 Every now and then, someone super special comes into your life, and four years ago, that's what happened to me. I met Sarah Anne Crouch when dropping my daughter off for Bible class one of the first Sundays we visited where we worship now. Our daughters became immediate best friends and Sarah and I followed suit. Although I'm not happy that she's moved to a different state, I am thrilled that she's just released her first book. And I know you're going to enjoy getting to know this special author, too. Hi Sarah. Congrats on your first book. Can you tell me what first inspired you to be an author? I've always loved stories. When I was a kid, I devoured any book I could get my hands on, and I wrote all kinds of terrible poems and mysteries and even one horror comedy. About ten years ago, my husband, who was probably sick of hearing me just talk about wanting to write, bought me a copy of Writing the Christian Romance by Gail Gaymer Martin. A few years later, I only had a partially completed manuscript, but I met a very nice lady at church (named Amy Anguish!) who encouraged me to keep writing. And I'm so glad she did! What made you choose Northwest Arkansas as your setting? I consider Arkansas, specifically Northwest Arkansas, my home. There just aren't enough books set in Arkansas, in my opinion. Shady Springs is loosely based on the town I grew up in, Prairie Grove, Arkansas. The real town has a State Battlefield Park, an abundance of antique shops, and a popular craft fair every Labor Day weekend. The fictional town has a few changed details, but I tried to bring the real-life charm of Prairie Grove to the page. Of all the characters in your book, which one was the hardest to write and why? Nancy Jones, a woman who hurt my main character and her mother, was the hardest to write. To Madeleine, she'd become the embodiment of all the reasons why Madeleine and her mother left Shady Springs in the first place. If my book had a villain, it would probably be her. It was important for Nancy to have logical and believable reasons for her actions. But the more I got into her head, and the more I fleshed out her story and her personality, the more everything fell into place. And which one was your favorite? Aunt Clara is my very favorite. She's smart and spunky and a bit of a schemer. She knows just what to do and say to push my main character in the right direction. Besides writing, what other hobbies or activities do you do? My full-time job is being Mommy to three small and very wild children. As you well know, they can be a handful. =) In addition to wrangling kids, I always make the time to read, both for my personal sanity and to become a better writer. When I'm able, I also like to play piano and crochet. Got anything exciting coming up? What are you working on next? Why, yes! I have a novella coming out September 2022 as a part of a collection called Love in Any Season. My story, titled "A Sweet Dream Come True," is about an ice cream man who falls in love with a chocolatier. The best part is, the other authors are Heather Greer, Regina Merrick, and the lovely Amy R. Anguish! Hmm. I think I've heard of that collection. ;-) And the last question I ask everyone: what can you tell us about yourself that very few people know? My grandparents are authors, too! My grandfathers and my dad (Flavil Yeakley, Don Vinzant, and Gene Vinzant, respectively) have all written or co-written books on church growth and leadership. And my grandmother Carol Vinzant wrote a novel about her own grandmother living in Texas in the early 1900s called Meet Me in the Gloaming. I like to think I learned a bit about the business from them. =) That's such a cool fact. Thanks so much for sharing with us today. If you'd like to know more about Sarah and her new book, keep reading.  The last place Madeleine Mullins wants to be is back in Shady Springs, Arkansas—the town where her whole world fell apart. But when her beloved Aunt Clara begs her for help, Madeleine reluctantly takes a job painting a mural at her aunt’s church. Her plan is to finish quickly and leave her bad memories behind. But the more time she spends with the handsome youth minister and the more she reads her Bible, the more she wonders if she has been wrong about God and the Church all along. Three years out of college and A.J. Young still doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. He knows he wants to settle down and build a family but hasn’t found the wife he’d like to share his life with. Then Madeleine comes to town. Their friendship buds quickly, although it can never be anything more as long as she isn’t a Christian. An undeniable attraction grows between A.J. and Madeleine, but she’s only in town for a few weeks, and he can’t date someone who doesn’t share his beliefs. How can Madeleine help A.J. discover a passion for the career he’s always wanted? And how can A.J. convince Madeleine to give God and Shady Springs a second chance? Sarah Anne Crouch grew up in a small town much like Shady Springs. She cherishes the close relationships and beautiful memories from her hometown. Though she’s lived everywhere from Malibu, CA to Nashville, TN, Sarah now resides in Arkansas with her husband, three children, and thousands of books.
Links: http://www.SarahAnneCrouch.wordpress.com http://www.Facebook.com/SarahAnneCrouch http://www.Twitter.com/SarahAnneCrouch http://www.Pinterest.com/SarahAnneCrouch
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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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