ONE REALM BEYOND - Donita K Paul - One Free Copy, Plus 3 Free Copies of an Ebook

Readers, Donita is generously giving away one free copy of the featured book, plus 3 free copies of her prairie romance ebook Taming the Wild Wind. Here's the blurb for that book: 

Ida has always gone her own way like a gentle breeze, drifting through social barriers as if they weren't even there. Like the breeze, her comings and goings are hard to keep track of, and her family assumes Ida's activities are the same as the other society debutantes of Pittsburgh. When she responds to the wilder wind of the Oklahoma prairie, she recognizes the untamed quality in her personality. She also comes to realize that even the wild wind has a Master.

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

I’m excited about several projects. Soon I will be self-publishing an early reader with illustrator Aaron Siddell. Take a look at his work. http://on.fb.me/1csan9o The title is House on Troll Hill. It’s about a real estate agent in the enchanted forest. I will finish the third book in the Realm Walker series. And a couple of novellas are on the work schedule.

Tell us a little about your family.

I live in the basement of my daughter’s house. I call it the hobbit hole, but my son-in-law refuses to let me have a round door at the top of the stairs. So unreasonable. It would only cost several thousand dollars. I have two grandsons who sing, “Open the door, and down the stairs, to Grandmother’s house we go.” They are at fun ages, 9 and 12. I think all the ages are fun. We have two turtles, a dog, and a bunny. The bunny is mine, but I can’t catch him. The boys are my official bunny hunters. My son just got his doctorate in English. My daughter just sold a book, a steampunk YA that will come out in January of 2016. We are a literary bunch. The 12-year-old makes graphic novels. The 9-year-old has been making up stories since he could make sentences.

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

Yes and no. Yes, in that I have to make myself turn off the editor in my brain so I can fully enjoy the stories I read. No, in that I still read voraciously and in many different genres. Last year about this time, I had a stroke which took 80% of my sight in the left eye. Part of my physical therapy was reading to retrain my brain to accept and make adjustments for my vision. Now isn’t that a horrible PT to have to endure? Loved it! Thank goodness for e-books. I could enlarge the font. I am doing very well, both with my sight and my balance which was also thrown under the stroke bus.

What are you working on right now?

The last 20,000 words of the second book of Realm Walkers. The title is Two Renegade Realms and comes out in January of 2015.

What outside interests do you have?

I rediscovered Facebook after having been out of it for over a year. It is a great place to chat with readers. Also I’ve been working on Pinterest. I call it working because there are some boards that relate to my writing. My new character Bixby has her own board because her fashion sense is so fun. http://www.pinterest.com/donitakpaul/bixby-styling/ My books have their own boards, and there are writing related boards as well. And of course there are boards just for fun.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

LOL That takes us back to Pinterest. I have boards of fantastic scenery, buildings, and furniture. Those help me visualize my fantasy worlds.

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

I’d chose Ronald Reagan. I know that’s weird. It struck me as weird just now when I thought of it, but he had such a varied life. Humble beginning, glamorous movie star, rancher, and government service. And I think he thought of it as being a servant, not a king. I liked his sense of humor, taste, and he was president when I was in my late 20s. I was just beginning to get a sense of being part of a gigantic, complicated world.

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

That I could have done this earlier in my life. I fell into writing when all the other doors were slamming shut. God brought me to a place where I had to seriously jump into writing. I thank God and His use of my mother to bring me to this career. I had a serious illness that disabled me. I couldn’t teach anymore. My mom said, “Why don’t you write. You’ve always wanted to.” You should always listen to your mom.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

I’m hoping it’s perseverance, because I think I’ve almost got that one nailed. Maybe we can move on to something like being a good steward of worldly goods.

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

Write what you love to read.

Write like you eat, every day, enjoying different flavors.

Write for the only One who matters.

Tell us about the featured book.

In the world of the Realm Walkers, the walkers are like the knights of the round table. They are supposed to be champions of the people, examples of nobility and chivalry, integrity and valor. Unfortunately, the guild, responsible for training the walkers, has become corrupt. Our young realm walkers Cantor and Bixby desire to be the legendary heroes of ancient lore. They must identify who to trust and who to follow.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Chapter One - Raising a Ruckus

Cantor straddled the thick tree limb suspended less than three feet over his favorite fishing hole. He’d fished from this spot for more than eighteen years, from the time he could barely straddle the fat limb ’til now, when the tips of his sandals almost brushed the surface of the clear, cold water. He watched the small fish circling below him, waiting for the big one just as he had been taught. His fishing mentor, Odem, probably took him fishing here before he was out of diapers. Cantor wouldn’t want to share the limb now. Though the tree had grown with him over the years, he didn’t think the branch would hold the weight of two grown men. He wasn’t eager for a bath in the frigid water from the mountain’s runoff.

Still and patient, Cantor waited for the large carp he called Bully to rise and push the other fish out of the way. A sprinkle of thumb-sized chunks of bread floated on the water. One of the smaller guppies darted off to the side, and a huge, open mouth appeared under the surface. The fish snapped up a sodden crust.

Cantor hurled the stone in his hand. The rock thunked against the skull of his target. All the smaller fish deserted Bully, who floated on his side. With a grin, Cantor threw his leg over the limb and slipped into the knee-high water. He shivered in the icy snowmelt, grabbed his catch, and slogged to the shore.

Exposed roots riddled the steep bank, making irregular hand and foot holds. Cantor threw the fish onto the grass above his head and climbed out. Sitting cross-legged in the tall grass, he removed his sandals and put them on a rock to dry in the sun. He opened the pouch Ahma had sewn into his tunic and removed an undersized scabbard.

He’d owned this small, sharp knife since childhood. Odem had visited on his sixth birthday and, against Ahma’s protests, given the tool to him. Cantor’d thought himself very clever when he named the knife Slice, especially when Odem laughed in his loud bray that filled the tiny cabin. Ahma shook her head and fetched another piece of greenberry pie for him and Odem.

She’d caught Cantor that night picking his teeth with the blade. Boxing his ears, she told him if she caught him doing another stupid thing with “that weapon,” she’d take it away.

Cantor grinned as he applied Slice to the job of gutting the big carp. A couple of carrion birds landed in a tree nearby. Cantor nodded in their direction. “I’ll leave you the tasty insides. I don’t suppose you would agree to peaceably share between yourselves.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.donitakpaul.com

http://www.pinterest.com/donitakpaul/

https://www.facebook.com/don.k.p

Thank you, Donita, for sharing this new book with us ... and for giving my readers a chance to win free copies of your prairie romance ebook.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
One Realm Beyond - Christianbook.com
One Realm Beyond (Realm Walkers) - Amazon
One Realm Beyond (Realm Walkers) - Kindle

Christian Book Store

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