Erica Vetsch's Blog, page 152
March 17, 2017
Interview & #Giveaway with Author Sarah Sundin
Plug your ears. I'm (Jaime) going to scream! Sarah Sundin is on the blog today! You have no idea what this does to me. She's one of my all-time favorite authors. I totally fan-girled when I met her at a writer's conference a few years ago. She may not KNOW I fan-girled because I stood there impassive and making small talk, but inside, I was doing cartwheels and throwing garbagebag-fulls of confetti.
That being said, if you love WWII history, fiction, and romance, Sarah's books will make your bookshelves swell with pride. Her stories are the perfect balance between all three. I'm a WWII junkie, of sorts. In fact, if you visited my office, you'd think I wrote WWII fiction because my entire office is decorate 1940's with WWII artifacts and newsclippings. But I don't write WWII fiction, because Sarah does it soooooo much better and I love to have a genre to sit back and just drink in like a fine wine -- or cup of really good coffee.
SO! ENJOY meeting Sarah, and be sure to read to the end because she is giving away a copy of her newest release!
_________________________________________
Thank you so much for visiting us today here at the CCC blog! Can you tell us about your latest release and what inspired you to write the story?
When Tides Turn is the third book in the Waves of Freedom series, but it stands alone. When Quintessa Beaumont learns the US Navy has established the WAVES program for women, she enlists, eager to throw off her frivolous ways and contribute to the war effort. Lt. Dan Avery employs his skills in antisubmarine warfare to fight U-boats at the peak of the Battle of the Atlantic, but the last thing he wants to see on his radar is fun-loving Tess. As Dan and Tess work together in Boston, the changes in Tess challenge his notions—and his heart.
The novel was inspired by history and by two characters who needed a story. For the plot, I wanted to finish the story of the US involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic that I began in Through Waters Deep. In this book, my naval officer hero is involved in the climax and the turning point of the long struggle between Allied warships and German U-boats. As for the characters, Dan Avery had appeared in the earlier books as the no-nonsense oldest brother, determined to make admiral and to avoid distractions, especially of the feminine variety. And Quintessa Beaumont was the vivacious friend who introduced some…drama…in the earlier books and received some humbling. I knew Tess needed to challenge herself and to find some purpose.
Of all your characters in this story, which one did you enjoy writing the most and why?
I don’t know why, but I often have the most fun with my male characters. Dan is so black-and-white, and it was fun being in the head of someone who knows his own mind so thoroughly. And then to shake him up and make him rethink all his assumptions.
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play them?
I’m probably the only author today who doesn’t “cast” her characters. I see them so clearly in my head, I rarely find faces that match. Then I have to scramble to find pictures for cover questionnaires and names for interviews like this. And even then, I’m drawn to classic movie stars for the right look and feel. For Tess, I’d pick Betty Grable—perky and beautiful, but in a friendly, accessible way. For Dan, I’d choose Tyrone Power with his rugged dark good looks. But really, can’t I pick the cover models? They’re absolutely perfect! I’ve been in contact with the family of the woman who “plays Tess,” and apparently she has a similar personality—sweet and vivacious. Isn’t that fun?
How did you decide on the setting/location for this novel?
For the Waves of Freedom series, I wanted to tell the story of the US Navy’s involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic, plus have Home Front mysteries for my heroines. I needed an East Coast city with a destroyer base for my naval officers and a Navy Yard for the sabotage mystery in the first novel. Boston met those requirements, plus I’ve visited the city several times and just love it. The more I researched, the more I realized Boston was the perfect setting for the series.
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it and why?
I don’t think I could write a story set primarily in a Nazi concentration camp or a Japanese POW camp. Those stories must be told, but I’m not the author to do so. I know myself too well—I think it would devastate me.
Moving on from your story, tell us a little about yourself. We’ll help! What literary character is most like you and why?
Oh goodness. I identify a bit with almost every character I read about. Like all novelists, I have a lot of Anne Shirley’s dreaminess—although I don’t share her penchant for getting in trouble. I have a lot of Hermione Granger’s attention to detail at the expense of social skills. I have a lot of Anne Elliot’s (Persuasion) quiet perseverance. I’ve learned courage, fortitude, and balance from fictional characters.
What strange writing habits do you have? Like standing on your head while you write with a pen between your teeth?
Huh. I’m odd, but I’ve never been able to stand on my head. What most people think strange about my writing habits is my excessive pre-writing. I do lots of preparation before I start the rough draft—character charts and plot charts and outlines and scene sketches. And research too. See Hermione above.
Do you have a writing mentor, or another author who has inspired/encouraged you in some way?
SO many! I’ve been blessed by dozens of authors who have taught, encouraged, and pushed me along this road. Writers’ conferences, especially Mount Hermon and ACFW, have introduced me to some of my best friends and mentors—and now mentees as well!
We talk a lot about faith and how it weaves throughout our fiction, here at the blog. How has your faith affected/or not affected your writing?
Faith is deeply ingrained in my writing. Usually in my rough draft I think I’m not getting “spiritual enough.” Then I re-read it before editing and see the faith thread. It just comes out. Often I have to edit it down a bit! Since God is such a part of my life, He colors how I see the world and how I portray it on the page. I don’t see how I could write a novel without faith as an element—it would feel so restrictive.
Because Jaime has some darker elements to her split-time historical and contemporary romantic suspense coming out this year, she likes to ask weird questions. So, if you were responsible to write your own epitaph for your tombstone, what would it say?
Mother, pharmacist, author. She never could decide what she wanted to be when she grew up.
Anne is an insatiable romantic with a serious vintage aura in all she writes. Do you have fabulous love story in your family history that you could share with us in a few words? If not, what about your own?
I love my parents’ story because it defies expectations. They met on a blind date set up by my father’s fraternity brother at the University of Michigan in September. He gave her his pin a few months later. They never officially got engaged. They eloped in January, and didn’t tell their parents until they learned I was on the way. I was born in November (don’t bother counting—it was ten months, all right!). And their marriage grows stronger every day—they celebrated fifty-two years this January.
Erica and Gabrielle both write sweet historical romances. How does romance influence your own writing?
I’m a hopeless romantic. Every movie I watch or book I read—I seek the romance. And I’m disappointed if it isn’t there or it’s weak. When I’m writing, the romantic plot drives the story in my mind. The action plots interest me and the emotional/spiritual arcs draw me deep, but the romance is what keeps me at the keyboard. Writing a fun bit of banter or a juicy kiss—that makes my day!
We’d love you have you share a snippet from your novel to entice us and hook us! J Please share something below:
This is from the first chapter of When Tides Turn. Quintessa Beaumont is working at Filene’s, a department store in Boston. Her roommate’s big brother, naval officer Lt. Dan Avery, comes to buy a birthday gift for his mother.
“How about this?” Quintessa held up a tailored cream blouse with a brown yoke and short brown sleeves. An embroidered green vine with delicate yellow flowers softened the border between cream and brown.“I’ll take it.”“Let’s see what else we have.”“Why?” Dan gestured to the blouse. “Is it her size?”“Yes.”“Do you think she’ll like it?”“Well, yes, but—”“I’ll take it.”The man certainly knew his mind. One of many things she found attractive about him. “All right then.”Quintessa took the blouse to the cash register and rang up the purchase. “How are things at the Anti-Submarine Warfare Unit?”One dark eyebrow lifted, and he pulled out his wallet. “We’re making progress, but personally, I want to get back out to sea.”“That’s where the excitement is.”“And the real work. We finally have convoys along the East Coast, and we’ve pretty much driven the U-boats away. But they’re back to their old hunting grounds in the North Atlantic, and they’re wreaking havoc in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The battle’s constantly changing, and we have to stay on top of it.”Quintessa focused on making change. Concentration was always difficult when Dan Avery spoke about the war or ships or the Navy. Passion lit the strong lines of his face and animated his firm mouth. If only he’d remove his white officer’s cap and run his hand through his wavy black hair. The wildness of it.
__________________________________
OH my! A Naval officer with black hair and strong lines? *Jaime just geeked out*
Do ya'll see what I mean? It's like a modern-day Hermoine Granger meets 1940 meets romance. Happy sighs.
Get your copy of this novel today!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/When-Tides-Turn-Waves-Freedom/dp/0800723449/.Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-tides-turn-sarah-sundin/1123923492?ean=9780800723446.ChristianBook.com: https://www.christianbook.com/when-tides-turn-3/sarah-sundin/9780800723446/pd/723444?event=SERIES
And don't forget a chance to win a copy too!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
That being said, if you love WWII history, fiction, and romance, Sarah's books will make your bookshelves swell with pride. Her stories are the perfect balance between all three. I'm a WWII junkie, of sorts. In fact, if you visited my office, you'd think I wrote WWII fiction because my entire office is decorate 1940's with WWII artifacts and newsclippings. But I don't write WWII fiction, because Sarah does it soooooo much better and I love to have a genre to sit back and just drink in like a fine wine -- or cup of really good coffee.
SO! ENJOY meeting Sarah, and be sure to read to the end because she is giving away a copy of her newest release!_________________________________________
Thank you so much for visiting us today here at the CCC blog! Can you tell us about your latest release and what inspired you to write the story?
When Tides Turn is the third book in the Waves of Freedom series, but it stands alone. When Quintessa Beaumont learns the US Navy has established the WAVES program for women, she enlists, eager to throw off her frivolous ways and contribute to the war effort. Lt. Dan Avery employs his skills in antisubmarine warfare to fight U-boats at the peak of the Battle of the Atlantic, but the last thing he wants to see on his radar is fun-loving Tess. As Dan and Tess work together in Boston, the changes in Tess challenge his notions—and his heart.
The novel was inspired by history and by two characters who needed a story. For the plot, I wanted to finish the story of the US involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic that I began in Through Waters Deep. In this book, my naval officer hero is involved in the climax and the turning point of the long struggle between Allied warships and German U-boats. As for the characters, Dan Avery had appeared in the earlier books as the no-nonsense oldest brother, determined to make admiral and to avoid distractions, especially of the feminine variety. And Quintessa Beaumont was the vivacious friend who introduced some…drama…in the earlier books and received some humbling. I knew Tess needed to challenge herself and to find some purpose.
Of all your characters in this story, which one did you enjoy writing the most and why?
I don’t know why, but I often have the most fun with my male characters. Dan is so black-and-white, and it was fun being in the head of someone who knows his own mind so thoroughly. And then to shake him up and make him rethink all his assumptions.
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play them?
I’m probably the only author today who doesn’t “cast” her characters. I see them so clearly in my head, I rarely find faces that match. Then I have to scramble to find pictures for cover questionnaires and names for interviews like this. And even then, I’m drawn to classic movie stars for the right look and feel. For Tess, I’d pick Betty Grable—perky and beautiful, but in a friendly, accessible way. For Dan, I’d choose Tyrone Power with his rugged dark good looks. But really, can’t I pick the cover models? They’re absolutely perfect! I’ve been in contact with the family of the woman who “plays Tess,” and apparently she has a similar personality—sweet and vivacious. Isn’t that fun?
How did you decide on the setting/location for this novel?
For the Waves of Freedom series, I wanted to tell the story of the US Navy’s involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic, plus have Home Front mysteries for my heroines. I needed an East Coast city with a destroyer base for my naval officers and a Navy Yard for the sabotage mystery in the first novel. Boston met those requirements, plus I’ve visited the city several times and just love it. The more I researched, the more I realized Boston was the perfect setting for the series.
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it and why?
I don’t think I could write a story set primarily in a Nazi concentration camp or a Japanese POW camp. Those stories must be told, but I’m not the author to do so. I know myself too well—I think it would devastate me.
Moving on from your story, tell us a little about yourself. We’ll help! What literary character is most like you and why?
Oh goodness. I identify a bit with almost every character I read about. Like all novelists, I have a lot of Anne Shirley’s dreaminess—although I don’t share her penchant for getting in trouble. I have a lot of Hermione Granger’s attention to detail at the expense of social skills. I have a lot of Anne Elliot’s (Persuasion) quiet perseverance. I’ve learned courage, fortitude, and balance from fictional characters.
What strange writing habits do you have? Like standing on your head while you write with a pen between your teeth?
Huh. I’m odd, but I’ve never been able to stand on my head. What most people think strange about my writing habits is my excessive pre-writing. I do lots of preparation before I start the rough draft—character charts and plot charts and outlines and scene sketches. And research too. See Hermione above.
Do you have a writing mentor, or another author who has inspired/encouraged you in some way?
SO many! I’ve been blessed by dozens of authors who have taught, encouraged, and pushed me along this road. Writers’ conferences, especially Mount Hermon and ACFW, have introduced me to some of my best friends and mentors—and now mentees as well!
We talk a lot about faith and how it weaves throughout our fiction, here at the blog. How has your faith affected/or not affected your writing?
Faith is deeply ingrained in my writing. Usually in my rough draft I think I’m not getting “spiritual enough.” Then I re-read it before editing and see the faith thread. It just comes out. Often I have to edit it down a bit! Since God is such a part of my life, He colors how I see the world and how I portray it on the page. I don’t see how I could write a novel without faith as an element—it would feel so restrictive.
Because Jaime has some darker elements to her split-time historical and contemporary romantic suspense coming out this year, she likes to ask weird questions. So, if you were responsible to write your own epitaph for your tombstone, what would it say?
Mother, pharmacist, author. She never could decide what she wanted to be when she grew up.
Anne is an insatiable romantic with a serious vintage aura in all she writes. Do you have fabulous love story in your family history that you could share with us in a few words? If not, what about your own?
I love my parents’ story because it defies expectations. They met on a blind date set up by my father’s fraternity brother at the University of Michigan in September. He gave her his pin a few months later. They never officially got engaged. They eloped in January, and didn’t tell their parents until they learned I was on the way. I was born in November (don’t bother counting—it was ten months, all right!). And their marriage grows stronger every day—they celebrated fifty-two years this January.
Erica and Gabrielle both write sweet historical romances. How does romance influence your own writing?
I’m a hopeless romantic. Every movie I watch or book I read—I seek the romance. And I’m disappointed if it isn’t there or it’s weak. When I’m writing, the romantic plot drives the story in my mind. The action plots interest me and the emotional/spiritual arcs draw me deep, but the romance is what keeps me at the keyboard. Writing a fun bit of banter or a juicy kiss—that makes my day!
We’d love you have you share a snippet from your novel to entice us and hook us! J Please share something below:
This is from the first chapter of When Tides Turn. Quintessa Beaumont is working at Filene’s, a department store in Boston. Her roommate’s big brother, naval officer Lt. Dan Avery, comes to buy a birthday gift for his mother.
“How about this?” Quintessa held up a tailored cream blouse with a brown yoke and short brown sleeves. An embroidered green vine with delicate yellow flowers softened the border between cream and brown.“I’ll take it.”“Let’s see what else we have.”“Why?” Dan gestured to the blouse. “Is it her size?”“Yes.”“Do you think she’ll like it?”“Well, yes, but—”“I’ll take it.”The man certainly knew his mind. One of many things she found attractive about him. “All right then.”Quintessa took the blouse to the cash register and rang up the purchase. “How are things at the Anti-Submarine Warfare Unit?”One dark eyebrow lifted, and he pulled out his wallet. “We’re making progress, but personally, I want to get back out to sea.”“That’s where the excitement is.”“And the real work. We finally have convoys along the East Coast, and we’ve pretty much driven the U-boats away. But they’re back to their old hunting grounds in the North Atlantic, and they’re wreaking havoc in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The battle’s constantly changing, and we have to stay on top of it.”Quintessa focused on making change. Concentration was always difficult when Dan Avery spoke about the war or ships or the Navy. Passion lit the strong lines of his face and animated his firm mouth. If only he’d remove his white officer’s cap and run his hand through his wavy black hair. The wildness of it.
