Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to a brand-new author. I was blessed to be her content editor for her first book baby, which released last week! I think you're going to love getting to know Lori DeJong as well as learning about her story. Lori, congrats on your first release! How long has it taken you to get to this point in your writing career and are there any lessons you can share with us that you learned along the journey? Thank you so much! This has been a long-time dream come true. I actually started writing a couple of years before I joined a national writers’ organization in 2002. That’s when I realized writing was more than putting words on paper. It’s a craft that has to be studied and honed. I learned a lot over the next several years. Then in 2009, my husband was laid off and we went through a long time of upheaval trying to get back on track financially. God showed up in big ways during that trial by fire, but one of the things that was laid aside was my writing. I didn’t start up again until late 2019 and joined ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) in January of 2020, just before Covid closed everything down. I was stunned at how different things were in the writing world after being away for so long and decided I would spend that first year back educating myself. The silver lining of Covid was that many conferences, workshops, and writers’ retreats were held virtually, and at a much lower cost, so I was able to learn a lot. It was in an online writers’ course that Love’s True Calling was born. I honestly never planned to write it. But by the time I was through with the course, I really loved this story and felt compelled to write it. It went on to win the Scrivenings Press Novel Starts Contest in 2020 and the ACFW Genesis Award for Romance in 2022. The biggest lesson I think I’d share is to never give up. Never. I wish I could get that decade back that I didn’t write, but it was always in the back of my head. I think I always knew I’d get back to it. Having been blessed to be your content editor, I know your story better than some others. What inspired you to write a second-chance romance, a romance where characters have been separated for a while and then brought back together?
Thank you for all the valuable feedback you gave me as my content editor! For this online course I mentioned above, I had to come up with a character and their motivation, then plot a novel based on why they want (motivation) what they want (goal). That’s how I came up with Harper, who was motivated by her need for validation. But being a romance writer, I needed a guy, so that’s how Wyatt came to be, who’s motived by the need for atonement for the guilt he carries at not being able to prevent a tragedy in his youth. I wanted these two to have a history that they bring with them into the story, so I made them childhood best friends whose paths took drastically different directions as they grew older. The first scene in the book is the first time they’ve seen each other since a heartbreaking event that happened eleven years before. Your characters work in a really neat organization that helps youth develop a greater faith and stronger relationships when they might not fit in otherwise. Is this based on a real organization? Where did you get the idea? I was a YoungLife leader in college, so ConnectUP in my books (series of three) is very loosely based on that, only much smaller. It’s a student ministry not connected to any one church or youth group that focuses on kids that don’t necessarily know Jesus personally and may be looking in all the wrong places to find their value. I know you're working on your second and third books in the series. Can you give us any sneak peeks? Sure thing. Book Two, Love’s True Home, (June 2024) is Ally and Zane’s story. She yearns for roots in American soil after being raised on several different foreign mission fields while he craves adventure, especially if it involves a foreign mission assignment. As they work together to launch more ConnectUP clubs, they start to fall in love. But when he finds his place in a foreign mission, she has to decide if she shares his calling or has to walk away to let him be all God wants him to be. Book Three, Love’s True Measure, (June 2025) tells the story of Hunter and Shannon. She was raised in a wealthy family by a workaholic father and a mother who put her value in their position. Shannon knows her true value lay in who God says she is, not in her family name and works in ConnectUP as a ministry volunteer. Young, bright, attorney Hunter Cavanaugh considers his status to be the measure of who he is as a man. Suddenly the guardian of his fourteen-year-old half-sister, his 80-hour work weeks become a thing of the past. He’s grateful when his pretty neighbor steps in to help him with his grief-stricken sister, and he finds himself curious about the things Alexis is learning at ConnectUP about Christ. But when he’s tasked by his superiors to do something less than ethical with the promise of all he’s worked so hard for, will he measure his worth by man’s standards or God’s? And will Shannon be able to leave the ghosts of her past behind to help a young girl seeking her own value in a new world? What is it about romance that made you choose that as your genre to write? I love a happy ending. It’s honestly that simple. But that’s also the