Cara C. Putman's Blog, page 92

3 Tips to Praise in the Storms of Life

Last night I was working on homework…the kind that makes me question why I agreed to go back to grad school. The kind that reaffirms I must be crazy. It would be easy to grumpy when I’m working rather than reading a fun book or tackling one of the many projects lingering around the house. 

Then I stopped. What an ungrateful attitude.

I have friends watching their child battle a reoccurrence of cancer. Other friends long for the day their first home sells so they aren’t paying two mortgages. Others have children who are breaking the parents’ hearts by choices that aren’t honoring God. And I’ve walked the hard road of miscarriage.

You may have heard the Casting Crowns song Praise You in the Storm. In case you haven’t heard the song, I tried to find the authorized video with no success on Youtube. However, I did find dozens of non-authorized versions you can explore.

I remember singing this song through the Atlanta airport on a repeat loop because the storm in my life was landing my first book contract and being absolutely convinced the publishing company had made a mistake and everyone would figure it out quickly. Talk about a good storm! Life can be filled with wonderful storms. Too much work when you need it. Too many activities on the calendar no matter how you try to simplify. Maybe even too much time with your kiddos — yes, they are a huge blessing, but sometimes Momma needs a break. (Can I hear an amen?)

Maybe you’re in the midst of a good storm. Or maybe it’s a painful tsunami you’re trying to merely survive. Here are a few thoughts on how to more than survive them.

Click Here to Tweet: Wonder how to survive the storms of life, good and bad? @Cara_Putman shares three tips. http://ctt.ec/pQbVk+

1) Turn on the praise music. Last night that meant going to Pandora.com and plugging in a radio station based on Francesca Battistelli’s Write Your Story. What great, worshipful music. It set the tone and made sure my attitude couldn’t plummet too far. When my heart is focused on heaven and on God through the power of music, it helps pull my thoughts away from the stress and strain. So many times, a song I heard on the radio or played on my phone will literally cycle through my mind all day, becoming a soundtrack to the day. It also helps change the mood in the house or car if the littles are bickering or attitudes are off a bit.

2) Call a good friend. Not the one who will tell you whatever you want to hear, but the one who will speak the truth in love. Sometimes I need someone to remind me that what I think is a gale force wind is really a stiff breeze. Sometimes I need someone to encourage me and speak Biblical truth. And sometimes I just need someone who will listen — with the safety of knowing my complaints and worries won’t go any farther than between the two of us and our Father’s throne. But there is something in speaking the words that helps the storm dim or the burden lessen.

3) Open scripture and see what God has to say about your situation. Often I know the truth, but in the midst of the storm, I lose sight of it. I need it plastered in front of me. During my miscarriages, I reminded myself of every truth that I could. That God was for me. That He has good plans for me. That what the enemy intended for evil the enemy would turn into good. And I asked God to show those good transformations to me this side of heaven. In the good storms, I have to remind myself that God has not called me to do something He won’t also equip me to do. That He has given me all I need. The list could go on. But I can only know that truth if I’m in the Word and finding the truth.

What would you add to this list?

D-Day 70th Anniversary Tour: the Monuments Men

Welcome to the D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour! I’m so glad you’ve joined us! Ten authors of Christian World War II novels are commemorating the brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Thank you for joining us as we remember their heroism and sacrifice.

Our novels illuminate different aspects of the war—from the Holocaust to the Pacific to the US Home Front. Each day, visit with a new author as we share about our stories, our research, and our unique settings. With each blog post, you’ll have the opportunity to win that author’s novel, plus a chance to win a packet of ALL TEN featured novels!

Giveaway Details

For a chance to win ALL TEN novels featured on our blog tour, please visit each blog, collect the answers to the questions, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the BLOG TOUR PAGE. You have a new chance to enter each day of the tour! The contest opens June 2, 2014 at 1 am PST and closes June 13, 2014 at 11 pm PST. The winners will be announced on Monday, June 15, 2014. *Note* Several of the titles will not be released until later in the year—these copies will be mailed to the winners after the books release.

