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If you've followed me for any amount of time at all, you know Heather Greer and Erin Howard are two of my writing sisters. We have our YouTube channel, Once Upon a Page, which has been going for two years now (almost 100 episodes!). And for the second year in a row, we organized a retreat for other writers to join us for three days of writing, encouragement, and fun. Last year was a blast (here's my post about it), but this year was even better.  First of all, we doubled in how many people attended, which was amazing. We had authors from TN, KY, IL, and AR, too. And it was a blast getting to know them and hear about their stories.
The weather was warm and mostly sunny, so we could spend time outside as well as inside. All the devos and talks were uplifting (I can say that because I led two of them--ha!). And we actually got some writing done as well as recording more videos for the YouTube channel.
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 It's always a pleasure to have one of my fellow Scrivenings Press authors on here for an interview. Today, Michelle de Bruin is joining us, talking about her newest book, which sounds amazing, and some of the fun research that went into it. Read on!
Michelle, congrats on the recent release of your fourth book. Can you tell us if this book is connected to your last series or is this a completely new series? This book starts a new series, but the characters in this book are people we met in my first series of books. Your characters in this book are older than the ones in your last few. Was that easier or harder to write? Why? Even though these main characters are older than the ones in my first book, they are actually close in age to myself, so creating them and writing their story came pretty easy because I thought about how I would handle the situations that came up in the book. Some of the events, like second marriages and the arrival of grandchildren have happened to people in my era of life. I could develop these characters with an accurate level of maturity because of the realistic responses I've witnessed to these sorts of circumstances. What was one of the most interesting things you uncovered when you were researching for this story? Writing this story required research of the first airplanes ever invented. Here are some interesting facts I learned about the Wright Model B pusher biplane while writing this story: The biplane required 100 yards to take off. It was produced between the years of 1910 and 1914. It had a 39 foot wingspan and a 4 cylinder engine. It's speed was on average 44 mph. President Theodore Roosevelt was the first American President to fly. In October 1910, a man by the name of Arch Hoxsey took the President as a passenger on his Wright Model B. Are you tired of learning about the characters in my upcoming story and ready to read the book already? I'm ready, too! And I have good news! It comes out tomorrow!  I never thought I'd want to write a Christmas story. But I enjoyed doing this one.
I never thought I'd want to include a child in a story. But Hailey really adds some fun moments to this romance with all her eight-year-old sass. I never thought I'd be able to write a novella, but now I'm working on another one! In other words, this story has helped me overcome a lot of things I never thought I'd do. And I hope you enjoy it, as well as the other four stories, as much as I did. Today is the last day for pre-order, which means the last day to snag the ebook at two dollars cheaper than normal. Check it out here. And keep reading to find out what the other stories are about, too. ;-)
 As soon as I knew my Christmas novella had to be set on a beach, I knew where it was going to take place. St. Simon's Island. It's a little spot of paradise off the Georgia coast. And it's where I had my honeymoon. Gnarled old oaks, limbs bent every which way and some even resting on the ground, all dripping with Spanish moss. An old lighthouse that has a fascinating story. An old fort. Quite a few ancient church buildings. And a beach full of shells and waves and salty air. Want to go?  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. Thanks so much for joining us this week. This is the final part of my birthday gift to you, a fun short story. I hope you loved it, or that it at least made your week a bit brighter. If you need to catch up, the first day is here, Tuesday is here, Wednesday is here, and Thursday is here. Enjoy the end!  “Okay. Just a bit more.” Chris wedged his shoulder under the microwave while Tyler screwed it in above. “There.”
“That’s it?” Chris stepped out but kept a hand underneath it, just in case. The memory of the microwave taking a nose dive earlier was still fresh in his mind. “That’s it. Let’s see.” Tyler pushed the plug into the wall and the screen flashed four green zeros. “Ta da.” “I wish I’d called you in the first place. You might have kept me from almost getting electrocuted.” Chris stepped all the way back and admired their handiwork. Jane had been right. This one looked much nicer. Thanks so much for joining us this week to read my birthday gift to you, a short story. If you need to catch up, the first day is here, Tuesday is here, and yesterday is here. Have fun!
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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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