Welcome back, Vannetta. God has really been
moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?
What a great question, and I have no idea. I'm completely
open to whatever direction God moves. My main goal has always been to write
stories which emphasize HOPE and GOD's GRACE. I'm grateful to have the chance
to do that. I will be releasing 10 more Amish books (both romance and mystery)
in the next 3 years through Abingdon, Harvest House, and Zondervan.
Tell us a little
about your family.
We have a blended family. Bob had three children when I met
him, and I had one.
Now all four of them are grown and on their own. We have one
special-needs child who will always require some assistance, but she is also
slowly increasing independence. Bob's parents are in their 80s and my mother is
in her 70s. We're very fortunate that everyone lives close enough to visit.
Has your writing
changed your reading habits? If so, how?
Yes! I've been an avid reader all my life, often consuming a
book in a day. The more I write, the more I give myself permission to abandon a
book if it hasn't hooked me after an hour. Every book is not for every reader.
What are you working
on right now?
I'm completing the edits for the third book in my Amish
romance, Pebble Creek series. I'm also completing the edits for a quilt romance
that will be a sequel to A Simple Amish
Christmas.
What outside
interests do you have?
I play the keyboard in my praise band, which is the most fun
thing I do every week. Bob and I also enjoy camping, hiking and occasionally
finding our way into a kayak.
How do you choose
your settings for each book?
I research and then I visit! Especially for a series, I do
feel it helps me tremendously to spend a week in the area I'm going to be
writing about.
If you could spend an
evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
Native Americans. My grandfather was half Choctaw. I'd like
to see this country as they saw it and experience it as they did.
What is the one thing
you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
To keep an excel chart with all my characters name,
descriptions, and relationships. I didn't learn that little trick until the 3rd
book (published) and there were quite a few written before that one.
What new lessons is
the Lord teaching you right now?
Trust--there are so many things to worry about, but if we
truly believe what we say we believe, then we can trust Him with anything and
everything.
What are the three best
things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?
1. Write another book - don't keep
re-writing the first.
2. Don't believe negative hype. In
fact stay away from people who are caught in it. You CAN be published and have
an agent, and it will happen when it's supposed to--in God's time.
3. Remember to rest and enjoy your
family and your life.
Tell us about the
featured book.
Miriam King loves the children of Pebble Creek and is
content teaching in the one room schoolhouse, then Gabe Miller steps into her
life and everything changes. This is a story of community, grace, love, and
second chances. Our God believes in second chances, and I'm so glad He does!
Please give us the
first page of the book.
Gabe sat by the side of the bed, clasping Hope's hand.
The wind fought with the window panes, intent on finding its
way into the small upstairs room. The rain lashed out against the night sky.
He knew when Dr. Frank left the room. He heard him in the
hall murmuring to Erma and recognized the defeat in his voice as he moved down
the stairs.
Gabe felt the weight of thick, heavy exhaustion pressing
down on him. He couldn't have held up his head if his life had depended on it,
though he would have found a way to do so if it could have saved Hope.
Saving Hope.
It had become his life mission, but that wasn't Gotte's wille. So the bishop had said as
recently as an hour ago. So Erma was saying to the doctor as he left the house
even now. Why couldn't Gabe's heart agree? Instead, he allowed his head to drop
to the quilt, allowed his lips to kiss her hand—a hand that was even now
growing cold, and for this moment he allowed himself to weep.
He heard Erma walk slowly up the stairs and stop outside the
bedroom door, allowing him this final moment alone with his wife.
"Mamm!"
Grace's scream tore through the house, startling in its pitch and intensity.
Lunging past Hope's mother, Gabe’s five-year-old daughter threw herself into
the room, clawing at the bed and attempting to crawl on it, all the time
sobbing and crying. "I want my mamm.
Why won't she wake up? Make her wake up!"
He tried to pull her away, putting his arms around her small
frame and murmuring in her ear, but her cries only increased.
"Silence that child!" Hope's father stood in the
doorway, his face an inscrutable mask, his voice a hammer falling. Walking into
the room, he jerked Grace from Gabe's arms. "Take her, Erma. Take her and
silence her. I will not have such a display in my home."
Micah paused a moment, his eyes taking in Gabe's tearstained
face and the lifeless form of his daughter. Briefly, Gabe thought he saw the
mask of indifference slip from his features, but it was less than the span of a
heartbeat, and in the dim lantern light he could have imagined it. With a
scowl, the older man turned and trudged from the room, leaving Gabe alone to
deal with his grief.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
webpage -- www.VannettaChapman.com
facebook -- www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks
, and
pinterest -- http://pinterest.com/vannettachapmanThank you, Vannetta, for sharing this book and your family with us today.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
A Promise for Miriam (The Pebble Creek Amish Series)
- paperbackA Promise for Miriam (The Pebble Creek Amish Series)
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