A WRITER’S WOES

Posted by Janet Grunst on Apr 9, 2018 in Blog, Commentary, Uncategorized | 4 comments

Writing can be a very isolating and introspective pursuit. Here are some thoughts that plague writers:

~ What if I can’t find an agent who wants to represent my work. If I do find one, will we be a good fit?

~ What if I can’t find a publisher who wants my manuscript?

~ With all the changes in the publishing industry and the decline in bookstores, it’s getting so much harder to get published.

~ There are so many other good writers out there, what makes me think my story will shine?

~ Facebook is a great place to connect with other writers and to applaud their successes. Some are getting contracts, others are elated about writing 2000 or 4000 words that day, all certainly praiseworthy. But some of us groan because it’s a struggle to get 300 words written in a day.

~ For those of us who rely heavily on research to write stories, we anguish in trying to get every detail right. But we love the research part of it, sometimes so much that we have a hard time getting back to writing the story. See how conflicted we are?

~ Okay, got the book published. What if the readers don’t like it? What if the publisher we prayed would say yes, is disappointed in sales and having second thoughts? What if they don’t want my next book?

~ And then there is the whole platform and marketing aspect. Many writers are introverts, so the prospect of self-promotion is daunting. Authors must be on all sorts of social media, have their own websites, hopefully, be featured on other’s websites or blogs, have book signings if possible, give talks; all which require a different skillset than making up stories. Marketing takes a lot of time.

~ Are we nuts? Neurosis: a relatively mild personality disorder typified by excessive anxiety or indecision and a degree of social or interpersonal maladjustment.

But then:

I’m reminded that in writing inspirational fiction we don’t just write for the readers who hopefully like our stories, we write primarily for an audience of One.

~ Some of us believe we are called to write as a means of sharing our faith. Inspirational authors want to encourage and edify the reader as much as entertain them.

~ We ask the Lord to direct us in every aspect of our vocation from the creation of the stories and their themes to opening the doors that He wants us to go through. We ask for patience needed to wait on His timing, which is typically not our own.

~ We aren’t to compare ourselves to others, just do the work we’ve been given to do, and do it with a grateful heart. Now I need to get back to writing that story.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:” 1Peter 4:10

Countdown to A Heart For Freedom

Posted by Janet Grunst on Mar 6, 2018 in Blog, Books, History | 4 comments

A Heart For Freedom, the Sequel to A Heart Set Free releases in less than six months.

So much goes into the publication of a book. Like other authors who write historical fiction, I spend a lot of time researching the era, the locations, and every facet impacting the story. Then comes months of developing and writing the tale interspersed with prayer, constant editing, more prayer and more research.

Any fiction writer will tell you that a writer’s imagination is the foundation of the project. We picture what our characters look like, where they live, places they go.

Stewarts’ Green

In a Heart For Freedom, Matthew and Heather Stewart’s dream of building an ordinary at their farm has been realized. This is a similar picture of Stewarts’ Green which Matthew and Heather Stewart built perpendicular to their original cottage. It’s only missing a bigger front porch.

A nearby pond as well as the Potomac River figure in both stories.

The pond at Stewarts’ Green

Potomac River near Stewarts’ Green

Conflict is escalating between Britain and the colonies. Like so many other families, the Stewarts struggle with the prospect of a war that divides friends and families.

I can’t wait to share more about this story, and someday the cover.

Interview with Cindy Huff, author of Secrets & Charades

Posted by Janet Grunst on Jan 21, 2018 in Blog, Books, Uncategorized | 2 comments

Please tell us something about yourself, Cindy. Secrets & Charades is your debut novel. Tell us a bit about your writing journey?

Secrets & Charades took ten years to get published. I’ve been writing off and on since high school. Through those decades I’ve been published in a variety of periodicals and when my oldest was small I wrote scripts for Children’s Bible Hour and short stories for Bread for Children magazine. As they grew, and our life changed so did my writing projects. I was a guest columnist for our local paper while I was homeschooling my children. For several years I quit writing and when God impressed me to pick it up again novel writing became the focus. Secrets & Charades went through several rewrites as I learn the craft of novel writing. It was originally over 100,000 words. Many scenes were deleted never to see the light of day. When I was about to call it a great learning project and start something new I won the Editor’s Choice Award which entitled me professional edits that lead to a contract with LPC publishers. During the time I waited for my manuscript to find a home I did all I could to build a platform (even a small one) by attending conferences, creating a blog and joining Word Weavers. I subscribe to several writing blogs that have helped me grasp so many nuances of the fiction writing life. The people I’ve meant helped me get endorsements for S & C and opened doors for interviews.

Please share something about Secrets & Charades.