To win the prize of ALL TEN books, you must have collected ALL TEN answers. The winner must be prepared to send ALL TEN answers within 24 hrs of notification by email, or a new winner will be selected.

You can enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once each day! The more often you visit, the more entries you receive! However, you only need to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once to be entered. But don’t forget…to win, you must have collected ALL TEN answers. To gather the answers, you may download the Word document on the BLOG TOUR PAGE.

Is Art Worth Saving?

I’m so delighted you joined me on this tour of WWII. Shortly after D-Day, the Monuments Men landed in France and began their journey toward Germany. But did you know there were already Monuments Men in Italy? In fact, I have a scene in Shadowed by Grace that recreates what happened in the Rome newsroom when the reporters learned about D-Day.

Imagine you live in Italy during the war that came to be known as World War II. Your country started the war as allies of Germany and Hitler, but now, it’s early 1944 and the political landscape has changed. Your former ally is now entrenched in your country, as your former enemy now slogs up the mountained boot of your country in an effort to push the German Army back into Germany.

All across your country are landmarks, works of art, and more that are irreplaceable. Many date back before the Roman Empire. Now, your former ally is taking altar pieces, paintings and sculptures with them as they slowly retreat. And less than a handful of your former enemy are trying to work with art superintendents across the country.

Who are these men? The Monuments Men. Their purpose? To save the items and places that are western civilization.

During WWII, the military and political leaders were confronted with a new challenge thanks to the advent of aerial bombing on a large scale: whether they should attempt to protect landmarks and art. If so, how should they do that?

The powers that be determined it would be a small group of architects, sculptors, museum curators and more who would follow immediately behind the front lines and shore up battered buildings, work with local officials to identify missing masterpieces, and occasionally stand toe to toe with the big-wigs to argue why the battle shouldn’t be fought in specific places.

This elite group served as the inspiration for my latest book Shadowed by Grace. In its pages, I explore the job of the Monuments Men in Italy. There’s romance, mystery, and an impossible search as well. But I was originally drawn to the story because of the impossible, but oh so important, job the Monuments Men performed.

You can learn more about Shadowed by Grace and read the first chapter here.

Today’s Question: Which country in Europe did the Monuments Men serve in Shadowed by Grace?

And don’t forget to enter my separate giveaway below and follow the blog tour to the end for a chance at all ten of our books. There are some great titles out there! For a chance to win ALL TEN novels featured on our blog tour, please visit each blog, collect the answers to the questions, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the BLOG TOUR PAGE.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 Tips to Lessen Summertime Craziness

Summer is upon us. After a winter that threatened to never end, the days are long, the weather is warm, and the pool is open.

If your family calendar looks anything like ours, it’s downright scary. We’re only four days into June and I’m already daunted. I could spend my entire day in the car shuttling kids around. I literally haven’t had time to go to the grocery store — but don’t worry, kids. I’ve got 45 minutes carved out tomorrow. If I could only find the desire to meal plan. Not. My. Thing. this week.

So how can we not only survive, but thrive this summer? It’s something I’m really praying about, because if this is what the summer is going to look like, let me off this merry-go-round now. I don’t have all the answers, but here are a few ideas. I can’t wait to hear yours, too.

1) Be realistic about what you can and cannot do. We’re in the middle of a home renovation project with another on its heels. While I have to recognize that this chaos is part of the process, I can’t wait until I get

some things back out of my bedroom and in the bathroom where they belong. That’s how my days feel as well. Right now my girls are on opposite gymnastics schedules. One goes in the morning, the other in the afternoon. It means the next two months, I’ll make double trips to the gym, but in the fall they can go the same days. What is chaos today won’t be in a couple months.

2) Carefully look at your calendar and make choices. Yes, the woman who just talked about going to the gym four times a day is making choices. Sometimes I don’t even believe it. The choice is that our girls are doing the same sport. In the long run, it will make life less chaotic.  Another choice is that the little two are taking swim lessons. That means the first two weeks of June have one extra appointment a day. But long term it means that I can know my kids will be more comfortable and confident in the water — very important since we tend to spend a lot of our free time at our community pool. It also means I endured the little guy crying throughout the first lesson yesterday because he was tired and didn’t want to cooperate, so that he could be all smiles and have fun today.

