Category Archives: Author Interviews

Interview and Giveaway with Kelly Irvin

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I am thrilled to welcome Kelly Irvin today! Kelly’s newest book is A Heart Made New which is out now. Would you like to win a copy? Here is your chance…..Kelly is giving away one copy to a lucky reader! To enter leave a comment at the end of the interview for Kelly. Happy reading and good luck!

 

Why don’t we start by you telling us a little about yourself?

I was born and raised in Kansas, but I’ve lived in Texas since the early eighties. Even as a child, I knew I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Coming from a working class family, I knew the importance of being able to support myself so I pursued a degree in journalism at the University of Kansas and went to work as a newspaper reporter. That way I could write everyday and get paid for it. I still wanted to write fiction, but it took me years to get to the place in my life where I could balance work and family with the time to write a novel. At forty-five, I realized I’d better do it or it would be too late. It took seven years to get my first novel published, but it’s been a great ride. I’m married to the love of my life, photographer Tim Irvin. We have two young adult children and two cats (my daughter recently moved into her apartment and took our third cat with her for company). For fun, I like to read and go to the movies, but I don’t have time to do either these days!

Can you tell us about your latest book?

A Heart Made New is one of my favorites.  Here’s the cover blurb:

In the second novel of Kelly Irvin’s Bliss Creek Amish series, readers will be delighted to return to a town and a family they’ve already come to love.

Annie Shirack is trying to fight her feelings for David Plank, a young Amish man who’s struggling with an aggressive case of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. David loves Annie too much to let her into his life, only, he fears, to leave her.

When a homeless young woman named Charisma and her two-year-old daughter, Gracie, show up in Bliss Creek, Annie welcomes them into the Shirack household and tries to help them establish a new life. But all the good deeds in the world can’t change the ache in Annie’s heart…or help her forget the man she loves.

This might be hard, but who is your favorite character that you have written?

I think it’s a tie between Josiah Shirack and his sister Annie. Josiah is like me, rebellious and stiff-necked. He wants to do the right thing, but he’s also an independent thinker and that gets him in trouble in a close knit conservative Amish community. I’d like to be more like Annie, who is a sweet, loving young woman who lives her faith by helping others. She even convinces her brother Luke to take in a homeless woman and her little girl so they can get a new start. You’ll have to read A Heart Made New to find out all the repercussions for that decision. I love the characters and the story in this book.

Which character can you identify the most with?

It’s Josiah, believe it or not. I spent a lot of years doing what I wanted to do, not considering the consequences. Like lots of folks, I took a hike off the path in my twenties and it took me a long time to find my way back. Fortunately, my parents laid a strong foundation by making sure all five of us kids went to church and Sunday school during our growing up years. And then I met my husband and becoming his wife and becoming a mother helped me become grounded in the things that are important. Josiah goes through some difficult times during his rumspringa  in To Love and to Cherish. Now he’s back home and trying hard to do the right thing in A Heart Made New. Some difficult obstacles to his newfound commitment to his faith and community appear and he has to make hard choices. Watching him find his way was really fun for me as the author.

How do you do your research for your books? Do you have Amish friends?

I’ve done a tremendous amount of reading. This summer, my husband and I traveled to Missouri to visit an Amish community there. We went to an Amish auction that was a fundraiser for one of their schools. It was fascinating. I wanted to stay much longer than we were able to do. I also subscribe to The Budget newspaper, which contains articles written by Amish “scribes” from Amish communities all across the country. It gives me this peek into their daily lives that I love. I’m able to cull details from their stories about the things that happen to them day in and day out. Small things that give authenticity to my stories. Living and laboring on farms means lots of hard work, many injuries that we don’t see in urban areas, buggy accidents, farm accidents, snake bites, but also lots of socializing that includes ice cream and lemonade and hot dogs and singings and weddings. The research is fun!

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview?

Nothing comes to mind off the top of my head, but I can share a few tidbits that might surprise people. As a little girl, I wanted to be a professional baseball player when I grew up. I loved the Kansas City Royals and used to listen to the play-by-play on the radio and pretend I was one of the players. As a college student, I spent a year and a half in San Jose, Costa Rica, and learned to speak Spanish. I lived in the border towns of Laredo and El Paso for six years, working as a newspaper reporter. That’s where I met my husband (El Paso). We’d only known each other for three months when we got married. We’ll have been 25 years in February. We’re going to Hawaii to celebrate and I can’t wait!

