LOVE AND HARMONY - Sally Bayless - One Free Book

Welcome back, Sally. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I write Christian fiction because I enjoy reading it and because I see my writing as a ministry. I hope that each book will encourage someone in their faith walk.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

That has to be three-way tie between my wedding day, the day my son was born, and the day my daughter was born.

How has being published changed your life?

Being published is wonderful because it lets me get feedback from readers. I’m especially grateful to readers who leave reviews and to my wonderful street team members, who read my books before they are published and help promote them. (Information about joining my street team is available on my website.)

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading A Year of Weddings Collection. It’s twelve contemporary Christian romance novellas, one for each month. I’m currently in A June Bride by Marybeth Whalen.

What is your current work in progress?

I’m working on Book 2 in The Abundance Series, which features Abby, the widowed antique-store owner who appeared in both Books 1 and 1.5, Love at Sunset Lake and Love and Harmony.

What would be your dream vacation?

Any warm beach by the ocean. I love seeing and listening to the waves.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

My books are all set in small towns because I’m a small-town girl. The current series is set in Missouri, where I grew up. I’m in the early stages of planning a series that will take place in Appalachian Ohio, where I now live.

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

I guess it would sound really sappy to say my husband, since I spend almost every evening with him, but he’s the person who first came to mind. Hmm, next choice…Beth Moore. I love her Bible studies and her spunk.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I like birdwatching, kayaking, swimming, baking, shoe shopping, and watching BBC mysteries. I’ve been trying running, just a tiny bit at a time, but that one’s still up for debate.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

My biggest obstacle is turning the messy first draft into a second draft that makes sense. I overcome it by giving myself little goals and plowing through them, checking them off one by one. There might also be some moaning and small amounts of chocolate involved.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Read about a hundred books in the genre you want to write. Then read more, inside and outside that genre. Read the book Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell. Join a critique group. Enter contests to get unbiased feedback. Do something like National Novel Writing Month, where you get encouragement to finish a first draft. Subscribe to Writer’s Digest, a magazine that costs about $20 a year. And know without a doubt that even multi-published, amazing authors struggle. (This was an eye-opener for me. I thought it was easy for them.)

Tell us about the featured book.

Love and Harmony is a contemporary Christian romance about the reunion of a couple that first fell in love as teenagers at church camp. The back of the book says:

The first boy she ever kissed just walked back into her life—and crashed into her plans.

She needs to redeem herself…

Music teacher Becky Hamlin is seeking harmony—both in the blended voices of her students and in her small hometown of Abundance, Missouri. But after last summer, when her bad judgment left the town vulnerable, things have felt off key. Becky hopes to make amends by holding a benefit concert for the local food pantry. If the event is a success, she might even have a shot at her dream job. And now that her former crush, Seth Williams, has moved to town, she could really have it all—a great concert to benefit the community, a more secure teaching position, and a chance at love.

He needs to prove himself…

Seth Williams has his hands full, raising his sixteen-year-old half-brother and starting a new job as an interim high school principal. When he realizes that the gorgeous local choir director is the girl he fell for at church camp years ago, he’s more determined than ever to convince the school board to make his position permanent. But the faith Seth once shared with Becky is no longer common ground.

The spark between them needs a second chance…

As the logistics of her concert cause problems with his job, will the discord make a relationship impossible or will their renewed love, along with God’s abundant grace, allow them to overcome every obstacle? 

Please give us the first page of the book.

With every new calendar year and every new school semester came a chance to begin again, to become the person you were meant to be. Or the person you once had been but somehow lost.

Yep. Seth Williams nodded. Today, January 7, was the first day of a new semester at a new high school, and it was time for Tony, his half-brother, to get back on track.

Seth was starting over as well. His new job as interim principal at Tony’s school meant big challenges, but they were challenges he was willing to face if it meant Tony might get his life straightened out. Stepping in mid-year—after the previous principal, his secretary, and the athletic director had been fired for misappropriating funds—would require flexibility, which was not Seth’s strongest suit.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website is www.sallybayless.com. Readers can find excerpts from all my books there, can email me, and can sign up for my newsletter and my street team. Newsletter subscribers are the first to learn when I release a new book.

I’m on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/authorsallybayless/. Facebook is my favorite social media, so I check it often.

I’m also on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/sally_bayless/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/sally_bayless.

Thank you, Sally, for sharing this book with us. I know my readers are as eager to read it as I am.

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

Love and Harmony: The Abundance Series Book 1.5 - Paperback
Love and Harmony: The Abundance Series Book 1.5 - Kindle

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