Di Ann Mills' interview

This week I am hosting DiAnn Mills with Breach of Trust and Kathi Macias with How Can I Run a Tight Ship When I'm Surrounded By Loose Cannons?. If you want to be entered in the drawings for these books or one of them, please leave a comment during the week on a post. To be entered you must include your email address or you need to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com and tell me you want to be in the drawings. The drawings end next Sunday evening, April 5th.

DiAnn Mills' interview:

1. What made you start writing?

I’d always wanted to write, but I didn’t think I had what it took. Of course, I didn’t know what was on the list of credentials. I began to write seriously when my husband made the statement “Why don’t you stop talking about one day writing a book. Just do it.” His challenge motivated me to get started.

2. How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

I started writing in 1996—seriously. My first book was released in 1998.

3. How do you handle rejections?

Does anyone handle them well? I teach that rejections are redirections, and they are not rejections of us but our work. Since my agent handles the submissions, I’m not really involved with the process of knowing who does or does not want a manuscript. For those of us who do receive rejections, we simply have to believe God has another purpose for our writing.

4. Why do you write?

How do I not write? It’s a passion to show a character changing
and growing as he/she struggles to attain a goal. It’s a creative expression of Truth woven into a story that is credible and real.

5. What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t
writing?

I have no idea. I suppose reading and dreaming about one day
writing a book. ☺

6. What are you working on right now?

I’m putting the final touches on A Woman Called Sage, a
historical novel set in the 1880s about a woman bounty hunter who
discovers she has become the hunted.

7. Do you put yourself into your books/characters?

I try very hard for my characters to stand alone as independent
persons who react and respond according the traits I’ve given
them. I think there is a little bit of the writer in every protagonist – the part of us who wants the world to be right and good.

8. Tell us about the book you have out right now.

Breach of Trust was a growing process for me. I stepped from the
historical and African novels to a fast-paced world of technology
and a novel that needed to move with lots of twists and turns.

Paige Rogers is a former CIA agent who lost all she treasured
seven years ago when her entire team was killed in a covert
mission. She blames their leader—Daniel Keary—whom Paige believes
betrayed them. Disillusioned and afraid for her life, she
disappeared and started a new life as a small-town
librarian. But when Keary announces his candidacy for governor of
her state, he comes after Paige to ensure that she won’t ruin his bid for office. He threatens everything she holds dear, and Paige must choose between the life of hiding that has become her refuge . . . or risking everything in one last, desperate attempt to right old wrongs.

9. Do you have any advice for other writers?

a. Keep writing and write everyday.

b. Read in the genre you want to write. Dissect those novels
and figure out why they work for you.

c. Read and study the books about how to write

d. Participate in conferences and network while you are there.

e. Participate in a writing group.

f. What you learn, give back to other writers.

g. Above all pray your work glorifies God.

10. How important is faith in your books?

Faith and truth are who my protagonists are. I don’t want to
write preachy novels that tell the reader about God. My goal is to write about characters who reach out to solve their problems according to a Christian world view.

11. What themes do you like to write about?

Letting go of the past and learning to forgive not only others
but ourselves.

12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?

My favorite book to date is Breach of Trust. It’s my new “baby”
and I feel the writing is my best to date.

13. What is your writing schedule like?

I am a scheduled and disciplined writer. I’m up before five a.m.
for a quiet time, answering e-mail, exercise, breakfast, and
shower. The rest of the morning is spent writing. When I’m in the
writing process, I have a word count, and I stick to it. The
afternoons are spent finishing up word count, reading and
editing, examining my writing students’ work, and promotion.

14. How do you juggle writing for different houses?

By understanding the goal and mission of each house: what they
publish, their authors, and their vision for my book.

By developing a relationship with the editor and those who will
be helping me make this book a success. These hard working people
are not only professionals but new friends who will last long after the book is released.

This week DiAnn Mills and Kathi Macias

Congratulations, Cheryl. You are the winner of Winnie Griggs' Hand-Me Down Family.

This week I am hosting DiAnn Mills with Breach of Trust and Kathi Macias with How Can I Run a Tight Ship When I'm Surrounded By Loose Cannons?. If you want to be entered in the drawings for these books or one of them, please leave a comment during the week on a post. To be entered you must include your email address or you need to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com and tell me you want to be in the drawings. The drawings end next Sunday evening, April 5th.

DiAnn Mills' Bio:

Award-winning author, DiAnn Mills, launched her career in 1998 with the publication of her first book. Currently she has over forty books in print and has sold a million and a half copies.

DiAnn believes her readers should “Expect an Adventure.” DiAnn Mills is a fiction writer who combines an adventuresome spirit with unforgettable characters to create action-packed novels.

Six of her anthologies have appeared on the CBA Best Seller List. Three of her books have won the distinction of Best Historical of the Year by Heartsong Presents. Five of her books have won placements through American Christian Fiction Writer’s Book of the Year Awards 2003 – 2008, and she is the recipient of the Inspirational Reader’s Choice award for 2005 and 2007. She was a Christy Awards finalist in 2008.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope and Love, and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is also a mentor for Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writer’s Guild.

She lives in sunny Houston, Texas. DiAnn and her husband have four adult sons and are active members of Metropolitan Baptist Church.

Website: www.diannmills.com

Blurb for Breach of Trust:

Paige Rogers is a former CIA agent who lost all she treasured seven years ago when her entire team was killed in a covert mission. She blames their leader—Daniel Keary—whom Paige believes betrayed them. Disillusioned and afraid for her life, she disappeared and started a new life as a small-town librarian. But when Keary announces his candidacy for governor of her state, he comes after Paige to ensure that she won't ruin his bid for office. He threatens everything she holds dear, and Paige must choose between the life of hiding that has become her refuge . . . or risking everything in one last, desperate attempt to right old wrongs.



Kathi Macias' Bio:

Award winning author Kathi Macias has written more than 17 books, including Beyond Me, the best-selling devotional A Moment a Day, and the popular “Matthews” mystery novels. She has written commentary for Thomas Nelson’s Spirit-Filled Bible and was part of the devotional writing team for Zondervan’s New Women’s Devotional Bible. She has ghostwritten for several prominent individuals including Josh McDowell.

Kathi has won any awards, including the Angel Award from Excellence in Media, fiction awards from the San Diego Christian Writers Guild, and the grand prize in an international writing contest. With women’s ministry as her primary interest, Kathi is a popular speaker for women’s retreats, conferences, and churches.

A mother and grandmother, Kathi and her husband, Al, call California home.