What inspired you to become an author?

I don’t know that it was something specific. I’ve always loved to write stories. All through my childhood I wrote short stories, plays, and poems as well as working for the school newspaper and yearbook.  Writing is like breathing for me and I have all these stories in my head bursting to get out.  I can’t imagine not writing. It’s my spiritual gift so I need to use it, not squander it. I feel more comfortable with words. I’m not a numbers person or a visual person. I love reading. Books take me to places I’ve never been and allow me to experience all sorts of things I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. I love good stories and being a novelist allows me to give the gift of these experiences to others.

What is your favorite thing about being an author?

The writing part. I love sitting down at the computer and letting my fingers fly. I don’t know where the words come from but they’re always there. I’m not one of those writers who has to warm up or get in the mood. Sometimes, I can’t type fast enough to get it all down. I’m somewhat of an introvert so the other parts of being an author, whether it’s interviewing people for research or being interviewed or doing book signings are less fun for me. But I love the affirmation from readers that they enjoy the books. I love hearing from them when they’re touched by something they’ve read.

Do you have anything that you would like to share?

I’m thankful to the readers who buy my books and I love getting emails from them. Their insights and feedback are precious to me. I know these are hard economic times and people have many options for how to spend their discretionary funds. I try to do everything I can to make my stories worth reading. I just want readers to know what a blessing they are to me.

What’s next for you?

A few months ago, I signed contracts with Harvest House Publishing  for a three-book spin-off series called New Hope Amish. Some of the families from Bliss Creek pick up and move to Missouri after oil is discovered on one of their farms. I’m having a great time writing these stories because I get to revisit some of my favorite characters in Bliss Creek while plopping some of them down in a new setting with new characters and lots of new challenges. It’s been fun!

Contest Rules

Simply leave a comment on this post below to be entered.

Contest starts today October 1st and ends on October 5th. Winners will be announced on Saturday the 6th. Good Luck!

Don’t Forget To: Share on Facebook or Tweet on Twitter, and leave another comment if you did. That’s another chance to win! The sharing buttons are below:)

Author Links

http://www.kellyirvin.com/
http://www.facebook.com/kelly.irvin

Interview and Giveaway with Kathy Fuller

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I am so excited for our special guest today! Kathy Fuller is here to talk about her newest book Faithful to Laura which will be available on August 7th. She is also offering one lucky reader the chance to win a copy! If you would like to win please leave a comment for Kathy on this post. Good Luck to all and Happy Reading!

Why don’t we start by you telling us a little about yourself?

My husband James and I have been married for nineteen years. We have three children, Matt, Sydney, and Zoie. We live in Northeast Ohio and love it here! I also live near several Amish settlements: Middlefield, Ashtabula, and Holmes. I grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and am a former special education teacher (teaching the blind and visually impaired). I like to travel when I can. I’m also a thyroid cancer survivor.

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

Faithful to Laura is the second book in the Middlefield Family series. Laura is out to seek revenge against Mark King, but when she meets Sawyer, a Yankee who was adopted by the Amish when he was fourteen, she reevaluates her need for vengeance, which allows her to open her heart to love.

Are you reading any books right now? Do you read other Amish fiction authors?

I usually read outside the genre I write. I’m reading a nonfiction book right now about writing, and also Tamera Alexander’s latest novel.

Have you ever visited an Amish community to do research for your books?

Yes, I’ve visited several, and often go to Middlefield (where most of my books are set) to do research and enjoy Amish country.

What is one thing about you that readers would be surprised to learn?

I played baritone saxophone in my college jazz band.

If you couldn’t be a writer, what would your ideal career be?

Teacher. I’m blessed to have done both!

Who or what inspired you to become an author?

Reading. I love to read, and out of that love grew an interest to tell my own stories.

What’s your favorite thing about being an author?

Finishing the book!

Do you have anything else that you would like to share?

I will be giving away a quilt made by Karla Hanns, a reader who made a prayer quilt for me while I was undergoing cancer treatment. She created this quilt especially for the contest to celebrate the release of Faithful to Laura. To enter the contest, please visit my website: www.kathleenfuller.com and send me an email saying you’d like to sign up for my newsletter. You can also sign up for the newsletter at my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kathleen-Fuller/81836200502

What’s next for you?

I’m working on Letters to Katie (formerly Courting Katie), the third book in the Middlefield Family series.

Thank you so much for stopping by Kathy!

Contest rules are simple.

