TELL HER NO LIES - Kelly Irvin - One Free Book

Welcome back, Kelly. How did you come up with the idea for this story?

It was a combination of life experiences—not only mine but those of my son-in-law. He’s a veteran and married father of three who has the highest security clearance necessary to repair radar on our nation’s naval fleet. But once he was a small boy abandoned by his drug addicted parents with two siblings in a tent city constructed by homeless people in Florida.

Knowing and loving my son-in-law intersected with my life experiences in planting the seeds necessary to write Tell Her No Lies. My experiences include working in a church ministry in which my Sunday School class cooked food and assembled the necessary supplies in our church kitchen before heading to a highway underpass in downtown San Antonio once a month to feed people who were homeless.

My children were in grade school at the time and they often accompanied me. My daughter willingly, my son less graciously. I believe the experience shaped their understanding of how blessed they are and also gave them compassion for others. In some ways, it may have paved the way for my daughter’s relationship with her future husband.

Eventually the city of San Antonio created a consolidated, state-of-the-art campus with every service imaginable to assist people experiencing homelessness. Municipal government then asked (more like ordered) churches and other charitable organizations to stop providing these makeshift meals so they could guide people to all the services they need at Haven for Hope.

Haven for Hope is a focal point in Tell Her No Lies. Heroine Nina Fischer, abandoned as a child by her drug addicted mother in a tent city in Florida, now volunteers at Haven for Hope as an adult. She and her sister were plucked from foster care by an aunt and uncle she’d never met and brought to live in a well-to-do upper middle-class neighborhood.

That story line comes from my son-in-law’s life. A loving aunt and uncle plucked him and his brother and sister from foster care in Florida, brought them to San Antonio, and eventually adopted them. The aunt was a stay-at-home mom with two children already. The uncle was in the military and often deployed. That left the new mom of five children very nearly the same age frequently on her own. Money was always tight. But they persevered and raised five wonderful adults. Of course, from there, the story diverges into fiction and my vivid imagination.

If you were planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six people would you invite and why? Terri Blackstock, Colleen Coble, Lynette Eason, Irene Hannon, James Scott Bell, and Stephen James. Because they write in the suspense/mystery genres and I’d love to pick their brains about the writing craft, the publishing industry, their writing habits, etc. 

Now let’s do that for a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

I don’t read a ton of historical fiction, but I do read everything Allison Pittman writes. So I would invite her, Tara Johnson, Elizabeth Byler Younts, and Patty Callahan, plus a few they recommend. I know Allison, Tara, and Elizabeth. They would be a lively bunch with lots of insight to share on the writing process, how to do research, faith, and just life itself. It would be a rich evening of fellowship with Christian writers, regardless of genre.

Many times, people (and other authors) think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most difficult problem with writing at this time in your career?

My greatest challenge is also a great blessing. I’m writing in two genres now—Amish romances and romantic suspense. My publishing house originally signed me to do Amish fiction but agreed recently to offer me contracts for the romantic suspense as well. It was a dream come true. Writing in one keeps me fresh in the other. However, having staggered deadlines has been a huge challenge. Keeping up with marketing as the books release, as well as the various edits that have to be done along the way has left me a little frazzled at times. But I constantly remind myself of all those years I prayed and longed to be published. All the tears I shed over rejections. All the nervous apprehension that went into pitching to editors at conferences. I’m writing fiction full time. I’m truly living my dream today so I try not to whine!

Tell us about the featured book.

Even the most admired families have secrets to hide . . .

Nina Fischer carries a camera wherever she goes—so she can view life through a filter. Safely. After her mother abandoned her to the streets, Nina has kept people at a distance, including her uncle, who adopted Nina and her sister. Wealthy and proud, he is a good man, a fair judge, and someone many in San Antonio admire.