Dr. Evangeline Olson is the heroine of Secrets & Charades. But when she goes west as a mail order Bride she surprises her future husband with the truth that she is a doctor. Jake thought he’d been writing Evangeline for a year only to discover her niece had been writing him as Evangeline. Throughout the course of the story, more secrets are revealed surrounding the Double M and the town of Charleton. Evangeline’s past influences her to become a doctor. Experiences in her life since the Civil War have made her a stronger less fragile woman than the average female of the 1800s. Jake’s Civil War service and the nightmares that accompanied him back home to Texas make him determined to make life easier for those he loves. I’ve come to know women who struggle with dark pasts and men with PTSD. I created my story to speak to their hearts. I wanted to remind them their past does not have to define them. Placing their problems in a 1870s setting rather than modern day allows the reader to be distant but still relate.

Historical stories require extensive research. How do you go about researching your stories?

I love the library. And I have a friend who is a history buff who lent me a pile of books. I purchased a few used books mostly diaries and memoirs that help me understand women’s mindsets during the mid-1800s and men dealing with what was then called soldier’s heart. Evangeline’s career and her need to go west as a mail-order bride came out of all that research. Some of the minor characters were based on information gleaned from all my research.

What drew you to the period and setting for the story?

I love American History. After the Civil War, our country changed geographically, politically and scientifically. After the war there were fewer single men on the east coast and while the west lacked women. Mail order brides became the solution. Another change, women were seeking more education and the medical field was growing. Women’s suffrage was coming into its own. My setting is purely fictitious. But the storyline is peppered with real-life events from the time-period.

Is there a message or a spiritual theme in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Ecclesiastes 3:7 He makes all things beautiful in His time. Rough times can lead to opportunities and self-discovery that bring peace and contentment we might never find without them.

God often teaches us something through our writing. What did you learn about life, faith, or yourself in the process of writing Secrets & Charades?

Evangeline was fearless and determined. I find myself not giving up as easily after spending months in her head. I found God’s promises are always faithful. He helped me craft the story and in His time, I received a contract and holding the book in my hand is a constant reminder that His time is always perfect.

Can you tell us anything about any other books being released and/or your current work in process?

My contemporary Romance New Duet comes out May 2018, published by Clean Reads. I got the idea while standing on the podium as part of the worship team. A what-if moment took off from there. The setting is Aurora, Illinois where I’ve lived for over 40 years. I’m excited and blessed to share Isabella and Dan’s story. She’s a widow from an abusive relationship and he’s a wounded warrior trying hard to be normal after losing a leg.

I’m also editing a sequel to Secrets & Charades and starting a third story in the same setting. My mind is full of several other stories both historical and contemporary. We will see which ones make it on paper and between book covers.

Thank you so much, Cindy, for being my guest. I know folks will enjoy Secrets & Charades.

Janet, I am delighted to be here and look forward to making some new friends amongst your followers.

Where can readers find your books?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Charades-Cindy-Ervin-Huff

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secrets-charades-cindy-ervin-huff/1126086057?ean=9781946016140

LPC: https://www.shoplpc.com/product/secrets-charades/

What are your social media sites?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/author.huff11/about/?ref=page_internal and

www.facebook.com/cindyehuff,

Twitter: @CindyErvinHuff,

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8029703-cindy-huff

Blog: www.jubileewriter.wordpress.com

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Cindy-Huff/e/B01N9UAOZA/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

BLOW OUT THE CANDLES … and say goodbye

Posted by Janet Grunst on Dec 4, 2017 in Blog, Books | 10 comments

I’m delighted to be able to interview my agent and friend Linda Glaz. Linda is not only an agent for Hartline Literary Agency, she is an experienced editor, reviewer, and author of several books.

Please tell us something about yourself, Linda. I’m gray, which, I guess means, I’m older than dirt. But with that comes a multitude of experiences and ideas to put into my work.

You served in the armed forces. Please give us some of that history also. I’ll tell an awesome story. I was the dorm chief (whoopee) of my flight, and a newbie came running up to me and said, “Airman Mapes, Airman Mapes! Come see the cute little shampooers they put in the restrooms just for us girls!!!” Well, we were in an old condemned but refurbished men’s barracks. And they hadn’t taken out the urinals. Yup. Right, where she was shampooing her hair. Oh, boy!

How did you get started writing professionally? I’ve always written. Since my first story in eighth grade that was cheesy and ridiculous, but it hooked me. Then, as I rounded 42, I wrote my first full-length novel based on an experience with my youngest daughter. And that is the story finally releasing in December of this year.

You have written a number of contemporary and historical romances. Do you enjoy writing in a variety of genres or is this a progression? I love writing in different genres, but there’s no doubt, suspense is my fave. Scare me, scare me, scare me. I love it.