__________________________________
OH my! A Naval officer with black hair and strong lines? *Jaime just geeked out*
Do ya'll see what I mean? It's like a modern-day Hermoine Granger meets 1940 meets romance. Happy sighs.
Get your copy of this novel today!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/When-Tides-Turn-Waves-Freedom/dp/0800723449/.Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-tides-turn-sarah-sundin/1123923492?ean=9780800723446.ChristianBook.com: https://www.christianbook.com/when-tides-turn-3/sarah-sundin/9780800723446/pd/723444?event=SERIES
And don't forget a chance to win a copy too!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
March 15, 2017
Crazy Sales!
Erica Here:
I'm on deadline, trying to fit in as much basketball watching as I can, and today we're at Mayo for a checkup for my husband. (Praying for clear scans and blood work.)
As a result of the uber-crammed nature of my schedule, I'll be brief.
The Seven Brides for Seven Texans novella collection is on sale this week for just $1.99 for kindle and nook, and for $1.59 at christianbook.com
Here are the links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2lYHnQN
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2mqGs75
Christianbook.com http://bit.ly/2mHt7ZU
Also, and I don't know how long the sale will go on, but my January 2017 release, My Heart Belongs in Fort Bliss, TX: Priscilla's Reveille is FREE for kindle and nook right now!
The link to download the FREE Book is:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2mqHXDi
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/2mLKSJ6
SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER
Find me on AMAZON.COM
Find me on FACEBOOK
I'm on deadline, trying to fit in as much basketball watching as I can, and today we're at Mayo for a checkup for my husband. (Praying for clear scans and blood work.)
As a result of the uber-crammed nature of my schedule, I'll be brief.
The Seven Brides for Seven Texans novella collection is on sale this week for just $1.99 for kindle and nook, and for $1.59 at christianbook.com
Here are the links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2lYHnQN
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2mqGs75
Christianbook.com http://bit.ly/2mHt7ZU
Also, and I don't know how long the sale will go on, but my January 2017 release, My Heart Belongs in Fort Bliss, TX: Priscilla's Reveille is FREE for kindle and nook right now!
The link to download the FREE Book is:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2mqHXDi
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/2mLKSJ6
SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER
Find me on AMAZON.COM
Find me on FACEBOOK
March 14, 2017
Reading to Escape, with Angela Mills
I, Jaime, am immersed in book deadlines this week, so I recruited someone you ALL will love to meet! Angela Mills is a literary agency-mate and sweet friend who's love for people and her faith shine through her writing. Please help me welcome my blog stand-in today ...
______________________________
I’m one of those readers that will read the shampoo bottle in the shower. Anyone out there get this? Reading is such a second nature to me that I have to be careful when I’m at someone’s house, because if there’s a document out on the table, my eyes may just start to scan it without even thinking about it.
When I say I love reading, I mean I love reading. And while reading does come naturally to me (yes, even in the shower), not all reading is equal. There’s reading for education or information, reading to grade papers for my homeschool students, reading to get to know someone, reading to be inspired. Then, there’s my favorite kind of reading… Reading to escape.
There is nothing like digging deep into a story and forgetting everything else around you. My kids used to mock me, saying that they could tell me that we were being robbed, and if my nose was in a book, I’d answer, “Hold on, let me finish this chapter,” and keep reading. They may have jokingly tested this theory once or twice, and let’s just say that their point was made.
I began reading avidly as a child, and even though I didn’t realize it, oftentimes I would use reading as a way to get away whatever was going on in my life. I would read for hours at a time, falling in love with stories about girls who had superficial problems, and nice, tidy endings.
As I got older, I longed for deeper stories, with characters that were flawed and endings that were complicated, yet satisfying.
The realization that I was using books to put off coping with life hit me when I was an adult. One day, when it had been quite awhile since I had read a book, I said to my husband, “I’m craving a book. I need to read something!” He thought I was a weirdo, but for some reason, saying those words made it all make sense to me. It was a stressful time in our life, I was overtired, and I just wanted to snuggle up with a good book and forget everything for a while. I wanted to escape.
So, I did. But then I started to question myself. This was when I was a young mother and mom guilt had seeped into every fiber of my being. I couldn’t even exist without feeling guilty about it. The analyzing began as soon as I shut my book. Was I wrong to want to escape life? Was reading fiction a waste of time? Shouldn’t I be reading something educational? Shouldn’t I be doing something productive?
Fortunately for me, I’ve been able to completely banish mom guilt from my life and now live happily in a grace-filled existence. But even back then, in my guilt-ridden days, I came to the conclusion that I needed fiction in my life.
But it came with a caveat: It can’t simply be a great story.
If I’m reading to escape life for a bit, and get drawn into a wonderfully paced story that keeps me hooked, but is otherwise meaningless, I still feel empty when I come up for air.
However, if I’m reading a fantastic story that is also sneakily speaking truths to my heart, I come up refreshed and filled with hope.
That is the kind of reading that soothes me on weary days. That’s the kind of reading I need in my life.
That is why I love inspirational fiction, and why I write it.
What is your favorite kind of reading?
______________________________
Angela Mills blogs at http://www.angela-mills.com, where she has become known for her transparency and encouragement for women. Married to her best friend for seventeen years, and a homeschool mom to two daughters, Angela does not shy away from discussing the difficult aspects of family life.
In addition to her blog, she runs a https://www.facebook.com/groups/BlessingYourHusbandDailyChallenges/ Facebook group for over 775 Christian wives and has written over 60 articles online for various websites. Her eBook, Blessing Your Husband 30 Day Challenge, has been downloaded over 6,000 times.
Angela is passionate about following Jesus, helping marriages thrive, and encouraging women to intentionally love their husbands and children. When she’s not reading the shampoo bottle, she is currently writing a historical family saga.
______________________________
I’m one of those readers that will read the shampoo bottle in the shower. Anyone out there get this? Reading is such a second nature to me that I have to be careful when I’m at someone’s house, because if there’s a document out on the table, my eyes may just start to scan it without even thinking about it.
When I say I love reading, I mean I love reading. And while reading does come naturally to me (yes, even in the shower), not all reading is equal. There’s reading for education or information, reading to grade papers for my homeschool students, reading to get to know someone, reading to be inspired. Then, there’s my favorite kind of reading… Reading to escape.
There is nothing like digging deep into a story and forgetting everything else around you. My kids used to mock me, saying that they could tell me that we were being robbed, and if my nose was in a book, I’d answer, “Hold on, let me finish this chapter,” and keep reading. They may have jokingly tested this theory once or twice, and let’s just say that their point was made.
I began reading avidly as a child, and even though I didn’t realize it, oftentimes I would use reading as a way to get away whatever was going on in my life. I would read for hours at a time, falling in love with stories about girls who had superficial problems, and nice, tidy endings.
As I got older, I longed for deeper stories, with characters that were flawed and endings that were complicated, yet satisfying.
The realization that I was using books to put off coping with life hit me when I was an adult. One day, when it had been quite awhile since I had read a book, I said to my husband, “I’m craving a book. I need to read something!” He thought I was a weirdo, but for some reason, saying those words made it all make sense to me. It was a stressful time in our life, I was overtired, and I just wanted to snuggle up with a good book and forget everything for a while. I wanted to escape.
So, I did. But then I started to question myself. This was when I was a young mother and mom guilt had seeped into every fiber of my being. I couldn’t even exist without feeling guilty about it. The analyzing began as soon as I shut my book. Was I wrong to want to escape life? Was reading fiction a waste of time? Shouldn’t I be reading something educational? Shouldn’t I be doing something productive?
Fortunately for me, I’ve been able to completely banish mom guilt from my life and now live happily in a grace-filled existence. But even back then, in my guilt-ridden days, I came to the conclusion that I needed fiction in my life.
But it came with a caveat: It can’t simply be a great story.
If I’m reading to escape life for a bit, and get drawn into a wonderfully paced story that keeps me hooked, but is otherwise meaningless, I still feel empty when I come up for air.
However, if I’m reading a fantastic story that is also sneakily speaking truths to my heart, I come up refreshed and filled with hope.
That is the kind of reading that soothes me on weary days. That’s the kind of reading I need in my life.
That is why I love inspirational fiction, and why I write it.
What is your favorite kind of reading?
______________________________
Angela Mills blogs at http://www.angela-mills.com, where she has become known for her transparency and encouragement for women. Married to her best friend for seventeen years, and a homeschool mom to two daughters, Angela does not shy away from discussing the difficult aspects of family life. In addition to her blog, she runs a https://www.facebook.com/groups/BlessingYourHusbandDailyChallenges/ Facebook group for over 775 Christian wives and has written over 60 articles online for various websites. Her eBook, Blessing Your Husband 30 Day Challenge, has been downloaded over 6,000 times.
Angela is passionate about following Jesus, helping marriages thrive, and encouraging women to intentionally love their husbands and children. When she’s not reading the shampoo bottle, she is currently writing a historical family saga.
March 13, 2017
Interview & Giveaway with Author Susan Meissner
Thank you so much for visiting us today here at the CCC blog!
Can you tell us about your latest release and what inspired you to write the story?
My new book, A BRIDGE ACROSS THE OCEAN, is a story about two European women who meet aboard the RMS Queen Mary in 1946. They are bound for America on a ship full of other war brides to be reunited with their servicemen husbands. Both women survived the hell of World War II, but only one of them, Simone, is an actual war bride; the other, Annaliese, is pretending to be a Belgian war bride to escape the Nazi husband she’d been forced to marry. Annaliese’s secret is laid bare on the voyage however, and the last day of the voyage is anything but peaceful. Meanwhile in the current day, thirty-something Brette just wants to live a normal, uncomplicated life but the family gift of being able to see ghosts is making that impossible. When Brette visits the famed and notoriously haunted Queen Mary (now a floating hotel) as a favor to a friend, she comes face to face with the ghostly echoes of that 1946 crossing and is soon on a quest to uncover the truth, right an old wrong, and maybe figure out how to live in peace with the way she is. This story was inspired by a visit to this grand ship, which has been at home in California’s Long Beach harbor for the past 40 years.
Of all your characters in this story, which one did you enjoy writing the most and why?
All three protagonists were such interesting characters to spend time with and clothe with personalities and quirks and strengths and weaknesses. It’s actually hard to choose one among Brette, Annaliese, and Simone as a favorite. There is a secondary character though, who doesn’t get as much air time as these three women, but she was totally enjoyable to create because I have never come up with a character quite like her, and probably won’t again for a long time. She starts the book out and appears every now and then as the story progresses. And she’s a ghost. But there’s nothing scary or malevolent about her. She’s just like the mortal characters in the story who want something and must overcome an obstacle to get it.
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play them?
What a fun question! Okay for Simone, who is a daughter of a murdered French Resistance spy, I pick the talented Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Brooklyn). For Annaliese, the German ballerina married to a Nazi monster, Brie Larson (she stole the show as the abducted woman in Room.) For their cabinmate Phoebe, Daisy Ridley of the Stars Wars movie, The Force Awakens. For Annaliese’s brute of a husband, Jack Gleeson, who played evil Joffrey in Game of Thrones so well, and for Simone’s American pilot husband, Josh Hutcherson, who won our hearts as Peeta in The Hunger Games trilogy.
How did you decide on the setting/location for this novel?
I had visited the Queen Mary two years ago; she is now a floating hotel on the southern California coast and I knew the second I stepped aboard that she’d be a beautiful location for a story because she has such a storied past – first as a 1930's luxury liner, then a troop carrier during the war, then a transport for war brides after WWII, and lastly as hotel. I had barely begun to research the ship when I learned she is apparently also one of the most haunted locations in the U.S., a lovely tidbit I just couldn’t pass up. Paranormal experts disagree how many ghosts supposedly call The Queen Mary home but it’s more than the number of people who actually died aboard her.
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it and why?
With subject matter, I tend not to toss out absolutes. There are certain genres though that I won’t write, horror and erotica being two of them, just because they’re not my cup of tea.
Moving on from your story, tell us a little about yourself.
We’ll help! What literary character is most like you and why?
Well, when I Google INFJ literary characters (I’m an INFJ on the Meyers-Briggs test), here’s what I come up with: I’m like Galadriel from Lord of the Rings, Beth March from Little Women, Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series and Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. We INFJs are insightful people who understand the complexities of relationships and what makes people tick. We want to engage in pursuits and activities that truly matter and to make the world a better place; so says Professor Google. So there you go.
What strange writing habits do you have? Like standing on your head while you write with a pen between your teeth?
I don’t like there to be music playing while I write – not even instrumental – and I don’t like my feet to be cold. So I need average white noise and warm socks. Aside from that, I can write just about anywhere.
Do you have a writing mentor, or another author who has inspired/encouraged you in some way?
I draw inspiration and motivation from reading my favorite authors. They are Geraldine Brooks, Kate Morton, Alice Hoffman, Ann Patchett, and Khaled Hosseini. When I read their books I just automatically raise the bar on quality for my own novels. They make me want to be a better writer.
We talk a lot about faith and how it weaves throughout our fiction, here at the blog. How has your faith affected/or not affected your writing?
My faith affects my writing in that how I think about the world and people bleeds out of me into everything I do, which includes storytelling. I don’t write Christian fiction, but I am a Christian who writes fiction. I am like the Christian who is a baker who bakes the best bread she can. It’s not Christian bread. It’s just bread, but I want it to taste amazing and be memorable. My stories are all about themes that matter to me like love, hope, acceptance, forgiveness, meaning, relationships, and the preciousness of life itself. These are all woven into my life as a believer, so I think they show up, at least subtly so, in the pages of my books.
Because Jaime has some darker elements to her split-time historical and contemporary romantic suspense coming out this year, she likes to ask weird questions. So, if you were responsible to write your own epitaph for your tombstone, what would it say?
Love it! Thanks, Jaime.
It may sound a little too syrupy sweet but I’d like to have made the world a better place. I am an INFJ after all. So this little quote would be nice, along with my name, and the dates and a few titles like daughter, wife, and mother. “To live in the hearts of others is not to die.”
Anne is an insatiable romantic with a serious vintage aura in all she writes. Do you have a fabulous love story in your family history that you could share with us in a few words? If not, what about your own?
My paternal grandparents were just 18 and 20 when they eloped on the 4th of July in 1936. It was a national holiday of course, so they had to drive around looking for a courthouse where a judge wouldn’t mind opening up the place to marry them. They found such a judge. They were together for decades upon decades. He died at 84 and they were still very much in love.
Erica and Gabrielle both write sweet historical romances.
How does romance influence your own writing?
Romantic love shows up in just about every one of my books. I can’t think of one out of the 18 I’ve written where it doesn’t. Sometimes it’s a big story thread, sometimes it’s a small one, but it’s there. Life traveled together with someone you love and who loves you is amazing and never boring. We are the best and worst versions of ourselves with the people we love best and who love us best. That makes for good story material!
And for some extra fun . . .
If you could pick one superhero to save you from impending doom, who would it be and why?
Ironman, because of his dry sense of humor and because he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
If you could guest star in one TV show, what would be and what would your ideal role be?
These days, I’d like to be a guest star on NBC’s This is Us. I’d want to be Rebecca’s best friend who has known her for years, and who knows exactly how and when her Rebecca’s husband Jack died because of how long they’ve been friends. Can you tell as I write this that this little detail is yet a mystery after a dozen emotionally-gripping episodes?
