Giveaway! Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson!

Welcome to Writing for Christ Melanie Dobson, it is great to have you here! So you’re a writer? What made you decide to start creating characters and story world?

 I’ve always loved exploring old houses, and when I was younger, I would make up all sorts of stories about the people who once lived in these abandoned places. My imagination is still sparked by old houses, cemeteries, and ghost towns along with the big question---what if?

What is the one title that has significantly impacted your life?

Radical by David Platt

If you could get a do-over when it came to learning this whole thing called writing, what would you go back and tell yourself? 

Don’t sweat the first draft! I actually still have to remind myself of this. I want to edit and polish as I write the first draft of a new book when I should be pouring out the story on the initial round and then clean up my words on the second, third, and fourth drafts.

5 preference questions:

Homemade or take-out? Take-out (preferably Vietnamese or Japanese food)

Email or snailmail? Email

Online shopping or Black Friday deals? Online shopping

Books or movies? Books

Note-taker or memorization? Note-taker

               

Yes, I’m asking you to play favorites…which of your books is your favorite, published or unpublished? And if this is your debut novel, has your favorite been published yet?

That is a tough choice since I’ve enjoyed writing all my stories, but I do have a special place in my heart for Elena Bissette, my main character in Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan (don’t tell my other characters!).

Places for readers to learn more about you?

My website is the best place (www.melaniedobson.com) as well as on the Simon & Schuster website here: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Melanie-Dobson/412709678

Thank you for being with us today!

Thanks for having me!!

Readers, enter to win Melanie's book here!

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

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 July 11th

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com 

The Saga to Making New Friends: Part 2

*to fully understand the follow up of this post, please read this one*

When I moved to Colorado, I made myself promise that I would get out there. Meet people. *big gulp*. I wasn’t going to lay on my bed every Saturday and Sunday afternoon and reading the latest Julie Lessman novel and just be content.

I wasn’t going to do that. I was going to walk into church, worship and not just walk out. And I asked you to hold me to that. So every time I walked into church and was told to greet someone I didn’t know on my way out (ie: everyone) I thought of that post. And the promise I made to actually do it. And every time I would suck in my stomach, take a deep breath, untangle my fingers from around my Bible and…keep on walking.

Sigh.

Old habits die hard.

So instead I took a baby step into the singles/college group. When you’re the new girl on the block, everyone notices when you walk through the doors. Everyone. But I introduced myself. Met a few people, enjoyed the Bible study and kept on walking out the door when it was all over.

I was mourning my situation with a dear friend. “Where have all the good young people gone?” Is no one interested in morals and living a pure life? Of walking in holiness with God? Not just calling yourself a Christian, but actually living your life for Jesus? I knew I wasn’t giving it enough time, but still the willingness to keep putting myself out there, unsure how other people viewed me, had my nerves in knots and my feelings on the fray.

I was ready to give up. Just say, you know what, this whole, “trying to get to know people my age is for the birds”.

But I couldn’t give up the class. Not yet. If nothing else, the lessons were good. And I was getting out. You never know what might come of that. So I kept going. Hoping, but not very hopeful.

But my promise kept pecking away in my mind.

So I went. One more time.

And God…blew me away.

Ah! I love this girl!

Sometimes you just never know how minute to minute in life how God changes things. So when I met Sarah… wow. God blew me away. I met someone who thinks like me. Loves to laugh like me. And is plenty of fun to talk seriously with and giggle over boys in the next breath.

And I’ve know her less than a month.

I’ve always heard this phenomenon called: “instantly clicked”. Never believed it would happen to me. Ever. I don’t make friends that easily. 

Wow the gift that this friendship has already been to me. I feel like I have years to catch up on and am so excited for the godly gift of a friend who lives what she believes. Who walks the walk, oh and yeah, likes hanging out with me too.

So this whole making new friends saga? I definitely vote yay. 

Giveaway! The Midwife by Jolina Petersheim!

Welcome to Writing for Christ Jolina Petersheim, it is great to have you here! So you’re a writer? What made you decide to start creating characters and story world?