Blurb for How Can I run a Tight Ship When I'm Surrounded By Loose Cannons? by Kathi Macias:

The perfect woman-excellent wife, cherished mother, impeccable
housekeeper, thriving entrepreneur-all rolled into one. The Proverbs 31 woman looms large for Christian women today. But despite our best efforts it seems there are always loose cannons rolling around the deck. With humor and relevance, Kathi Macias shares her journey and struggles with Proverbs 31, ultimately discovering that there is a natural progression of growing in grace, through which we can learn to relinquish the dream of perfection and give up trying to control every aspect of our lives, and instead learn to trust the Captain of our ship to steer us safely home.

Christian Bookseller's Expo

This is a picture of Vickie and myself at the ACFW booth signing books.

I went to Dallas last weekend to do some research on a new book and to attend the Christian Bookseller's Expo. I was signing my books in the ACFW booth on Friday. I really enjoyed seeing some friends and meeting some different editors and publishers.A group of writers got together on Friday night and ate dinner at an Italian restaurant at the Hyatt. Good food. Good company.


This is a picture of Vickie McDonough, me and Lena Nelson Dooley at the CBE.

Winnie Griggs' interview

This week I'm hosting Winnie Griggs with Hand-Me-Down Family. If you want to be entered in Winnie's drawing, please leave a message on a post this week with your email address (you won't be entered if I don't have a way to get in touch with you). You can email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com to enter the drawing. The drawing will end on this Sunday evening.

Winnie Griggs' interview:

1. What made you start writing?

Hard question. I don’t remember actually making an actual decision or having a sudden epiphany that I wanted to be a writer. I’ve loved story for as long as I can remember - being both an avid reader and an active ‘daydreamer’ since childhood. Stories are always around, clamoring to be told.


2. How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

If by that you mean writing with an eye toward publication, I started down that road in 1991 when I attempted my first novel length work. It was 2000 and several manuscripts later before I actually made that first sale.

3. How do you handle rejections?

By pouting . Seriously, any kind of rejection hurts, there’s no getting around that. The trick, I’ve come to believe, is to not let it get you down for long. Give yourself a day or so to wallow and then put it behind you and move on. Start a new project, finish an existing one, polish a draft - anything to focus your attention forward and not backward.

4. Why do you write?

Because my characters demand it.

5. What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?

More reading, some travel perhaps and I’ve always enjoyed estate sales and flea markets


6. What are you working on right now?

I recently turned in the manuscript for what will be my October release THE CHRISTMAS JOURNEY. Now I’m toying with a contemporary small town story set in my home state of Louisiana. It will be a departure for me but I’m really excited about it.


7. Do you put yourself into your books/characters?

Not overtly, but to the extent that who I am influences the values and goals of my characters, yes.

8. Tell us about the book you have out right now.

The Hand-Me-Down Family is a book about a group of strangers - a lone wolf of a man, a woman who thought she’d end life as an old maid, and three orphaned children - coming together to form a family. Here’s the official blurb:
Callie Gray always assumed she would never marry, that is until she took a leap of faith and became a mail-order bride. But when she arrives in Sweetgum, Texas, she gets the shock of her life. Her husband is dead, and his brother proposes she marry him, for the sake of his orphaned nephew and nieces.
Jack Tyler warns her not to hope for a love match - theirs is strictly a convenient marriage. He’ll support her and the children financially, but he doesn’t plan to actually stick around for very long.
However, Callie soon yearns for a true partnership with the man who unexpectedly captured her heart. Now she must convince Jack what he truly needs is a lifetime of love, faith and family - with her by his side.

9. Do you have any advice for other writers?

Develop a thick skin and an inquiring mind. Write every day. Read as much as you can.


10. How important is faith in your books?

It is a simple thread woven throughout that binds the whole together
11. What themes do you like to write about?

Family, the need to belong, the need to find purpose - all thing very important to me.

12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?

That’s like asking which of my four children is my favorite - I just can’t pick one. They’re all special to me for very different reasons.

13. What is your writing schedule like?

I’m afraid I’ll have to confess that I don’t really have a set schedule. I work three days a week at an 8:00 - 5:00 job and normally don’t do much writing, if any, on those days. The rest of the week I try to dedicate 3-4 hours toward writing or writing-related activities, but I’ll admit that I don’t always achieve that.

This week Winnie Griggs

Congratulations to Abi for winning Lynette Eason's A Silent Terror and Holly for winning Sharon Souza's Lying on Sunday.

This week I'm hosting Winnie Griggs with Hand-Me-Down Family. If you want to be entered in Winnie's drawing, please leave a message on a post this week with your email address (you won't be entered if I don't have a way to get in touch with you). You can email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com to enter the drawing. The drawing will end on this Sunday evening.

Winnie's bio:

Winnie Griggs is a city girl born and raised in Southeast Louisiana’s Cajun Country who grew up to marry a small town farm boy from the piney hills of Northwest Louisiana. Though her Prince Charming (who often wears the guise of a cattle rancher) is more comfortable riding a tractor than a white steed, the two of them have been living out their own happily ever after for 33+ years. During that time they raised four proud-to-call-them-mine children and a too-numerous-to-count assortment of dogs, cats, aquarium fish, hamsters, turtles and 4-H sheep.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and a minor in Computer Science, Winnie has held various professional and managerial positions in the electric utility industry since she graduated from college. At the moment, however, she’s actively working on transitioning into a full time writing career.

In addition to her day job and writing career, Winnie has served on the board of a number of writing organizations, coordinated writers’ conferences and contests, served on committees within her church, and is active in several civic organizations - after all, she’s a firm believer in the adage that you reap in proportion to what you sow.

Winnie’s favorite pastimes, besides reading and writing, are cooking, exploring flea markets and pretending the platoon of dust bunnies who have invaded her home will disappear on their own if she just ignores them long enough.
Winnie enjoys hearing from readers. You can contact her at P.O.Box 398, Plain Dealing, LA 71064, or e-mail her at winnie@winniegriggs.com .

Back blurb of Hand-Me-Down Family:

Callie Gray always assumed she would never marry, until she took a leap and became a mail-order bride. But when she arrives in Sweetgum, Texas, she gets the shock of her life. Her husband is dead, and his brother proposes she marry him, for the sake of his orphaned nephew and nieces. Jack Tyler warns her not to hope for a love match—theirs is strictly a convenient marriage. But Callie yearns for a true partnership with the man who has unexpectedly captured her heart. Now she must convince him what he truly needs is a lifetime of love, faith and family—with Callie by his side.