challenge in writing romance. A reader of romance knows when they pick up a book pretty much how it’s going to end. At least that the characters will end up together even if they don’t know how. It’s the “how” that the writer has to make interesting. The journey the characters take from the beginning to their happily ever after has to be compelling enough to keep the reader engaged. And hopefully pick up your next book. Your book deals with a few tough topics, like alcoholism, abuse, suicide, and even the loss of a child. It definitely put me through all the feels. Was it hard to include such hard topics in the more lighthearted setting of romance? It was. Teen suicide is epidemic in this country. Wyatt’s own experience with this is what’s compelled him to minister to kids, to hopefully help them find their way to a God who values and loves them without question or condition. Teenage abuse is also more common than most people realize, with young girls being abused by their boyfriends and not knowing how to get out. That’s Harper’s backstory. Those were really the only tough topics I’d planned for the book when I plotted it out for my online course. But as I started writing, the characters revealed new things to me that deepened their motivations and colored the way I wrote them. I love when that happens, though. As a discovery writer (fancy speak for writing by the seat of your pants), there are often times my characters will reveal something in the middle of a scene that I didn’t know beforehand. Last but not least, can you please share with us one fact about yourself that very few people know? Hmm. This one’s difficult because I’m a pretty simple person. And kind of an open book (pun intended). So I’m not sure if there’s anything very interesting. Haha! The only fun fact that comes to mind is I was the baseball announcer at my small college back in the early 80’s. It was kind of a big thing at the time because I was the first female announcer they’d ever had, put me in the school paper and everything. That’s my only claim to fame, I guess, and it really was only about 15 minutes. Haha! Thank you so much for the opportunity to interview with you, Amy!
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I haven't read Shannon Sue Dunlap's new book yet, but it's definitely on my TBR list. It sounds like so much fun, and today, I am thrilled to get to know Shannon a bit more too. See what you think about this new-to-me author and her books. Be sure to read all the way to the end to find out how to get one of Shannon's stories for free. Your new story revolves around a mayoral election. What made you choose politics for your romcom?
I don’t consider myself very political and hope readers won’t be wary of the election setting. I’d created the adorable town of Sweetheart for an indie romance called Decoy Valentine. In that story, Lanette Johnson, the mayor’s opinionated wife, played a prevalent role. After I’d finished the book, I was going about my normal life when a question occurred to me. What if Lanette got mad at her husband and decided to run against him for mayor? That’s all it took. It was too hilarious a setup to ignore. Your characters are a small-town girl and a big-city guy. Which one do you think you're more like? Or are you comfortable in both places? I’m big-city all the way and relate to my hero Ryan’s ignorance of the small-town pace. In case you didn't know, Scrivenings Press is my publisher, and the company is more like a family in many ways. Needless to say, I'm always excited to meet/get to know another Scrivenings author. Ellen Withers is one I actually got to meet in person last fall when she came to Nashville for the Christy Awards. I'm also blessed to be her content editor for a novella coming out later this year. Needless to say, I'm more than excited to introduce her to YOU now. Because obviously you'll love someone I already love, right? Read on. Ellen, congratulations on the release of your first novel! What is one of the biggest things you’ve learned through the process of getting this book published?
I’ve learned so many things, but the most important is being grateful to God for blessing me with a publisher, editors and the other authors of Scrivenings Press who have helped me get this book published. I’m also so grateful for the support of my friends and family who share my excitement at being a published author. You’ve chosen to write a mystery. What is it that draws you to that genre? I grew up reading Harriet the Spy and Nancy Drew mysteries and found them fascinating. I’ve lived my life with a strong sense of right and wrong. Mysteries usually put all the pieces together and allow us to cheer when the bad guy gets caught. I love the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes and anything written by Agatha Christie. Even my insurance career involved solving mysteries, such as How did this fire start? How did this collision occur? Who was at fault? I haven't had a chance to read this beautiful book yet, but I'm excited to. Brand new author, Janilise Lloyd is here to chat today, and her story, The Whisperer's Wish, looks absolutely wonderful. So, sit down and stay a few minutes to get to know Janilise and her new story. Janilise, congrats on your first book release! You say you never thought you'd end up an author, so what changed your plans? What first encouraged you to pursue writing?