But when he is murdered, and the detective assigned to the case accuses Nina of the crime, she knows she must act. She’s determined to use her journalism background to find the real killer. The two men in her life want to help, but can she trust them?  She’s known Rick since they were children, but now he’s an attorney whose political aspirations seem more important than Nina’s tragic loss. And then there’s Aaron, a news videographer; using their friendship could break the biggest story of his career.

Following the evidence leads Nina on a journey of discovery into her father’s shocking masquerade as a law-abiding, family-loving Christian. Unlocking these secrets could prove fatal, but it’s the only way Nina will ever be able to trust love again.

Combining romance and suspense, bestselling author Kelly Irvin’s Tell Her No Lies is a high-stakes race for the truth.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Someone needed to make a perfume from stop bath and developer. The photo chemicals smelled like come-hither to Nina Fischer. She inhaled their biting scent and studied the image that appeared as she swished the sheet of paper in the deep gray plastic tub. A homeless man with a toothless grin rewarded her efforts. The man smiled as if he’d invited her into a palatial home and not a squatter’s makeshift campsite. His black-and-white surroundings materialized in sharp contrast around him. A graffiti-covered Dumpster dwarfed his skeletal frame. A shopping cart loaded with a tattered coat, mismatched sneakers, and a pile of blankets was parked on the broken cement like a car in a driveway. Despite the alcohol-induced trust in his bloodshot eyes, he stayed close to the cart as if he feared she would steal it away.

The photo told a story. A story that the world needed to see and Nina needed to tell. In many ways, it was her story. The story of a child who’d lived in that world and survived. The words to the poem that would accompany the photo fell into place.

“Nina? You’re doing it again.”

Rick Zavala’s irritated baritone boomed in the small darkroom.

“Sorry.” Nina snatched the phone from the counter, hit the speaker button to turn it off, then tucked the phone between her ear and her shoulder while using her free hand to move the photo to the stop bath. She glanced at the illuminated face of the sports watch on her wrist. Thirty seconds and the photo moved to the fixer.

“You could at least pretend to pay attention when you’re on the phone with me.”

“I am paying attention.” Now she was. Suppressing a snort of laughter, she gripped the tongs and slipped the photo into the next tub. “It’s three o’clock in the morning. I’m not going to a party with you. I only have a week left to get ready for the exhibit.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.kellyirvin.com

www.facebook.com/Kelly.Irvin.Author

@Kelly_S_Irvin

www.pinterest.com/irvin0739/

Thank you, Kelly, for sharing this new suspense novel with my blog readers and me. My copy arrived today, and I’m eager to read it.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Tell Her No Lies - Christianbook.com
Tell Her No Lies - Amazon paperback (on special sale right now)
Tell Her No Lies - Kindle

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:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

BENEATH THE SUMMER SUN - Kelly Irvin - One Free Book

Bio: Two-time ACFW Carol Award finalist Kelly Irvin is the author of the critically acclaimed Amish of Bee County, Bliss Creek Amish, and New Hope Amish series. Her newest release is Beneath the Summer Sun, the second novel in the four-book series Every Amish Season from Zondervan Publishing. Her work has also appeared in four Amish anthologies, An Amish Market, An Amish Summer, An Amish Christmas Love, and An Amish Christmas. Kelly is a retired newspaper reporter and public relations professional who lives with her husband in Texas. They have two children, two grandchildren, and two ornery cats.

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

I grew up in a small town in Kansas in the sixties and early seventies. My parents sent my two sisters, two brothers, and I to Sunday school without them every Sunday. We walked into town to the Methodist Church. At first it didn’t mean much to me. It was a place you were supposed to go on Sunday mornings. As I grew older, I started staying for the church service because I didn’t want to go home. We had an old-fashioned, two-tier sanctuary with wooden pews and a huge pipe organ. It was beautiful and peaceful. Something about it touched me and I kept coming back. In junior high, I had a Sunday school teacher named Mr. Red Ming. He gave us a paperback called The Good News. He reached out to me. Seeds were planted. There was no big, explosive moment, a gentle calling. I would hike far off the trail in college, but I found myself being tugged back as an adult. That’s why it’s so important for church to be a part of our children’s lives. Laying the foundation. My relationship with Christ continues to grow from those seeds planted long ago.

