Keli Gwyn's Blog, page 19

Meet the Author: Kathy Harris

Kathy Harris is an author by way of a “divine detour” into the Nashville entertainment business. After graduating with a Communications degree from Southern Illinois University, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee to work with a well-known gospel music quartet. A few months later, The Oak Ridge Boys began their transition into country music, and Kathy had the opportunity to help build an entertainment empire from the ground up.

She worked her way to becoming a member of the Operations Management Team, eventually heading up the company’s public relations and marketing department. A lifelong fascination for books and editing led to her working as a book agent for Oak Ridge Boys’ vocalist Joe Bonsall.

For several years, Kathy freelanced entertainer biographies and wrote, as well as ghost wrote, news stories and columns for various music publications. She’s had non-fiction stories and devotions published. And just last month, her debut novel, The Road to Mercy, was published.

Kathy lives near Nashville with her husband and their two Shiloh Shepherd dogs. She regularly interviews literary and music guests on her blog, DivineDetour.com.

Welcome, Kathy. It’s great to have you here.

What an interesting career you’ve had. Your work with the Oak Ridge Boys must have been fascinating. What stand out as the three most interesting aspects of that experience?

Keli, thanks so much for having me here today!

It’s difficult to choose only three because I’ve had a fun career. Quite often it has been challenging, and I love a good challenge!

1) For several years we organized an annual concert at Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX. Stars for Children always featured a big lineup of pop and country acts. Proceeds benefited child abuse awareness and prevention. It was a lot of work logistically but very rewarding. I remember running around and around the indoor perimeter of that place chasing down talent, stagehands, etc. By the end of the night I was usually barefooted. Shoes were definitely optional after the first two hours and/or five miles, whichever came first : )

2) I don’t tour with them at this point, but I have gone on tour for many special occasions over the years. The biggest challenge in touring is overseas when you don’t speak the language. On one trip to France we stayed in a non-English speaking hotel. Just asking for a wake-up call or instructing a cab driver required diligence (and a good sense of humor—lol!).

3) Another wonderful experience was being a part of the entourage when the Oaks performed on the lawn of the White House for the Third Annual Congressional BBQ in 1983. Ronald Reagan was President at the time. A very special memory.

You spent a good deal of time immersed in the country music world. Are you a country music buff, or do you have another favorite genre? Who are your favorite singers or groups? Do you sing, too?

I love country music now, but I initially came to Nashville to work in Christian music. I sang in a semi-pro gospel group throughout most of high school and college, although I never felt I was good enough to pursue it professionally.

One of my favorite formats is Contemporary Christian. I love just about anything that fits into that format. One of my favorite new CCM artists is Karyn Williams. Karyn’s debut CD, Only You, is packed with great songs. One track, This Is Freedom, blew me away the first time I heard it. I got in touch with her through mutual friends, and she gave me permission to use the song as the soundtrack for The Road to Mercy book trailer. You can hear it here.

You’re a veteran interviewer. What are your best tips on how to conduct a successful interview?

LOL. You have to love asking questions.

Seriously, I think the best interviewers have a genuine interest in people and the topic of discussion. I love interviewing authors and musicians about their creative works and their faith. So, I suppose, my best advice would be to interview people who fascinate you and/or with whom you have a common interest.

I’m guessing those Shiloh Shepherds are great company. Where is your favorite place to take them walking?

Definitely THE BEACH. : )  However, that’s not something we can do very often. We have a great park close to our house. The dogs love going there. We usually take turns, i.e. one dog a day. Two 100+ lb. dogs are a lot to handle at once.

Let’s finish by talking shoes. Are you a cowboy boots, trainers, high heels, or flip flops kinda gal? (And why?)

I’m all about blue jeans and slides. I like simple and comfortable.

Kathy’s Question for You

In The Road to Mercy, Josh Harrison’s faith is tested. What good thing(s) do you think can come from having your faith tested? If you’re willing, give an example from personal experience.

