Bio: Kathleen
Rouser is the award-winning author of Rumors
and Promises, and a multi-published author of historical Christian romance.
She is a longtime member in good standing of American Christian Fiction
Writers.
Kathleen has loved making up stories since she was a little
girl and wanted to be a writer before she could even read. She’s in the grip of
God’s grace and is a fan of the three Cs—cats, coffee, and chocolate.
The mother of three, who is a former homeschool instructor,
mild-mannered dental assistant, and current Community Bible Study kids’
teacher, lives in Michigan with her hero and husband of thirty-some years, and
two sweet cats who found a home in their empty nest.
Welcome, Kathleen. Tell
us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
Sometimes they are the deeper things, such as learning how
to trust God in the difficult places and other times there are the quirks. For
example, my heroine in Flying into Love, Talia Sampson, refers
to having a “grim reaper thumb and killing houseplants for miles around.” I’m
rubbish with growing things inside other than an occasional succulent plant
like the Christmas cactus on my windowsill.
I also have a black
thumb instead of a green thumb. James always took care of the house plants,
because I killed them. What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?
Good question. Not sure how quirky this is, but I am a very
slow coffee drinker. I can reheat the same cup several times and make it last
all day. Usually I wind up throwing it out at some point and make a second one
in the afternoon. So I actually drink two half cups in a day. I like to sip and
enjoy my coffee.
When did you first
discover that you were a writer?
My mother read stories to me every day when I was a little
girl and I wanted to write books before I could even read—when I was four years
old. Then I had a teacher in third grade who told me I was a good writer and my
brother, John, who was old enough to be my dad, always encouraged me to write.
It was something I wanted to be most of my life but didn’t get serious about
until my kids got older. Then I finally felt like a writer.
Tell us the range of
the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
I enjoy so many kinds of books, from Regency to YA, to
speculative and Amish. I enjoy historical and contemporary romance too.
How do you keep your
sanity in our run, run, run world?
Holding onto to my Savior, Jesus. I belong to Community
Bible Study which I attend locally. This helps keep me grounded in God’s word.
I also receive prayer and support from the other ladies I serve with there. And
knowing I can talk to Him in prayer anytime is reassuring.
I’ve also been trying to genuinely rest and refuel on
Saturday or Sunday.
It is such a comfort
and blessing to know He is right beside us and we can talk to Him anytime we
want to. How do you choose your characters’ names?
It depends. If I’m writing an historical, I will look up the
most popular names of the time. I will find one I like and look up the meaning
to see if it fits. For a more contemporary story, I will often take a name that
I like and check the meaning of that to see if it fits. Occasionally, I will
name a character after someone. Dr. Moore in my Stone Creek books is named
after my friend, Barb Moore, as she has been a wise mentor and friend. Little
six-year-old Lily in The Last Memory
is named after my first cat, Lilybits. A nice memorial since we had to put Lilybits
down last May.
What is the
accomplishment that you are most proud of?
Raising and homeschooling three sons.
If you were an
animal, which one would you be, and why?
A cat—in a loving home, that is. My cats are so spoiled and
live quite the life of leisure and fun. It seems like they can rest anywhere. And
they are beautiful animals. The grace, regal bearing, and hunting instincts of
big cats like lions, tigers, and pumas, are wrapped nicely into the sweet
little package of domestic cats. Just watch them walk and stalk with that
rolling shoulder gait. And somehow, they have us trained to take care of them!
What is your favorite
food?
It’s a tie between spaghetti with my mom’s meat sauce recipe
and good dark chocolate.
What is the problem
with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
Again and again it’s fear of not writing well enough, which
is silly in itself, because you can’t get better at it if you don’t write. I’m
finding that reminding myself of truth in scripture is a good way to overcome
the fear when it creeps in. For example, when I feel it welling up, I tell
myself Joshua 1:9 - This is my command—be
strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your
God is with you wherever you go. (NLT) Then I find it’s easier to face the
blank computer screen.
Tell us about the
featured book.
Flying Into Love by Kathleen Rouser:
Unable to say no when others need her, Talia Sampson took on
her deceased aunt’s advice column and the care of her special needs niece. Then
new veteran, Ben Tanner, shows up unexpected on her doorstep. Hurt many times,
he wonders where home is. Talia isn’t happy finding a hot-air balloon with him,
but she treasures the old journal with it. Ben hopes restoring her family’s
antique will please her, until he discovers a secret that shatters his trust.
And Talia hates flying.
Will she trust God—and Ben—enough to go airborne?