Name one significant heirloom or keepsake you have and why it’s important to you:
I’ve got my grandmother’s pearls; the same grandma who eloped with my Papa. They remind me that love is luminescent and mysterious and precious, and that from an irritating grain of sand, something beautiful can result.
We’d love you have you share a snippet from your novel to entice us and hook us! ☺ Please share something below:
I’d be happy to. Here you go!
RMS Queen Mary
Southampton, England
May 1936
The afternoon sun lies low and sweet among the clouds that hug the harbor, bathing the promenade deck in shimmering half-light. On the pier, a brass band plays a happy tune as good-byes are said at the far end of the gangway. Men with cameras are jockeying for position to catch the best view of us pulling away from the dock.
Today is different than all the other days. I feel the change all around me. Something new is about to happen.
I study each person as they step aboard, but no one pays me any mind. They don’t know I am here so they do not stiffen at my touch or reach for me or gape wide-eyed in surprise or alarm. They alight on the decks, cheerful and carefree, joyfully reaching for glasses of champagne offered by white-coated stewards.
I drift among them all, unseen, unnoticed.
But then a woman with peacock feathers in her hat breathes in deep when I swirl about her, as though she has caught my scent and is mesmerized by it. Intrigued, I linger. Her eyes widen in surprise as she stands there at a portside railing.
“Where are you?” the woman murmurs, so soft, it is almost like a whispered prayer.
She is speaking to me. She senses my presence. This woman is the first. I did not know this was possible.
“Don’t be afraid,” she says. “Where are you?”
I fold in closer to her. “Here,” is what I want to say.
“Do you want to tell me your name?” she asks kindly.
And oh yes, how I want to. But I cannot.
“Have you been here awhile?” she asks.
I don’t know the answer to this question. And that troubles me.
“It’s all right. You can trust me,” she says soothingly.
I want to trust her but I hesitate. Her questions fill me with unease. Another woman, this one red-haired and wearing a tweed coat, approaches. A wave of concern washes over her as she looks at the woman in the peacock feather hat.
“Who in the world are you talking to?” says this new woman.
The woman who knows I am here startles. Her gaze darts about, as though she thinks I might scamper away at this intrusion. Instead, I move closer to her. The silken strands of the feathers on her hat ripple like sea grass under water as I draw near. She opens her mouth in awe…
Reprinted with permission from A BRIDGE ACROSS THE OCEAN by Susan Meissner from Berkley Books, copyright 2017.
Readers:
Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy.
Have you cruised before?
Which oceans have you seen?
What's your favorite thing about our interview with Susan today?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you so much for visiting today, Susan! It was a blast!
Here are Susan's links:
http://susanlmeissner.com
On Facebook as susan.meissner
On Twitter as @SusanMeissner
On Instagram as @soozmeissner
Buy link page: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/318418/a-bridge-across-the-ocean-by-susan-meissner/9780451476005
-------------Blog post by Anne Love-
Writer of Historical Romance inspired by her family roots.
Nurse Practitioner by day.
Wife, mother, writer by night.
Coffee drinker--any time.
Find me at: www.anneloveauthor.com
Find me on:FacebookFind me on: PinterestFind me on: Goodreads
Find me on: Twitter
Find me on: Instagram
Can you tell us about your latest release and what inspired you to write the story?
My new book, A BRIDGE ACROSS THE OCEAN, is a story about two European women who meet aboard the RMS Queen Mary in 1946. They are bound for America on a ship full of other war brides to be reunited with their servicemen husbands. Both women survived the hell of World War II, but only one of them, Simone, is an actual war bride; the other, Annaliese, is pretending to be a Belgian war bride to escape the Nazi husband she’d been forced to marry. Annaliese’s secret is laid bare on the voyage however, and the last day of the voyage is anything but peaceful. Meanwhile in the current day, thirty-something Brette just wants to live a normal, uncomplicated life but the family gift of being able to see ghosts is making that impossible. When Brette visits the famed and notoriously haunted Queen Mary (now a floating hotel) as a favor to a friend, she comes face to face with the ghostly echoes of that 1946 crossing and is soon on a quest to uncover the truth, right an old wrong, and maybe figure out how to live in peace with the way she is. This story was inspired by a visit to this grand ship, which has been at home in California’s Long Beach harbor for the past 40 years.
Of all your characters in this story, which one did you enjoy writing the most and why?
All three protagonists were such interesting characters to spend time with and clothe with personalities and quirks and strengths and weaknesses. It’s actually hard to choose one among Brette, Annaliese, and Simone as a favorite. There is a secondary character though, who doesn’t get as much air time as these three women, but she was totally enjoyable to create because I have never come up with a character quite like her, and probably won’t again for a long time. She starts the book out and appears every now and then as the story progresses. And she’s a ghost. But there’s nothing scary or malevolent about her. She’s just like the mortal characters in the story who want something and must overcome an obstacle to get it.
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play them?
What a fun question! Okay for Simone, who is a daughter of a murdered French Resistance spy, I pick the talented Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Brooklyn). For Annaliese, the German ballerina married to a Nazi monster, Brie Larson (she stole the show as the abducted woman in Room.) For their cabinmate Phoebe, Daisy Ridley of the Stars Wars movie, The Force Awakens. For Annaliese’s brute of a husband, Jack Gleeson, who played evil Joffrey in Game of Thrones so well, and for Simone’s American pilot husband, Josh Hutcherson, who won our hearts as Peeta in The Hunger Games trilogy.
How did you decide on the setting/location for this novel?
I had visited the Queen Mary two years ago; she is now a floating hotel on the southern California coast and I knew the second I stepped aboard that she’d be a beautiful location for a story because she has such a storied past – first as a 1930's luxury liner, then a troop carrier during the war, then a transport for war brides after WWII, and lastly as hotel. I had barely begun to research the ship when I learned she is apparently also one of the most haunted locations in the U.S., a lovely tidbit I just couldn’t pass up. Paranormal experts disagree how many ghosts supposedly call The Queen Mary home but it’s more than the number of people who actually died aboard her.
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it and why?
With subject matter, I tend not to toss out absolutes. There are certain genres though that I won’t write, horror and erotica being two of them, just because they’re not my cup of tea.
Moving on from your story, tell us a little about yourself.
We’ll help! What literary character is most like you and why?
Well, when I Google INFJ literary characters (I’m an INFJ on the Meyers-Briggs test), here’s what I come up with: I’m like Galadriel from Lord of the Rings, Beth March from Little Women, Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series and Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. We INFJs are insightful people who understand the complexities of relationships and what makes people tick. We want to engage in pursuits and activities that truly matter and to make the world a better place; so says Professor Google. So there you go.
What strange writing habits do you have? Like standing on your head while you write with a pen between your teeth?
I don’t like there to be music playing while I write – not even instrumental – and I don’t like my feet to be cold. So I need average white noise and warm socks. Aside from that, I can write just about anywhere.
Do you have a writing mentor, or another author who has inspired/encouraged you in some way?
I draw inspiration and motivation from reading my favorite authors. They are Geraldine Brooks, Kate Morton, Alice Hoffman, Ann Patchett, and Khaled Hosseini. When I read their books I just automatically raise the bar on quality for my own novels. They make me want to be a better writer.
We talk a lot about faith and how it weaves throughout our fiction, here at the blog. How has your faith affected/or not affected your writing?
My faith affects my writing in that how I think about the world and people bleeds out of me into everything I do, which includes storytelling. I don’t write Christian fiction, but I am a Christian who writes fiction. I am like the Christian who is a baker who bakes the best bread she can. It’s not Christian bread. It’s just bread, but I want it to taste amazing and be memorable. My stories are all about themes that matter to me like love, hope, acceptance, forgiveness, meaning, relationships, and the preciousness of life itself. These are all woven into my life as a believer, so I think they show up, at least subtly so, in the pages of my books.
Because Jaime has some darker elements to her split-time historical and contemporary romantic suspense coming out this year, she likes to ask weird questions. So, if you were responsible to write your own epitaph for your tombstone, what would it say?
Love it! Thanks, Jaime.
It may sound a little too syrupy sweet but I’d like to have made the world a better place. I am an INFJ after all. So this little quote would be nice, along with my name, and the dates and a few titles like daughter, wife, and mother. “To live in the hearts of others is not to die.”
Anne is an insatiable romantic with a serious vintage aura in all she writes. Do you have a fabulous love story in your family history that you could share with us in a few words? If not, what about your own?
My paternal grandparents were just 18 and 20 when they eloped on the 4th of July in 1936. It was a national holiday of course, so they had to drive around looking for a courthouse where a judge wouldn’t mind opening up the place to marry them. They found such a judge. They were together for decades upon decades. He died at 84 and they were still very much in love.
Erica and Gabrielle both write sweet historical romances.
How does romance influence your own writing?
Romantic love shows up in just about every one of my books. I can’t think of one out of the 18 I’ve written where it doesn’t. Sometimes it’s a big story thread, sometimes it’s a small one, but it’s there. Life traveled together with someone you love and who loves you is amazing and never boring. We are the best and worst versions of ourselves with the people we love best and who love us best. That makes for good story material!
And for some extra fun . . .
If you could pick one superhero to save you from impending doom, who would it be and why?
Ironman, because of his dry sense of humor and because he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
If you could guest star in one TV show, what would be and what would your ideal role be?
These days, I’d like to be a guest star on NBC’s This is Us. I’d want to be Rebecca’s best friend who has known her for years, and who knows exactly how and when her Rebecca’s husband Jack died because of how long they’ve been friends. Can you tell as I write this that this little detail is yet a mystery after a dozen emotionally-gripping episodes?
Name one significant heirloom or keepsake you have and why it’s important to you:
I’ve got my grandmother’s pearls; the same grandma who eloped with my Papa. They remind me that love is luminescent and mysterious and precious, and that from an irritating grain of sand, something beautiful can result.
We’d love you have you share a snippet from your novel to entice us and hook us! ☺ Please share something below:
I’d be happy to. Here you go!
RMS Queen Mary
Southampton, England
May 1936
The afternoon sun lies low and sweet among the clouds that hug the harbor, bathing the promenade deck in shimmering half-light. On the pier, a brass band plays a happy tune as good-byes are said at the far end of the gangway. Men with cameras are jockeying for position to catch the best view of us pulling away from the dock.
Today is different than all the other days. I feel the change all around me. Something new is about to happen.
I study each person as they step aboard, but no one pays me any mind. They don’t know I am here so they do not stiffen at my touch or reach for me or gape wide-eyed in surprise or alarm. They alight on the decks, cheerful and carefree, joyfully reaching for glasses of champagne offered by white-coated stewards.
I drift among them all, unseen, unnoticed.
But then a woman with peacock feathers in her hat breathes in deep when I swirl about her, as though she has caught my scent and is mesmerized by it. Intrigued, I linger. Her eyes widen in surprise as she stands there at a portside railing.
“Where are you?” the woman murmurs, so soft, it is almost like a whispered prayer.
She is speaking to me. She senses my presence. This woman is the first. I did not know this was possible.
“Don’t be afraid,” she says. “Where are you?”
I fold in closer to her. “Here,” is what I want to say.
“Do you want to tell me your name?” she asks kindly.
And oh yes, how I want to. But I cannot.
“Have you been here awhile?” she asks.
I don’t know the answer to this question. And that troubles me.
“It’s all right. You can trust me,” she says soothingly.
I want to trust her but I hesitate. Her questions fill me with unease. Another woman, this one red-haired and wearing a tweed coat, approaches. A wave of concern washes over her as she looks at the woman in the peacock feather hat.
“Who in the world are you talking to?” says this new woman.
The woman who knows I am here startles. Her gaze darts about, as though she thinks I might scamper away at this intrusion. Instead, I move closer to her. The silken strands of the feathers on her hat ripple like sea grass under water as I draw near. She opens her mouth in awe…
Reprinted with permission from A BRIDGE ACROSS THE OCEAN by Susan Meissner from Berkley Books, copyright 2017.
Readers:
Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy.
Have you cruised before?
Which oceans have you seen?
What's your favorite thing about our interview with Susan today?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you so much for visiting today, Susan! It was a blast!
Here are Susan's links:
http://susanlmeissner.com
On Facebook as susan.meissner
On Twitter as @SusanMeissner
On Instagram as @soozmeissner
Buy link page: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/318418/a-bridge-across-the-ocean-by-susan-meissner/9780451476005
-------------Blog post by Anne Love-
Writer of Historical Romance inspired by her family roots.
Nurse Practitioner by day.
Wife, mother, writer by night.
Coffee drinker--any time.
Find me at: www.anneloveauthor.com
Find me on:FacebookFind me on: PinterestFind me on: Goodreads
Find me on: Twitter
Find me on: Instagram
March 10, 2017
Interview & Giveaway with Author Kathleen Y'Barbo Turner
Super happy to have Kathleen Y'Barbo with us today! Bestselling author, Kathleen is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee of more than eighty novels with almost two million copies in print in the US and abroad. A tenth-generation Texan, she has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award as well a Reader’s Choice Award and is the winner of the Inspirational Romance of the Year by Romantic Times magazine. To connect with her through social media check out the links on her website at www.kathleenybarbo.com.
_______________________________
Thank you so much for visiting us today here at the CCC blog! Can you tell us about your latest release and what inspired you to write the story?
Thank you for having me! My newest release is a novella called The Princess of Polecat Creek, and it can be found in the Secret Admirer Romance Collection (May 2017). Here’s the blurb: Scandal divided them. Two kidnappings and a wedding later, can a Texas cowboy turned Washington lawyer and the girl-next-door who secretly loved him since childhood save their marriage of inconvenience?
Of all your characters in this story, which one did you enjoy writing the most and why?
I had so much fun writing about Deke Wyatt, hero of the story and the eldest of six brothers. This poor guy was stuck between loyalty to his very proper high society mama from New York City and the Polecat Creek Ranch in Texas where he was born and raised. Even though he left to become a lawyer and is preparing for a move to join his grandfather’s law firm in Washington, DC, he still has to deal with those brothers of his one more time while settling his later father’s affairs. If you’ve ever had to walk a tightrope between pleasing family members or doing what you felt called to do, I think you’ll sympathize with Deke.
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play them?
Henry Cavill would make a fabulous Deke, although I could totally go old school on this Rhett Butler-type guy and say Clark Gable. I like Emma Stone for Pearl, or possibly Julianne Hough. Since this is a Texas novel, I’ve got to add one more: Sam Elliott as Deke’s grandpa!
How did you decide on the setting/location for this novel?
Actually, Polecat Creek is the name of a real creek that crosses Interstate 75 just south of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Every time we drove past the Polecat Creek sign, I thought about how great that would sound in a book. Then the title came to me: The Princess of Polecat Creek. I had no idea what the plot would be, but I loved that title. It sat in a file on my computer for almost two years before I was approached about writing a novella about a secret admirer. I found the file and decided it was time to give the title a story, although I did move that story from Oklahoma to Texas (just as we moved a few weeks after I turned in the completed story, ironically).
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it and why?
I had to think very hard to answer this one because I cannot imagine limiting what I would write if God told me to write about it. However, I did write a book (Beloved Counterfeit) where the heroine was raped by the villain who had been threatening her throughout the book. Although I only alluded to what happened and never showed any details of the event, I got emails from readers who felt that was a trigger for them.
Moving on from your story, tell us a little about yourself. We’ll help! What literary character is most like you and why?
