LOST IN THE STORM - Tamera Lynn Kraft - One Free Book

Welcome back, Tamera. Tell us about your salvation experience.

When I was thirteen years old, I started going to church because I heard there were cute boys. My family didn’t go to church, so I went on the church bus that passed my house. What I heard was correct, but that’s not what kept me coming back. There was so much love shown to me there that I started going every time the doors were open. Within a month, I gave my heart to the Lord in a Wednesday night youth service. I was the first person in my family to be saved. Now most of my extended family is saved, and I’m the start of three generations of Christians.

That’s awesome. I’ve volunteered in both the children’s ministry and youth ministry. Reaching children often brings whole families to the Lord over time. You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

Wow. Only four? We’ll I think I would pick you, Lena Dooley, for one. You have such a wealth of knowledge about historical fiction. Second would be my friend and publisher partner, Michelle Levigne. She always has big ideas and is a lot of fun. There are a couple of male authors I would love to learn from, but since it’s a retreat, I’ll stick to women, but it would be hard to decide between Mary Connelly, Tamera Alexander, Julie Lessman, and Francine Rivers. I have enjoyed all of their historicals.

I love all those authors, too. Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

I do, but not with writing although I have taught a few workshops. I am a children’s ministry consultant and evangelist. I go all over teaching over children’s pastors and doing children’s revivals. The name of my ministry is Revival Fire for Kids. You can find out more at http://revivalfire4kids.net.

Cool! What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?

I don’t embarrass easily because I laugh at myself when something like that happens, but I wasn’t always like that. I believe the most embarrassing thing was when I was a teenager. I took dance lessons for 20 years. One time, when I was performing on stage, the strap on my costume broke. I did the rest of the routine holding up my strap so my costume wouldn’t fall down. Everyone who saw the performance said it was the best I ever did. Go figure.

People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?

First, I ask them if they like to read. Many who have said this to me don’t read and say they want to write the story of their life. People like that, I tell them to start a journal or a blog and start reading. For the others, the serious ones, I advise them to keep reading, keep learning, go to conferences, get critique partners, and be patient. It takes a long time to succeed at writing.

That is so true. Tell us about the featured book.

Lost in the Storm

Ladies of Oberlin Book 2

By Tamera Lynn Kraft

Will war bring them love or will they be Lost in the Storm?

Lavena, a journalist during the Civil War, wants to become a war correspondent. She finally gets her chance, but there’s a catch. She has to get an interview from a war hero, who has refused to tell his story to every other journalist, and she has to accomplish this impossible task in a month or she’ll lose her job.

Captain Cage, the war hero, has a secret that will destroy his military career and reputation. Now, a new journalist is trying to get him to tell what he’s been hiding. He wants to ignore her, but from the moment she came into camp, he can’t get her out of his mind.

Leading up to the turbulent Battles for the city of Chattanooga, will Lavena and Cage find the courage to love and forgive, or will they be swept away by their past mistakes that don’t want to stay buried?

Meet the Ladies of Oberlin, the causes they're willing to fight for, and the men who capture their hearts.

Buy links:

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Lost-Storm-Ladies-Oberlin-Book/dp/1949564622/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lost-in-the-storm-tamera-lynn-kraft/1132278547?ean=9781949564624

Please give us the first page of the book.

September 18th, 1863, Cleveland, Ohio

Lavena Falcon, mouth drawn in a thin line, marched down Prospect Avenue with as much bluster as a Lake Erie squall. This time, she wouldn't back down.

She shielded her eyes from the bright sun and avoided plummeting into two women who chatted in front of the corner grocery. Yellow leaves crunched under her feet as she made a dash for the East Cleveland streetcar. She stepped up just before it rattled down the track.

The wooden benches were filled to capacity, so she grabbed hold of a strap hanging from the roof above them. An older chap with balding gray hair stood and offered his seat, but she shook her head, and the man sat back down. She wasn't about to take a seat from an elderly gentleman only because of her gender.

The car jerked, and Lavena strengthened her hold to keep from toppling. Her boss, Brian O'Brady, would have her resignation if he ever sent her to report on another Ladies Aide Society Meeting again. She sighed. Of course, she would never quit the only large newspaper that would hire a woman, but it was tempting.

She stepped off the streetcar and blew across Superior Avenue with a gust of yellow leaves falling from the green ash trees lining the street. Reaching the brick newspaper building where she worked, she pushed through the door.

The office bustled with activity. Because The Cleveland Leader had morning and evening penny editions, the newsroom never slept. Men with their sleeves rolled up sat at rows of desks writing out copy for typesetters and paid no attention to the roar of the steam-powered double cylinder rotary printing presses in the back. Suit jackets slung over their chairs, and cigar smoke circled their heads.

No matter how much she wanted to confront her boss the moment she returned, she had a story to write, and in the newspaper business, getting stories in on time were more important than any personal consideration. She'd never failed to do that yet, and she didn't intend to now.

The only thing more important to her than getting a story in on time was reporting the truth in a way that enriched society without destroying people needlessly. She’d always strived to accomplish both goals.

She removed her bonnet and let her dark brown braid fall over her shoulder then stepped over to the box stove in the corner of the room and started boiling a pot of water for bohea tea, a strong blend of black tea leaves.

Sitting at the desk nearest to the stove, she dipped her pen in a bottle of ink. She blew out a breath to calm her anger and wrote about the noble women who knitted socks and harvested fruit for soldiers far away from home and hearth. Their simple deed would help the Ohio Seventh Volunteer Regiment get through the cold winter.

She blotted the paper, marched to the office on the right, and knocked on the oak door. An indistinguishable grumble came from the other side which she took to mean she should enter. Pulling up her four-feet-eleven, ninety-pound frame, she squared her shoulders for battle and thrust through.

I’m eager to read the rest of the story. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Online Links:

Website: http://tameralynnkraft.net

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cdybpb

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7334438.Tamera_Lynn_Kraft

Word Sharpeners Blog: http://tameralynnkraft.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/tameralynnkraft

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tamerakraft

Thank you, Tamera, for sharing this book with us.

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