My first book will officially be 6 years old in two weeks. November 1, 2017 was when An Unexpected Legacy was "birthed." If you had told me back then that I would be able to have 12 more books release over the next six years, I would've thought you were crazy. That's an average of two books a year. And when I got started, they were coming out about every year and a half.
But whether I'd believe it or not, number 13 releases tomorrow. Not only that, but it's my first full-length Christmas novel. A trope I didn't think I'd ever want to write. Come to think of it, I've done several things I didn't think I would write a series. But I enjoyed my roadtrip trilogy and have another series in my head. Just need to find time to write three more novels to go with the first. And now, a Christmas novel.
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A toy store at Christmas. Sounds frenetic, doesn't it? Definitely busy and chaotic.
But not Russo's Toy Emporium. Not at the beginning of Mama Dated Santa, anyway. Instead, it's suffering the fate of many brick-and-mortar stores today, losing business and unable to keep up. That's why, when Trudy walks in on Black Friday, she's blown away by the lack of customers ... and the poor dilapidated Christmas tree in the Santa section. But it's not her responsibility to help such a mess. Not until her Mom gets her involved, that is. When you think Christmas story, you probably think somewhere up north, where there's at least a chance of snow. Why would anyone set a Christmas story smackdab in the middle of Texas? If they get any cold precipitation, it's more likely than not going to be ice.
And yet, that's where my story, Mama Dated Santa, is set. Why? Well, I have several reasons. The first is, I didn't set it in Temple to begin with. Are you confused? Hang with me. I'll explain. When I first wrote it, I set it in Waco. Thanks to some famous HGTV stars, that town has become quite known over the last few years. And I love how they're revamping their downtown area. It was perfect. Except it was just a bit bigger than I needed.
Can you imagine wearing a corset? Which side of history do you think you'd land on? Author Heather Wood is here with us today, chatting about these things and more. Her books sound so good, so be sure to read all the way to the bottom to find out more! Heather, you weave your love of history into your beautiful Christian stories. What is it about history that draws you to it?
I love history because I love sociology and learning about where the ideas and customs of our culture came from. Everything had an origin, from the ways we think about ourselves to the ways our cities are laid out to the words we use. Who started it? Did they know that the choices they made would be an influential part of culture a hundred or four hundred years later? Another reason is because the complexity of human history helps me to appreciate the complexity of our own times better. People 180 years ago were as concerned about the direction of their culture as we are, and oftentimes two now-revered leaders "back then" had opposing ideas and good people followed each of them. Those kinds of things bring me perspective and comfort in navigating the era where God has placed me. Your stories are all woven into one family saga, right? How hard was it for you to keep track of all the characters and plotlines after writing several books? Yes, I have one published series, and it's all about one family and their friends. There were times when I was plotting the later books when I realized something I'd said in a previous book had written me into a hole, or the situations I wanted to write for my characters were going to be impossible. It actually made my writing more creative and my plots less expected. Since I now had a puzzle to figure out to get the timelines to line up just so or have a character at a place I hadn't planned, I was able to take the stories directions that even I hadn't seen coming.
If you're going to write a novel called Mama Dated Santa, then you better have a Santa to go with it, right? Well, good news. My story definitely has a santa.
Santa is played by Paul Russo, one of the brothers who owns Russos' Toy Emporium. All three brothers are now semi-retired, but Paul loves to come back each holiday season and keep the Santa tradition his dad started alive. And he's good at it. Paul has this intrinsic way of seeing beyond what people portray to those around them. Now, he's not perfect and sometimes makes mistakes, just like all of us, but he's also pretty good at getting people to do what he thinks is in their best interest, whether they agree or not. Y'all, I seriously can't say enough good things about my publisher, Scrivenings Press. And one of my favorite parts is how much we feel like a family. We support each other, cheer each other, answer questions, and get to know each other through monthly meetings even though we live all over the US. One of the newer authors I've been getting to know lately is Mary Pat Tedder. Her first book looks like a lot of fun, just like she is. Read on to find out more. Mary Pat, congratulations on your first release. I know it's set at a gym, so I'm curious. What made you choose that as your setting?
Hi, Amy! I’ve had a gym habit for a long time…it really helps with this “sittin’ on my rear” writing job. So one day when I was at the gym, praying about where to get started, I felt like the Lord whispered into my spirit that I could use a gym as the backdrop for my story. I guess it fell into that “write what you know” philosophy. But it helped with the fear factor—I knew about gyms, so writing about one seemed like a doable step. All three of the books in your new series will feature a brave veteran re-entering civilian life, right? What made you choose that theme? Two of the books and a novella feature veterans. In the fourth and last book of the series, the main character is a policeman who had a difficult adjustment from civilian to police life. Overall, my inspiration came from my son, who deployed during the war with Afghanistan. When he returned, his re-entry into civilian life wasn’t easy. While his PTSD was not severe as some, it was still traumatic for him and those who loved him. It took a while, but he recovered and is doing well. He even helped me write a short story about Afghanistan to use as a prequel for the series. That's amazing. I'm so appreciative for his service and glad you could turn that bad experience into good. Welcome to the inaugural Back to School Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt. We hope that throughout this hunt, you discover some new books and get to know a little more about us.
A few things before you begin: This hunt is a blog hop. Collect the “clues” (pieces to the longer phrase) at each stop. Enter the individual giveaways along the way, then click on the link to the next stop and repeat until you reach #28, where you will input the full phrase as your entry to the grand prize drawing. The hunt begins August 30, 2023, at noon EST and ends September 4, 2023, so you have plenty of time to visit each stop. If you need to step away and come back later, make a note of the last stop you visited, and go to this post with the list of all stops on the hunt. If you are having trouble viewing the posts, you may need to switch browsers. Chrome and Firefox sometimes work better than Microsoft Explorer or Edge. Welcome back to my annual birthday story. Ready to find out what happens next with David and Macy? Read on. Or, if you missed Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, or Day 4, follow those links to catch up! Macy hadn’t been able to get a good read on David this afternoon. Had he been pleased with his party? Was he upset? Was that why he wanted to talk to her? He had mentioned to his mom that he didn’t want a party. And that’s exactly what she’d thrown. Maybe she’d ruined her chances for an office friendship before it could even start. Her own mom often chided her for eavesdropping. This exact situation was the reason. “Macy?” David’s voice in her doorway startled her from her brooding. “David. Hi.” She set her pens straight on her blotter for the next day. “I have a question for you.” David leaned against her desk. “Oh?” “Why did you think today was my birthday?” Her hands stilled and she slowly lifted her gaze to him. “What?” |
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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