• • •

The Road to Mercy

Josh Harrison, a contemporary Christian singer, and his wife Bethany face a difficult decision that also tests their faith. A rupture in Beth’s carotid artery leaves her on the brink of death even as she’s pregnant with their first child. While Dr. Ben Abrams urges her to terminate the pregnancy to save her own life, she and Josh step out on faith and decide to carry the baby to full term.

During the next few months, Josh struggles with his faith, Beth hides a secret that may destroy their marriage. She also discovers a decades-old connection to Dr. Abrams that could change his life forever.

• • •

Kathy’s Drawing

Kathy has generously offered to give away an autographed copy of her debut novel, The Road to Mercy, along with a copy of Karyn Williams’ new Contemporary Christian Music CD, Only You.

To enter the drawing, leave a comment by Sunday, Oct. 7. (Be sure to provide your email address in the appropriate field so I can contact you if you win.)

I’ll select the winner Monday, Oct. 8 and post the name here and in a comment.

No purchase necessary.

Offer void where prohibited.

U.S. and Canadian addresses only.

Odds of winning vary due to number of entrants.

 

Friday Fun Post-Conference Style

The American Christian Writers Conference was awesome!

I’ve enjoyed reading the post-conference updates of others who were there.

One thing that’s stood out was how much fun everyone had seeing friends again and meeting online friends in person for the first time. I quite agree.

Here are but a few of the awesome people I was able to spend time with.

As you can tell from my mile-wide smiles, I had a blast.

Me with my lovely roommate, Sarah Forgrave.

 

Erica Vetsch and me at the Books & Such Dessert. Love her!

 

Lindsay Harrel, Casey Herringshaw, and Melissa Tagg. Awesomeness x3!!!

 

Me with Jessica Patch. Oooh, is she ever fun!

 

Me with Gabrielle Meyer. What a warmhearted woman.

 

Me with Marji Laine. They don’t come any nicer.

 

Me with Donna Pyle. She’s sunshine and smiles all in one.

 

Krista Phillips and Cathy West. Talented authors x2!!

 

Helen Gray and me. Yes, she’s the Helen who puts the coffee on in Seekerville each day. I told her she’s a celebrity.

 

The Awards Banquet and Awards Ceremony were wonderful. I was privileged to sit with two of Rachelle’s clients who were Carol Award finalists–and winners! I wept so many tears of joy I had to restock my tissue supply.

Me with double Carol Award winner Rosslyn Elliott–a class act!

 

Carol Award winner Lisa Jordan and me. What a sweetheart!

 

Love Inspired Senior Editor Melissa Endlich and me. Yes, I got to sit beside her at the Gala. I loved her dash to the table to grab her speech when her second author in a row won a Carol.

 

Another of my conference highlights was seeing my agent. We had a great talk.

Me with my agent, Rachelle Gardner. Doesn’t she rock that red?

 

I had some fan-girl moments. It’s hard not to when you’re surrounded by so many awesome authors who write amazing stories.

Me with NYT & USA Today bestselling author Julie Cantrell.

 

Dan Walsh and me. See what wonderful people you can meet at the ACFW conference?

 

The worship times are so uplifting.

The ACFW Choir. They blessed me BIG time!

 

And there were a few milestones moments for me, this being one of them.

Me with my debut novel in the ACFW Bookstore.

 

After five days of hotel food, I was happy to spot one of my favorite hangouts on my way home.

Me at Taco Bell in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport.

 

This was my third ACFW conference, and it was by far the best so far. Yeah, yeah. I’m sure I’ll say the same thing next year. I can’t help it. This is an awesome organization, and I’m thrilled to be a member of it.

☙☙☙

What makes a conference a success for you?

 

Conference Bound!

I’m en route to Dallas for the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference.

I can feel the excitement building as the conference kickoff gets closer.

I managed to get everything in a single carry-on, although if I were to pack all my hopes for the week, I’d need a stack of luggage much like this one.

Cool display in the baggage claim area at Sacramento International Airport, where my journey began.

Here are but a few of my hopes. . .

I hope to see many of my friends from past years.

I hope to meet friends I’ve met online in person.

I hope to make a host of new friends.