Even before I knew how to write or read, I loved to sit on the stoop of our family’s porch and make up stories. Then I often tried to sing these stories to my long-suffering mother. Because of her and my father’s encouragement, the encouragement from my teachers, and my husband and friends, I am still telling stories today. Now that I am a mother, I encourage that storytelling tradition in my daughter’s life by reading to her before nap and bedtime. A lot of who we are is shaped by what talents were encouraged when we were children.

What is the one title that has significantly impacted your life?

Again, this all goes back to childhood, so I would have to say Anne of Green Gables. It was more the series than the individual title, but L.M. Montgomery’s imaginative setting and characters really impacted me and helped me know that I also wanted to be a writer, just like Anne with an ‘e’.

If you could get a do-over when it came to learning this whole thing called writing, what would you go back and tell yourself?

After I married my husband, I moved to a very rural town in East Tennessee. We worked together in our grocery store, and sometimes I panicked because, for that first six months, I didn’t write. Looking back now, I wish I would’ve just relaxed and known that the future would work itself out in due time. However, I know that even if I could go back, I would still feel the same way. I have always panicked a little whenever I’m not writing. It’s so much a part of who I am that I feel incomplete without it.  

5 preference questions:

Homemade or take-out?

Homemade because we live in the boonies and no one will deliver where we live!

Email or snailmail?

Snailmail. I always smile whenever I receive a card. It’s so personal and takes that little extra effort. One of my goals for 2013 was to send more cards, and I found it easier to mail them if I kept a stash of nice stationary in my desk drawer.

Online shopping or Black Friday deals?

Neither, actually. I am a Goodwill shopper all the way! I grew up on thrift store clothes and see no reason to change now.

Books or movies?

Ah, that’s hard! I love storytelling in every form. I read more books, just because I pack one around with me everywhere I go, and you can’t pack a TV quite as easily. However, there is something magical about lighting some candles and settling in with a good movie and a cup of tea.

Note-taker or memorization?

I took copious notes in college. I literally just wrote down every sentence out of the professor’s mouth, so that my hand cramped every day. Then I jammed everything in a notebook and memorized it before tests. It worked like a charm.

Yes, I’m asking you to play favorites…which of your books is your favorite, published or unpublished? And if this is your debut novel, has your favorite been published yet? 

Probably The Outcast, but it’s the only book released at this time. I know it will always have a special place in my heart because I learned so much throughout the process. I remember someone from Tyndale telling me that by the time of my next book’s release, I would know the publishing world inside and out. I couldn’t believe her at the time—I was so pleasantly overwhelmed—but now I am much more relaxed. It’s very nice!

Places for readers to learn more about you?

I love to visit on my website www.jolinapetersheim.com

I also blog with other authors at www.southernbelleviewdaily.com

It’s great to chat with readers at www.facebook.com/jolina.petersheim/author

Or Twitter www.twitter.com/Jolina_Joy

Thank you for being with us today! 

And thank you for having me!

Readers, enter to win Jolina's book here!

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

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 July 4th

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com 

A Note from Jolina!

Let’s be honest . . . a caffeine boost never hurts. For author Jolina Petersheim, it’s especially helpful to have her favorite drink on hand when she’s racing toward a manuscript deadline. In celebration of the release of her sophomore novel, The Midwife, Tyndale’s Crazy4Fiction team would love to enable your caffeine addiction and give you a taste of Jolina’s beautiful prose. For a chance at a $25 Starbucks gift card, an authentic Amish wall hanging, and your choice of Jolina’s novels (either The Outcast or The Midwife), enter through the Rafflecopter widget below.

To hear from Jolina on her go-to caffeine boost, stop by www.crazy4fiction.com.


What about you, readers? What drink of choice kick-starts your creativity and helps you keep moving?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wanted: Single and Available

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself the other night (I know, like I have anything to be sorry about!), but really I brought it upon myself and I’ll freely admit that—though not without a bit of blush.

Photo Credit

I had “stumbled” (wink, wink) across a Facebook profile of someone—a guy, okay?—and of course I had to click on the profile pic. What red-blooded female wouldn’t, right? I mean, it had been obvious it wasn’t a good fit when things, well, ended but a piece of me was still wanting to know him better. Give it a second go. Maybe I misunderstood somewhere along the lines. After all he’s tall. Good looking. Has a great smile.

