Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Crazy Little Thing Called Love Wedding bells and storm clouds collide in the first engaging novel in a brand-new series about destination weddings, the power of love, and the possible mishaps and missteps that happen on a couple’s journey down the aisle to “I do.” Paramedic Vanessa Hollister has put her adolescence behind her, including the unwanted label of being the new kid in town over and over again, thanks to her father’s military career. She’s overcome what her mother called “the biggest mistake of her life” and is planning an elegant destination wedding in Destin, Florida with her new fiancé. But will the reappearance of her first husband from her what-were-you-thinking teenage elopement disrupt her dream of an idyllic beach wedding? As a professional storm chaser, Logan Hollister is used to taking risks. However, a reckless decision during the last tornado season has him questioning the future of his team, the Stormmeisters. Coming face to face with his ex-wife eight years after their divorce compels him to confront his greatest regret: losing Vanessa. Does their past give him the right to interfere with her future? A fast-moving, powerful hurricane throws Vanessa and Logan together as they evacuate to a storm shelter along with other residents of the Florida Gulf Coast. Forced to spend time together, the pair battles unexpected renewed feelings for each other. Vanessa and Logan are faced with a choice: Should they accept, once and for all, their teenage marital mistake? Or is God offering them a second chance at happily ever after? Brock: How did you come up with the idea for this series? Beth: I brainstormed the idea for a series with my writing friend and mentor, author Rachel Hauck. I loved how a destination wedding series combined two elements that I believe will appeal to readers: weddings and travel. Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Who are they? What makes them unique? Beth: Logan Hollister is the hero of Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Vanessa Hollister is the heroine. They meet as seniors in high school. Vanessa is part of a military family – she’s learned how to be the new kid in school, thanks to all the moves her family has made through the years. She’s good at saying “hello” and “goodbye.” Logan is more than his “bad boy” persona – he’s actually a protector – and offers Vanessa something she’s always wanted: stability. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Beth: Logan had long hair in high school. He grew it long to irritate his dad – teen rebellion – because his dad didn’t support his dream of being a storm chaser. Vanessa never allowed herself to collect anything growing up because her family moved so much. But if she had, she would have kept books – lots and lots of books – instead of borrowing from the library. Brock: In three sentences what is this book about? Beth: What if you discovered that what you thought was your worse mistake was actually the right choice? If you had the chance for a second chance at love, should you take it? Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Beth: I use the Book Buddy, a work-text developed by author Susan May Warren, to outline my books. I develop my characters, my spiritual thread, my subplots and/or layers, the main points of conflict or turning points in the story, even the ending. But even with all the outlining and pre-plotting, I then fast draft, which is when I release control and discover more about my characters and my story. I allow things to change. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Beth: Doesn’t everyone have a choice they’ve made sometime in their life – maybe a choice they made in high school – and wonder: If I had a chance to change what I did, would I do something different? Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Beth: I love the genre I’m writing: contemporary romance. I believe there’s more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us. I examine the reality behind romance – how real life and love are messy – in the novels I write. And I like doing that with modern day stories. Brock: What was the Biblical background for this series? Beth: As I worked on my Destination Wedding series, I realized that God wove the wedding theme all through Bible. He identifies himself as a bridegroom and calls the church his bride. In Revelation, he talks about the marriage feast. And Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding in Canaa. So, while each individual novel or novella has it’s own spiritual thread, I love how underlying all of the stories is God’s story that embraces weddings. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Beth: Four in all: Two e-novellas and two novels. Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Beth: There’s always a certain amount of research. I researched destination wedding locations in the U.S. I researched wedding and reception details: wedding gowns, music, food, engagement rings, bouquets … that sort of thing. One fun thing that I ended up researching was wedding vows. Brock: How do you strike the right balance in your book? Beth: My plotting helps me find the balance – the pre-work I do before I start writing. And then I always look forward to getting feedback from my mentors and my editors – I value their input. Brock: Are you working on the next book in the series? Beth: I’ve written Can’t Buy Me Love (the first e-novella), and Crazy Little Thing Called Love (the first novel). I’m working on the second novel, Almost Like Being in Love. Brock: Can you give us a hint at the next book in the series? Beth: Almost Like Being in Love asks the question: Just because you’re perfect for each other – does that mean you should commit “’til death do us part”? Brock: Do you plot or outline the entire series before you begin writing, or do your books take on lives of their own? Or is there a combination? Beth: I provided my editors with a basic synopsis for all four books. When it comes time to write each one, I expand the synopsis and go from there. Brock: How do you hope parents will use this book with their kids? Beth: I’m happy that my adult readers often hand my books off to their teen daughters. I hope that they will discuss the issues that come up in Crazy Little Thing Called Love with them – things like elopement, teen marriage, having to move a lot, struggling to make friends, divorce. Brock: What do you hope kids take away from this book? Beth: I wish someone had said this to me when I was a teen: The choices you make now will affect you a year from now … 5 years from now … 10 years from now. I thought about that a lot as I wrote Crazy Little Thing Called Love. (And yes, it’s something I made sure my teens heard from me.) Brock: Where do you like to write? Beth: I have a wonderful home office decorated just the way I like it – and that two of my friends helped me organize. I also like to sit in a chair in my family room with my Bose headphones on and write on my laptop – and be right in the midst of all the activity. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Beth: I am a full-time author – in between all the regular life interruptions that come up. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? The longest time? Beth: Three years. The shortest time from first draft to deadline? Eight weeks. Brock: What do you hope readers take away from the series? Beth: Second chances aren’t an automatic Yes from God … and they need to be prayed over and treated as treasures. Brock: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer? Beth: I was an avid reader who, when I finished reading all the books I lugged home from the library, would write stories for myself. So, I’ve written stories since I was in middle school. I graduated from college with a journalism major and focused on non-fiction first before becoming a novelist. Brock: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Beth: I’ve been blessed to have several writing mentors. Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck are forces to be reckoned with when it comes to growing as a writer. They’ve challenged me, both as a writer and as a believer, to push past my fears, my doubts, and to do this crazy adventure not for myself but for God. Brock: What’s your view on e-books and the new publishing revolution? Beth: E-books are here to stay. And I’m okay with that. I will always want “real” books in my life – the kind I can curl up with on my couch. It’s not the same thing, curling up with my Kindle. Brock: What are your hopes for your future as an author? Beth: 1) To keep writing and to keep getting better. 2) To mentor other authors so that they can achieve their writing dreams. Brock: In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Beth: For the past ten years, I’ve chosen one word to focus on for the year. This year, my one word is collaborate. I’ve always prayed over the stories I write – prayed for the readers, prayed for the process. But now I want to be so conscious of my writing being a collaboration with God – waiting on Him to help create this story. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Beth: Coke – and when I am on deadline, I drink way-too much. Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Beth: I keep a stash of Jelly Belly jelly beans in my office. I have a special glass jar on my bookshelf and it’s up to me to keep it stocked. I don’t have a favorite flavor, per se, but I avoid the coffee and jalapeno ones. Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Beth: Romans 5:1-2 (The Message) – especially the part where it talks about finding ourselves where we always longed to be – standing in the wide open spaces of God’s grace. Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some examples? Beth: I do listen to music – and I indulged in some Bose headphones to do so. I like to make up playlists for each of the books I am writing. Sometimes it is the kind of music my hero and heroine like. Sometimes the songs are themed to the book. For example, as I wrote my destination wedding series, I listened to a lot of wedding music. Brock: Why do you write? Beth: I write because life is messy. Relationships are messy. And God stepped into our messy lives, our messy relationships, and showed us that we don’t have to be this way. He offers us more. I like to write novels that weave together real life and a very real God. Brock: What part of writing a book is the most challenging for you? Beth: The End. I usually rewrite my endings several times before they feel right to me. When I begin a book, I often know exactly how I want to start – and it rarely changes. But landing the ending – that’s been more challenging to me. Author Website: BethVogt.com Author Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorBethKVogt Author Twitter: twitter.com/bethvogt Author Pinterest: pinterest.com/beth_vogt Instagram: instagram.com/bethkvogt Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/5042181.Beth_K_Vogt?from_search=true
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Interview by Ashley Eastman Featuring Daughter of the Regiment Irish immigrant Maggie Malone wants no part of the war. She'd rather let "the Americans" settle their differences—until her brothers join Missouri's Union Irish Brigade, and one of their names appears on a list of injured soldiers. Desperate for news, Maggie heads for Boonville, where the Federal army is camped. There she captures the attention of Sergeant John Coulter. When circumstances force Maggie to remain with the brigade, she discovers how capable she is of helping the men she comes to think of as "her boys." And while she doesn't see herself as someone a man would court, John Coulter is determined to convince her otherwise. As the mistress of her brother's Missouri plantation, Elizabeth Blair has learned to play her part as the perfect hostess—and not to question her brother Walker's business affairs. When Walker helps organize the Wildwood Guard for the Confederacy, and offers his plantation as the Center of Operations, Libbie must gracefully manage a house with officers in residence and soldiers camped on the lawn. As the war draws ever closer to her doorstep, she must find a way to protect the people who depend on her. Despite being neighbors, Maggie and Libbie have led such different lives that they barely know one another—until war bring them together, and each woman discovers that both friendship and love can come from the unlikeliest of places. “Whitson celebrates the strong but unknown heroines who marched off to war with their men, as well as those who maintained the home front in this Civil War-era inspirational—based on true events, Daughter of the Regiment will capture the hearts of historical fiction fans.” --Publishers Weekly Ashley: What was behind your desire to write Daughter of the Regiment? Stephanie: Loving history means I’m always reading history. Being a woman of faith means I’m generally seeking the women’s side of historical events and asking myself how they managed to survive a dramatic event or a particularly difficult time. I learned about the real Daughters of the Regiment while reading about women in the Civil War, and the moment I “met” some of those women, I knew I wanted to celebrate their contribution. Ashley: Who are the main characters in the book? Stephanie: Maggie Malone is an Irish immigrant who really doesn’t want to have anything to do with the north/south conflict. In her opinion, her two brothers should “let the Americans settle it.” But then an Irish Brigade is formed in St. Louis, and Maggie’s brothers volunteer. She’s thrust into the middle of the conflict in a very personal way and forced into situations that challenge her idea about her own identity, both as a woman and as an immigrant. Elizabeth Blair is the mistress of her brother’s plantation in the part of Missouri known as Little Dixie. She’s been thrust upon him because of the death of her parents, and he sees her as little more than a tool to be used to help him get what he wants, which is political power and status. Like Maggie, Libbie hasn’t ever really questioned her personal place in the world. When her brother forms a volunteer militia and the plantation becomes first a campground and then a field hospital, Libbie is also forced into situations that challenge her idea about her own identity and beliefs. Maggie and Libbie come face to face in the aftermath of a battle. Libbie is looking for her brother among the southern dead, and Maggie is tending the wounded. Ashley: Would you share a fact about each main character that no one else knows? Stephanie: No one suspects that six-foot-tall Maggie Malone who farms and hunts and cares nothing for “feminine pursuits” would love to have a home and a family of her own. No one suspects that Elizabeth Blair, the epitome of a southern lady, feels trapped in a way of life that gives her no personal sense of accomplishment and no happiness. Ashley: In three sentences what is Daughter of the Regiment about? Stephanie: Two women from opposite sides of the social ladder must face events that force them to question everything they’ve been raised to believe about themselves, about God, and about their country. Ashley: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Stephanie: I begin with a compelling character caught up in a moment in time—a moment of real history. The characters always take control of the story, and when they do, I know they’ve become real to me. That’s a very good thing. Ashley: If your book changed as you wrote it, how is it different than how you originally planned? Stephanie: My books always change significantly as I write them. Some of that is because they are character driven and I don’t outline before I jump in. Some of it results from the superb input of my wonderful editor, who always has helpful “big picture” insights. Ashley: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Stephanie: We should all think through what we believe at a fundamental level about God and about our role in the world. Do we believe those things because we were raised to believe them, or do we believe them because we think they are true truth? Ashley: Expound on the spiritual themes in the book. Stephanie: I don’t generally begin a story with a spiritual them in mind, because I don’t want to force a message or preach a sermon. However, usually about two-thirds of the way through a book, I will have a moment where I realize what the book is “really” about, and that is always a spiritual truth. With Daughter of the Regiment, I realized that both Maggie and Libbie had the same needs from a spiritual point of view. Both women needed to realize who they could become if they let go of fear and stepped forward in faith. They needed to learn that physical circumstances or social standing weren’t really all that important in light of eternity. Ashley: Is this your favorite genre to write for? Stephanie: My heart’s in historical fiction. I’ve written contemporary fiction and enjoyed it, but when I returned to historical fiction, I felt like I’d come home. This is where I belong. Ashley: Why do you think historical fiction is so compelling for you as a writer? Stephanie: The “lightweight” answer to that is that women enjoy dress-up. In fact, historical fiction is sometimes called “women in costume.” I think there’s a more profound reason, though. Meeting women from the past by reading their diaries and reminiscences was a very real encouragement to me back in the 1990s when I was facing an unusually trying time in my personal life. In one calendar year, the beloved family dog/guardian ran away, my husband was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer, my parents both died within six weeks of each other, my best friend died of breast cancer, one of my daughters became very ill with a life-threatening chronic illness that took months to identify and treat, and my eldest daughter and I were involved in a head-on collision when another driver had a heart-attack and crossed the center line of the rode we were on. During that time of my life, I was reading about pioneer women who lost children and faced other devastating life events and still hung on to their faith in God. Their words reached across time and gave me perspective on my own troubles. That very concrete bond has never weakened. I feel a debt to the women who have gone before and I love telling their stories in the guise of historical fiction. Ashley: What sort of research was required for this book? Stephanie: I probably spend as much (if not more) time researching as I do writing a story. I don’t feel that I can move, feed, or clothe my characters until I’ve done some basic research about the time and place. I can’t understand my characters within the context of their time in history until I’ve read a lot about that time in history. I place imaginary friends into real events. Ashley: How do you strike an enjoyable balance in your book between romance & action? Stephanie: By thinking about the part of the story that will force my characters to grow and change in fundamental ways. Readers of historical fiction in 2015 expect a strong romance thread, so I provide that, but my books are all set in a time and place where “action” is a fundamental part of everyday life. As to “fact and fiction,” the facts provide the setting and many of the events, but the specific characters living those events are products of my overactive imagination (except for the occasional cameo). Ashley: Why did you choose to focus on a female protagonist? Stephanie: I generally focus on the female protagonist because women are my largest target audience. Ashley: Can you give us a hint at the next book in the series? Stephanie: I’m having a great time learning about the Pony Express and putting Annie Paxton and her brothers Frank and Emmet into that exciting, pivotal time of western history. Ashley: How much leeway do you give yourself with facts in a Historical Romance? Stephanie: Not very much, and if I do give myself leeway, I explain exactly what it was and why I did it in a letter to the reader. Ashley: Where do you like to write? Stephanie: I’m blessed to have an office in my home. I’ve surrounded myself with historical artifacts, research books (20 running feet of floor to ceiling bookshelves) and clutter. Ashley: Are you a full-time author? Stephanie: Full time. Ashley: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Stephanie: Oh, my … that’s a tough one. I like to have at least a year, because with historical fiction there’s so much reading and research involved, but some of my story ideas “percolate” in my mind for years before they actually emerge as published books. Ashley: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Stephanie: My passionate interest in women’s history coupled with my love of reading. Ashley: What’s your view on e-books and the new publishing world? Stephanie: It’s an exciting time to be a writer. I appreciate the potential e-books have given writers to find an audience. At the same time, I feel for all the wonderful people who’ve been affected in a negative way by the shake-up in “the way things have always been done.” It’s always difficult for a business to adapt to new technology, and I have dear friends who’ve been negatively impacted by the changes in publishing. Because many of those people are my sisters and brothers in Christ, I feel a burden to pray for them—and to pray for the grace to adjust to what God does in my writing life, as well. The only thing that is certain right now is that nothing’s certain—except, of course, for God’s hand on our lives and our writing ministry. So we are all learning, adapting, losing, gaining—I just saw a Charles Schultz cartoon with Charlie Brown and Snoopy sitting side-by-side. Charlie Brown is saying, “My entire life can be described in one sentence: It didn’t go as planned, and that’s ok.” I think all of us involved in publishing right now are working toward the “and that’s ok” part of that view of life. Ashley: What about you tends to surprise people? Stephanie: That one’s easy. No one seems to expect a woman who spends much of her time learning and writing about the 1800s to enjoy riding a motorcycle. I own a Honda Magna and named her “Kitty” when I first rode her home and my daughter commented on the sound and described it as a kind of “purr.” My husband has his own motorcycle as well—but I had Kitty first. We have a group of church friends who take dinner runs and the occasional longer ride together. My favorite of the latter to date was a trip from our home in southeast Nebraska to Door County, Wisconsin. Ashley: What was your favorite book as a teen or child? Stephanie: Anything with a horse in it. The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley were special favorites, and I can still see the cover of the edition of Thunderhead I carried to my favorite reading spot in a mulberry tree in our back yard. Ashley: What is the one author, living or dead, who you would co-write a book with and why? Stephanie: I’ve already co-written a quilt history book with Kathleen Moore of Austin, Texas. It was a wonderful experience and I’d repeat it if she hadn’t had the gall to move out of my home state of Nebraska. Our book (Home on the Plains: Quilts and the Sod House Experience) required lots of quiltmaking together, and that’s not something that can be done long distance. While I have enjoyed collaborating with other novelists in a couple of novella collections, I don’t see myself co-writing in the normal sense of the term. Ashley: What are your hopes for your future as an author? Stephanie: To continue to provide stories that give hope based on the knowledge that through Christ, we can belong to a personal God who cares about what happens to us and who will walk every valley with us. Ashley: In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Stephanie: I am constantly aware of God’s part in my writing life and convicted by David’s promise, “I will not offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing” (2 Sam. 24). I struggle with finding the balance between writing and living life and I am continually asking God for help with that. Ashley: Coke or Pepsi? Stephanie: Root Beer Ashley: Favorite place to vacation? Stephanie: Paris Ashley: Favorite season? Stephanie: Fall (God’s paintbrush applied to the changing landscape delights me) Ashley: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Stephanie: Excellent quality, medium roast coffee. Ashley: Favorite color? That’s changing. It used to be red. Now I think it might be yellow. Ashley: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Stephanie: My favorites change often, depending on what books of the Bible we are studying in church and what I’m reading on my own. I reference 2 Thessalonians 3:16 when I autograph books: “ … may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance …” Ashley: Favorite pasta dish? Stephanie: Anything served at Angiolino Ristorante in Florence, Italy. Ashley: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some examples? Stephanie: I don’t. I like the silence. My office is in the basement of my Victorian era home. It’s deeper than many basements, with high ceilings and a lovely brick archway through which you pass to access the office. We call it “the catacombs,” and I adore spending time “down there” with my imaginary friends. In silence. Ashley: Thank you Stephanie for giving us such deep insight into Daughter of the Regiment and your writing process. It’s always fun to go deeper into the author’s experience of writing. Author Website: StephanieWhitson.com Author Blog: stephaniegracewhitson.blogspot.com Author Facebook: Facebook.com/StephanieGraceWhitson-official Author Pinterest: pinterest.com/stephgwhitson/ Interview by Ashley Eastman Featuring The Wishing Season Ashley: How did you come up with the idea for The Chapel Springs Series? Denise: The TV show Parenthood convinced me it was time for a family series. In an age where there are so many ways to communicate, we're so disconnected! I wanted to write about a close-knit family in a small town setting. Family ties come with the good and the bad, and the McKinleys share in all of it: Friday night BBQs, rumors, backyard ballgames, heart-to-hearts, secrets, laughter and tears. Each book is a stand-alone that feature the love story of 1 of the 4 grown McKinley kids. Incidentally, this is my first series set in my home state of Indiana. Ashley: Give us one fact about each character that no one else knows. Denise: Oh, how fun. I love secrets. :) The heroine PJ was a fun challenge in that she's my polar opposite. She's chatty and outgoing and over-the-top optimistic. She's newly graduated with a culinary degree (I hate to cook!), and she dreams of opening her own restaurant. She's dealing with the secret shame of having dated a man she later discovered was married. The hero Cole is steady and quiet (and a little annoyed by PJ's tendency to run off at the mouth). He grew up as a foster kid and dreams of opening a transition house for kids aging out of the system. Cole blames himself for the death of his family. Ashley: In three sentences, what is this book about? Denise: When an eccentric resident offers her ancestral home to the applicant with the best plan for it, PJ McKinley thinks her dream of owning a B&B/restaurant is about to be realized. But contractor Cole Evans has plans of his own. When the elderly woman can't decide which plan is better, she proposes a tie-breaker--the competitors will share the house for a year to show what their ideas are made of. Ashley: Can you give us a hint at the next book? Denise: Married 'til Monday is the last book in the Chapel Springs series and my first reconciliation story--it really packs an emotional punch. It features the oldest McKinley sibling Ryan who's attempting to win back his ex-wife and soul mate, Abby. Ashley: What is your favorite genre to write for? Denise: Contemporary romance is my sweet spot. I love love and all things associated with it, and nothing makes me happier than bringing my readers along on the emotional journey of falling in love. My goal is that happily-ever-after sigh at the end of each story. Ashley: Where do you get your ideas from? Denise: Oh, they come from all over the place. Music lyrics, Sunday sermons, newspaper articles, Dr. Phil. LOL Not kidding. I have a thick file full of story ideas. I'll never have time to write them all. Ashley: How long does it usually take you to write a single book in the series? Denise: I'm on a 6-month release schedule now, so no book takes me longer than that. Some books are easier than others. I think my record is 4 months, but it usually doesn't go that smoothly! Ashley: Coke or Pepsi? Denise: Diet Pepsi Ashley: Soft shell or Hard Shell tacos? Denise: Soft Ashley: Favorite place to vacation? Denise: Anywhere, so long as I haven't been there before! Ashley: Favorite season? Denise: Fall (which lasts about 2 days in northern Indiana.) Ashley: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Denise: Coffee. (Toomer's Costa Rican blended with MCT oil and a bit of Stevia.) Ashley: Favorite color? Denise: Red Ashley: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Denise: Philippians 4:13 Ashley: Favorite pasta dish? Denise: Mostaccioli Al Forno Ashley: Do you listen to music while you write? Denise: I find music very inspiring, but while I'm writing, I need quiet! Author Website: www.DeniseHunterBooks.com Author Facebook: www.facebook.com/denisehunterauthor Author Twitter: DeniseAHunter Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Sabotaged Finally Returned Home, Reef McKenna Finds His Beloved Alaska Facing Its Greatest Threat Growing up, goody-two-shoes Kirra Jacobs and troublemaker Reef McKenna were always at odds. Now, working together as search-and-rescue for Alaska's arduous Iditarod race, a growing attraction seems to be forcing aside old arguments. Then Reef catches Kirra sneaking from camp in the middle of the night. Kirra's uncle, a musher in the race, has disappeared. Kirra and Reef quickly track the man, but what they discover is harrowing: Frank's daughter has been kidnapped. Kirra and Reef, along with the entire McKenna family, are thrown into a race to stop a shadowy villain who is not only threatening a girl's life--but appears willing to unleash one of the largest disasters Alaska has ever seen. “Pettrey keeps the pages turning with a wicked pace, snappy dialogue, and likable characters, while deftly handling deep emotional and spiritual struggles. Series fans will relish—and mourn—the conclusion of the McKenna siblings’ adventures.” —Publishers Weekly Brock: How did you come up with the idea for the Alaskan Courage series? Dani: I watched a movie about cave divers and it got me thinking what type of person would pursue such a dangerous job for a living. I find extreme athletes and people who pursue adventurous careers simply fascinating. I began diving into all the extreme sports and adventure professions and the McKenna family was born. Brock: What was your inspiration for setting your Sabotaged during Iditarod? Dani: It’s an idea I’d been toying with since the start of my Alaskan Courage series. The McKennas’ world revolves around adventure and extremes. There’s no place on earth where you find a better combination of the two than during the Iditarod. Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Who are they? What makes them unique? Dani: Reef McKenna is the black sheep of the McKenna clan. He spent many years estranged from his family. Now he’s back and trying to set things right. Kirra Jacobs is driven, focused and kind, but she’s also been deeply wounded. Seeing these two vastly different characters interact has been a lot of fun. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Dani: Reef is allergic to avocados and Kirra loves the Hallmark channel, despite her aversion to all things romantic. Brock: In three sentences, what is this book about? Dani: Partnered on a search-and-rescue team, Reef and Kirra are thrown into a race to stop a shadowy villain who is not only threatening a girl's life--but appears willing to unleash one of the largest disasters Alaska has ever seen. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Dani: I don’t plot. The thought of outlining gives me hives. I start with a story premise, a ‘what if’ question and just write. The typically means a lot of drafts to get it right, but it’s the process that fits me. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Dani: I believe we all face difficulties in life. We all have struggles. They may not be facing a villain intent on sabotaging the Iditarod, but they are just as real and trying. Seeing God at work in the midst of these struggles, watching a character navigate through hardship and overcome is extremely inspiring. I believe we all need inspiration and, more importantly, hope. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Dani: I love writing inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things I love--the thrill of adventure, nail-biting suspense, the deepening of one's faith and plenty of romance. Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Dani: I do a lot of research with my books on the setting (Alaska), my characters’ professions (Search and Rescue) and the events surrounding the mystery (Iditarod being threatened). I try to have my facts as accurate as possible and then take fictional liberty to make the story unique. Brock: How do you strike the right balance in your book? Dani: Romantic suspense is a difficult genre. It’s important to have an equal balance between the two. Since I don’t outline or plot, it takes a lot of practice and numerous drafts to strike the right balance. Brock: Why did you choose to have two protagonists? Dani: In a romance it’s really important for readers to be able to see the story through both the hero and heroine’s eyes. To understand what each is thinking and feeling. Brock: Sabotaged is book five in the Alaskan Courage series. Do you need to read the books in order? Dani: Each book in the series features a different McKenna sibling and can be read as stand alones. Brock: Sabotaged is the conclusion of the Alaskan Courage series. What’s next? Dani: I’m working in a new four-book romantic suspense series entitled Chesapeake Valor. The first book will release early next year. Brock: How hard was it to say goodbye to a family who’ve spent five books with? Dani: While I’m thoroughly enjoying getting to know my new cast of characters, it’s definitely been an adjustment not spending time with the McKennas. Brock: Any chance you’ll revisit the McKenna clan? Dani: It’s definitely a possibility. Brock: Where do you like to write? Dani: I have an office in the sunroom off our kitchen. I love writing there because it’s so bright and sunny. I’ve got a desk and a loveseat for when I need a break from the computer. My black lab is always curled up on the loveseat while I’m writing. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Dani: I’m a full-time writer now that my kids are grown, but I do watch my grandson two days a week, which is an absolute treasure. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Dani: I started out writing a book a year, but my deadlines have definitely moved closer together. I now write a book about every eight months. Brock: Expound on the spiritual theme in Sabotaged. Dani: The theme for Sabotaged is hope in the midst of brokenness. God is able to bring healing and hope despite the worst of circumstances. It doesn’t happen overnight most times, but if we trust Him and wait on Him, He is faithful to bring healing—to turn our mourning into dancing. It doesn’t mean that all our questions will be answered, but we can hold tight to the promise that He will provide the grace we need to get through, even if it’s simply the grace to make it through day by day. God is faithful. Brock: What is your "how I got published" story? Dani: I have always loved daydreaming and making up stories. I dabbled with creative writing growing up, but set it aside. It wasn’t until after the birth of my youngest daughter and a bout with a serious illness, that I really felt God stirring me to start writing again. My kids were young, so I started slowly. I spent a lot of time simply reading novels, seeing how they worked, analyzing why I fell in love with certain characters and not others. I attended writing conferences, joined a writer’s group and devoted regular time to writing. I was also blessed with an amazing mentor who really shepherded me in the craft and writing life. I wrote for a number of years, entered contests and applied the feedback I received. A number of years ago, I attended the ACFW conference. I approached my editor after his Spotlight Session and he was gracious enough to ask to see the first three chapters. A few weeks later, I got a request for the full. A few weeks after that he told me they were going to present it for contract. The day I got ‘the call' was amazing. I had received my share of rejections, so getting the ‘go ahead’ on a story I loved so dearly was pure joy. Brock: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Dani: Reading books by favorite authors like Dee Henderson, Sue Grafton, Jane Austen and Agatha Christie really stir my creativity. Watching powerful movies also provides a lot of inspiration, but the greatest influence on my writing is my relationship with God. It’s all for Him. I pray I honor and glorify Him with every word that I write. Brock: What is the one author, living or dead, who you would co-write a book with and why? Dani: Dee Henderson. She’s my favorite author, a wonderful inspiration, and someone I would be incredibly honored to partner with. Brock: In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Dani: My faith greatly impacts my writing, but I hope in a natural way. Just as my love of adventure permeates the stories I write, so does my faith. My relationship with Jesus is part of every facet of my life; it’s only natural to be part of the stories I tell. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Dani: Coke. Brock: Soft shell or Hard Shell tacos? Dani: Hard shell. Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Dani: The beach. Brock: Favorite season? Dani: Summer. Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Dani: Coffee and chocolate. I’m really healthy, can’t you tell ☺ Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Dani: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV I love it because it explains why death is so hard for us to deal with. It is because God has set eternity into our hearts. We know He has created us for more than this life, this world. Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so what are some examples? Dani: I can’t listen to music while writing my first draft. I find it too distracting. However, I develop story soundtracks for all my books while working on the first draft. I listen to the soundtrack during revisions. You can listen to the soundtracks on my website. Brock: Did you learn surprising facts or trivia while researching the Iditarod? Dani: So many things. For example, race times have gotten twice as fast since it started. The first Iditarod took place in 1973 and took about 20 days to complete; currently, it takes about 10 days. Additionally, sled dogs need to consume 10-12,000 calories a day during the race. It goes without saying, but I am truly in awe at the brave athletes who compete in such a grueling and arduous race—both the men and woman mushers, and of course, the sled dogs. I loved seeing the musher’s devotion and care of their animals, as well as the bonding that exists between the two. It’s really touching. Brock: If you could have dinner with any fictional character who would you chose and what would be the first question you asked them? Dani: Jamie Sullivan from A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks. I would ask her how she could always be so brave. I know the answer. I know it was Christ filling her with strength, but I admire her steadfast faith so much. Brock: How do you celebrate when you finish a book? Dani: My family and I always go out to dinner to celebrate. My favorite treat is Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé. It’s a Belgian chocolate soufflé drizzled with raspberry coulis and accompanied by vanilla bean ice cream. It is out of this world. Then, I play catch-up on everything I’ve let slide during deadline craze—sleep, email, cleaning. Though I don’t suppose the latter part counts as celebrating ☺ Author Website: DaniPettrey.com Author Facebook: facebook.com/DaniPettrey Author Twitter: @DaniPettrey Author Pinterest: pinterest.com/DaniPettrey Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Curio “From the moment I slipped into the pages of Curio I was transported. Evangeline Denmark has written an intricately webbed story that will make your heart race and your mind thrill. But, be prepared. The Mad Tock, powerful chemists, and wicked porcies roam these pages. Danger, adventure, romance, and imaginative settings galore! I haven’t been so enthralled since my childhood favorites of The Labyrinth and The Neverending Story.” ~Brandy Vallance, award winning author of The Covered Deep Evangeline Denmark isn’t exactly new to the world of speculative fiction. In fact, she grew up in it. The daughter of bestselling fantasy novelist Donita K. Paul, Evangeline is quick to credit her mother for fostering a love of the written word. “She read to my brother and me every night—everything from picture books to the Bible to The Hobbit.” Mother and daughter collaborated on two picture books, The Dragon and the Turtle and The Dragon and the Turtle Go on Safari, published by Waterbrook Press, the Penguin Random House division that published Donita K. Paul’s popular DragonKeeper Chronicles series. I’ve come to know Evangeline through book signings and school literacy events in the town we both call home. She and her mother seem to attract fantasy fans, enthusiastic readers, and budding writers eager to discuss the ins and outs of fiction. The excitement is mutual as the two eagerly encourage students and readers of all ages to delve deep into literary pursuits. I sat down with Evangeline at Jives Coffee Lounge, a Colorado Springs café decorated in the Steampunk genre aesthetic, heavy on the industrial feel with exposed copper piping, metal cage light fixtures, and a gear-shaped stage. The ambiance was perfect to discuss Evangeline’s debut Young Adult Steampunk Fantasy novel, Curio. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Evangeline: Grey’s brother, Banner, means everything to her. Before Whit started working in the mines, he had never been out of Mercury City. Blaise’s father is part of a matrilineal society. (purposefully vague *waggles eyebrows*) Brock: In three sentences, what is this book about? Evangeline: To avoid the reaches of the corrupt Chemist Council, Grey Haward escapes into an enchanted curio cabinet in her grandfather’s store. Inside the cabinet, Grey discovers a world of living porcelain and clockwork people on the verge of revolution and becomes embroiled in their fight. To get home, she must find the only other human, a boy disguised as the Mad Tock, whose secrets stretch from one world into the next. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Evangeline: I have an idea where the story is going but I don’t outline. I like to be surprised. Or rather, I don’t have any choice but to be surprised. That’s how my brain works. Brock: So why the change from picture books to Young Adult novels? Evangeline: Actually novels have been my focus since I began pursuing writing for publication. The Dragon and Turtle books were fun opportunities that arose thanks to my mom’s dragon-loving fan base, but the stories that find their way into my brain are usually better suited to a longer format and an older audience. Brock: What is the biggest challenge involved in writing for the Young Adult market? Why do you enjoy it? Evangeline: Knowing the struggles and pressures young people face and wanting to do right by them. Wanting to say with my words and my characters’ experiences, “I see you. I know what it is to feel that you don’t belong, that you have to hide who you truly are, and that if anybody knew the real you, they’d turn away.” One of fiction’s most powerful tools is the capacity to let a reader know she or he is not alone. Someone else has felt the same way. As for what I enjoy most, it’s the freedom of emotion that comes with writing in the Young Adult genre. As adults we kind of lock things away because we have to function. And okay, that’s necessary to some extent. Otherwise we’d be like Sadness in Pixar’s Inside Out, flat on our backs with one foot in the air, moaning, “I’m too sad to walk.” But the point of that movie, and the point I’m trying to make, is that there’s strength in acknowledging our emotions and how they shape who we are. YA provides a canvas for exploring all the feels. Brock: What appeals to you most about steampunk as a genre? Evangeline: At first it was the aesthetic. Who doesn’t like corsets, top hats, and goggles? And I enjoyed the creative take on history and outside-the-mold characters. But it’s the punk aspect that hit home with me. Anything “punk” whether we’re talking punk rock or cyberpunk, is going to have an element of social challenge. It’s a sharpened viewpoint that leans toward cynicism and anarchy, but can also uncovers inequality and injustice, which is as necessary now as it was when Charles Dickins wrote. Brock: Can you give us a brief summary of what the book is about? Evangeline: To avoid the reaches of the corrupt Chemist Council, Grey Haward escapes into an enchanted curio cabinet in her grandfather’s store. Inside the cabinet, Grey discovers a world of living porcelain and clockwork people on the verge of revolution and becomes embroiled in their fight. To get home, she must find the only other human, a boy disguised as the Mad Tock, whose secrets stretch from one world into the next. Brock: A large portion of the book takes place inside this enchanted cabinet. How did you come up with that idea? Evangeline: I remember the exact moment when Curio began. I was driving and the word curio popped into my head. I instantly fell in love with the concept of curios and curio cabinets and knew I had to write a story about them. From there I moved on to thinking about the word curiosity and came up with the idea of a human girl trapped in a curio cabinet who would be a curiosity to the denizens of that world—porcelain and clockwork creatures. Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Who are they? What makes them unique? Evangeline: Grey Haward is painfully aware that her height and stature draw attention in her home, Mercury City. What she doesn’t understand is why she’s compelled to intervene when her best friend is charged with breaking the law or why a strange mark shows up on her skin the morning after her rebellion. Grey’s family is hiding a secret, and the truth of Grey’s identity will change her world and another. Whit Bryacre is only a few months out of school and working in the mines when his attempt to rescue Grey lands him in trouble for breaking Mercury’s harsh laws. Angry and afraid, Whit embarks on a path of resistance that could cost him his life. Blaise Amintore has been trapped for one hundred years. He spends his time plotting revolution against the cruel ruling class of porcelains and fixing broken tocks and porcies desperate enough to seek help from the Mad Tock. But when another human arrives in Blaise’s world, both the revolution and Blaise’s personal crusade kick into high gear. Brock: Although there are two male point-of-view characters, Grey Haward is clearly the protagonist. What are some critical aspects of crafting a heroine for you? Evangeline: I have a passion for seeing girls and women embrace the many aspects of who they are, not just the roles that have been traditionally assigned to them. As human beings we have such varying gifts and strengths, and to deny someone’s contribution to the world based on their gender is ridiculous and harmful. Grey starts out in a very repressed environment where women are restricted and then finds herself in a place where women are objectified. Both societies are deeply flawed. When Grey steps into the destiny that is in her blood, she throws off the false identity constructs that have been forced on her and becomes the justice-minded warrior she was meant to be. Brock: Let’s talk a little about the process of writing Curio. Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Evangeline: I researched mining, alchemy, and Colorado’s early days as a territory. I also watched some of Jay Leno’s YouTube videos about steam cars and rubbed my own ceramic dishes together (gently!) to hear how porcie “applause” would sound. Brock: You mentioned the real history of Colorado. How much leeway did you give yourself with facts? Evangeline: Curio and the prequel novella, Mark of Blood and Alchemy, take place in alternate history, so a real time and place in our world, but with completely made-up elements and events that have affected the world. Steampunk and Clockpunk lend themselves to wild liberties with such small matters as facts and reality. I had great fun making gauntlet writers—the equivalent of tablets in the early 1900s American West—and a time machine in Mark of Blood and Alchemy that consists of a water clock and a funicular. Brock: Tell us a little more about the prequel? Evangeline: Mark of Blood and Alchemy is available now as an ebook. The novella gives the origins of the Chemists and the Defenders and follows Grey’s grandfather, Olan, as a young man fleeing a plague and tangling with a group of “magickers.” It’s short, full of action, intrigue, romance, and some fun clockpunk devices. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Evangeline: I love fiction with supernatural elements, whether it’s YA, romance, or steampunk. Brock: How does it feel to have your work published? Evangeline: I’ve had picture books published, but writing novels was always my goal. For a long time I struggled with trying to fit my stories into a certain mold that I thought was expected of me. This was a terrible idea, and my novels kept spilling over out of the box and getting wild and weird. When I finally let go of those expectations and embraced the wanderings of my imagination, I wrote the project that got a contract. It feels amazing to see my name on the cover of a book that reflects my creativity unleashed. Brock: Finally, how do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Evangeline: Questioning the way things work, whether that’s a scientific principle or a political system, is how we move forward as individuals, as societies, and as a species. It’s hard work and it’s often painful, but it must be done. When we wrestle with the tough questions—not only in our personal experience but on behalf of others—it becomes harder and harder to ignore things like poverty, injustice, and inequality. I believe teens have a deep capacity for empathy and tapping into that awareness is powerful. I hope Curio helps my readers question the status quo and connect with their compassion. Brock: Thank you Evangeline, for giving us an inside look only an author can. I’ve been following Donita Paul’s career for many years, and I have no doubt Evangeline’s career will be equally filled with amazing worlds, dazzling characters, and stories to awaken our imaginations. Author website: EvangelineDenmark.com Author Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorEvangelineDenmark/?fref=ts Author Twitter: twitter.com/EvangelineD Author Pinterest: pinterest.com/evangelineden/ Author Instagram: instagram.com/evangelinedenmark/ Laura Martin the author of the Edge of Extinction series sent me an Advanced Reader Copy of Book 2: Code Name Flood a few months back and I have to say, it's a great addition and conclusion to Book 1: The Ark Plan. If your kids love dinosaurs then this series is for them, if they love adventure then this series is for them, if they love post-apocalyptic books then this series if for them. A fantastic mix of Jurassic Park and City of Ember, the Edge of Extinction books will be new favorites of kids and parents alike.
If you haven't read my Q&A with Laura Martin about The Ark Plan, check it out here. And take a moment and check out Laura's post on the evolution of a book cover. It's always fun to see how a cover comes together. Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring the Light of the Last To Fight What Others Can’t You Must See What Others Don’t After an accident left him temporarily blind, Drew Carter didn’t just regain his sight. He now sees what others can’t imagine–an entire spiritual realm of mighty beings at war. Forget the gift, Drew just wants his life back. Part of that involves Sydney Carlyle, a woman he is inexplicably drawn to. When he’s offered the chance to become a CIA agent, it seems the way to redeem his past. The only problem–his visions of the supernatural realm are increasing in frequency. It’s up to the warrior angel Validus and his hand-picked team of heavenly agents to protect the unbelieving Drew. Validus now knows that the young man is at the epicenter of a global spiritual war, and the angels must use a millennia of battle experience keep Drew alive, for the Fallen want him dead. Surrounded by spiritual warriors and targeted by demons, Drew’s faced with an impossible decision that will forever alter the destiny of America...and his own soul. Brock: What was your inspiration for writing the Wars of the Realm series? Chuck: I’ve always felt that if we could actually see the spiritual realm for just a few minutes, it would change the way we live our lives forever. This motivated me to create a semi-futuristic story that would follow the life of a young man who could see the raging battles between angels and demons. Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Who are they? What makes them unique? Chuck: Drew Carter is a young man with amazing potential, but is road-blocked by tragedy at every turn. An atheist with a good Samaritan heart, Drew has no idea that he will play a key role in fulfilling the End Times prophecy of the very book he considers mythology…the Bible. After a tragic accident leaves him blind, he slowly regains his sight and sees “invaders” that are influencing the affairs of men. Sydney Carlyle is the pursued and unwilling young Christian girl that gets caught up in Drew’s bizarre world of “alien invaders”. Her pure heart draws Drew to her even though she want’s nothing to do with him. And then there is Drew’s quirky genius friend, Benjamin Berg. Without Ben, the story wouldn’t happen. His intellect and savvy tech knowledge launch the three of them on a wild adventure that culminates in a global climax. But another key character throughout all three books is the angel warrior Validus. He is the last and least of God’s angels. We watch him rise in position and authority throughout six millennia until he becomes the North American Continental commander of the warrior class. Then he is “demoted” and reassigned to protect one single man…Drew Carter. Little does he realize it will be the most intense and challenging assignment of all ages. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Chuck: Drew Carter’s favorite movies are King Arthur, The Bourne Identity, and Pride and Prejudice, although he would never admit it. Sydney Carlyle is taking Tae Kwon Do classes without telling Drew. Benjamin Berg loves the Minions although he would never admit it. Validus marvels when he watches children play, wondering what it would have been like to be so small and so vulnerable. Brock: In three words, what is this book about? Chuck: Intense spiritual warfare Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Chuck: I outline and create the primary scenes in my mind before I begin writing. Initially I am very plot driven. Then as the characters develop they literally take over the story, often giving new direction to the plot. In the end, the characters own the tale. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Chuck: Spiritual warfare is all around us all the time. My hope is that this story will open our eyes and inspire us to live like that warfare is real, as Jesus said it was. In the Air Force, fighter pilots have a saying, “Lose sight, lose fight.” That means that if a pilot is in a dogfight and he loses sight of the enemy, it is only a matter of seconds before he is dead. Often times as Christians we bee-bop through life ignorant and blind to the raging spiritual battle around us. I believe that if we lose sight of the enemy of God, we will lose the fight. This is evident in broken marriages, faltering churches, and young people leaving their faith in droves. I hope these books put a bullseye back on the enemy so we can stand victorious in Christ once again. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Chuck: This is tough. My previous books didn’t really fit into any genre. They are historical allegorical fiction. I love writing allegories like those first twelve books, but the Wars of the Realm books in the suspense/thriller genre were extremely enjoyable too. I am also considering science fiction for my next books so I guess the answer is that I don’t know yet! Brock: What is the biblical background or basis for the series? Chuck: Modern day pre-tribulation. Brock: How many books are planned for the Wars of the Realm series? Chuck: Three Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Chuck: Light of the Last required quite a bit of research. I love detail and want my stories to be as accurate as possible. I did extensive research on Sobibor death camp in Poland, the CIA, Chicago, Camp David, and viruses. Brock: How do you strike the right balance in your book? Chuck: I can’t help it but I am a romantic at heart. All of my books have a measure of romance. I think romance is at the heart of everyone, including God. Why else would He liken the Church to being His bride? My wife however doesn’t like romance at all so she lets me know when I cross the line. She balances me. I also love action and details. I guess I’ve never thought about balance too much. It just happens because I’m a rather odd mix of it all. Brock: What do your readers think about your latest series? Chuck: I have had more enthusiasm from my readers for the Wars of the Realm books than any of my previous books. I have a bad habit of writing some major cliff hangers into my books. The response is pretty intense. I guess you could say they love to hate me and can’t wait for book number three. Brock: How does it feel to have your work published? Chuck: Light of the Last will be my fifteenth book published, and I can honestly say that I am as excited about this book as I was for my first one. God is so good! Brock: Why did you choose to focus on a male protagonist? Chuck: I needed a male protagonist because my message and purpose aligns with Scripture as a result. Saying any more than this would be a major spoiler. Brock: If your book changed as you wrote it, how is it different than how you originally planned? Chuck: The scope of the story exploded on me until I was struggling to contain it within the agreed upon length. This was unexpected but necessary to bring closure to the plot and characters. Brock: Were any scenes or characters cut from the book? Can you give an example? Chuck: There were a couple of short scenes that were cut to keep the length of the book within limits. One was a scene between Drew Carter and the eye examiner at the CIA medical evaluation facility. The examiner refused to believe that Drew’s eyes were healthy. One of the angels intervened to keep the doctor from discovering the truth about Drew. Brock: Is it difficult to be accurate to a biblical perspective or biblical facts when writing fantasy fiction? Chuck: In regard to spiritual warfare, the Bible allows a lot of interpretation and speculation. I tried very hard to let the scriptures be my boundaries that I would not violate and then allowed speculation to take me the rest of the way. Brock: How do you hope parents will use this book with their kids? Chuck: My books are YA. I hope that parents will use this book to open their kids eyes to the reality of spiritual warfare and prepare them for the roaring lion that awaits them. Brock: Where do you like to write? Chuck: In my mind. I love creating all the scenes and dialog lying in bed or driving on a long trip. When I sit at a computer I usually am just dictating from the story I’ve already written. That can happen anywhere, but usually it is sitting in my recliner near the fire place. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Chuck: I am part time moving to full time. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Chuck: Six months of consistent writing, four to five hours a day. Brock: What do you hope readers take away from the series? Chuck: I hope readers are inspired to jump on the adventure God has waiting for them. I hope they can fully believe that we are in a war but that we are not to be afraid for greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world! Brock: Expound on the spiritual themes in the series. Chuck: The major theme is spiritual warfare. Other themes are repentance, love, loss, faithfulness, reverence, freedom, salvation, and evangelism. Brock: What is your "how I got published" story? Chuck: I wrote my first book, Kingdom’s Edge, for my children in hopes of inspiring them to truly understand the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ and to open their eyes to spiritual warfare. After my wife read the story she encouraged me to publish the book so other families could enjoy and use the story with their children. I decided to self-publish this book and the next three. After five years of seeing God expand the reach of the series to families across the country I was exhausted and ready to turn it over to a publisher…if they wanted it. I asked a friend to make some calls and within a day I was talking to an editor from Multnomah Books. After a forty-five minute phone call, it was obvious that God was orchestrating events because Multnomah immediately caught the vision and offered a four book contract within the next few weeks. It was an intense and unusual journey to getting published especially since I didn’t really set out to be an author. Although I often refer to myself as an “accidental author”, I am grateful to the Lord for allowing me to minister to families and young people through my books. Brock: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer? Chuck: Once I could see that the first book I had written was having a spiritual impact on the readers. I would much rather write than speak. Brock: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Chuck: The Bible is number one, then my heart for family, marriage, and youth. Music also has a big influence on my writing. Brock: What’s your view on e-books and the new publishing revolution? Chuck: As an engineer and business owner, I learned quickly that only those businesses that embraced new technology survived. We must adapt and embrace the tech that is going to get life-changing stories into the hands of the next generation. Brock: What was your favorite book as a teen or child? Chuck: John Christopher’s the Tripod Trilogy Brock: In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Chuck: My faith drives everything. It gives me motivation to know that I am doing something purposeful and eternal. Without faith, I wouldn’t write. So many of the popular dystopian series today appear to be so hopeless. It is my faith that drives me to inspire people to live victoriously for a great and good God. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Chuck: Water☺ Brock: Soft shell or hard shell tacos? Chuck: Soft shell for sure. Brock: Favorite season? Chuck: Spring Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Chuck: Hebrews 4:12 and 1Peter 2:9. These are my two theme verses for my series. Brock: Favorite pasta dish? Chuck: Mostaccioli with Italian sausage Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some examples? Chuck: Yes! I have a Pandora station that plays adventure movie themes like Batman, Transformers, Avengers, and the Bourne Identity. It is very inspirational, but then later when I read my manuscript without the music it isn’t nearly as epic. I’ve hired my daughter to compose music for our audio dramas we’ve produced for each of the books and that helps. Of course the English voice actors with their cool accents don’t hurt either. Brock: If your life was a book, what would the title be? Chuck: An Ordinary Guy With and Extraordinary God Brock: What do you enjoy most about writing? Chuck: I love talking to young people about the Lord and books that inspire them to live great lives for His kingdom. I get to talk to thousands of families and young people from coast to coast and am so blessed to be able to share my enthusiasm for God in a way that they will take to heart. Thank you for the opportunity to share my heart with you and your readers! Author Website: www.WarsOfTheRealm.com Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChuckBlack.Author Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/chuckblack1 Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring The Daughter of Highland Hall Fans of Downton Abbey, Jane Eyre, and Pride & Prejudice will enjoy this pure and inspiring romance taking place in Edwardian England amid a clash of cultures and changing times. Eighteen-year-old Katherine Ramsey travels to London with her family to make her debut into society and hopefully find her future husband. Her overbearing aunt insists she must secure a proposal from a wealthy young man who is in line to inherit his father’s title and estate. But Katherine questions her aunt’s plans when she gets to know Jonathan Foster, a handsome medical student and strong Christian who is determined to protect the poor and vulnerable in London’s East End. When a family scandal puts a damper on Katherine’s hopes for the season, she has time to volunteer with Jonathan, caring for children in one of London’s poorest areas, and romance blossoms. Katherine’s faith grows and she begins to envision a different future with Jonathan. But when Katherine’s work in the East End puts her in danger, Jonathan distances himself from Katherine to protect her. A wealthy suitor reappears, and Katherine must choose which path to follow. “Giving vivid entry into an Edwardian England setting, from genteel ballrooms to the gritty streets of London’s East End, author Carrie Turansky has created a cast of multilayered, delightfully written characters I found engaging from beginning to end. The Daughter of Highland Hall is at its heart a story of personal courage, one sure to please fans of Turansky’s The Governess of Highland Hall, as well as readers coming fresh to the series with this book.” —Lori Benton, author of Burning Sky and The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn Brock: How did you come up with the idea for the Edwardian Brides Series? Carrie: Early in 2012 I attended the American Library Association Conference in Philadelphia with another author friend. I spoke to an editor there and asked what she was looking for. She said she’d love to see and English historical romance series set in the same time period as Downton Abbey. I’d enjoyed watching the first season of Downton, and I especially liked the way the screenwriter gave equal time to developing the storyline following wealthy family as well as the loyal servants. I didn’t know much about Edwardian England, but I jumped into the research, and fell in love with the time period. The ideas for the characters and plot rose out of my research and the issues of the time. The first two books in the Edwardian Brides Series, The Governess of Highland Hall, and The Daughter of Highland Hall have been released. Book 3, A Refuge at Highland Hall will release in October 2015. Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Who are they? What makes them unique? Carrie: Each novel in the series includes members of the Ramsey Family and their loyal staff, but each story stands alone and is complete because different people step forward to take on the role of heroine or hero. In The Daughter of Highland Hall, Katherine (Kate) Ramsey, a wealthy young debutante, is poised to make her debut in London society who hopes to secure a marriage proposal from a wealthy, titled suitor. Then she meets Jon Foster, a young medical student who has a strong faith and wants to serve the poor, and that opens the door to another possibility for her life. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Carrie: Kate loves to sing and wishes she could perform on stage. Jon rode elephants in India as a boy and would love to return to India do it again some day. Brock: In three words, what is this book about? Carrie: Finding your purpose Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Carrie: My publisher asks for a synopsis, so I usually have a good idea of the main events in the story before I start writing. My editor gives me feedback after she reads the synopsis, and I often incorporate her ideas. But I like to let the characters show me how we will arrive at those turning points in the story. That’s the fun part. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Carrie: I think readers will identify with Kate’s search for meaning and purpose in life and also with her journey to discover a deeper meaning to her faith. Jon’s struggle to balance his love and commitment to his family with his desire to follow a different path is also an issue readers will identify with. As Jon and Kate weigh their choices for the future, readers may do the same. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Carrie: I have written inspirational contemporary romance, women’s fiction, and historical romance. I love that last genre most, because I like stepping back in history and learning about another time and place. I have especially enjoyed writing these last three stories set in England. Brock: What is the biblical background or basis for the series? Carrie: The theme verse for this book is Matthew 6:33. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” I chose this verse because it describes the heroine’s faith journey and her discovery of what is most valuable in life. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Carrie: There are three books in the series. The Governess of Highland Hall, The Daughter of Highland Hall, and A Refuge at Highland Hall (Oct. 2015) Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Carrie: This series required quite a bit of research, including two trips to England and hours reading books about the time period, customs, and issues in Edwardian England. Understanding life “below stairs” was just as important as understanding the aristocratic England in the Edwardian era. I watched several documentaries that were helpful too. The ideas for my stories usually rise out of the research. Brock: What do your readers think about your latest series? Carrie: I enjoy connecting with readers on Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads, and through my blog and website. Their comments and reviews have been very encouraging to me. They are enthusiastic about the series and eager for the next book. The Governess of Highland Hall was a finalist for the ACFW Carol Award and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. The Daughter of Highland Hall has been nominated for an Inspy Award. Brock: Why did you choose to focus on a male or female protagonist? Carrie: I try to balance the number of scenes given to the family and the staff and weave those together. Most of my readers are women, so I give the heroine a few more scenes than the hero, but Jon has his scenes as well. Brock: Are you working on the next book in the series? Carrie: I just turned in the third book, A Refuge at Highland Hall. My editor will give me some notes and suggestions soon, then I’ll polish and be excited to share it with readers in October. Brock: Can you give us a hint at the next book in the series? Carrie: In Book 3, A Refuge at Highland Hall, readers will be swept away to England and France in 1915 as Penny Ramsey and Alex Goodwin face the challenges and losses of World War One, yet also experience the hope and triumph that comes as they put their trust in God to carry them through. The Ramseys welcome a group of orphaned children to Highland and must send members of the family and staff off to war. Readers will be thrilled by action packed scenes when Alex, a daring British pilot, chases German zeppelins across the sky over the Front Line in France. And they’ll be delighted by two pure and heartwarming romances: Penny and Alex, and Lydia Chambers and Marius Ritter, a lady's maid and a prisoner of war. But most of all I hope readers be inspired by the characters' examples of trusting God through whatever trials you might face. Brock: Do you plot or outline the entire series before you begin writing, or do your books take on lives of their own? Or is there a combination? Carrie: I’d say there is a combination. When I propose a series I write a paragraph or two about books two and three, but I don’t plot out the second or third book until I start writing them. Brock: How much leeway do you give yourself with facts in a Historical Genre? Carrie: All my books are inspired by real events. There is historic precedent for what my characters do, and I am often inspired to create a character based on someone who really lived through an event. In this book I wanted my heroine to be inspired by Christians who put their faith into actions, so I wove in the history of the Salvation Army in England and used parts of speeches given by actual people in that movement. But the plot and characters are fictional and the result of my imagination. Brock: How do you hope parents will use this book with their kids? Carrie: My husband writes parenting books and speaks at homeschool conferences, and when we are there, I often meet teens who have enjoyed my novels. Reading historical fiction is a great way for young people to learn about a time period, so hope parents will consider giving my books to their teens. Brock: What do you hope kids take away from this book or series? Carrie: My heroes and heroines are in their late teens and early twenties, so I think teen readers will be able to identify with the issues they face and be encouraged to see how their faith can help them as they move ahead in life. Brock: Where do you like to write? Carrie: I use a laptop, so I write in several different places in my house: in my kitchen, at my desk in the dining room, and in the living room. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Carrie: I am a full-time writer, but also a full-time wife, mom and grandmom, and part-time ministry leader. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Carrie: When I’m working on a series it usually takes me a year because I am revising the last book and promoting a book that is coming out, and writing the next one. Brock: What is your "how I got published" story? Carrie: Our family spent a year in Kenya, and when we came back to the US, I missed Africa so much I decided to write a story set there as a way to relive my experiences. I had written reports and papers in college, but never a novel. I poured out the story and enjoyed the process, but when I showed it to an editor at a writers’ conference, she told me I needed to learn fiction techniques. That was disheartening, but I joined a local writers’ group at my library and also American Christian Fiction Writers. I kept writing, reading, and submitting my books over then next five years. I finished five books before the first one was accepted and published in 2005. It was hard to keep going in the face of rejections and waiting, but through ACFW I met other writers who encouraged me and helped me improve my writing. You learn to write by writing…so that’s what I needed to do. Brock: What was your favorite book as a teen or child? Carrie: My Great Aunt Frances was a teacher and loved books. She often gave me award-winning books as Christmas gifts. Some of those early picture books are still some of my favorites: Make Way for the Ducklings and One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey. Then I read Charlotte’s Web, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Bronze Bow, Little Women, and Anne of Green Gables. All were wonderful stories that have stayed with me all these years. Brock: In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Carrie: My faith is the central core of who I am, and that comes through in my writing. I believe God has answers for the struggles we face, and I like to show how my characters wrestle with their faith and discover how God is at work in their lives. I am learning a new level of dependence on Him as I write and pour my heart into these stories. He is a wonderful creator, and it’s exciting and fulfilling to partner with Him as I write. Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Carrie: England, especially the Lake District! Brock: Favorite season? Carrie: Spring Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Carrie: I’m a tea drinker…Earl Grey….Plantation Mint….Good Earth. Brock: Favorite color? Carrie: Blue Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some examples? Carrie: Yes, I like to listen instrumental soundtracks from movies while I write. A couple of my favorite are Little Women and Cider House Rules. Brock: Can you tell us about your research trip to England? Carrie: My husband and I visited England in 2012 and focused our time in Oxfordshire, the Peak District and the Cotswolds. Our tour of Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey is set was the highlight of that trip for me. I loved seeing all the rooms where Downton is filmed, including the great hall, the library, the upper gallery and bedrooms. The gardens and greenhouse were lovely, and I had those in mind for several of the scenes in The Governess of Highland Hall. But I wanted to find a unique estate and setting for my books. My online research led me to Tyntesfield, a beautiful estate near Bristol in southwest England. It was a perfect choice. Tyntestfield is featured on the cover of The Governess of Highland Hall, and I used the interior design of this house to help me envision the scenes in my novels. I was very excited to visit Tyntesfield in May 2014. What a thrill to see all the rooms and take a private tour of the day nursery and the governess’s bedroom! It’s even more beautiful than my online research revealed. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit to Tyntesfield. I have a Pinterest board filled with photos to help me remember everything I saw there. Brock: How was culture changing during the period in which you wrote, and how does The Daughter of Highland Hall reflect that? Carrie: As the Victorian era came to an end, the moral climate became less strict. This is reflected by incidents in both The Governess of Highland Hall and The Daughter of Highland Hall. William Ramsey, the head of the family, is impacted by the choices of other family members and must decide how to respond. The differences between the classes were also changing. Working-class people were less satisfied with being “in service” as maids and butlers, and they wanted increased wages and benefits, putting pressure on the upper class. Taxes, especially death duties, put tremendous financial stress on families who inherited large estates. This plays a role in books one and two in the series. All these changes were even more apparent in the later half of the era because of the changes World War I brought to English society. The Ramsey family and the staff at Highland will be going through World War I in book three, A Refuge at Highland Hall. Author Website: CarrieTuransky.com Author Facebook: facebook.com/authorcarrieturansky Author Twitter: twitter.com/carrieturansky Author Pinterest: pinterest.com/carrieturansky/ Author Blog: carrieturansky.com/index.php/blog/ Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Shadow of the Mountain: Wilderness Action-driven and unique in Christian fiction today, Shadow of the Mountain: Wilderness begins with Moses sending Joshua, Caleb, and ten others to spy on and scout the country of Canaan, where the Lord has promised them a homeland. Asked to report back, ten talk only of the Anakites, a race of fearsome giants in the hills, their walled cities, and terrible human sacrifices to their gods. Despite giants, Joshua and Caleb feel the Lord is on their side and the land will be worth it. But the hearts of the people are fearful and turned against God's words. Their punishment will be forty years without a home, wandering the deserts until that generation dies out. But as the life of Caleb proves, God's promises are real--for men young and old. Brock: What was your inspiration for writing the Shadow of the Mountain series? Cliff: I travel and speak frequently, and I noticed that the older men in the crowd frequently felt left out of what churches are doing. The 85 year-old Caleb makes for a terrific role model for them, and I wanted to bring him to life for the modern reader. Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Who are they? What makes them unique? Cliff: Caleb and Joshua are two characters in the Bible that many people can identify but few know much about. They lurk in the shadow of Moses, who has been featured much more prominently in popular portrayals, sermons, and other avenues. Caleb, especially, is the one who gets overlooked. He doesn’t show up much in the Bible, but when he does, it’s always inspiring. I wanted to explore the bond of brotherhood these two shared in the wars of the Israelite conquest. Brock: In three sentences, what is this book about? Cliff: The wars of the Israelite conquest as told through the eyes of Caleb and Joshua. It is a depiction of what it might have been like to fight on the ancient battlefields alongside these heroes. It is also a meditation on how men can wage great battles even as they age and are thought to be no longer useful. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Cliff: I outline about three pages worth of material just so I have a road map. I always start with the end of the book; I think of the best possible ending that the book can have, write that first, and then start again from the beginning. I feel like I need to “earn” the ending so I try to work towards it. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Cliff: I think it will have an impact on men young and old, and show them that there is more to the Bible than Jesus petting lambs. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Cliff: Three Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Cliff: I spend an extensive amount of time researching so I know my parameters and can enlighten the reader with certain historical details they may never before have considered, including on site in Israel at the battlefields, but with a clear note to the reader at the beginning of all of my novels, I make sure to point out that this is my imagination at work and must be treated as fiction. Brock: What do your readers think about your latest series? Cliff: I wasn’t sure how they would react to this series as opposed to the Lion of War series. It has a different tone and concept. The reaction has been extremely gratifying. Many say they are their favorite books of mine. Brock: Can you give us a hint at the next book in the series? Cliff: It will involved the spying mission that Joshua and Caleb go on dispatched by Moses. I always thought it was an exciting episode in the Bible and wished it had more “screen time.” Brock: Do you plot or outline the entire series before you begin writing, or do your books take on lives of their own? Or is there a combination? Cliff: Each book is its own battle. They are forged in great frustration and heartache. Occasionally there is joy. What makes it worthwhile is the feedback from readers. Brock: Is it difficult to be accurate to a Biblical perspective or Biblical facts when writing fantasy fiction? Cliff: It is unrelentingly stressful, because you are always aware that you are dealing with the Word of God. However, once you figure out where the “silent” areas of Scripture are, there is fertile ground for the imagination. You can fill in a lot of gaps with a plausible interpretation. Brock: How much leeway do you gives yourself with facts in a Historical Genre? Cliff: I try not to give actual facts any leeway. However, the context of facts can be interpreted in different ways, as well as the strategic use of facts. You can stay away from certain facts that don’t fit within your story as long as you don’t contradict or violate them. Brock: Where do you like to write? Cliff: Random places. My staircase is one, and it drives my wife crazy. I’m not sure why. I think it’s because if I am too comfortable, my mind wanders. I also don’t enjoy being entirely alone when writing, because it is an inherently lonely activity. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Cliff: I am a full-time author who does a lot of other things as well. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Cliff: If I am really feeling a story and the characters are coming together, I can draft it in 30 or so days. It can be much longer if I am not quite connecting with the story as I originally envisioned it. Brock: Expound on the spiritual themes in the series. Cliff: My prayer is that readers can read some of these stories with a fresh perspective, specifically through the lens of warfare. I think many people believe these characters wandered around with soft-spoken British accents and never got dirty. I want to portray the reality of life on the battlefield. The laughter, the blood, the sweat, the tears, the suffering, the triumph. Brock: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Cliff: Hemingway, Cornwell, and L’Amour are my favorite novelists. Each of them brought something different to the craft that I stand in awe of. However, my single favorite historical novel is The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. The way he brought Gettysburg to life remains unsurpassed in combat literature, in my opinion. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Cliff: Coke Zero Brock: Soft shell or Hard Shell tacos? Cliff: Soft shell, and it’s not up for debate. Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Cliff: Anywhere with historical battlefields. Brock: Favorite season? Cliff: Winter Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Cliff: Tea in the evenings, coffee in the mornings. Brock: Favorite color? Cliff: Navy blue Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Cliff: Psalm 140:7 “Oh Lord, the God of my salvation, you have covered me in the day of battle.” Brock: In what areas have you failed as you built a career as an author? Cliff: I frequently bite off much more than I can handle. I have done a poor job of delegating to folks who help me manage our projects, since I usually am focused on a larger vision and get impatient with details. I frequently communicate poorly with supporters. I have learned many valuable lessons from many mistakes. Brock: In what areas have you been strong as you built a career as an author? Cliff: I am tenacious in pursuit of a goal. I know how to keep my eye on the goal and not be crushed by setbacks. Author Website: cliffgraham.com Author Facebook: facebook.com/cliffgrahamauthor Author Twitter: twitter.com/cliffgraham Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Undaunted Hope Running from the mistakes of her past, Tessa Taylor heads to the uppermost reaches of Michigan, planning to serve as the new teacher to the children of miners. She quickly learns the town had requested a male teacher, but Percival Updegraff, superintendent and chief mine clerk, says she can stay through winter since it's too late to replace her. Tessa can't help but thank him and say she is in his debt. Determined to make herself irreplaceable once spring thaw arrives, Tessa throws herself into her work, and soon two students have decided Miss Taylor is the right match for their grieving father. At the same time, charming assistant lightkeeper Alex Bjorklund makes his interest known, surprising Tessa, who has never had men fight for her hand before. But not all is well as she feels that someone is tracking her every move, and she may not be able to escape the trap that has been laid for her. “Hedlund again provides a satisfying, heartwarming story of adventure, adversity and love in the Michigan wilderness. Her characters leap from the pages with verve and wit, and readers can't help but cheer for them.” --RT Book Reviews Brock: How did you come up with the idea for Undaunted Hope? Jody: For this third book in my Michigan lighthouse series, I wanted to pick a location that was different than the other books. The first two books, Love Unexpected and Hearts Made Whole, are set in the "Mitten" of Michigan. So to add variety to the series, I decided to place Undaunted Hope in the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior. In doing my research of Michigan lighthouses, I learned that there are lighthouses dotted all over the coast of Lake Superior since it was such a treacherous lake to traverse and an important place for steamers due to the rich natural resources that were available. As I studied the various lighthouses, I finally landed upon Eagle Harbor Lighthouse in the Keweenau Peninsula because not only was the area rich in resources, but it was rich in history and the makings of a really great story! Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Who are they? What makes them unique? Jody: Tessa Taylor is the heroine of Undaunted Hope. She's the sister of the light keeper in Hearts Made Whole, the second book in the series. Tessa, unlike her sister, doesn't like lighthouses. Actually, she doesn't want to have anything to do with lighthouses. So in keeping with Tessa's desires, she arrives in the Eagle Harbor, Michigan to become a school teacher. As I researched the area, I came across the diary of a real school teacher, Henry Hobart, who lived and taught in Clifton which was just a few miles down the road from Eagle Harbor. He wrote a detailed account of his life as a school teacher to the mining children. I loved reading his diary and learning about all he experienced, especially those unique things that came with being in such a remote area of Michigan and living among the mining community. I used many of Hobart's experiences in Undaunted Hope. For example, he boarded with a Cornish family, the Rawlings, and Mr. Rawlings was a prominent mine engineer and mechanic. So I had Tessa board with this particular family. Hobart faced many hardships like bedbugs, lice, scarlet fever, the harsh winter, and much more. So again, I had Tessa experience many of those same things. Brock: In three words, what is this book about? Jody: Face your fears. Brock: What have you enjoyed most in writing this lighthouse series? Jody: Over the past couple of years of writing this series, I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to visit numerous lighthouses throughout the state. Not only have I attempted to visit the lighthouses that are used as settings for the books, but I've also been inspired to visit many others. Every time I do, I learn a little bit more about how lighthouses were operated and have come to realize that they're all so unique. During the past summer of 2015 I toured several lighthouses including: Tawas Point Lighthouse, St. Joseph Lighthouses, and Mackinac City Lighthouse. Each time I climb a tower, reach the top, and gaze out at the spectacular view, I'm always amazed by the beauty. I never tire of the experience and can completely understand the fascination so many people have with lighthouses. I think I caught the "lighthouse bug" and will forever be visiting them! Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Jody: I start out with a brainstormed list of plot ideas. I do my best to think of as many twists and turns as I can before I start writing the first draft. And I usually have a pretty good idea of how I want the plot to wrap up. But inevitably the story develops even more as I get into the meat of writing. I think that’s what makes writing so fun and what gives me such a rush—to see what new aspects unfold and where the story actually leads as I get to know my characters more intimately. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Jody: I pray that this story will encourage readers with renewed hope. Just like Tessa, I hope that readers will find the strength to face their fears. We all have things that frighten us, and many times we find it easier to run away from those things that scare us. Sometimes, however, God calls us to walk directly into that thing we fear most. He wants us to know that during those times, he's there walking right beside us and that he'll help us come out on the other side stronger as a result. Brock: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer? Jody: Like many writers, I’ve been writing since my childhood days. I always loved telling stories. When I was in junior high, I entered my first writing contest for a Biblical fiction story. And when I won, I realized God had indeed gifted me. I think that was when I became more serious about wanting to be a writer when I grew up. The passion followed me into adulthood. And after many twists and turns along the path, I’ve finally been able to channel that passion into a full time writing career. Brock: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Jody: My mom was the most influential person in my writing career. When I was young, she helped facilitate my love of writing by reading aloud to me, giving me good books to read, and providing the kind of environment that fostered my creativity (in fact we didn’t have a TV for a number of years). She always believed in me, encouraged me to pursue my dreams, and rode alongside me cheering me on. Brock: What is your favorite social media hangout? Jody: Currently my favorite social media hangout is Instagram. I'm a very visual person and love pictures. I use Instagram to post personal pictures of my kids, family life, food, and cats. A second favorite is Pinterest, also because of all the pictures! I have a variety of boards there for my stories, writing tips, reading humor, etc. And I also use it for secret boards for potential characters and settings of future books. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Jody: Diet Pepsi Brock: Soft shell or Hard Shell tacos? Jody: Soft shell loaded with all the toppings Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Jody: Dream vacation: castles throughout Europe Brock: Favorite season? Jody: All of them in their own time Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Jody: Coffee. Coffee. And more coffee. :-) Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Jody: One of the many verses I treasure is "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength." Phil. 4:13 That verse has held me in good stead through many trials. Brock: What do kinds of activities do you do to keep yourself energized and refreshed? Jody: One of the most important activities that I've taken up over the past couple of years is running. Not only is it a great way to stay healthy (yes, I've reduced my blood pressure and cholesterol since I started running), but I also use my running time to pray, praise, and listen to books. Of course, I LOVE reading! I always have a couple of books going at once. And most nights I read in bed before going to sleep. Brock: As a Christian writer, how do you keep yourself spiritually revived so that you have fresh messages to share in your stories? Jody: At the same time I have a fiction book that I'm reading, I usually also have a non-fiction spiritual growth book going. For example, I recently read the book Fervent by Priscilla Shirer. It was an excellent book to jump-start my prayer life. I also really love the preaching of the new pastor at our church. I try to take really good notes every Sunday so that I can mull over the messages at home. And I also enjoy a women's Bible study where I learn and grow a lot. Brock: How do you find time to write so many books?! Are you a really fast writer or super woman? Jody: Haha! I'm definitely not super woman! And I have no super powers! But I am very organized which helps me budget my limited time wisely. I also am very goal-oriented, which allows me to plan out my writing schedule into bite-sized, manageable chunks. And on a daily basis, I give myself word-count goals which pushes me to write my books in a specific time frame. Am I a fast writer? Compared to a lot of other writers, I'm probably slow. But over the years of writing, I have honed my writing muscles so that the words and ideas do flow easier than when I first started writing. Brock: Do you have any parting words? Jody: I love hearing from readers! Make sure you stop by one of these places and say hello! I hang out on Facebook here: Author Jody Hedlund I also love to chat on Twitter: @JodyHedlund My home base is at my website: jodyhedlund.com Find me on Instagram: instagram.com/jodyhedlund/ Come pin with me on Pinterest: pinterest.com/jodyhedlund/pins/ Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring King's Folly Their Battle for the Throne Has Just Begun. But Will It Matter if the World They Rule Collapses Into the Sea? The gods are angry. Volcanic eruptions, sinkholes, ground shakers--everything points to their unhappiness. At least that is what the king of Armania believes. His son Prince Wilek thinks his father's superstitions are nonsense, though he remains the ever dutiful First Arm of Armania. When a messenger arrives and claims that the town of Farway has been swallowed by the earth, the king sends Wilek to investigate. But what Wilek discovers is more cataclysmic than one lost city. Even as the ground shifts beneath his feet, Wilek sets out on a desperate journey to save his people and his world. But can he do it before the entire land crumbles? Brock: How did you come up with the idea for the Kinsman Chronicles? Jill: I’d been thinking about writing a prequel to the Blood of Kings trilogy. In that series, I mention that hundreds of years ago Arman (who represents God) bestowed the magic of bloodvoicing upon those with royal blood when the kings first came to the land of Er’Rets. That got me thinking where these ancient kings came from and why they left their homeland. I also like the concept of genre mashing, and so I thought it might be fun to try and write a fantasy apocalypse. And when I sat down to think the story through, I knew I would need to take my Biblical storyworld parallels back before Jesus. So this storyworld is akin to the era of Judah and Israel, where many kings did evil in the eyes of the Lord. My young princes are going to do all they can to turn their people and their wicked ways around. Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Jill: Wilek is the eldest son of a selfish and evil king. He hates that his father practices human sacrifice. He longs to help his people, but his father has yet to decide which of his three sons he will choose as his Heir. Wilek’s title is The Dutiful, and he always tries to do what is right, though he has never really had any way of measuring morality besides his own conscience, so he struggles to stand against the norms of society when he feels something is wrong. Trevn is Wilek’s little brother. His title is The Curious and he strives to enjoy life, explore, go on adventures, and draw maps of all the places he has been. He grew up in a neighboring kingdom, but his father has called him home to study to be a priest. Though Trevn thrives on learning, his heart is not in the priesthood. He would much rather live up to his reputation as the Firebrand of Everton Castle, making his servants chase him over rooftops and ride on top of carriages. Brock: Describe your book in two sentences. Jill: When their homeland is destroyed, the rulers of the Five Realms fight to save their people from extinction. Which realm will survive? Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Jill: I create a rough outline, then let the characters take control of each chapter. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Jill: There are several ways King’s Folly can relate to readers. The first that comes to mind is self-sacrifice, which is a foreign concept to people today. With nearly every desire available at the swipe of our iPhones, we have become a selfish, impatient, and somewhat lazy society. But a life of mindless routine can quickly become empty. Such is the theme found throughout the Kinsman Chronicles. These people have been spoiled by a lush living, and no one has had it easier than the princes. But when everything is stripped away, it is my princes who must rise up and set an example for their people and show them “that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4) Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Jill: There are nine parts to the Kinsman Chronicles, which will be released in ebook format only. There will be three paperback editions that include three ebook parts each. Those editions are called: King’s Folly, King’s Blood, and King’s War. The first three ebooks included in King’s Folly are Darkness Reigns, The Heir War, and The End of All Things. Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Jill: I had to learn a lot about deserts for King’s Folly. And for King’s Blood, I’m having to learn a bunch about ships and navigation during the age of sail. Brock: What is your “how I got published” story? Jill: I wasn’t trying to get published when I submitted my first chapter of my fantasy novel to Jeff Gerke at the 2008 Oregon Christian Writers’ Summer Coaching Conference. Marcher Lord Press’ submission guidelines were clear: no young adult novels. I’d met Jeff at the 2007 Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s conference and used his editorial services on a different novel. When I saw he was at OCW, I submitted my manuscript to him hoping to glean wisdom. I was surprised when he wanted to meet with me. I was even more surprised when he wanted to read the full. “Why does it have to be YA?” he asked. As soon as I got home, I looked over the book and sent it off. A few months later I got an email from Jeff that said: “Do you happen to be by a phone right now so that I can call you?” And that was the beginning of a new adventure. Brock: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer? Jill: I had recently quit working in the fashion industry—which was the career I’d gone to college for—and was trying to figure out what I was going to be when I “grew up.” Since I had a pretty interesting childhood/life story growing up in Alaska, I thought that maybe I could be a motivational speaker for teens. I discovered that sometimes, people hire speakers based on articles written by the speaker. So I looked into writing articles. I was shocked at how hard that was! As I was learning to write and submit articles for publication, a new Harry Potter book came out (book four, I believe), and a new barrage of debates within the church community flared up as to whether or not Christians should read the books. The debate inspired me to try and write my own teen fantasy novel that all Christians would love. Yep, I was TOTALLY naïve and have since learned that no one likes every book— especially Christians. But that’s how I got started writing fiction. And once I’d created Spencer, I was hooked on writing fiction. I left article writing in the dust and never looked back. Brock: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Jill: I grew up in Alaska with no electricity or running water. I played outside a lot and I read a lot of books. So my imagination got a great workout early on in my life. On my ninth birthday, my parents rented a TV and VCR and all three (original) Star Wars movies. It was so awesome and opened up my imagination to the world of speculative fiction. Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness really opened my imagination to the possibility of writing something with Christian themes. I had read the Narnia books, but Peretti’s book was so different. He turned my faith into a spec fiction novel and it felt so real! I loved that. Brock: What is the one author, living or dead, who you would co-write a book with and why? Jill: I’m tempted to say C. S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien, since they are in my genre and I would LOVE to write a book with them, but I’m going to choose Jane Austen instead. I have always been interested in writing a Regency fantasy novel. I love Jane Austen’s characters so much. I cry every time Elinor discovers that Mr. Ferrars is not married after all. I would ask her for advice on how to make readers cry and add that to some fun storyworld. Brock: Soft shell or Hard Shell tacos? Jill: Hard. Brock: Favorite season? Jill: Winter! I love snow and Christmas and hot chocolate. Brock: What’s your favorite holiday memory? Jill: The year my mom gave each of us four kids a black trash bag filled with baby stuff, then laughed/cried and told us she was pregnant. Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Jill: Hot chocolate, with peppermint in it. Brock: Favorite pasta dish? Jill: Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo with broccoli. Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? Jill: No! If I do, I will sing along and write nothing. Brock: How do you give back to the writing world? Jill: I love teaching at writer’s conferences and do so whenever possible. I also blog weekly on www.GoTeenWriters.com where I and two other authors encourage young writers. I am currently writing a book with the teens and taking them through my process. It’s lots of fun. Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Doomsday in Pompeii Life in AD 79 is heating up! “The volcano is going to blow up,” Patrick said. “Everyone left in the city will die!” After lightning strikes Whit’s End, Patrick’s trip in the Imagination Station goes haywire. At the workshop, Eugene Meltsner and Beth work to fix the machine. They discover that Patrick has landed in the wrong place at definitely the wrong time. He has only hours to get away before Mount Vesuvius erupts. Meanwhile, Patrick befriends a preacher named Valen. Together they try to help the local people escape certain death. But a troublesome teen wants to keep Patrick in the city at any cost. A “new” invention launches Beth into Pompeii—just as the volcano explodes. Read on to find out if she and Patrick avert disaster! “The books are really awesome. I hope they write a thousand more! I’m totally going to read these to my son when I’m a dad. I want to read these books a thousand million infinity times.” -Hamish Z. age 6 Brock: How did you come up with the idea for this series? Marianne: My son, Justin, was a struggling reader when he was younger. He also preferred reading for information. I wanted to create easy-to-read history books with lots of adventure in order to capture his attention. Because I worked at Focus on the Family at the time, it seemed natural to put the books into the Odyssey world. The Imagination Station was the perfect way to do that. Coauthor Paul McCusker was also in favor is reaching a younger audience with the Imagination Station books. Brock: Tell us about the main characters? Who are they, what makes them unique. Marianne: The main characters are Patrick and Beth, cousins who live in Odyssey. So far we’ve never given them last names. They are 9ish. We try not to say their ages too often because we want readers to imagine that the cousins are about their age. Beth and Patrick are courageous but not foolhardy. They are basically good, honest kids. Beth pays more attention at school, but if Patrick is interested in something, he knows a lot about that subject. Their names were taken from the middles names of Paul McCusker’s children, which was fine because the names have short vowels and are easy to sound out. If his kids’ middle names had be Jacques or Kjerstin, we would probably have gone a different route. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Marianne: Patrick rarely changes his socks. Beth really prefers to eat Pop Tarts, but to be kind to Mr. Whittaker, she orders food at the soda shop. Brock: In three words, what is this book about? Marianne: Mt. Vesuvius goes boom! Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Marianne: We outline. This outline was about 7,000 words. The book is 12,000 words. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Marianne: These books appeal to kids on a general level. The experiences Patrick and Beth have can in no way be replicated. Our readers may make it to Pompeii, but hopefully it won’t be while the volcano is active. Readers relate to Patrick and Beth because the cousins often must persevere under stress and also get adults to listen to them. Patrick and Beth overcome their trials, giving readers hope and confidence that they too can be successful. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Marianne: Anything where I can develop a strong literary voice. Brock: What is the biblical background or basis for the series? Marianne: Some books have more biblical content—like book 5 by a really awesome coauthor. It’s called Showdown with the Shepherd. In that story, Patrick and Beth witness the confrontation between David and Goliath. In Doomsday in Pompeii, we created a church and a very brave preacher named Valen. He’s a great role model because he is a loving person willing to die for his friends. We also taught kids to avoid greed. The character Junius almost dies because he wants to accumulate treasure. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Marianne: At least through 18. Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Marianne: I do extensive research before and during the writing process. Brock: How do you strike the right balance in your book? Marianne: I’m not sure we always strike the best balance, but these books are easier to write than most because I get to choose the place in history that I want to send them. We err on the side of action if we have to chose. We’re short on character development because the historical figures are more important than the main characters. Patrick and Beth at some times are mere narrators. Brock: Why did you choose to focus on a male/female protagonist? Our protagonists are historical, for the most part. Sometimes nature is our protagonist, as I the case of Mt. Vesuvius. Brock: Are you working on the next book in the series? Marianne: Yes. Brock: Can you give us a hint at the next book in the series? Marianne: Ecuador, 1950s. We’d like to visit the Aucas, the famous tribe who became Christians after the tragic deaths of five missionaries. Brock: Do you plot or outline the entire series before you begin writing, or do your books take on lives of their own? Or is there a combination? Marianne: We plot out the books in 3-book story arcs. Brock: If your book changed as you wrote it, how is it different than how you originally planned? Marianne: Usually my coauthor/creative director adds more action. Brock: Were any scenes or characters cut from the book? Can you give an example? Marianne: At one point in Doomsday in Pompeii Beth was going to make a gas mask out of charcoal and some bandanas. It was going to help filter out the poisonous gases from the volcano. But we had to cut that for space. Brock: How much leeway do you gives yourself with facts in a Historical Genre? Marianne: I try to give myself no leeway, but you always have to make compromises. For example, Patrick and Beth would have died from the fumes of the volcano long before the lava reached the city. We thought it would be more exciting to have them run from lava. I love the cover, too. So we fudged those facts and have Patrick and Beth live a lot longer than they should have. Brock: How do you hope parents will use this book with their kids? Marianne: Parents would benefit from reading the books with their kids and asking questions about why characters did certain things. Also, after reading this book, it would be fun to read more nonfiction books about volcano eruptions. Brock: What do you hope kids take away from this book or series? Marianne: That there are Christians who influence history and that learning can be fun. Brock: Where do you like to write? Marianne: On a computer. That quill and ink thing slows you down. Not good with charcoal on cave walls either. No matter how large the cave is, there’s never enough wall space. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Marianne: Part time. I edit, too. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Marianne: An IS book takes 6 weeks, working 4 to 5 hours a day. Brock: Expound on the spiritual themes in the book/series. Marianne: Our theme usually centers on God and how great He is and how He works through history. In this book, we focus more on how a mature Christian should act in face of a disaster. Brock: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer? Marianne: About a year ago when I was editing a poorly written book. I thought, “I can do better than this.” And so now I prefer to write to save the sanity of other editors. Brock: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Marianne: Good reading. I love to read books with well-crafted sentences. I learn by absorbing the rhythm and sound of words and phrases. The more good writing that goes into my soul, the more easy it is to produce it. Brock: What’s your view on e-books and the new publishing revolution? Marianne: Revolution? That’s a bit dramatic. I’m pro book. Read them whenever and however you can. Brock: What was your favorite book as a teen or child? Marianne: When I was young, I read every book about horse and dogs I could. I loved Sounder, the Black Stallion, and even Little Black, a Pony. Brock: What is the one author, living or dead, who you would co-write a book with and why? Marianne: I like to think all of my books, to some extent, are influenced by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. I actually dislike co-writing with humans, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Coke. Brock: Soft shell or hard shell tacos? Marianne: Soft for chicken. Hard for beef. Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Marianne: Vacation? What’s a vacation? Brock: Favorite season? Marianne: Summer Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Marianne: Coffee with coconut milk. Brock: Favorite color? Marianne: Red Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things. Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 That’s a good verse for writing about villains. I used to be too nice and didn’t my villians evil. Now I realize that God can handle them. I also remember this so I don’t ever think I’ve arrived at some spiritual place just because I’ve been published. Often I don’t feel as if my books are all that deep, so I just focus on what God does, and it all works out. Brock: Favorite pasta dish? Marianne: Ice cream. Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so what are some examples? Marianne: I need quite. I don’t understand people who can work to music. That would drive me nuts. Brock: What about writing keeps you going? Marianne: It’s something I never tired of. If I get an idea or a new interest, I immediately think about how to parley that into a book. Author Website: none yet Author Facebook: Marianne Hering, but I rarely post Author Twitter: none Author Pinterest: none Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Her Brother's Keeper Charlotte came to Amish country to find answers. What she never expected to find was peace. Charlotte Dolinsky is not above playing dress-up and telling a few lies to find out what happened to her only brother. In fact, that is exactly what she’s come to Lancaster County to do. Now, calling herself Mary and slipping on a kapp, Charlotte will lie her way into the confidence of anyone who knows why Ethan had to die. Unless she gets found out first. But when Charlotte befriends a quiet Amish man named Isaac Miller, she begins to rethink her motives. And with a little help from a friend back home, Charlotte might find out that love comes packaged in ways she couldn’t have foreseen. Isaac’s been caring for his cancer-stricken father and sympathizing with his frustrated mother for three difficult years. And that means he hasn’t been dating. He believes Hannah King is the woman for him, but Hannah is still grieving the loss of her fiancé, and Isaac has all he can handle on the farm. When Hannah’s family plays host to a woman named Mary, their new cousin shakes things up for all of them. As Charlotte digs deeper into the mystery of Ethan’s death, she finds more than she’d bargained for in the community he once called home. But will she ever learn the truth? And what will the community—and her new family—do if they learn the truth about her? “Wiseman’s new launch is edgier, taking on the tough issues of mental illness and suicide. Amish fiction fans seeking something a bit more thought provoking and challenging than the usual fare will find this series a solid choice.” -LIBRARY JOURNAL Brock: What was your inspiration for writing this book or series? Beth: I was inspired to write Her Brother’s Keeper in an effort to offer readers something a bit edgier, but I also wanted to provide the escape Amish fans expect and enjoy. Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Who are they? What makes them unique? Beth: Charlotte and her brother--Ethan—grew up mostly in foster care, and Charlotte felt like they were survivors, no matter the situation. But when Ethan commits suicide while living in an Amish community, Charlotte can’t seem to get any answers from the Plain People. She decides to pretend she is Amish in an effort to find out what happened to her only brother. Charlotte’s a bit broken, doesn’t have much faith, and her hope slipped away a long time ago. She goes to Amish Country for answers, but what she finds is a family. But holding onto these new relationships is challenging in light of all the lies she’s told. Hannah is grieving the loss of her fiancé and also dealing with the emotions that often go along with suicide of a loved one—hurt, anger, grief, and loneliness. She isn’t thrilled that her Amish cousin (Charlotte, posing as Mary) is coming for a visit. And Hannah suspects early on that Cousin Mary isn’t being honest with her family. And Hannah is also too preoccupied to realize that true love might have been right under her nose for a very long time. Isaac has loved Hannah for years, but he’s been busy running his family farm and helping to take care of his sick father, leaving little time for romance. But when Hannah’s Cousin Mary comes to town, things start to change for everyone, and Isaac’s new friend nudges him to follow his heart. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Beth: Charlotte and Ethan used to hide their treasures in empty mothball boxes because their mother couldn’t stand the smell of mothballs. Isaac has lost respect for his father because his father views himself as less of man because he has lost part of his leg from cancer. Hannah chooses to believe what she’s told about a photo that was found at Ethan’s house, even though she knows in her heart that the picture means more than she’s lead to believe. Brock: In three sentences, what is this book about? Beth: Her Brother’s Keeper is about finding love in the most unexpected places. It’s about how those left behind are affected by suicide. And it’s about the love of family and the extremes people go to for peace. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Beth: When I start to write a book, I have a beginning, but never an end. I figure if I don’t know what’s going to happen, then the reader won’t either, keeping us both surprised. The best part about writing a novel is the characters you meet along the way, the voices that demand to be heard, even if you have no idea what their purpose is in the story. I tried to outline one time, and my editor literally said, “Don’t ever do that again.” I know it works for some people, but not for me. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Beth: I think that most people have known someone who has been at risk for suicide, mentally ill, or depressed. And I wanted to bring awareness to this, but to also offer balance and entertainment. I sprinkled humor throughout so that the serious subject matter didn’t drain or bog down the reader. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Beth: I have two genres that I enjoy writing for: Amish and Women’s Fiction. And even though all of my stories have an element of romance included, there are always multiple subplots going on. I like to write about relationships, but not necessarily always romance. I like to explore relationships between mothers and daughters, married couples, friends, and siblings. Sometimes, it’s the established relationships that provide the most insight into what makes us tick. I also like to present multiple points of view related to the same event. For example, the reader knows right away that Charlotte’s brother committed suicide, but I wanted to offer various reactions and opinions so that readers would close the last page and feel the need and desire to discuss the storyline. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Beth: So far, there are three books planned for the Amish Secrets series. But there were also three books planned for my Daughters of the Promise series, and there ended up being six books. I think readers determine the length of a series. If they want more, authors try to accommodate. Brock: Are you working on the next book in the series? Beth: I’m working on book #2 in the series—not yet titled. This series is unique due to the fact that Charlotte shows up in each story, and she is English (non-Amish). I like to create a community, revisit the same characters, but always offer new players to focus on with each new book within a series. Brock: Where do you like to write? Beth: If I’m at home, I shuffle between my recliner in the living room, my recliner in my office, or my bed—if I need to really spread out research material, notes, etc. I also love to write at the beach on a nice day, listening to the waves. A friend has a great condo that faces the ocean, and I’ve done some of my best writing there. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Beth: I’m a full-time author with lots of deadlines, but I can’t complain. There’s something to be said for staying in your jammies all day if the moods strikes. ☺ Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Beth: It usually takes me about two months to write a full-length book, and if other deadlines allow more time, I love having three months. I write a lot of novellas for HarperCollins Christian also, so sometimes I have three or four projects overlapping. Brock: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer? Beth: I knew I wanted to become a writer when I was very young, maybe six or seven. I would write stories to my grandparents--On a cold, dark night kind of stuff. I got sidetracked many times over the past few decades, but I always went back to writing in some capacity. I was a journalist and a columnist before I ended up staying home to write books full-time. Brock: What’s your view on e-books and the new publishing revolution? Beth: There is so much to be said about eBooks and the publishing opportunities that they represent. It’s a new world for authors, and I think we are still in the experimental stages. What works for some, won’t work for others…and vice versa. Brock: What are your hopes for your future as an author? Beth: I hope and pray that God will continue to bless me with stories to tell. I was gifted the opportunity to write full-time and publish late in life, and once the door opened for me, it was like a floodgate. I’ve never had writer’s block, and I’m pretty sure that when it’s my time to leave this earth, I’ll leave with stories I still wanted to tell. And I want each story to be better than the last. Brock: In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Beth: There is a glorious moment for Christian fiction writers when you are no longer the author, only the messenger, when God takes the helm and you just ride along. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve re-read something I wrote, then my jaw dropped. I wrote that? But it wasn’t actually me. And the biggest impact on my faith—and the biggest surprise—has been that even though I’ve strived to minister to others through entertaining fiction stories, I’ve been ministering to myself all along. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Beth: I prefer Diet Coke over all other sodas. Brock: Soft shell or hard shell tacos? Beth: This is too difficult to choose, lol. I like both! Brock: Favorite season? Beth: In Texas, we have all four seasons. Spring and Fall are amazing. It would be a toss up between those two seasons as to which one I like the most. Summers are scorching hot (triple digits), and we don’t do cold well, lol. Fireplaces get lit when it hits about 50 degrees. Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some examples? Beth: I know that a lot of authors listen to music while they write. No, no, no. Not me. I need complete silence. And I don’t write in coffee shops or restaurants. I guess I’m easily distracted, lol. Brock: You mention that your writing career didn’t take off until late in life. Why do you think that is? Beth: I wasn’t ready. When I first starting submitting manuscripts for consideration, I think I was a pretty good storyteller, but I hadn’t studied the craft enough. Once I made a true effort to learn the craft of writing a novel, things began to change. But, even more important, I finally realized that everything I went through during my life presented opportunities to educate and heal—both myself and others. How many times, when something bad is happening to us, do we ask, “Why God? Why is this happening to me?” I know now that if I hadn’t been through some of that bad stuff, I wouldn’t be qualified to write about it in a way that readers could relate to. It’s all about timing, and we’re on God’s clock. ☺ Brock: What is one thing you tend to write about a lot, something that always works its way into your stories? Beth: I write a lot about fear, worry, and regrets—the way these things bog us down. I write about carrying the burdens of the past, struggling to let go…to let God. I’m a worrier, and even though I know it’s a sin, it’s something I constantly have to work on. I also write about forgiveness, of self and others. I want readers to focus on the here and now. Everything that has happened up to this moment has been for a reason. There shouldn’t be fear, worry, or regrets, and we should always be able to forgive ourselves and others, the way God does. Author Website: BethWiseman.com Author Facebook: Fans of Beth Wiseman Author Twitter: Beth Wiseman Author Pinterest Author Ello Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Season of Glory The power of the Remnants and their people are growing, threatening Pacifica’s careful plans for domination. Among the Trading Union, village after village, outpost after outpost, and city after city are drawn to people of the Way and agree to stand against those who hunt them. As the Pacifica government seeks to annihilate the Remnants, the emperor Keallach finds himself focusing instead on his lost brother…and Andriana. While her heart belongs firmly to Ronan, Andriana still feels a connection to Keallach she can’t deny. But welcoming him as a Remnant may mean leading the enemy directly into their ranks. “…accelerating action and heart-pulling surprises…” –USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog Lisa T. Bergren’s Remnants series brings to life an exciting group of character and locations, her voice adds depth and intrigue that few other authors are able to do. The final book in the Remnants series is out and available now. Brock: Lisa, what inspired you to take on a dystopian style series? Lisa: With teens in the house, it was impossible to miss The Hunger Games and other dystopian novels. But most of the series I read left me missing an element of hope—which I think can only be found by incorporating a God-aspect. So I began thinking about how I’d go about doing it and yet still be accessible to the general market. I always love to write books that my teen daughter could hand to anyone in her public school. Brock: Weaving in the truth hope only our God can provide, is so critical for teens and as mentioned is so often missing. Who are the main characters and what makes them unique. Lisa: Remnants centers around teens who were all born on the same day, with the same birthmark. But each of them has different gifting. Andriana is an empath—meaning she can sense what others are feeling. Tressa has the gift of healing. Vidar can discern good from evil. Chaza’el sees the future. Keallach and Kapriel each have miraculous powers. Brock: In three sentences, what is this book about? Lisa: It’s about a group of kids, born to save the world on the brink. It’s about discovering your own unique gifting and utilizing those gifts for the good of all. It’s about finding hope and love even when all seems dark and dismal. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Lisa: I have a general sense of what’s going to happen at the end of each book in a trilogy, creating an overall arc. But most of the time I write by the seat of my pants; I love to see what surprises emerge in each story I write. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Lisa: My hope is that every reader would understand that they’ve been divinely gifted to change and better their world. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Lisa: Right now, I’m in love with the teens! They’re so responsive, interacting me on Facebook, Twitter, email, Instagram. And those adults who read YA too seem particularly friendly. So I think I’ll stay in this arena for a while. Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Lisa: Most of my previous books have required historical research, knowing what had happened and when, and how that might impact my novel’s characters. This series was a challenge because I had to read about political, ecological and religious trends, and extrapolate what I thought a likely scenario might be. Since it’s a dystopian series—the opposite of a utopia—I figured I’d set it post-WWIII, with society resorting to a medieval/feudal sort of system as a fallback. Brock: How do you strike the right balance in your book? Lisa: I’m an action girl…but I try and not to wear my readers out. So a strong romance thread helps to create intimate, quieter moments. It’s definitely a rhythm I feel, and that ebb and flow is a natural part of every chapter I write. But man, do I love those action scenes. They just fly…I see them as a movie in my head. The romance scenes take me a lot longer to write. Brock: Are you working on the next book in the series? Lisa: Season of Glory is the third and final book in the series, so I’ve turned back to time travel. My next novel is about a contemporary girl who finds herself in 1840 Mexican California…it’s been a blast to write. And I’ve decided it’s easier to do historical research than extrapolating about the future! Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Lisa: I’m a part-time writer. My husband makes ducks out of old ranch fence posts and that crazy business has exploded…so I really have to fight to find time to write. I usually have a book I’m thinking about, and do the research, then I sit down and crash it out. Fortunately, I’m a really fast writer, when I have the time and focus. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Lisa: A couple months to think about it/research it, and 8-12 weeks to write. Brock: In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Lisa: Faith is a part of my life, every day. To not allow it to impact my writing would mean building a wall, holding back on the most important thing in my life. Sometimes the spiritual themes are strong—like in Remnants—and sometimes more subtle—like in my time-travel novels—but I believe you can hear whispers or shouts about the God who saves and loves us, in every book I write. Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Lisa: Italy; been five times and going again this fall! Inspirational for me as a writer (we usually go where I set my books); relaxing for me as a woman needing a serious break. Brock: Favorite season? Lisa: Autumn; perfect temperatures, amazing colors, fires in the fireplace but still warm enough to go and hike! Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some examples? Lisa: Film scores all the way. My favorites are still “Gladiator,” “Last Temptation of Christ,” and “Braveheart,” but I have a playlist of various songs that runs a good two hours. Brock: What are your top three most unique travel experiences? Lisa: Floating in the Dead Sea (it’s like you’re on an inner tube); Ugandan mamas singing to us and dancing with us when we arrived on a mission trip (unforgettable; BeautyforAshesUganda.org); watching a sunset over a medieval Tuscan village, complete with tower and wall, with bells ringing in the distance. Brock: You clearly love to travel. Where did you go last? And where to next? Lisa: We do!! We’re not very good about saving for retirement when there are places to see…Last up was a family trip to Scotland, where we saw tombstones with the clan name and Highland vistas that took our breath away; next up is Kauai with my hubby; and we’re talking about California this summer and Italy come fall. But I gotta sell a lot more books… Author Website: LisaTawnBergren.com Author Facebook: facebook.com/LisaTawnBergren Author Twitter: @LisaTBergren Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Dreams of Caladria “Through the breaking ice, in a vortex of brilliant light, energy, and sound, Jeremy plunges into a dangerous and mysterious new world.” After reading that I wanted to learn more about how this moment in Dreams of Caladria came about so I reached out to Joseph Bentz for an inside look. Brock: Joseph, first, thanks for giving us the inside look on your release. I understand Dreams of Caladria has an unusual history. Could you explain that? Joseph: Yes, the strange background of this book is one reason I am thrilled to see it released. In 1995 Thomas Nelson published my first novel, a fantasy novel called Song of Fire. It was well-reviewed, but right as it came out, Nelson changed publishing strategies and moved away from fantasy for that period. The novel faded from view. Now, on the 20th anniversary of its original publication, it has been republished by Enclave Publishing, with a new title, new cover, and new ending (the one I had originally wanted the book to have). I also have some bonus material about my book on my website. Brock: It can be exciting to finally put the end of story how you’d always meant it to be. I had a similar situation with Sages of Darkness and now I’m making changes to the characters and plot that I’d first planned. Joseph, how did you come up with the idea for Dreams of Caladria? Joseph: That is an unusual story too. The original book itself took me 10 years to write. I started it while I was in college, but some of the ideas had been bubbling up in me even before that. The world of the book and the people who inhabit it gradually came to life over those years, and I wrote scene after scene, not really knowing where the story was headed at first. Because of that unwieldy method of writing, the first draft ended up being about 1,200 pages long. Not only was it long, but the plot was so sprawling that I knew it wasn’t publishable in that form. I took those 1,200 pages as raw material for a whole new draft and started again. By that time I had learned more about how to structure a novel, so I managed to tell a more coherent story, this time in about 600 pages. Then I wrote a proposal and started sending it out to publishers. Brock: That’s an amazing amount of material to sort through and pair down. Was the length of these drafts what made it take 10 years to get this book finished? Joseph: The length was part of the problem, but because I was also in college and graduate school and then working full-time during those years, I kept getting stuck on the book and setting it aside. Whenever I set it aside, thinking that I needed to resolve some plot issue or other problem before I started writing again, the story would go a little cold, and then it was even harder to start back up. Brock: It’s true, when I get into the flow of writing I hate to stop. When the words begin to pour out stopping them can be a dangerous thing. Did you ever overcome that problem? Joseph: Fortunately, yes. Eventually I felt embarrassed that it was taking me so long to finish the novel. I decided I should either commit to finishing the book or else give it up altogether so I could go on about my life. After prayer and reflection, the discipline I settled on was that I would work on the book every day until it was finished. And that’s what I did. I did not miss a single day, no matter how tired I was or uninspired or ill or busy. For me, knowing that I had to push the story forward every day kept it alive in my mind, and I was able to finally get it done. Brock: Perseverance. You mentioned that the original publisher did not let you use the ending you wanted. Why was that? Joseph: The editor who was championing this book at Thomas Nelson, Jan Dennis, was having trouble getting it through the publication committee. At first, they simply rejected it. Then he had me make changes based on what some reviewers had said. I had to cut the manuscript from about 600 pages to about 450 pages and change the ending and a few other plot points. I was a first-time author and didn’t know how much I could negotiate, so I ended up making a few changes I wish I had resisted. The ending was one of those. When I say “ending,” I really mean the last page of the book, so it’s not a radical change. But that has always bugged me, so I’m happy to be able to fix it now. We’ll see what readers think. Brock: I may have to find a copy of the first edition to compare. In a few sentences, what is Dreams of Caladria about? Joseph: The main character, Jeremy, falls through the ice in a lake and plunges into a mysterious new world in which music is prohibited. Because he arrives there in a swirling cloud of light and music, he is in trouble from the start. He doesn’t know why he has been sent there, but he finds himself pulled in opposite directions by those who want to manipulate or kill him and those who want him to lead them to a promised land in which the music, which is inhabited by the Spirit of God, has free reign. Jeremy is in the middle of a battle of forces beyond his control, and the choices he makes will determine not only his own fate, but also the future of the world he has entered. Brock: I notice that you have written books in a variety of genres—a fantasy novel, three contemporary novels, and four books of non-fiction Christian living. Why so many different kinds of books? Joseph: I have always written whatever book is strongly gripping me at the time. I know that in traditional marketing or branding terms, the advice is usually to choose one genre and stick to it, I haven’t been able to do that. I really felt that I had to write each of these books, and fortunately it has worked out that they have found publishers and some readers. Brock: Which is easier, writing fiction or non-fiction? Joseph: I usually think the easier genre is whichever one I am not doing right now! Both of them have their challenges. With fiction, one of the hardest things is keeping the entire world of the novel in your head for so long—the characters, the plot, the details. For me, it is almost like having an alternate reality that I enter into each day. When I’m working on the novel—and sometimes even when I’m just going about my “real” life—that world of the novel becomes very real to me in a sense. When I am telling the story, it feels more like I am remembering what happened rather than making it up. But that knowledge—and the best way to tell it—doesn’t come easily. On the other hand, non-fiction has its own challenges. There is a much heavier research burden with non-fiction. For me, it’s harder to keep the writing momentum going when I’m writing non-fiction. When I’m writing a novel, I can hit a groove in which the story really moves along, but with non-fiction, there are lots of stops and starts, second-guessing, throwing out paragraphs, and so on. Writing is just hard in general. But I love it too. Brock: In addition to writing books, you are also a literature professor at Azusa Pacific University. Does having that kind of full-time job take away from your writing, or does it fit well with being a writer? Joseph: For me, the combination works very well. I am fortunate because I love teaching, and I love writing. I wouldn’t want to give up either of them. My university has been very supportive of my writing, and my academic schedule allows me some time to do it. Being with students is very energizing for me. I love teaching literature. I also love working with so many other creative colleagues. There are days when I feel overwhelmed by too many papers to grade or too many meetings to attend, but overall I am glad to be out there in the teaching world, and then after teaching for awhile I am ready to hide away and focus on writing. Brock: Are you working on a new book? Joseph: Yes, I am finishing a new non-fiction book that is scheduled for publication by Beacon Hill Press later this year. The working title is Nothing is Wasted. The idea is that God has sprinkled redemption throughout the universe in ways that are easy to overlook. Although life is filled with pain, I believe there is also a countervailing force at work in the world. In the midst of all this loss beats a relentless pulse of redeeming love and good that pushes through the chaos and pain. It does not obliterate the pain, but it does not allow it to be wasted. Good is wrenched from it, like a gold nugget pried from deep underground. I examine these redemptive hints in a wide variety of places—in tragedy, in popular entertainment, in nature, and elsewhere. It has been a fascinating book to research and write. Brock: Joseph thanks for taking the time to share with us about your writing journey and your re-release with Enclave titles Dreams of Caladria. Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joseph.bentz.9 Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/JosephBentz Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Abiassa's Fire Brock: How did you come up with the idea for this book or series? Ronie: It was a fluke, really. I was watching BBC’s Merlin and got annoyed with the actions of a character. But then I was like—What if a sister truly did make a big sacrifice for her brother, for the kingdom? And that was the seed-germ for Embers. Brock: In three words, what is this book about? Ronie: Loyalty and surrender. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Ronie: When I write my suspense novels, I generally use a skeletal outline that I draw out on my grease-board wall in our basement. But for speculative novels, I am mostly a seat-of-the-pants writer. Regardless of genre, however, I always let my characters show me the way. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Ronie: I think many readers can relate to situations in families that ply at our courage and happiness, and I believe many have stepped into situations they didn’t feel ready for, yet they warrior on and find joy, sometimes even success. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Ronie: There are 3 books planned in the Abiassa’s Fire series. Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Ronie: Part of my joy in writing speculative is there’s a lot you don’t have to research. But with Abiassa’s Fire, I ended up doing research on many different aspects and elements of fire. It’s been fascinating! Brock: Are you working on the next book in the series? Ronie: Yes! I am working on book 2, Accelerant, right now. Brock: Can you give us a hint at the next book in the series? Ronie: There have been some really awesome surprises with this story, and it’s been a little haunting that some of the elements I’ve foreseen since the series started are actually speaking to me in my own life and in my own trials. In this book, Haegan wrestles with and even attempts to flee his role as the Abiassa’s hand of judgment. Brock: Where do you like to write? Ronie: I prefer to write at a desk or table. Some authors are able to cozy up in a recliner and write, but I tried that. I would only sleep for hours, not write! Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Ronie: My agent said I’m a full-time writer, but I’m not sure I’d say that yet. I still homeschool our sixteen year old twins, and that takes up a good portion of my time, because work and ferrying them to their different organizations and co-op. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Ronie: I’ve been hammering out books in 3 months, but I am really pushing back on that, because I haven’t been able to give the books the attention I’d really like them to have. From this book (Accelerant) on, I have six months with each title, and I’m relieved. Brock: What’s your view on e-books and the new publishing revolution? Ronie: While I think e-books are amazing and I have an iPad mini that goes with me for on-the-go reading/writing, I strongly prefer a real book in my hands, and many of my readers have reported the same. I think it’s terribly convenient to have a dozen books on a device, but I also find it cluttering—because in reality I have hundreds on the device and haven’t read them. And with research starting to find connections between lack of focus and long-term memory, I am shifting more and more back to a traditional book. Besides, I’ve always had a love affair with hardcover books. Brock: Describe your feelings when you opened the box and saw the first published copies of your very first book. Ronie: While Embers wasn’t my debut title, it was my very first speculative book—it was the birth of a long-held dream…and seriously? I cried. I was so elated to have that dream finally come true!! Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Ronie: Pepsi! Brock: Soft shell or Hard Shell tacos? Ronie: Soft shell! Brock: Favorite season? Ronie: Fall, especially in Northern Virginia! Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Ronie: I’m totally smitten with the grande caramel brulee at Starbucks and it is getting me through edits and writing. Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Ronie: Exodus 14:14 is my life verse, a reminder that I don’t have to fight all the battles. Some of them, I need to step out of the way. Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring the Chicago World's Fair Mystery Series Brock: How did you come up with the idea for this series? Shelley: I began writing the Chicago World’s Fair Mystery Series after learning about the ‘White City’ that had been built for the 1893 World’s Fair. I was intrigued by the idea that a group of large buildings were carefully designed and constructed for an event that were never intended to last. For Whispers in the Reading Room, I wanted to write a novel focusing on two people living on the outskirts of Chicago society. The first two books focused more on parties and galas surrounding the fair. Brock: Tell us about the main characters? Who are they, what makes them unique. Shelley: The hero and heroine for Whispers were very different than my usual characters. The hero is Sebastian Marks. He’s a gentlemen’s club owner. He grew up in the streets of Chicago and educated himself. At first glance, he is everything polished and perfect. However, he is absolutely not what he seems to be. The heroine is someone who is his complete opposite. Her name is Lydia Bancroft. She’s a librarian and is drifting on the fringes of polite society. She’s lived her life mainly in books. Pretty much the only thing Sebastian and Lydia have in common are their love of books-and the fact that neither likes to do what is expected of them. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Shelley: Oh! Fun question! For Lydia, she’s far smarter than anyone realizes. She’s also far more curious. For Sebastian, no one knows that his mother was a prostitute. Brock: In three sentences, what is this book about? Shelley: There’s a recent string of murders in a run-down section of Chicago called Camp Creek Alley, where Sebastian Mark’s notorious club, the Silver Grotto, is located. When a wealthy gentleman dies right outside the club, everyone in the area is a suspect-including the owner of the club and one quiet librarian who wasn’t supposed to be there at all. Before the mystery is solved, four persons’ secrets are unveiled. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Shelley: For these mysteries, I wrote a pretty good outline of the story. However, my characters always dictate what happens. Often, they pull me into unexpected places! That, for me, is the best part about writing. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Shelley: Much of the book is about accepting one’s imperfections and moving forward through faith and perseverance. I think everyone, to some degree, makes mistakes at one time or another. I hope readers might find the theme of redemption and forgiveness to be meaningful. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Shelley: I love to write romances, and that is my favorite genre read and write. I usually enjoy anything I am writing, whether it is about the Amish, a western, or in this case, a book set in the gilded age in Chicago. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Shelley: There are three books in the Chicago World’s Fair Series. Each can be read as a stand-alone novel, though they are loosely related. Brock: Any certain research required for the series, or is it all from your imagination? Shelley: I did a lot of research for this series. I traveled to Chicago three times and visited with many people in both the Field Museum and the Chicago History Museum. I also read other books set during the time period and watched DVDs about the history of Chicago. Though there are several things that I made up in the novel, much of it is based on real places and events. Brock: How do you strike the right balance in your book? Shelley: For me, I like to write books that I want to read. Because of that, I try to have the plots be intriguing and fast-paced. I never know if I’ve succeeded until I hear from readers. Brock: What do your readers think about your latest series? Shelley: I’m happy to report that I’ve gained many readers who enjoy historical novels and romances but aren’t Amish romance fans. Some longtime fans of my books have been surprised by this series. I’m simply thankful that I had the chance to write these three novels. Brock: Are you working on the next book in the series? Shelley: Whispers in the Reading Room ends this series. I’ve already written The Loyal Heart, the first book in my next historical series. This series takes place in Texas right after the Civil War. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Shelley: I’m a full-time writer. I write about 5 to 6 books a year. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Shelley: I always write more than one book at a time. I usually write an Amish book in about three months and a historical in about 6 or 7 months. A lot depends on the deadlines! I write 10 pages a day, six days a week. Brock: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer? Shelley: I started writing when I realized I had forgotten a book when I was at work one day. I knew I wanted to become a writer when I joined a writing organization. There, I realized that my fun ‘hobby’ could one day become a reality. Brock: What was your favorite book as a teen or child? Shelley: My favorite book was Alice in Wonderland. I loved the idea of going into a different world. I loved Gone with the Wind, too. That was the first book I remember that transported me to a different place and time. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Shelley: Diet Coke Brock: Soft shell or Hard Shell tacos? Shelley: Hard Shell! This drives my husband crazy. Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Shelley: We love to travel and often go on cruises. Brock: Favorite season? Shelley: Fall. Brock: Favorite hobby? Shelley: Taking care of our dachshunds! We have two dachshunds that we rescued. I love to take them for walks. They sit in my office when I write. Brock: Is there something you’d like to write but haven’t? Shelley: I hope to one day write a contemporary suspense novel. I’ve started one several times. One day I’ll decide that it’s time to show my idea to someone else! Author Website: shelleyshepardgray.com Author Facebook: facebook.com/ShelleyShepardGray Author Twitter: @ShelleySGray Author Pinterest: Shelley Shepard Gray Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring The Ascent of the Nebula With the Developers’ plans to reengineer the human race in disarray, this may be the one chance Adan and the Sentient renegades have of saving the desert world of the Vast. Using the chronotrace, a device capable of looking back in time, Adan discovers their next point of attack, but a window to the past can’t prepare him for what the future has in store. He will have to risk his life, his future, and everything he’s fought for if he hopes to survive. The third and final book in The Chronotrace Sequence brings the series to its thrilling conclusion as threats long thought buried are resurrected from across the vagaries of time and space. Inspired by the Dead Poet’s Society, DJ Edwardson took the phrase Carpe Diem to heart and set out to explore the vast reaches of his imagination and share the stories he discovers with readers all over the world. He brings the The Chronotrace Sequence to life with a captivating look at a future, none of us would want and the very human struggle to stop it from happening. Brock: DJ, how did The Chronotrace Sequence concept come about? DJ: The Chronotrace Sequence started out with the premise of what the world would look like without Christianity. Originally I had the main character stumbling upon an actual believer and rediscovering what faith was, but as the plot developed over the years, the story became more about a society where technology has taken over everything and God’s role in the events became more covert and less obvious. Brock: Who are the protagonists and why are they unique? DJ: The main character is Adan. What makes him unique is that he has completely lost his memory. Not just his identity, but he doesn’t even know basic things like how to eat or walk. So even though he is an adult, in the early parts of the story he functions very much like a child. Add to that the fact that the technology in this series is extremely advanced and Adan has a hard time getting his bearings. One of the main story arcs is his journey to find his identity which adds an element of mystery to the story, I think. Gavin is the other main character and he functions as a mentor to Adan, helping him orient himself and even training Adan to use certain skills he has. He provides a window into the organization of scientists who control everything and shows that God can reach even into that kind of world and pull someone out of it. Brock: Would you share a little unknown tidbit about these two characters? DJ: Ooo, reveal my secrets, eh? That might be pretty hard with Adan since he’s lost his memory, but I’ll tell you something as an author about him that no one else knows. His name is Spanish for “Adam” As I originally envisioned him as sort of this prototypical experiment by the scientists who control the society. As for Gavin, he secretly has affections for one of the female characters, but I won’t tell you if those ever get realized. You’ll have to read the book! Brock: In three sentences, is the third book, The Ascent of the Nebula, about? DJ: The futility of trusting in our own power over God. The book also explores what it means to be human. And it also wrestles with the mysterious nature of God. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? DJ: I did outline the second and third books, but not the first, although it was rewritten and changed so many times it sort of felt like I was writing with an outline past the first draft. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? DJ: Hardly a day goes by when I don’t hear something on the news and think, “Yep, we’re one step closer to the kind of world I wrote about in the Chronotrace.” Cloning, virtual reality, the increasing role of technology in our lives, that’s all happening right now and most people seem blissfully unaware of where it’s all headed. Science has become the standard for truth that trumps everything else. All you have to do is say “well, science says…” and the argument is over in most people’s minds. As if science is this monolith and has totally figured out the meaning of life, humanity and everything in between. It really functions very much like the magisterium of the church in the Middle Ages. They have all the answers, we are all just ignorant and have to accept what they say “because science.” We can’t think for ourselves, we can’t dissent. We just need to get in line and bow the knee to the technological idol. And that’s the world of my story and hopefully people who read it will see that it’s not a very attractive one. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? DJ: Actually it’s fantasy. In fact, my next book after this series is is a fantasy novel and I am way excited about that. A total change of pace from what I’ve been writing, but this science fiction series has been fun to write as well and parts of it will probably feel a little bit “fantastical”. It’s not all laser guns and warp drives and all that. If you think about it, Star Wars is really fantasy in space with jedi “knights” and princesses and the mystical “force” behind it all. The Chronotrace Sequence has some of those sorts of elements as well. It’s not “hard” scifi is what I guess I’m trying to say and has some of that “fantasy” feel to it. Brock: How does it feel to have your work published? DJ: Well, I’m on my third book now, but I remember sitting down and reading the printed copy of the first one and wow, it was a little surreal. At times, I got so lost in the story that I forgot I had actually written it. That was really neat, just to feel like the story had sort of taken on a life of its own. A really great feeling. Brock: Is it difficult to be accurate to a biblical perspective or biblical facts when writing fantasy fiction? DJ: Yes and no. Yes in the sense that Christianity is a historical faith. We have God’s words spoken in history, we have events tied to places and specific time. David, Moses, Peter, Paul. These were real people who lived real lives. And fantasy just throws all that out (most fantasy anyway and most scifi as well). So unlike historical fiction I can’t just drop in bible verses and have them work as is. That’s not to say I don’t paraphrase certain verses or infuse the concepts, but they just don’t come “out of the box” per se. However, in one sense it’s not hard at all because as a Christian, biblical themes and ideas just flow out of you into your writing because that’s what’s in your heart and mind. It’s the most natural thing in the world in that sense. If Christ really is your first and best thought, that will come out. It may be understated at times, but it will be there. Brock: What is the biblical background or basis for the series? DJ: I really think of this series as futuristic “pre-incarnate” Christianity. Okay, that was a mouthful. What I mean is that it has a more Old Testament level of revelation and yet it’s set in the far future. So some of my inspiration for the events of the novel comes from Exodus, Old Testament prophets, and, though not strictly biblical, the story of the pilgrims. It’s an odd mix, but those are some of the places I drew my inspiration from. It also wrestles with the idea of what to do when God’s will is not all that clear. Even for those of us who have the bible, there are mysterious aspects to God’s will that we cannot fully understand and the characters in this series have to learn to have faith in a God they cannot see or hear just as we all do. Brock: What do you hope readers take away from the series? DJ: I hope they have an appreciation for what it means to be human, the value of friendship and family. And also I hope they are encouraged to trust God even when the path isn’t all that obvious. Brock: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? DJ: C.S. Lewis and Tolkien are the biggest influences on me. Specifically the Space Trilogy was probably the biggest influence on this particular series. In addition to that, it was actually a couple of essays on the purpose of literature which they wrote, one by Lewis and one by Tolkien that really inspired me to want to take up the pen and write in the first place. The essays are On Fairie Stories by Tolkien and On Stories by Lewis. You definitely should pick them up if you haven’t read them. Brock: What are your hopes for your future as an author? DJ: Well, it’s hard to plan too far out, but after my fantasy novel releases I plan on starting another fantasy series aimed at a younger audience. My youngest daughter is currently eleven and even though my stories don’t have any language or graphic content in them they are a little intense for her if you know what I mean. She is very sensitive in that way. So I thought, you know, while my kids are still relatively young I’d like to write something more for them. I’ve been brainstorming on that series and have been scribbling down some amazing little tidbits. Brock: Favorite place to vacation? DJ: Italy. It’s gorgeous. I haven’t been there in a while, but I love the art and the landscapes and the climate and the food. If I could move there I would. Bellisimo! Brock: Favorite season? DJ: Summer. It’s the best time to be active. I like to sweat. I guess I’m just weird that way. But yeah, I’ll take heat over cold any day. Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? DJ: Yes, Romans 8:37-39, “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” That is what I cling to. Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some examples? DJ: Yes, soundtracks, usually. Also if you do a search on Youtube for “epic music” you can find some amazing stuff. If I really like a particular song or album I find there I’ll go out and buy it. But yes, I always write to music, instrumental- no words. I can’t imagine writing without it, it’s part of my creative process. Brock: You use a lot of invented words in The Chronotrace Sequence. Where do you come up with all this exotic terminology? DJ: Well for instance there is a certain people group that speaks another language and so when I mention words from that language I just used Spanish which is the only other language I am fluent in besides English. And then for the technology I used a mixture of Latin, French, and English roots and just combined them in different ways, like for “oscillathe” which is this weapon that disintegrates people, I combined the words “oscillate” and “lathe”, pretty simple. That’s actually one of the things I love about writing in general and writing scifi and fantasy in particular, getting to make up new words. When you’re describing things that don’t exist in our world, making up new words is a necessity, really. Brock: Do you have a motto or an overall vision for your writing career, something that keeps you going on the tough days? DJ: I can’t actually remember where it comes from, but I’ve heard it said many times in sermons and talks that the duty of the Christian artist is to shine a light on the good, the true, and the beautiful. That’s what I try to do with every book, every chapter, every blog post. To let the world know that there is a great God who is real and who cares about such things. I may not always mention him directly by name, but to the degree that my writing opens up people’s eyes to the good, the true, and the beautiful, that’s how I measure my success. And of course the most beautiful thing of all, the truest truth, the highest good, is knowing Christ himself. Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring the Amish Heirloom Series After losing her fiancé in a tragic accident, Veronica Fisher finds solace in the old recipes stored in her mother’s hope chest—and in a special visitor who comes to her bake stand to purchase her old fashioned raspberry pies. Veronica Fisher is devastated when her fiancé, Seth, is killed in an accident at work. Seth’s friend, Jason Huyard, was with him and blames himself for Seth’s death. Although Jason has never met Veronica, he feels as if he knows her because Seth talked about her constantly. After the accident, he can’t seem to get Veronica out of his mind. Two months later, Veronica is cleaning the attic and comes across her mother’s old hope chest. She finds an old recipe and soon discovers that baking helps her cope with her grief, so she opens a bake stand to sell her pies. Jason starts visiting the stand weekly and their friendship grows, but Veronica isn’t ready to court again. And Jason harbors his secret regret of not being able to save Seth. Veronica’s mother must convince her that she can’t completely give up on love. But when the truth is revealed, can she forgive Jason for not telling her he was there on that fateful day? Brock: What was your inspiration for writing this series? Amy: The Amish Heirloom series features the fictional Fisher family, who live in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. The series was inspired during a visit to my publisher’s offices located in Nashville, Tenn., for a meeting. While there, I had the opportunity to brainstorm ideas with my amazing agent and also the talented members of the Fiction team. Daisy Blackwell Hutton, Vice President and Publisher, suggested I write a series about a family with three daughters, located in Bird-in-Hand, and the series was born. I’m really excited about this series, and I look forward to hearing what my readers think of it. Brock: Tell us about the main characters. Who are they? What makes them unique? Amy: Veronica Fisher is the eldest of the three Fisher daughters. She has known since she was a teenager that she wanted to join the church and marry her fiancé, Seth, who passes away in an accident at the beginning of the story. She’s grieving and tries to find solace through cooking her grandmother’s recipes, which she finds in her mother’s hope chest in the attic. Jason Huyard is lost after his friend Seth is killed in an accident right in front of him at work. He blames himself for not being able to save Seth. He becomes obsessed with apologizing to Seth’s fiancée, Veronica, but then finds himself falling in love with her when he meets her. He wants to be with Veronica, but he knows she’ll be devastated when she finds out the truth – that he was there when Seth died – since he wasn’t up front from the beginning. He needs to both forgive himself and be honest with Veronica. When they meet, sparks fly, and they are attracted to each other. The situation becomes more and more complicated as Jason falls in love with Veronica, but is afraid to tell her that he knew Seth. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Amy: I always have mental models for my characters and I imagine them when I write the book. My mental model for Veronica was movie star Jennifer Lawrence (from “Hunger Games”), and my model for Jason is British actor Theo James (from “Divergent”). That means readers can imagine Katniss (from “Hunger Games”) and Four (from “Divergent”) together in this book! Brock: In three sentences, what is this book about? After losing her fiancé in a tragic accident, Veronica Fisher finds solace in the old recipes stored in her mother’s hope chest– and in a special visitor who comes to her bake stand to purchase her old-fashioned raspberry pies. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Amy: I outline each chapter scene by scene and use my outline as a roadmap while I’m writing. The book changes and grows, but the outline keeps me on track. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Amy: I believe we’ve all suffered from loss in our lives, whether it’s from losing a family member or a friend. Those of us who have lost someone knows what it feels like to try to have to rebuild our lives and figure out how to pick up the pieces and go on after that loss. Veronica struggles with both overcoming her grief and then dealing with guilt as she feels herself falling for Jason. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Amy: I love writing Amish books. I have an Amish friend who helps me with my research, and I enjoy sharing ideas with her and getting her feedback. I enjoy finding new ways to tell an Amish story. I learn more about the culture with every book I write. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Amy: The Forgotten Recipe is the first book in my 4-book Amish Heirloom series. Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Amy: I have an Amish friend who has been helping me with my books since my first book, A Gift of Grace, debuted in 2009. I talk to her on the phone frequently, and she answers my questions. I’m so thankful she takes the time from her busy day to help me with my books. Brock: How do you strike the right balance in your book? Amy: I outline the story, but it sort of flows on its own. I write what feels right to me and let my editor do her magic to make it better. Brock: Why did you choose to focus on a male protagonist? Amy: I enjoy writing from both the female and male point of view, and I’ve been told I do a good job with the male POV. I enjoy watching people and listening to how they speak and react to things, and I try to bring that out in my writing. Brock: Are you working on the next book in the series? Amy: Actually, I recently completed the first round of edits The Courtship Basket, which is book #2, and I’m feverishly writing the first draft of book #3, which doesn’t have a title yet. Brock: Can you give us a hint at the next book in the series? Amy: I can tell you that The Courtship Basket is about Rachel, the middle sister, and she takes a job working as a teacher in an Amish school. Brock: Do you plot or outline the entire series before you begin writing, or do your books take on lives of their own? Or is there a combination? Amy: I plotted this series out before I started The Forgotten Recipe because there is a mystery that will be revealed in book #4. I drop hints in books 1-3, but mystery won’t be explained until book #4. Brock: If your book changed as you wrote it, how is it different than how you originally planned? Amy: My original idea was that Jason was an EMT who responded to Seth’s accident. Instead, my agent and I decided Jason should be Seth’s coworker and best friend which added to the emotional depth of the story. Brock: How much leeway do you give yourself with facts in a Historical genre? Amy: I am always true to the Amish culture, but I do take some fictional license with my characters. For example, Carolyn Glick in A Mother’s Secret was an unwed teenage mother. This may be a rare occurrence in the Amish community, but according to my Amish friend, it does happen. The Amish have the same problems and issues that the rest of us have. Brock: Where do you like to write? Amy: I have a laptop, and I usually write in the family room in my house or in the recliner in my bedroom. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Amy: I work full-time for the City of Charlotte, and since I write four books per year, I also write full-time. I work four 10-hour days for the City in order to have Fridays off for writing, running errands, and volunteering at my boys’ school. I’m also blessed to have my mother living with my family. She’s a tremendous help with the household chores. Thanks to her help, I’m able to spend any free time at home writing. My schedule is hectic but I make it work. My family is very supportive and thankful for my book contracts. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Amy: After the book is plotted out and outlined, it takes me approximately four weeks to write the first draft. Sometimes it takes longer because I have to stop working on the draft in order to complete edits for another book. I always have more than one project going at a time since I’m working on both full-length novels and novellas. Currently, I have contracts to write two full-length novels and two novellas per year. Brock: What do you hope readers take away from the series? Amy: The theme for my books is always hope and faith. I pray my books will give my readers a sense of peace and help them find hope and renewed faith in God. Brock: Expound on the spiritual themes in the series? Amy: My Amish Heirloom series books will all contain the themes of hope, faith, love, and forgiveness. My characters experience grief, loss, and heartache, along with renewed faith and love. Brock: What is your "how I got published" story? Amy: I always wrote as a hobby when I was a child. I started carrying around notebooks in elementary and only shared my stories with a few friends. I accidentally found a local writers’ group after college. I joined the writers’ group in 2001 and signed with my first agent in 2005. I received my contract for my first Kauffman Amish Bakery book, A Gift of Grace, in December 2007, and that book debuted in stores in April 2009. Brock: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer? Amy: Although I wrote for a hobby, I didn’t realize I wanted to become an author until I found the writers’ group in 2001. It never occurred to me that my stories could possibly become actual books until I met other writers and learned how to polish my books. Brock: What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Amy: I read a variety of books—from Christian fiction to contemporary young adult. I enjoy a good story with romantic elements, no matter what the genre is. Brock: What was your favorite book as a teen or child? Amy: My favorite book was The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I read it fourteen times (yes, I kept track on the inside cover!) and I knew the movie by heart. Brock: What is the one author, living or dead, who you would co-write a book with and why? Amy: I would love to co-write a young adult book with S.E. Hinton. Her books were a pivotal part of my adolescence. I would be honored to work with her. Brock: Describe your feelings when you opened the box and saw the first published copies of your very first book. Amy: I danced and yelled! I ran my hands over the cover and then smelled and hugged the book. It was my dream come true. There was no feeling like it! I still hug and smell my books when a new book arrives. It doesn’t get old. I’m so thankful that my publisher still gives me the opportunity to share my stories. Brock: What are your hopes for your future as an author? Amy: I hope that I can continue to write books that touch readers’ hearts. I’m thankful when a reader contacts me and tells me that my story touched them. I’m thankful that God is using me to share his love. Brock: In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Amy: I believe my faith comes through in my writing. I’m grateful when a reader contacts me to say that my book helped him/her renew his/her faith in God. I believe God is using my voice to share his word, and I’m thankful I have the opportunity to do that. The books have been a blessing in my life, especially with the readers and other authors I’ve met through my writing. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Amy: COKE!!! Diet Coke!! Brock: Soft shell or Hard Shell tacos? Amy: Oh, that’s a difficult one. May I please say either? I like both! Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Amy: Disney World! Since we can’t afford to go there every year, we enjoy a yearly trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. Brock: Favorite season? Amy: Fall! Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Amy: Diet Coke and popcorn are my favorite. Brock: Favorite color? Amy: Pink! Brock: What’s your favorite holiday memory? Amy: Since I lost my father in 2010, I would say all of my childhood memories with my parents at Christmastime. Christmas was always magical for me, and my husband and I try to make it magical for my two sons as well. Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Amy: Romans 12:12: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. This verse was very close to my heart when my husband was on dialysis and we were impatiently awaiting for his second kidney transplant. Brock: Favorite pasta dish? Amy: I’m not a big pasta eater, but I do love eggplant parmesan. I’ll take some spaghetti with it! Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so what are some examples? Amy: Yes, I do listen to music, but I’m definitely a moody writer. Sometimes I need a soft type of genre, such as Taylor Swift, and other times, I prefer more hard rock. It depends on my mood. Brock: I know that organ and blood donation is something you are passionate about, Amy. Please share a little about this. Amy: Some readers may not know that my husband, Joe, has endured two kidney transplants. Joe received a kidney from his brother in 2004, and it only lasted four years. In 2008, he went back on dialysis, and he was very ill. I was willing to donate to Joe, but I wasn’t a perfect match. Instead of donating a kidney to Joe, I found another way to help him. I donated a kidney on June 14, 2011, at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Through my donation, my husband, Joe, received a second kidney transplant. My husband and I matched another couple and swapped kidneys with them. I donated a kidney to a woman, and in exchange, her husband gave a kidney to Joe. My memoir, A Gift of Love, details our journey with Joe’s kidney disease and his two kidney transplants. You can find my memoir here. Due to Joe’s kidney struggles, I’ve become an advocate for both organ and blood donation. I volunteer with the National Kidney Foundation, and I also run blood drives at my church. If you are healthy and able, please give the gift of life and donate blood. Brock: What advice do you give aspiring authors when they ask you what the secret is to getting published? Amy: I don’t believe there is a secret to getting published, but I do have a list of things I believe will help writers on their journey to publication. Here is my list. Join a Writers’ Group I accidentally found the website for a local writers’ group while in search for a professional group to join as part of my day job as a technical writer. That group is Chesapeake Romance Writers, which is based in Chesapeake, Virginia, and is a local chapter of Romance Writers of America. When I attended one of the monthly meetings, I met writers in all stages of their careers – from brand new (like me) to multi-published. It was then that I realized that I wanted to become a published author. Through this group, I learned how to plot and polish my novels, how to find a literary agent, and how to write a query letter that would pique an agent’s interest. I strongly suggest you find a group near you and socialize with other writers. You’ll have fun and also learn a lot. If you’re not interested in attending local meetings, you always have the option of joining a virtual group. There are organizations that host discussion groups, and a few include America Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Join the group that best fits your interest and needs and get connected. Attend a Conference If you have the money and the time, attend a writers’ conference, where you can network and attend instructional sessions that cover many aspects of writing and the publishing business. Conferences are fun and informative. Find a Critique Partner During my journey to publication, I’ve made some wonderful friends, a few of whom have become my most trusted critique partners. They help me plot and polish my books before I submit them to my editor. Don’t write in a vacuum; share your books with trusted friends. Your buddies will not only find your typos, but they may give you story ideas that you hadn’t considered and will make your plot even better. Find Time to Read I know what it means to be busy. I balance a day job, two active little boys, and my writing deadlines. I enjoy listening to audio books in my car during my commute to and from work. I listen to everything from Christian fiction to young adult to romance. While reading is fun, it’s also a way to improve your skills by seeing what techniques work (and sometimes don’t work) for other authors. Keep Writing It may sound silly, but writers need to write! Finish your novel and polish it as best you can before submitting it to an agent or editor. Your book represents your best work. Show a potential agent or editor that you’re contentious and eager to write for them. Don’t Give Up No matter what, believe in yourself and believe in your dream of holding your book in your hand! If you’ve been rejected by an agent or editor, don’t give up. I received plenty of rejection letters and I wanted to give up many times. I’m thankful for my family and my friends who told me to stop whining and keep writing. Author Website: AmyClipston.com Author Facebook: facebook.com/AmyClipstonBooks Author Twitter: @AmyClipston Author Pinterest: pinterest.com/amyclipston Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring the Anomaly trilogy With everything we read in the news, it’s easy to allow our imaginations to wonder what will happen tomorrow, or even the very near future. I think of my three girls; what will they grow up to experience? What will our world be like for them? Sometimes I become anxious about it, worrying how I will protect them from the unknown dangers of the future. In the Anomaly trilogy, Krista McGee gives us a glimpse into one of those possible futures, one that certainly worries me. And though it’s one I hope doesn’t comes to pass, she reminds us that there is always Someone we can rely on no matter what the future holds. Brock: Krista, you’ve written an exciting series. I was glad that I discovered it after the third book was being released, because I’m not sure I would have been able to wait. Tell me, how did you come up with the idea for the Anomaly trilogy? Krista: In the spring of 2012, I was asked to write a dystopian series by my editors at Thomas Nelson. I have always loved that genre, so my mind began to race with possible story ideas. I knew I wanted the Christian element to play a major role in the plot, so with that in mind, I began brainstorming what my future world would look like. Brock: There are three books in the series, can you tell me a little bit about each one. (Warning Spoilers! Skip to the next question.) Krista: Anomaly introduces a future where the world has been destroyed by nuclear war. Only the 10 Scientists who were preparing an underground community – The State - in the event of a nuclear war survived. These, known as “The Ten,” decided to create a new world by genetically engineering new generations to be without emotions or curiosity, focused solely on completing the tasks they have been designed to complete. Thalli is an Anomaly – she feels deeply and questions everything. Those “malformations” lead to her arrest and only the intervention of childhood friend and Scientist-in-Training, Berk, keeps her from annihilation. As their alliance grows stronger, and Thalli’s use as a test subject increases, Thalli is introduced to John. Because he was visiting the State when the nuclear war occurred, he survived. But he is kept far away from others because he holds to a faith the Scientists believe is both primitive and dangerous. Thalli discovers John has more answers than anyone she has ever known, and her curiosity about the Designer that he serves grows. Thalli faces dangers from every angle, and the annihilation that she avoided becomes a reality. *Spoiler Alert* In Luminary, Thalli has escaped above ground, with the help of Berk, Rhen (Thalli’s best friend), and John. The foursome discover pockets of survivors who are at war with each other, and as Thalli volunteers to help these cities find peace, she is placed in situations even more dangerous than anything she faced in The State. Her faith and her allegiances are tested as she discovers disturbing news about both her past and her future. *More Spoilers* In Revolutionary, Thalli and Alex have been forcibly returned to The State. Determined to ensure his leadership is uncontested, Dr. Loudin commits unspeakable acts. Thalli learns truths that shake her world, and she is placed in a position where she must face Loudin and stop his plans or her friends in the State and in the world above will be destroyed. Once again, she leans on the help of the Designer as she seeks to save everyone she loves. Brock: In three words, what is Revolutionary all about? Krista: Overthrow, Overpower, Overcome (okay, I cheated and used the words from the cover…but they work!) Brock: Had you always planned on a trilogy? Are there more books planned after Revolutionary? Krista: Yes and no. I knew from the start this would be a trilogy. I am working on another book, but it is a new story. The Anomaly trilogy ends with Revolutionary. Brock: I’m disappointed there won’t be another story, but glad to hear you’re working on something else. Did you outline the entire series, or did you write each book as you went and let the characters take control of the story? Krista: I had a basic outline for the series, but that outline changed quite a bit from the brainstorming stage to publishing. Brock: Do you enjoy writing in a Dystopian world? Krista: I love the freedom of creating a whole new world; it is, however, much more challenging than writing contemporary novels. Brock: Me too! It’s fun to imagine and envision where our world might be a decade from now, a century, or even a millennia. Another fun aspect of creating new worlds is creating the characters that live within them. Tell us about the main characters Thalli and Berk? Krista: Thalli changes a great deal from Anomaly through Revolutionary. At first, she sees her curiosity and emotions as aberrations that demonstrate her inferiority. But as she comes to know the Designer, she learns she was created for a purpose and her “anomalies” are actually gifts. Berk is confident in his abilities as a Scientist, but as the story progresses, he is faced with situations beyond his training and control. He struggles to understand and adapt and he, too, needs help from the Designer to fulfill his purposes. Brock: Can you describe their (Thalli and Berk) relationship for us? Krista: If this was a Facebook status, it would read “It’s Complicated.” Having been raised in the same Pod, Thalli and Berk have known each other since birth. Berk was the only one to appreciate Thalli’s differences, and he spent their childhood alternately protecting and provoking her. As teenagers, their feelings mature from friendship to something more. Berk, however, continues to see himself as Thalli’s protector, but Thalli does not appreciate that. They work through their differences only to be faced with more. Ultimately, Thalli has to decide whether or not their relationship can move beyond a childhood friendship. Brock: “It’s Complicated,” I just got funny looks because you made me laugh while I was editing this... Tell us more about the Designer. Krista: The Designer is God. John uses that name to explain Him to Berk and Thalli because the name “God” means nothing to them. The concept of a Designer, though, is understandable. So John speaks about God in a way they would understand – similar to the way missionaries to unreached people groups speak to those who have never heard of the Savior. Brock: I’ve taken a similar tact in one of my series with Creator, Rescuer, and Helper. Is it difficult to be accurate to Biblical perspective/facts when writing fiction fantasy? I know I’ve sometimes called on pastors or friends for help. Krista: I believe the Truths of scripture can permeate any literary genre. Though I doubt God would permit a world-wide nuclear war on the scale presented in Anomaly, there is biblical precedence for a new beginning (Noah) and the maintaining of a remnant in a world that tries to eradicate belief in God (the Isrealites). My husband is a theologian, so I “fact-checked” with him before beginning Anomaly to make sure the literary license I took wasn’t too far-fetched. Brock: That’s great that you have such an awesome resource. I’m sure sharing your story with your husband creates some fun conversations and discussions. I agree that these Truths can permeate any literary genre. Any specific Biblical stories or basis that you incorporated into the series beyond the Designer? Krista: I don’t take one story and modernize it, as I did with my previous novels, but there are certainly allusions to Noah’s and Abraham’s stories in this one. Brock: What do you hope readers take away from the series? Krista: 1) God will never allow himself to be erased from the minds of men. 2) God has a purpose for everyone. Brock: Those are both very comforting and truthful takeaways. Was there any certain research required for the book, or is it all straight from your imagination? Krista: I spoke to several friends who are experts in music and science so I could make sure I was accurate in my depictions of those disciplines. For Luminary, I researched ancient Athens because that is what King Jason modeled his city on. Brock: Now a bit more about you as an author. How do you write? What’s a normal writing day like for you? Krista: My favorite spot to write is my local Panera. I grab a coffee and a bagel (cinnamon raisin or blueberry, depending on my mood) and find an empty booth. I have to ease into writing, so I usually pull up my social media sites and scan those. Sometimes, if I am struggling to get started, I’ll write a blog entry. That gets my creative juices flowing – kind of like a runner warming up. From there, I begin working on my novel. I write fast – rarely stopping to fix anything – and often get so lost in the story that I don’t even notice the people around me. I am “in the zone.” My limit is about four hours, unless I am really on a roll. That’s also about the time the folks at Panera begin giving me dirty looks, so it is usually a good time to head home. Brock: That made me laugh, I’ve experienced a few of those looks. I usually go up and buy something additional out of guilt. What are some of the strongest influences on your writing? Krista: Other writers…I read a lot, from a variety of genres, and I try to learn from all of them. I have also learned a great deal from my editors – they help me sift through my ideas and find the strongest elements, and they help me craft those elements into a better story than I could write on my own. Brock: Krista, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Readers, you won’t want to miss this series. It will capture your attention and imagination. The characters will be like friends and I promise you it’s hard to say goodbye to them as you turn the last page. Then again you can reread the book right away if you want. Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Crater TrueBlood and the Lunar Rescue Company It’s no secret that sci-fi books own a very special place on my shelf and in my heart, especially novels that deal with space exploration and space travel. After all I write a sci-fi series about a family hyper jumping all throughout space. When I first heard that Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys, was writing a Young Adult series about a space mining colony I was over-the-moon, okay that was a terrible joke. But I really did go out and get the first book, followed by the second. You might be surprised that the technology concepts Hickam writes about in the series are soon to pass from science fiction to reality, check out this article from National Geographic. So this month we celebrate, and I do mean celebrate the third book in this captivating look at our very near future. What happens when the moon becomes the next battleground? The book titled; Crater TrueBlood and the Lunar Rescue Company, gives us a look at a possible scenario. The Earth is devastated and the worst elements of humanity are determined to take over the moon. It's up to the settlers of the harsh, gray moon to fight back. Kidnapped by an evil group intent on the destruction of the world and capture of the moon, Maria Medaris, co-leader of the moon's richest and most powerful family, initially fights for her life, but is soon dazzled by the promises and enticements of her captors. Crater Trueblood, once rejected by Maria but still in love with her, and Crescent, a female bioengineered warrior fiercely loyal to Crater, use their cunning and deadly skills to come to her aid. But will Maria be on their side when they get to her? And what of the Earth itself which is in the crosshairs of a destruction not seen since the massive extinction of the dinosaurs? The fate of two worlds hangs in the balance. Who better to write a book about space exploration and a moon colony, than a guy who worked for NASA and wrote the best-selling memoir Rocket Boys. You might not have read the book, but you probably saw the movie adaption October Sky. As someone whose very interested in space exploration, followed the building of the International Space Station, the upcoming Chinese missions into space, and watched October Sky until his VHS tape went bad, it’s not a surprise that I was over-the-moon to have the chance to interview Homer Hickam. Alright the joke didn’t work there either. Brock: How did you come up with the idea for the Helium-3 novels? Homer: I'm best known for writing memoirs and adventure tales but one day I started thinking about a mining town much like the one I grew up in, except it was on the moon. After that, it was a matter of imagining what life would be like in such a town, especially who would live there. Then I started to think about an orphan brought up in a tough place where there are no child labor laws and decided to follow his adventures over a trilogy that became known as the Helium-3 series. Most of my books are suffused with my own special brand of humor and this series is, too. Crater is a conservative, honest, and straightforward young man often surrounded by thieves and maybe a few murderers who don't always have his best interests at heart. There's a lot of room for humor in such a situation. In the first book titled Crater, Crater is sent off by his boss on what he thinks is just another job when it is, in fact, a suicide mission. In the sequel, titled Crescent, Crater's a little older and wiser but he's still surprised when people are dishonest. Every hero has to have an advantage and Crater's is his gillie, a prescient clump of slime mold that can hack any computer ever built. It's also more than a little snarky and sneaky and Crater has to rein it in at times. In Crater Trueblood and The Lunar Rescue Company, Crater is faced with his toughest challenge, rescuing not only his girlfriend but, incidentally, the world! Brock: How has your own story, influenced writing the Helium-3 novels? Homer: Moontown, Crater's home town, is modeled after Coalwood, West Virginia, the town where I grew up. Like Moontown, Coalwood was a rough place filled with interesting people, most of them kindly but a few very dangerous. Brock: What was the most exciting project you took part on while working with NASA? Homer: I was privileged to work on such key projects as the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission and training the first Japanese astronauts. It was very exciting to work underwater (which simulated space) in the EMU (space) suit to figure out how to repair the Hubble. It was also exciting to live in Japan and be part of a great new space program. Before I left the agency in 1998, I traveled to Russia and established the plan for training the astronauts on the International Space Station. I wrote about my NASA career in a short memoir titled Paco: The Cat Who Meowed in Space. Brock: You’ve been a busy guy. Tell us about the main character Crater Trueblood? Homer: Crater is trustworthy, honest, resilient, super-intelligent, studious, patient, reverent, loyal, kind, and brave. In other words, he is a true lunar boy scout nerd but as the trilogy goes along, we notice he is becoming a little more "worldly," although that term might not work for a fellow who's lived on the moon his entire life. Another thing about Crater is that he is in love with a girl who isn't sure she loves him back. That kind of thing does strange things to a boy's head. Brock: Besides both being male, are you and Crater similar in anyway? Homer: We both believe that if we work hard enough, we can do anything. Otherwise, Crater has the mindset of an engineer and looks at everything in precise terms and solves problems according to his understanding of physics, thermodynamics, chemistry, and so forth. That's not the way my mind works at all. When confronted with a problem, I usually head for the outer edge of the universe and work my way back to solve it. In other words, Crater is pretty uptight and I'm kind of flexible. That's what makes it fun to write about Crater. He's always so serious and forthright and linear while all around him, there's chaos that he can't quite understand. Thank goodness he has his gillie who is more than willing to break laws and do other sneaky things on Crater's behalf. Brock: In three sentences, what is this book about? Homer: The story is ultimately about the courage it sometimes takes to stay loyal to friends and family. In the initial chapters, Crater insists on rescuing Maria, his erstwhile girlfriend, after she's kidnapped by her estranged father and genetically-tweaked creatures and carried off to the far reaches of space. Even though they know they have a good chance of getting killed, his friends and colleagues go along with Crater out of loyalty, only to discover they have to not only save Maria but also the world! Brock: It’s clear space is a passion for you, but why did you choose the moon? Homer: I've always had a particular fascination with the moon because I believe it is the obvious place to start a space-based civilization. Since its mass was probably created by a chunk of the Earth, it is, in a way, our eighth continent and therefore deserving of settlement. It's also relatively close and is filled with resources such as Helium-3, the isotope the series is named after. Helium-3 covers the moon and will be the perfect fuel for fusion reactors after that technology matures. As recounted in my memoir Rocket Boys, I also famously suggested to Presidential-candidate Senator John F. Kennedy that the USA should go to the moon. His reply to the crowd of coal miners around him was if he got elected, he might just do that. Sometimes, it's kind of fun to claim credit for what ultimately became the Apollo lunar landing program so naturally, I love the moon! Brock: That’s really cool. The technologies that you included in the books so far, are any of them real? In prototype form? Proposed? Homer: Fusion reactors utilizing Helium-3 are in the design and testing stages. An interesting aspect of these novels was that I had to figure out how to mine Helium-3 on the moon. To my knowledge, no one had ever done that. With my mining background, I set about to make the machines that Crater and the other miners use as realistic as possible. The orbital Cyclers, the lunar elevator, the jumpcars (essentially moon taxis), and scramjets I write about in the novels all use technologies already developed. The fusers, which are fusion-driven rocketships capable of tremendous velocities, are feasible but not yet on the drawing boards. The technology of genetically tweaking human beings, probably the most important technology written about in these novels, is coming at us with astonishing speed and the stories about them are something of a warning about that. Crater first meets the Umlaps, people born to do heavy labor who are somewhat comical with their sour outlook on life and reverse facial expressions (e.g. they smile when they're sad). Next, he meets the Crowhoppers who are fearsome, ugly warriors born to kill. Finally, he comes across the Helpers, low IQ people born to be slaves. Umlaps, Crowhoppers, and Helpers are feasible and when such humans are brought to life (notice I don't say "if"), humanity will be faced with tremendous ethical and moral dilemmas. Crescent the crowhopper is an example of this. After she's captured by Crater, she discovers she has a soul and is as human as anyone. Still, her outward appearance is frightening and she has to struggle for acceptance, not always successfully. Crescent is one of the most tragic characters I've ever written about but she is also very brave and an inspiration to anyone who has trouble being accepted by society. Brock: The depth of characters and development of those characters, has been a strong point of the series. Do you believe there will eventually be a permanent settlement on the moon? And if so, how far in the future? Homer: Yes, I do. It is inevitable. We need the resources there and it is also the perfect place to build a telescope to see to the far reaches of the universe. How far in the future depends on how smart our leaders are. We could do it in a few years or decades from now. Civilizations have fallen when they've ignored such opportunities. We shall see. Brock: I sure hope it’s in my lifetime. What do you hope kids take away from the series? Homer: I hope they take the books and hand them to their parents and teachers and say "Read this, I think you'll like it, too!" I also hope they take away an understanding that when faced with tough situations, it's best to be like Crater and his friends and not ever give up. Brock: That’s a great lesson for anyone, and I agree adults and kids alike will love this series. Is there any biblical background or basis for the series? Homer: Crater believes there is a great deal of power in prayer as do the people of Moontown. They pray before they work on the Helium-3 scrapes and afterward, too. They recognize that there is a Creator and that they are part of His great plan. In a way, the people on the moon are similar to the Israelites who've escaped Egypt and are trying to make their way in a new "promised land." However, Egypt (in this case the Earth), just won't leave them alone. Brock: Did you outline the entire series, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Homer: A little of both. I usually know where I'm going without an outline but when I get stuck, I'll outline so I really do know where I'm going. Characters can, it's true, get a little unruly sometimes. I'll give them some slack if they're going to an interesting place but if I discover they've carried me off into the proverbial swamp, I'll drain it and start over. Brock: A good tip, I can’t tell you often my characters take me deep into muck, and I spend hours and thousands of words trying to get back out. My editor really loves these scenarios. What’s a normal writing day like for you? Homer: Fresh new writing is done from 8 AM to noon every day except Sundays and sometimes then if a deadline looms. I rewrite in the afternoons. I'm pretty disciplined about my writing. Without it, I'm not certain what I would do except probably get into all kinds of trouble. Everybody needs a passion in their lives, something that keeps them going, and writing is mine. Brock: I thought October Sky was an amazing movie. Do you feel it reflected your memoir Rocket Boys accurately? Homer: I agree that Rocket Boys, the book October Sky the movie is based on, is indeed amazing which is, of course, what you probably meant to say. So many folks have wondered about how I came to write that book and how the movie got made that I've written a short memoir about it titled From Rocket Boys to October Sky which was published last year. As you will read, I was very much involved with the making of the film although I had my disagreements with parts of it. In the end, I was happy the way it all turned out. My biggest problem now is I have to go around apologizing for not actually being Jake Gyllenhaal! Also, people who have only seen the movie and not read any of my books perceive I'm a rocket scientist, rather than a writer. For the record, I started writing in the third grade and it has always been my greatest passion. I like to say I wanted to be an engineer but I had to be a writer. October Sky, by the way, is an anagram of Rocket Boys. Why and how that name change came about is a story I tell in the short memoir and is terribly amusing to everyone but me. Brock: Ha, ha, oh marketing. I also write Sci-Fi novels set in space, why do you think this genre is important or fun to write about? Homer: My approach to Sci-Fi is like all my books and that's to first create interesting characters because, no matter what the setting or era, I think people are most interested in other people. The reader can also be pretty confident that I know what I'm writing about and that's especially important if the book is set in space. Space is a terribly unforgiving and harsh place and the writer has to understand what makes it so dangerous before the story can really work. Readers may not know all of the physics involved but they can sense when it all seems too easy. In the Helium-3 series, nothing is ever easy which is part of the fun. I'm glad you're writing in the genre. It is indeed a great one for writers and readers where anything can happen! Brock: Are there any other books after Crater Trueblood planned? Homer: I never say never but I wanted to write a science fiction trilogy and this is the third novel. Without giving anything away, let's just say there is room for more Crater Trueblood adventures although it would probably take place far, far, (did I mention far?) from the moon. Of course, ultimately the marketplace rules. The more people who read the series, the more likely there will be more novels. Brock: So if you’re reading this article, do myself and all the kids who have read the series a favor, go get yourself the full trilogy! Thanks again Mr. Hickam for the opportunity and for the great books. Oh, and thanks too for getting our Space Program going with your suggestion to the future president. Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring the Well Spring Series The first thing you see when you visit James Rubart’s website are the words “Live Free.” Then Rubart poses a reflective question and offers a path for your to take to find freedom. He asks, “What keeps you from living in freedom? Shattered dreams? Broken relationships? Fear? No matter where you're at, I believe you can find life-altering freedom. Getting there is at the heart of all of my novels. Let's go.” And so let’s learn more about Rubart’s latest novel and series. Brock: How did you come up with the idea for the Well Spring series? James: At the real life Well Spring Ranch which is hidden in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. Both my publisher and I wanted to develop an epic story and we went there to brainstorm ideas. My first three novels were focused on one protagonist and their story, which worked well, but I was ready for a bigger adventure with multiple main characters and higher stakes. We started praying, and within half an hour came up with what we thought was a compelling premise: What if a 30 year old prophecy called four ordinary people from different walks of life to fight for healing and freedom by sending their spirits into other people’s souls? Brock: Whoa! That does indeed sound like an exciting premise. Next time you’re in my neck of the woods, please look me up so we can grab some coffee. Tell us about these four main characters that send their spirits into other people’s souls. James: Reece Roth walked powerfully in the things of the Spirit years ago, but was taken out when his wife and daughter were killed. Now he’s stepped back in the arena to guide and train the other three of the prophecy, but it’s forced him to face his greatest failure in the process. Dana Raine is the General Manager of a Seattle radio station and is a born leader, but her fear of abandonment, as well as being thrust back into relationship with the man who broke her heart threatens to cripple her God-given destiny. Marcus Amber is a brilliant physics professor at the University of Washington who has had to face his deepest regret and overcome it, because if he doesn’t, he and the other warriors will be destroyed. Brandon Scott is multi-milling selling singer and song writer but still struggles with his worth. And when his career starts to slip away he has to make the choice to save himself, or allow his dream to die, bringing astounding freedom to the other warriors. Brock: In three sentences (or less) what are the three books in the series about? James: Soul’s Gate: Destiny and freedom Memory’s Door: Throwing off the chains of regret Spirit Bridge: Stepping into our true identity Brock: I can see how your statement about a path to finding freedom can be truly laid out in your books and this series. What is the biblical background or basis for the series? James: I’ve always been fascinated by scriptures in the Bible that many Christians have missed or ignored: Hearing God’s voice, teleportation, turning invisible (yes, it’s in there) traveling into spiritual realms, etc. Miraculous events that happen repeatedly in the Word, but we don’t talk much about. Was it real back then? If yes, is it possible for those things to happen today? I wanted to tear open my own small box of beliefs and my reader’s boxes as well. And the response has been wild. People have e-mailed me telling of incredible things that have happened to them. But more than that, the heart of the series is my characters finding healing for their deepest wounds, and then taking that message of freedom to others. I want my readers to be wildly entertained by my novels, but I also want them to come away with more freedom and healing than they’ve ever experienced. Brock: And it sounds like on that you are delivering. How many books are planned for this series? James: Spirit Bridge is the last one, so just three. We wanted to go till the story ended and we felt like Spirit Bridge ties up the story arc in the most powerful way possible. To write another book would be pushing the series beyond where it should go. (But for those who have enjoyed the series, they needn’t worry, I think one or two of the characters from the Well Spring series might pop up again in another story down the road.) Brock: I’ll certainly be looking for those next books. Did you outline the entire series, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? James: Outline? Wait a second, Brock. Are you saying you can outline these things? I definitely let the characters take control. For me, writing is sitting down at my laptop and waiting till the movie starts playing in my head. Then I transcribe the movie. It’s a mess, but after it’s all down, I go back and do my best to clean it all up. Brock: You’re my kind of writer. That’s exactly how I write. My characters often take control, and when I follow where they lead I find a better story than I could have planned. Any certain research required for the book, or is it all straight from your imagination? James: All straight from my imagination. But I think most novelists are doing research all the time—even if they don’t realize it. We collect information in every moment, often subconsciously. An interesting conversation here, an intriguing fact there … then when we’re writing, the collection rises to the surface and we skim off the interesting bits and put them in our stories. At least that’s the way it works for me. Brock: Yes, I have thousands of pdfs saved from intriguing articles I find online. Always another story waiting to be explored. Are you working on your next book? And if so can you give us a hint at your next book? James: Yes, just turned in the first draft of my next novel. It’s a standalone and I’m pretty excited about it. Don’t want to give away too much, but here’s the premise: What if the Great Cloud of Witnesses did more than just watch? What if God used them to turn our life upside down in order to bring us into more freedom than we’ve ever known? Brock: I’ll be adding that to my wishlist right away. What is your favorite genre to write for? James: One I’ve only dabbled in so far with a few unpublished short stories: Time travel. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of time travel. What would we change if we could go back? What would those changes cause in our present? What does that say about our willingness to accept and trust God with the way our life has turned out? Brock: Great questions. Mind boggling to consider. I like your last point about trust. Where do you like to write? Didn't you win a contest for a cool writing space? James: Does winning a Starbucks certificate count? Yeah, I have a pretty fun place to write. I built a secret room in our house about eight years ago, and that’s where I do the majority of my writing. You get to it through a tiny door at the back of my youngest son’s closet. When I was a kid I had dreams when I slept of having a secret room, and now it’s come true. Pretty cool. Brock: Super cool! After I read about that, I got my tape measure out and started measuring an open space we have above a stairway. I haven’t proposed the project to my wife yet, but I’m going to. Are you a full time writer? James: Almost. About 70% of my time is doing all the things that come with being an author. The rest of the time I run a small marketing firm which I’ve done since ‘94. I work with authors and businesses on their marketing and I love it. Brock: Okay writing and marketing! My favorite things! You and I really do need to do coffee. How long does it usually take you to write a single book in the series? James: On average, the initial draft takes around ten weeks. It’s a sprint, I know, and afterwards I need recovery time. But it’s the way that works best for me. Brock: Everyone seems to have a "how I got published" story. What is yours? James: Summer of 2002 my wife says God has told her go on a fast. Says she doesn’t know why or how long it’s going to last. After the first day I ask if God has told her anything. “Nope.” At the end of the second day I ask again. “Nothing.” I ask how long she’s going to go on. “Till God speaks.” Halfway through day three, a light bulb goes off over my head, and I feel like God is saying, “I’ve given you the desire and ability to write, when are you going to step into your destiny?” I turn to Darci and say, “I know why you’re fasting. I’m supposed to be a novelist.” She stares at me and says, “Wait a minute. I’m hungry for three days, and you get the answer?” It was pretty funny. That was my wakeup call and I finished my first novel three years later. In late 2005 I submitted to four contacts I had, and all rejected it. Then in the spring of ’06 I went to the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference and it opened up worlds for me. By that September I signed with an agent and he shopped ROOMS to all the major publishing houses. All said no. They thought my writing was okay, but ROOMS was a little too out there and then didn’t know what to do with it as it didn’t fit into any defined genre. (ROOMS is the story of a young Seattle software tycoon who inherits a home on the Oregon Coast that turns out to be a physical manifestation of his soul.) But one of the editors who rejected it (David Webb who was the Executive Editor at B&H Fiction at the time) wrote an e-mail to my agent that said, “ … if this doesn’t sell in six months, bring it back to me.” A year later, I sat down with David at a conference and read his own e-mail back to him. He smiled and said, “I’ve read 200 manuscripts since I read yours, and yours is the one I can’t get out of my mind. Let’s take another run at it.” We did, and David sold his pub board on the novel in June of ’08. Rooms came out in April of 2010, hit the bestseller list, won the RT Book Reviews Inspirational Novel of the Year Reviews Choice Award, and my career had begun. I ended up doing three novels with B&H Fiction. These days I’m writing for Thomas Nelson. Brock: I always love hearing those stories. God has us each on such unique stories, and the truth is, everything is in his time. What’s your view on e-books and the new publishing revolution? Any e-book plans in your future? James: I think it’s the Golden Age of Publishing, and the Dark Ages of Publishing, both at the same time. Golden because anyone can publish a book—and the stigma of self-publishing is just about gone. It’s the dark ages because most people who are indie publishing aren’t ready so there’s a glut of books on the market and sometimes it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Yes, I think there are e-books in my future. I of course have e-books for all my traditionally published novels, but I’m excited I have a number of short stories I’ve been working on that I want to publish as e-books. Brock: What was your favorite book as a teen or child? James: When I was a tweener (11 years old) my mom bought The Chronicles of Narnia for my sister and me. They captured my heart and imagination. Those books birthed the desire inside me to write. I wanted to try someday to do for others what Lewis had done for me. As I got older I devoured his books—both fiction and non-fiction—and he’s been my favorite author ever since. Brock: If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be? James: C.S. Lewis (see above), my dad (who passed away in 2010—I miss him tremendously) and my wife. That would be an epic dinner party. Brock: Favorite place to vacation and why? James: The northern section of the Oregon Coast. My wife and sons and I spent many vacations there. Spectacular scenery, miles of ocean, watching the thundering waves, building sandcastles with the boys, long beach walks with my wife … love it there. Brock: I’ve always wanted to see Oregon, maybe sometime soon. Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like cocoa, raspberry tea, animal crackers? I love Apple Cider and stove popped popcorn! James: Ha! Great question. Sunflower seeds and apple juice. I don’t eat sunflower seeds any other time, but while I’m pumping out that first draft I go through about eight bags of David’s Jumbo sunflower seeds. And lots of apple juice. Brock: I’m getting a craving for some BBQ ones now. Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Have you incorporated it into any of your books? James: Yes and yes. But what I call my favorite verse depends on the season of my life and what Jesus is doing at the time. An author friend of mine told me a number of years ago that his novels are simply his journals in published form. I really resonated with that, so I get favorite verses for a time and that scripture will invariably show up in my current novel. For the novel I just turned in, it’s a few verses from Hebrews chapter 12: “ …This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children ... why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? … God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. (The Message) Brock: Thanks for sharing your story with us. If you’re reading this be sure to check out Rubart’s latest novel Spirit Bridge. The Warriors Riding have battled in astounding supernatural realms, set captives free, and awakened thousands of hearts. But now their only chance of survival depends on calling for The Spirit Bridge. Reece, Dana, Brandon, and Marcus have achieved staggering success in the spiritual realm . . . but each is reeling from vicious attacks. They need rest. A break from the war. But the warlord Zennon is raging and will give them no quarter. The demon holds what he believes to be the trump card—a hidden strategy set in motion before Warriors Riding even began—that will detonate the team from the inside out. And he's just set it loose. The street magician Simon—finally free of Zennon's alternate reality prison—is racing to remember his past before his ignorance obliterates his destiny. Then there's Miyo—a brash young warrior with advanced knowledge of spiritual realities and supernatural armor even Reece doesn't know about. These two will be pivotal in the final war. If only the Warriors knew which side Simon and Miyo are truly on. If only they knew how to fight against Zennon's final assault. The Spirit Bridge is the epic conclusion to acclaimed author James L. Rubart's Well Spring series, which will propel each of the Warriors Riding on a quest of true identity, ultimate freedom, and a final battle that will leave them changed forever. James L. Rubart is the best-selling and Christy award winning author of ROOMS, BOOK OF DAYS, THE CHAIR, SOUL’S GATE, MEMORY’S DOOR, and SPIRIT BRIDGE. During the day he runs Barefoot Marketing which helps businesses and authors make more coin of the realm. In his free time he dirt bikes, hikes, golfs, takes photos, and occasionally does sleight of hand. No, he doesn’t sleep much. He lives with his amazing wife and two sons in the Pacific Northwest and still thinks he’s young enough to water ski like a madman. More at http://jameslrubart.com/ Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring Discovered The Message worth dying for. . . The government tells fifteen-year-old Simon Clay everything he needs to know. Except what really happened to his mom. And why no one can go out at night. And why the Darkness is so dangerous. By day, Simon pushes against every boundary there is. And by night, secret visitors and hidden messages make him question everything his life entails. There’s a truth out there to be discovered, a truth the government will stop at nothing to stamp out. Join Simon and the Messengers as they risk their lives to protect it. ". . . Doled out in small but potent doses, the Message is sweet like honey to all who hear it in this debut thriller that is appropriate for children probably as young as ten. Lisa Clark’s writing is tightly effective, but the heart with which she deals with the theology is light and jubilant. Young readers will love the rebellion against the authorities, while parents will delight in handing their children a book that not only encourages sharing their faith—even in the worst circumstances—but also embraces the importance of family, love, and friendship. [It is] the first of a series, and I have no doubt that Clark’s writing will quickly take this book to the top of the growing YA inspirational genre." —Colleen Oakes, Author of the best-selling Queen of Hearts Saga Brock: How did you come up with the idea for this book or series? or What was your inspiration for writing this book or series? Lisa: I was driving in my car, listening to some instrumental music, and this world began to form in my mind. Little did I know that it was an answer to many thoughts and concerns that were weighing on me as I considered our society, life as a Christian, and especially teenagers who are navigating their lives through eyes of faith. It was as if everything came together in a fictional world to help me better understand my own. For example, as a former high school teacher, I have a great respect for teenagers: how they witness in their world, how they talk with one another. Christians in our society today have lives that are countercultural, and this can be especially difficult for youth with the expectations their peers have for them. Anything I can do to encourage them in their bold witness of simply living out lives as Christians—I’m in. That’s one reason for this book. Brock: Tell us about the main characters? Who are they, what makes them unique. Lisa: In a way, Simon is an unlikely hero, especially for a Christian novel. That’s really the point. God can use us all. Plus, I wanted him to be real—with faults, flaws, and the occasional bout of grouchiness. Jack, Charity, and Ben—these kids could have walked into my high school classroom on any given day. They’re each so different, and I love to watch how they interact with Simon in their own ways. And then there’s Jonathan, Zeke, and Mrs. Meyer. I hope their stories remind us to thank the Jonathans, Zekes, and Mrs. Meyers in our own lives. The Malachis too. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Lisa: Secrets are a big deal for the plotline of this book and the one(s) to come. What can I say without big spoilers? Simon’s love life is about to get a little crazy in the next book, Concealed. Brock: In three sentences (or you can choose three words) what is this book about? Lisa: Here are three main points: --There is a Message worth dying for. --As Christians, we are not alone. --Yes, this world is messed up, but the victory is already won. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Lisa: A balance of both. I know the must-have plot points before I dive in. Then, when I sit down to write each chapter, I tell myself what key action needs to happen by the end of it. But there are so many times I sit back and ask Jack or Charity or Simon, “Now what?” And they guide the way. Brock: How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers? Lisa: It is my prayer that this story feels incredibly real to my readers: On a small scale, because it walks a path that many believers know. On a larger scale, because the situations could very easily happen anywhere, including our own country. On a huge scale, because this is the narrative of all believers from the beginning of time; we all share this story. Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Lisa: For fiction, I love dystopian literature. I believe it is a perfect genre for the Christian message. Dystopian books, in summary, say this: something went wrong in the world. As the plot unfolds, readers figure out the mystery of what when wrong and why it happened. At some point (not always in the first book), a group of people works against the bad to restore the good. One point I want to make in this book is that we live in a dystopian world. Something went wrong; creation is fallen. As we learn more about what happened and why, we also learn about our Savior, who brings restoration now and forever. Brock: What is the biblical background or basis for the series? Lisa: There are a lot of ways to answer this. One narrative throughout the book is the story of a biblical figure. In Simon’s own story, Scripture increasingly informs his life. But I also looked to the history of the Early Church for background—as well as the history of the Church today. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Lisa: Great question! In some ways, this depends on the readers and what they want to learn. Right now, I’m thinking in a plot arc of a trilogy, but there’s a lot of room to grow as well. Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Lisa: Yes! See above. This story is informed by hundreds of other stories in history. Brock: How do you strike the right balance in your book? Lisa: That was tricky. Dystopian literature has been around for a long time, not just during the current craze. Because of that, the spectrum is a wide one of what could be considered dystopian. Also, as I said before, I believe that the Christian worldview and dystopian literature have a lot in common. However, there are important differences. I also know that many Christians will read this even if they aren’t familiar with dystopian literature. So I kept this unique blend of readers in mind as I wrote to my audience. I hope my focus on the reader helps keep the balance. Brock: How does it feel to have your work published? Lisa: It’s surreal. On a day to day basis, I don’t think about it too much. But I’ll be stopped by a friend or an acquaintance who shares with me what Simon’s story means to them. I nearly tear up when I think about how Simon isn’t just a part of me anymore; he’s become important to many lives. That connection is powerful. I thank God for this new form of community. Brock: Why did you choose to focus on a male protagonist? Lisa: I chose a male for a few reasons. One is that I wanted to make my protagonist distinctly different from me in some way. I was concerned that this “child” would too easily become a clone of myself if I wasn’t careful. It was one way for me to distance myself just a bit. Brock: Are you working on the next book in the series? Lisa: Yes! Readers keep asking me when it’s coming out, and that’s great motivation for me to keep at it. Brock: Can you give us a hint at the next book in the series? Lisa: Oh, poor Simon. At the end of Discovered, he realizes that his journey is only just beginning, and he couldn’t be more right. It’s going to be difficult for me to watch him go through his next challenges. Brock: Do you plot or outline the entire series before you begin writing, or do your books take on lives of their own? Or is there a combination? Lisa: Yes. I have basic “must-have” points in mind for the overall trilogy arc, and I know generally where I want to space them out. I think that’s tough for people who don’t often read trilogies. They want all the answers immediately, and that can’t happen. That said, one particular plotline took on a life of its own during Discovered, and I realized that the exciting parts for two of my characters need to wait until Concealed. Brock: Were any scenes or characters cut from the book? Can you give an example? Lisa: I cut out a few characters from Discovered, but a few of them are fighting to get into Concealed, so I think I’ll have to keep you waiting a little longer. Brock: Is it difficult to be accurate to a biblical perspective or biblical facts when writing fantasy fiction? Lisa: I take this so seriously, especially because there is one narrative in each book that relies heavily on Scripture. I tried to be careful not to write anything that I couldn’t support with things we know about these fellow believers. I want to honor their lives, and I most definitely want to honor the truth of God’s Word. Brock: How do you hope parents will use this book with their kids? Lisa: I hope they read it too and talk with their kids about it. Lots of parents have told me great stories about their interaction with their son or daughter about Simon. This makes my day each time I hear it. Brock: What do you hope kids take away from this book or series? Lisa: This world isn’t perfect, and neither are you. But Jesus is, and He’s the hero of this story and every story—no matter how tough it gets. Brock: Where do you like to write? Lisa: For fiction, I need to have a table because I need to have snacks. Ha! My husband is a pastor, and we often sit at the dining room table after the kids are in bed. He’ll write his sermon or prepare for a Bible study, and I’ll write too. He’s dubbed this our “evening compositionals.” Sometimes, I’ll just stop wherever I am to write. Ideally, though? I dream of writing in a cabin surrounded by wooded hills. Someday, maybe. Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Lisa: That’s becoming more difficult to answer, theoretically. For my “day job,” I am an editor, which is great to keep my perspective focused on all that goes into a book (not just the writing!). My writing role is a bonus. Except I think that most writers know that writing is easier when you keep your writing muscles active. It takes practice and, ultimately, an entire mindset. In that respect, I think writing has been taking over a large part of who I am. More and more, I see the world through the eyes of a writer, and I think that’s a good thing. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Lisa: Well, I’m new at this, so “usually” is tough to answer. I started Discovered in April of 2015, and I finished it in January of 2016. I’ll admit there were some very slow and some very busy months within that span. Brock: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer? Lisa: In grade school, I was interested in being a writer (among other things), but I had no idea how to go about becoming one, and I was too intimidated to seriously ask. As time went on, however, writing became something I did, usually to meet a need of some kind. It became less about the title of being a writer and more about the action of writing. Am I writer? I guess so. Do I write? Certainly. Brock: What was your favorite book as a teen or child? Lisa: I loved To Kill a Mockingbird and Fahrenheit 451. (I still do!) It’s rare that I come across a book I don’t like. Even then, I can usually appreciate it. Brock: What are your hopes for your future as an author? Lisa: I pray that my words are a blessing to people, and that they point to Christ. The details are in God’s hands. Brock: In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Lisa: It’s my motivation. My faith informs all I do; I can’t separate it from who I am. I thank God that He’s enabled me to write, and I pray that I write faithfully as long as God calls me to do it. Knowing that I have the Message worth dying for influences me to share it in whatever ways I can. Brock: Coke or Pepsi? Lisa: Coke Brock: Soft shell or Hard Shell tacos? Lisa: Hard shell. My year of braces in grade school fulfilled my lifetime quota of soft shell tacos. Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Lisa: Southern Missouri. Give me trees, hills, and apple turnovers. Brock: Favorite season? Lisa: Fall. The colors, the smells, the culmination of the fruits of labor—it all fills me with joy. Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Lisa: I always have a snack nearby. Popcorn or tortilla chips are often on hand. (Chocolate has proven to be too dangerous.) The beverages vary: often, it’s something fizzy. Brock: Favorite color? Lisa: Purple Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Lisa: That’s so tough! As a teen, I used to keep a whole list on hand. I’ll give three. Matthew 28:20; Proverbs 3:5–6; and Philippians 4:13 (A friend sent that one to me every time I panicked when writing this novel.) Brock: Favorite pasta dish? Lisa: Cavetelli con broccoli. Brock: Salsa or guacamole? Lisa: Guac. I love avocados. Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so what are some examples? Lisa: Always, when writing fiction, devotionals, and the like. For fiction, it has to be instrumental, preferably soundtracks. (Thanks, Hans Zimmer, Alexandre Desplat, and friends.) I also write hymn and song texts. At that point, I can only have a tune in my mind as I write to it. Brock: How would you encourage new writers? Lisa: Just try. Don’t worry about whether or not you’ll be great at it—then the focus is on you. If you enjoy writing, write. Maybe it’ll be a blessing for two people. Maybe it’ll be a blessing to two million. That’s not for you to decide, and there’s great comfort in that. Lisa M. Clark is an editor and writer. As a former high school teacher, she has great respect for teenagers and enjoys engaging with them about God’s Word. She has a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University, Nebraska, and a master’s from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. In a trend that will surely be replicated many times but never perfected in the same way, Lisa Clark has combined heady Christian theology and a dystopian YA thriller. . . . Simon is the son of a secretive—but loving—father who discovers [the truth about] the Darkness. Author's Website: https://www.cph.org/lisamclark Author Facebook: facebook.com/LisaMClark.CPH/ Author Twitter: @lisamclark1 Author Instagram: Lisamclark.lc Interview by Brock Eastman Featuring The Songkeeper Chronicles War ravages Leira and the Song has fallen silent. Freed from the hold of a slave ship, Birdie, the young Songkeeper, and Ky, a street–wise thief, emerge to a world at war. Hordes of dark soldiers march across Leira, shadowed by whispers of plague and massacres, prompting Ky to return to his besieged home city in hopes of leading his fellow runners to safety. Desperate to end the fighting, Birdie embarks on a dangerous mission into the heart of the Takhran's fortress. Legend speaks of a mythical spring buried within and the Songkeeper who will one day unleash it to achieve victory. Everyone believes Birdie is the one, but the elusive nature of the Song and rumors of other gifted individuals lead her to doubt her role. Unleashing the spring could defeat the Takhran once and for all, but can she truly be the Songkeeper when the Song no longer answers her call? “Adams' characters are colorful, witty, and heartwarming. Her tale is a welcome melody that our souls long to sing. A new voice in fantasy, sure to thrill readers of many ages.” – Wayne Thomas Batson, Best-Selling Author of the Door Within Trilogy Brock: How did you come up with the idea for The Songkeeper Chronicles? Gillian: To be honest, I didn’t have much when I started. Just a name—Birdie—and a smidgeon of an idea. What if there was a girl who was the only one who could hear the music that had created the world? It wasn’t long before a gruff traveling peddler with wild red hair blustered his way onto the page and declared himself the “great” Amos McElhenny. And shortly thereafter, I found myself dodging soldiers and slinking down back alleys with a street thief named Ky. From that moment, the story that became the Songkeeper Chronicles was unleashed, and it took me five solid rewrites of the first book, Orphan’s Song, to untangle the wild mess. I guess you could say I’ve refined my writing process a bit since then. Brock: Tell us about the main characters? Who are they, what makes them unique. Gillian: There are three main point of view characters in the Songkeeper Chronicles: Birdie, Amos McElhenny, and Ky Huntyr. The Songkeeper, the outlaw, and the thief. At twelve years old, Birdie has spent most of her life an orphaned serving girl. Now as the Songkeeper, she can hear the Song that weaves through everyone and everything in Leira. She can also hear the individual songs of each person she meets—broken melodies, incomplete and twisted by suffering. Her gift is both a blessing and curse, for while it sets her apart as special in the eyes of some, it also sets her apart as potentially dangerous in the eyes of others. From the toes of his salt battered boots to the tip of his feathered cap, Amos McElhenny embodies the word unique. He is a self-made man, and he is proud of the man he has made himself. Over the years he has worn many different guises—sailor, outlaw, traveling peddler—and yet he prides himself on having remained the same man throughout. Deep down, Ky is a rebel. The thief who cares. The runner who can’t obey the rules of the streets if it means leaving a brother behind. The fighter who cares less about defeating the enemy and more about keeping his people safe. He is unquenchable. Indomitable. If you knock him down, he gets right back up, and he just keeps on coming. Brock: Give us one fact about each main character that no one else knows. Gillian: Oh, but that would be telling. *grins* I’m just going to have to point you to the books. Most of the characters facts that can be known now are in there, and the rest will be revealed eventually! Brock: In three words, what is this book about? Gillian: War. Brokenness. Peace. Songkeeper is about choosing to stand when standing in itself requires all the strength that you have. It’s about living in hope in the midst of brokenness. And it’s about walking in peace when everything within and without feels shattered by the turmoil of war. Brock: Do you outline the entire book before starting, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Gillian: My writing process changes slightly with each new book. I generally draw up a very basic outline of the important plot points and then write my way from plot point to plot point. It’s like road-tripping through the story. I like it because it allows me room for creativity and sight-seeing as I go. But it can be dangerous because there can be a million different ways to get from point A to point B, and it’s way too easy to be distracted by rabbit trails and drawn right off the edge of the map. It also means I frequently write myself into a bind after managing to get my characters caught in a trap while my extremely unhelpful outline provides no other information than “somehow they escape.” Yes, that actually happened once … Brock: How do you believe Songkeepers relates to the lives of readers? Gillian: What you take away from a novel so often depends on what you bring to it, and I think this will be true with Songkeeper. With war looming on the horizon in Songkeeper, the country of Leira trembles on the verge of collapse, and each of the characters is faced with a decision—to risk all and dive into the fray, or to sit back in safety and wait until the dust settles. It’s easy to look at the changes happening in our own country, or the difficult situations that we face in our own lives, and expect someone else to step up and solve the problem. But we’re each faced with that same decision. Will we decide to do what we can today to make our world a better place, or will we sit back and watch the train wreck occur? Brock: What is your favorite genre to write for? Gillian: Epic fantasy has always been—and no doubt always will be—my favorite genre both to read and to write. I believe that the true beauty and glory of fantasy is its ability to capture the deepest truths and set them in a new light, to ask questions and inspire thought, and to leave the reader searching for something greater. That’s why it’s my favorite. The possibilities are limitless in story, world, character, and in the impact it can have on the reader. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Gillian: The Songkeeper Chronicles is a trilogy. Orphan’s Song, book one, released in the fall of 2014. Songkeeper, book two, released in April. And I’m currently sprinting toward the finish line in the writing of book three. Brock: Any certain research required for the book, or is it all from your imagination? Gillian: Medieval weaponry and warfare! It’s always intrigued me, so I probably spend more time researching it than I actually need to. But it does come in handy when it’s time to write fight scenes—which I tend to do a lot, because those are my favorite scenes to write! Brock: Are you a full-time or part-time author/writer? Gillian: I am a part-time author. For my full-time day job, I work as the Equestrian Director and Assistant Junior Camp Director at a youth camp, which means I get to maintain and work with a herd of twenty or so horses, hang out with kids, and help facilitate the program. I teach classes, run trail rides, and stomp around in boots and spurs. (It’s pretty awesome.) I also write the Bible Drama scripts for summer camp, which is super fun. Novel writing takes place on my days off and in the evenings, so I stay pretty busy. Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book? Gillian: I am a notoriously slow writer. There are a lot of authors who write without looking back until finishing the first draft. But that has never worked for me. I write slowly and painstakingly and can spend an hour on a couple of paragraphs, reworking and rewording each sentence to get it just right. But while it takes me twice as long, my first draft usually winds up being much closer to the finished product. So in the end, I think it mostly evens out. Brock: Expound on the spiritual themes in Songkeeper. Gillian: Woven throughout Songkeeper is the struggle between walking daily in trust and the desire to seize control of your own life. I wrote this novel while recovering from a car accident and subsequent surgeries. I can be a fiercely independent person, so being forced to rely on others was a challenge, even as I knew in my heart that I should always be relying on God and not myself. Our lives are never truly in our hands, but there are times when that becomes more apparent than at others, and for me, this was one of those. It seemed such a long time since I had felt true peace, and I longed for it with every aching beat of my heart. That longing knitted itself throughout Songkeeper and led the story to an ending scene that I personally think is the most beautiful scene in the whole book. Needless to say, this book is near and dear to my heart. Brock: Favorite place to vacation? Gillian: It’s not so much a favorite place as a favorite style of vacation. I like anything that involves being around the outdoors. Cabin in the woods. Tent in the jungle. Bed and breakfast in the mountains. Cottage on the beach. Anything where you can bask in the glory of God’s creation while drinking coffee, with plenty of adventure near to hand. Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Gillian: Dr. Pepper. I’m slightly addicted. Slightly. And coffee. Lots of coffee. Brock: Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Gillian: My favorite Bible verse is ever changing, but there are certain Bible passages I find myself reading over and over again. The Psalms. Philippians. I John. Colossians. Hebrews. But Psalm 42:8 is one of my current favorites. “By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.” Brock: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some examples? Gillian: Oh yeah! I listen to a lot of music while I write. Every now and then I’ll stumble across an extremely challenging scene where I need complete and total silence in order to focus. But most of the time, I like finding just the right mood music for each scene. Certain fight scenes call for some good old fashioned classic rock. But for the most part, I listen to movie soundtracks. Some of my favorites are the soundtracks from The Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, the Eagle, Braveheart, and Master and Commander. Website: gillianbronteadams.com Facebook: facebook.com/gillianbronteadams Twitter: twitter.com/theSongkeeper Pinterest: pinterest.com/thesongkeeper/ Interview by Brock Eastman in 2014 Featuring the Tales of Gladstone Wood Tales of Goldstone Wood has piqued the interest and engaged thousands of fans around the world. I had a chance to ask Anne Elisabeth Stengl about her vast series and the latest installment. I especially enjoy world building and losing myself in an author’s immense world. Tales of Goldstone certainly delivers on that! Brock: Anne, thanks for being here with us. How did you come up with the idea for the Tales of Goldstone Wood series? Anne: You know, I honestly don’t remember. I have been working on ideas for this series since I was a kid, penning out short stories and notes in various spiral notebooks. Some of those original short stories have matured and turned into the novels (Starflower and Dragonwitch, for example). Some of the characters and poems and legends have carried over as well. But I’ve been writing Goldstone Wood for so long (and intend to keep on writing it for so much longer!), that pinpointing an original inspiration would be impossible. Brock: Take a moment and tell us about the main characters in Shadow Hand? Anne: Shadow Hand features Prince Foxbrush, who has recently been named heir to the throne of Southlands . . . an honor he always rather thought he deserved over his cousin, Lionheart, but never really expected to get. And he’s discovering (as my characters often discover along the way), that getting his dream-come-true is really not all it’s cracked up to be. But he’s betrothed to the girl he’s loved since childhood, the beautiful Lady Daylily . . . . . .who opens the book by running away on the morning of their wedding, determined never to be seen again. She is a deeply repressed young woman with a mind teetering on the verge of madness. In her bid to escape, she lands herself in far more danger than ever. Worst of all, she becomes more dangerous than ever. Brock: In three sentences what is Shadow Hand about? Anne: When Lady Daylily runs away on the morning of their wedding, Prince Foxbrush sets out to find her, plunging into the dangerous Wood Between, where Faeries live and mortals die. In his mad pursuit, Foxbrush finds himself stepping into legends out of his own country’s past, and he himself standing in the legendary hero’s role . . . which means Lady Daylily herself has become his enemy. He must fulfill the strange, dark bidding of an ancient poem if he is to have any hope of saving both Daylily and his kingdom. Brock: How many books are planned for this series? Anne: I don’t have a set number in mind. This is a series about a world, not about a specific cast of characters. And it is a large, varied world with so many possibilities, I could keep on writing in it for years to come. I currently have 15 full-length novels in mind, not to mention numerous shorter works (such as my recently released novella, Goddess Tithe) and several spin-off series ideas. Each book is written to be as stand-alone as possible, but the series itself is far too complex to package up in a set number of volumes . . . at least at the current time. I could easily see this turning into my own small version of Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series . . . which has 40-some novels, plus multiple shorter works and companion stories! Brock: You really could lose yourself in this series. One thing that seems to happen too often, is we (readers) get attached to our characters or their world and then lose them in a just a few books. That’s always hard to say goodbye, when there really is more to the world we’ve been reading about. Do you outline, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story? Anne: There’s no outline for the entire series. But there are individual series threads that cover multiple volumes within the series, and these are all carefully outlined ahead of time. I also take the time to carefully outline each novel before I write it, checking the storylines and timelines against the other novels to make certain things are lining up properly. Brock: With so much outlining and such a vast series, do you have to do any research, or does everything come straight from your imagination? Anne: Lots of research went into this book, actually. Before setting pen to paper, I spent hours poring over long (and extremely dull) passages of Sir James Frazer’s The Golden Bough, which is a desperately dry but useful volume on the history of magic and superstition throughout the world. A fantastic research tool when it doesn’t drive you utterly mad with boredom. Shadow Hand is a very loose retelling of “The Ballad of Tam Lin,” certain Saint Patrick legends (specifically those dealing with Crom Cruach), and a George MacDonald fairytale. I spent quite a lot of time studying these texts and making notes as I went. I also spent a good bit of time researching the cultivation of fig trees. Not something I ever expect to use again, but interesting research nonetheless. Brock: You mentioned 15 books planned, and potentially many more to come. Are you working on the next book? And if so can you give us a hint at the next book? Anne: I’m actually a couple books down the road already from Shadow Hand. Book 7, Golden Daughter, is scheduled to release in November. Here is the write-up for that story: BEYOND THE REALM OF DREAMS IS A WORLD SHE NEVER IMAGINED Masayi Sairu was raised to be dainty, delicate, demure . . . and deadly. She is one of the emperor’s Golden Daughters, as much a legend as she is a commodity. One day, Sairu will be contracted in marriage to a patron, whom she will secretly guard for the rest of her life. But when she learns that a sacred Dream Walker of the temple seeks the protection of a Golden Daughter, Sairu forgoes marriage in favor of this role. Her skills are stretched to the limit, for assassins hunt in the shadows, and phantoms haunt in dreams. With only a mysterious Faerie cat and a handsome slave—possessed of his own strange abilities—to help her, can Sairu shield her new mistress from evils she can neither see nor touch? For the Dragon is building an army of fire. And soon the heavens will burn. I’ve also written a new short work titled Draven’s Light, which should release next spring, and I’m in the process of putting together book 8, which doesn’t have an official title yet, but which should release next autumn. Brock: I think the interview already makes this pretty clear, but I must ask. What is your favorite genre to write for? Anne: Fantasy, without a doubt! It’s what I love most to write and to read. Specifically fantasy written in the omniscient narrative. Always a favorite with me. Brock: With so many books releasing and so many in the works, are you a full time writer? Anne: Yes . . . when I’m not also a marketer, designer, blogger, networker, etc. But I would consider myself a fulltime novelist, even if that doesn’t always mean fulltime writing! Brock: How long does it usually take you to write a single book in the series? Anne: Anywhere from two to six months, I think. At least for the rough draft. I try to draft as quickly as possible and allow myself time for polish and revision. I have written full-length novels in two months before (and Goddess Tithe was drafted in under two weeks!). I believe the longest I’ve taken over a novel is six months, though. I rather expect book 8 will take me longer since it’s the most complicated plot I’ve tackled yet . . . Brock: What’s your view on e-books and the new publishing revolution? Any e-book only plans in your future? Anne: I am a big fan of e-books! I still read primarily paperback, but that’s more force of habit than anything. I got my first e-reader last year and am slowly building up a nice little e-book library. And I absolutely intend for all my books to be available in paperback and e-book! Goddess Tithe was primarily an e-book experiment, but my fans wanted a paperback version too, and it sells pretty well in both. But yes, e-books are awesome. What a wonderful way to get work out to so many more readers! My international audience would never be what it is today without the blessing of e-books. Brock: Something must have inspired you or intrigued you to become a writer. What was your favorite book as a teen or child? Anne: As a child, my favorite book was Felix Salten’s Bambi . . . which is not to be confused with the Disney movie! A dark, beautifully written tale, and not really as appropriate for children as I remembered (this I discovered upon a recent re-reading). But I was fascinated with that book as a child, and I read it more times than I can recall! As a teen . . . Robin McKinley’s Beauty was definitely high up on the list. I didn’t discover Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series until my late teens, but I’m going slip that onto the list too . . . Brock: What were some of the challenges for you writing your book? Anne: Beginnings are always tough for me, and Shadow Hand was particularly difficult to begin. It picks up where both Book 3 and Book 5 of my series leave off . . . but those two books are set in completely different periods of history, separated by approximately 1500 years. So finding the right place to start—a place that will work at least decently well for new readers as well as for established fans of the series—was definitely a challenge. I think I’d written more than half the book before the right beginning finally came to me. But I shouldn’t complain. Beginnings are almost always the hardest part of drafting for me. Once I get into the meat of the story, everything tends to smooth out, at least from the creative point-of-view. Brock: What do you want readers to take away from Shadow Hand? Anne: This book, like all of my books, is a story of undeserved grace. My characters are flawed people—their internal struggles are as great, sometimes greater, than the external struggles they face. They never discover innate brilliance or magical powers that suddenly enable them to conquer all odds. What they discover is grace. What they discover is the triumph of brokenness. And this is what I hope my readers will take away: We don’t need to be epic heroes. God chooses the humble things of this world to shame the proud. Brock: Wow, I love how you put that. It’s clear that your stories bring forth your Christian beliefs. In what ways does your faith impact how you approach writing? Anne: I never go into any of my stories with a set message or moral in mind. I never intend to write allegorical themes. But I treat my work as the truest form of worship in my life. As a form of worship, the storytelling keeps me open to God’s leading, keeps drawing me back to my knees in prayer. It never ceases to amaze me how God will speak to me through the stories I create . . . and then speak beyond me to the readers for whom I write. Brock: Now for a few fun tidbits. Favorite place to vacation and why? Anne: I do love to go back up to Minocqua, Wisconsin (in the summertime), to see my family. They live in a beautiful log house on a lake, so I get family time and resort-vacation time all rolled into one! But the number one place I want to vacation is Sri Lanka, my husband’s home country. Really looking forward to going back there with him one day! Brock: Do you have a particular drink or food you consume when you write? Like coco, raspberry tea, animal crackers? Anne: Ceylon Tea. Strong, black Ceylon tea with a little cream and a little sugar, proper British fashion. This is the beverage of choice, and has been for many years now. (I don’t go in for those fruity or green teas . . . no, sir! It’s good black Ceylon tea from the mountain plantations of Sri Lanka for this cookie!) As for food, I tend to go on “food kicks” during which I only want one snack food for weeks, get sick of it for years, and move on to the next one. Currently, I like pickles (which, no, don’t go well with the tea). A few months ago it was samosas. A few months before that it was fresh avocado on crackers. A few months before that it was peanut-butter-and-honey sandwiches . . . You get the idea. But the tea is a constant! Brock: Anne, thanks so much, you certainly made me chuckle as well as provided great insight into the world of your writing and stories. I know I’m looking forward to your next book. Anne Elisabeth Stengl is the author of the award-winning Tales of Goldstone Wood series, adventure fantasies told in the classic Fairy Tale style. Her books include Christy Award-winning Heartless and Veiled Rose, and Clive Staples Award-winning Starflower. She makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, Rohan, a passel of cats, and one long-suffering dog. When she's not writing, she enjoys Shakespeare, opera, and tea, and practices piano, painting, and pastry baking. She studied illustration and English literature at Grace College and Campbell University. |
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