You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

So many possibilities, it’s hard to narrow them down! I would start by inviting Allison Pittman, who writes historicals and historical romances. She won a Carol Award for Stealing Home and currently has a novel, Loving Luther, on the CBA Bestseller List. She was ACFW Mentor of the Year two years ago, and she is a tremendous writer, teacher, mentor, and Christian. She would add her experience, expertise, wonderful writing talent, and wicked sense of humor to any gathering where writing fiction is the focus.

I have never met Christy and Carol Award winner Julie Cantrell, author of The Feathered Bone, Into the Free, and Perennials, but I admire her prose greatly. She sets the bar high with novels that delve into delicate women’s issues and terrible societal problems such as sex trafficking. I’d like to pick her brain, ask her advice, and learn her secrets.

I recently signed a two-book contract for romantic suspense novels, so I would want to invite two authors with whom I could converse about the challenges of writing these books. I’d like to invite Dee Henderson, who wrote the O’Malley series that led me to realize I wanted to write inspirational fiction and showed me that could include romantic suspense. I’d also invite internationally known forensic artist Carrie Stuart Parks, who won both a Christy and a Carol Award for her last novel, When Death Draws Near.

I would look for writers who have honed their craft, would work hard, and make the most of their time at a writing retreat while offering support and honest feedback to their fellow writers.

Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

No speaking ministry currently. I’ve had some health and mobility issues that I’m still learning to manage.

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

I tend to be a klutz so there’s been more than a few, but one that stands out in my mind occurred when I was working as a reporter covering City Council meetings in Laredo, Texas, in the early eighties. Yes, that long ago, and it still comes to mind when someone says the word embarrassing. It’s very hot and muggy in Laredo most of the time, but especially in the summer. I wore a sundress to the meeting. About an hour into the session, my zipper broke and the dress gave way. The kind county tax assessor collector behind me grabbed the two sides and tried to hold them together. I slunk out of the meeting, raced home, changed, and raced back. Reporters have jobs to do and being embarrassed is no excuse for missing the story. But I’ll never forget how chagrinned I was.

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?

I do hear it frequently. I try to be kind and encouraging, but realistic. Writing a book isn’t an easy task. Much blood, sweat, and tears are involved. I share with them my advice, which was the advice given to me: put your behind in the chair, place your fingers on the keyboard, and write. That’s the only way to find out how much you want to write that book. Nike had it right, when they urged, “Just do it.” Like a famous writer said, “If you can do something else, do it.” I encourage them to go to writing workshops, read writing books, and join a critique group, but most importantly, to get started writing.

Tell us about the featured book.

Beneath the Summer Sun is a story of faith, hope, and second chances. Here’s the back-cover blurb:

Jennie Troyer knows it’s time to remarry.

Can she overcome a painful secret and open her heart to love?

It’s been four years since Jennie’s husband died in a farming accident. Long enough that the elders in her Amish community think it’s time to marry again for the sake of her seven children. What they don’t know is that grief isn’t holding her back from a new relationship. Fear is. A terrible secret in her past keeps her from moving forward.

Mennonite book salesman Nathan Walker stops by Jennie’s farm whenever he’s in the area. Despite years of conversation and dinners together, she never seems to relax around him. He knows he should move on, but something about her keeps drawing him back.

Meanwhile, Leo Graber nurtures a decades-long love for Jennie, but guilt plagues him—guilt for letting Jennie marry someone else and guilt for his father’s death on a hunting trip many years ago. How could anyone love him again—and how could he ever take a chance to love in return?

In this second book in the Every Amish Season series, three hearts try to discern God’s plan for the future—and find peace beneath the summer sun.

Please give us the first page of the book.

The smack of the baseball against an aluminum bat sounded like summer. At thirty-seven, Jennie Troyer hadn’t been a student in many years, but the end-of-school picnic still caused her spirits to soar as if she were ten and set free for the next few months. She might be old, but she understood how her children felt. That curious lightheartedness for this one afternoon on the last day of April.