Facebook is evil. Was my first thought. Obviously, good looking guys who turn their back on good looking girls like myself should not be allowed on Facebook for said girls to “stumble” across. That’s just rude. I almost posted the above observation on Twitter. I’m glad I restrained myself. Because, really, how awkward is that to try and explain?

Besides, it’s not Facebook’s fault (even though it’s a great one to blame!) that I purposefully sought out this person’s profile and was sent into the doldrums with further thoughts of “when will it be me posting an engagement or wedding photo on my profile?” Or able to change my relationship status or a hundred other little things, like celebrating with my friends that I’ve finally found and caught “the one”?

Thus you can see where I was feeling just a little bit sorry for myself.

It’s a ridiculous place to be, but one where we all find ourselves. On the shelf, ready to move on and discover the next best thing—like our man—that God has for us and yet we’re still here tapping our toe letting has-been Facebook profiles pass on by.

This year alone I’ve had more cute couple overload uploads on my friend’s pages for me to swear off Facebook completely and vow to never go back.

There is no evil and should be no discouragement in being single. It’s the pat and easy answer to say “we’re here for a reason and a season” and that’s true, but that gets tiring to hear, no?

Maybe we’re here because God isn’t done teaching us. Isn’t done molding our man. Maybe it’s not all about us.

It’s discouraging to think you found “a one” to only wave adios shortly thereafter. It’s not the most fun to wait in singledom, when you’re a one-track-hopeless-romantic (ahem) female who wants to get married and start a family. That’s the dream right?

But I know from personal experience, the sooner we learn to be content in our current situations the more God can grow and prepare us…and our husbands for that moment we do meet.

And who knows. Maybe we already have. 

Giveaway! Out of the Ruins by Karen Barnett!

Welcome to Writing for Christ Karen Barnett, it is great to have you here! So you’re a writer? What made you decide to start creating characters and story world?

I practically grew up in the public library—it was my happy place. I remember gazing at the stacks and feeling grateful that people had written all these wonderful stories. It’s at that point I started dreaming about adding books to the shelves. Even now, when I think about my novels sitting on the shelf at my hometown library, I am overwhelmed. I was invited to speak there this fall, and I am SO excited!

What is the one title that has significantly impacted your life?

One? Oh, help. I’ll just pick “one” instead of “the one,” if you don’t mind too much. The book that introduced me to the power of Christian fiction was This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. It had never dawned on me that a Christian story could both keep me on the edge of my seat and change the way I viewed my faith.  

If you could get a do-over when it came to learning this whole thing called writing, what would you go back and tell yourself?

“Yes, you can.” I was so riddled with self-doubt when I started, it kept me from giving writing my all. I didn’t believe I could write a full-length novel. It took many years for God to convince me that whatever He called me to do, He would give me the strength to accomplish.  

5 preference questions:

Homemade or take-out?  Take-out. I’m a lousy cook. And an impatient one, too.

Email or snailmail? Email.

Online shopping or Black Friday deals? Online shopping. Ugh, crowds (shudder).

Books or movies? Oh… both. Is that an option?

Note-taker or memorization? Note-taker.

               

Yes, I’m asking you to play favorites…which of your books is your favorite, published or unpublished? And if this is your debut novel, has your favorite been published yet?

That depends on when you ask me. At the moment, I’m in love with my next novel, Beyond the Ashes (Golden Gate Chronicles, Book 2), which releases in 2015. The characters face some truly agonizing decisions, and I struggled alongside them while I wrote their story. I love how the story ends, and now I’m missing those characters dreadfully.

Places for readers to learn more about you?

www.KarenBarnettBooks.com

www.facebook.com/KarenBarnettAuthor

www.twitter.com/KarenMBarnett

www.pinterest.com/KarenBarnett

Also, I’m celebrating the release of OUT OF THE RUINS with a Kindle HDX giveaway and Facebook party on June 19. You can learn more about both, and enter to win, at http://prmo.me/UVHlml.

