Preslaysa

 PW: I’m excited about today’s Fiction Friday Interview with inspirational, historical novelist, Elizabeth Camden. Elizabeth Camden’s debut novel The Lady of Bolton Hill, released this month. Welcome to The Literary Mama, Elizabeth. Tell our readers a little about yourself.

EC: Thanks for having me!  I have a day job as a librarian at a small college in Florida.  I spend around two hours each day commuting, and during this time I used to start spinning stories for a novel I hoped to one day write.  A few years ago I finally screwed up the courage to actually start pounding out a manuscript.   

I don’t think I could ever quit my day job.  Not only do I love being a librarian, but it provides me with the fuel I need to be creative.  Some days I help students research the arcane details of a renaissance court case or the symbolism in a Matisse painting.  Other days I am dissecting the migration patterns of sea birds or how cheese is made.   All of this helps trigger ideas that I can pump into my writing.   

PW: What is The Lady of Bolton Hill about?

EC: The Lady of Bolton Hill is set in gilded age America.  Daniel and Clara were quite young when they met and shared an intense, immediate bond based on their mutual love of Chopin.  Music certainly can have that sort of pull for teenagers, can’t it!  They were separated by Clara’s disapproving father, and the novel begins when Clara returns to the United States after more than a decade abroad. The chemistry between Clara and Daniel immediately blazes back to life, but they have followed such wildly divergent paths that they don’t know if they can find a way back to each other, even though they both crave it. 

I adore a good turbulent story with love, betrayal, and heartbreak, all punctuated with periods of soaring joy and utter delight.  That is what I aimed for with The Lady of Bolton Hill.  I’ll be curious to hear from folks if they think I got it in the ballpark.

PW: What sparked your initial idea for The Lady of Bolton Hill?

EC: When I was in college, I found myself paired with a complete stranger for a roommate.   She was a worldly city-girl with a Brooklyn accent so think it was hard to understand her.  I was tidy, she was messy.  I was quiet, she had a laugh loud enough to be heard in the next county.  We had absolutely nothing in common except we both adored an extremely obscure band from Ireland (The Pogues, in case anyone is interested.)  In an instant, all the differences were swept aside and we immediately bonded over a mutual love of a band no one on this side of the Atlantic had heard of. 

I drew upon that unlikely friendship to form the initial flare of attraction between Daniel and Clara.  They have wildly divergent temperaments and upbringing, but they both adore the deeply romantic music of Frederic Chopin, and that bond serves as a foundation upon which a magnificent romance ultimately blossoms.  

PW: If this book were made into a movie, who would you like to play Clara?

EC: I think Keira Knightly would have the perfect blend of refined gentility with a backbone she can turn to when she needs it.  Some of the cover copy for The Lady of Bolton Hill called Clara “feisty.”   I have an instinctive reaction against that word, which to me carries a whiff of bratty.  I think Keira Knightly would know how to do “feisty” right!

PW: How did you get started writing fiction? What was your road to publication like?

EC: It was bumpy!  I played around with a lot of genres and styles before settling in to write historical romance.  I think those early years of experimentation were a huge boon, as I’ve been able to weave elements of mystery, adventure, and gothic into my writing.  Just a dash.  My writing sits squarely in the romantic genre, but I’d like to believe that all those early manuscripts have helped lend a richness to my writing.  Or maybe I’m just fooling myself, and those years of struggling were a pointless waste of time, but I don’t think so!

PW: Do you have any other novels we can look forward to reading?

EC: Thanks for asking!  My next book is called The Rose of Winslow Street, and it is set for release in January 2012.  The setting is a small New England town in 1879.  Into this peaceful, idyllic village comes a brash warrior from Romania, who storms into town with a wealth of mystery, long-buried secrets, and a heart as wide and deep as the Atlantic Ocean.   He is a strong, fearsome man, but pretty quickly he develops a soft-spot for the heroine, which is a huge complication for him.  It is hard to say more without delving into spoiler territory, so I’ll leave it at that for now.

PW: How can readers get in touch with you?

EC: I am on Facebook, or you can also drop by my website.  I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to hear from readers.  Writing is a very solitary experience, so to finally have people actually reading my work is wonderful.

I blog at http://elizabethcamden.com/blog  Three times a week I write about my thoughts on the romance genre (in novels, movies, real life, etc.)  In my day job I am a librarian, so I also post lots of pictures of mouth-watering libraries.  I hope you’ll swing by for a peek!

Thanks for stopping by, Elizabeth!

I’m excited about today’s interview with authors Diana Brandmeyer and Marty Lintvedt. Their non-fiction book, We’re Not Blended, We’re Pureed explores the dynamics of blended families and releases this month.

 

PW: Welcome to The Literary Mama, Diana and Marty. Tell us a little about yourself.

Diana: Thanks for having us, Preslaysa. I’m a widowed mom that remarried another widower. We have 3 boys, two of them are married now, so yay! for daughter-in-laws. I also write fiction. I like to ride my bike with my husband and to relax I like to sew.

Marty: I’m a mom to four, one of them is married, so I too have a daughter-in-law. I’m a practicing licensed family counselor and a pastor’s wife. I have a great love for music and I direct the church choir.

You Tube Link to Book Trailer

PW: What sparked the idea for We’re Not Blended, We’re Pureed?