When I asked my husband this question, he said I was like Anne of Green Gables because I like to write and no one can tell me what to do. Ha! I prefer Alice from Alice in Wonderland because when I go down the rabbit hole of writing, I never know which interesting characters I will meet.
What strange writing habits do you have? Like standing on your head while you write with a pen between your teeth?
There was a time when I could write in total chaos, but that time is long ago when all four of my grown children were little. Now my desk has to be clear and everything in its place before I can concentrate on my book, probably because if it isn’t I either get distracted or I waste time putting everything back into order again.
Do you have a writing mentor, or another author who has inspired/encouraged you in some way?
DiAnn Mills was an early mentor of mine, and she still inspires me with her work ethic. My best encouragers are the writer women with whom I’ve kept an ongoing text group for the past four years. Linda Kozar, Dannelle Woody, Janice Thompson, and Sharen Watson lift me up when I’m low, celebrate with me when things are going well, and generally kick my rear into gear when the occasion calls for it. I cannot imagine trying to do life, much less the writing life, without my girls.
We talk a lot about faith and how it weaves throughout our fiction, here at the blog. How has your faith affected/or not affected your writing?
My faith is integral to my writing because writing a book itself is an act of faith. When I plot out my stories, I always ask my characters what their faith looks like because that tells me where each of them is in their relationship with the Lord. None of what I know about this may even come out overtly in the story, but it will be built into the thoughts and actions of each character. Who we are in the inside always shows on the outside—eventually.
Because Jaime has some darker elements to her split-time historical and contemporary romantic suspense coming out this year, she likes to ask weird questions. So, if you were responsible to write your own epitaph for your tombstone, what would it say?
Wife, Mother, Child of God
Anne is an insatiable romantic with a serious vintage aura in all she writes. Do you have fabulous love story in your family history that you could share with us in a few words? If not, what about your own?
I wrote about a love story from my family’s history (circa 1850s Texas) in the novella Saving Grace. My own love story is much briefer but so much better, I think. You see, my husband and I are relative newlyweds (7 years married this October) after finding each other again on Facebook. All my friends and readers got to watch as my hunky hero in combat boots and I reconnected after 35 years and then eloped to Hawaii. Just writing that makes me smile because I was a single mom for sever years prior to that and never thought God had a romance in store for me. Unlike my novels, where I always know what will happen, I was blindsided by our story—in the best possible way.
Erica and Gabrielle both write sweet historical romances. How does romance influence your own writing?I love romances! Every story I write, even the historical mysteries, have an element of romance. To me, the best part of the story is making the reader wonder how two people who absolutely cannot possibly fall in love manage to do so anyway.
And for some extra fun . . .
If you could pick one superhero to save you from impending doom, who would it be and why?
My husband, of course. After 28 years in the military, he’s my go-to super hero.
If you could guest star in one TV show, what would be and what would your ideal role be?
Dr. Who! I would be the companion who brings back the tenth doctor. Somehow. No clue how, of course, but I’m sure the writers can figure that out.
Name one significant heirloom or keepsake you have and why it’s important to you:
There are two of them, actually, and they are my maternal and paternal grandmothers’ wedding rings (I should add that as the first grandchild on both sides, I was named after both of them). My maternal grandmother’s gold and platinum band is special to me because it is the ring that my husband put on my finger in Hawaii on our wedding day.
My paternal grandmother’s diamond wedding band is special because I thought it had been lost in my move from Texas to Oklahoma in 2010. We scoured the house looking for it and finally gave up. When we were packing to make our move to Texas last summer, my husband found it in the bottom of a vase of silk flowers that had been sitting in our bathroom the entire time! I now wear that ring along with my wedding band and engagement ring, not only to remind me of these two special women I was named after but also in hopes that our marriage will last until death do we part just as theirs did.
We’d love you have you share a snippet from your novel to entice us and hook us! J Please share something below:
Glad to! This is a scene where Deke has arrived at the ranch and learned that his brothers have not only accidentally been mistaken as train robbers in a dare gone wrong, but they have also managed to kidnap a childhood friend from a neighboring ranch in the process. This is Pearl and Deke’s first meeting in the book, and I had so much fun writing it.
“Joke? Do I look like I am amused?” Her hands crossed over that tiny waist of hers and her toe went to tapping. Oh but she was a beauty when she was angry.Who was he kidding? Pearl Barrett was a beauty. Period. And no, she did not look amused. Once again he thought of the marriage hunt that had so worried his mother. Whoever ended up with this spitfire was to be pitied. She tilted her head slightly and a ray of afternoon sunshine slanted across her face. Perhaps pitied wasn’t exactly the right word, for no matter what sort of orders her groom would be receiving, he would still be putting his boots under the same bed where that woman slept.Deke shook off the thought and aimed his gaze at the blue sky overhead. Patience had never been one of the virtues the Lord bestowed on him, but it didn’t hurt to ask for an extra dose of it right now.So he asked. And he waited, but only long enough to hear his name being called yet again. And not in a particularly fond manner.He shifted his attention in time to see Eli once again walk behind Pearl, this time carrying the washstand. He paused as if watching the interaction between them.Half his family tree might have originated on the best side of Boston, but the other half’s roots were dug deep in Texas soil, Polecat Creek Ranch soil to be exact. That little woman might think she could order him around, but she was sadly mistaken if she thought he’d sit on that horse and ignore her shrewish behavior.“If you’re telling the truth about not playing any part in this situation-”“Other than being the person stuffed into the feed sack, you mean? That, I will claim a part in, though I did not go willingly.”“That’s the truth,” Eli called. “She bit Ben on the hand, though she didn’t draw blood.” She turned and said something to Eli that Deke couldn’t hear. A moment later, his brother disappeared. Pearl returned her attention to him. “You were saying?”“I was saying that if you’re telling the truth, then we’ve got a situation that needs dealing with.”“Oh, I am, and you know it. And yes we do.”
Thank you again for allowing me to visit! I had a great time answering these questions. You really made me think!!
Contact links:Website: www.kathleenybarbo.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/kathleenybarboFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathleen.ybarbo
Buy links: The book is up for pre-order on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2mRywjP and Christian Book Distributers here: http://bit.ly/2n8wkVw .
As of now, there is no pre-order on Barnes & Noble or Lifeway, but keep looking and I’m sure the book will be on there soon and in stores by May 1.
AND WE'RE GIVING AWAY A COPY TOO!!! ENTER TO WIN!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
_______________________________
Thank you so much for visiting us today here at the CCC blog! Can you tell us about your latest release and what inspired you to write the story?
Thank you for having me! My newest release is a novella called The Princess of Polecat Creek, and it can be found in the Secret Admirer Romance Collection (May 2017). Here’s the blurb: Scandal divided them. Two kidnappings and a wedding later, can a Texas cowboy turned Washington lawyer and the girl-next-door who secretly loved him since childhood save their marriage of inconvenience?
Of all your characters in this story, which one did you enjoy writing the most and why?
I had so much fun writing about Deke Wyatt, hero of the story and the eldest of six brothers. This poor guy was stuck between loyalty to his very proper high society mama from New York City and the Polecat Creek Ranch in Texas where he was born and raised. Even though he left to become a lawyer and is preparing for a move to join his grandfather’s law firm in Washington, DC, he still has to deal with those brothers of his one more time while settling his later father’s affairs. If you’ve ever had to walk a tightrope between pleasing family members or doing what you felt called to do, I think you’ll sympathize with Deke.
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play them?
Henry Cavill would make a fabulous Deke, although I could totally go old school on this Rhett Butler-type guy and say Clark Gable. I like Emma Stone for Pearl, or possibly Julianne Hough. Since this is a Texas novel, I’ve got to add one more: Sam Elliott as Deke’s grandpa!
How did you decide on the setting/location for this novel?
Actually, Polecat Creek is the name of a real creek that crosses Interstate 75 just south of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Every time we drove past the Polecat Creek sign, I thought about how great that would sound in a book. Then the title came to me: The Princess of Polecat Creek. I had no idea what the plot would be, but I loved that title. It sat in a file on my computer for almost two years before I was approached about writing a novella about a secret admirer. I found the file and decided it was time to give the title a story, although I did move that story from Oklahoma to Texas (just as we moved a few weeks after I turned in the completed story, ironically).
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it and why?
I had to think very hard to answer this one because I cannot imagine limiting what I would write if God told me to write about it. However, I did write a book (Beloved Counterfeit) where the heroine was raped by the villain who had been threatening her throughout the book. Although I only alluded to what happened and never showed any details of the event, I got emails from readers who felt that was a trigger for them.
Moving on from your story, tell us a little about yourself. We’ll help! What literary character is most like you and why?When I asked my husband this question, he said I was like Anne of Green Gables because I like to write and no one can tell me what to do. Ha! I prefer Alice from Alice in Wonderland because when I go down the rabbit hole of writing, I never know which interesting characters I will meet.
What strange writing habits do you have? Like standing on your head while you write with a pen between your teeth?
There was a time when I could write in total chaos, but that time is long ago when all four of my grown children were little. Now my desk has to be clear and everything in its place before I can concentrate on my book, probably because if it isn’t I either get distracted or I waste time putting everything back into order again.
Do you have a writing mentor, or another author who has inspired/encouraged you in some way?
DiAnn Mills was an early mentor of mine, and she still inspires me with her work ethic. My best encouragers are the writer women with whom I’ve kept an ongoing text group for the past four years. Linda Kozar, Dannelle Woody, Janice Thompson, and Sharen Watson lift me up when I’m low, celebrate with me when things are going well, and generally kick my rear into gear when the occasion calls for it. I cannot imagine trying to do life, much less the writing life, without my girls.
We talk a lot about faith and how it weaves throughout our fiction, here at the blog. How has your faith affected/or not affected your writing?
My faith is integral to my writing because writing a book itself is an act of faith. When I plot out my stories, I always ask my characters what their faith looks like because that tells me where each of them is in their relationship with the Lord. None of what I know about this may even come out overtly in the story, but it will be built into the thoughts and actions of each character. Who we are in the inside always shows on the outside—eventually.
Because Jaime has some darker elements to her split-time historical and contemporary romantic suspense coming out this year, she likes to ask weird questions. So, if you were responsible to write your own epitaph for your tombstone, what would it say?
Wife, Mother, Child of God
Anne is an insatiable romantic with a serious vintage aura in all she writes. Do you have fabulous love story in your family history that you could share with us in a few words? If not, what about your own?
I wrote about a love story from my family’s history (circa 1850s Texas) in the novella Saving Grace. My own love story is much briefer but so much better, I think. You see, my husband and I are relative newlyweds (7 years married this October) after finding each other again on Facebook. All my friends and readers got to watch as my hunky hero in combat boots and I reconnected after 35 years and then eloped to Hawaii. Just writing that makes me smile because I was a single mom for sever years prior to that and never thought God had a romance in store for me. Unlike my novels, where I always know what will happen, I was blindsided by our story—in the best possible way.
Erica and Gabrielle both write sweet historical romances. How does romance influence your own writing?I love romances! Every story I write, even the historical mysteries, have an element of romance. To me, the best part of the story is making the reader wonder how two people who absolutely cannot possibly fall in love manage to do so anyway.
And for some extra fun . . .
If you could pick one superhero to save you from impending doom, who would it be and why?
My husband, of course. After 28 years in the military, he’s my go-to super hero.
If you could guest star in one TV show, what would be and what would your ideal role be?
Dr. Who! I would be the companion who brings back the tenth doctor. Somehow. No clue how, of course, but I’m sure the writers can figure that out.
Name one significant heirloom or keepsake you have and why it’s important to you:
There are two of them, actually, and they are my maternal and paternal grandmothers’ wedding rings (I should add that as the first grandchild on both sides, I was named after both of them). My maternal grandmother’s gold and platinum band is special to me because it is the ring that my husband put on my finger in Hawaii on our wedding day.
My paternal grandmother’s diamond wedding band is special because I thought it had been lost in my move from Texas to Oklahoma in 2010. We scoured the house looking for it and finally gave up. When we were packing to make our move to Texas last summer, my husband found it in the bottom of a vase of silk flowers that had been sitting in our bathroom the entire time! I now wear that ring along with my wedding band and engagement ring, not only to remind me of these two special women I was named after but also in hopes that our marriage will last until death do we part just as theirs did.
We’d love you have you share a snippet from your novel to entice us and hook us! J Please share something below:
Glad to! This is a scene where Deke has arrived at the ranch and learned that his brothers have not only accidentally been mistaken as train robbers in a dare gone wrong, but they have also managed to kidnap a childhood friend from a neighboring ranch in the process. This is Pearl and Deke’s first meeting in the book, and I had so much fun writing it.
“Joke? Do I look like I am amused?” Her hands crossed over that tiny waist of hers and her toe went to tapping. Oh but she was a beauty when she was angry.Who was he kidding? Pearl Barrett was a beauty. Period. And no, she did not look amused. Once again he thought of the marriage hunt that had so worried his mother. Whoever ended up with this spitfire was to be pitied. She tilted her head slightly and a ray of afternoon sunshine slanted across her face. Perhaps pitied wasn’t exactly the right word, for no matter what sort of orders her groom would be receiving, he would still be putting his boots under the same bed where that woman slept.Deke shook off the thought and aimed his gaze at the blue sky overhead. Patience had never been one of the virtues the Lord bestowed on him, but it didn’t hurt to ask for an extra dose of it right now.So he asked. And he waited, but only long enough to hear his name being called yet again. And not in a particularly fond manner.He shifted his attention in time to see Eli once again walk behind Pearl, this time carrying the washstand. He paused as if watching the interaction between them.Half his family tree might have originated on the best side of Boston, but the other half’s roots were dug deep in Texas soil, Polecat Creek Ranch soil to be exact. That little woman might think she could order him around, but she was sadly mistaken if she thought he’d sit on that horse and ignore her shrewish behavior.“If you’re telling the truth about not playing any part in this situation-”“Other than being the person stuffed into the feed sack, you mean? That, I will claim a part in, though I did not go willingly.”“That’s the truth,” Eli called. “She bit Ben on the hand, though she didn’t draw blood.” She turned and said something to Eli that Deke couldn’t hear. A moment later, his brother disappeared. Pearl returned her attention to him. “You were saying?”“I was saying that if you’re telling the truth, then we’ve got a situation that needs dealing with.”“Oh, I am, and you know it. And yes we do.”
Thank you again for allowing me to visit! I had a great time answering these questions. You really made me think!!
Contact links:Website: www.kathleenybarbo.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/kathleenybarboFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathleen.ybarbo
Buy links: The book is up for pre-order on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2mRywjP and Christian Book Distributers here: http://bit.ly/2n8wkVw .
As of now, there is no pre-order on Barnes & Noble or Lifeway, but keep looking and I’m sure the book will be on there soon and in stores by May 1.
AND WE'RE GIVING AWAY A COPY TOO!!! ENTER TO WIN!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
March 9, 2017
Ten Favorite Christian Historical Romance Authors
Gabrielle Here:
I live and breathe Christian Historical Romances. It's been that way since the day my aunt handed me my first Janette Oke book when I was about eleven-years-old. Before I started writing, and met brilliant contemporary authors, the number of contemporary novels I'd read could be counted on my right hand. I'm not kidding. My heart belongs to historical fiction. The number of historical novels I read? I can't even number them. One to two a week for years...until I started writing, now I'm lucky if I get in one a month.
I thought it would be fun to share ten of my favorite Christian Historical Romance authors. Now, this is not a complete list...it's not even the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are dozens and dozens and dozens of amazing authors out there. Three of them are on this blog (Erica, Jaime & Anne).