Thank you for being with us today!

Thank you! What a fun interview. :-)

Readers, enter to win Karen's here!

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

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 June 27th

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com 

My Lesson is to Trust. What About You?

I had an interview today (on the day I wrote this post). My stomach was in knots. I kept glancing at the clock, knowing that when noon rolled around I was going to be opened up and examined. Would I measure up?

That last hour I thought would never end—and yet going way too fast. I gulped hard and told my boss I had to leave for lunch. Headed out to my car and stared at the phone in my hand. “God, please help this to go okay, give my mouth brakes and my heart wisdom to say what I need to say.”

Photo Credit

I wanted this so bad. It was the job I could see myself doing for years—had dreamed of doing for the same amount of time. But it meant so much change. Was I brave enough to take that leap and just do it?

I got to thinking…why was I so nervous? Sure I was about to do something I wasn’t terribly familiar with: interviewing. Nothing does things to the inside of my stomach like knowing I have to do an interview or have a confrontation. If I had prayed about this conversation that hadn’t happened yet—dedicated this time to God—if I had emailed my friends and asked for their prayers—knew I was going into this conversation completely covered in prayer, then why was I so worried?

Two nights before I had written this in my prayer journal: God I cry my fears to you. I lay them at your feet. If I do or if I don’t get this opportunity. Whatever happens, I threw my nerves and frustrations and doubts at God’s feet and determined to walk away.

I was rebuking the nerves and standing strong in God’s strength. This wasn’t about me. This interview could go anyway it wanted, but if I was trusting God to lay all the pieces out in front of me, then I was trusting—and releasing—all the tension and nerves that were fluttering in my insides.

When we rebuke fear and stand in God’s love and protection, we don’t have to rely on our strength or our power or our way with words to make something work. If we’re going to do this thing of walking in God’s leading, then we have to trust that He’s got everything, so why are we nervous?

Sure, I wanted to sound good. Hopefully I did. Sure, I would love to have the job. Would be devastated if I didn’t. But really, if I didn’t, then God has better ahead. I can’t see it, but where I’m at is where God has me for a reason. To teach me a lesson that will draw me closer to Him and His plan for me.

My lesson today? It’s okay to express my fears to God. Throw them at His feet. He knows them anyway. It’s my life lesson to trust His place for me today and throw all that fear away. It’s time to embrace where He has me—us.  

Giveaway! Mark of Distinction by Jessica Dotta!

Welcome to Writing for Christ Jessica Dotta, it is great to have you here! So you’re a writer? What made you decide to start creating characters and story world?

I know this sounds cliché, but I've known since childhood that I was a writer. Stories were always far more interesting to me than real life (although as I type this, I wonder if anyone thinks real life is more interesting . . . ). Since middle-school years I've been crafting story. I'd read a fascinating book and then mimic the author's style in a short story of my own, much like a little kid pretending to cook or clean house after watching their mom.

What is the one title that has significantly impacted your life?

Jane Eyre is without doubt my favorite novel. When I finished Jane Eyre, I felt wild with enthusiasm at its singular style and storyline. It was the first novel where I couldn't predict the ending and therefore I felt unsafe. I lost two night's sleep, turning pages, wondering what would happen. I had no idea stories could be that wild and free.

The Bronte's sisters had this amazing gift to write outside of a genre. In fact, they are their own genre. People understand what you mean if you say something is a Bronte-styled novel.

If you could get a do-over when it came to learning this whole thing called writing, what would

you go back and tell yourself?

Forget the rules and trust your writer's instincts.

5 preference questions:

Homemade or take-out? – Mmmm- right now I vote take out. My life is so busy having someone else do the cooking is double the treat.

Email or snailmail? I use e-mail more often than snail mail, but there's nothing more fun than finding a package or beautifully crafted letter in your post box.

Online shopping or Black Friday deals? Online shopping for me!

Books or movies? Well, books. But some movies are incredible, too.

Note-taker or memorization? Both.

Yes, I’m asking you to play favorites…which of your books is your favorite, published or unpublished? And if this is your debut novel, has your favorite been published yet?