As a kid and teenager, writing was never something I considered doing for fun. As far as I knew, it was just something I used for classes in school. But I have always loved to read, and though I didn’t recognize it when I was young, I also loved storytelling. I used to make up little stories when I was cleaning or on long road trips with my family. When I was in my early twenties, my husband had a different work schedule than me, so I often had evenings to myself. A story idea came to mind and I decide—purely for the fun of it—I’d try writing it down. That’s when my foray into the writing world began. That story grew and changed. I began to see writing as a hobby and then something I sincerely wanted to pursue. My love for it has only grown since then. Your enthusiasm for helping young people write is beautiful. What is your best tip for younger people hoping to write? My best tip is to give yourself quiet time to be alone with your own thoughts. In today’s world, the options for consuming other people’s creations are endless. But you’ll never truly create something of your own until you give yourself the time to be with your own imagination. While other people’s creations can serve as a spring board or inspiration for your own ideas, don’t let them crowd out the time you can take to develop your own. While in the beginning stages of writing, you have to let your own creative self take control. Write what you think makes a great story and forget about all the other pressures and distractions. Do you prefer historicals or contemporary? Or both? Today, we're chatting with author Danielle Grandinetti, who writes both Historical Suspense and Sweet Contemporary Romance. And all of her books sound so good. I hope you'll enjoy getting to know more about her and her stories. She has a new one releasing this month! Danielle, you write both Christian Historical Suspense and Sweet Contemporary Romance. What is your favorite part about each?
My favorite genres are historical, romance, and suspense, so combining them is awesome. I mean, what better way to have two characters fall in love but when they're running for their lives? However, all suspense, all the time, can be challenging, which is why I also love writing sweet romance. My first foray into this genre is A Father for Her Boy, which releases in August from Love Inspired. As you've done research for your historicals, what is one of the neatest facts you've discovered? Oh there are so many fun facts I've learned! One interesting thing I learned in my research for Confessions to a Stranger is about Memorial Day. In 1930, the year the story is set, Memorial Day occurred on a date, not a day. So that year, Memorial Day landed on a Friday. It was originally a time to remember those who served and sacrificed during the Civil War. However after WWI, the holiday began to morph in name (from Decoration Day to Memorial Day) as well as to include those who fought in the Great War. We all know I love reading romance--historical and contemporary. But every now and then I get in the mood for a good fantasy adventure too. Which is why I'm so excited to interview this new-to-me author, Lydia MacClaren. She writes Inspirational Fantasy and her stories intrigue me. She's even including a way to get one of her stories for free, so be sure to read all the way to the bottom! Lydia, thanks for joining me today. Let's start off easy. What made you choose fantasy as your genre?
I love creating other worlds! Sure, I could write in ours, but I find it so much more interesting to write about a world where magic and fantastic creatures exist! Fantasy books are fun to read because their worlds are different than our own. How hard was it for you to create a whole new world for your characters to live in? Not hard at all! I write what’s called “soft worldbuilding,” and I think that has made creating intricate worlds less time-consuming for me. Soft worldbuilding only describes what is necessary for the plot without a lot of additional information. I have a rough idea of what my world is like, with some important details, then I start writing and allow the rest to fill in as I write! It’s a bit of a mix between discovery writing and plotting, and it works for me. Do you love fairy tale retellings? I do! And today, I am pleased to introduce you to an author I just discovered myself. Rachel Kovaciny writes ... you guessed it. Fairy tale retellings. But not just as fairy tales. She puts a western spin on it. And I can't wait to get to know her with you. Read on to find out more.
Rachel, welcome! Your books are fairytale retellings set as westerns, right? How did you come up with that idea of a crossover? Thanks for having me! I had the idea of retelling the fairy tale "Twelve Dancing Princesses" as a western about ten years ago. It struck me that the hero of that particular fairy tale is a soldier returning home from the war, and I knew that many Civil War veterans went westward when the war ended, so that kind of made the story a natural fit for that era. I actually considered doing a series of fairy tale-based mysteries set in the Old West, but it never went farther than daydreaming. I had other books I was working on instead. Then, in 2015, I heard that Rooglewood Press had announced that Sleeping Beauty would be the focus for the new contest for their third anthology of fairy tale retellings. I had recently been to Colonial Williamsburg and learned about the larger kind of spinning wheels, called walking wheels, which have a large spindle that sticks out horizontally about three feet from the floor. The interpreter demonstrating that wheel made a joke about what body part Sleeping Beauty might have pricked if she'd been using that kind of wheel. That joke came back to me, along with the idea of drifting gunmen being a sort of correlation to the knights errant of yore, and suddenly, I had the idea for my novella The Man on the Buckskin Horse. I won that contest and my novella was included in the anthology Five Magic Spindles. By the time the anthology was released in 2016, I had ideas for six more fairy tales retold as non-magical westerns. I decided to write them as a series of interconnected standalones. And here I am six years later, with four books out and two to go! So exciting! Of all the fairy tales out there, do you have a favorite? Why? My favorite is "Twelve Dancing Princesses." I love that the hero triumphs because he is kind and clever. Recently, I've joined a group of Christian Mommy Writers. In it, I'm discovering lots of new authors to me, like Dulcie Dameron. I can't wait to get to know her better right along with you. Her books sounds like lots of fun.
