Giveaway and Author Interview: The Way to a Man's Heart OR Sarah's Christmas Miracle

Please help me welcome my guest today, Mary Ellis. Mary has offered to one of the commenters their choice of The Way to a Man's Heart or Sarah's Christmas Miracle. Be sure and read to the end to find out how to enter.

Tell us a little about yourself!

I grew up close to the eastern Ohio Amish community of Geauga County, where my parents often took me to farmers’ markets and woodworking fairs. My husband and I now live within the largest population of Amish in the country–a four-county area in central Ohio. We love to take weekend getaways to purchase farm produce and other goodies, stay with Amish families in bed and breakfasts, attend country auctions and enjoy the simpler way of life.



1: How long did you write before you were published?
I wrote for about 8 years before my first book was published. Like many authors, I have a stack of rejection letters in my office to look at on rainy days. The pathway of a writer is very humbling.

2: When you held that first book in your hands, what was your first thought?
My first thought was “I wish my mother could have lived long enough to see this.” She was very proud of me in other ways, but she thought writing was a whim or a pipedream for me...a passing fancy like yoga or container gardening, but that I would soon come to my senses.

3: What are you working on now?
I am working on a two-book series set in Wayne County, Ohio. The first involves an Amish midwife in which the birth goes horribly wrong and she runs afoul of the law. It involves the themes of grief, growth within a marriage, and tests of faith. But it also includes a light-hearted romance between two very unlikely people. It will be released in March of 2011.

4: Where can readers find out more about your books?
Readers can read the first chapter of my novels at my blog-site....www.maryeellis.wordpress.com

5: What message(s) do you want to be clear to your readers?
Life always involves changes and decisions, and many of those will not be easy. We often must give up the known-and-comfortable in our lives and chance the unknown-and-scary to reach our personal dreams. But if we remember who truly is in charge and surrender the outcome to Him, we won’t struggle quite so hard.

6: What are two things that people wouldn't normally know about you as a writer and or person?
I have no fear of crawly things. I have swum with sharks, rescued spiders in my house to the outdoors, I have a bat house on my barn, and I once volunteered as a snake demonstrated at the zoo where I wrapped a boa constrictor around my shoulders. But before anyone thinks me brave, I am afraid of thunder storms, long tunnels and clowns.

Thank you for being with us today. Any final words for readers?
Yes, thanks so much for being readers! Without you, writers would have no reason to sit down every morning in front of their computers.

Blessings,
Mary Ellis
...because life runs on faith

Okay readers, here is your chance to enter to win  your choice of either, The Way to a Man's Heart OR Sarah's Christmas Miracle (sorry the photo is so small)

PLEASE LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS! If I draw your name and there is no email, YOU WILL NOT WIN!
For extra entries:
~Be a follower
~Be a subscriber
And a NEW one (only ONE for extra entries):
~Take my blog button
~If  you do not have a blog, feel free to tweet or facebook this giveaway.
Contest is only open in the U.S. and void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on the number of entries and winner is draw from a non-biased third party- Random.org. I am not responsible for any lost or damaged items for said prize.
Thanks for coming by to enter! Contest ends on August 20th.