For this list, I thought I would share ten authors who fit into three categories for me: 1) I read everything they write, 2) Their writing has impacted me and my writing journey is some profound way, and 3) At least one of their books is on my list of all-time favorites.
Again, I want to stress that this is not a complete list, by any means!! (I'm feeling a lot of pressure about now, if you haven't noticed.) It's just a starting point for a great conversation in which I hope you share your favorites, as well.
So here they are, with my favorite book they've written, in no particular order.
Laura Frantz, The Colonel's Lady
This is the book that prompted me to start pursuing my dream to be an author (here's the story about how this book impacted me). It's also the book that introduced me to Laura's writing, and Laura herself. Not only is she one of my all-time favorite authors, she's also become one of my dearest writing friends. I've read this book several times, and each time I do, I love it even more.
About the BookIn 1779, when genteel Virginia spinster Roxanna Rowan arrives at the Kentucky fort commanded by Colonel Cassius McLinn, she finds that her officer father has died. Penniless and destitute, Roxanna is forced to take her father's place as scrivener. Before long, it's clear that the colonel himself is attracted to her. But she soon realizes the colonel has grave secrets of his own-some of which have to do with her father's sudden death. Can she ever truly love him? Readers will be enchanted by this powerful story of love, faith, and forgiveness from reader favorite Laura Frantz. Her solid research and deft writing immerse readers in the world of the early frontier while her realistic characters become intimate friends.
Jody Hedlund, Rebellious Heart
It was hard for me to choose a favorite of Jody's since they are all so amazing. Even after reading every historical book she's written, this one is still my favorite because of the intrigue, the setting and the amazing love story. Based off the life of John and Abigail Adams, this one will stay at the top of my list for a long time.
About the BookWhen Susanna's heart for the poor and Ben's disillusionment with British rule cross paths, the two find themselves bound in a dangerous fight for justice.
Julie Klassen, The Secret of Pembrooke Park
Another author that makes it hard to choose a favorite! Seriously, I can't pick my favorite for Julie, because they are all so good. I chose this one, because it's my most recent favorite. :) I couldn't put this book down. I felt the creepy-crawlies (in a good way!) several times while reading this book. The mystery and budding romance will keep you turning the page until the very end. A definite must for Regency England fans.
About the BookAbigail Foster is the practical daughter. She fears she will end up a spinster, especially as she has little dowry, and the one man she thought might marry her seems to have fallen for her younger, prettier sister. Facing financial ruin, Abigail and her father search for more affordable lodgings, until a strange solicitor arrives with an astounding offer: the use of a distant manor house abandoned for eighteen years. The Fosters journey to imposing Pembrooke Park and are startled to find it entombed as it was abruptly left: tea cups encrusted with dry tea, moth-eaten clothes in wardrobes, a doll's house left mid-play...
The handsome local curate welcomes them, but though he and his family seem acquainted with the manor's past, the only information they offer is a stern warning: Beware trespassers drawn by rumors that Pembrooke Park contains a secret room filled with treasure. This catches Abigail's attention. Hoping to restore her family's finances--and her dowry--Abigail looks for this supposed treasure. But eerie sounds at night and footprints in the dust reveal she isn't the only one secretly searching the house. Then Abigail begins receiving anonymous letters, containing clues about the hidden room and startling discoveries about the past.
As old friends and new foes come calling at Pembrooke Park, secrets come to light. Will Abigail find the treasure and love she seeks...or very real danger?
Karen Witemeyer, Short-Straw Bride
There is not a single Karen Witemeyer book I don't love! This one has my vote as my favorite, simply because it reminds me so much of my favorite movie musical, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Karen's stories are always so much fun to read. Just sweet enough, with a hint of danger. When I read her first book, I immediately purchased the other two she'd had published and read them one right after the other. They're that good. :)
About this BookWhen repaying a debt suddenly goes awry, Meredith finds four brothers drawing straws for her hand! Can the future hold love for this short-straw-bride?
Lori Benton, The Wood's Edge
Sigh. I love. this. book. It is at the very top of my all-time favorites. Such an intriguing premise, coupled with fascinating characters and compelling love stories, it will be one that I'll reread again and again. I don't even know what to say, other than this is one every reader of historical romance should read at least once. It's the first in a two-book series, so take heart! The ending doesn't wrap up like we'd hope--but the second book is filled with everything we want and more. Lori has a stunning way about her writing that captures you from the very start.
About the BookAt the wood’s edge cultures collide. Can two families survive the impact?
The 1757 New York frontier is home to the Oneida tribe and to British colonists, yet their feet rarely walk the same paths.
On the day Fort William Henry falls, Major Reginald Aubrey is beside himself with grief. His son, born that day, has died in the arms of his sleeping wife. When Reginald comes across an Oneida mother with newborn twins, one white, one brown, he makes a choice that will haunt the lives of all involved. He steals the white baby and leaves his own child behind. Reginald’s wife and foundling daughter, Anna, never suspect the truth about the boy they call William, but Reginald is wracked by regret that only intensifies with time, as his secret spreads its devastating ripples.
When the long buried truth comes to light, can an unlikely friendship forged at the wood’s edge provide a way forward? For a father tormented by fear of judgment, another by lust for vengeance. For a mother still grieving her lost child. For a brother who feels his twin’s absence, another unaware of his twin’s existence. And for Anna, who loves them both—Two Hawks, the mysterious Oneida boy she meets in secret, and William, her brother. As paths long divided collide, how will God direct the feet of those who follow Him?
Joanne Bischoff, The Lady and the Lionheart
This is one of those books that had a great impact on me personally. RT Book Reviews put it perfectly when they said this book is "Heartachingly Beautiful." I love Joanne's writing, but this book takes it to the next level. The characters are so well-layered and filled with pain, you want to jump into the book and help them find their happily-ever-after. You can read my review here.
About the BookRaised amid the fame and mystique of the Big Top, Charlie Lionheart holds the audience in the palm of his hand. But while his act captivates thousands, it's away from the spotlight where his true heart lies. Here he humbly cares for his pride of lions as if they were his brothers, a skill of bravery and strength that has prepared him for his most challenging feat yet--freeing an orphaned infant from the dark bondage of a sideshow. A trade so costly, it requires his life in exchange for hers, leaving him tarnished by the price of that choice. As the circus tents are raised on the outskirts of Roanoke, nurse Ella Beckley arrives to tend to this Gypsy girl. All under the watchful eye of a guardian who not only bears a striking resemblance to the child, but who protects the baby with a love that wraps around Ella's own tragic past, awakening a hope that goodness may yet reign. When their forbidden friendship deepens, Charlie dares to ask for her heart, bringing her behind the curtain of his secret world to reveal the sacrifice that gave hope to one little girl--boldly showing Ella that while her tattered faith is deeply scarred, the only marks that need be permanent are his own.
Lynn Austin, The Refiner's Fire Series
My favorite Christian Historical series of all time. I recommend it to everyone I can. I think I love it so much because you get three very different perspectives of the same war and time-period from three very different women who are all tied together in complicated relationships. It is so well-written and captivating, you won't want to put any of these books down. Love, love, love this series. I've read it many times.
About the SeriesLynn Austin takes readers on a dramatic journey through the Civil War years in her award-winning Refiner's Fire series. Told in three unique perspectives--Southern, Northern, and slave--each book offers a riveting and eloquent exploration of a nation and its people grappling with racism and injustice. With writing rich in historical detail, Austin brings to life the compelling journeys of characters confronted with the risks and sacrifices their beliefs entail.
Elizabeth Camden, Beyond All Dreams
Elizabeth Camden is a master at telling a good story. What I love is that her heroines are strong, intelligent, and work in unique jobs, not only to their time-period, but in general. Again, it was hard to pick a favorite of Elizabeth's, but I love the premise of this story and the particular jobs the hero and heroine both hold. There's also a scene in this story with the congressman and his nephew that touched home for me. It might be a scene overlooked by someone else, but for me, it helf a powerful message. That's what I love about books. They hold something different for everyone.
About the BookWhen a librarian and a prominent congressman join forces to solve a mystery, they become entangled in secrets more perilous than they could have ever imagined.
DeeAnne Gist, Maid to Match
DeeAnne! I love her books, as do many other people I know. There's just something fun and spunky about each of her heroines that make me smile. This book was one of my favorites because I love the time period, the elaborate lifestyles of the very wealthy, and the intricacies of the downstairs staff (this was published before Downton Abbey!). Such a good story and so well-written, but then, all of DeeAnne's books are that way.
About the BookThe new maid at the Biltmore Estate jeopardizes her own efforts to become the lady's maid with her interest in the handsome--and forbidden--footman.
Siri Mitchell, She Walks in Beauty
I think this was the first Siri Mitchell book I read. I was taken with the time period and the customs I learned in this story. It's a book that really makes you think hard about why we care what people think, how we deal with expectations placed upon us, and whether true love really wins in the end. Siri is a beautiful story-teller and her novels are full of historical facts that don't bog down the story, but enhance it with rich details, setting us firmly in her storyworld.
About the BookFor a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage in the late 1890s, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city's most eligible bachelor. Debuting means plenty of work there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity's spotlight turns Clara into a society page darling. Yet Clara wonders if this is the life she really wants, especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is, and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it's not just her heart at stake, but the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.
As I said at the beginning, these are just ten historical romance authors I love to read. Now, I'd love to hear from you! What Christian Historical Romance authors do you love? What is your favorite book they've written?
Gabrielle MeyerFind me on Facebook
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I live and breathe Christian Historical Romances. It's been that way since the day my aunt handed me my first Janette Oke book when I was about eleven-years-old. Before I started writing, and met brilliant contemporary authors, the number of contemporary novels I'd read could be counted on my right hand. I'm not kidding. My heart belongs to historical fiction. The number of historical novels I read? I can't even number them. One to two a week for years...until I started writing, now I'm lucky if I get in one a month.
I thought it would be fun to share ten of my favorite Christian Historical Romance authors. Now, this is not a complete list...it's not even the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are dozens and dozens and dozens of amazing authors out there. Three of them are on this blog (Erica, Jaime & Anne).
For this list, I thought I would share ten authors who fit into three categories for me: 1) I read everything they write, 2) Their writing has impacted me and my writing journey is some profound way, and 3) At least one of their books is on my list of all-time favorites.
Again, I want to stress that this is not a complete list, by any means!! (I'm feeling a lot of pressure about now, if you haven't noticed.) It's just a starting point for a great conversation in which I hope you share your favorites, as well.
So here they are, with my favorite book they've written, in no particular order.
Laura Frantz, The Colonel's Lady
This is the book that prompted me to start pursuing my dream to be an author (here's the story about how this book impacted me). It's also the book that introduced me to Laura's writing, and Laura herself. Not only is she one of my all-time favorite authors, she's also become one of my dearest writing friends. I've read this book several times, and each time I do, I love it even more.
About the BookIn 1779, when genteel Virginia spinster Roxanna Rowan arrives at the Kentucky fort commanded by Colonel Cassius McLinn, she finds that her officer father has died. Penniless and destitute, Roxanna is forced to take her father's place as scrivener. Before long, it's clear that the colonel himself is attracted to her. But she soon realizes the colonel has grave secrets of his own-some of which have to do with her father's sudden death. Can she ever truly love him? Readers will be enchanted by this powerful story of love, faith, and forgiveness from reader favorite Laura Frantz. Her solid research and deft writing immerse readers in the world of the early frontier while her realistic characters become intimate friends.
Jody Hedlund, Rebellious Heart
It was hard for me to choose a favorite of Jody's since they are all so amazing. Even after reading every historical book she's written, this one is still my favorite because of the intrigue, the setting and the amazing love story. Based off the life of John and Abigail Adams, this one will stay at the top of my list for a long time.
About the BookWhen Susanna's heart for the poor and Ben's disillusionment with British rule cross paths, the two find themselves bound in a dangerous fight for justice.
Julie Klassen, The Secret of Pembrooke Park
Another author that makes it hard to choose a favorite! Seriously, I can't pick my favorite for Julie, because they are all so good. I chose this one, because it's my most recent favorite. :) I couldn't put this book down. I felt the creepy-crawlies (in a good way!) several times while reading this book. The mystery and budding romance will keep you turning the page until the very end. A definite must for Regency England fans.
About the BookAbigail Foster is the practical daughter. She fears she will end up a spinster, especially as she has little dowry, and the one man she thought might marry her seems to have fallen for her younger, prettier sister. Facing financial ruin, Abigail and her father search for more affordable lodgings, until a strange solicitor arrives with an astounding offer: the use of a distant manor house abandoned for eighteen years. The Fosters journey to imposing Pembrooke Park and are startled to find it entombed as it was abruptly left: tea cups encrusted with dry tea, moth-eaten clothes in wardrobes, a doll's house left mid-play...
The handsome local curate welcomes them, but though he and his family seem acquainted with the manor's past, the only information they offer is a stern warning: Beware trespassers drawn by rumors that Pembrooke Park contains a secret room filled with treasure. This catches Abigail's attention. Hoping to restore her family's finances--and her dowry--Abigail looks for this supposed treasure. But eerie sounds at night and footprints in the dust reveal she isn't the only one secretly searching the house. Then Abigail begins receiving anonymous letters, containing clues about the hidden room and startling discoveries about the past.
As old friends and new foes come calling at Pembrooke Park, secrets come to light. Will Abigail find the treasure and love she seeks...or very real danger?
Karen Witemeyer, Short-Straw Bride
There is not a single Karen Witemeyer book I don't love! This one has my vote as my favorite, simply because it reminds me so much of my favorite movie musical, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Karen's stories are always so much fun to read. Just sweet enough, with a hint of danger. When I read her first book, I immediately purchased the other two she'd had published and read them one right after the other. They're that good. :)
About this BookWhen repaying a debt suddenly goes awry, Meredith finds four brothers drawing straws for her hand! Can the future hold love for this short-straw-bride?
Lori Benton, The Wood's Edge
Sigh. I love. this. book. It is at the very top of my all-time favorites. Such an intriguing premise, coupled with fascinating characters and compelling love stories, it will be one that I'll reread again and again. I don't even know what to say, other than this is one every reader of historical romance should read at least once. It's the first in a two-book series, so take heart! The ending doesn't wrap up like we'd hope--but the second book is filled with everything we want and more. Lori has a stunning way about her writing that captures you from the very start.
About the BookAt the wood’s edge cultures collide. Can two families survive the impact?
The 1757 New York frontier is home to the Oneida tribe and to British colonists, yet their feet rarely walk the same paths.
On the day Fort William Henry falls, Major Reginald Aubrey is beside himself with grief. His son, born that day, has died in the arms of his sleeping wife. When Reginald comes across an Oneida mother with newborn twins, one white, one brown, he makes a choice that will haunt the lives of all involved. He steals the white baby and leaves his own child behind. Reginald’s wife and foundling daughter, Anna, never suspect the truth about the boy they call William, but Reginald is wracked by regret that only intensifies with time, as his secret spreads its devastating ripples.
When the long buried truth comes to light, can an unlikely friendship forged at the wood’s edge provide a way forward? For a father tormented by fear of judgment, another by lust for vengeance. For a mother still grieving her lost child. For a brother who feels his twin’s absence, another unaware of his twin’s existence. And for Anna, who loves them both—Two Hawks, the mysterious Oneida boy she meets in secret, and William, her brother. As paths long divided collide, how will God direct the feet of those who follow Him?