What do you find most rewarding and challenging about being a writer? (research, plotting or organizing a story, marketing, or something else)Def plotting. I love the twists and turns of intricate plots. When I don’t see something coming and then BAM! It hits me between the eyes, I’m in heaven.

Ok, now the story:

Imagine your five-year-old at a birthday sleepover. Imagine all the girls disappear.

As five-year-old girls disappear from birthday parties year after year across the U.S., the sister of victim number one is thrown into the kidnappers’ path when she moves to the remote Upper Peninsula of Michigan ten years after her sister is kidnapped. There, she finds it’s not only candles that light up the trusting, rural community.

When ten-year-old Brandy Barrett and her mother, Rachel, hurry to the large colonial where Brandy’s five-year-old sister, Victoria, spent the night, Brandy prays Torey is ready. The girls have been promised a movie by their mother if there’s time after shopping.

Brandy stares. The house looks empty. No birthday balloons, no cake. And no little sister waiting with stories about the birthday sleepover.

Was it her fault because she rushed her mother to leave the night before?

She and her father, Joe, both harbor guilt that they hadn’t been there to foresee what could happen with a five-year-old staying alone all night.

Brandy’s mother can’t deal with her role in allowing Victoria to go to the sleepover, and she eventually commits suicide, adding, even more, guilt to Joe and Brandy.

Ten years later, after Brandy graduates from Oakland University, she takes a teaching position in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. After meeting the single, female superintendent, she convinces her father to retire from the military and follow along. She has plans to play matchmaker.

Three other families move to Iron Cove. Neither Joe nor Brandy can imagine what awaits them when one of those families has plans to kidnap once again.

BLOW OUT THE CANDLES AND SAY GOODBYE sounds like every parent’s worst nightmare. Please tell us about the story and how you came up with its premise. Over twenty years ago, I dropped my youngest off at a birthday sleepover. Half an hour later, during what was practically a blizzard, she called to have me drop off her favorite pillow. As I drove up, my bizarre imagination kicked in, and I wondered: what would happen if I knocked on the door only to discover the house was empty? Yes, my mind just works that way. I’m a worrier of the worst kind. While she was gone over the weekend, the summary for Blow Out was born. I’m not sure how to describe the fear of a child gone missing, but that’s simply the way my over-active mind works.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? Just to trust our inner voices. When that small, quiet voice tells us that something isn’t right, act on it. Don’t allow something to go awry when we’ve had the internal warning.

God often teaches us something through our writing. What did you learn about life, faith, or yourself in the process of writing this book? To NEVER give up. Whether it’s our writing, praying for a loved one or friend, or just for the situation to turn around. PERSEVERANCE!!! Never ever, no not ever, give up.

Where can readers find your books? Check them all out on Amazon. You can find them at Harlequin or Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas sites, but on Amazon, they offer great deals!

Thank you so much, Linda, for being my guest. You are probably going to keep readers up nights with BLOW OUT THE CANDLES … and say goodbye. That’s my goal. Scare me in the safety of my home! Ah-hahahahahahaha…

Book Giveaway

To enter the giveaway for a free e-copy or paperback copy of BLOW OUT THE CANDLES … and say goodbye, please leave a comment along with your email address. The winner will be selected on December 6.

Linda’s BLOW OUT THE CANDLES AND SAY GOODBYE Facebook RELEASE PARTY is December 7 ~ 6-10PM EST https://www.facebook.com/events/497763037239680/

Linda is an author and agent with Hartline Literary Agency.

She’s married with three children and three grandchildren.

Having served in the Air Force at a time when it wasn’t exactly politically correct for a woman, she blazed many firsts for women in the military. She has taught karate and self-defense for thirty years and was a National instructor and referee for the largest soccer youth group in the US for twenty-five years. She isn’t afraid to try something new.

Before joining Hartline, Linda was a reviewer for online romance sites, a final proofreader for a publisher, and organized and ran two separate writers’ groups. She worked for two years as an editorial assistant to Terry Burns at Hartline.

Linda has two novellas, six short novels, one romantic suspense published, and one to release in 2017. Five more are burning a hole in her hopeful pocket.

She’s a member of ACFW, AWSA, and numerous other writers’ groups. She presents nationally each year at conferences, teas, churches, workshops, and various other venues. She’s also active on social media.

Linda loves to laugh and make other people laugh. There is definitely healing and joy in laughter.

She’s forever on the lookout for ideas that will turn into a suspenseful novel, and as an agent is always looking for that next great blockbuster novel.

Celebrating 1st Anniversary of A Heart Set Free

Posted by Janet Grunst on Dec 2, 2017 in Blog, Books | 4 comments

I’m celebrating the one year anniversary of the publication of

A Heart Set Free

If you enjoy reading inspirational historical romances

starting on December 5, 2017, there’s a Goodreads Giveaway

for 4 signed copies of

A Heart Set Free

Selah Award Winner

It will end on December 12, 2017.