Diana: I normally write fiction, but one day on the phone our agent Tamela Hancock Murray asked if I could write a book about blending families. I laughed and said, We’re not blended we’re pureed, and the next thing I know I’m writing the book.

Marty: Diana asked me to co-author with her when Concordia Publishing House expressed an interest in the book. They thought a mental health professional’s input would bring something extra to it.

PW: How do you hope your book will help blended families?

Diana: I share my personal story about blending our family and there were so many times I wished for someone to talk to that was experiencing the same things. I’m hoping this book will make other moms feel less lonely and that they aren’t alone in this journey.

Marty: We’re Not Blended, We’re Pureed addresses many issues that arise when you join families because of a loss, be it the death of a marriage or a spouse. There are checklists and notes from others that will be helpful.

PW: What type of research was involved in writing We’re Not Blended, Just Pureed?

Diana: I didn’t have to research through books, I lived it. I did have to walk through some painful memories.

Marty: I’m a licensed counselor, but I did search through several books and the references are listed in the back of the book if a reader needs more information on a subject. I also compiled data from surveys completed by adults who had blended families.

PW: In your view, what unique challenges do Christian blended families face and how can they succeed despite those challenges?

Diana: Facing up to failures, you can’t do everything right and you need to let it go and let God take center stage.

Marty: Most families experience a series of transitions but blending families typically experience many transitions simultaneously, especially early on. This is very stressful. Remaining rooted in Christ is vital, particularly when the family tree has many branches testing the strength of its trunk.

PW: How can readers get in touch with you?

Diana: The website is www.werenotblended.com or www.dianabrandmeyer.com  My email is DLBrandmeyer(at)gmail(dot)com

Marty: marty(at)lintvedt(dot)us

*Thanks for stopping by today!* 

I’m excited about having novelist Lynn Squire with us today. Lynn’s release, a historical mystery entitled Joab’s Fire will be released September 2011.

PW: Welcome to The Literary Mama. Tell our readers a little about yourself.

LS: I grew up on a farm in Southern Alberta. There I spent my days playing a pioneer or a character from a book (and every so often succumbing to my parents’ work ethic). My imagination would take me to faraway places and on grand adventures.

But the greatest adventure I embarked upon began when the Lord Jesus Christ set me free from the captivity of sin and all its entrapments. He put me on a different course with Him as my captain. While I admit to occasionally straying from His intended course, I work hard to let my faith in Him infuse my writing for His honor and glory.

Now residing in California with my husband and three children, I split my time between my family, my church and my writing.

PW: When did you get the writing bug…and when did you follow the call to write?

LS: I was about ten years old when I started writing crazy short mystery stories with my friends about our teachers. When I was eighteen and in Bible College I wrote a couple of stories and sense then that God might have that as part of His plan for my life. However, not until almost twenty years later did I start writing seriously. At that time I wrote primarily nonfiction in the field of horsemanship and horse husbandry.

I gave up horses to focus on raising a family, and then serving the Lord with my keyboard. I particularly desire to encourage others to stand firm in their faith against all odds, even in devastation and persecution. I’ve watched God shape and form my writing to this end. Since my writing focuses on faith, I also desire for others to know Christ as their personal Saviour. Most of my writing contains the Gospel message: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the payment of our sins. I pray that the Holy Spirit will use this message to draw readers to Christ, and for those that are already saved, to a deeper appreciation and understanding of God’s tremendous love toward us.

PW: What is Joab’s Fire about?

LS: Joab Black and his wife Sarah overcame the worst of pioneer hardships in order to establish a prosperous farm in Alberta, Canada. But those challenges never prepared them for the tragedy they now faced—a staggering loss and intense pain causing them to doubt everything they had ever believed. In the midst of their sorrow, even their closest friends interpret their sufferings as a result of God’s judgment. Has God abandoned them?

Sergeant Dixon, the local North West Mounted Police officer, investigates the events leading to the Blacks’ plight. While his work gives them a ray of hope, his probing into the activities of a certain stranger possibly connected to the case may cost him his job and even his life.

Inspired by the Biblical book of Job, this novel includes a Bible study exploring the perfection of God’s plan and the bounty of His love even in the most inexplicable and intense sufferings.

PW: What type of research do you do for historical novels?

LS: My favorite form of research is reading diaries and memoirs. This gives me a feel for the people and their ‘voice’ for that time. I also use local history books put together by local historical societies. These give you a broader picture of the location and time, and you can find some really interesting stories in them. I also refer to government records. These tend to be factual and unbiased. For details, like dress, I use the Internet a lot but also rely on magazines or newspapers. Sometimes flyers or advertisements provide great information. I found a whole slough of scanned pamphlets promoting farming in Western Canada on the Barnes and Nobles online store. They were free, and I downloaded them onto my iPad.

PW: Do you have any other books coming up in the future?

LS: I have a couple of novels set in the 17^th Century Massachusetts and Rhode Island that will be out in the next couple of years. You can read more about them on my website: www.lynnsquire.com. These are redemption stories set in a time when the concept of religious freedom was just beginning to develop, and the belief in the separation of church and state was being formed.

This summer my booklet entitled A Week of Faith more Precious than Gold, will be released. This booklet includes short stories with accompanying devotionals that focus on standing firm in our faith no matter the fiery trials we face. Primarily historical, these stories contain characters who endured persecution, and they will encourage readers to remain true to God under any circumstance.

PW: Thanks for stopping by to visit to Lynn.