Joanne Bischoff, The Lady and the Lionheart
This is one of those books that had a great impact on me personally. RT Book Reviews put it perfectly when they said this book is "Heartachingly Beautiful." I love Joanne's writing, but this book takes it to the next level. The characters are so well-layered and filled with pain, you want to jump into the book and help them find their happily-ever-after. You can read my review here.
About the BookRaised amid the fame and mystique of the Big Top, Charlie Lionheart holds the audience in the palm of his hand. But while his act captivates thousands, it's away from the spotlight where his true heart lies. Here he humbly cares for his pride of lions as if they were his brothers, a skill of bravery and strength that has prepared him for his most challenging feat yet--freeing an orphaned infant from the dark bondage of a sideshow. A trade so costly, it requires his life in exchange for hers, leaving him tarnished by the price of that choice. As the circus tents are raised on the outskirts of Roanoke, nurse Ella Beckley arrives to tend to this Gypsy girl. All under the watchful eye of a guardian who not only bears a striking resemblance to the child, but who protects the baby with a love that wraps around Ella's own tragic past, awakening a hope that goodness may yet reign. When their forbidden friendship deepens, Charlie dares to ask for her heart, bringing her behind the curtain of his secret world to reveal the sacrifice that gave hope to one little girl--boldly showing Ella that while her tattered faith is deeply scarred, the only marks that need be permanent are his own.
Lynn Austin, The Refiner's Fire Series
My favorite Christian Historical series of all time. I recommend it to everyone I can. I think I love it so much because you get three very different perspectives of the same war and time-period from three very different women who are all tied together in complicated relationships. It is so well-written and captivating, you won't want to put any of these books down. Love, love, love this series. I've read it many times.
About the SeriesLynn Austin takes readers on a dramatic journey through the Civil War years in her award-winning Refiner's Fire series. Told in three unique perspectives--Southern, Northern, and slave--each book offers a riveting and eloquent exploration of a nation and its people grappling with racism and injustice. With writing rich in historical detail, Austin brings to life the compelling journeys of characters confronted with the risks and sacrifices their beliefs entail.
Elizabeth Camden, Beyond All Dreams
Elizabeth Camden is a master at telling a good story. What I love is that her heroines are strong, intelligent, and work in unique jobs, not only to their time-period, but in general. Again, it was hard to pick a favorite of Elizabeth's, but I love the premise of this story and the particular jobs the hero and heroine both hold. There's also a scene in this story with the congressman and his nephew that touched home for me. It might be a scene overlooked by someone else, but for me, it helf a powerful message. That's what I love about books. They hold something different for everyone.
About the BookWhen a librarian and a prominent congressman join forces to solve a mystery, they become entangled in secrets more perilous than they could have ever imagined.
DeeAnne Gist, Maid to Match
DeeAnne! I love her books, as do many other people I know. There's just something fun and spunky about each of her heroines that make me smile. This book was one of my favorites because I love the time period, the elaborate lifestyles of the very wealthy, and the intricacies of the downstairs staff (this was published before Downton Abbey!). Such a good story and so well-written, but then, all of DeeAnne's books are that way.
About the BookThe new maid at the Biltmore Estate jeopardizes her own efforts to become the lady's maid with her interest in the handsome--and forbidden--footman.
Siri Mitchell, She Walks in Beauty
I think this was the first Siri Mitchell book I read. I was taken with the time period and the customs I learned in this story. It's a book that really makes you think hard about why we care what people think, how we deal with expectations placed upon us, and whether true love really wins in the end. Siri is a beautiful story-teller and her novels are full of historical facts that don't bog down the story, but enhance it with rich details, setting us firmly in her storyworld.
About the BookFor a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage in the late 1890s, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city's most eligible bachelor. Debuting means plenty of work there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity's spotlight turns Clara into a society page darling. Yet Clara wonders if this is the life she really wants, especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is, and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it's not just her heart at stake, but the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.
As I said at the beginning, these are just ten historical romance authors I love to read. Now, I'd love to hear from you! What Christian Historical Romance authors do you love? What is your favorite book they've written?
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March 8, 2017
March Madness on a Deadline
I know it isn't 2008, but that's the last time theJayhawks won the National Championship. :)So, I'm on a ridiculous deadline, and it's one of my favorite and busiest time of the year. It's the post-season for NCAA Men's Basketball. From November to the first weekend in April, I live and breathe Kansas Jayhawks basketball.
But I have this deadline. I need to get a finished novel on my editor's desk April 15th. I'm really hoping that the Jayhawks go all the way to the National Championship game on April 3rd.
My manuscript is almost to the halfway point, and it has been slow going thus far. But this isn't unusual for me. I gain momentum as I work through a story. It takes me time to find my way, to get to know my characters, to make all the choices needed to set up a story.
The real challenge is going to come between writing and wanting to watch basketball. NCAA Tournament games begin at 11 in the morning and finish around midnight, with a short break in the late afternoon. The games are held Thursdays - Sundays for a couple of weekends, then a Saturday and Monday the next week.
That last weekend, Gabe and I are teaching at a conference over in Milwaukee. Yeah. I scheduled a writing conference when I'm on deadline and during the final weekend of the NCAA tournament.
I've tried to prepare Gabe. :)
The plan is to pack as much writing into non-tournament days as possible, and hopefully have most of the manuscript finished by April 1st. Then I can spend the last couple of weeks polishing and improving the story before I need to turn it in.
Of course, an early exit by the Jayhawks would mean I would have more time to write...but I don't want that! I want us cutting down the nets! I'm willing to burn all the midnight oil in the world if it means the Jayhawks are in the Final Four. :)
So, are you passionate about a sports team? Do you watch the NCAA Tournament? Do you fill out brackets or take part in a bracket pool?
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March 7, 2017
March New Release in #CBA #Fiction!
I love featuring new releases! This month is exciting with so many great stories for you readers to check out!! :) My top to be reads have pictures by them, so you can see what I'm adding to my TBR pile! :)
More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.
Contemporary Romance:
Reunion at Crane Lake by Robin Bayne -- Colt's memory is returning after the accident that ended his career. Now he wants to take over his family's inn, but he'll have to partner with his former fiancée to be able to afford it. He'll need forgiveness to make that happen. Tia's goal is clear: to return the inn to its former grandeur. And she'll even work with Colt to do so. But like the inn, their relationship needs a lot of work. He broke her heart...can she ever trust him again? (Contemporary Romance from White Rose Publishing [Pelican])
Hope by Fay Lamb -- She's a starving artist facing a serious illness; he's the doctor who's her only hope of survival. If only she hadn't caused his sister to die. (Contemporary Romance from Write Integrity Press)
Muffins & Moonbeams by Elizabeth Maddrey -- Malachi Baxter is happy to hide in the background and manage the business-end of the family bakery. He'd much rather live in the online world of computer games where he can explore the galaxy and no one has to know he's deaf. Ursula Franks designs websites during the day and spends her evenings battling alien races online where relationships are easy and uncomplicated. When she agrees to design a website for the local Community Supported Bakery, she has no idea that Malachi is the real man behind her online persona's best friend and her own secret crush.As the two work together on the website, they uncover an attraction, but will they be able to put aside past hurt and insecurity to find love? (Contemporary Romance, Independently Published)
[image error] Then Came You: A Bradford Sisters Novella by Becky Wade -- Garner Bradford, heir to the troubled Bradford Shipping empire, doesn't know much about babies. But he's going to have to learn fast because he's just become a single father to his newborn daughter. Career girl Kathleen Burke is wholly uninterested in settling down. She has big dreams, and none of them include Garner and his small hometown in Washington State. Yet she can't seem to get her handsome boss out of her head or her heart.... (Romance Novella, Independently Published)
General:
When the Bough Breaks by Ane Mulligan -- Her dream job has a Catch 22—and time's running outRookie lobbyist Sienna O'Shea is determined to make a name for herself in New York's capitol city and use that influence to gain easier access to her birth records. For years she's searched for her birth mother, but when she's handed her first assignment—to lobby support for the permanent sealing of all adoption records—her worlds collide. Swept up into the intrigue of backroom politics, falling in love was not on Sienna's agenda, but the candidate for Lt. Governor runs a formidable campaign to make her his first lady. When an investigative reporter discovers foreign money infiltrating political campaigns, the trail leads to Sienna's inner circle. (General, Independently Published)
[image error] The Memory of You by Catherine West -- Thirteen years ago, Natalie lost a part of herself when her twin sister died. Will traveling back to the family winery finally put the memory to rest, or will it completely destroy her? (General from HarperCollins Christian Publishing [Thomas Nelson and Zondervan])
Cozy Mystery:
Murder Is No Accident
by A. H. Gabhart -- When murder comes to call at a stately Victorian house, the town of Hidden Springs looks to Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane to solve the crime before anyone else dies. (Cozy Mystery from Revell [Baker])
Historical Romance: A Rocky Mountain Romance by Misty M. Beller -- When Zeche takes shelter from a blizzard in a remote cabin, he doesn't expect to find a beautiful woman and her father, a disturbed Civil War veteran. Zeche's instincts tell him Greta is endangered and he should stay and protect her, but his own presence aggravates her father's condition. With a dangerous snowstorm outside and growing hostilities inside, can he find a way to keep them all safe from harm? Or will it be to the detriment of his heart? (Historical Romance, Independently Published)
A Stolen Heart
by Amanda Cabot -- From afar, Cimarron Creek seems like an idyllic town tucked in the Texas Hill Country. But when former schoolteacher Lydia Crawford steps onto its dusty streets in 1880, she finds a town with a deep-seated resentment of Northerners--like her. Lydia won't let that get her down, though. All will be well when she's reunited with her fiancé. But when she discovers he has disappeared--and that he left behind a pregnant wife--Lydia is at a loss about what to do next. The handsome sheriff urges her to trust him, but can she trust anyone in this town where secrets are as prevalent as bluebonnets in spring? (Historical Romance from Revell [Baker])
My Heart Belongs in the Superstition Mountains: Carmela's Quandary by Susan Page Davis -- Experience the Wild West as Carmela seeks freedom of body and soul. Forced for years by her uncle to pose as a survivor of an Indian kidnapping so he can profit on the speaker circuit, she longs to end the lies. On a stagecoach in Arizona Territory, Carmela and her uncle are fellow passengers with a deputy US marshal and his handcuffed prisoner. When the stage is attacked, will Carmela's wish come true, or will she forever be branded by her past? (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)
Desert Moon & Honor Bound by Susan Page Davis and Colleen L. Reece -- Enjoy an Old West romance adventure from author Susan Page Davis. Julia Newman looked forward to moving home to Arizona, then she got word that her mother has died and Julie's stagecoach is robbed. If that wasn't enough, the first person she sees in town is Adam Scott—the man she always loved but could never have—and now he is accusing her brother of criminal activity. Also includes a bonus historical romance, Honor Bound by Colleen L. Reece. (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)
Her Motherhood Wish
by Keli Gwyn -- En route to the Double T Orphanage to work on its expansion, carpenter Chip Evans and Caroline Hunt discover two orphaned children—and become their caregivers. But Chip's determined not to let himself get too attached to the children who just lost their widowed father…or to the lovely woman helping him care for them. Especially since Callie and the little ones just don't fit into his detailed plans for the future. Callie can't help but fall in love with the orphans, and despite her better judgment, she's falling for Chip, too. Her dreams of being a wife and mother were not quite like this. But Callie believes a plan bigger than Chip's brought them all together…and now she just has to help him see it, too. (Historical Romance from Love Inspired [Harlequin])
The Planter's Daughter by Michelle Shocklee -- When her father's Texas cotton plantation faces bankruptcy, Adella must choose between the man who can her family's land and the man who can save her! (Historical Romance from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas)
When Tides Turn
by Sarah Sundin -- When Quintessa Beaumont learns the US Navy has established the WAVES program for women, she enlists, eager to throw off her frivolous ways and contribute to the war effort. Lt. Dan Avery employs his skills in antisubmarine warfare to fight U-boats at the peak of the Battle of the Atlantic, but the last thing he wants to see on his radar is fun-loving Tess. As Dan and Tess work together in Boston, the changes in Tess challenge his notions--and his heart. (Historical Romance from Revell [Baker])
Medical Suspense:
Dcotor's Dilemma by Richard L. Mabry M.D. -- Young surgeon Tyler Gentry thought the offer to join the Hall Group of surgeons offered the answer to his problems, but things changed when he received a 3 AM phone call that told him such a move would be hazardous to his health. (Medical Suspense, Independently Published)
Romantic Suspense: Her Baby's Protector by Margaret Daley and Susan Sleeman -- Saved by the Lawman by Margaret Daley: As an unknown assailant attempts to kidnap family-court judge Kate Forster's infant son, police officer Chase Walker thwarts the attack—and vows to keep the pair safe. But who will protect the ex-marine's heart when the widowed mother and her little boy make him long for a permanent spot in their family? Saved by the SEAL by Susan Sleeman: The tragedy that killed Bree Hatfield's best friends--and left her with custody of their young daughter--has been ruled an accident. But Bree knows it was murder. Scared and alone, she turns to her ex-boyfriend, navy SEAL Clint Reed, who'll risk everything to protect baby Ella and the woman he never stopped loving. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])
Agent-in-Training by Terri Reed -- FBI intern Zara Fielding and her K-9 partner, Radar, stumble across a robbery gone wrong and put themselves in the criminals' crosshairs. Her childhood friend FBI computer guru Dylan O'Leary works for the secretive FBI unit she longs to join, and he vows not to let anything happen to her. As they work to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, new feelings ignite. When she goes missing, it's only Dylan--and Radar--who can track her down. Will they arrive in time to save her and the future she and Dylan have started dreaming about? (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])
Speculative Romance/Fantasy:
Ingrid's Engagement by Kristen Reed -- When King Viggo marches through the kingdom of Schlagefilde in a relentless quest for retribution against its wicked king, the Count of Anselm attempts to make peace with him. As the two strike a deal that will protect the people of Anselm, the King of Villriket becomes enthralled with a portrait of the Count's oldest daughter, Ingrid. The vengeful king vows that he will leave Edmund's county in peace if he will allow him to marry Ingrid. To prevent her father from incurring the sovereign's wrath, the young lady hastily agrees and enters into an unforeseen engagement with the grim ruler. Ingrid's Engagement tells the enchanting tale of a beautiful young woman who softens the hardened heart of a beastly king with nothing more than her quiet wisdom and gentle spirit. (Speculative Romance/Fantasy, Independently Published)
And a few more releases from this month that didn't make it on ACFW's release list but I'm equally as excited about are:
From light-hearted romance to laugh-out-loud love, this set will put a smile on your face and keep you reading long into the night. Check it out here! Authors include: Laurie Tomlinson, Jessica Patch, Pepper Basham, Krista Phillips, and more!
From Author Kristy Cambron: Wren Lockhart, apprentice to master illusionist Harry Houdini, uses life on a vaudeville stage to escape the pain of her past. She continues her career of illusion after her mentor’s death, intent on burying her true identity.
But when a rival performer’s act goes tragically wrong, the newly formed FBI calls on Wren to speak the truth—and reveal her real name to the world. She transfers her skills for misdirection from the stage to the back halls of vaudeville, as she finds herself the unlikely partner in the FBI’s investigation. All the while Houdini’s words echo in her mind: Whatever occurs, the crowd must believe it’s what you meant to happen. She knows that if anyone digs too deep, secrets long kept hidden may find their way to the surface—and shatter her carefully controlled world.
Set during one of the richest, most vibrant eras in American history, this Jazz Age novel of illusion, suspense, and forgotten pasts is perfect for fans of The Magician’s Lie, challenging all to find the underpinnings of faith on their own life’s stage. Check it out here!