Smiling at the thought, Jennie clapped as Cynthia smacked a blooper into what served as right field and scurried to the discarded rug that did double duty as first base. Micah hurled the ball to Celia at second base, and the chatter from the parents seated in lawn chairs on the sidelines reached a crescendo. Jennie’s children comprised almost half the players on the field. Their cheeks were red, their hair sweaty, and their clothes dirty, but they didn’t seem to mind that summer had arrived early in Missouri.

After all they’d been through—no matter how much time had passed—they deserved a few hours of carefree, childish play. Despite the heat Jennie shivered. She studied the rows of corn plants in nearby fields and tried to recapture the happiness she’d felt only seconds earlier. Raising her face to the sun, she begged it to burn away a pain that still barged into her day at odd, unexpected moments.

“Your kinner are on fire today, aren’t they? I’m surprised Francis isn’t out there too.” Mary Katherine Ropp plopped her dumpling-shaped body into a sagging lawn chair next to Jennie’s. Grasshoppers sprang in all directions in her wake. She smelled of charcoal and grilled hot dogs. “He’s Elizabeth’s little shadow these days.”

Afraid her perceptive friend would read her face, Jennie sprang to her feet and did a head count with her index finger. Matthew, her graduate and oldest son at fourteen, stood at third base, his hands on his hips, his usual sullen look on his face. Followed at various places on and off the field by Celia, thirteen; Micah, eleven; Cynthia, ten; Mark, seven; and Elizabeth, six and just finishing her first year of school. No Francis. At four, her youngest had a mind of his own, a penchant for trouble, and sturdy little legs to carry him there.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.kellyirvin.com

https://www.facebook.com/Kelly.Irvin.Author/

https://www.pinterest.com/irvin0739/

@Kelly_S_Irvin

Thank you, Kelly, for sharing this new book with me and my readers. We all are eager to read it.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Beneath the Summer Sun - Christianbook.com
Beneath the Summer Sun (An Every Amish Season Novel) - Amazon paperback
Beneath the Summer Sun (An Every Amish Season Novel) - Kindle

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, Google+, 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:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

THE SADDLEMAKER'S SON - Kelly Irvin - One Free Book

Bio: Kelly Irvin is the author of the critically acclaimed Amish of Bee County series. Kelly is also the author of several Amish series including the Bliss Creek Amish series, the New Hope Amish series, and the Amish of Bee County series. She has been married for twenty-seven years, and they have two young adult children, two cats, and a tank full of fish. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories and read books by her favorite authors. 

Welcome back, Kelly. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

The themes vary depending on what’s happening in my life. What is resonating with me right now is understanding and accepting God’s plan for my life. The Amish believe, as most Christians do, that God has a plan for each one of us. We don’t know how it will unfold, only that He is in charge. In my most recent work-in-progress, I’m exploring the scripture that says we will have trouble in this world, but not to worry because Jesus has overcome the world. As frail humans, it’s almost impossible for us not to worry or to believe that we can be self-reliant. When bad things happen or we find ourselves suffering, we don’t understand. Relying on God for all our needs, even in the darkest of times when we can’t see our way, is often the biggest test of our faith.

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

Next spring the first book in my new four-book series will debut from Zondervan. It is entitled On a Spring Breeze.

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

Recently I was captivated by the Invictus Games created by Prince Harry to honor, support, and encourage wounded warriors from across the globe. I’ve never been a fan of royalty but I was so impressed with how warm and genuine Prince Harry was. I’d like to visit with him about the challenges of living life and giving back despite being born into a situation I really can’t imagine. I’d like to see what he puts into making those games happen and how he has been changed by them. I’d like to say thank you for being who he is despite what surely must be the temptation to simply let life be handed to him on the proverbial silver platter.

What historical person would you like to meet and why?