Yummy heroes

I’m getting ready to start a new book, and that means I have to come up with a great hunk for the hero. Oh, what a problem to have. Creating a wonderful hero is so much fun. Where do you begin?

Actually that is a very good question. I would love to hear from writers on where do you begin when you are developing a new hero for your book. I know that some people look for a picture that will inspire them. I did that (see the photos). I wonder if there is a computer program you could make a composite of several of these photos and put them together to form a new hunk. Of course, it’s hard to go wrong with Hugh Jackman. I found a picture in a magazine of Jon Hamm that was great. I couldn’t find it on the Internet, but I have the hard copy and will be using it for inspiration on one of my heroes. I’m a visual person so I like to look at a picture so that when I have to describe him I’ve got something in front of me. Does anyone have a favorite site to go to for good photos of likely heroes?

But the picture isn’t everything. We still have to come up with a yummy physical description and a heroic character. Sometimes an occupation will be a big part of our character we create. Other times, it won’t play much into our hero’s character sketch. In my Heart of the Amazon, I used the premise from several movies to motivate me when forming my hero. I described that book as the African Queen meets Romancing the Stone. My hero’s character (and for that matter, my heroine) was a mix from those two movies.

But ultimately that fantasy man comes straight from my mind. And coming up with my hero is definitely the fun part of writing.

So what do you like as a reader in a hero?

Sharon Souza's interview

This week I'm hosting Lynette Eason with a Love Inspired Suspense called A Silent Terror and Sharon Souza with Lying on Sunday. If you would like to be entered in a drawing for both or either books, please leave a comment on one of the posts this week with your email address included (must have that to be entered) or email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday evening.

Sharon Souza's interview:

1.What made you start writing?

I’ve loved reading and writing for as long as I can remember. Literature classes were among my favorites in high school. I always felt there was a book in me, but was never quite sure I had what it took to write it. But one year, when I had three months off from my job as a teacher’s aide, I began working on a novel. I hand wrote 100 pages that summer, and that was when it really began for me. I also wrote a number of articles, some of which I sold, and that gave me encouragement to keep going. But it didn’t take long to realize that my first love as a writer was novel writing. So that’s what I’ve pursued with a passion for a number of years.

2.How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

It was the summer of 1986 when I began to seriously pursue writing, and April 2006 when I sold my first book. Twenty long years from Point A to Point B.

3.How do you handle rejections?

To make a complete mess of the famous Will Rogers quote, I never met a rejection I liked, and I never got any encouraging tips or remarks with the rejections I received. But I continued to persevere, to make my writing as sharp and intriguing as I could, and as desirable to readers and editors as possible. Even now, rejections don’t come without a pang, but I don’t take them as personally as I used to. I realize there’s a “right fit” and a “right time” for a project. I just do my best to hit both of those criteria at the same time.

4.Why do you write?

It’s hard not to be cliché in answering this question, but like most any writer will tell you, I write because I have stories inside me that want to come out. There are characters in my head almost as real as the characters I know in real life. They all come to me with something to say, and I’m the vehicle they use to say it. By the time we finish, they have become friends, people I hate to say goodbye to. My goal then becomes to introduce them to other people who will come to love them as I do.

5.What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?

Besides enjoying my family even more than I do now, I would pursue website design. I love that type of creative process. I’d definitely want a technical person to work with, but I could really get into the artistic aspect of that type of work.

6.What are you working on right now?

There’s nothing I like better than finishing a novel, except starting one. And that’s where I am today. As soon as I finish this interview I’m going to write my opening paragraph of a brand new manuscript. I love the discovery of new characters, new locales, new problems to solve. I am so blessed to be doing this.

7.Do you put yourself into your books/characters?

It’s hard not to. But while my physical person might not be particularly evident in my books, my values will be there somewhere. And when you get right down to it, isn’t that who we really are?

8.Tell us about the book you have out right now.

Lying on Sunday is my favorite book to have written so far. It’s the story about a woman who learns, when the book opens, that she’s been betrayed by her late husband. She realizes how subtly but thoroughly he had controlled her life, even how she perceived herself. Lying on Sunday is a story of self-discovery, and the pursuit of truth, which opens up a whole new world for Abbie Torrington.

9.Do you have any advice for other writers?

Write what you love, because it will come through in your work. Hone your craft by writing, writing, writing. Get honest feedback, from other writers if possible, and as my daughter Deanne would say, chew the meat and spit out the bones. Read the best books on writing (my top picks are Write Tight by William Brohaugh, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Write Away by Elizabeth George, and Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell), but remember, they’re guidelines. In the end, do what works for you! And find a writers’ conference to attend. Attending Mt. Hermon Writers Conference opened the doors to publication for me.


10.How important is faith in your books?

Faith is very important in my books, because it’s the main woof and warp of my own life. I don’t see how it would be possible to separate faith out of my writing. But I try not to be preachy about it; rather I want faith to be seen as the natural makeup of one or more characters in my stories, presented in a way that draws readers to a closer relationship with Christ.

11.What themes do you like to write about?

I like to write about tough issues we deal with in today’s world and how they impact our lives, accompanied with extraordinary friendship, which is a recurring theme in all my books.

12.What is your favorite book you’ve written, and why?

Lying on Sunday is my favorite so far. I love the character of Abbie Torrington, love the journey she makes over the course of the novel. I loved laughing with her and her crazy best friend, Shawlie, and seeing Abbie come to grips with the truth, which ultimately is what set her free.

13.What is your writing schedule like?

I’ve always been one to get my household work and busy stuff out of the way first thing. So I get my house in order every morning, which is very easy now that it’s just my husband and me. I do laundry, run whatever errands I have (go to the grocery store, post office, etc.), then try to be home and ready to write from about noon till dinner time. Sometimes I’ll write late at night like I used to do, but only if there’s a scene I want to finish, or if something needs to be jotted down. I typically set a daily word goal and seldom write on weekends unless I’m on a deadline. I’m so fortunate now to have plenty of free time for writing, rather than trying to squeeze in time around a job schedule like some of my writing friends have to do. I admire their accomplishments tremendously, as I remember how difficult it was to juggle family, work, church and writing all at the same time. That said, I think women are amazing. I love how God wired us.

Lynette Eason's hero interview

This week I'm hosting Lynette Eason with a Love Inspired Suspense called A Silent Terror and Sharon Souza with Lying on Sunday. If you would like to be entered in a drawing for both or either books, please leave a comment on one of the posts this week with your email address included (must have that to be entered) or email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday evening.

