Tuesday, January 31, 2017

ABBEY'S TALE - Katherine McDermott - One Free Book

Welcome, Katherine. Why do you write the kind of books you do?
I like family oriented books about characters dealing with real problems with faith and courage.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?
I have been blessed with many happy days that involved being outside in God’s nature with people I love.

How has being published changed your life?
I do a lot of typing!

What are you reading right now?
The best book I’ve read lately is The First Gardener by Denise Hildreth Jones.

What is your current work in progress?
A sequel to Hiding entitled Suspicion.

What would be your dream vacation?
I’d like to take a Viking River Cruise.

How do you choose your settings for each book?
I use places I have visited.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?
Although I’m not Catholic, I’d like to meet Pope Francis.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?
 Painting, singing, bridge, and ballroom dancing

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?
Finding time. I get up early!

What advice would you give to a beginning author?
Don’t give up!

Tell us about the featured book.
The heroine is blind and becomes a teacher at a school for the blind. The hero is an Irish immigrant escaping the Potato Famine. I’ve been to Ireland and seen the terrible conditions that they lived in. I found the Irish to be friendly, and they love a good story.

Please give us the first page of the book.
Maine 1869
Abigail ran her sensitive fingers over the driftwood figures from the sill of the bay window with sensuous delight. She caressed the leaping dolphin with its smooth side, angled dorsal fin and sloping tail. Her forefinger traced the harlequin-like smile beneath its bottlenose and a smile widened her own lips. She stroked the frolicking sea otter which lay positioned on its back holding a starfish playfully with its front paws. The driftwood gull soared in flight with outstretched wings.

What must the man be like who can carve such beautiful things? Through his work, she’d seen the world as never before. Who is he and why does he so rarely leave the island? Why the self-imposed exile?

She listened to the low hiss of the leaping flames and cheerful crackle of the burning logs from her seat in the gooseneck rocker near the fire.

The yeasty aroma of baking bread drew Abigail back to present. Dropping her wooden treasures into the roomy pockets of her apron, she moved to the cast iron stove where she adeptly withdrew the bread pan with a frayed pot holder. She transported it to the table to cool. Then opening the glass front of the pendulum clock, she felt the position of the brass hands. The smaller hand rested on the raised Roman numeral V. The larger pointed to X. Her father would soon be back from his mail delivery and his monthly trip to Lighthouse Island.

Acutely sensitive to sounds, she heard the clam chowder bubbling on the stove and stirred it. Its salty, fishy aroma was like the sea itself. The topaz-eyed cat brushed gently but insistently against her skirt.

“You’re hungry aren’t you, Charlie?” Abigail took scraps of cod from the pot in the sink and fed the indolent, striped tom.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Thank you, Katherine, for sharing this book with us. It sounds intriguing.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Abbey's Tale - paperback
Abbey's Tale - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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11 comments:

Melanie Backus said...

Sounds like a great story! Thank you for sharing!

Melanie Backus, TX

Elly said...

I'm intrigued! Throw my name in the cap!
Elly -Indiana-

Abigail Mitchell said...

Looks very good. Love your heroine's name. ;)
Abigail in VA

Beth Gillihan said...

Sounds like a good story.

Beth in Montana

Diana Flowers said...

I would so love to read this! Sounds fascinating and the cover is gorgeous. Thank you for the interview and the giveaway opportunity!

Diana in SC

kim hansen said...

Sounds like a good read. north platte nebraska.

Katherine McDermott (Kim) said...

I chose to write about an Irish immigrant because my husband's family came over during the Potato Famine, and I thought it was unfair when I heard that many of the Irish was so desperate to send money back to starving family in the homeland that they took the places of wealthy New Englanders who were drafted into the Union Army in the Civil War and paid Irishmen to go in their places.

Katherine McDermott (Kim) said...

Abigail in VA, did you know the name means "gift from God?" That's why I chose it. The book is available as an e-book at www.thewildrosepress.com

Connie Porter Saunders said...

I have never done an Ancestry search but I have believed that my family came from Ireland so your hero sounds special. Thanks for sharing your first page and for offering this giveaway.
Connie from KY
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com

Sharon Richmond Bryant said...

Enter me in your awesome giveaway!!
Conway SC.

rubynreba said...

I've always thought Ireland would be a fun place to visit.
Beth from IA