize. Note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will get a small commission if you click and buy from that link.
Bestselling author Irene Hannon is an award-winning novelist who has the gift of delivering a perfect mix of intrigue and romance. With combined total sales of over 3.5 million, Hannon has established herself as a leading author in the romantic suspense category. Her fans continue to grow with each new series, and her newest book, Dark Ambitions (book 3 in the Code of Honor series), will mesmerize readers as Hannon ramps up the action once again in this fast-paced saga.
Former Army Night Stalker Rick Jordan runs a camp for foster kids, which has proven to be a peaceful refuge especially during the winter months when he has the camp to himself. But when Rick discovers a trail of blood on the frosty ground, his previous training kicks into high gear. One of the clues left behind tips Rick off to the identity of his visitor, but he soon learns that the visitor is dead. The police claim it was an accident, but Rick isn’t convinced. With the help of private investigator Heather Shields, he sets out to decipher the remaining clue. Except someone doesn’t want them to succeed—and will stop at nothing to keep them from finding the truth.
With her trademark psychological suspense ratcheting up the tension on every page, bestselling and award-winning author Irene Hannon takes you on a search for a cold-blooded killer with an ambitious goal and deadly intent.
Author Spotlight with Irene Hannon
What is a Bible verse that inspires you to keep on writing?
I have two favorite Bible verses that influence everything I do in life. The first is I Corinthians 13:13—“So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” This verse is the reason love is such an important part of all my books. Romantic love, certainly, but also the love between parents and children, friends, siblings…all the many types of love we experience in our lives. In every book, I try to demonstrate the tremendous power of love—both human and divine—to transform lives. The second verse is Matthew 6:21—“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” I’ve always considered my ability to write and tell stories a gift…a treasure…and so I put my heart into every story I tell, seeking to entertain, uplift, and inspire.
Describe the moment that you knew you were born to write.
Honestly, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. I always had a passion for creating magic with words. I ended up getting a master’s degree in journalism and worked for many years in the corporate communications department of a Fortune 500 company, where I wrote every day. But I had a great love for fiction, and eventually, I decided to try my hand at writing a novel. The rest is history!
________ is your escape from writing, because it makes you feel ________.
I love to sing, and performing in musical theater productions is my escape from writing because it requires me to immerse myself in a character, to become someone else for a short time. And singing, whether in a theater or church or some other setting, requires absolute concentration if you want to do it well. Without an activity like that, which fully engages the mind, novelists can never escape their job because the brain is always working on the book in progress. That’s the bane—and the beauty—of the profession.
What’s your strategy for coping with bad reviews?
In this business, you have to develop a thick skin. There will always be someone who doesn’t care for your books. It’s hard not to take that personally because writing is such a personal exercise. Authors pour their hearts into their books, and it hurts when someone doesn’t like or appreciate what you’ve written. But after 55+ books, I’ve learned to enjoy the good reviews, be open to constructive criticism, and ignore the unkind comments.
Purchase a copy of Dark Ambitions
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Irene Hannon is the bestselling and award-winning author of more than fifty contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels, including Dangerous Illusions and Hidden Peril, as well as the MEN OF VALOR, HEROES OF QUANTICO, GUARDIANS OF JUSTICE, and PRIVATE JUSTICE series. In addition to her many other honors, she is a three-time winner of the prestigious RITA Award from Romance Writers of America. She is also a member of RWA’s elite Hall of Fame and has received a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews. Each of her suspense novels have been ECPA/CBA bestsellers.
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September 26, 2019
Caption This!
Last week’s caption winner is Edward Arrington, for his “A little angel cake from a little angel.”
Very sweet caption, Edward! Email me and I’ll pop a signed book in the mail to you.
Here’s this week’s photo. Caption away! Check back next Friday to see if you’ve won. Thanks for chiming in, everyone!
September 23, 2019
Author Spotlight with Regina Scott
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Regina Scott’s newest book, A Distance too Grand.
Winner will be announced in the next Author Spotlight feature. Congratulations to Barb Dawson for winning a copy of James R. Hannibal’s The Gryphon Heist.
Please email my assistant Christen to claim your prize. Note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will get a small commission if you click and buy from that link.
This year the Grand Canyon National Park will celebrate its centennial anniversary, and award-winning author Regina Scott is honoring this momentous occasion with the release of A Distance to Grand, book one in the American Wonders Collection. In this captivating novel, Scott invites readers to experience both romance and intrigue in the majestic beauty of the Grand Canyon.