Hero's interview from A Silent Terror:

1. Ethan O’Hara, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
I am a detective with the local police force and I know American Sign Language so I can communicate with deaf people in my community.

2. What do you do for fun?
Work. That’s sad, isn’t it? But I realize I do it so I don’t have to think about—other things. It keeps me busy and tired enough to fall into bed and sleep some nights without the dream coming to haunt me.

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
Going home. I don’t like to go home to my empty house so I tend to stay in the office and work.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?
Being unable to protect the people I love. It’s not that I have a hero complex or anything, but a few bad experiences have made me a little gun shy.

5. What do you want out of life?
I want peace—and the ability to forgive myself. I want to find my faith again, believe in God like I used to. I’d also like to have a family one day but until I’m able to achieve the aforementioned peace and forgiveness, I don’t see a woman being able to put up with me for very long.

6. What is the most important thing to you?
Making sure I do my job well and as of right now—making sure Marianna Santino stays alive.

7. Do you read books?
Occasionally. Mostly if I start a book, though, I fall asleep over it. You see, my dreams are haunted so I don’t sleep very soundly. If I sit down to read, well, that’s it for me. If so, what is your favorite type of book? Something I can get lost in like and action adventure thing.

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My past. It haunts me, but I’m trying to work through it.

9. Do you have a pet?
No, I don’t. I’d like one, thought, but I’m so rarely home, it wouldn’t be fair to make an animal be alone so much. I do like Marianna’s dog, Twister. He’s her service dog. Marianna’s deaf and Twister acts as her ears.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
I’d go back to the point in time where I could save my sister’s life.

This week Lynette Eason and Sharon Souza

Congratulations to Cindi for winning Cathy Gohlke's I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires and to Teresa for winning Mary DeMuth's Daisy Chain.

This week I'm hosting Lynette Eason with a Love Inspired Suspense called A Silent Terror and Sharon Souza with Lying on Sunday. If you would like to be entered in a drawing for both or either books, please leave a comment on one of the posts this week with your email address included (must have that to be entered) or email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday evening.

Lynette Eason's bio:

Lynette Eason grew up in Greenville, SC. Her home church, Northgate Baptist, had a tremendous influence on her during her early years. She credits Christian parents and dedicated Sunday School teachers for her acceptance of Christ at the tender age of eight. Even as a young girl, she knew she wanted her life to reflect the love of Jesus.

Lynette attended The University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, then moved to Spartanburg, SC to attend Converse College where she obtained her Masters degree in Education. A couple of years later, she met the boy next door, Jack Eason—and married him. Jack is the Executive Director of The Sound of Light Ministries. Lynette and Jack have two precious children, Lauryn, eight years and Will, who is six. She and Jack are members of New Life Baptist Fellowship Church in Boiling Springs, SC where Jack serves as the worship leader and Lynette does whatever she’s asked to do like take picture for the church directory.

Lynette loves to ice skate, go bowling, walk on the beach, visit the mountains of Asheville, NC, watch American Idol, Law and Order, A & E channel, and surf the web—and of course, read. She is often found online and loves to talk writing with anyone who will listen. She gives God the glory for her giving her the talent and desire to spin stories that bring readers to the edge of their seat, but most importantly, to the throne of Christ.

A Silent Terror's Blurb:

When Marianna Santino's roommate is killed, Detective Ethan O'Hara can't fathom the motive. Then he realizes the deaf teacher was the intended target. Marianna must have something the murderer desperately wants. But what? Digging for the truth, the guarded cop tries to learn everything he can about Marianna. Her world. Her family. Her beauty, faith and fierce independence. In spite of himself, Ethan finds that he can't keep his feelings at bay. Soon, he's willing to risk everything—including his heart—to lay the silent terror stalking Marianna to rest.



Sharon Souza's bio:

Sharon K. Souza is a freelance author whose passion is writing inspirational fiction. Two novels, Every Good & Perfect Gift and Lying on Sunday, were released by NavPress in 2008. Her novella, A Heavenly Christmas in Hometown, released in December 2004, has been converted to a play, and has been performed in Northern California.

She and her husband Rick have been married 37 years. They have three grown children (one who now resides in Heaven) and seven grandchildren. Her husband is a builder and an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God, and together they are appointed missionaries at large with the Assemblies, based in the US.

Sharon has traveled with Rick to various countries, including Mexico, Japan, South Africa and Jamaica, where Rick is involved in physically and strategically building the kingdom of God. He has traveled to more than 30 countries, has experienced Siberia in December, been robbed in Columbia, and called in for questioning by the authorities in Cuba.

While Rick lives the adventure, Sharon is satisfied to create her own through her fiction.

Lying on Sunday's blurb:

When the life she thought she knew turns out to be a lie, Abbie Torrington discovers she has two choices: she can crumble in despair or set out to find herself in the rubble left behind by her husband’s betrayal. Abbie does both and comes face to face with bigger secrets than she knew existed. In the process, she just might learn that the truth really does set you free. Lying on Sunday is an honest but entertaining story that answers the question, Is there life after infidelity?

Keeping a marriage fresh

How do you keep the romance alive in a marriage after spending thirty-eight years together?

That's a good question. It isn't always easy and as always you have to work at it. And there are times you don't do a good job. I think after you have been married a while you develop a solid friendship which can be so important through the good and tough times. My husband is my best friend. I know him well to the point I can tell you what he will say a lot of the times. But that can be a problem in some marriage. How do you keep things "new and fresh."

One of the ways is I have us do things that we've never done before. Not long ago we went zipping (on a line) around the treetops in a jungle. That was amazing. When I wasn't clinging on for dear life, the view was awesome.(The picture above isn't me, but it is exactly what I did. I just can't find my pictures from the trip.) Or we went swimming with sharks and stingrays. That was amazing, too, although I kept watching out for Jaws.

So what are some of the things you can do to keep your marriage alive, especially when you begin to know your spouse so well you can finish his/her sentence?

Mary DeMuth's interview

Check out Daisy Chain on Amazon.
This week I'm hosting Cathy Gohlke with I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires and Mary DeMuth with Daisy Chain. If you want to be entered in the two drawings, please leave a comment this week with your email address. If you don't leave an email address, you won't be entered. I'll have no way to get in touch with you. If you don't want to
leave an email address, you can email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com and let me know you want to enter the drawing(s). The drawings will end Sunday evening.


Visit Mary's Web site about Daisy Chain.

