THE OFFERING - Angela Hunt - One Free Book on This Blog, Plus Much More

Bio: With nearly four million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including The Tale of Three Trees, Don't Bet Against Me, and The Nativity Story. Her biggest bestseller, The Note, sold over 141,000 copies. Hunt is one of the most sought-after collaborators in the publishing industry. Her nonfiction book Don't Bet Against Me, written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Angela's novel The Note (with sales of over 141,000) was filmed as the Hallmark Channel's Christmas movie for 2007 and proved to be the highest rated television movie in the channel's history. Angela's novels have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, including the RITA, the Christy Award, the ECPA Christian Book Award, and the Holt Medallion. She often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers' conferences, and she served as the keynote speaker at the 2008 American Christian Fiction Writers' national conference. She and her husband make their home in Florida with mastiffs. In 2001, one of her dogs was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly as the second-largest dog in America.

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

I don’t look at the horizon; that’s not my job. My job is simply to complete the task the Lord sets before me every day.  Some days that involves writing, sometimes it involves serving in my community, some days it involves being with my family. That’s how God moves in my life—he moves in all of it.

Tell us a little about your family.

I’m married to a youth pastor, we have two children, two mastiffs, and the Grandest Baby in all the world.

Has your writing changed your reading habits?

If so, how? Not really. I’ve always been a voracious reader, reading just about anything that strikes my fancy.

What are you working on right now?

A confidential nonfiction project. Can’t say any more than that.

What outside interests do you have?

I’m interested in everything, but at the moment am particularly keen on photography.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Totally depends upon the plot—sometimes you have to have a certain locale for a plot development—and where I want to travel.

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

That’s an obvious answer: Jesus of Nazareth.

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

I wish I’d known that a significant revolution awaited the publishing industry in 2002. 

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

That my life—not just my writing—is ministry. And that what I do is not who I am.

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

1. Stop trying to be successful, because everyone defines “success” differently.

2. Write a book you’d enjoy reading.

3. Go to a writers conference once, learn all you can, and start writing. Don’t spend all your time dreaming of work you could be doing if you didn’t spend all your time dreaming.

Tell us about the featured book.

After growing up as an only child, Amanda Lisandra wants a big family. But since she and her soldier husband can’t afford to have more children right away, Mandy decides to earn money as a gestational carrier for a childless couple. She loves being pregnant, and while carrying the child she dreams of having her own son and maybe another daughter…

Just when the nearly perfect pregnancy is about to conclude, unexpected tragedy enters Mandy’s world and leaves her reeling. Devastated by grief, she surrenders the child she was carrying and struggles to regain her emotional equilibrium.

Two years later she studies a photograph of the baby she bore and wonders if the unthinkable has happened—could she have inadvertently given away her own biological child? Over the next few months Mandy struggles to decide between the desires of her grief-stricken heart and what’s best for the little boy she has never known.

Oh, my goodness. What a dilemma. Please give us the first page of the book.

Chapter One

Marilee and I were trying to decide whether we should braid her hair or wear it in pigtails when Gideon thrust his head into the room. Spotting me behind our daughter, he gave me a look of frustrated disbelief. “Don’t you have an important appointment this morning?”

Shock flew through me as I lowered the silky brown strands in my hands. Of course, this was Monday. At nine I had a tremendously important interview with the Pinellas County school system.

I glanced at the pink clock on my four-year-old daughter’s bureau. I had only an hour to shower and dress, drive across Tampa Bay, and find the school system’s personnel office. Somewhere in the mad rush I also needed to rehearse my responses to standard interview questions, calm my nerves, and call the grocery so they’d know I’d be late.

How could I have let time slip away from me on such an important day? Good thing I had a helpful husband.

“Gideon!” I yelled toward the now-empty doorway. “Can you call Mama Isa and tell her I’ll be late this morning?”

“Just get going,” he yelled, exasperation in his voice. “Your coffee’s in the kitchen.”

I squeezed Marilee’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, sweet girl, but this morning we have to go with something quick.”

“Okay. Can I wear it like Princess Leia tomorrow?”

I frowned, trying to place the name. Was she one of the Disney princesses? “How does Princess Leia wear her hair?”