The third book of the Price of Privilege trilogy is my favorite right now. Since this is my debut series, I'm not sure that I'll ever truly like any other series above the one I've written. I've lived with these characters for a decade now. I learned the craft of writing in order to oversee their publication into the marketplace. I've had years to develop their stories and backgrounds. I do, however, have other stories with plots that are really fascinating and I hope I get to write them.  

Places for readers to learn more about you?

I'm working on trying to increase my web presence, but as a single-working mom it's not always easy. Here's where you can find me when I'm online:

Twitter: JessicaDotta

http://www.jessicadotta.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BornofPersuasion

http://www.pinterest.com/jessicadotta/

Thank you for being with us today!

Thank you so much!!

Readers, enter to win Jessica's here!

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

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 June 20th

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com 

Can't Speak for the Words

Do you ever just sit and stare at the computer screen and the blinking cursor and feel alone? Defeated? Undone?

This is me tonight. Staring at the cursor, wishing I knew how to fix the rift dividing me in two. Wishing I had the words I needed to speak and fix this problem. What happened to the joy and excitement filling me mere hours ago? It’s like the plug has been pulled and everything confident filling me has drained out faster than thirsty land slurping up pond water.

It’s the worst kind of defeat.

Photo Credit

Why do I let myself be dragged here? Why do we as humans, and me in particular, clam up and stop speaking to each other thinking the other doesn’t want to hear what is on our heart? I can be so guilty of this. I’m guilty of this tonight. Why do we have a hard time approaching each other, afraid of cracking open our soft underbelly to the other party, only certain that they will hurt us?

But if they won’t? What if they care about you just as much as you care for them, but they are just as concerned about saying something that will hurt you?

This seems to be a post for questions.

I’m writing this on a Monday, staring out at a week ripe in front of me and all I can think about is the words I will say…or won’t say. How do you speak the words on your heart? How do you express emotions that only seem to want to pour from your eyes?

Raw honesty can be so painful. And yet so healing.

I’m facing a crossroads and knowing which path I want to take, but feeling yanked back to the place I’ve always been by so many variables, most strongly by the forces that sometimes mean the most at the heart level.

Words are cleansing. Words are healing and freeing, when spoken with the right attitude and spirit. But so often, our first defense is the strongly worded phrases filling our thoughts. The words that would cut and take apart all of the emotions that are already ripping us apart on the inside.

Confrontation and resolution are never easy tasks. The first is one I avoid as though it breathed the plague and the second I treat like my best friend. But you often can’t have one without the other and sometimes the only healing solution is to reveal the honest, raw emotions.

I’m not a very honest person. I admit it. I keep things close to my chest and smile even when the inside hurts like fire. But it’s not an honest way to live. So I’ll speak the words. Say the truth, prayerfully in love that God demands of me. And sometimes the silent words pouring down my face can be just as cleansing as the words needing to be shared.

Are you ever in a situation of needed confrontation that is ripping you apart and yet can’t speak for the words?

A Winning Romance! Here to Stay by Melissa Tagg ~ Review

A small town girl that can’t wait to leave for the big city and the boy who could win her heart that doesn’t want to leave. From the minute I heard the pitch of this book I was hooked. What reader doesn’t have a little bit of both characters in their heart? And how does that get reconciled when the whole plot of the book is centered smack dab in the middle of the romance genre?

“Here to Stay” is charming. Witty. A pure pleasure to read. And characters that will live on the screen of your mind, jumping off the page to invite you into their world. That is what I felt like: I had been invited into Autumn’s inn while Blake pounded away at whatever needed fixing. I felt like I was a friend experiencing their lives with them—that alone makes this book one for the keeper shelf!

I could relate to both characters in this book. Blake’s pull to stay in his hometown and Autumn’s desire to feel some different dirt between her toes—particularly the kind on French shores. But one thing after another after another keeps happening to this poor girl’s inn. Almost to the point of comedic. I appreciate that Autumn could see the humor in the moment.

From great kisses to snappy dialogue to characters that become friends, I give this book a thumbs up!