Mary DeMuth's interview:

Tell me a little bit about your background and your family.
You can read my testimony on my website (www.marydemuth.com). I came from a difficult upbringing, but Jesus saw fit to find me at fifteen. He has utterly changed my life.

I’ve been married 18 years to my husband Patrick (who’s been told he looks like George Clooney on more than one occasion). Interesting side note: I’ve been told I look like Laura Dern, and we share the EXACT same birthday. Twins separated at birth? Possibly. If you’re reading this and you’re chums with Laura, could you probe a bit?

George (er, Patrick) and I have three kids: Sophie, Aidan and Julia. Sophie’s learning to drive—and what’s interesting is that I’m not worried about it. She’s a careful driver. My son Aidan is thirteen. He’s passionate about finding water for a small village in Ghana. We got to go on the trip of a lifetime to meet the village of Sankpem last summer. Our daughter Julia is ten and is deeply kindhearted, beautiful inside and out. We also have an overly needy (farting) dog and a fat & fuzzy (sometimes cranky) cat.

What do you like to do in your spare time? Hobbies?
I love to cook and garden and sew and decorate and take pictures. I’m really quite a homebody. I also keep in shape by training for small triathlons, emphasis on small.

What has God been teaching you lately?
To learn how to embrace subtlety. I’m a loud, in your face, writer. I’m learning to create nuance. This, of course, translates into my everyday life too.

Alas, the other thing is pretty convoluted and deep, but it has to do with learning to trust God’s love for me, even if some people in my life act in enemy-like ways. (I’m sure none of you have ever struggled with this.) In other words, what do you do when some voices say unkind and untrue things? Used to be I took those words like morsels into my heart and chewed on them until the poison saturated me. Now I’m learning to weigh the words briefly, then place them in Jesus’ hands. It’s a discipline to do that. The tricky part comes when I act as my enemy, hurling insults at myself. It’s all about giving every word to Jesus and choosing to believe His words about me. I am dearly loved. Wow.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
This may sound strange, but I wanted to be a doctor. But even then, the writer in me came out because I liked the cadence of my maiden name with the title doctor. Mary Walker, Medical Doctor.

Where are you headed next?
I hope I see that I get to continue this writing dream—writing for the sheer joy of it, and also receiving compensation (a nice writerly dream!). I also pray that if things take off, I’ll keep my head on straight and constantly strive to point to the truly Famous One, Jesus.

I sense that more public speaking is in the future as well.

Cathy Gohlke's interview

This week I'm hosting Cathy Gohlke with I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires and Mary DeMuth with Daisy Chain. If you want to be entered in the two drawings, please leave a comment this week with your email address. If you don't leave an email address, you won't be entered. I'll have no way to get in touch with you. If you don't want to
leave an email address, you can email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com and let me know you want to enter the drawing(s). The drawings will end Sunday evening.

Cathy Gohlke's interview:

1. What made you start writing?

I’ve wanted to write ever since I learned, at five years of age, that real people create the magic between the covers of books. I knew that whatever else I did in life, I wanted to do that, too.

2. How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

As a child I wrote plays, poems, and short stories. I began writing a mystery novel in the sixth grade—which I never finished. As an adult I wrote those things as well as essays, policy manuals, articles for newspapers, and contributed to two non-fiction books. I came to novel writing later in life and signed the contract for my first novel on my 50th birthday. What an incredible gift to start a new stage of life!


3. How do you handle rejections?

To be objective I separate myself from my manuscript. I learn all I can from whatever is said in the rejection and apply that to make the current project and future work better. Writing for newspapers gave me a crash course in developing a thick skin re. red pens. Editors know their business and can be wonderful mentors.

I can’t say that I’m terribly disappointed by rejection. I think that it is a “to-be-expected” part of the journey to becoming a better writer. I’ve learned so much from others and am grateful. If I find myself sulking from comments I allow that but put a time limit on it so that I can remain objective. I don’t want to become discouraged.

4. Why do you write?

It is the way I understand life and communicate that understanding with the world. I feel called by God to share the comfort He’s given me with others. Writing, speaking, and befriending others are the forms in which He’s gifted me to do that.

5. What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?

I love hands on research, especially roaming historical sites, learning a stranger’s story—everyone has one, travel, gardens, walks in nature, dancing with my husband, riding bikes on flat roads on sunny days, helping in the homeless shelter, sitting by the campfire with friends and family, singing. I love worship services and I love spending time with my children and dear ones. Life is full of such pleasures.

6. What are you working on right now?


The working title for my wip is “Owen Allen’s Legacy.” Determined to escape an abusive past, fifteen-year-old Michael Dunnagan stows away aboard the luxury liner, Titanic (1912). When Titanic sinks he is offered, through the sacrifice of his friend, Owen, not only a seat in a lifeboat, but Owen’s family and future. Michael, who carries his own dark secret, finds that accepting and learning to live with such an amazing and unmerited gift is not easy. Nor is it easy for Owen’s younger sister, Annie, to forgive Michael for having taken her brother’s place. Through years of hardship and war (WWI) Michael and Annie seek and learn forgiveness. But will they survive to share the joy and abundant life they’ve finally found?
Owen’s sacrifice and gift parallels, in part, Jesus’ sacrifice and gift so that we might live, and live abundantly. Michael’s struggle to accept that life, and Annie’s struggle to forgive, parallel our own.

7. Do you put yourself into your books/characters?

No. Maybe sometimes. More often my characters experience things I’ve learned in life—but set in their own time and place, and in the midst of a major conflict all their own. I love my characters and really enjoy getting to know them. I don’t want them to be me, but to be uniquely and entirely themselves.

8. Tell us about the book you have out right now.

“I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires” is a stand alone Civil War sequel to “William Henry is a Fine Name” (Christy Award winner).

As Civil War rends his family and the nation Robert (now seventeen-years-old) is eager to fight for the Union, to help put teeth in President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. But he has promised his father that he will wait until he is eighteen to enlist, then think long and hard before agreeing to shoot one of his countrymen—or kin—between the eyes.

The bonds linking family and the lines separating enemies become blurred for Robert when the cousin he loves begs him to aid her father, a Confederate prisoner of war, then travel south to help her care for his estranged mother.

Unwittingly entangled in a prison escape, left for dead, and charged as a spy, Robert must forge his anger in a renewed determination to rescue his family. When confronted by an enemy and a war he no longer understands, Robert finds that the rescue, and its results, may not be up to him.

