OSLO OVERTURES - Marion Ueckermann - One Free EbookOslo

Bio: Marion Ueckermann’s passion for writing was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then she has published devotional articles and stories in Winners, The One Year Devotional of Joy and Laughter, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miraculous Messages from Heaven.

Marion loves writing Contemporary Inspirational Romances set in novel places and has three Passport to Romance novellas published and contracted through White Rose Publishing, a Pelican Book Group imprint: her debut novella, Helsinki Sunrise; Oslo Overtures (August 2015); and Glasgow Grace (2016).

She lives in Pretoria East, South Africa, in an empty nest with her husband and their crazy black Scottie, Wally.

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

He has, Lena, and it’s been such an amazing blessing. At the beginning of the year, I felt God was giving me the word BREAKTHROUGH, for 2015. Three days later that breakthrough began to happen when I was asked to take part in a boxed set (Splash!) of summer novellas with eight other international authors. The decision to become a part of Splash! has turned my writing world upside down (in a good way) and set me on a path I never thought I’d travel.

On the horizon, I see a busy time and a lot of hard work. Orphaned Hearts, my Splash! novella was released independently last month as Book 1 of my new indie published, Heart of Africa romance series. I am planning to release Book 2 at the end of the year, so after I attend my first American writer’s conference in Dallas in September with ACFW, I’ll be working hard on that.

I also have Book 1 completed in Heart of Ireland—another “Heart of...” romance series I’m planning. That’ll be a northern hemisphere spring release. Then I need to write to additional three books in that series to release every three months during 2016.

I’ve just contracted my third Passport to Romance novella, Glasgow Grace (working title), so I’ll be busy with galley edits on that in the next few months. I still have so many Passport to Romance novellas I want to write and submit to my publisher, White Rose Publishing (Pelican Book Group).

And then, of course, in between all the writing, these releases need to be marketed. As I said, busy, busy, busy.

Tell us a little about your family.

Oh, golly, where do I start? I’m from a really close-knit family—two brothers and one sister. At the time I prepared this interview, I had written that I was blessed to still have my parents, aged 88, although the sands of time were running out, and that I was making the most of the opportunities I still had with them. However, on July 17th, my dear mother was called home to Jesus. I miss her terribly, but am so glad that we don’t mourn as those who have no hope. I will see her again one day.

I married the love of my life thirty years ago and we have two amazing sons, and two gorgeous grandsons. My youngest son, Kyle, lives in Budapest with his Finnish wife (that’s when they’re not living in Finland or Sweden). They’ve just bought a tiny cottage on a fairly large piece of ground about a half-hour outside of Budapest, so perhaps they’ll settle down there. They’re missionaries (well, kind of cyber-missionaries J. You can see what exciting stuff Kyle’s up to here: http://www.awakenmovement.com/team/)

My oldest son, Ryan, and his family live in the townhouse right next door to our house, and he has his office in our loft. He’s a 3D Architecture Visualizer. Ryan gets to drink our coffee all day, and we get to see our grandsons every day if we want. A win-win situation don’t you think, although hazardous to writing time.

Yes, those grandchildren are important. Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Yes. I get little time to read now L, except for my critique partners’ great work J.

What are you working on right now?

Right now I’m finalizing my Christmas novella, Poles Apart, for another boxed set. Then I have to plan and prepare for ACFW Dallas. After that, it has to be me and Heart of Africa Book 2.

What outside interests do you have?

None. My interests lie inside—in my office, at my desk, and in front of my laptop. But my, what wonderful worlds are to be found there.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

I love writing stories set in unusual locations, hence my tagline “A Novel Place to Fall in Love.” With the Passport to Romance stories, Pelican Book Group have a long list of interesting places around the world that they require stories for. So that list so far has had a strong influence on my setting choice, although I tend to gravitate to the cities that I’ve been to. In fact, on my way back to South Africa after ACFW, I have a seven hour stopover in Madrid. I definitely plan to make a dash for the city and spend three hours there researching because that’s another Passport to Romance city, and I’ve had a story brewing in my head since I booked my airline ticket and realized I could go and do a little European location digging.