My Sunday School class just completed a study called Joseph: How God Builds Character.  I’m so amazed by what he overcame and how he stepped up each time to do God’s bidding. He was thrown in the well, sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, thrown in prison, and yet, he never lost his integrity or his faith. I’d love to be in the room when he revealed himself to his brothers. I’d love to know what he was really thinking through all those experiences!

I’d love to be there, too. How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

I remember that feeling. It took me seven years to earn a contract for my first novel. (And it wasn’t the first novel I wrote!). I truly believe that those who get published are those who persevere. They’re also the ones who are willing to hone their craft. They’re willing to embrace kind and uplifting critiques of their works. They go to workshops and keep learning, always keep learning. Never give up on your dream, but be willing to keep putting in the work.

It took me eight years for my first contract. Tell us about the featured book.

Rebekah Lantz feels imprisoned by circumstances she didn’t create. Tobias Byler is haunted by regret. Can two young runaways from half a world away teach them the healing power of true family?

Rebekah isn’t like her sister, but the watchful gaze of her family and small, close knit Amish community makes her feel as if she’s been judged and found lacking. The men avoid her and the women whisper behind her back. She simply longs for the same chance to be a wife and mother that her friends have.

Tobias Byler only wants to escape feelings for a woman he knows he should never have allowed to get close to him. Moving with his family to isolated Bee County, Texas, seemed the best way to leave his mistakes behind. But even a move across the country can’t erase the past that accompanies his every thought.

A surprise encounter with two half-starved runaway children forces both Rebekah and Tobias to turn to each other to help a sister and brother who have traveled thousands of miles in search of lives of unfettered peace and joy.

In doing so, Rebekah and Tobias discover the key to forgetting the past is the one that will open the door to love and the future they both seek.

Please give us the first page of the book:

The Saddle Maker’s Son

Alone at last. Rebekah Lantz tugged the creaking shed door shut and leaned against it. The folded piece of paper from her sister Leila weighed heavy as a stone in her hand. When had she managed to tuck it into the two-seater Rebekah drove with Susan to and from the school five days a week? Did she slip in while Rebekah was helping Susan by listening to the younger scholars read aloud? Surely not. Leila had a baby daughter to think about now and a husband. She couldn’t be roaming the countryside delivering notes. The fact that she had made Rebekah’s stomach rock. Guilt swirled there, mixing with a swelling ache to see her sister and a baby niece who would see her aenti as a complete and utter stranger. A Plain woman such as herself should forgive. No matter how much Leila’s flight hurt. No matter how it left Rebekah with little chance of finding love herself among the young men who looked at her and knew exactly what Leila had done.

Just because Leila had given up everything to follow Jesse into the Englisch world didn’t mean Rebekah would leave too. She longed to scream out those words at the next singing. Put them to music. Write her own song. Still, it wouldn’t change the look on the faces of those boys she’d known her entire life. Deer caught in the headlights of an Englisch truck barreling toward them on the highway.

Still, she had to open the note, read it. Its weight seemed to increase as each second ticked by. The cracks in the weathered boards of the shed allowed afternoon sun to filter through in stripes like bars. The April sun was warm, as if reminding Rebekah Texas didn’t wait around for summer like the northern states did. Her eyes adjusted to the dusky interior after a few seconds. The smell of mold, decaying wood, and dirt floated in the air. Old egg crates, a broken desk, a stack of chairs, a wooden door with white, peeling paint filled the small room. She wasn’t a coward. Swallowing against the knot of apprehension that always choked her when she did something of which her mudder would not approve, Rebekah unfolded the single sheet of notebook paper and peered at Leila’s neat, block writing.

