ONCE UPON A THANKSGIVING - Winnie Griggs - Free Book

Welcome, Winnie. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I’ve just completed work on an historical set in 1850s Boston about an Irish immigrant who has come here to escape the potato famine. I’m now working on a proposal I’m hoping my editor will like that will kick off a four book series about four individuals who survive a single disaster and shows how their lives were changed by the event.

Tell us a little about your family.

Well, let’s see. I’ve married for 35 years to my college sweetheart who happens to be a cattle rancher. We have four adult children, one married, one engaged to be married and a pair of adventurous twins who enjoy travel and giving their mother gray hairs! Our extended family is quite large - I have four siblings and my husband has five - and our family gatherings are both boisterous and fun.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Deadlines have played havoc with my “free time.” I’m afraid I don’t read quite as voraciously as I used to. Where I used to consume at least one book a week, often more, I’m now lucky to get in a book a month.

What are you working on right now?

I just got the revision letter for my June 2012 book so I’m busy trying to get that put to bed. This is a Love Inspired Historical continuity book, which is series of connected books each penned by a different author. Mine is the third of three and the thread that ties the books together is that each book follows one of three sisters that immigrate from Ireland to America in 1850.

What outside interests do you have?

I enjoy cooking, and I also like to go to estate sales.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

I was born and raised in SE Louisiana (near New Orleans) but have spent the last 30 or so years in NW Louisiana (near the Texas and Arkansas borders). Those are two very different worlds and I draw from both of them when I’m writing. When I’m working on historicals, my favorite setting is East Texas, which has a similar feel to the place I live now.  When I’m working with contemporaries I like to pick locations in south and south-central Louisiana.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

Hmmm, that’s a tough question, one I haven’t ever given much thought to. I guess, just off the top of my head it would have to be Thomas Edison. He’s always fascinated me, just because he was responsible for so much change in the way we interact with the world around us.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

How much is involved in being a writer besides just the process of penning our stories. From the development of art fact sheets and front matter, to the polishing and editing, to the marketing and promo, there is just a lot of other “stuff” that takes a writer’s time and attention.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

The value of patience. One of the hardest things for me to do is to just be still and listen for His guiding word. Time and again I’ve tried to wrest control from Him, to my detriment.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

·         Write. Write every day. Write even when you don’t feel like it.

·         When you’ve finished a work, to the point that it’s been critiqued and polished, send it out into the world, then immediately start something new.  

·         Work on identifying your own voice and then be true to it. While you want to give careful consideration to critiques you receive, make certain that in your eagerness to implement suggested changes you don’t lose what makes the story and the writing uniquely your own.

Tell us about the featured book.

Home For Thanksgiving is the story of two people who have been badly hurt in the past, but who are handling that hurt in very different ways. Griff Lassiter has closed himself off from any more “emotional entanglements,” preferring to make his way alone rather than risk further hurt. Ruby Ann Tuggle, on the other hand, has opened herself up to the possibility of a brighter future and is actively looking for the silver lining in her life. When their paths cross, these two seemingly opposite people must learn how to work together and draw on each other’s strengths.

Please give us the first page of the book.

It was now or never.

Ruby Tuggle had been sitting in the hotel lobby when Mr. Lassiter returned from whatever business he’d been conducting. She’d watched him climb the stairs to his room, looking as though he’d had a rough day, and then come back down thirty minutes later, cleaner but still tired looking.

From her seat in the secluded corner of the lobby she’d had a clear view into the hotel dining room. Watching his profile as he ate his meal, she’d tried to get some sense of the man himself.

She’d memorized the way his dark hair tried to curl around his ears, the way it just barely touched his collar in the back and the slight impression of where his hat had rested. She’d watched the way he politely interacted with Mrs. Dowd when she’d brought out his food, and how he’d kept to himself otherwise.

And the more she studied him, the more solid her gut feeling grew. No doubt about it, he was a good man, and God had put him in her path to help her.

Just now he’d set his cutlery down, sat back and reached for his glass, a sure sign that he was nearly finished with his meal. Soon he would get up and return to his room. If she didn’t gather her courage to speak to him now, she likely wouldn’t get another chance.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I love to hear from readers! My website is www.winniegriggs.com and I’m currently the only Winnie Griggs on facebook so drop by there and friend me as well.


Thank you, Winnie, for visiting with us again.


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 Once Upon a Thanksgiving: Season of Bounty\Home for Thanksgiving (Love Inspired Historical)

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