AVERY'S CROSSROAD - Deanna K Klingel - Free Book

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

A woman sent a message to my fb, saying she and her middle grade son had purchased Avery’s Battlefield at the Civil War Show where I was signing the books. She said her son is a reluctant reader. Actually, she said he’s a rebellious reader, she has to fight with him to get him to read anything. He read every word of Avery’s Battlefield, stayed up late 2 nights to read it and can’t wait for the second book. She said it was such an enjoyable experience for him, that when they were shopping at Walmart, he asked her to buy him another book he could read while waiting for the next Avery book. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? That’s why I write the kind of books I do.

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

Probably today. Today is the culmination of many happy days that just keep coming. I expect tomorrow to be even better.

How has being published changed your life?

I don’t think it’s changed my life, but it has changed my habits. I no longer play golf or exercise. I sit in this chair. And, no, I haven’t gotten rich yet, if that’s what you’re wondering. I still wear undesigner jeans and eat peanut butter sandwiches. And always will.

What are you reading right now?

Our book club is reading Taking Home the Burkin by Michael Tonelli. I needed a light and funny read after finishing Unbroken, an amazing true story by Laura Hillenbrand. I’ve just finished Ellen Gable’s In Name Only, a very good read.

What is your current work in progress?

I’m writing the true story of a couple of immigrants from Lithuania (1944). I’m enjoying the interviews and my time with them, even if their story does keep me awake some nights. The working title is Rock and a Hard Place. I’m also rewriting Rebecca and Heart, which is currently on Storyrealm.com. I have a couple of manuscripts circulating. If either comes back with a to-do list, I’ll be on that.

What would be your dream vacation?

My dream vacation would be anywhere with my husband without his cell phone and lap top, and our golden retriever beside us. Actually, I should probably fess up the truth here. I actually live in a resort, in the mountains, a cart ride from the golf course and pool, in a log house surrounded by bear and other wildlife. I’m on vacation all the time.

That sounds wonderful. How do you choose your settings for each book?

The settings are designed in my head before I start writing fiction. Sometimes I have to research the setting to be certain it works for my story. For instance, for Cracks in the Ice I needed to start in a location that was a mafia headquarters in the 40’s & 50’s. Wyandotte, MI. Then when my heroine became Olympic material I needed to move her into that action, thus the Broadmoor Skating School in Colorado. For the later part I needed a city within a days’ drive. Seattle. Many of my YA are true stories, so I don’t have to get creative with the settings. They are already part of the story.

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

I have an amazing former sister-in-law who I admire and love. I’m happy for her that she’s recreated her life with a new family and found happiness, but I miss her. She’s the closest thing I ever had to a sister. I’d love to spend an evening wallowing in her beautiful smile and laughter.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Reading and writing, of course, take up the bulk of my time. But I like to play golf, and travel with my books. I give therapy dog seminars and visit hospitals, nursing homes, schools and libraries with my therapy dogs. Have you seen their book? (Just for the Moment: The Remarkable Gift of the Therapy Dog.)

Actually, we featured it on this blog quite a while ago, so many of my readers didn’t see it. What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

I’m a storyteller. I love to TELL the story. So POV is the biggest obstacle for me. I have to constantly read and reread what I write in order to keep the point of view consistent, and keep me out of it.

I think that was a problem with all of us when we started writing. What advice would you give to a beginning author?

My advice would be write what you’d like to read. Create characters you’d like for neighbors because you will be spending a lot of time with them.

Tell us about the featured book.

Avery’s Crossroad is the second book of the Avery & Gunner stories. Book one, Avery’s Battlefield, came out in March. The book is set in Virginia and West Virginia in 1861-1865. Avery and his pal Gunner, his ever-faithful hound dog, see the war from both sides as the young Quaker doctor works in the hospitals in Richmond and Alexandria.  Avery learns that the right thing to do is often the hard thing, but with comical Gunner as his counsel, his conscience, and his companion, he comes to manhood with values and ideals intact.

Please give us the first page of the book.

CHAPTER ONE

Odd Communications

The headlines of the Richmond, Virginia, morning paper screamed in large print:

Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by President A. Lincoln.

The words of the proclamation were on page one, and Avery read them carefully. He was surprised to see that the Pres­ident, oddly, had freed the slaves in only the slave states. He wondered. He read through the document hopefully, but when he got to the end, there was no proclamation to end the war. He didn’t think there would be.  Rarely did he see a newspaper on the very day it was pub­lished. He normally picked up the tattered, passed-around copies left behind by others. He bought this edition of the on the way to work deciding to give this one a thorough reading to see what was going on in the war today—the first day of the first month, his sixteenth birthday.

“Let’s check the post office column, Gunner. It’s been a while since we’ve had a letter from home,” he said to his hound.

Avery counted on those letters to keep him grounded. When he’d left home in 1861 in search of his uncle, he’d never planned to be gone this long. But circumstances and opportunities had come his way. Now here he was studying to become a doctor. It was almost too good to be true. But he missed the farm and his family. Their letters were so important.

He checked the post office column and was glad to see there was mail being held for him. As the city filled with more and more people, the post office holding list was growing longer every day.

“From the looks of this holding list, we’ll be standing in a long line, Gunner. I hate to stand in line.”

Finally arriving at Chimborazo Hospital, he shook off the cold and handed the newspaper to an ambulatory patient. Since it was too cold to go outside, the ambulatory patients now gathered in a large ward tent to play cards, exercise, and share their war stories, while trying to heal. This large Confederate Army hospital was where Avery and the other students at the Medical College of Virginia were training to become surgeons, while enduring the ravages of the battlefields.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website is www.BooksByDeanna.com.

My email is deannaklingel@yahoo.com. I love to hear from readers.


Thank you, Deanna, for spending this time with us today.


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Avery's Crossroad


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