Just scroll down to the box that says “Enter Giveaway.” Here is the link:

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/267772-a-heart-set-free

The sequel to A Heart Set Free is scheduled for release September 1, 2018

Meet Kathleen Rouser, author of Secrets and Wishes

Posted by Janet Grunst on Oct 28, 2017 in Blog, Books, History | 9 comments

When my husband and I were traveling through Michigan this past August, we were delighted to be able to get together with Kathy for some coffee. The two of us share a love for serving in Community Bible Study for many years, we have the same literary agent, and both write for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.

Kathy was excited about the fall release of her latest book, Secrets and Wishes. Since I enjoyed her earlier book Rumors and Promises I’ve been looking forward to reading this one.

~ As I understand it, Secrets and Wishes has some of the same characters that appeared in Rumors and Promises. How did you decide to tell the story of a different character from your earlier work?

Maggie Galloway is Reverend Ian McCormick’s feisty widowed sister who keeps house for him in Rumors and Promises. She also kindly befriends Sophie Biddle despite the rumors about her. I enjoyed writing Maggie’s character and the way she teased her younger, taller brother by calling him “little brother.” I grew to really like her and decided she needed her own story.

~ Did you find this story easier to write given that you had some of the characters already “fleshed out”?

In some ways, yes. Writing about Maggie came more easily as I was already comfortable with her character and who she is. However, I introduced several new characters with Thomas Harper and his four children, as well as Giles Prescott, Maggie’s former beau from her hometown. While I had an idea of who they were it was interesting to see how they emerged and grew as I worked on these new characters too.

~ Please tell us a bit about Secrets and Wishes.

Here is the back-cover blurb:

Stone Creek, Michigan, April, 1901 Maggie Galloway and Thomas Harper clash after their sons collide in a fistfight. Both widowed, they’re each doing their best as single-parents. Outgoing Maggie has dreams for a home of her own and a business to provide for her son as she searches for God’s path for her life as a widow. Reserved Thomas struggles to establish his new pharmacy and take care of his four rambunctious children, while wondering how a loving God could take his beloved wife.

When Thomas becomes deathly ill, Maggie is recruited to nurse him back to health. Taking the children in hand, as well, is more than she bargained for, but she is drawn to help the grieving family. Both nurse and patient find themselves drawn to each other but promptly deny their feelings.

A baking contest sponsored by the Silver Leaf Flour Company brings former beau, Giles Prescott, back into Maggie’s life. When Giles offers Maggie a position at their test kitchen in Chicago, he hints that, along with assuring her a good job, it will allow them to possibly rekindle their relationship.

But then a charlatan comes to town, and tragedy soon follows. Maggie and Thomas discover the miracle potions he hawks aren’t so harmless when an epidemic hits Stone Creek. Thomas and Maggie realize they must work together to save lives.

Maggie finds herself caught up in battles within and without—the battle to help the townsfolk in the midst of illness and chicanery, and the battle to know which man—Thomas or Giles—deserves to win her heart.

~ What is the theme of the story or is there a spiritual truth you want to convey?

Maggie and Thomas, both in the midst of grieving, are trying to figure out how to be parents without the help of their deceased spouses and not expecting love to come into either of their lives. Yet, God has different plans for them than they expected, plans of healing and hope.

The theme verse at the front is: A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22 (Authorized KJV)

There is also quite a bit of humor in this book, some of it stemming from the fact that Maggie and Thomas are opposites that attract. It also stems from some of the comical situations with their children. I hope my readers will find some healing humor in the story despite the serious situations.

~ Were there any particular challenges in writing the novel?

Finding certain medical procedures of the time since there seemed to be more than one way of doing things!

It also took me a while to find the full character arc for the hero, Thomas, but I prayed for wisdom and the Lord helped me work through it.

~ Can you tell us anything about a current work in process?

I’m working on a romance novella set in a lighthouse, Mackinac Point lighthouse to be precise. This will be part of Barbour’s Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides Collection, releasing next year. I hope to work on a third Stone Creek novel soon as well.

Contract News Alert! Congratulations Kathy Rouser.

She just signed a contract for the novella to be part of Barbour’s Great Lakes Lighthouses Brides Collection, coming out next year!

~ How can readers find your books?

They can find them on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y7oqpym6 and at Barnes and Noble online: http://tinyurl.com/yaj5ryc5

Readers can connect with me on the web at:

My website: http://kathleenrouser.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerouser

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/

Twitter: @KathleenRouser

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kerouser/

Kathy is offering a giveaway for one USA commenter only. Winner chosen Nov. 1, 2017, may choose either a print copy or a Kindle version copy.

Thanks so much for being my guest, Kathy.