That is the blurb, but Flying Into Love also has a split
time subplot which takes place around the time of World War I. Talia learns in
a journal she finds that her great-grandmother, Dottie Washington , was swept away in a hot-air
balloon with a handsome friend, Earl Sampson, the brother of the man she loves,
quite by accident. What happens to them changes the course of both their lives.
(Flying Into Love will be released on May 10 as part of the boxed set, Love
is in the Air, which contains five brand-new contemporary Christian
romances. Other authors in this collection include Candee Fick, Tanya Eavenson,
Laura V. Hilton, and Kathleen Friessen)
Please give us the
first page of the book.
How had she gotten herself into this? Talia Sampson
shut the laptop amid the piles on her desk, closed her eyes, and
rubbed her temples. When she’d come to take care of Aunt Violet a
little over eight months ago Talia didn’t expect to inherit her
aunt’s Victorian mansion or take over an advice column nearly
seven months later. She should have practiced saying the word no before
her aunt asked her.
She opened her eyes and picked up the gilt-framed photo of
her adventurous aunt, with her ash-blond pixie haircut, wearing
a parka and standing on a mountain somewhere. “I miss you, Aunt Vi.
You left us far too soon. This should still be your
column.” She rested her chin in her hand. Dust danced on the light coming
through the window next to her. She pushed her finger through a layer of it on
the antique mahogany desk.
The back door slammed. “I’m here!”
Ten o’clock already? Greeting Janine, the housekeeper
she inherited along with the house, gave her a perfect excuse to take
a break.
Talia stood and smoothed her favorite mint green tunic
over her hips and sidestepped boxes of Aunt Vi’s papers. She did
her best to ignore dusty overflowing bookcases, and
padded downstairs over the worn carpeting in
her fuzzy pink bedroom slippers to find Janine in the bright kitchen. “Hi! Glad you’re
here to keep house. If you weren’t so indispensable, I’d be better off
doing the housework than staring at a computer screen.”
Janine Fellow’s left hand was on her hip, and her right
hand already held a dust cloth. “Nonsense. Besides, your plants would die if I
didn’t come to water them.” She winked. Lines gently etched her face and
crinkled around her eyes as she smiled.
“Ah, yes, we can’t forget my Grim Reaper thumb.” Talia held
up the left one. “It’s known to kill houseplants for miles around.”
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
Website: http://kathleenrouser.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathleenRouser
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kerouser/
Buy link for Flying Into Love:
https://books2read.com/u/3LDxaD?fbclid=IwAR1yIyEtlq9uvkMQaCBBxL0u5Eaz18XvDtmFSGMrDgOsFjpaeTCkLlvwUik
My Amazon page with links to all my books: https://www.amazon.com/Kathleen-Rouser/e/B00P3BR662?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1587786152&sr=8-1
Thank you, Kathleen,
for sharing your book and the collection it’s in with my blog readers and me. I’m
eager to find out what happens to Talia.
Readers, 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, 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:
19 comments:
Thank you, Lena, for having me as a guest on your informative blog!
Thanks for sharing the interview, excerpt & giveaway, Ladies Kathleen, you're a new-to-me author & from the excerpt, I think I'd really like your books. I was right there with Talia & I love books that draw me in like that. Stay safe.
Robin in NC
Thank you so much, Robin, for stopping by and for your kind words. Glad to be able to bring you into Talia's world like that.
You stay safe as well!
Sounds like a good one!
Melanie Backus, TX
Sounds like a good one. Thank you for sharing this interview. Blessings from WV
Thank you, Melanie. Take care!
Thank you, Lucy. I appreciate your stopping by. Take care in WV.
I would love to read your books.
Thank you, JMagers. I would love to have you read them. Smiles.
Sounds fantastic. Thanks for the chance from FL.
Thank you, Nancy. Happy to giveaway this collection. Take care in FL.
Thank you Lena and Kathleen This sounds like a great book Thank you for the chance Sarah Taylor from Waterloo,Ohio
Hi Sarah, thank you for your kind comment and for stopping by. Take care in Ohio.
Enter me in your awesome giveaway!!
Conway SC.
Thanks for the nice interview and review. Looking forward to this book.
Beth from IA
Thank you for stopping by and entering, Sharon. Blessings!
Beth (rubynreba), you're welcome. I enjoy sharing about my stories. So glad you're looking forward to this book!
I take it one of your cats is named Ruby? So is one of mine, but her sister is Opal. Blessings to you in Iowa!
This sounds like a lovely story. Thank you for sharing.
Connie from Kentucky
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
Thank you, Connie Porter Saunders, for your kind words. Take care in Kentucky.
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