3) Involve your kids in the process. The older they are, the more they get to make choices about their summer goals and activities. So my oldest will likely take an online art class and possibly do a book club with a few girlfriends. My ten year-old — well, we’re still trying to figure out what his summer will involve beyond swimming and clash of clans. So we went to Barnes & Noble and picked up a couple books so that he’ll engage his brain. We also keep up with English and math over the summer. I try to exercise realism, but it’s important to keep some structure as we speed through summer.

Summer can be a crazy time. It can run away from us if we let it. I hope these tips keep your summer (and mine!) a little less stressful!

What would you add to these tips?

D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour

D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour June 2-13, 2014 Welcome to the D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour! Ten authors of Christian World War II novels are commemorating the brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Thank you for joining us as we remember their heroism and sacrifice. Our novels illuminate different aspects of the war—from the Holocaust to the Pacific to the US Home Front. Each day, visit with a new author as we share about our stories, our research, and our unique settings. With each blog post, you’ll have the opportunity to win that author’s novel, plus a chance to win a packet of ALL TEN featured novels! Giveaway Details For a chance to win ALL TEN novels featured on our blog tour, please visit each blog, collect the answers to the questions, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the BLOG TOUR PAGE [ http://www.sarahsundin.com/home/contest ]. You have a new chance to enter each day of the tour! The contest opens June 2, 2014 at 1 am PST and closes June 13, 2014 at 11 pm PST. The winners will be announced on Monday, June 15, 2014. *Note* Several of the titles will not be released until later in the year—these copies will be mailed to the winners after the books release. To win the prize of ALL TEN books, you must have collected ALL TEN answers. The winner must be prepared to send ALL TEN answers within 24 hrs of notification by email, or a new winner will be selected. You can enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once each day! The more often you visit, the more entries you receive! However, you only need to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once to be entered. But don’t forget…to win, you must have collected ALL TEN answers. To gather the answers, you may download the Word document on the BLOG TOUR PAGE.

Schedule

Click on each book cover to visit! Links will go live on scheduled dates.

Monday, June 2

Sarah Sundin

Tuesday, June 3

Liz Tolsma 
Wednesday, June 4     Murray Pura     
Thursday, June 5

Cara Putman

Friday, June 6

Melanie Dobson

Saturday, June 7

Kristy Cambron

Monday, June 9

Tricia Goyer

Tuesday, June 10

Patty Smith Hall

Weds., June 11

Cathy Gohlke

Thursday, June 12

Sigmund Brouwer

Giveaway

For a chance to win ALL TEN featured World War II novels, please visit each blog. Each post contains a simple question. To win, you must have collected ALL TEN answers. The winner must be prepared to send ALL TEN correct answers within 24 hrs of notification by email, or a new winner will be selected.

You can enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once each day! The more often you visit, the more entries you receive! However, you only need to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once to be entered. But don’t forget…to win, you must have collected ALL TEN answers. To gather the answers, you may download the Word document on the BLOG TOUR PAGE.

If you’d like, you may download this Word document to collect your answers: D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour Answer Sheet.

 

Memorial Day and 3 Ways to Honor Veterans

On May 30, 1868, a group of Union veterans held the first Decoration Day (now called Memorial Day). They picked that day because they believed that flowers would be in bloom around the country. The purpose of Decoration Day? To honor and remember the men who fought and died on both sides of the Civil War.

This weekend Memorial Day services will be held around the country. Many communities will host events and parades. All in an effort to honor the many men and women who have lived and served throughout the wars this country has experienced. While many graves will be decorated, it is also a time to remember.

Remember those who served in the trenches of World War I. Remember the boys who stormed the Omaha beaches and Guadalcanal during World War II. Remember the men and women who died in the jungles of Vietnam or the land of Korea. Remember those who still serve and give their all around the world.