I hope the keynote addresses by Michael Hyatt are awesome.

I hope I learn heaps in the workshops.

I hope I find some awesome books in the bookstore.

I hope good things happen for many of the conferees and that their dreams come true.

I hope I can get by on little sleep so I have more time for fun.

I hope there’s a Taco Bell in Houston where I have a lengthy layover. (My friend Dawn Alexander is delivering me Taco Bell when I get to Dallas. =)

I hope I don’t miss Gwynly too much.

I hope those who aren’t attending the conference have a wonderful week. One way to do so is to check out the Bright Side Blog Bash being hosted by my friends Lacie Nezbeth and Jennifer Hale. They have a plethora of prizes for readers and writers.

Here’s Jennifer’s Grand Prize for the week. Look what wonderful company my debut novel, A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California, is keeping.

I won’t be blogging while I’m gone. My next post will be a week from today.

Meet the Reviewers: Kav at Best Reads

I met Kav when she posted a review of my book on her blog, Best Reads. She has such a fun way of writing a review that I read more of hers, was impressed, and added her site to the Christian Book Reviewers page on my website. I zapped her an email and asked if I could introduce my newfound book-loving friend to you, and she made my day by saying yes.

Kav is a Canadian who has a job any avid reader would love: library technician. As you might expect, she loves to read, having recently developed a love of inspirational fiction. She also enjoys writing, painting funky furniture, cooking Vegetarian meals, and supporting environmental concerns, including supporting local farmers and artisans. And she has a thing for chocolate, especially fair-trade Cocoa Camino and white hot chocolate.

I asked Kav three questions about her reading and review process. After that, you’re in for a treat, because you get to learn three fun things about the woman behind the reviews.

What led you to start reviewing books on your blog? When did you post your first review? What can your visitors expect in the future?

I started up by accident! I worked at a school board central library at the time and I was in charge of the novel studies and literature circles that rotated around the schools. I found I spent a lot of time helping teachers decide on what novel set they wanted to use because there wasn’t an easy system in place for them to browse through. So I had the idea of making up a blog for our sets. Every title had a new entry and I could label them by subject and grade. Made my life so much easier! So, what does that have to do with my starting a blog?

Well, about the same time I started reading Christian fiction exclusively and, since I’m an aspiring writer, I wanted a way to keep track of the books I read and note the strengths that I wanted to emulate in my own writing. Since I liked the way my novel study blog looked, I thought it was the perfect venue for my Christian fiction tally. I had no clue what I was doing though – no idea that you could keep a blog private – so I created my blog for my own use and blithely posted away thinking that I’d go unnoticed in the grand scheme of the bloggersphere.

Only one day somebody posted on my blog. And then I got some followers – new friendly little faces peering out at me every time I logged on. At first I was mortified because my ‘reviews’ weren’t so much reviews as little unformed sentence snippets meant to prompt my memory and encourage my writing skills. But I rallied and started posting actual reviews and ta-da – here I am!

If there’s an aspect of a story you don’t care for, you address it but do so with respect. How do you balance a reader’s desire for an honest review with your heart for the author of the work?

First off, I don’t review books I don’t like, if at all possible. I only review for one publishing group – Baker Publishing through Graf-Martin – a marketing company here in Canada. I’m given an opt in selection of books to review each month so I’m careful to pick titles, author and genres that interest me. Sometimes though, a book and I don’t click but I’m still obliged to review it. When that happens I’m careful to highlight the positives and offer gentle observations about other areas that I had issues with. I also try to coach those comments with ‘me’ sentences, so it’s clear that I’m not criticizing the author but commenting what I personally like and dislike. Hopefully I achieve a balance.

The other books I review on my blog are ones that I have purchased myself. If I love them, I review them. If I don’t love them, I don’t review them. Easy peasy.

When and where do you do most of your reading?

I do most of my reading on the bus…or standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus! I have a long commute to and from work. I’m in transit between three and five hours a day depending on the weather and traffic and if the buses are running on time (which they usually aren’t!) It would be unbearable if I couldn’t be carried away in a story! I also like to read in bed for a wee bit before lights out…and sometimes when I eat because I live alone …well, with my wee laddie Simba (a sheltie) but he’s not known for his stimulating dinner conversation.