Dulcie, you say your love of writing goes all the way back to seventh grade. If you're like me, you have some stories you hope never see the light of day that were written way back when. Can you remember the premise of your favorite? Could you see yourself revamping it in the future? I actually do remember the very first story I ever started writing about ten years ago, and though I remember some of the premise, I don't know that I actually knew where the story was going myself! Haha. All I knew was that it was going to be a single mom romance/police officer romance and YES, I actually do think about revisiting that story a lot! I just wish I still had access to it to take a look at how horrible my writing must have been, haha. You live in a small town. How does it compare to the small towns in your books? It's actually very similar to the town I describe in my books. River Hollow is loosely based off of my hometown and it's where I've drawn much of my inspiration from. If you had to describe your books in one sentence, what would you say? I'd say you'll find quirky characters, swoony kisses, and small-town vibes in each one. Sounds great to me! Have you guys ever had someone you loved and admired even though you'd never met her? Well, today I'm sharing one of those people with you. Micki Clark and I have never met in person, but we've been at the same publisher for several years now, and I've followed her through publishing and cancer and life--she's awesome. So, I wanted you to meet her, too. Read on. Micki, I'm so glad to have you on here. I very much enjoyed your book Don't Ask Me to Leave You. What gave you the idea to loosely base your story on the book of Ruth?
My husband and I used the book of Ruth for our wedding vows, so those words are constantly in my head. One day, I started wondering what would happen to Ruth and Naomi in a modern world, and the story was born! I know you incorporated quite a few places from your home area into the book. What are your favorites and why did you pick them? I did—almost all of the locations in the book are real! I did change a few details here and there to make it fit the storyline, but you can go and tour all of the places mentioned yourself! I also have a YouTube video with photographs of some of the locations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooghJjgGnpQ. My absolute favorite, of course, is the Ruth Hunt Candy Company, because I have a killer sweet tooth and their cream candy is amazing. My children love to stop by there when we visit my family and get Ale-8 suckers (Ale-8 is a local beverage also featured in the book). The kids love Berryman’s Tasty Treat, which is a diner not too far down the street from the church where my husband and I were married. Do you like books that send characters through time? I have to admit, they're not always my favorite (time travel gives me a headache), but the idea behind fellow Scrivenings author, Lisa Schnedler's, new book sounds interesting. I'm interviewing her today on how she came up with such a story as well as a few other things. I think you're going to enjoy getting to know her, too.
Lisa, congrats on your first book. I know it's set in two different time periods. What inspired you to write a story that crossed time? I chose to have the book set in two different time periods as I was trying to flesh out what someone from Bentonsport in the 1870s would think of the town today. In the 1870s, the town was growing and prosperous—with railroad and steamboat traffic. Many people moved to Bentonsport. But, time was not kind to Bentonsport—the river traffic dried up and highways replaced the railroad. Likely, the former residents would have envisioned a booming future town…but instead, today, there are just 40 residents. Those residents have created an artist community—and tourist destination—so many people do still come, visit, and a few stay. At our largest festivals, we have over a thousand visitors over four days. The town would not be what past residents had envisioned—but I hope they would see that the residents have the same hopes, dreams, and sense of community that they did. I used time travel to create contrast and similarity. Writing what you know is always a great idea and your story is set in a town you've lived in for 25 years. What are some of your favorite parts of your town that you've incorporated in your story? My favorite part of the town is the people. When I was dating my husband, and we visited Bentonsport—where he had once lived—he said, “People usually visit towns for the sites and attractions. While there are points of interest in the town, when people visit Bentonsport, they enjoy getting to know the people who live there.” It is a slower pace. People have more time to visit. And, the artists who live there—a potter, blacksmith, weaver, writer, etc. – are interesting and a lot of fun! |
This is a place for me to tell you about what I'm writing, talk about the process or where some of my ideas came from, or even have other authors come in and talk about their books.
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