This act of remembering and memorializing is why I write books set during World War II. I want to capture through the power of novels the many roles men and women occupied during that all encompassing war. Whether they were Monuments Men striving to save Western Civilization or Marines charging up rocky islands in the Pacific, each solider had a story. While I can’t tell them all, I can capture and retell a few.

Maybe you walked through a Wal-Mart or Target this week and noticed aisles filled with grave flowers and another aisle with a Monuments Men display. Both are wonderful ways to honor and remember those who served. So what are some ways you can help your kids learn to honor those who have served?

1) Learn veterans’ stories. Are there veterans in your church? Ask them to lunch and then talk about their experiences. Make an effort to include your children so that they connect these men and women they know with service in the armed forces.

2) Remember their sacrifices. Is there a veteran’s home or hospital in your area? Go and visit. Take thank you cards the kids created and distribute them. Develop a relationship with a veteran and adopt him. Make him an honorary uncle or grandpa. Pay for a meal for a current service member the next time you see one at a restaurant.

3) Pass their bravery and commitment on to those around you. Look for ways as a family you can incorporate a lifestyle of service. It may not be in the military, but you can still serve others. Go to a soup kitchen and serve meals. Deliver meals with meals on wheels. Organize a clothing closet at the local crisis pregnancy center. There are so many ways to help your kids develop a lifestyle of serving.

And in the remembering may we always honor our veterans and current service members.

Review: Gathering Shadows

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Gathering Shadows

Bethany House Publishers (May 6, 2014)

by

Nancy MehlABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Mehl lives in Wichita, Kansas with her husband Norman and their dog, Watson. She’s authored thirteen books and is currently at work on her newest series for Bethany House Publishing.

All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “It’s a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”

She and her husband attend Believer’s Tabernacle in Wichita.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Wynter Evans is a promising young reporter for a television station in St. Louis, but even a bright future doesn’t take away her pain over the disappearance of her brother nine years ago. So when she stumbles across a photograph of a boy with an eerie resemblance to him, she can’t pass up the chance to track him down. With research for work as her cover, she sets out with one of the station’s photogs for the place where the picture was taken: the town of Sanctuary.

Almost as soon as she arrives, she meets the town’s handsome young mayor, Rueben King, and together they begin to uncover long held secrets that could tear the small town apart and change everything Wynter thought she knew about her life. As the truth of her family’s past hides in the shadows, it’s clear someone will stop at nothing to keep the answers she’s searching for hidden forever–even if the cost is Wynter’s very life.

If you’d like to read the first chapter of Gathering Shadows, go HERE.

My review: This is a story that slowly builds in intensity as the chapters move forward. The mystery is on the page almost from page one, but doesn’t acquire suspense pacing until the last quarter of the book. And there are many layers to the story and mystery. They all weave together artfully in the end. Gathering Shadows also has the small town charm of Nancy Mehl’s prior romantic mystery series and the wide cast of appealing characters which will bring readers back for the next installments in the series. There is romance in the story, but it didn’t quite fit for me. Given more time in the story’s timeline, I think I would have enjoyed that part. Still this book will be a pleasant read for those who love a romantic mystery set in simpler settings like the Mennonite Sanctuary.

Shadowed by Grace in FIRST Magazine

Many times along this writing journey I have been surprised by God making a way where there is no way. This week that happened yet again, when I found a review of Shadowed by Grace in First for women.

My wonderful publicist, Jeane Wynn, worked for months with an editor at First, hoping to find a novel that would interest the magazine for their Books We’re Reading feature. We’d heard they might review it, but weren’t entirely sure when. We’d heard May 21st, so last Thursday I decided to buy the current issue of First, assuming it would be the May 21st issue.

It wasn’t. Instead, I found stacks of fresh June 2nd issues waiting at the grocery store. Then at CVS. I tried not to be too upset that I’d possibly missed it. I told myself I’d stop at one more place. When I walked into Wal-Mart, I hoped against hope that I’d find the right issue. Like the other spots, it had fresh issues dated June 2nd. I bit back disappointment, but decided to open it anyway and see who had been profiled.