This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers for my copy to review. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

More about the novel...

Witty and Heartwarming Contemporary Romance by an Up-and-Coming Author

Blake Hunziker has played nomad for five years and landed in his fair share of trouble too. But now he's finally returning to his hometown--the Lake Michigan tourist town of Whisper Shore. Counting on a not-so-warm welcome, he's surprised at not only a positive reception but also a job offer. Determined to settle down and prove himself responsible, he agrees to the catch that comes with the job offer--coordinating the annual Christmas festival--even though he has no idea how he'll pull it off. 

Autumn Kingsley, inn owner and experienced organizer of the Christmas festival, has always dreamed of traveling the world. Now she has a job opportunity in Paris and a surprise potential investor coming to town who just might take on her family's inn and finally leave her free to go. The only problem is that she has just two weeks to whip the inn into shape.

Their families have a long history of not getting along, but when Blake comes to Autumn for help with the festival, she actually agrees...in exchange for his help with the repairs to her inn. They may have struck a simple deal, but complications are quick to pile on when the guy who's had enough of running away and the woman who can't wait to leave join forces.

Giveaway! The Hatmaker's Heart by Carla Stewart!

Welcome to Writing for Christ Carla Stewart, it is great to have you here!

Thank you, Casey, for inviting me.

So you’re a writer? What made you decide to start creating characters and story world?

I’ve always been a reader and loved being whisked away to places different from my small-town Texas upbringing and, with that, I dreamed of someday writing books like those I loved to read. Life has a way, though, of getting in the way. Raising four boys can do that. Turning fifty was a Eureka! moment for me, and I realized if I was ever going to write a novel, I’d better get started. I wrote 90 pages of my first novel in secret before I told anyone. That novel was promptly rejected, but the sweet editor told me I had an engaging voice and to keep writing. I haven’t looked back. And it turns out that all those years of life experience have given me more characters and material than I will ever be able to use.

What is the one title that has significantly impacted your life?

This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. Spiritual warfare was a fairly new concept for me when I read it, and the book came at a time in my life when I desperately needed it. What a joy to meet Frank at ACFW last year and visit with him about the impact the book had on me.

If you could get a do-over when it came to learning this whole thing called writing, what would you go back and tell yourself?

So many things. It’s okay to be unique and not follow the crowd. Don’t compare yourself (or your success) to others. God is in control. Be thankful for every tiny victory. Don’t discount any connections that you make along the way. You never know when or how God may use them in His plan for your writing. Most of all, I would tell myself that it’s a sacred privilege to share my words with others and to be joyful even when I don’t see where the road leads.

5 preference questions:

Homemade or take-out? I prefer homemade, but the reality is that we eat way too much take-out, especially when deadlines loom.

Email or snailmail? Email, although it makes me sad that the art of letter writing has fallen by the wayside.

Online shopping or Black Friday deals? Both, absolutely!

Books or movies? Books

Note-taker or memorization? Note-taker. I always carry a tiny notepad and also make notes on my phone (even in church where it probably looks like I’m texting, but I’m not. Honest.).

               

Yes, I’m asking you to play favorites…which of your books is your favorite, published or unpublished? And if this is your debut novel, has your favorite been published yet?

No fair! I truly don’t have a favorite book, but I do have a few favorite characters. Mitzi Steiner in Broken Wings is an older character (jazz singer) who I want to be like when I grow up. Georgia Peyton from Stardust is another favorite. That novel, with its East Texas bayou setting, centers around polio and is one that has generated a lot of conversation when I speak, so I have to say it is one that I’m quite fond of.

I adored writing my newest release, The Hatmaker’s Heart, since it takes place in 1920s New York City and London. I’ve long wanted to set a book in England so it was a treat to be able to do that.

Places for readers to learn more about you?

My website at www.carlastewart.com

       Twitter: www.twitter.com/ChasingLilacs

       FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/carlastewartauthor

       GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3335371.Carla_Stewart

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/chasinglilacs/

Thank you for being with us today!

Thank you, Casey! I’ve loved being here. 

Readers, enter to win Carla's here!

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

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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 June 13th

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com