And speaking of my boy-o – this is his picture in place of mine.

I’m terribly camera shy and take horrible pictures to boot – so not a good combination – so I rarely have my image captured. Except on my bus pass which makes me look like an unrepentant hatchet-murderess! Best I don’t scare your readers, so Simba is my stand in. We really look a lot a like – if you shorten the nose, smoosh the ears down a bit and of course mine don’t tip over like that. Oh, and my eyes are hazel not brown. And I wear glasses and Simba doesn’t. His face is black, but mine is white. I’m not as furry as he is either. And my tongue isn’t as long as his. And my nose doesn’t twitch at the faintest scent of squirrel. But other than that, we’re pretty much carbon copies. They do say that people who live together grow in likeness over the years.

Three Fun Facts About Kav

It must be way cool to spend time in a library and get paid for it. What are three aspects of your job you most enjoy?

Buying books. Reading to kids. Creating bulletin boards.

Painting funky furniture sounds like lots of fun. What’s one of your favorite projects so far?

My favourite project to date was painting an Adriondack chair for a teacher’s retirement gift. She loved Kevin Henke’s picture books so I put all these little mice scurrying around all over it with Chrysanthemum on the back center.

I usually pull old abandoned chairs from the garbage and spiffy them up with glue and paint. Very artsy crafty style. Polka dots and stripes, tons of colours – no two chair legs look the same! Mary Engelbreit is my inspiration.

I also painted a full set of chairs for one of the school libraries I worked in. Each chair was a different book character. That was a HUGE project! Took me all summer!

Chocolate lovers unite! If you won an all-expenses-paid chocolate sampling trip to any place in the world, where would you go, and why?

This is going to sound strange but – Ireland. For a bunch of reasons. First, I was born there and I love the country! Secondly, I lived there for two years after school and rented a flat in an area of Dublin close to a couple of candy factories. The air was permeated with the smell of melting chocolate and my landlady used to bring ends of all the best chocolate bars home at the end of her shift and she’d share them. Blissful sigh. So whenever I think chocolate, I think of Ireland.

Kav’s Question for You

If you were a dog, what breed would you be? And why? Or if you’re not a dog lover – what animal do you most identify with and why?

Romance & Fruit

Some fruits shout romance, whereas others don’t.

To me strawberries are romantic. Peaches, too.

But prickly pears? Nope. It’s not just the name. I don’t like pears. Period.

Grapes are Gwynly’s favorite. He munches them all summer long. I love to snitch a few from his bowl. I could get some from the fridge anytime I want, but it’s so much more fun taking some of his and seeing one of his Gwyn grins.

What fruits do you think are the most romantic?

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Romantic Read: With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin

I recently finished Sarah Sundin‘s latest WWII romance, which was released September 1, and am eager to share it with you. I’ll start with the blurb, add my five-star review, and end with a drawing for a copy of the book.

 

The Blurb



Lt. Mellie Blake is a nurse serving in the 802nd Medical Squadron, Air Evacuation, Transport. As part of a morale building program, she reluctantly enters into an anonymous correspondence with Lt. Tom MacGilliver, an officer in the 908th Engineer Aviation Battalion in North Africa.
.
As their letters crisscross the Atlantic, Tom and Mellie develop a unique friendship despite not knowing the other’s true identity. When both are transferred to Algeria, the two are poised to meet face to face for the first time. Will they overcome their fears and reveal who they are, or will their future be held hostage to their past? And can they learn to trust God and embrace the gift of love he offers them?
.
Combining excellent research and attention to detail with a flair for romance, Sarah Sundin brings to life the perilous challenges of WWII aviation, nursing, and true love.