Honor and duty to God and country aren’t as clear-cut as he’d first believed.

9. Do you have any advice for other writers?

Pray, read, write, pray, read, write . . .Learn all you can however you can about the craft in whatever way you learn best. Practice and hone your skills. Find your unique voice and be true to it. Identify the things about which you are passionate—those things that make you “pound the table and weep”—in anger, frustration and even in joy. Write those stories for they are the ones that will ring true. Give back, by helping and encouraging other writers, when you are able.

10. How important is faith in your books?

It is what drives my books. I can’t imagine writing a book without strong elements of faith. It is so much a part of who I am, the result of loving the One to whom I belong.

11. What themes do you like to write about?

I am passionate about people helping people, even at great risk to themselves. And I’m passionate about making good choices, about living a focused and deliberate life. As a young person I did not always feel free to make my own choices, nor did I realize that I had choices—and that hard won insight is something I want to share with others. We are not victims of our circumstances, but have the power to choose what we believe, how we act on those beliefs, and to effect change for good in our world. Those themes spring from my awe of what Jesus did for us, and my desire to embrace the abundant life He died to give us.

12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?

I think there will always be a special place in my heart for “William Henry is a Fine Name.” It was my first novel and centered on a lifelong passion for me, the Underground Railroad. It won the Christy Award, something I never imagined.

13. What is your writing schedule like?

I begin writing sessions with prayer, surrendering myself to the Lord and asking that He direct my mind and writing. I write whenever I can, but prefer to write in the morning when my mind is fresh. Even so, I probably write best later in the day, when I know the day’s tasks and appointments have been met. My mind is less cluttered with “to do” lists then. There is a lot to be said for creating mental freedom and space in order to write freely.

Thank you so much, Margaret, for inviting me to your blog! May God bless you, your readers, and all your ministries!

This week Cathy Gohlke and Mary DeMuth

Congratulations, Mez, for winning a copy of Ann Shorey's The Edge of Light. Also congratulations, Sarah, for winning a copy of Jill Eileen Smith's Michal.

This week I'm hosting Cathy Gohlke with I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires and Mary DeMuth with Daisy Chain. If you want to be entered in the two drawings, please leave a comment this week with your email address. If you don't leave an email address, you won't be entered. I'll have no way to get in touch with you. If you don't want to leave an email address, you can email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com and let me know you want to enter the drawing(s). The drawings will end Sunday evening.


Bio for Cathy Gohlke:

Cathy Gohlke’s first novel, William Henry is a Fine Name, won the Christy Award. Her second novel, I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires, a stand alone sequel, was listed by Library Journal in their “Best of 2008” in the Christian Fiction category. Her writing has also appeared in newspapers, magazines, Chicken Soup for the Single’s Soul, and My Turn to Care—Affirmations for Caregivers of Aging Parents. Cathy has worked as a school librarian, a drama director for adults and young people, and as a director of children’s and education ministries. She lives with her husband in Elkton, Maryland.

Book Blurb: I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires

As Civil War rends his family and the nation, seventeen-year-old Robert vows to rescue his estranged mother and the girl he loves from behind enemy lines. Unwittingly entangled in a prison escape, left for dead, and charged as a spy, Robert must forge his anger and shame into a renewed determination to rescue his family. Confronted by an enemy and a war he no longer understands, Robert finds that the rescue, and its results, may not be up to him.



Mary DeMuth's bio:

Mary DeMuth is an expert in the field of Pioneer Parenting. She helps Christian parents plow fresh spiritual ground, especially those seeking to break destructive family patterns. Her message guides parents who don’t want to duplicate the home where they were raised or didn’t have positive parenting role models growing up.

An accomplished writer, Mary’s parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture, Building the Christian Family You Never Had, and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God. Her real-to-life novels inspire people to turn trials into triumphs: Watching the Tree Limbs (2007 Christy Award finalist, ACFW Book of the Year 2nd Place) and Wishing on Dandelions (2007 Retailer’s Choice Award finalist).

Mary is a frequent speaker at women’s retreats and parenting seminars, addressing audiences in both Europe and the United States. National media regularly seek Mary’s candid ability to connect with their listeners. Her radio appearances include FamilyLife Today, Moody Midday Connection, and U.S.A. Radio network. She also has articles published in Marriage Partnership, In Touch, and HomeLife.

As pioneer parents, Mary and her husband Patrick live in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France where they planted a church.

Back blurb of Daisy Chain:

The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance from a small Texas town in 1973 spins three lives out of control—Jed, whose guilt over not protecting his friend Daisy strangles him; Emory Chance, who blames her own choices for her daughter’s demise; and Ouisie Pepper, who is plagued by headaches while pierced by the shattered pieces of a family in crisis.

In this first book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper has a sickening secret: He’s convinced it’s his fault his best friend Daisy went missing. Jed’s pain sends him on a quest for answers to mysteries woven through the fabric of his own life and the lives of the families of Defiance, Texas. When he finally confronts the terrible truths he’s been denying all his life, Jed must choose between rebellion and love, anger and freedom.

Daisy Chain is an achingly beautiful southern coming-of-age story crafted by a bright new literary talent. It offers a haunting yet hopeful backdrop for human depravity and beauty, for terrible secrets and God’s surprising redemption.

March Releases

March - what a great month! For me it marks the month my debut novel hits bookstore shelves, and I step down as New Releases Coordinator for ACFW. Lynette Eason, who also has a new release this month, will take my place, so be sure to welcome her to this position!

To get a head start on spring, we've got 16 new releases to choose from! And they all sound great! Check them out - and don't forget to visit my new Spotlight interview with author, artist, and agent extraordinaire Wendy Lawton. Wendy had a new children's book release in February.

1. A Hundred Years of Happiness, 2nd in the Summer Meadows Mysteries by Nicole Seitz from Thomas Nelson. A generous story of family, war, loss and longing . . . of the ways we hide from those we love, and the ways that love finds us anyway.

2. A Silent Terror by Lynette Eason from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. Someone wants Marianna Santino dead. Ethan O'Hara is willing to risk everything, including his heart, to keep her alive.

3. A Test of Faith, Mystery and the Minister's Wife #3 by Carol Cox from Guideposts. When everything falls apart, can faith hold them together?

4. Breach of Trust Call of Duty #1 by DiAnn Mills from Tyndale. Paige Rogers, former CIA agent, must choose between protecting the lives of loved ones or bringing a ruthless killer to justice.