  • Leave a comment on this post.
  • Like or share on Facebook.
  • Leave another comment on this post if you liked or shared. That’s 3 chances to win

Contest starts today and ends August 3. Winner will be announced August 4.

Guest Post and Giveaway with Vannetta Chapman

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The setting for my new Amish romance, A Promise for Miriam, is a one room schoolhouse in southwestern Wisconsin. I loved visiting the area and walking through a few of those schoolrooms. So today I thought we’d have some fun and list Ten Things You’ll See In an Amish Schoolroom

  1. Chalk — yes, they still have chalkboards
  2. Books — sounds crazy to list this, but I have personally taught in schools where we only had computers, no actual books. Amish schools use BOOKS!
  3. Stove — one of those big iron black ones for heat
  4. Scripture — there ‘s usually one verse listed on the board or tacked to the wall for a simple morning devotion
  5. Handwriting chart — do you remember those?
  6. Desks — the old fashioned kind, some even have the type where the top of the desk lifts up and you can store things inside.
  7. Coat room or coat hooks — there’s an area for coats, etc. since there are no lockers!
  8. Jug of water — think about it. There are no coke machines. There’s not even a water fountain, but one schoolhouse I visited did have a big jug of water for students.
  9. Bell – as in a bell for the teacher to ring (since there are no electronic bells calling students to class)
  10. Golden Rule – one school I visited also had the Golden Rule posted on the wall. As a teacher, I agree that if this rule were followed it’s probably the only rule you need. “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you!”

I learned a lot while researching Amish schools, and I’d love to give away a copy of A Promise for Miriam today. If you’d like to receive a copy, leave a comment below and tell me — what is one thing you remember seeing in your classroom when you were in grade school?

About the Book

Amish schoolteacher Miriam King loves her students. At 26, most women her age are married with children of their own, but she hasn’t yet met anyone who can convince her to give up the Plain school that sits along the banks of Pebble Creek. Then newcomer Gabriel Miller steps into her life, bringing his daughter, an air of mystery, and challenges Miriam has never faced before.

Buy Links:

http://harvesthousepublishers.com/book/a-promise-for-miriam-2012/

 

http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Miriam-Pebble-Creek-Series/dp/0736946128/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338391607&sr=1-3

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-promise-for-miriam-vannetta-chapman/1107955867

ISBN

ISBN 13-978073694612

About the Author

Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her first novel, A Simple Amish Christmas, quickly became a bestseller. She now writes Amish fiction for Abingdon Press, Zondervan, and Harvest House. Chapman lives in the Texas hill country with her husband.

 

For more information, visit her at

webpage – www.VannettaChapman.com

blog – http://vannettachapman.wordpress.com

facebook – www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks, and

pinterest – http://pinterest.com/vannettachapman

Thank you so much Vannetta for sharing this with us today. I enjoyed A Promise for Miriam immensely and just know it is going to be a big hit! Whoever wins is in for a real treat. Good luck to all!

*Reminder – don’t forget to like and share on Facebook*

*Giveaway begins today – June 27 and ends on Sunday – July 1*


Interview and Giveaway with Adina Senft

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How would you like to win The Hidden Life: An Amish Quilt novel? I am very happy to have Adina Senft here today for an interview and she is giving you all a chance to win a copy! One lucky reader will win this book from Adina and all you have to do is leave a comment at the end of the interview. Enjoy and good luck to all!

Contest starts today June, 20 and the winner will be announced Monday June, 25.

Why don’t we start by you telling us a little about yourself?

I grew up on the West Coast of Canada in a plain church—not Amish, but I was often asked if I was. I learned to sew when I was five, and by the time I was a teenager, was making my own clothes because what was in the stores wasn’t suitable for church. I knew I was a writer when I was 8, but this didn’t really cause a problem until I was in my thirties and realized how much the church would frown on me being published. If I were writing children’s books or nature books, that would be fine, but I wanted to write romance—horrors! Between that and several other factors, I left the church and continued my education, eventually earning an MFA in writing popular fiction. My first full-length sale was my master’s thesis!