My Review

A Stellar Start to Sundin’s Wings of the Nightingale Series

Confession. I’m a steadfast Sarah Sundin fan. I flew through the first three books from her Wings of Glory series, and I don’t even read WWII romance as a rule. Sundin has changed all that, having become one of my must-read authors. Why? Because she’s a masterful storyteller. Because she creates tension that keeps me fighting sleep well into the night. And because her characters are so real, so deep, and so likable that I remember them long after I close the pages of her books and heave a satisfied sigh.

When I read the blurbs for With Every Letter, I’ll admit to wondering how Sundin would pull off a story where the hero and heroine exchange letters anonymously and don’t meet in person until well into the book. I wondered, yes, but I didn’t doubt Sundin’s ability to succeed. And I was right! She reeled me in from the start. I fell in love with flight nurse Lt. Mellie Blake in chapter one, and I was head over heels for engineer Lt. Tom MacGilliver well before I finished chapter two. They are both such well-crafted characters, each with a believable blend of strengths and flaws, that I felt like I knew them—and would like to have them as friends.

The story flows beautifully, the tension building with each chapter. And the romance? It’s wonderful. Tom and Mellie’s relationship takes off with only a small bump or two, but there’s turbulence ahead, keeping things mighty interesting. I loved being a witness to the emotional and spiritual journeys Mellie and Tom took. Both have a good deal of changing to do, and watching them take steps forward and back kept me flipping pages with the speed of a fighter plane over North Africa. I trusted Sundin to bring the story in for a great landing after the thrilling ride, and she did. I just hope she’s writing like the wind, because I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I highly recommend With Every Letter. Fans of historical romance are sure to love it. What am I saying? Anyone who likes a well-told, action-packed story with great characters will enjoy it.

Win a Copy of With Every Letter

To enter the drawing, leave a comment with the answer to the following question by Sunday, September 16 . (Be sure to provide your email address in the appropriate field, so I can contact you if you win.)

Are/were there any WWII veterans in your family?

If so, where did they serve?

I’ll select the winner September 17 and post the name here and in a comment.

No purchase necessary.

Offer void where prohibited.

U.S. or Canadian addresses only.

Odds of winning vary due to number of entries.

A Healthy Dose of Romance

Do you like to shower lemons or apple slices with salt? I do, but Gwynly can’t imagine doing such a thing.

While we were dating, he watched me eat a lemon with the flavor so enhanced by salt that I made some interesting faces. He didn’t say much at the time, but his face spoke volumes. It was clear he found my habit revolting.

Months later Gwynly proposed and took me out to dinner to celebrate. At one point during the meal he leaned toward me, took my hand in his, and gazed at me lovingly. My heart did some rather erratic beating as I thought of all the romantic things he might say.

Despite my rather active imagination, I didn’t come close.

Gwynly spoke with feeling, his hold of my hand firm and his eyes never leaving my face. “I love you and want to have you around for a long time.”

Cue an angelic chorus with harps. I sighed.

And then, after drawing a breath, Gwynly continued. “So would you please cut back on your salt consumption?”

The angel choir hit a sour note, and several harp strings broke.

How could my guy say such a thing at a time like that? I mean, really. Did he want to destroy the romantic atmosphere?

Once I got over my disappointment and had time to think about what he’d said, I realized his comment was motivated by a sincere desire for my best–and his. He loves me and doesn’t want to lose me to heart disease brought on by excessive salt consumption. My health matters to him because I matter to him. And that is romantic in its own special way.

For the record, I did agree to cut back on my use of salt. I even switched to sea salt recently and have such low pressure these days I amaze my doctors.

☙☙☙

Has your special someone asked you to change a health-related habit–in love?

Has love ever motivated you to make such a request of your special someone?

 

Real-life Romance: Caregiver Extraordinare

Paisley Kirkpatrick and I have been friends for a number of years, having met at a meeting of our Sacramento Valley Rose chapter of Romance Writers of America. I’ve often heard her talk about her husband, Ken, and how he’s been there for her through trials and joys. I was especially struck by the story of how he nursed her through a battle with cancer and asked her to share it.

 

Here’s that story, in her words. . .