Dear schweschder,

Hope you are well. We must meet. I need to talk to you face to face. Come to where the school path meets the road Friday at lunch. I’ll be driving the green VW bug. Can you believe I drive? Give Hazel a kiss for me. Love Leila

I really want to know what happens next. How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://www.kellyirvin.com
Twitter: @Kelly_S_Irvin 
Facebook: Kelly.Irvin.Author

Thank you, Kelly for sharing this new book with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
The Saddlemaker's Son - Christianbook.com
The Saddle Maker's Son (The Amish of Bee County) - Amazon
The Saddle Maker's Son (The Amish of Bee County) - Kindle

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. (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, Google+, 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:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

A PLAIN LOVE SONG - Kelly Irvin - One Free Book

Welcome back, Kelly. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I’m now working on a new series for HarperCollins. The Amish of Bee County series is set in Bee County, Texas, where the only Amish district is located in the state of Texas. It’s tiny and conservative and you won’t see any lush landscapes and neatly kept flower gardens there. I’m enjoying the change of scenery, and it’s close enough that I can make a day trip for research as needed. I feel blessed each and every day for the opportunity to write fiction, my lifelong dream. A writer never knows when the next contract will come or even if it will come, so I try to stop and smell the roses and appreciate the road I’ve traveled to get here.

Tell us a little about your family.

My favorite topic! I’ve been married twenty-six-plus years to Tim Irvin, a former TV news photographer who now works for the biggest school district in the state of Texas. Tim is my webmaster, he does my business cards, orders my promotional materials, and takes my photo for book covers. He’s also a fabulous cook who does all the cooking on the weekends, giving me more time to write. We have two adult children. My daughter is married to a U.S. Navy sailor, and they have a baby daughter who is the light of her grandma’s life. I don’t get to see them as often as I like since my son-in-law is currently stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. We have the pleasure of still having our son at home. He works as a computer support technician for a large pharmaceutical company. As much as I know children are meant to grow up, spread their wings, and fly, it’s still hard to let them go!

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

It’s harder for me to read a book without mentally editing it. A novel has to really hook me into the fictional world or I find myself critiquing the craft or admiring the choice of metaphors and similes. That can be a good thing in terms of improving my own writing, but sometimes I simply want to sit back and be transported to another world. It takes a really well-written book to do that for me now.

What are you working on right now?

I’m nearing the end of the first draft of The Bishop’s Son, the second book in The Amish of Bee County series. It needs lots and lots of work so I imagine I’ll be working on it right up until the deadline in September.

What outside interests do you have?

I have a full-time job in public relations so I don’t have much time to do more than work and write. I love to read fiction, and I write poems and short stories when I have time. Entertaining my granddaughter is at the top of my list these days, but unfortunately we don’t get to see each other as often as I would like.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

I set my first series, The Bliss Creek Amish, in a fictional town in Kansas because I wanted to be able to build the town the way I wanted it. With a fictional Amish district, I could decide on their ordnung or set of written and unwritten rules as I saw fit. Plus my sister and her husband have a farm in Kansas so they were able to help me with crops and growing seasons and other farming-related details in that region. The spin-off series set in Missouri, The New Hope Amish, allowed some of my families to move to a new location and start a new district with all the challenges that involves. The setting helps me add conflict to the stories. With The New Hope Amish, we have the fictional town of New Hope where the newcomers aren’t feeling welcome, and also Stockton Lake and Branson, Missouri. I had a lot of fun with setting in this series.

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

That’s a hard choice, but at the moment, I think I’d choose Abraham Lincoln. So much has been written about what he thought, said, and did, I’d love to get the scoop straight from the horse’s mouth. He led this country at a time when change was bloody and heartbreaking and scary, but also inevitable. What was he thinking as he gave the Emancipation Proclamation speech? How did he feel about the toll his service to his country took on his family?

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

I wish I had known that I should wait longer to start submitting my work to editors and publishing houses. I needed to hone my craft to a much greater degree. I wrote a novel and immediately jumped into pitching it to editors at conferences. They loved my pitches, but didn’t buy my work because it wasn’t good enough. Writing fiction well takes practice and work and the willingness to accept criticism and rejection.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

There are so many. I’ve been in my day job for more than 20 years and suddenly I have a new supervisor with a completely different management style and set of expectations. I’m close to retirement and a new season in my life. Navigating these changes on a daily basis has been a trial at a time when I thought I should be experiencing smooth sailing. Add to that my daughter leaving the nest and moving across the country and I admit to floundering a bit. Did I mention that change is hard? But God is good and He’s teaching me to find joy in new, unexpected places.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

Wait to submit your novel until you know it’s the very best work you can do.