5. Candy-Coated Secrets, 2nd in the Summer Meadows Mysteries by Cynthia Hickey from Barbour. Who would have thought escorting an elephant down Highway 64 could lead to murder?

6. Daisy Chain, Defiance, TX series, book one by Mary DeMuth from Zondervan. The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance haunts the small town of Defiance, Texas. Fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper searches for answers in this gritty and compelling story of love and sorrow, revealing God’s hand of redemption in impossible situations.

7. Daniel's Den by Brandt Dodson from Harvest House Publishers. Daniel and Laura become the objects in a game of cat and mouse where they learn just how big the cat can be - and that it's no game.

8. Fatal Illusions by Adam Blumer from Kregel Publications. An obsessive woman, a serial killer, and a sudden winter storm turn a sabbatical in the North Woods into a nightmare that the Thayer family may not escape alive.

9. If Tomorrow Never Comes by Marlo Schalesky from Waterbrook-Multnomah Publishers/Random House. Kinna and Jimmy Henley never planned on infertility stealing their dreams, crushing their love. But it did. Now, their last hope lies with a mysterious woman rescued from the sea.

10. Love Finds You in Humble Texas by Anita Higman from Summerside Press. Two sisters fall in love with the same man.

11. Michal: A Novel, The Wives of King David series Book 1 by Jill Eileen Smith from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. A princess falls in love with her father's worst enemy - will it cost her everything?


12. Poisoned Secrets by Margaret Daley from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. Maggie spent years searching for her birth mother, but when the past is revealed, the shocking disclosures could tear her life apart.

13.The Hand-Me-Down Family by Winnie Griggs from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historicals. For the sake of three orphaned children, two scarred individuals - one physically, one emotionally - try to work together to forge a new family.

14. The List by Sherri Lewis from Urban Christian. Four women on a quest to find Godly men based on a list.

15. Wind of the Spirit, The American Patriot Series, Book 3 by J. M. Hochstetler from Sheaf House Publishers. As the patriot cause falters, can her love bridge the miles that separate them--and the savage bonds that threaten to tear him forever from her arms?

16. Yesterday's Embers, The Clayburn Novels by Deborah Raney from Howard Books/Simon & Schuster. Newlyweds Doug and Mickey must find a way to untangle their knot of hasty choices without breaking the hearts of five precious children or their own in the process.

Happy reading ~

Jill Eileen Smith

This week I'm hosting Ann Shorey with The Edge of Light and Jill Eileen Smith with Michal, the first in a series about David's wives. If you would like to be entered in the drawings for these books or only one, please leave a comment this week on one of the blogs with which drawings you want to be entered in. Also you have to leave your email address to be entered (I need it to contact you) or you can email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end on Sunday evening.

Jill Eileen Smith's interview:

http://www.jilleileensmith.com

1. What made you start writing?

I wanted to read a novel on King David’s life and couldn’t find one that satisfied me. So I began to write the book I wanted to read.

2. How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

I used to write poetry as a teenager, then stopped any creative writing for about eight years. When God figuratively tapped me on the shoulder to dig up the gift He’d given me, I began with poetry again – about 24 years ago. I began my first novel about four years later. Eight novels and 20 years later, I sold my first novel series.

3. How do you handle rejections?

Rejection feels like a physical blow. Tears usually follow for the short term, but by the next day I tend to make plans to try again. Before I sold, one rejection hit me especially hard. I wasn’t sure I’d recover from that one, which led me to do a lot of praying. I had to give my desire to be published to the Lord yet again, and this time I wasn’t sure He’d give it back. In time, He did, but it was several months before I knew that.

4. Why do you write?

I’m wired to write. I’ve tried many crafts to fill the creative need over the years. I’ve written articles, devotionals, blog posts, emails, and more, but I am happiest when I write fiction. There is something about that creative process that fills me with a sense of joy like no other. If I ignore that need to write for too long, I can get pretty crabby. ☺

5. What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?

What I do now, I guess. I’m a wife and mom first – always have been – so I take care of domestic needs and chores most mornings. Some days I run errands. I’m in that sandwich generation with elderly parents and adult kids and that poses its own set of issues. (That’s not really “free time” though, is it?) ☺ I do make time for myself though - I read every day, as often as I can, especially to unwind before bed. I love to travel too, when the pocketbook allows. ☺

6. What are you working on right now?

Book Three in The Wives of King David series – Bathsheba. Abigail is on my editor’s desk, so I’m trying to finish the first draft of Bathsheba by June. It’s not due until December, but I need time to rewrite. And edits for Abigail will come in between.

7. Do you put yourself into your books/characters?

Sure. I think every author does to some extent. It’s not a conscious thing, but I sense my emotions, my insight, my impressions of life seeping into the characters. I don’t think the characters reflect me, per se, but my experiences with people or with circumstances in my life come through. I am not like Michal, Abigail, or Bathsheba, and yet I can certainly relate to them in certain ways.

8. Tell us about the book you have out right now.

Michal: A Novel is the story of the life of King David’s first wife. Here’s the blurb:

Can their epic search for true love survive a father’s fury?
The daughter of King Saul, Michal lives a life of privilege—but one that is haunted by her father’s unpredictable moods and competition from her beautiful older sister. As a girl, Michal quickly falls for the handsome young harpist David. But soon after their romance begins, David must flee for his life, leaving Michal at her father’s mercy in the prison that is King Saul’s palace.

Will Michal ever be reunited with David? Or is she doomed to remain separated from him forever?

You can go to the book’s website – http://www.thewivesofkingdavid.com – for book club questions, Bible study questions, and more. (It’s not up yet, but should be live in February.)


9. Do you have any advice for other writers?

The most important thing for a Christian writer to do, in my opinion, is to keep the Lord their primary focus. Pray about your writing. Pray with an attitude of absolute surrender. Right before I got the final call from my agent telling me that Revell wanted to buy the series, I remember sitting in my car listening to Amy Grant sing “Sweet Will of God.” I was crying and praying and once again had to surrender the entire dream of publishing to Him, no strings attached. Hard as it is, I still try not to focus on the publishing. The goal of life is to complete the work God gave me to do, whatever that may be, and of pleasing Him. We cannot know until it happens if we will ever see our books in print, just as we cannot know anything about our futures. Life isn’t about being published. It’s about obeying Jesus Christ.

10. How important is faith in your books?

Since this is biblical fiction, the faith element is intrinsic. David was a man after God’s own heart, and his faith is just a big part of who he is. Michal, on the other hand, struggles to understand God and doesn’t share David’s love for Him. Ultimately, the story’s focus is faith.