Romance isn’t always chocolates and candlelight. It’s also caring for the person you love when they need you. My husband really came through for me when I had cancer surgery seven and a half years ago. We’d had a difficult few years before my diagnosis. Our older daughter died from Melanoma just two weeks before her 32nd birthday. We were still reeling from that tragedy when I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. It seemed everything hit at once, and we could hardly catch our breath. Ken never let me down even though we knew cancer could be a death warrant.

Luckily for me, when the surgeon removed the uterus he took all the cancer with it. I was home in two days with the best nurse in the world – my hubby. After 37 years of marriage, he was taking care of me for a change. He vacuumed, cleaned toilets, did the laundry, and best of all, cooked our meals. He’s never had to fix food before so it was a definite challenge for him. He made each meal special by setting up a card table downstairs and bringing those meals to me. Apparently he’d been watching what the hospital served and tried to one-up them. Sometimes I’d wake up at night and notice he’d come downstairs just to check on me. I truly felt his love at those moments.

For the next five years we made many trips back to the hospital for check-ups. I am a worrier by nature and these exams always made me doubt. He never let me go alone, and afterwards insisted on a special lunch in celebration of yet another good exam.  When the doctor told me I was done, out of there, never to come back again, we sighed with relief. Now I can look back on my cancer scare as another bump in life, something we got through together.

I knew I’d made the right decision all those years ago when I saw him standing under a tree at an Air Force picnic. One glance told me he was the one I wanted. At the time I had no idea he was the one my ‘big brother’ took to our Uncle Bud’s birthday the weekend before because he thought the same thing.

We’ve been married almost 44 years now. I scared him one more time when I broke my arm. He nursed me through this surgery as well. My intuition about that gorgeous G.I. all those years ago has proven right. He was the right hero for me.

☙☙☙

Question for You

Have you ever faced a serious illness or battled a dreaded

disease such as Paisley has? If so, who was there for you?

☙☙☙

Paisley and her husband of 43 years live in the Sierra Foothills of California. They love to travel, with Paisley’s favorite destination being Scotland. She’s a seamstress with a heart of gold who gives away many of her wonderful creations. I rejoiced with her when, after 22 years, she received a contract for not one, not two, but five books. Her debut novel, Night Angel, was released August 21.

☙☙☙

About the Book

Sassy Amalie Renard, a poker-playing saloon singer, shakes up Paradise Pines, a former gold-rush mountain community by turning the saloon’s bar into her stage. Her amazing voice stirs the passions of the hotel owner, a man who anonymously travels tunnels at night providing help to the downtrodden as the mysterious Night Angel. Declan Grainger agrees to subsidize the building of a music hall to fulfill Amalie’s dream, but a bounty for her arrest could spoil his plans.

Distrust and jealousy stir flames of malice and revenge threatening to destroy their town. Drawing from past experiences, Declan and Amalie turn to each other to find a way to save the community.

Meet the Reviewers: Rina

I’m honored to feature Rina of Rina’s Reading. I met her during my book release blog tour and am impressed by her reviews as well as her fun Top Ten Tuesday reading-related posts and her Waiting on Wednesday posts spotlighting upcoming books.

Rina earned a Master’s degree in Library Science and is currently working as a school librarian in Africa.

I asked Rina three questions about her reading and review process. After that, you’re in for a treat, because you get to learn three fun things about the woman behind the reviews.

Reading and Reviewing

What led you to start reviewing books on your blog? When did you post your first review? What can your visitors expect in the future?

In the fall of 2011 I started wondering what I could do to fill my time, would look good on a resume and maybe earn me a couple dollars. I looked into online businesses but nothing appealed. During that time though I discovered book review blogs and thought I might enjoy that since I love to read and share good books. Around November I started writing reviews of books I read and then in January of 2012 I started the blog. It’s been really fun to discover other book review bloggers, make friends with a few, and start participating in giveaways and memes. I haven’t earned any money but I have gotten several free books to review and that’s equally nice if not better.