I literally jumped and squealed when I saw the review of Shadowed by Grace. The poor gal at the self-check lines didn’t know quite what to make of me as I told her my book was in the magazine. My 13 year old will tell you that I floated out of Wal-Mart or sprinted.

This review captured the heart of Shadowed by Grace, and it’s been fun to have people tell me they discovered the book through the magazine. Now my prayer is that other authors will find their books profiled in the magazine in the future.

For the rest of the month you can find Shadowed by Grace on sale in Kindle at Amazon. Be sure to spread the word. I’d love to have lots of people discover Shadowed this month. It makes a great vacation read. Would you be willing to help spread the word? You can do it easily by using the following:

Tweets:

FIRST magazine calls @cara_putman’s Shadowed by Grace “a novel with ‘the works.’” On sale for $4.99 in e-versions. http://buff.ly/SaPO8d
“I was captivated” says FIRST magazine director of @cara_putman’s Shadowed by Grace. On sale for $4.99 in e-versions. http://buff.ly/SaPO8d

Facebook:

Looking for a vacation read? FIRST Magazine called Cara Putman’s Shadowed by Grace a novel with ‘the works—romance, adventure, mystery history and spirituality.’ Now it’s on sale in e-version for $4.99. http://buff.ly/SaPO8d

Thank you!

When Treetops Glisten: Cover Reveal

Some stories are a journey in the making. Several years ago as I was working on proposals for novella collections with friends, I had an idea. I wanted to put together the Dream Team of WWII authors for a Christmas novella collection.

After many emails, fun phone calls, and getting to introduce Sarah Sundin and Tricia Goyer to my current hometown, in September Where Treetops Glisten will release. We are so excited about this book! You’ll hear and read more about it in the coming months, but we couldn’t wait any longer to show you this cover. Isn’t it gorgeous?

And it captures the feel of the novellas. Set in Lafayette, Indiana, during World War II, the stories follow siblings through the hard days of the war. All the novellas are set around Christmas and all have a Christmas carol as the title. Mine is White Christmas. Every time I’d sit down to write, I’d imagine Bing Crosby crooning the classic song.

So stay tuned. We’ve got fun things planned as we get closer to the release date and Christmas.

A World War II Christmas novella collection coming from WaterBrook Multnomah, October 2014.

White Christmas by Cara C. Putman

A candy maker and a puzzle manufacturer have one thing in common: love is the last thing they’re looking for and the very thing they need.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Sarah Sundin

A fighter pilot running on empty, a lonely widow, and a little girl searching for what she’s lost—will an unusual Christmas gift fill their hearts again?

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Tricia Goyer

As Christmas nears a combat nurse offers care and cheer to injured soldiers on the front line, but when her patients and the Dutch villagers discover it’s her birthday they work together to give her a great gift—a reason to believe in love again.

 

Coffee Chat with Beth Vogt

This week I’m delighted to bring you chats with three of my fun writer friends, reviews of their new books, and giveaways of those new delights. I hope you’ll enjoy this breath of fun! And be sure to read to the end of each post so you can participate in the giveaways. I wouldn’t offer them if I didn’t think they’d delight the readers who will find these titles in their mailboxes! So grab a mug of your favorite drink and meet my friend Beth Vogt.

In Somebody Like You, Beth creates characters and a story that will pull you in slowly and then hold you captive until the end. The heroine is still mourning the death of her soldier husband as she awaits the birth of their child…the child he never knew about. Then one day she is shocked and surprised when his identical twin brother arrives at her door. He’d been estranged from his brother and now he can’t mend their relationship.

Their interactions are rocky as they both deal with their grief and regrets. And it’s a slow process of coming to terms with the past and how their lives intersect. I found this a story that I kept returning to because I cared about how the characters’ grew and evolved through their journey on the pages. There were moments of humor to balance the moments I wanted to cry with or for Haley and Stephen.

