God has blessed me with books on the shelves and encouraging notes from readers who were touched by my stories. I see more books on the horizon. Beyond that I dream. I’ve learned from Debby Macomber’s talks to never underestimate what can happen when you set goals and work toward them. God has a way of opening doors when the time is right.
That is so true. Tell us a little about your family.
I’m married to my college sweetheart. Our two daughters and sons by marriage have given us four wonderful grandchildren. We love spending time with our family. Our grandkids like to shoot baskets and play board games as well as ping-pong and air hockey. Its tough to be beaten by a five year old, but it happens. :-)
Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?
I don’t have as much time to read now that I’m writing for publication. I try to keep up with fellow authors in the Love Inspired Historical, along with other inspirational authors and Seeker friends’ books. I’d like to read out of the genre more though historical fiction is always a favorite. I plan to read The Help this winter.
What are you working on right now?
I’m writing a story set in 1900 in the fictitious town of Peaceful, Indiana. The heroine is a pregnant widow who opens her home to unwed mothers. The hero is a falsely convicted ex-con searching for his birth mother. Together they take a stand against the disapproving town and, of course, find their much deserved happy ending.
Sounds interesting. I'll have to feature it on my blog, too. What outside interests do you have?
I enjoy rubber stamping greeting cards and knitting simple projects like scarves. Though my game needs lots of work, I like to golf. I love to walk and read. There are so many things I’d like to do if I had the time. I can’t imagine being bored.
I create all our greeting cards on the computer, and I like to knit, too. How do you choose your settings for each book?
I love your cover. If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
A list of possibilities paraded through my mind but I immediately narrowed it down someone living during the Revolutionary War or Civil War, important periods in our country’s history. I’d like the wives’ point of view so I narrowed it further to Martha Washington or Mary Todd Lincoln. Mrs. Lincoln endured many tragedies in her life and a great deal of controversy still surrounds her. I’m sure an evening with President Lincoln’s wife would be fascinating.
Yes, it would. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
I wish I’d known to start the story where the trouble begins. But overall, if I’d known how hard it is to get published and the ups and downs of this business, I might have given up before I started. If I had, I’d have missed so much. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. :-)
What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?
The Lord is teaching me the importance of putting Him first. When life is hectic and my To Do list is long, it’s tempting to skip time with God. The account of Martha and Mary in the Bible reminds me to get my priorities right. I’m to sit at Jesus’ feet as Mary did rather than focusing on what needs to be done as Martha did. When I’ve fed on His words, I’m ready to do His work.
I agree. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?
Read. Read in the genre you want to be published in and notice what authors did to make you love their books.
Be teachable. Information from critiques, contest judges, craft workshops and online classes won’t help you succeed if your mind is closed. Writers must evaluate all that input, take what works and develop our skills. The more I know, the more I realize how much I still need to know.
Write. Just do it. Each book is like a college class. We learn so much from practice.
Tell us about the featured book?
Fleeing an arranged marriage, debutante Elizabeth Manning exchanges places with a mail-order bride bound for New Harmony, Iowa. Life on the frontier can’t be worse than forced wedlock to pay her father’s gambling debts. But Ted Logan’s rustic lifestyle and rambunctious children prove to be more of a challenge than Elizabeth expects. She doesn’t know how to be a mother or a wife. She doesn’t even know how to tell Ted the truth about her past—especially as her feelings for him grow. Little does she know, Ted’s hiding secrets of his own, and when their pasts collide, there’s more than one heart at stake.
Interesting Please give us the first page of the book.
Chicago, spring of 1899
Elizabeth Manning had examined every option open to her. But in the end she had only one. Her heart lurched.
She had to run.
If she stayed in Chicago, tomorrow morning she’d be walking down the aisle of the church on Papa’s arm. Then, walking back up it attached to Reginald Parks for the remainder of his life, which could be awfully long, considering Reginald’s father was eighty-two.
Papa said she had no choice, now that their circumstances had gone south like robins in winter. He’d reminded her that as Reginald’s wife, she’d be kept in fine style. Probably what the keepers said about the tigers at the zoo.
She scooped her brush and toiletries into a satchel, then dropped it beside a valise crammed with clothes. No, she couldn’t rely on mortality to get her out of the marriage.
And as for God...
Martha had promised God would help her. Well, Elizabeth had prayed long and hard and nothing had changed. Perhaps God had washed His hands of her. If so, she could hardly blame Him.
The time had come to take matters into her hands. Once she got a job and made some money, she’d return—for the most important person of all.
I can hardly wait for my book to come. How can readers find you on the Internet?
Web site: http://www.janetdean.net/
Blog: http://www.janetdean.blogspot.com/
Group blog: http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/
Thank you, Janet, for another fun interview.
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