I am a bit in transition at the moment since I finally have a job as a librarian (and it’s in Africa!) but I do intend to keep up the blog. I think I’ll continue to sporadically do the Top Ten Tuesday meme (it’s a lot of fun but takes a while usually to think of the right books and then format it) and the Waiting on Wednesday and Book Blogger Hop memes are both easy to schedule ahead of time. Hopefully in a week or so I’ll start posting a book review or two each week. My computer is having lots of problems since coming to Africa so that’s something I need to fix first.

If there’s an aspect of a story you don’t care for, you address it honestly but respectfully. How do you balance a reader’s desire for an honest review with your heart for the author of the work?

I usually read books I like and enjoy but there are times when I wish the author had written things a bit different. No story will ever satisfy everyone. I always try to find something to praise about the author’s work and if/when I do criticize a bit or warn about excessive kissing, etc. or mention something I didn’t like then I try very hard not to write it against the author in any way.

Earlier this summer I read an interesting article about writing good reviews and how authors feel about the reviews, and one thing the article suggested was not even using the authors name in the body of the review. A critique or caution should never be directed against an author but rather serve to guide the reader to the book that is right for them.

When and where do you do most of your reading?

Before getting this job and moving to Africa I did most of my reading in bed late at night. If I start reading in bed I usually can’t put a book down until I finish it. There were many nights I didn’t turn my light off until 2 am or even 3 am. Once or twice maybe even 4 am but don’t tell my mom that. (She’s going to read this though.)

Now I do most of my reading in the afternoon after school or in the early evening. The elementary students here really like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Judy Moody, and The Magic Tree House books. None of which I’ve read, so when the server was down one afternoon I read those. We are near the equator and the sun sets around 6pm and rises around 6am. And it’ll be this way year round! So by 9 or 10pm it’s been dark for 3-4 hours already and it feels really late. That, plus the fact that I have to be at school by 7:30am means I won’t be staying up late reading anymore.

 

Three Fun Facts About Rina

Since you’ve recently moved to Africa, I’m sure there have been some adjustments. What things from back home are you missing, if any? What cool new things have you discovered in your new place?

I’ve only been here three weeks so I’m not missing too much yet, although the milk tastes funny here and my stomach is still adjusting to the food and water. I know I’ll miss snow and cold weather in December/January. And I’ll probably start missing having a variety of sliced cheeses and lunch meats – gouda is the only locally produced and thus reasonably priced cheese. But the bread is good and there’s a great bagel place.

A cool thing about this area is the weather. It is perfect. Even though we’re near the equator the elevation is high enough so that it’s not too hot and not too humid. It is the dry season right now, so I don’t know what the humidity will be like once the rainy season starts, but for now I’m really enjoying the weather.

I saw that you love reading fairytale retellings, so I’m sure you’re well versed in fairy tales. Which fairy tale heroine are you most like, and why?

I do love fairytales and fairytale retellings. But I’m terrible at answering those types of questions. Let me think…I guess Beauty since in some versions she really likes to read and she has brown hair. I really like to read and I have brown hair too.

If we took a peek in your clothes closet, what would we learn about you?

That I love blue and green. So many of my clothes are those colors.

Rina’s Question for You

 If you could travel to any place in the world where would it be and why?

• • •

To learn more about Rina, “like” her Facebook group page,

Rina’s Reading, and follow her on Pinterest.

Friday Fun Stress-free Style

Less stress? Don’t we all long for it at times? I certainly do.

I’ve been busy working on a new story and have limited time for blogging these days. My creativity is going into my story, which is a good thing, right?

Not only that, but I’m preparing to head out of town for a book signing at the Barnes & Noble up in Redding, California, where both my parents live. I get to visit with my mom and dad over the weekend before the signing on Monday.

So, I chose not to pressure myself to prepare one of my regular posts today. Instead I’m just going to wish you a wonderful weekend.

You know my weekend plans. What are yours?

☙☙☙

While I’m not publishing a regular post today, I am guest blogging.

Jessica Patch is hosting me at her Tea and asked me some fun questions.

I’m guest posting at Melissa’s Mocha’s Mysteries and More, where

I share “Five Places to Ferret Out Fun Facts for Historical Fiction.”