Which books are you most looking forward to?
_________________________________________
Professional coffee drinker & ECPA/Publisher's Weekly best-selling author, Jaime Jo Wright resides in the hills of Wisconsin writing spirited turn-of-the-century romance stained with suspense. Coffee fuels her snarky personality. She lives in Neverland with her Cap’n Hook who stole her heart and will not give it back, their little fairy TinkerBell, and a very mischievous Peter Pan. The foursome embark on scores of adventure that only make her fall more wildly in love with romance and intrigue.
Jaime lives in dreamland, exists in reality, and invites you to join her adventures atjaimejowright.com.
Web site: www.jaimejowright.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaimejowright
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaimejowright
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jaimejowright
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/jaimejowright
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/13916081.Jaime_Jo_Wright
Periscope: @jaimejowright
More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.
Contemporary Romance:
Reunion at Crane Lake by Robin Bayne -- Colt's memory is returning after the accident that ended his career. Now he wants to take over his family's inn, but he'll have to partner with his former fiancée to be able to afford it. He'll need forgiveness to make that happen. Tia's goal is clear: to return the inn to its former grandeur. And she'll even work with Colt to do so. But like the inn, their relationship needs a lot of work. He broke her heart...can she ever trust him again? (Contemporary Romance from White Rose Publishing [Pelican])
Hope by Fay Lamb -- She's a starving artist facing a serious illness; he's the doctor who's her only hope of survival. If only she hadn't caused his sister to die. (Contemporary Romance from Write Integrity Press)
Muffins & Moonbeams by Elizabeth Maddrey -- Malachi Baxter is happy to hide in the background and manage the business-end of the family bakery. He'd much rather live in the online world of computer games where he can explore the galaxy and no one has to know he's deaf. Ursula Franks designs websites during the day and spends her evenings battling alien races online where relationships are easy and uncomplicated. When she agrees to design a website for the local Community Supported Bakery, she has no idea that Malachi is the real man behind her online persona's best friend and her own secret crush.As the two work together on the website, they uncover an attraction, but will they be able to put aside past hurt and insecurity to find love? (Contemporary Romance, Independently Published)
[image error] Then Came You: A Bradford Sisters Novella by Becky Wade -- Garner Bradford, heir to the troubled Bradford Shipping empire, doesn't know much about babies. But he's going to have to learn fast because he's just become a single father to his newborn daughter. Career girl Kathleen Burke is wholly uninterested in settling down. She has big dreams, and none of them include Garner and his small hometown in Washington State. Yet she can't seem to get her handsome boss out of her head or her heart.... (Romance Novella, Independently Published)
General:
When the Bough Breaks by Ane Mulligan -- Her dream job has a Catch 22—and time's running outRookie lobbyist Sienna O'Shea is determined to make a name for herself in New York's capitol city and use that influence to gain easier access to her birth records. For years she's searched for her birth mother, but when she's handed her first assignment—to lobby support for the permanent sealing of all adoption records—her worlds collide. Swept up into the intrigue of backroom politics, falling in love was not on Sienna's agenda, but the candidate for Lt. Governor runs a formidable campaign to make her his first lady. When an investigative reporter discovers foreign money infiltrating political campaigns, the trail leads to Sienna's inner circle. (General, Independently Published)
[image error] The Memory of You by Catherine West -- Thirteen years ago, Natalie lost a part of herself when her twin sister died. Will traveling back to the family winery finally put the memory to rest, or will it completely destroy her? (General from HarperCollins Christian Publishing [Thomas Nelson and Zondervan])
Cozy Mystery:
Murder Is No Accident
by A. H. Gabhart -- When murder comes to call at a stately Victorian house, the town of Hidden Springs looks to Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane to solve the crime before anyone else dies. (Cozy Mystery from Revell [Baker])Historical Romance: A Rocky Mountain Romance by Misty M. Beller -- When Zeche takes shelter from a blizzard in a remote cabin, he doesn't expect to find a beautiful woman and her father, a disturbed Civil War veteran. Zeche's instincts tell him Greta is endangered and he should stay and protect her, but his own presence aggravates her father's condition. With a dangerous snowstorm outside and growing hostilities inside, can he find a way to keep them all safe from harm? Or will it be to the detriment of his heart? (Historical Romance, Independently Published)
A Stolen Heart
by Amanda Cabot -- From afar, Cimarron Creek seems like an idyllic town tucked in the Texas Hill Country. But when former schoolteacher Lydia Crawford steps onto its dusty streets in 1880, she finds a town with a deep-seated resentment of Northerners--like her. Lydia won't let that get her down, though. All will be well when she's reunited with her fiancé. But when she discovers he has disappeared--and that he left behind a pregnant wife--Lydia is at a loss about what to do next. The handsome sheriff urges her to trust him, but can she trust anyone in this town where secrets are as prevalent as bluebonnets in spring? (Historical Romance from Revell [Baker]) My Heart Belongs in the Superstition Mountains: Carmela's Quandary by Susan Page Davis -- Experience the Wild West as Carmela seeks freedom of body and soul. Forced for years by her uncle to pose as a survivor of an Indian kidnapping so he can profit on the speaker circuit, she longs to end the lies. On a stagecoach in Arizona Territory, Carmela and her uncle are fellow passengers with a deputy US marshal and his handcuffed prisoner. When the stage is attacked, will Carmela's wish come true, or will she forever be branded by her past? (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)
Desert Moon & Honor Bound by Susan Page Davis and Colleen L. Reece -- Enjoy an Old West romance adventure from author Susan Page Davis. Julia Newman looked forward to moving home to Arizona, then she got word that her mother has died and Julie's stagecoach is robbed. If that wasn't enough, the first person she sees in town is Adam Scott—the man she always loved but could never have—and now he is accusing her brother of criminal activity. Also includes a bonus historical romance, Honor Bound by Colleen L. Reece. (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)
Her Motherhood Wish
by Keli Gwyn -- En route to the Double T Orphanage to work on its expansion, carpenter Chip Evans and Caroline Hunt discover two orphaned children—and become their caregivers. But Chip's determined not to let himself get too attached to the children who just lost their widowed father…or to the lovely woman helping him care for them. Especially since Callie and the little ones just don't fit into his detailed plans for the future. Callie can't help but fall in love with the orphans, and despite her better judgment, she's falling for Chip, too. Her dreams of being a wife and mother were not quite like this. But Callie believes a plan bigger than Chip's brought them all together…and now she just has to help him see it, too. (Historical Romance from Love Inspired [Harlequin]) The Planter's Daughter by Michelle Shocklee -- When her father's Texas cotton plantation faces bankruptcy, Adella must choose between the man who can her family's land and the man who can save her! (Historical Romance from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas)
When Tides Turn
by Sarah Sundin -- When Quintessa Beaumont learns the US Navy has established the WAVES program for women, she enlists, eager to throw off her frivolous ways and contribute to the war effort. Lt. Dan Avery employs his skills in antisubmarine warfare to fight U-boats at the peak of the Battle of the Atlantic, but the last thing he wants to see on his radar is fun-loving Tess. As Dan and Tess work together in Boston, the changes in Tess challenge his notions--and his heart. (Historical Romance from Revell [Baker]) Medical Suspense:
Dcotor's Dilemma by Richard L. Mabry M.D. -- Young surgeon Tyler Gentry thought the offer to join the Hall Group of surgeons offered the answer to his problems, but things changed when he received a 3 AM phone call that told him such a move would be hazardous to his health. (Medical Suspense, Independently Published)
Romantic Suspense: Her Baby's Protector by Margaret Daley and Susan Sleeman -- Saved by the Lawman by Margaret Daley: As an unknown assailant attempts to kidnap family-court judge Kate Forster's infant son, police officer Chase Walker thwarts the attack—and vows to keep the pair safe. But who will protect the ex-marine's heart when the widowed mother and her little boy make him long for a permanent spot in their family? Saved by the SEAL by Susan Sleeman: The tragedy that killed Bree Hatfield's best friends--and left her with custody of their young daughter--has been ruled an accident. But Bree knows it was murder. Scared and alone, she turns to her ex-boyfriend, navy SEAL Clint Reed, who'll risk everything to protect baby Ella and the woman he never stopped loving. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])
Agent-in-Training by Terri Reed -- FBI intern Zara Fielding and her K-9 partner, Radar, stumble across a robbery gone wrong and put themselves in the criminals' crosshairs. Her childhood friend FBI computer guru Dylan O'Leary works for the secretive FBI unit she longs to join, and he vows not to let anything happen to her. As they work to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, new feelings ignite. When she goes missing, it's only Dylan--and Radar--who can track her down. Will they arrive in time to save her and the future she and Dylan have started dreaming about? (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])
Speculative Romance/Fantasy:
Ingrid's Engagement by Kristen Reed -- When King Viggo marches through the kingdom of Schlagefilde in a relentless quest for retribution against its wicked king, the Count of Anselm attempts to make peace with him. As the two strike a deal that will protect the people of Anselm, the King of Villriket becomes enthralled with a portrait of the Count's oldest daughter, Ingrid. The vengeful king vows that he will leave Edmund's county in peace if he will allow him to marry Ingrid. To prevent her father from incurring the sovereign's wrath, the young lady hastily agrees and enters into an unforeseen engagement with the grim ruler. Ingrid's Engagement tells the enchanting tale of a beautiful young woman who softens the hardened heart of a beastly king with nothing more than her quiet wisdom and gentle spirit. (Speculative Romance/Fantasy, Independently Published)
And a few more releases from this month that didn't make it on ACFW's release list but I'm equally as excited about are:
From light-hearted romance to laugh-out-loud love, this set will put a smile on your face and keep you reading long into the night. Check it out here! Authors include: Laurie Tomlinson, Jessica Patch, Pepper Basham, Krista Phillips, and more!
From Author Kristy Cambron: Wren Lockhart, apprentice to master illusionist Harry Houdini, uses life on a vaudeville stage to escape the pain of her past. She continues her career of illusion after her mentor’s death, intent on burying her true identity.But when a rival performer’s act goes tragically wrong, the newly formed FBI calls on Wren to speak the truth—and reveal her real name to the world. She transfers her skills for misdirection from the stage to the back halls of vaudeville, as she finds herself the unlikely partner in the FBI’s investigation. All the while Houdini’s words echo in her mind: Whatever occurs, the crowd must believe it’s what you meant to happen. She knows that if anyone digs too deep, secrets long kept hidden may find their way to the surface—and shatter her carefully controlled world.
Set during one of the richest, most vibrant eras in American history, this Jazz Age novel of illusion, suspense, and forgotten pasts is perfect for fans of The Magician’s Lie, challenging all to find the underpinnings of faith on their own life’s stage. Check it out here!
Which books are you most looking forward to?
_________________________________________
Professional coffee drinker & ECPA/Publisher's Weekly best-selling author, Jaime Jo Wright resides in the hills of Wisconsin writing spirited turn-of-the-century romance stained with suspense. Coffee fuels her snarky personality. She lives in Neverland with her Cap’n Hook who stole her heart and will not give it back, their little fairy TinkerBell, and a very mischievous Peter Pan. The foursome embark on scores of adventure that only make her fall more wildly in love with romance and intrigue.Jaime lives in dreamland, exists in reality, and invites you to join her adventures atjaimejowright.com.
Web site: www.jaimejowright.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaimejowright
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaimejowright
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jaimejowright
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/jaimejowright
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/13916081.Jaime_Jo_Wright
Periscope: @jaimejowright
March 6, 2017
Are You a Fan-Girl or Man-Fan?
Anne here. It was Harry Potter weekend on dish network this past weekend and our family watched a documentary by Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) about digging into the phenomenon of super fans--those fans who follow famous people and show up at every public event wanting a signature. What can they possibly glean from fan-following their famous hero?
I had to think if I've ever fan-girled anyone and why? There was the time I went to a fundraiser dinner and Henry Winkler was the guest speaker. Afterwards everyone lined up and got an introduction. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and we took pictures and joked that I could never wash my cheek where "the Fonz" had kissed me. Silly. I know.
My husband is totally fascinated with wanting to meet famous people, like Bono or Larry Bird. People are so willing to get excited about that possibility that a few summers ago the only way I convinced my husband to go sleuthing through a lost cemetery for his long forgotten family history, was to remind him that it was in the same town where Larry Bird grew up and we could eat at his restaurant and take a picture wearing his Olympic Dream Team jacket. He was suddenly all in and so excited that as we got in the truck with friends to leave there was a couple heading into the restaurant and Ted rolled down the window and casually said, "have fun, I'm Larry Bird's cousin." The shock and awe on that couple's face as they reached for their cameras to take a picture a second before Ted burst out laughing and admitted it was a joke, was priceless. Not to mention the fact that Ted is at least a foot shorter than Larry Bird!
Admittedly, I was very thrilled this last year to finally meet Laura Frantz in person after connecting online through the writing community. But I had to pause last week when at a dinner party a friend who beta reads for me asked me who was the most famous and exciting person I've gotten to know and meet at my writer's conventions--suddenly I couldn't name a single person. I really don't personally know many of the authors I read. It's not like I know their children's names, or if they had a bad day, or their greatest life highs and lows, like a BFF.
Why? Well, I think it's because truly fan-girling or man-fanning is a phenomenon. It's not a real relationship. It's a real connection. But it's really sort of one-directional. What could Henry Winkler, Larry Bird, Bono, or Laura Frantz actually know about me? What I know about them is that their life and their story connected to something in me that I feel I now own.
The Fonz shaped my idea of American dating in the 50's that defined masculinity for that time in culture. Larry Bird is part of what I consider the Old Breed of athleticism, dedication, and determination in the sports world that touched thousands of young boys and men in small town America for decades. Bono's music has given expression to a world yearning to break free and find what we are looking for. And Laura, and all my other favorite authors? What makes me lift them up in my mind? We could spend hours discussing why a society has the need to worship fame.
But I think its the mere truth that the art, the work, and the stories they tell--all communicate something in the human experience that connects us to a sense of knowing we are not alone. We share common hopes, dreams, doubts, ideas. And I don't need to know one personal thing about any of them, or them about me--to believe that we share much of the human experience expressed in their life's work. And in those moments that hit me when the words on the page, or the perfect shot, or the sound of Bono with Edge in the background--those are the moments we have made a connection. The moment their story intersects with mine, and becomes part of me.
I'm not famous. Nor do I aspire to become famous. Actually, the idea is very daunting. I feel bad enough when I can't recall the face of someone I should know, or met more than once, let alone remember what we talked about. But when you work with the public this interaction happens. I forget when I've shared something a little personal with someone and then I'm surprised if they recall it. As an ICU nurse (not that ICU nurses are famous! lol), years ago I had to help defibrillate a woman on a Good Friday. She survived and I said something to her, never imagining I'd meet her again years later to have her quote to me that I'd told her "it's Good Friday, and God wants you to know it's good." It stunned me, no it shook me that the words I'd said had stayed with her, meant that much. It was unnerving. Not that there was anything special about me particularly, but more the idea that WORDS matter that much. That we have a responsibility to say them as best we can. For the human experience. For Truth. With God.
Readers:
What words, books, movies, works of art, heroes, or heroines have impacted your life the most?
Who do you Fan-girl? Who are you a Man-Fan of? Why?
Why do you believe we have such a need for heroines and heroes?
Who is the most famous person you've met? What was your response?
For HP fans here's the link: Superfans! A Tom Felton Documentary
And for a dear "fan" who we've learned to know and love, Bonnie, we love you & pray for you.