“You know.” Marilee held her hands out from her ears and spun her index fingers in circles. “She has honey buns on her ears.”

I laughed, placing the image—she was talking about the princess in Star Wars. “Sure, if you want to have honey buns over your ears, that’s what we’ll do. We aim to please.”

I pulled the long hair from the top of her head into a ponytail, looped an elastic band over it, and tied a bow around the band. Then I kissed the top of her head and took a moment to breathe in the sweet scent of her strawberry shampoo. “Love you,” I murmured.

She grinned. “Love you, too.”

I returned her smile and hurried into my bathroom.

Twenty minutes later I stood in my closet, wrapped in a towel and dripping on the carpet. What to wear? I had a nice blue skirt, but the waistband had lost its button and I had no idea where I’d put it. The black pantsuit looked expensive and professional, but sand caked my black sandals because I wore them to the beach last weekend.

“Baby girl?”

“In here.”

The closet door opened and Gideon grinned at me, a fragrant mug in his hand. “Aren’t you ever going to learn how to manage your schedule?”

I grabbed the mug and gulped a mouthful of coffee. “Maybe I like living on the edge.”

“And Mama says I have a dangerous job.” He waggled his brows at the sight of my towel. “Pity you don’t have any extra time this morning.”

“And too bad you have to get Marilee to school. So off with you, soldier, so I can get my act together.”

Chuckling, Gideon lifted his hands in surrender and stepped away from the closet. “Okay, then, I’m heading out. But you’re picking up our little bug from school today, right?”

I dropped the blouse I’d been considering. “I’m what?”

“Our daughter? You’re picking her up this afternoon because I’m leading a training exercise.”

For an instant his face went sober and dark, reminding me of the reason he’d been so busy lately. The military had to be planning something, an operation Gideon couldn’t even mention to an ordinary civilian like me.

“Sure.” My voice lowered to a somber pitch. “I’ve got it covered.”

He nodded, but a hint of uncertainty lingered in his eyes. “Mandy—”

“I’ve got it, so don’t worry.” I shooed him out the door. “Tell Marilee I’ll see her later.”

Gideon nodded and left the bedroom, his combat boots thumping on the wooden floor.

A snap of guilt stung my conscience, but I had no time for remorse. I needed a better-paying job and Pinellas County needed a middle school cafeteria manager. Rarely did any school have a mid-year opening, and this interview could be the answer to all my prayers . . .

I opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of panty hose, then hesitated. No one wore hose anymore, especially not in the Florida heat, but for this job I’d wear rubber sheathing if they expected me to. I had to look my best, I had to dress to impress, and I had to get across the Howard Frankland Bridge in record time. No one expected a lunchroom manager to look like a fashion icon, but everyone expected her to show up on time.

A brown skirt hung behind Gideon’s gun safe. Though the suede material would be hot and heavy, at least the garment had buttons and a hem. I grabbed it, then yanked a utilitarian white shirt from a hanger. Ready or not, I had to get moving.

A few minutes later, as I fastened the buttons at the sleeve, I noticed a reddish stain on the cuff, probably from Marilee’s cranberry juice. With no time to change, I rolled both sleeves up to the elbow.

I brushed my teeth and hair, swiped mascara across my lashes, and thrust my feet into a pair of worn loafers. I stepped back for one final look in the mirror, then shook my head. I looked more like an absent-minded blonde than a manager, but maybe the interviewer wouldn’t mind. I’d impress her with my professionalism.

I ran back into the bedroom, grabbed my oversized leather tote from a hook on the door, and hurried out to my car.

I can’t wait to read this one. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Type my name into Google and click “enter.”


Angela Hunt is celebrating the release of The Offering with a Nook HD Giveaway and an Author Chat Party on Facebook {6/5}.

  One winner will receive:

• A Nook HD
• The Offering by Angela Hunt 

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 4th. Winner will be announced at the "The Offering" Facebook Author Chat Party on June 5th. Connect with Angela for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Angela will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Offering and join Angela on the evening of June 5th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 5th!

Thank you, Angela, for sharing this new book and party with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

The Offering: A Novel - paperback
The Offering: A Novel - 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.

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