Somebody Like You is a book that readers of contemporary romance with shades of women’s fiction will enjoy reading.

I enjoyed Somebody Like You so much that I endorsed the book. The characters and their journey was one I didn’t want to see end. How did you get the inspiration for the story?

I mulled over “What if … ?” for several weeks — tossing in the topic of twins. I’m a fraternal twin — I have a twin sister — and I’ve always wanted to write a novel with a storyline that involves twins. I turned it upside down a bit and chose to write about twin brothers and then added in the military angle.  I’m also familiar with that experience because my husband was in the air force for 24 years.

The heroine is dealing with the loss of a spouse…Why did you decide to make this part of her story?

I’ve experienced Haley’s story personally — not because I’ve been widowed but because several of my close friends have been widowed at young ages. So as I wrote Haley’s story, I was honoring those friends, trying to write honestly about that kind of loss, that kind of grief.

Watching others experience grief definitely impacts me, and it added a rich element to the story. I love the interaction between Hayley and Stephen. You gave them both heavy histories and a challenging present. Yet there’s a chemistry that penetrates the challenges. Did that come naturally or was it something you had to force into their interactions initially?

The first draft of any novel I write is always rough — and I expect it to be that way. And then I go back and write and rewrite the story, layering in the emotion, the tension. Some of the scenes I wrote surprised me, but then again, I try to leave room in the story for my characters to do and say things I don’t expect.

There were times in this story that I wanted to sob for Hayley — since she was too tough to cry for herself. Did you find yourself in tears as you wrote some of the scenes?

Yes, there were times I had to stop writing, walk away from the story, and let myself cry. I knew when I started the story that Haley wasn’t going to cry — and I knew why too. I’ve been where Haley was. There was a painful season in my life when I shut down and didn’t allow myself to cry. I felt overwhelmed and I just couldn’t cry over one more thing. I thought doing so made things better. Easier. But I was wrong.

I’ve been there, too. What do you hope stays with readers after they close the cover on this novel?

Of course, I hope the story lingers … I hope they miss Haley and Stephen. But more than that, I hope they’ve wrestled with the question Is it ever wrong to love someone? Maybe their answer is different than the one I came up with in Somebody Like You, but at least they understand that God works in us and through us in the messiness of our relationships.

Can you give us a sneak peek at what’s next for you? I’m working on my next novel with Howard Books. It’s a contemporary romance that’s part of my Destination:Wedding series.

Destination weddings? Sounds fun! Where can people connect with you?

I love to connect with my readers! They can find me via my website or on my author Facebook page or Twitter or Pinterest.

Cara again: Be sure to enter for a chance to read Beth’s new book below. You can also check out the giveaways for Melissa Tagg’s here  and Regina Jenning’s here .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Coffee Chat with Melissa Tagg

This week I’m delighted to bring you chats with three of my fun writer friends, reviews of their new books, and giveaways of those new delights. I hope you’ll enjoy this breath of fun! And be sure to read to the end of each post so you can participate in the giveaways. I wouldn’t offer them if I didn’t think they’d delight the readers who will find these titles in their mailboxes! So grab a mug of your favorite drink and meet my friend Melissa Tagg.

Here to Stay is a beautiful story many of us can relate to. Either we’re the heroine who feels trapped and just wants a chance to live her dreams, or we’re the hero and our past has kept us running and now we just want to grow past it and put down roots. Add in some family rivalries, a past tragedy that overshadows the present, and delights of humor and romance, and this was a book I could barely put down! I so wanted Autumn and Blake to grow past their difference, family hang-ups and find a way to forge a future. Both have to sacrifice dreams that made me ache for them. Yet the small-town life, the fantastic cast of characters, and the sweet message of faith and hope kept me glued to the pages. And I loved the cameo by Miranda from the first book. This book is a keeper for all fans of contemporary romance laced with humor and lifted by a gentle message of faith.

Now I’m delighted to introduce you to my friend Melissa.

