Monday, October 18, 2010

GIVEAWAY with Golden Keyes Parsons

You know, I had this wonderful and talented lady, Golden Keyes Parsons, on my blog before, and I must say, it's a pleasure and an honor to have her here again for a giveaway of her latest release WHERE HEARTS ARE FREE.

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Bridget is in love with one man...and promised to another.
Amid the liberty and promise of the New World, Bridget Barrington and Phillipe Clavell fall in love. But nothing about their love seems possible.

To pay for the Clavell family's passage from France, Philippe, a former member of French royalty, worked as an indentured slave to the Barringtons. Bridget is the heiress of the prominent plantation.

When Bridget's parents discover the budding Romance between their daughter and their servant, they quickly orchestrate her engagement to an older, more advantageous match. But Edward Moorehead has a secret. And he's anything but a good match for Bridget.

Separated from her true love and in danger from her betrothed, Bridget must rely on God to deliver her from darkness into light.

Gold Keyes Parsons is an author as well as a popular conference and retreat leader. Her first series is the highly acclaimed Darkness to Light trilogy. She and her family live in Texas.


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Since I've conducted an interview with Golden before, I thought I'd have her answer a few simple questions this time.

Golden, thank you so much for joining us! We're honored to have you as our guest. We're also excited about your latest release, WHERE HEARTS ARE FREE, the third book in your Darkness to Light Trilogy.



Golden, you have a fabulous way at capturing the era of the times, at pulling your readers into the heart of the people and culture in your storytelling abilities. Will you please share with us what inspired this last book in such a fascinating series?

    You, of course, are aware that the Darkness to Light series is based on my ancestors who were French Huguenots fleeing the persecution of the Catholic government of Louis XIV in 17th century France. The concluding novel, Where Hearts Are Free, was inspired by the actual events that my ancestor encountered upon arriving in this country and had to sell her sons to redemptioners to pay for their passage, as her husband was washed overboard on the voyage to America with all their money on his person. That's what actually happened to the Clavells. In my book some of the details are different, but the scenario is the same.

Wow. What an experience to witness the loss of your husband under such tragic circumstances! This leads me to my next question. How did you come up with the characters for this book? 

    The characters carry over from the previous books, except for the female protagonist. My editor asked me to come up with a new female protagonist for the concluding book. That was difficult for me, but I finally decided to make her the love interest of the oldest son in the family. After I did the character sketch and read back over it, I realized I had described my granddaughter! So, I really like Bridget. :)


Tell us what you hope readers will take with them after reading WHERE HEARTS ARE FREE? What is the "take-away factor?"

    God is faithful. He will make a way if we trust Him. There are some pretty "gritty" scenes in the book. But I wanted the reader to know that even though we might think our life is in shambles with no hope of redemption, that God will redeem it and restore the years that the locusts have eaten. We serve an awesome God!

Thank you so much, Golden. It was a pleasure and an honor to have you visit us.

If you are interested in being put in a drawing to win Golden's latest release, this wonderful book WHERE HEARTS ARE FREE, please leave a comment with your email address below written like so: sandirog at gmail dot com. 

Good luck to those who enter!

Friday, October 8, 2010

A HINT OF WHAT'S TO COME!

Just typed THE END to Book Two in my Iron and the Stone series!! This is Yahshua's Bridge which comes after The Master's Wall. Yeah!!!




A HINT OF WHAT'S TO COME!







YAHSHUA'S BRIDGE
(BOOK TWO)

Theme: Enslaved by sin. Set free by Christ.







An amethyst stone draws him to his past. 
An elusive maiden draws him to his future.


Alexander is born into slavery under an abusive master: 
a master of his own flesh and blood . . . 
a man he will never call Father. 
Determined to break away from his master’s hold, 
Alexander devises a plan to purchase his freedom. 
But what's he to do 
when he finds himself shipped off in shackles to Egypt, 
disappearing from the lives of all those he knows and loves?



The city of Cappadocia where in ancient times it was whispered that Christians hid in safety from Roman tyranny. 
It was called the Underground City by day, and the City of Lights by night.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

BOOK GIVEAWAY and INTERVIEW with Linore Burkard!

I'm excited to have Linore Rose Burkard on my blog today!



Click on the book title to purchase The Country House Courtship!

If you'd like to win a copy of Linore's book, leave a comment with your email address written out like so: sandirog at gmail dot com. Good luck to those who enter!


England, 1818: It has been five years since Ariana Forsythe married The Paragon, Mr. Phillip Mornay. Now, Ariana's sister, Miss Beatrice Forsythe, is seventeen and determined to marry advantageously as well. (Surely Ariana's society connexions all but guarantee Beatrice's success-especially if Mr. Mornay is created a baronet by the Prince Regent!
But the Mornay's have disappeared from high society as they raise a family at their country estate. Can Beatrice persuade them to chaperone her in London? And what about her business with the curate, Mr. O'Brien, whom Beatrice rashly promised to marry years earlier? She is too sophisticated now to settle for a mere clergyman-despite his agreeable countenance and gentle, understanding ways. When Mr. Tristan Barton becomes tenant of the Manor House, Beatrice's hopes seem to have found their object. But when Ariana falls gravely ill, secrets come to light, motives are revealed, and pretenses that are easy to keep up in the darkness begin to crumble. As hearts are bared and truths uncovered, a country house courtship like no other cannot be far behind!
Fans of Linore's first books, Before the Season Ends, and The House on Grosvenor Square, will be delighted with final addition to the Regency Inspirational Series, as will all readers of historical romance.

