A PROMISE FOR MIRIAM - Vannetta Chapman - One Free Book

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

What a great question, and I have no idea. I'm completely open to whatever direction God moves. My main goal has always been to write stories which emphasize HOPE and GOD's GRACE. I'm grateful to have the chance to do that. I will be releasing 10 more Amish books (both romance and mystery) in the next 3 years through Abingdon, Harvest House, and Zondervan.

Tell us a little about your family.

We have a blended family. Bob had three children when I met him, and I had one.

Now all four of them are grown and on their own. We have one special-needs child who will always require some assistance, but she is also slowly increasing independence. Bob's parents are in their 80s and my mother is in her 70s. We're very fortunate that everyone lives close enough to visit.

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

Yes! I've been an avid reader all my life, often consuming a book in a day. The more I write, the more I give myself permission to abandon a book if it hasn't hooked me after an hour. Every book is not for every reader.

What are you working on right now?

I'm completing the edits for the third book in my Amish romance, Pebble Creek series. I'm also completing the edits for a quilt romance that will be a sequel to A Simple Amish Christmas.

What outside interests do you have?

I play the keyboard in my praise band, which is the most fun thing I do every week. Bob and I also enjoy camping, hiking and occasionally finding our way into a kayak.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

I research and then I visit! Especially for a series, I do feel it helps me tremendously to spend a week in the area I'm going to be writing about.

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

Native Americans. My grandfather was half Choctaw. I'd like to see this country as they saw it and experience it as they did.

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

To keep an excel chart with all my characters name, descriptions, and relationships. I didn't learn that little trick until the 3rd book (published) and there were quite a few written before that one.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

Trust--there are so many things to worry about, but if we truly believe what we say we believe, then we can trust Him with anything and everything.

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

1. Write another book - don't keep re-writing the first.

2. Don't believe negative hype. In fact stay away from people who are caught in it. You CAN be published and have an agent, and it will happen when it's supposed to--in God's time.

3. Remember to rest and enjoy your family and your life.

Tell us about the featured book.

Miriam King loves the children of Pebble Creek and is content teaching in the one room schoolhouse, then Gabe Miller steps into her life and everything changes. This is a story of community, grace, love, and second chances. Our God believes in second chances, and I'm so glad He does!

Please give us the first page of the book.

Gabe sat by the side of the bed, clasping Hope's hand.

The wind fought with the window panes, intent on finding its way into the small upstairs room. The rain lashed out against the night sky.

He knew when Dr. Frank left the room. He heard him in the hall murmuring to Erma and recognized the defeat in his voice as he moved down the stairs.

Gabe felt the weight of thick, heavy exhaustion pressing down on him. He couldn't have held up his head if his life had depended on it, though he would have found a way to do so if it could have saved Hope.

Saving Hope.

It had become his life mission, but that wasn't Gotte's wille. So the bishop had said as recently as an hour ago. So Erma was saying to the doctor as he left the house even now. Why couldn't Gabe's heart agree? Instead, he allowed his head to drop to the quilt, allowed his lips to kiss her hand—a hand that was even now growing cold, and for this moment he allowed himself to weep.

He heard Erma walk slowly up the stairs and stop outside the bedroom door, allowing him this final moment alone with his wife.

"Mamm!" Grace's scream tore through the house, startling in its pitch and intensity. Lunging past Hope's mother, Gabe’s five-year-old daughter threw herself into the room, clawing at the bed and attempting to crawl on it, all the time sobbing and crying. "I want my mamm. Why won't she wake up? Make her wake up!"

He tried to pull her away, putting his arms around her small frame and murmuring in her ear, but her cries only increased.

"Silence that child!" Hope's father stood in the doorway, his face an inscrutable mask, his voice a hammer falling. Walking into the room, he jerked Grace from Gabe's arms. "Take her, Erma. Take her and silence her. I will not have such a display in my home."

Micah paused a moment, his eyes taking in Gabe's tearstained face and the lifeless form of his daughter. Briefly, Gabe thought he saw the mask of indifference slip from his features, but it was less than the span of a heartbeat, and in the dim lantern light he could have imagined it. With a scowl, the older man turned and trudged from the room, leaving Gabe alone to deal with his grief.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

webpage -- www.VannettaChapman.com  

blog -- http://vannettachapman.wordpress.com

facebook -- www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks , and

pinterest -- http://pinterest.com/vannettachapman

Thank you, Vannetta, for sharing this book and your family with us today.


Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
A Promise for Miriam (The Pebble Creek Amish Series) - paperback
A Promise for Miriam (The Pebble Creek Amish Series) - Kindle


Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (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.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com