When her father dies, Meg Pero is determined to take over his profession. Her first task is to fulfill his last contract with the Army, which entails joining a survey crew exploring the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, women photographers are rare and the head of the expedition is none other than the man she once refused to marry, Captain Ben Coleridge. Undeterred by this fact, Meg presses on to regain the life she loved and continue her father’s legacy.
Captain Ben Coleridge is eager to begin his new assignment, but there is much more at stake than surveying the land. He is following the route of his missing father in an attempt to find out what happened to him. As danger lurks from both nature and man, Meg and Ben must work together to accomplish their goals, safeguard the expedition, and fulfill the Army’s commission. Can they find a way to the end of the trail and to the love they thought they left behind?
Author Spotlight with Regina Scott
What is a Bible verse that inspires you to keep on writing?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 He’ll make your writing straight too.
Describe the moment that you knew you were born to write.
I loved reading as a child, from the moment my mother first read to me through when I could read stories for myself. When I realized “someone” wrote these wonderful stories, created these worlds, I knew I wanted to be a writer and share stories with others.
What’s your strategy for coping with bad reviews?
Don’t read them. 
September 20, 2019
Caption This!
The winner of last week’s pix of my little fourteen month-old granddaughter at a grand piano (not my piano!) is: Lavon Sheree for “Carnegie Hall, here I come!” Email me with your mailing address, Lavon, and I’ll pop a signed book in the mail to you. Thanks to everyone for chiming in!
Here’s this week’s photo-to-caption, waiting for your wit. My grandson was “helping” me bake his mom’s birthday cake. I turned around for just a few seconds…
September 16, 2019
Author Spotlight with James R. Hannibal
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of James R. Hannibal’s newest book, The Gryphon Heist.
Winner will be announced in the next Author Spotlight feature. Congratulations to Robin Weiss for winning a copy of Jane Kirkpatrick’s One More River to Cross.
Please email my assistant Christen to claim your prize. Note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will get a small commission if you click and buy from that link.
In this Ocean’s Eleven–meets–Mission Impossible thriller, former tactical deception officer and stealth pilot James R. Hannibal plunges readers into a labyrinth of action, con men, and global espionage. The Gryphon Heist is a nonstop, electrifying ride that will take readers into the most daring burglary ever conceived.
Talia Inger is a rookie CIA case officer who had high hopes of being assigned to the Moscow desk but is instead relegated to the forgotten backwaters of Eastern Europe. She is tasked with helping a young, charming Moldovan executive secure his designs for a revolutionary defense technology. Talia assumes this assignment will be clear-cut, but that’s before she knows where the designs are stored—and who’s after them. She is soon embroiled in a high stakes race to stop the theft of the
secret weapon design and a potential attack on Washington DC.
With her shady civilian partner, Adam Tyler, Talia takes a deep dive into a world where only criminal minds and unlikely strategies will keep the Gryphon, a high-altitude data vault, hovering in the mesosphere. Even Tyler is more than he seems, and Talia begins to wonder: Is he helping her? Or using her access to CIA resources to pull off an epic heist for his own dark purposes? Who is conning who?
Author Spotlight with James R. Hannibal
What is a Bible verse that inspires you to keep on writing?
Most Christians will recognize “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 (NASB). But how does that relate to writing?
The Seek Ye First command is all about the mission—the kingdom mission. During my military days, all other goals, desires, and distractions gave way to an all-important concept. Mission first. Always. As Christians, we are called to the same mission-first ideal. You can find our mission summarized at the end of Matthew 28. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .” Clear away the haze of our goals, desires, and distractions, and the kingdom mission remains.
We all serve the kingdom mission in different ways, just as pilots, intelligence officers, and finance clerks all serve the military mission. My job is reaching others through story-telling. I’ve known this for a long time. “Seek first his kingdom” reminds me daily to stay on target—to put the kingdom mission first.
Describe the moment that you knew you were born to write.
I knew I was born to create stories at a young age. I can’t pin down the exact date. Sometime in early elementary school, I saw an illustration of a child watching a fair from the edge of a forest. There were tents, people, a juggling jester—an aura of magic. I don’t remember the book. It might have been a seek-and-find book. I’ve never been able to find it. So many stories of that boy watching the jester and the fair from the trees came unbidden to my mind in the days that followed. The author hadn’t told them. I knew I would have to.
What’s your strategy for coping with bad reviews?
The correct strategy is “Don’t read reviews.” This was the consensus of several authors during a coffee-shop discussion after we’d been asked to supply a writers conference with video readings of our worst reviews. You cannot control reviews or reviewers. You cannot please everyone. And if you are an outspoken Christian writing for the ABA market, you will be targeted. Stop looking at Goodreads and get back to work.