#PrayForAFan #PrayForAHero #PrayForAHeroine #FanGirlManFan
-------------Blog post by Anne Love-
Writer of Historical Romance inspired by her family roots.
Nurse Practitioner by day.
Wife, mother, writer by night.
Coffee drinker--any time.
Find me at: www.anneloveauthor.com
Find me on:FacebookFind me on: PinterestFind me on: Goodreads
Find me on: Twitter
Find me on: InstagramSaveSave
I had to think if I've ever fan-girled anyone and why? There was the time I went to a fundraiser dinner and Henry Winkler was the guest speaker. Afterwards everyone lined up and got an introduction. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and we took pictures and joked that I could never wash my cheek where "the Fonz" had kissed me. Silly. I know.
My husband is totally fascinated with wanting to meet famous people, like Bono or Larry Bird. People are so willing to get excited about that possibility that a few summers ago the only way I convinced my husband to go sleuthing through a lost cemetery for his long forgotten family history, was to remind him that it was in the same town where Larry Bird grew up and we could eat at his restaurant and take a picture wearing his Olympic Dream Team jacket. He was suddenly all in and so excited that as we got in the truck with friends to leave there was a couple heading into the restaurant and Ted rolled down the window and casually said, "have fun, I'm Larry Bird's cousin." The shock and awe on that couple's face as they reached for their cameras to take a picture a second before Ted burst out laughing and admitted it was a joke, was priceless. Not to mention the fact that Ted is at least a foot shorter than Larry Bird!
Admittedly, I was very thrilled this last year to finally meet Laura Frantz in person after connecting online through the writing community. But I had to pause last week when at a dinner party a friend who beta reads for me asked me who was the most famous and exciting person I've gotten to know and meet at my writer's conventions--suddenly I couldn't name a single person. I really don't personally know many of the authors I read. It's not like I know their children's names, or if they had a bad day, or their greatest life highs and lows, like a BFF.
Why? Well, I think it's because truly fan-girling or man-fanning is a phenomenon. It's not a real relationship. It's a real connection. But it's really sort of one-directional. What could Henry Winkler, Larry Bird, Bono, or Laura Frantz actually know about me? What I know about them is that their life and their story connected to something in me that I feel I now own.
The Fonz shaped my idea of American dating in the 50's that defined masculinity for that time in culture. Larry Bird is part of what I consider the Old Breed of athleticism, dedication, and determination in the sports world that touched thousands of young boys and men in small town America for decades. Bono's music has given expression to a world yearning to break free and find what we are looking for. And Laura, and all my other favorite authors? What makes me lift them up in my mind? We could spend hours discussing why a society has the need to worship fame.
But I think its the mere truth that the art, the work, and the stories they tell--all communicate something in the human experience that connects us to a sense of knowing we are not alone. We share common hopes, dreams, doubts, ideas. And I don't need to know one personal thing about any of them, or them about me--to believe that we share much of the human experience expressed in their life's work. And in those moments that hit me when the words on the page, or the perfect shot, or the sound of Bono with Edge in the background--those are the moments we have made a connection. The moment their story intersects with mine, and becomes part of me.
I'm not famous. Nor do I aspire to become famous. Actually, the idea is very daunting. I feel bad enough when I can't recall the face of someone I should know, or met more than once, let alone remember what we talked about. But when you work with the public this interaction happens. I forget when I've shared something a little personal with someone and then I'm surprised if they recall it. As an ICU nurse (not that ICU nurses are famous! lol), years ago I had to help defibrillate a woman on a Good Friday. She survived and I said something to her, never imagining I'd meet her again years later to have her quote to me that I'd told her "it's Good Friday, and God wants you to know it's good." It stunned me, no it shook me that the words I'd said had stayed with her, meant that much. It was unnerving. Not that there was anything special about me particularly, but more the idea that WORDS matter that much. That we have a responsibility to say them as best we can. For the human experience. For Truth. With God.
Readers:
What words, books, movies, works of art, heroes, or heroines have impacted your life the most?
Who do you Fan-girl? Who are you a Man-Fan of? Why?
Why do you believe we have such a need for heroines and heroes?
Who is the most famous person you've met? What was your response?
For HP fans here's the link: Superfans! A Tom Felton Documentary
And for a dear "fan" who we've learned to know and love, Bonnie, we love you & pray for you.
#PrayForAFan #PrayForAHero #PrayForAHeroine #FanGirlManFan
-------------Blog post by Anne Love-
Writer of Historical Romance inspired by her family roots.
Nurse Practitioner by day.
Wife, mother, writer by night.
Coffee drinker--any time.
Find me at: www.anneloveauthor.com
Find me on:FacebookFind me on: PinterestFind me on: Goodreads
Find me on: Twitter
Find me on: InstagramSaveSave
March 3, 2017
Interview & #Giveaway with Author @LaurieTomlinson
We are VERY excited here at the CCC to have Laurie Tomlinson as a GUEST INTERVIEW! She has posted blogs before here, but never been featured as an author. Please welcome Laurie, and keep reading so you can enter to win a copy of her DEBUT NOVELLA!
_______________________________________________
Thank you so much for visiting us today here at the CCC blog! Can you tell us about your latest release and what inspired you to write the story?
Thanks for hosting me again! The first of two releasing this spring is my March 6 novella, That’s When I Knew, part of the Love at First Laugh collection of inspirational romantic comedies. It tells the story of childhood sweethearts Nick and Chelsea, who spent summers playing neighborhood baseball in small-town Oklahoma, had a failed summer romance as teens, and arenow reunited as adults on the verge of the biggest convention of Chelsea’s career. It was first inspired by two inseparable kids in my neighborhood (though it’s not based on them at all!). They say you’re supposed to write what you know, so the rest of the story developed from my love of planners.
Of all your characters in this story, which one did you enjoy writing the most and why?
Definitely Chelsea. I accidentally related to her way more than I intended to. She designed a planner to help with her hot mess of a life, and it took off rather unexpectedly. So she deals with perfectionism and impostor syndrome because she’s unorganized and all over the place, but she has a great team to help her keep her head on straight J
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play them?
Nick would be played by Garrett Hedlund (when he’s clean shaven!) and I see Chelsea as an older version of Katherine McNamara with that fantastic strawberry blond hair!
How did you decide on the setting/location for this novel?
Some of my other novels that aren’t published were based in this fictional Oklahoma lake town, Greencliff, so I had to have Chelsea live there. But much of the novella takes place on the road to Chicago, which I chose because it’s the perfect big city for an international trade show!
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it and why?
Never say never! But I will most likely stay away from writing historical novels. I’d also prefergetting a cavity filled over anything related to classical philosophy. No. Just no. Contemporary subjects, on the other hand, I am totally okay with!
Moving on from your story, tell us a little about yourself. We’ll help! What literary character is most like you and why?
Continuing the last question, I’m most like Hermione Granger – definitely a reformed know-it-all. I consider life one big continuing education course and like to read about a wide range of topics. But I also have a little Madea in me, if you know what I mean.
What strange writing habits do you have? Like standing on your head while you write with a pen between your teeth?
I write way out of order! In the first three books I wrote, the first scene that came to me was the black moment, so I started there, wrote to the end, and then wrote the rest from the beginning. I’m working on writing more linearly to avoid the editing carnage that ensues from my normalmethod, but the story wants what the story wants! I know y’all can relate.
Do you have a writing mentor, or another author who has inspired/encouraged you in some way?
Hands down, Kathleen Y’Barbo Turner. I would probably still be working on my first novel in the secret corner of a coffee shop if it weren’t for her!
We talk a lot about faith and how it weaves throughout our fiction, here at the blog. How has your faith affected/or not affected your writing?
Oh, my faith affects everything. It’s the reason I write, the way I can write, and the breath behind every storyline, whether my stories are for the Christian market or not.
Because Jaime has some darker elements to her split-time historical and contemporary romantic suspense coming out this year, she likes to ask weird questions. So, if you were responsible to write your own epitaph for your tombstone, what would it say?
That’s a hard question! I know the right answer is something about full life with a John 10:10 quote, but all I can think about right now is being a Jaime character. If someone else’s hand put me in the grave, you’d better believe my epitaph will be about haunting them J
Anne is an insatiable romantic with a serious vintage aura in all she writes. Do you have fabulous love story in your family history that you could share with us in a few words? If not, what about your own?
My parents got engaged after knowing each other for four weeks, were married four months later, and are still going strong 33 years later! Sometimes you really do just know, and when the Lord is at the center of your marriage, you can defy all Erica and Gabrielle both write sweet historical romances. How does romance influence your own writing?
I’m a fan of happily ever after, but I love showing the beauty in the mess that happens when two humans come together in the most unlikely of circumstances. The best romances, to me, are the couples that strengthen and support each other as partners in their dreams. *Swoon*
We’d love you have you share a quote from your novel to entice us and hook us! J Please share something below:
"There is no slow motion of dipping toes in the water with Nick, you know? Being with him is running from the dock and diving headfirst without stopping to check the water." – Chelsea Scott
On most days, Chelsea Scott feels like her rapidly growing planner and stationery businessshould belong to someone else. Maybe if it did, it wouldn't be hovering near the red due to onecostly decision. But the collaboration that will save her company awaits her pitch at the trade show she's keynoting. When her transportation falls through at the last minute, she accepts help from Nick Pearson, who’s unexpectedly come back into her life.
The last time Nick saw Chelsea, he told her he loved her, and she ran. Twelve years later, their lives are different, more complex than the summers they spent playing baseball and eating ice cream cones at their dock with their toes in the lake. But as they spend time together on the road, their feelings for each other become clear: all those years couldn’t take away how good they can be together.
When Chelsea's past decisions resurface at the convention, her newly rekindled relationship withNick – and her business – are in jeopardy. Will their love be enough to keep them together or will another summer end with them apart?
The Love at First Laugh Collection releases on March 6. Pre-order all eight novellas for 99 cents on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2l0mqka
About Laurie: Laurie Tomlinson is an award-winning contemporary romance author and cheerleader for creatives. She believes that God’s love is unfailing, anything can be accomplished with a good to-do list, and that life should be celebrated with cupcakes and extra sprinkles. Her debut contemporary romance novel releases in May 2017 from Harlequin Heartwarming. You can connect with Laurie on her website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Enter to win a FREE e-Copy of Laurie's new novella!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
_______________________________________________
Thank you so much for visiting us today here at the CCC blog! Can you tell us about your latest release and what inspired you to write the story?Thanks for hosting me again! The first of two releasing this spring is my March 6 novella, That’s When I Knew, part of the Love at First Laugh collection of inspirational romantic comedies. It tells the story of childhood sweethearts Nick and Chelsea, who spent summers playing neighborhood baseball in small-town Oklahoma, had a failed summer romance as teens, and arenow reunited as adults on the verge of the biggest convention of Chelsea’s career. It was first inspired by two inseparable kids in my neighborhood (though it’s not based on them at all!). They say you’re supposed to write what you know, so the rest of the story developed from my love of planners.
Of all your characters in this story, which one did you enjoy writing the most and why?
Definitely Chelsea. I accidentally related to her way more than I intended to. She designed a planner to help with her hot mess of a life, and it took off rather unexpectedly. So she deals with perfectionism and impostor syndrome because she’s unorganized and all over the place, but she has a great team to help her keep her head on straight J
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play them?
Nick would be played by Garrett Hedlund (when he’s clean shaven!) and I see Chelsea as an older version of Katherine McNamara with that fantastic strawberry blond hair!How did you decide on the setting/location for this novel?
Some of my other novels that aren’t published were based in this fictional Oklahoma lake town, Greencliff, so I had to have Chelsea live there. But much of the novella takes place on the road to Chicago, which I chose because it’s the perfect big city for an international trade show!
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it and why?
Never say never! But I will most likely stay away from writing historical novels. I’d also prefergetting a cavity filled over anything related to classical philosophy. No. Just no. Contemporary subjects, on the other hand, I am totally okay with!
Moving on from your story, tell us a little about yourself. We’ll help! What literary character is most like you and why?
Continuing the last question, I’m most like Hermione Granger – definitely a reformed know-it-all. I consider life one big continuing education course and like to read about a wide range of topics. But I also have a little Madea in me, if you know what I mean.
What strange writing habits do you have? Like standing on your head while you write with a pen between your teeth?
I write way out of order! In the first three books I wrote, the first scene that came to me was the black moment, so I started there, wrote to the end, and then wrote the rest from the beginning. I’m working on writing more linearly to avoid the editing carnage that ensues from my normalmethod, but the story wants what the story wants! I know y’all can relate.
Do you have a writing mentor, or another author who has inspired/encouraged you in some way?
Hands down, Kathleen Y’Barbo Turner. I would probably still be working on my first novel in the secret corner of a coffee shop if it weren’t for her!
We talk a lot about faith and how it weaves throughout our fiction, here at the blog. How has your faith affected/or not affected your writing?Oh, my faith affects everything. It’s the reason I write, the way I can write, and the breath behind every storyline, whether my stories are for the Christian market or not.
Because Jaime has some darker elements to her split-time historical and contemporary romantic suspense coming out this year, she likes to ask weird questions. So, if you were responsible to write your own epitaph for your tombstone, what would it say?
That’s a hard question! I know the right answer is something about full life with a John 10:10 quote, but all I can think about right now is being a Jaime character. If someone else’s hand put me in the grave, you’d better believe my epitaph will be about haunting them J
Anne is an insatiable romantic with a serious vintage aura in all she writes. Do you have fabulous love story in your family history that you could share with us in a few words? If not, what about your own?
My parents got engaged after knowing each other for four weeks, were married four months later, and are still going strong 33 years later! Sometimes you really do just know, and when the Lord is at the center of your marriage, you can defy all Erica and Gabrielle both write sweet historical romances. How does romance influence your own writing?
I’m a fan of happily ever after, but I love showing the beauty in the mess that happens when two humans come together in the most unlikely of circumstances. The best romances, to me, are the couples that strengthen and support each other as partners in their dreams. *Swoon*
We’d love you have you share a quote from your novel to entice us and hook us! J Please share something below:
"There is no slow motion of dipping toes in the water with Nick, you know? Being with him is running from the dock and diving headfirst without stopping to check the water." – Chelsea Scott
On most days, Chelsea Scott feels like her rapidly growing planner and stationery businessshould belong to someone else. Maybe if it did, it wouldn't be hovering near the red due to onecostly decision. But the collaboration that will save her company awaits her pitch at the trade show she's keynoting. When her transportation falls through at the last minute, she accepts help from Nick Pearson, who’s unexpectedly come back into her life.
The last time Nick saw Chelsea, he told her he loved her, and she ran. Twelve years later, their lives are different, more complex than the summers they spent playing baseball and eating ice cream cones at their dock with their toes in the lake. But as they spend time together on the road, their feelings for each other become clear: all those years couldn’t take away how good they can be together.
When Chelsea's past decisions resurface at the convention, her newly rekindled relationship withNick – and her business – are in jeopardy. Will their love be enough to keep them together or will another summer end with them apart?
The Love at First Laugh Collection releases on March 6. Pre-order all eight novellas for 99 cents on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2l0mqka
About Laurie: Laurie Tomlinson is an award-winning contemporary romance author and cheerleader for creatives. She believes that God’s love is unfailing, anything can be accomplished with a good to-do list, and that life should be celebrated with cupcakes and extra sprinkles. Her debut contemporary romance novel releases in May 2017 from Harlequin Heartwarming. You can connect with Laurie on her website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Enter to win a FREE e-Copy of Laurie's new novella!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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