Melissa, In Here to Stay you’ve created a perfect mix with a heroine who can’t wait to leave and a hero is back to stay. The history between them is rich and multi-layered with loss and challenges. How did the characters first arrive in your mind?

Blake first appeared in my debut novel, Made to Last (a fun book that I endorsed!!). In that story he pretty much played the comic foil—a goofball pretending to be a celebrity’s husband. But I heard from a lot of people that he was their favorite character and as I wrote that first story, multiple times I had the feeling, “There’s more to this guy’s story.”

So going into Here to Stay, I knew Blake on the surface level but I had to dig in deeper and figure out who this guy was underneath his funny exterior. I started by asking myself, “What would make a man walk away from his life and agree to play someone’s fake husband? And what does he want now that he’s returning home?” As for Autumn, I’m not exactly sure how her character first arrived in my mind. She ended up being sort of a female George Bailey a la It’s a Wonderful Life. So maybe I’ve just watched that movie enough times…? There’s a lot of me in Autumn, too, even though my life looks pretty different than hers.

I think a little of me creeps into many of my heroines, too. I had such fun watching the interaction between Blake and Autumn. Did the chemistry come naturally or did you have to watch a bunch of classic movies to catch the vibe?

LOL I do watch tons of classic movies! I’m not sure I watched them specifically in order to help build Blake and Autumn’s chemistry, but they had to have helped. I think one of the things that helped build their chemistry was asking myself (and them), what do you like about each other? What makes you right for each other? What is it that pulls you together even though all these outside elements should be tearing you apart? I love walking that romantic tight rope of “why DO these characters belong together?” and “why DON’T they belong together?” That tension is what makes a story fun to read…and to write!

Those are great questions to ask your lead characters! Did you know when you wrote Made to Last you’d tell Blake’s story next? He’s got a heavy background. Have you ever faced anything like that? 

When I was first drafting Made to Last, there was a little niggle in the back of my mind that Blake’s story should come next. And then during revisions as I worked to strengthen his motivation, I definitely realized there was more to his story…and I couldn’t wait to tell it. Honestly, I haven’t faced anything like his background. Even just imagining what he’s been through was hard for me. I remember one moment, writing one scene in particular, when I started thinking about what it’d be like to lose a sibling at all, let alone in such a tragic way, and I pretty much broke down.

What do you hope stays with readers after they close the cover on this novel?

Well, I hope they’re still sighing over the ending. That last scene in Here to Stay is one of my favorite scenes I’ve ever written (I hope it’s not weird or cocky to admit that) and so I hope it gives readers the same gooey, happy feeling it gives me.

But too, the underlying themes of this book ended up being different than what I originally planned…and they resonated with me in a very personal way. I hope readers find themselves pondering life and dreams and the questions the story raises. Like: What do you do when your dreams collide? When the thing you’ve always wanted is at your fingertips…but now a new dream comes swooping in? How do you deal with that feeling of “Am I missing out?”

My favorite line came from that scene. It was a movie perfect ending…loved it! So tell us what’s next for you?

Well, I’m very close to turning in my third novel, From the Start. It’s the start of a brand new series that I’m really excited about and releases spring 2015. Then I’ll be writing a novella, Three Little Words, which will come out before From the Start and will bridge both series. Then it’ll be time to write book four, which is due later this year. So…what’s next for me? Lots and lots and lots of writing.

Yeah! I can’t wait to read those! Where can people connect with you?

All over the place. Here are my main hangouts:

Website: www.melissatagg.com
FB: www.facebook.com/AuthorMelissaTagg
Twitter: @Melissa_Tagg
G : MelissaTagg
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/MelissaTagg
YouTube:  www.youtube.com/melissatagg
Instagram: melissatagg

I’m also on Pinterest, but I think I might be the only girl in the world who doesn’t really love it even a tiny bit, and on LinkedIn, though I don’t know why.

Cara again: I think you can see why I love Melissa — she’s got a great sense of humor and loves classic movies.  Be sure to enter for a chance to read her book below. You can also check out Regina Jenning’s here and Beth Vogt’s here.

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