If for some reason you couldn’t write anymore, what would you do with your gift of communication?
I recently had the opportunity to study oral storytelling with master storytellers Steven James, Tim Lowry, and Tony Marr. I love the direct interaction and feedback of working through a story together with listeners. I have a lot to learn, but if I lost my ability to write, I’d hit the road, travel the world with my family, and tell stories. Maybe along the way, I’d find that kid watching the fair from the trees. I’d take his hand, and together we’d go introduce ourselves to the jester.
Describe your worst writing moment.
I run every chapter by my wife as soon as it’s finished. She’ll give me straight answers. Thumbs-up. Thumbs-down. No sugar-coating. One day I chose not to listen. She didn’t like my spectacled bear. I loved that bear. I dreamed about that bear. I still dream about that bear. Keep in mind, this was a children’s book. My wife told me the bear didn’t work and suggested a calico cat. I told her she was crazy and sent the chapter to my editor. “I love it,” he said. “Except for the bear. The bear doesn’t work. Get rid of it. Have you considered a cat?”
By the time the book hit the shelves, my spectacled bear had morphed into two inseparable characters, a blind librarian and a calico cat. Everybody loves that cat. Stupid cat.
Purchase a copy of The Gryphon Heist
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James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. A former stealth pilot from Houston, Texas, he has been shot at, locked up with surface-to-air missiles, and chased down a winding German road by an armed terrorist. He is a two-time Silver Falchion Award winner for his Section 13 mysteries for kids and a Thriller Award nominee for his Nick Baron covert ops series for adults. James is a rare multi-sense synesthete, meaning all of his senses intersect. He sees and feels sounds and smells and hears flashes of light. If he tells you the chocolate cake you offered smells blue and sticky, take it as a compliment.
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September 13, 2019
Caption This!
Lots of options to choose from last week! It was hard to pick just one…but the winner of last week’s caption contest is….”Long lost relatives” by bn100. (Our big family has some of those!)
Email me, bn100, with your mailing info and I’ll send you a signed book!
Here’s this week’s photo to inspire your wit. Be sure to check back next Friday to see if you’re a winner of a signed book!
September 9, 2019
Author Spotlight with Jane Kirkpatrick
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Jane Kirkpatrick’s newest book, One More River to Cross.
Winner will be announced in the next Author Spotlight feature. Congratulations to Tera Ritchey Weaver for winning a copy of Erin Bartels’ The Worlds Between Us.
Please email my assistant Christen to claim your prize. Note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will get a small commission if you click and buy from that link.
With more than 1.5 million copies sold, award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick has become well known for her historical novels based upon real-life events. Kirkpatrick’s newest novel, One More River to Cross, is another compelling reconstruction of the true survival story of the Stevens-Murphy wagon train which had to endure storms, bad timing, and desperate decisions to outlast the winter in the untamed Sierra Nevadas.
In 1844, the Stevens-Murphy company left Missouri hoping to be the first wagons into California. Mostly Irish Catholic, they sought religious freedom and education. All went well—until October when a heavy snowstorm forced the party to separate in four directions. Each group risked losing those they loved as they planned their escapes, waited for rescue . . . or even their own deaths.
Kirkpatrick plunges readers deep into a landscape of challenge where eight women, seventeen children, and the men of the journey discover that fear and courage go hand in hand. One More River to Cross is a story of friendship, family, risk, and hope that will remind you of what truly matters in times of trial.
Author Spotlight with Jane Kirkpatrick
What is a Bible verse that inspires you to keep on writing?
The Lord knows my lot. He makes my boundaries fall on pleasant places. Psalm 16:5-6 I’m also partial to Proverbs 13:19: Desire achieved is a sweetness to the soul.
Describe the moment that you knew you were born to write.