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Linore, Your tag line is "Inspirational Romance for the Jane Austen Soul". How did a girl from Queens, NY become enamored with the Regency era and come to write novels in that genre but with an inspirational twist?
By my twenties I had discovered Georgette Heyer (called the Queen of the Regency Romance) and then I re-discovered Jane Austen. Christian fiction was just starting to take off, and I kept hoping for a Christian regency to read, but it never materialized. I finally realized that if this book was going to be written, it would have to be by me! So, I wrote the book I wanted to read.
How has Jane Austen's work influenced yours? Who else has inspired your writing?
Austen shows that "romance" does not have to be seen as less literary than other genres, and that wit, taste and depth of character are as important as plot. Georgette Heyer, as I mentioned, was an influence; and beyond them, I suppose it is just that I always read a great deal, and really longed to fashion a story where the gospel was included, but to have it in there naturally, so that readers wouldn't feel preached to. I love all the James Herriot books, Dickens, the Brontes, and other English writers.
You graduated magna cum laude from the City University of New York with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. Did you pursue that degree with the goal of becoming a novelist?
No, I wasn't confident enough to ever think I'd write novels and have them published. Writing was something I couldn't seem to get away from, but I never dreamed I'd succeed at it. I majored in English Lit. just because I love it!
What do you hope readers will take away from your books?
I hope my readers will feel as though they've been transported to an amazing world of the past, with living characters and places so real they can almost reach out and touch them. I love it when readers write to me to say they just had a wonderful mini-vacation--reading my book! Some say they've had a spiritually encouraging journey while reading--and that means everything to me.
Any Regency romance is going to be compared to Jane Austen's novels ~ how are your books similar / different?
I don't think most regencies are written to be like Jane, and mine are no exception. I'm not competing with Jane Austen; I'm re-visiting the world she wrote about, though; and that is the similarity. When readers say my writing is "Austen-like", I take that as a huge compliment, but that's when I think it's wise not to believe my own press! (smile)
Do you have more Regency novels planned?
Right now I'm working on a regency time-travel that is dying to be a screenplay! I'm writing it as a novel, but little scenes creep in where, at their end, I actually type in "fade to black," before I realize what I've done. That's all I'm going to say about the new book for now, but readers can rest assured that it will be different enough to delight them, but similar in the sense that it's still me writing, it's still my voice.
Can you give us a sneak peek into The Country House Courtship?
Country House is the third book in the Regency Series, and gives one of the minor characters from the first books her own "day in the spotlight," her own romance. It begins about five years later (about 1818) and sees Mr. O'Brien (a curate, now) to a happy marriage of his own. There's a little bit of mystery, a villain (an Austenesque villain--not a serial killer, in other words!)and a denouement that I hope will leave people smiling and satisfied.
How do the secrets of your characters come to life?
Slowly. Some writers can easily locate the secrets of their characters, but mine usually take time. I need time to discover their weak spots, their tender points, and their regrets. I have to often ask myself, "Why? Why is this character acting or saying what they do or say? Why are they the way they are? Their secrets lie in the answers to these questions.
You are married and have five children. How have you been able to strike a balance between your family and your writing career?
This is not something you can do once, and then rest in. People are always growing and changing, and as the needs of my family change, I have to change too. Early on, I only wrote when my kids were asleep or when my husband watched them for me. I believe my word from the Lord at that time was that family had to come first. They were my first ministry. As they got older, I found more windows of time to work in, but striking a balance is sometimes like walking a tightrope and other times making conscious choices. No one can do everything. I try to put people before things (emotional needs come first, before a clean house, for example); and I use lists, career goals, monthly goals and daily to-do lists to help me balance it all.
What insight can you offer to aspiring authors?
Dare to dream big, because God is big! Remember that your success never depends solely upon you; there's a bigger plan at work and if you stay plugged in to your Guide, He'll move you along it. But you must work hard, seek to improve your craft by learning from those ahead of you, listen to advice and criticism-and get on the web. Start a blog if you aren't ready for a website. Join the ACFW-The American Christian Fiction Writers (if you write fiction). Or the Writer's Guild. Or another professional organization of like-minded writers. Network, do conferences, and write, write, write.
Some authors report writing 5-10 thousand words a day. Do scenes flow freely from your veins, or do you have to tweeze each word out?
In general, I write more than I need and later have to cut back. I don't use a word count, but I may set a goal of one chapter a day or two chapters for a busy week. Other times, I don't think in terms of chapters at all, just events. I may break an event down into four scenes, say, and so my goal for that day will be to get the whole event on paper. In other words, finish the four scenes. Life changes so rapidly with the children, that for me, a hard and fast writing goal just wouldn't work. And, I focus on results, not time spent. Instead of, "Now I'll write for three hours," I say, "Now I'll have this or that happen to a character, or, 'I'll show a different side to this person." When I have accomplished that goal, no matter how long it took, I feel satisfied, and only then.

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Thank you so much for joining us today, Linore! 

Remember folks, if you wish to win a copy of Linore's book, be sure to leave a comment with your email address! Good luck to those who enter!
WHEN THE WORLD SAYS YOU CAN'T, FAITH SAYS YOU CAN!