Land of My Dreams – Janet Grunst

May 19, 2020April 23, 2020

Within Golden Bands the sequel to Land of My Dreams

It’s a pleasure to welcome you back Norma Gail, upon the release Within Golden Bands. Please tell us something about yourself, Norma.

Thank you for hosting me, Janet! I’m excited to share my books with your readers.

I’m a former RN and homeschool/soccer mom who has made up stories since I was a child. My debut novel, Land of My Dreams, released in 2014. It took longer than I hoped for the sequel to come about for a lot of reasons but I’m excited to finally have a release date of May 19^th. I also write weekly devotionals on my own website at www.NormaGail.org, and am a monthly contributor to the inspirational website, Inspire a Fire.

My husband and I live on the side of a mountain, at 7200 feet in elevation, outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s a peaceful place to enjoy the beauty of nature and a perfect setting for writing. We love taking long walks in our quiet neighborhood and enjoying the view from our patio, which stretches about 100 miles and allows us views of three different mountain ranges. Readers of Land of My Dreams will recognize the description of the view from Bonny’s New Mexico house.

My husband was already partially retired and working from home when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. That ended his part-time job, so he graciously stays busy while I write and work on book promotion. We enjoy heading out in our RV with my younger sister and her husband to Northern New Mexico. We took three big trips last year but this year’s travel plans are on hold until we see what direction the world is heading.

I remember that the inspiration for Land of my Dreams came when you and your husband visited Scotland for your thirtieth wedding anniversary.

Yes, our anniversary trip was the inspiration for my first book. The second we stepped off the plane in Scotland, I felt as if I had come home. I kept dreaming about a man wearing a kilt and playing bagpipes on a misty hillside surrounded by sheep. When I broke my foot and ended up in a wheelchair for 8 weeks, Bonny and Kieran’s story was born.

Please tell us about your new release Within Golden Bands.

Here is the back cover copy for Within Golden Bands:

Newly married Bonny MacDonell finds the transition from American college professor to Scottish sheep farmer’s wife more difficult than she expected. When her miracle pregnancy ends in a devastating miscarriage, she fears her husband’s reaction will hurt more than the loss of their child.

But Kieran never shows up at the hospital. When found, he is beaten and unconscious. The only memory of his attacker is the words, “Get off my land.” Reeling from the threat to her husband and the loss of their child, Bonny struggles to hold her marriage together. Are faith and love enough to hold their fledgling marriage together?

Within Golden Bands is a deeply personal story and one that will touch many readers in a meaningful way. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

My husband and I have two grown children, both of whom are adopted. The topic of adoption plays a huge role in the plot of Within Golden Bands. The years of infertility doctors, and surgeries with no answers, left an indelible mark on us. This is a huge struggle for couples, no matter how long they have been married. We learned a lot about the faithfulness of God and the importance of being content as a couple and supportive of one another through that period of our lives. The couples we met chose many different ways of facing the decision of whether to pursue fertility treatments, adoption or remain childless. In our case, even though we discussed adoption before we married, my husband was ready first. The desire to be a mother is a difficult thing for any woman to surrender to God.

Our journey to parenthood took four years. We were married for eight years when we adopted our son. Our daughter came along 21 ½ months later. They have brought so much joy. It’s impossible to imagine life without them.

My favorite quote from the book is: “If we fail to accept what God sends with trusting hearts, we refuse His greatest blessings.”

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

As I said earlier, Within Golden Bands was a long time coming. Both our extended and immediate families went through some ups and downs that required attention. God has a perfect time for each book. I received two rejections and went through many rewrites before I heard the story God intended me to write. Part of the problem was listening to what other people thought. You have to write the story God places in your heart for the pieces to come together.

The topic of abortion has come to the forefront in the political arena again, so a story about people who choose life fits our times very well. Most people need to be more educated about adoption. I also discovered that feelings I thought I had dealt with over 35 years ago were still buried deep inside. Though Bonny and Kieran’s story is not ours, her character voices many of the emotions I experienced back then.

Also, like the characters in the book, we went through a major threat to our livelihood at the time began our second adoption. Things were pretty scary for a while and caused us to lean on the Lord because we were faced with a situation that left us powerless.

Where can readers find Land of my Dreams?

Both books are available on Amazon

Land of My Dreams – https://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail-ebook/dp/B01ENKEL02/

Within Golden Bands – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084TSQ432/

What are your social media sights?

You can follow me at:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/Norma_Gail

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/norma-gail-holtman-3b271a42/

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/normagailth/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/normagailwrites/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874459.Norma_Gail

Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.com/Norma-Gail/e/B00ILHXBAK/

Thank you so much, for being my guest, Norma.

It was my pleasure! Thank you for being there as a friend when my book was rejected and for sharing my love of all things Scottish!

April 28, 2017

My Visit at 2Me From Him with Norma Gail

Stop by 2Me From Him with Norma Gail for my interview about writing A Heart Set Free. Make a comment and there’s a chance to win a free book.

It has been fun getting to know Norma Gail. She is also a Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas author who has a heart for all things Scottish.

In her book, Land of My Dreams, Norma takes us on a journey through the high desert of New Mexico and the lush hills of Scotland.