My husband and I had made a decision that flabbergasted our family and friends. We quit our jobs and moved to 160 acres of rattlesnake, rocks, twelve foot tall sagebrush along a wild and scenic river in north central Oregon. Oh, and it had the promise of a spring. I left my job as the director of a mental health clinic; my husband was a contractor. We felt called to go to this remote place: address 99997 Starvation Lane. While I had finally decided to do this wild thing, I was using the Navigator Bible Study titled God’s Purpose for my life (I think that was the title. This was 1984). I sat in my family room and thought, what will I do at this place? We would be living 7 miles from our mailbox and 11 miles from a paved road (a rural 7-11 without convenience). It had no structures, no water, no power, no phone for sure and this was before cell service. I feared my husband and I might do each other in and be dead for weeks before anyone even knew! So, I prayed about what I might do there and I felt this word come write. Write? I thought. I had written wretched little poems as a child and my teachers had said kind things about my writing all through my post-college years. But my writing had been administrative as the director of an agency. I did know that when I wrote a letter to my legislator or agency head, I always heard back, even got a phone call. So, I knew words had power. I just never imagined I’d write words that others might want to read. But I took that word write to heart. Signed up for a local creative writing class at a community college. My instructor was Bob Welch, a now famous writer and then he headed the sports section of the local newspaper. He suggested that I might publish some of the assignments he gave – and I did getting a two page spread in a national magazine two days before we moved. Then on the ranch, I’d write letters to family and friends to assure them that we were still alive and one wrote back and said “When we get your letters, we don’t read them right away. We wait until after supper and we turn off the tv and read them aloud as they are like chapters in a book.” That inspired me to write about our journey to step out on a cloud of faith believing we wouldn’t fall through. Thirty-two books later, we are still walking on that cloud trusting. We lived on that homestead for nearly 30 years and now it is part of Oregon’s newest state park! A happy ending!
Describe an Aha! moment.
In A Sweetness to the Soul, I had created a character early on who was a minor character I named Eleanor. She was a mute and I liked her but I didn’t really have a place for her in the story after this one scene. I knew I’d have to cut her because I had spent too much time on her and readers would expect to see her again. “I’ll do it later,” I decided and kept writing. I arrived at a point in the story where I knew this family I was writing about had actually build a home for a couple with five children. No one knew the name of them but I had the protagonist knock on the tent door and when the flat opened…there stood Eleanor. I was so happy! She didn’t have to be reduced. She was the perfect person for that moment and I was as surprised as she was I suspect! That’s when I knew that stories take on a life of their own.
Reading a good book is your escape from writing, because it makes you feel wonderful. I’m lost to another author’s ability to take me on a journey and keep me there. Only later do I go back to see how that author did that. Mostly, I enjoy disappearing into that other world and becoming refreshed. Sometimes though, the other book is soooo good I have to work at not saying to myself “Why do I try? I wish I could write like that.” But mostly I am grateful for those author’s who sweep me away.
Name a book you’ve read that made a difference to you (or to others).
The children’s book What You Know First by Patricia McLachlan. It’s a moving story about a little girl who doesn’t want to leave a place she loves and how she is finally convinced to do so in order to teach her little brother about the sounds and smells and sights of what he knew first. I use it in teaching writing classes to young children. I am always blessed by the message about how to leave and what one takes with them on the journey.
What’s your strategy for coping with bad reviews?
Someone once said that at the first sign of a negative adjective in a review he threw the review away. He said he also throws good reviews away but he reads them all the way through. I’m adopting that process.
If for some reason you couldn’t write any more, what would you do with your gift of communication?
I’d do public speaking. I do that now quite a bit, as a keynote for conferences, as a fundraiser speaker for non-profit organizations that matter to me like First Presbyterian Bend or educational foundations, American Association of University Women and others. Speaking is a different sort of skill but I find it gratifying to inspire people and encourage them to write their own stories. And if I couldn’t travel or write I’d volunteer to work with traumatic brain injured people or others with disabilities.
Describe your best writing moment.
When I finish a chapter that has a cliffhanger and I don’t know what the next chapter will bring but the next morning…something arrives to move the story forward. That’s when I feel like writing is a team effort or as Madeleine L’Engle once wrote that when we create, we co-create. We co-create with readers and with our muse, with the Holy Spirit guiding us.
Describe your worst writing moment.
Working on the galley queries from editors asking about inconsistencies in the story or how I repeated the word “light” a hundred times or some other word like “seemed” as in “She seemed to be happy.” Was she happy or wasn’t she? And show us happy instead of telling us! I try to find those intrusive words BEFORE I turn in the manuscript and feel really embarrassed that so far along in the publication process, where we’ll almost ready to go to press that I am still finding mistakes I have to correct. I feel sorry for my editors.
What book would you write if you could write any book?
I have to say that I’ve been blessed and privileged to be able to write the books I’ve wanted to write.
What’s the best advice you ever received?
Keep your word. It’s all you have in the end. From my dairy-farmer father.
Purchase a copy of One More River to Cross
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For more information on the incredible journey in One More River to Cross click HERE.
Jane Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA bestselling and award-winning author of more than 30 books, including Everything She Didn’t Say, All She Left Behind, A Light in the Wilderness, The Memory Weaver, This Road We Traveled, and A Sweetness to the Soul, which won the prestigious Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center. Her works have won the WILLA Literary Award, the Carol Award for Historical Fiction, and the 2016 Will Rogers Medallion Award. Jane lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry.
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