LOVE FINDS YOU IN BRANSON, MISSOURI - Gwen Ford Faulkenberry - Free Book

Welcome, Gwen. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I write devotional books as well as novels.  I feel very blessed that doors in both of these genres have been opened to me, because I love writing both non-fiction and fiction.  The devotions are mostly drawn from my own spiritual journey, and the inspiration the Lord gives me along the way through my family, my job, my personal struggles and triumphs.  It’s a good way to process my life, and hopefully share something the Lord gives me, with others.  The novels are more of a creative escape.  I love to tell stories that entertain people and hopefully make them think.  I believe fiction writing is a great way to be a truth teller in the world.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life? 

I guess it’s a four-way tie between my wedding day and the days each of my three children were born.

How has being published changed your life? 

Sometimes I feel like Cinderella at the ball.  So many people dream of writing books and getting published, and the reality is that very few people ever have the opportunity.  I am very blessed.

What are you reading right now?

I always have several books going at once.  I’m reading Homer’s Iliad for a class I teach, Rob Bell’s Love Wins, Brennan Manning’s Ruthless Trust, Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping, and just for fun, Water for Elephants.

What is your current work in progress? 

I am working on a book called 101 Days of Thankfulness.

What would be your dream vacation? 

A year-long paid vacation around the world for my whole family.

I'd love that kind of vacation, too. How do you choose your settings for each book?

Well, I chose the Romeo, Colorado, title from a list because I thought it sounded really cool.  I’m an English professor so I thought it would have a nice Shakespeare angle.  (It didn’t, by the way.)  But mostly I like writing about places in the south—and for me Branson counts as southern—because I am from the south, and utterly in love with it.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?
Don’t laugh, but maybe Oprah.  I bet she could help me sell lots of books.   J

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I play the piano and a few other instruments.  I like to sing.  And I like to cook.  Mostly, I like spending time with my family.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Time is the biggest obstacle for me.  I work full-time and I have three kids.  Being a good mother is the most important thing in my life so writing comes after that—I keep a lot of late hours.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Write.  Just write.

Tell us about the featured book.

Love Finds You in Branson, Missouri, is really both a contemporary and historical novel.  Ellie Heinrichs wants to get out of Missouri and make the big time as an actress on Broadway.  Instead, she lands a part in The Shepherd of the Hills outdoor drama in Branson.  To help Ellie get in touch with her “inner hillbilly”, her mother gives her the gift of her great-grandmother’s diary, which she must translate from the German.  Readers are drawn into Ellie’s grandmother’s story of a pioneer girl who must chose between love and responsibility to her family.  As Ellie becomes romantically involved with her director, she also draws closer to God.  Soon she too must make a choice.  The two stories weave together for a surprising ending.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Prologue
26 August 1887

My heart within me is sick and sad. I fear—no, it’s more than mere fearing—I know I have made the wrong choice. But what else could I do with so many people depending on me? Lives I love hanging in the balance?

Perhaps one day I will believe what Ms. Barrett-Browning says: that it is “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Heidi tells me so, trying to comfort me, and I want to believe her. But today I cannot see it. Today love is a plague, a curse. For love found me in Branson, Missouri, when I was least expecting it. I wasn’t looking. I never dreamed it would come looking for me. Me! A simple hill coun­try girl! And for a brief, shining moment, all the world opened up like a rose. Things I’d never imagined possible, heights of joy I’d never known seemed all within my grasp when I held him in my arms.

I thought that love could last forever. But now, as suddenly as it bloomed, that rose lies dry and dead on the ground. What’s worst of all—I cut it down with my own hands. I know it’s a sin, but I wish I could die too.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’m on facebook at  Gwendolann Adell Ford Faulkenberry, 

or they can email me at gfaulkenberry@hotmail.com

Thank you for stopping by, Gwen.

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