Mona Hodgson and Free Books!

The women in the Saint Charles Quilting Circle have loved and lost many during the recent War Between the States. Who will choose to take steps, timid or sure, toward a new life elsewhere, and who will remain to rebuild their lives in Missouri?

Before we visit today's author, I want to announce that the winner of the signed copy of Beowulf, by Ronie Kendig, is:

stacey_dale@ . . .

Congratulations! I'll email you today to get your mailing address, and we'll get your book to you right away. I encourage readers to keep commenting and/or subscribe at right (above my list of books) in order to participate in future book give-aways! Subscribers are entered a second time when they comment.

Remember to enter your email address when you comment, as described in today's drawing information, below. If you win the drawing but haven't left your email address, I can't contact you!

Now let's revisit with novelist Mona Hodgson, author of The Quilted Heart (WaterBrook Press, January/2014).

Mona Hodgson is the author of nearly 40 books, historical novels for adults and children’s books, including her popular Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series, The Quilted Heart novellas, and Prairie Song, Book 1 in her Hearts Seeking Home Series. Her children’s books include bestseller, Bedtime in the Southwest, six desert and princess Zonderkidz I Can Read books, Real Girls of the Bible: A 31-Day Devotional, and her six I Wonder books.

Mona’s writing credits also include several hundred articles, poems and short stories, which have appeared in 50 different publications. Mona is a speaker for women’s groups, Christian women’s retreats, book clubs and reading groups, schools, and conferences for writers and librarians.

Please tell us three random things we might not know about you.

-- My go to food is avocados. On toast, in guacamole, chopped in a salad or an omelet, smeared in a sandwich.

-- I'd choose a beach house over a mountain cabin.

-- I'm hard to beat at Wii Tennis.

Please tell us a bit more about the plot of The Quilted Heart.

The Quilted Heart Omnibus is three stories in one.

Like a beautiful patchwork quilt, the three novellas in The Quilted Heart tell stories of lives stitched together with love and God’s unending grace.

Once a week, Elsa Brantenberg hosts the Saint Charles Quilting Circle at her farmhouse on the outskirts of the riverside town of St. Charles, Missouri. The ladies who gather there have all experienced heartache related to the intense hardships of the Civil War, and together, they are facing their painful circumstances with friendship and prayer. Can the tattered pieces of their hearts be stitched together by God’s grace?

Dandelions on the Wind -- When Maren Jensen took a job on Elsa Brantenberg’s St. Charles, Missouri farm, she never expected to call the place her home. As she grows to love Mrs. Brantenberg and her granddaughter, Gabi, Maren is transformed from a lonely mail-order bride-without-a-groom to a beloved member of the Brantenberg household. But when Gabi’s father, Rutherford “Wooly” Wainwright, returns to the farm unexpectedly, everything changes for Maren, and she feels compelled to find another job. Are her choices in obedience to God, or is she running from His plan?

Bending Toward the Sun -- Dedicated to her education and to helping her father in his general store, Emilie Heinrich is convinced she doesn't have time for love. But when a childhood friend returns to St. Charles, Missouri, after serving in the Civil War, his smile and charm captures Emilie’s eye and her heart. Will she be forced to choose between honoring her father and a future with a husband and family of her own?

Ripples Along the Shore -- Change is brewing in St. Charles. A group of brave souls are preparing to head west on the Boone's Lick Wagon Train, led by the mysterious and handsome Garrett Cowlishaw, who served as a Confederate soldier in the war that killed Caroline’s husband. Despite her dislike for him, Caroline is tempted to join the wagon train and start fresh somewhere new, but when Mr. Cowlishaw forbids her¬ a single woman¬ to travel with them, will one man’s prejudice destroy Caroline’s hope for a new future? Or will the ripples of God’s love bring the answer she needs?

Why will readers care about your lead characters?

Because they have three heroine's to choose from--a Danish mail-order bride whose encroaching blindness scared away the groom, a daughter too dedicated to her father and the family business to expect to ever find love, and a colonel's wife who has not yet heard from her husband--each one seeking for a fresh start following the war that devastated their lives, families, and community.

If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your lead roles?

Jennifer Lawrence for Maren Jensen






Robert Pattison for "Woolly" Rutherford Wainwright






Emma Watson for Emilie Heinrich






John Francis Daley for Quaid McFarland






Rachel Hurd-Wood for Caroline Milburn






Shia LeBeauf for Garrett Cowlishaw





What is one improvement you’d like to make in your life in 2014?

Our daughter, Amy, is making it for us. She, her hubby, and their three children are coming to the States from Africa this year for a visit! :)

Oh, what a blessing, Mona!

What is the last novel you read that you would recommend?

It was actually a novella anthology-- A Match Made in Texas with stories by Karen Witemeyer, Carol Cox, Regina Jennings, and Mary Connealy. I like the brevity and variety that a collection of novellas affords. And these four authors never fail to set compelling characters in an intriguing setting and give them a life of their own.

What are you working on now?

A novella proposal and Mountain Whispers, the sequel to Prairie Song, now available!

Where else can readers find you online?

My blog
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter

Facebook Release Party!

Please save the date for a Book Release Party for The Quilted Heart on Facebook, Friday, January 24th! You'll find the party in the Notes Section on her "Mona Hodgson Author Page" from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM (Mountain Time). Mona will answer questions, give away prizes and share photos and behind-the-scenes stories about the three novellas included in The Quilted Heart omnibus, set in Saint Charles, Missouri.


The book can be purchased in fine book stores and online via the following buttons:






CBD.com

Waterbrook Multnomah


Finally, what question would you like to ask my readers?

In Dandelion on the Wind, the first of the three novellas, Mrs. Brantenberg said to a new member, “Here in this quilting circle, none of us are alone. Not in our sorrows, nor in our triumphs.” Women, especially, long for community and tend to engage social, emotional, and spiritual families. The means for making that connection may vary and change from place to place and time period to time period and generation to generation . . . shade trees, front porches, quilting circles, Facebook groups, blogs, but we want to fit in, to belong. From a young age, we search for our social home.

Where do you socialize with like-minded women and find community?

Many thanks to you, Trish, for the opportunity to connect with your followers. It's been fun!

And thank you, Mona, for visiting with us and telling us about your novel. Readers, Mona has offered to give a signed copy of her book to the winner of our drawing on Thursday, January 30. To enter, leave a comment below in answer to Mona's question, above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. Leave your email address, in case you win, like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com.

Be sure to check out my interview with Ronie Kendig , below. Leave an appropriate comment at the bottom of the post to enter the drawing for a signed copy of the books.

Also, I'd love it if you'd connect with me on Facebook. Just click on my name at the right of today's post.

Annoying legal disclaimer: drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer HERE.