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

~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 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