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

I’d love to! Here’s the back-cover summary of The Hidden Life, in stores June 26:

Emma Stolzfus has never been courted or kissed, and now that she’s 30, it has become her place as the unmarried daughter to look after her elderly mother. But in the dark hours when her mother is asleep, Emma writes letters and essays to Amish periodicals, short stories, and even a novel she’s been working on for the last five years. When a New York literary agent, Tyler West, takes an interest in her work, Emma secretly goes to meet him. When she returns, something about her is different—and the men of her Amish community take notice. But how can she settle for second best when her heart made its choice years ago—to a man she can never have? Only her friends, Amelia and Carrie, know the truth in her heart as they work together on their quilt … and only they understand when an old tragedy comes to light that will either hurt or heal … and reveal Emma’s hidden life.

I am very excited for The Hidden Life because Emma was my favorite character from The Wounded Heart.  Is there a particular character you could say is your favorite?

I have to agree with you—Emma is my favorite, too. Her heartache is that she is unmarried in a culture where a woman’s purpose is to have a family and manage a home. I grew up in that kind of culture. There just isn’t a place for single women of a certain age—they feel silly at young people’s meetings, and they feel inadequate and lonely among the marrieds. Plus, Emma is a writer, which is frowned upon because Amish women don’t have a public voice. Since I shared many of her struggles, I really relate to her.

One little side note—see that typewriter on the cover? It’s mine! It’s a 1977 Smith-Corona and I wrote it into the story for Emma, little dreaming that my publisher would ask me to send it to the studio for the cover shoot!

Are you reading any books right now? Do you read other Amish fiction authors?

I do—from Beth Wiseman and Linda Byler (the real-life Old Order Amish author who inspired Emma’s character) to mysteries by P.L. Gaus and gritty thrillers by Linda Castillo. On my own TBR pile right now is a real mix of books—a nonfiction book about the Hindenburg airship, Suzanne Collins’s Catching Fire, You Can Draw in 30 Days (I’m on Day 4!), and Seasons by Elizabeth Byler Younts … I’m a pretty eclectic reader.

What is one thing about you that readers would be surprised to learn?

I rescue chickens. You wouldn’t think that here in Silicon Valley there would be many to rescue, but there are. I have 13 at the moment, all voice trained, all affectionate and rewarding companions. Chickens are smart and have all the basic emotions we do—love, jealousy, anger, curiosity. They make wonderful pets, and the eggs are a bonus.

Have you ever visited an Amish community to do research for your books?

Absolutely. I’m one of those people who has to see, touch, taste, and smell in order to get the details right. Every year I spend a week down in Lancaster County, walking the roads, talking to Amish women in the fabric store, listening to conversations, hearing the clipclop of hooves on the asphalt. Last summer I ate supper with an Amish family—a widow with 7 boys. She cooks dinner for Englisch folks several nights a week to make her living, and my goodness, what a meal that was! Three courses for 14 people plus her sons—singlehanded. Needless to say, we guests did the dishes for her. The Amish believe words don’t have much value—that actions speak much louder. So doing those mountains of dishes was the best way we knew to say “denki.”

Who or what inspired you to become an author?

In the third grade I wrote a composition about a ghost in a graveyard, and my teacher (very kindly) told me it scared her. I realized that you could affect people’s emotions and perceptions through words, and I was off and running. I recently located that teacher on Facebook and thanked her for being the spark that ignited my writing career. Then, I wrote my first complete novel at 13—on yellow paper with white gobs of correction fluid! The teen years were miserable for me—the only plain girl in public junior high and high schools—so I spent more time in my fictional world than I did in the real one. I even sent it away to a publisher, who returned it with embarrassing speed. However, he did say that I knew how to tell a story, so that kept me going through the next 20 or so years until I was published.

What’s your favorite thing about being an author?

Creating worlds to have adventures in—and inviting people to come in and share them with me.

Do you have anything else that you would like to share?

Emma has a talent for finding “little gifts” from God in her day. I hope her book will encourage readers to remember that God has a plan for every life, and He sprinkles little gifts along the way to help us and bring us joy, even in the dark moments.

What’s next for you?

I’m just finishing up Carrie’s book, The Tempted Soul, which is the third book in the trilogy. This one is about a childless woman whose only wish is to be a mother, and who is told repeatedly—even by her husband—that her condition is the will of God and she must accept it. Her greatest temptation is Englisch fertility technology … which the Amish church forbids. It will be out in March 2013.

Thanks so much! It’s been fun talking with you! You can find me on the web at http://www.adinasenft.com, and there’s a link there to my blog, The City Girl’s Guide to Plain Living.

About the Author

Adina Senft
The Wounded Heart, an Amish Quilt novel, September 2011
The Hidden Life, June 2012
The Tempted Soul, 2013
http://www.adinasenft.com