11. What themes do you like to write about?

Forgiveness and surrender come through everything I write. In every genre, in every pre-published book, in my current projects, absolute surrender to the Lord comes through somehow, some way.

12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?

I think the favorite answer I’ve heard to this question is, “the one I’m writing now.” How do you pick a favorite? It’s like choosing one child over another. ☺ Though I will say, I’ve spent far more time on Michal than anything else I’ve written, so naturally I love the story. But give me time – I love Abigail’s story too, though it’s quite different. And I’m just getting to really know Bathsheba. ☺

13. What is your writing schedule like?

Schedule? LOL! I can’t say I have a set schedule. Right now I’ve set a word count of 1000 words a day, five days a week. (That might translate into more words, less days, just so I make the goal.) I might not start writing until 9 p.m. or I might begin at 10 a.m. Every day is different. But I have a goal to finish a first draft by a certain date, so I do my best to stick to my goals until it’s finished.

Ann Shorey's interview

This week I'm hosting Ann Shorey with The Edge of Light and Jill Eileen Smith with Michal, the first in a series about David's wives. If you would like to be entered in the drawings for these books or only one, please leave a comment this week on one of the blogs with which drawings you want to be entered in. Also you have to leave your email address to be entered (I need it to contact you) or you can email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end on Sunday evening.

Ann Shorey's interview:

1. What made you start writing?

I’ve been told ever since high school that I should be a writer. Twenty years ago, following a traumatic event in my life, I finally had the time to devote to learning and practicing the craft.

2. How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

I’ve been writing seriously since 1991. I sold my first novel in 2007, part of a three-book series.

3. How do you handle rejections?

I give myself permission to feel bad for a day, then I go back to writing. Prior to selling my series, I would often go to the Lord after a rejection and ask if writing was really what He wanted me to do. Somehow, he’d always send encouragement in some form or another to keep me going.

4. Why do you write?

Because I love working with words. At this point in my life, I feel this is where the Lord is calling me. When He withdraws his approval, I’ll know it.

5. What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?

I’d have more flexibility to go places with my husband at a moment’s notice. I’d try new recipes, work in my flower garden, and spend a whole afternoon curled up in a chair reading if I wanted to.

6. What are you working on right now?

I’m writing Book 3 in the At Home in Beldon Grove series and doing the edits on Book 2.

7. Do you put yourself into your books/characters?

Not intentionally, although I imagine myself in scenes to get a handle on a character’s reactions.


8. Tell us about the book you have out right now.


The Edge of Light is the story of Molly McGarvie. It’s set in 1838 Missouri and Illinois. Molly’s husband dies unexpectedly and she’s left with three children and another on the way. When her husband’s unscrupulous brother takes over the family business she’s left to fend for herself. The story tells of her struggle to survive through the many obstacles that arise.

The story was inspired by one of my great-great aunts. Much of what happens at the start of the story is true—the rest is my imagining of what might have been.

9. Do you have any advice for other writers?

Don’t quit the first time you are rejected—or even after the fiftieth time! Keep learning your craft and improving your work. Write every day.

10. How important is faith in your books?

My main characters are believers, although sometimes they drift into doing things their own way. For me, I believe God blesses when I put Him in the center of my work.

11. What themes do you like to write about?

Perseverance, trust, family love.

12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?

Since The Edge of Light is my first novel, it’s my current favorite. ☺

13. What is your writing schedule like?

I start writing around 11:00 am, after walking the dog and doing whatever household chores absolutely cannot be ignored. I’ll work until 4:00 or 5:00, with a break for lunch. You did say “schedule”, didn’t you? There are some unscheduled middle of the night times when I wake up with an idea and head for the computer for fear I’ll forget by morning.

Ann Shorey and Jill Eileen Smith this week

Congratulations to Sandee for winning Lyn Cote's The Desires of Her Heart and Jo for winning Maggie Brendan's No Place for a Lady.

This week I'm hosting Ann Shorey with The Edge of Light and Jill Eileen Smith with Michal, the first in a series about David's wives. If you would like to be entered in the drawings for these books or only one, please leave a comment this week on one of the blogs with which drawings you want to be entered in. Also you have to leave your email address to be entered (I need it to contact you) or you can email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end on Sunday evening.

Ann Shorey's bio:

Ann Shorey has been writing for over fifteen years. She’s been published in the Adams Media Cup of Comfort series, and had one of her stories included in Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul. Ann has also written articles for various local and regional publications. After completing a narrative family history in 1998, she realized she had uncovered a treasure trove of inspiration, and turned to fiction as a way to put that inspiration to good use.

Ann teaches classes on historical research, story arc, and other fiction fundamentals at regional conferences. She works in Sutherlin, Oregon, where she lives with her husband, Richard. The Edge of Light is her first novel.

Ann may be contacted through her website at www.annshorey.com.

The Edge of Light blurb:

It is the summer of 1838 in St. Lawrenceville, Missouri, and Molly McGarvie’s life is about to change forever. When her beloved Samuel succumbs to cholera, Molly is heartbroken but determined to take care of herself and her children. But when Samuel’s unscrupulous brother takes over the family business and leaves Molly to fend for herself, she knows she must head out on her own. It’s a dangerous journey, forcing Molly to leave her old life behind.

How will she keep her young family together and at the same time find a way to earn a living?



Jill Eileen Smith's bio:

Jill Eileen Smith is the author of an upcoming biblical fiction trilogy, The Wives of King David, featuring Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba, published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Michal: A Novel releases March 1, 2009. Jill has more than twenty years of writing experience, ranging from articles and short stories to reviews and blogs. Her writing has placed or won prizes in several writing contests. In addition to homeschooling her three sons, Jill has taught piano and women’s Bible studies. She enjoys baking, traveling, scrapbooking, and the antics of her two lovable cats. She lives with her husband and sons in Southeastern Michigan.

Michal's back blurb:

Can their epic search for true love survive a father's fury? The daughter of King Saul, Michal lives a life of privilege--but one that is haunted by her father's unpredictable moods and competition from her beautiful older sister. As a girl, Michal quickly falls for the handsome young harpist David. But soon after their romance begins, David must flee for his life, leaving Michal at her father's mercy in the prison that is King Saul's palace. Will Michal ever be reunited with David? Or is she doomed to remain separated from him forever? Against the backdrop of opulent palace life, raging war, and daring desert escapes, Jill Eileen Smith takes you on an emotional journey as Michal deals with love, loss, and personal transformation as the first wife of King David.