Welcome back, Julie. God
has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?
Only a haze. God made me near-sighted for a reason. If He
shows me what His plans are too far out, I have a tendency to either get antsy
or try to find a quicker route. I will keep writing fiction as long as God
deems and publishers contract with me. I will also continue to offer
devotionals for the eight websites and publications for which I regularly
write, until God shuts those doors. Hopefully neither will end anytime soon.
Tell us a little
about your family.
I am a widow and lives with two spoiled house cats whim I
dub my “beastie boys,” since they are both males. I have a grown son who is
still single. I am the fifth and youngest in my original family, but two of my
siblings passed away before I was born. My brother lives in Austin and my
sister in our hometown of San Antonio .
They each have a daughter. My sister’s daughter lives about an hour away in Dallas , and she had three
girls.
Has your writing
changed your reading habits? If so, how?
Has it ever, in two ways. First I am reading five times as
much as I ever did, but then again widowhood may play a factor in that. But
mostly it is due to the fact I have come to know so many wonderful Christian
writers, and I read to endorse or review their works. Which segues into the
second reason … I confess with a sigh. I have succumbed to the digital age.
These works are all downloaded on my e-reader. I love it because my library now
travels with me wherever I go and when I am on the road lecturing and leading
retreats, it is handy to have.
What are you working
on right now?
I am working on a cozy mystery trilogy and also have had
requests to combine my blog entries into a book format. I have completed the
second book about Christina, Jeff, and their son, Josh, the main characters in Focused.
It’s called Grounded and I plan to
write a third entitled Rooted, but am
still seeking a publisher to pick them up.
My third novel in the anti-human trafficking series, Freed to Forgive, releases in October,
and I have two novellas in the editing process. Navy Blues and Greener
Grasses.
What outside
interests do you have?
Hi, my name is Julie and I am a word-a-holic. I play
Scrabble with the computer, have at least sixteen Words with Friends games
going at any one time and love word searches and find-the words puzzles. I also
dabble in graphic design, am a very amateur birdwatcher, and a weather bug. Most
of all I enjoy lecturing and leading faith-based women’s weekends. These are
fun, teary, enlightening, tender, and I always eat way too much and sleep way
too little.
How do you choose
your settings for each book?
I am a Texan so my books are set in Texas . Fortunately I have lived all over the
state, so there is lots of fodder as far as scene settings. Focused
is set in the Texas Hill Country where I am blessed to co-own about five acres along
the Guadalupe River with my extended family on my mother’s side. The second in
the anti-human trafficking series, Legitimate
Lies, is partially set in Southern England
where I spent two weeks with a church sponsored group embedded in a small
village called Tefont.
If you could spend an
evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
That is a tough one. Of course the historical Jesus tops the
list. I’d have loved to have heard the Sermon on the Mount first hand and then watch
the sun set over the plains beyond Capernaum .
Katherine Hepburn was such an elegant lady and marvelous actress. High tea with
her would be memorable, don’t you agree?
Oh, yes. What is the
one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
Auto Crit. The world’s best editing aid. It is worth the
money to me, and even though editing by it is tedious, you can learn so much
about wordsmithing, what your pet and overused phrases tend to be, and how to
truly enhance your style. Your manuscripts end up so polished they sparkle.
What publisher would not want that?
What new lessons is
the Lord teaching you right now?
Patience truly is a virtue. I am in such a better place
relying on His perfect timing. He is also teaching me to listen more in my
prayer time.
What are the three
best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?
1. Write a hook at the end of each chapter that makes your
readers want to keep reading.
2. There is always room for humor and a short “catch your
breath” moment here and there in the plot, even in thrillers and suspense.
3. Do your best, and help others to do the same. Leave the
rest to God.
Tell us about the
featured book.
Focused came about because there didn’t seem to be a lot of
middle-age, empty-nest stories out there in the fiction world. I read a
statistic which said 80% of marriages that end after the seven year itch do so
because of the inability of one or both spouses to adjust to empty nest
syndrome or the death of a parent. So I decided to write about a couple who go
through both scenarios, and with the help of a few well-meaning church friends,
begin to realize why they married in the first place. It is a heart-felt, but
also humorous in places, romance. I have had several husbands read it and thank
me because they now “get” their wives.
Please give us the
first page of the book.
Prologue - The Litmus
Test
Prelude, 1985
Oh, why did I insist on coming here?
Christina’s hands dripped with anxiety. The heirloom serving
dish slipped out of her grasp and clunked onto the cedar log table. The
take-out fried chicken wobbled as the sound ricocheted against the wooden walls
of the summer cabin where her ancestors once ate, slept, and loved. She raised
her shoulders to her ears and grimaced.
Her mother scowled. “Must you be so clumsy? I don’t want
your grandmother’s china platter chipped.”
Must you always criticize me? She clamped her lips into a
taut line and swallowed her true response, just as she did every time. “Yes,
Ma’am.”
Christina watched her mother scoop the carton of coleslaw
into a lead crystal bowl. It seemed appropriate. She felt as if she’d been born
for a plastic tub life but shoved into crystal from the get-go. She never did
quite fit into her mother’s idea of what a daughter should be. As a child,
she’d often wondered if she’d been adopted.
Ticks from the old mantle clock perched on the rock
fireplace vibrated into the kitchen and pounded in her ears. Finally, her
mother’s voice broke the stifled hush that hung between them.
“So, Christina, how long have you known this Jeff of yours?”
One eyebrow arched as she clumsily dried a dinner plate. A two-carat diamond
ring bulged under her yellow Playtex glove. She always insisted on the dishes
from the cabin’s kitchen being washed before using them. Pity her latest
maid-cook didn’t accompany them this trip. Christina sighed and dunked her
bare, ring-less hands into the hot suds. They were used to it. Her apartment
had no dishwasher.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
My website is www.juliebcsogrove.com.
My blog is http://wheredidyoufindgodtoday.com.
My fiction and nonfiction books can be found on Amazon,
Goodreads, or Barnes and Noble.
I am also on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and dabbling
with Pintrest. Just search for Julie B Cosgrove.
Thank you, Julie, for sharing this book with us.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Focused - paperbackFocused - 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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16 comments:
Angela in Ky would love to win.
Interesting interview. Julie is so industrious!
I would love to read this book.
California
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
Hope you do, but if not it is only 99cents on Kindle all this month.
I'd love that, Linda. But if you don't win, it's 99 cents this month on Amazon.
Lol..and you aren't, dear friend?
sounds like a interesting book! Shelia from Mississippi
Thanks, Sheila. You can download it from Amazon this month for 99 cents.
Enjoyed this interview Lena. Another new author to me and I would love to win her book.
Maxie > mac262(at)me(dot)com <
I always enjoy a touch of humor in the books I read.
A great prologue thank you. Very telling.
Mary P
QLD AUSTRALIA
This sounds like an interesting story with a great lesson.
Edward A (VA)
Sounds like a book I need to read. I love Christian fiction because I learn so much. I haven't read any novels that deal with the situations in this book. Thank you for thinking of writing about them.
Jan in West Texas.
Mary, Edward and Jan= thank you for your comments. I hope you win he copy, but if you don't and have an e reader, it is 99 cents on Amazon.com all this month.
Enter me in your awesome giveaway!!
Conway, SC.
Interesting interview. I would love to be entered in your giveaway. I live in VA.
Brenda Arrington
happygrammaof3@comcast.net
Thank you for a great interview!
Melanie Backus, TX
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