Bonnie has traveled from New Mexico to Scotland to teach at a Christian school and to heal from the death of her parents and a fiancé who deserted her. There she meets fellow teacher and sheep farmer Kieran who is still suffering from the death of his wife and baby. As a result of their human losses, they have also both lost faith in God. This is a tale of their growing relationship, with its pitfalls and misunderstandings, and addresses the theme of being equally yoked. They each must address their journey with God, which has its own challenges. Land of My Dreams will keep your attention to the very end.

April 19, 2017

A Visit With Norma Gail, author of Land of my Dreams

I’m pleased to welcome Norma Gail as she celebrates the third anniversary of the release of her debut novel, Land of my Dreams. I truly enjoyed this story, but then I love all things Scottish, including the skirl of the bagpipes. Norma truly makes the reader feel like they are wandering the highlands with all its craggy charm.

Please tell us something about yourself, Norma.

Thank you for inviting me, Janet! I really appreciate it! I live in the mountains of central New Mexico with my husband of 40 years. We have two adult children and a sweet daughter-in-love. I have wanted to be a published author since I was a child but never had the nerve or time to pursue writing seriously until my children were grown. Following a career as an RN, as well as being a homeschooling soccer mom, I decided it was “now or never.” I was 59 years old when my debut novel released.

What sparked your interest in writing?

I loved to read as a child, devouring everything including the back of the cereal box at breakfast. I have been known to cook or load the dishwasher with a book in one hand. My husband and kids are not big readers and think I’m insane. The book that most influenced my desire to write was Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I wanted to be like Jo March. I began writing poetry and making up stories as a child. My best friend and I were the teacher’s pets of our creative writing teacher in high school, but I chose nursing as a profession.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just to see where an idea takes you?

I am a dedicated “seat of the pants,” writer though a historical trilogy is going to force me into outlining and plotting. I love following an idea and seeing where the characters take me! It can be quite surprising. Anyone who has not written fiction may have a difficult time understanding that, but characters do take on lives of their own.

What do you find most challenging about being a writer? (research, plotting or organizing a story, marketing, or something else)

Research is an absolute delight. Organizing a story can get a little dicey at times, but is a great challenge. Plotting becomes a necessity at some point. I think most writers would agree that marketing is a huge downer. It’s fun talking to people in person about your book, but hours on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media is not fun. I love guest blogging and hosting other authors on my blog. I promote their books because I wish someone would have given me a hand when I was a newbie, but I will never say I like it.

What was your inspiration behind creating Land of my Dreams?

Land of My Dreams began as a dream, believe it or not! My husband and I visited Scotland for our thirtieth wedding anniversary and during the planning; I began to dream of a man in a kilt standing on a misty mountainside with his bagpipes surrounded by sheep. I have to say, we saw nothing like that in Scotland, though there were plenty of sheep. However, the dream began to rattle around in my head during the daytime. It’s not unusual for me to dream up stories about interesting places we see when we travel, but when I broke my foot and ended up in a wheelchair, I decided it was time to see if I had what it took to be a published author. I received my book contract following my second writer’s conference.

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

I learned that I don’t have a lot of self-control when it comes to writing. I get so carried away with what is going on in my head that I can ignore meals, oven timers, and the disappearance of daylight. I have been found writing in my pajamas at 3 in the afternoon. God has really convicted me about making my time with Him happen and taking care of the necessities of home and family before I allow myself to begin writing in the mornings. I am pretty good about it most days now. I led women’s Bible studies for 21 years, so Bible study is a passion of mine. I cannot write without including spiritual lessons in the story. I believe God wants me to spread His message in a way that reaches people who might not pick up a Bible. I also love writing devotionals and often write my weekly devotional for my blog as a part of my quiet time.

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

My favorite quote from my book is “Sometimes the greatest blessings come when we leave the familiar behind and take a step of faith.” We have to step out of our comfort zone and trust God to lead us to what He has for us, even if it scares the daylights out of us. He is always going to be there to guide us to His best for our lives. Walking into a writer’s conference and pitching a book for the first time when you’re 58 years old is somewhat intimidating, especially when some people there have studied writing for years. In my book, Bonny Bryant, an American college professor, leaves behind everything she has ever known to escape heartbreak and teach at a college in Scotland. In fleeing a broken heart, she finds a love greater than anything she ever dreamed of and challenges that make it seem that she will never be with Kieran MacDonell, the love of her life. Learning to trust God to lead both of them to where He wants them to be is the theme of the story.

Do you have a sequel written or planned?

My sequel is written and has been submitted to the publisher. I await an email telling me if they have accepted it or not. It is a romantic suspense and was much more difficult to write than the first book because the characters would not behave. I have completed a romantic novella, and am researching a historical trilogy based on old family stories dating from the Revolutionary War into the early 1920’s.

Thank you so much, for being my guest, Norma.

Thank you for inviting me, Janet! I loved A Heart Set Free! Your readers are invited to visit http://www.normagail.org/land-of-my-dreams-celebration/ to enter the giveaways I am offering for my book’s third Birthday Celebration!

Where can readers find Land of my Dreams?

Land of My Dreams is available through Amazon and the publisher, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas: https://lpcbooks.com/norma-gail/