Finally, because I’m South Africa, stories in Africa are high on my list of things to do. There are so many beautiful places for my characters to go in our country, from the winelands of the Cape, to the desert dunes of Namibia, to the roaring waters of Mosi-o-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders)—more commonly known to the traveler as the Victoria Falls.

I have friends who have a mission school on the banks of Lake Victoria where they rescue and educate throw away boys. They teach them about the Lord and teach them skills that they’ll need to make a living. If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

I’ve never really been into history... I’d probably love to spend a night though chatting to our former President, the late Nelson Mandela. I think he was just an amazing man with much wisdom to impart. It would be an evening not only of learning much, but an entertaining one, too. Mr. Mandela, I think, was quite a character, too. He really loved people. I know he’d probably spend the evening though asking me about my writing and encouraging me to follow my dreams.

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

ALL the rules of writing!

Some of those aren’t really rules, just suggestions to make our writing better. What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

To breathe ... and just take one thing at a time. Eventually it’ll all get done.

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

Write ... every day. When you don’t, it’s hard to get back into it.

Network! Other authors play such an important part in your success as a writer, whether it be in your critique partners polishing your work, or just the opportunities you come to know of because of your writer friends. No writer can be an island.

Do not be in a hurry to publish. Allow God to use the unpublished years to prepare you for what He’s called you to.

Tell us about the featured book.

Oslo Overtures is set high in the Norwegian skies (a lot of the time) and takes the reader on an adventure into the fascinating world of wingsuiting. Danger, excitement, romance, and an unusual setting make this a great story. The story is about overcoming fear from painful wounds of the past, and discovering that God moves in the situations of our lives to accomplish his plan for our lives.

Anjelica Joergensen and renowned wingsuiter Kyle Sheppard from New Zealand meet in Oslo when they join an international team to break the formation flying Guinness World Record where Kyle goes from one blunder to the next in front of the beautiful Norwegian.

Anjelica carries the scars of a tragic loss. She’s not looking for love, but love soon finds her and has her questioning whether falling for another wingsuiter is such a good idea. When Kyle makes a foolhardy decision, Angelica has to make a hard choice.

Sometimes you have to lose it all, to win it all. The same can be said for Anjelica and Kyle’s love story. It’s a story about losing, and winning.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Anjelica drank in the beauty of the surrounding mountains that hugged the dark blue waters far below. The climb had been worth it. As usual. She could never get enough of the view across the fjord. Beside her, pockets of snow filled the gaps between flat gray rocks.

She stepped up to the edge, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. The butterflies in her stomach were determined to be the first to take flight. Standing at the exit point—whether a precipice, skyscraper, or aircraft’s open door—was one of the scariest moments. She could turn away and fail or step forward into moments of death-defying adventure. Despite her anxiety, this was Anjelica’s favorite place.

She raised her arms and leaned over the rock. Her body dropped through the air before she stretched her limbs like a bird. As the wind wrapped around the shape of her wingsuit, she began to fly.

Visions of the week ahead filled her mind. She exhaled slowly. Her helmet warmed inside at her breath. She had to calm her thoughts—focus on the flight was paramount to success. For the next few minutes, she and the currents would wage war against gravity and error.

Determined to improve on her previous time in the air, Anjelica raised her head. She bent her body at the waist and looked ahead, slowing her rate of descent and forward momentum.

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

I look forward to interacting with readers at any of the following places:

WEBSITE       http://marionueckermann.com/

FACEBOOK   https://www.facebook.com/Marion.C.Ueckermann

AMAZON       http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00KBYLU7C

GOOGLE+      https://plus.google.com/+MarionUeckermannAuthor/

TWITTER       https://twitter.com/ueckie

PINTEREST   https://www.pinterest.com/ueckie/

Oslo Overtures releases tomorrow and will be available on Amazon and Pelican, and probably the other sites listed below:

Amazon

Pelican Book Group              

Christianbook.com                

Barnes & Noble

Nook 

Thank you, Marion, for sharing this new book with us. I know my readers will love it.

Readers, 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 Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, 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