Welcome, Jenna. Tell
us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
To be truthful, not much of myself, but happy memories or
habits of beloved relatives usually appear somewhere. For example, my Grammy,
who was the prayer warrior in our family, wrote letters with a wooden ruler
laid flat on the paper at the base of the line she was writing on...it kept her
cursive ramrod straight across the bottom. She would then add the loops below
the line (g's, j's, y's) afterward. Louise Martin's Gran in my book, War of the Heart, did the same thing.
What is the quirkiest
thing you have ever done?
Renewed my wedding vows in a hot air balloon overlooking the
Idaho side of the Grand Teton Mountains .
Sounds exciting. When
did you first discover you were a writer?
When I got my first child library card and discovered the
miraculous way books can transport us into incredible worlds.
Tell us the range of
the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
I enjoy romance, both sweet and Christian, cozy mysteries
and romantic suspense. I have a rather large list of British police procedural
mystery authors that I follow and always buy their next book. I adore detective
series with certain teams or partners always featured - no matter how many
books there are, it gets added to my To-Be-Read pile.
How do you keep your
sanity in our run, run, run world?
Doing my best to feed my mind with finer thoughts.
Philippians says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is
true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy--think about such things." I try to block out things that do
not fit that instruction. My author tag line is "fiction that feeds your
faith," so I believe this is a key to a strong Christian walk.
I’ve judged what
movies to watch, what TV shows to watch, and what books to read by that verse
for a long time. How do you choose your characters’ names?
I start with the "what if?" question. Once I have
that, the first main character names usually pop into my head. Then I tweak
them to make sure there aren't any other characters with same first letter, are
true to the dates of the story, and are representative of their inner
characteristics. One thing I do every so
often is sit through those long movie credits - lots of great names to choose from
and jot down in the notes app in my smart phone!
James and I stay for
the credits for most movies we go see in a theater. It’s hard to read them on
out TV. What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?
Signing my first book contract, and getting 25 5-star
reviews out of the gate for that debut story.
If you were an
animal, which one would you be, and why?
A lamb. A favorite childhood memory is a color Easter print
of Jesus gently carrying a lamb in His strong arms. "Carry Me!" I
wanted to say. Of course, I learned He does, every day, in a non-corporal way.
What is your favorite
food?
Pizza, hands down. I always said if God ever put me in a
situation where I had to choose a "last meal" - pizza would win over
the finest steak or free range chicken!
I’d want prime rib
and lobster, because I don’t have them very often. What is the problem with
writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
Being consistent in actually writing words down. I've not
totally overcome it, but I am doing better once I linked "obedience"
to my calling to be a faith-centered writer.
Tell us about the
featured book.
In War of the Heart, a vintage snow
globe sends Boston dress designer Louise Martin and British B and B owner
George Walker back in time to London, December 1940, where they race against
the clock to reconcile a feud between their families and solve a 75-year-old mystery.
As Louise relies on God and on George for guidance, friendship then love. Will
the future George envisions strangle her own dreams? Will their love survive
generations of mistrust, the Blitz and being stranded in wartime 1940, possibly
never to return to their former lives?
Please give us the
first page of the book.
Current Day - December
10
"Me Dad was no choir boy, but he never did what they
said. Never."
Thomas Martin reached up from the bed and gave his
daughter's arm an urgent tug. "You've got to convince them, pet. Tell
them, a'right?"
What was up with him tonight?
"Shush, Dad, it's okay. Rest now."
Pet. Although it
was better suited to his family roots in working-class London
rather than his own birthplace an ocean away in Massachusetts General Hospital ,
Dad's use of slang was comforting and familiar. He'd often use "pet"
or "luv" or repeat phrases learned at the knees of his mum and dad.
Because they'd all shared this house, so did she. Her grandparents strove to
keep their British traditions intact, even as they embraced life in America . This
gave her father, then Louise herself, strong ties not only to the past but also
to a country neither of them had ever set foot in. Why Giles and Evelyn Martin
never returned to London
in seventy years always remained a mystery to her.
She asked them once, as a teenager. Her Gran and Grandy met
one another's gaze, and Louise saw sadness reflected there.
Then Grandy turned gruff. "Don't be a nosy parker,
girl. What's past is past." As usual, she obeyed without question. With
both of her grandparents gone now, and her father too ill to discuss something
that obviously distressed him, she would never know the answer.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
Amazon Author Page
Twitter
Facebook
Email
jenna@jennavictoria.com
Website
Website
Heroes of Song Personal Blog
Book Review Blog
Instagram
Thank You, Jenna, for sharing this new book with us.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
War of the Heart (A Snow Globe Christmas) - PaperbackWar of the Heart (A Snow Globe Christmas) - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (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
14 comments:
Jenna, that verse in Philippians is the verse I've chosen to focus on as my 2017 verse. I pray it will be my 'north star' this coming year. I loved your book and look forward to your next.
I love the idea of "fiction that feeds faith" - that is what I like to read, so thank you for writing it!
I live in South Carolina. This book sounds really good!
Janice
pjrcmoore@windstream.net
sounds like a lovely read. thanks for the chance to win
live in ND
Thanks for sharing this first page. I look forward to readinng the entire book.
Connie from KY
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
I too will pray for your "North Star" scripture.
Janice - I agree. It is refreshing to read books that don't need bad language or immodest content to be a compelling and enthralling read.
Apple Blossom, thanks for stopping by. Do you have a lot of snow in ND now? We had three inches overnight; pretty to look at but not pretty to drive in 😃
Connie - I appreciate the time you took to visit and read Chapter One. Have a wonderful day!
I want to find out what the 75 year old mystery is! This sounds like a very good book!
Beth from Iowa
Thanks for commenting Beth :-) I enjoy writing "out of the box" so there are some mystery curve balls in War of the Heart 🎄
Enter me!!
Conway SC.
Thank you for visiting me in Lena's blog, Sharon. You are entered!
Sounds good. Love the cover. north platte nebraska.
Kim, I may be biased but I love, love the cover too! Thanks for visiting- stay warm in Nebraska... brrr.
Post a Comment