Attend conferences and hone your craft by learning from others.

Take writing seriously. Make it your job. Write everyday as much as humanly possible.

Tell us about the featured book.

I have to say I had more fun writing this book than any other I’ve written so far. It’s about a young Amish woman named Adah who dreams of being a country music song writer, an aspiration her family and her district frown upon. While cleaning houses, she meets a young English man who is a country music singer with big dreams of his own. He teaches her to play the guitar and in the process, falls in love with her. The story takes us to Branson, Missouri, where Adah has the opportunity to live out her dreams—but only if she’s willing to give up her Amish faith and family.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Not having a pencil and paper handy made writing a song a challenge for Adah Knepp.

But then she liked a challenge.

Adah belted out the lyrics, the bob-bob of the horse’s head along with the clip-clop of his hooves kept time on the asphalt highway. The squeaking of the buggy wheels joined in. Her voice carried on the warm June wind across the wheat fields of Missouri. Sparrows preening on the power lines that ran along the road served as her only audience. They probably thought she’d gone crazy, talking to herself.

She closed her eyes for a second, listening to her own words. They weren’t quite right. They didn’t sound like the songs she heard on the radio while she cleaned the Harts’ house. Not like Miranda Lambert or Taylor Swift. She sounded flat. Of course, she didn’t have the benefit of steel guitars, fiddles, keyboards, and drums. She stomped one black sneaker, and then the other, against the floorboard, picking up the beat. “Love like sun-kissed apples ...” She shook her head. Nee, nee. “Love like a baby’s sweet kisses ...”

No, that wasn’t it either. Still mulling the words, she turned into the open gate adorned with a huge wrought iron H and onto the sunflower-lined dirt road that led to the Hart farm. She would clean the house lickety-split and use the rest of the afternoon to work on her song before she went home. That way she wouldn’t be late and Mudder wouldn’t have cause to complain. Stop mooning around, Adah, and get to work. Those dishes won’t wash themselves.

Which, of course, they wouldn’t. Having six brothers and sisters, Adah surely wished they would. How about that for a fanciful notion?

She could write her song, cook, clean, and still be ready to take a ride after dark if Matthew Troyer should happen to shine his flashlight in her window. Gott was good.

A horse whinnied, an uncertain, unhappy sound that carried on a breeze that kept the day from being stifling hot. A man answered in a soft, coaxing sing-song. The voice reminded Adah of the announcer on the radio the Harts kept tuned to a country music station. It was husky like sandpaper, yet smooth and warm like kaffi made with an extra dollop of milk and three pinches of sugar.

“Come on, sweetie, come on, it won’t hurt you, I promise. It’s fine, it’s okay, it’s fine.” The voice sang in a steady patter of sweet nothings. “Let me just do this one thing and you’re gonna like it, I promise.”

Drawn by the velvety words, she hopped from the buggy and approached the fence. The voice belonged to a tall, lean man with a shock of black hair, ruffled and sweat soaked under the rim of a dirty straw cowboy hat. He held a blanket in one hand while he used his other hand to hold the lead rope attached to a tawny Palomino with a long dark mane and tail. The man wore a T-shirt and tattered jeans faded to a blue-white. The sun glinted on a huge silver buckle on a belt that hugged his narrow hips.

“Sweetie, come on, come on, baby,” he crooned as he crept closer to the horse. “It won’t hurt you, I promise. Remember this blanket. We played with it yesterday. You remember.”

At that moment he looked across the corral and their gazes met. “Hey there, Amish girl.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://www.kellyirvin.com

Twitter: @Kelly_S_Irvin

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KellyIrvinAuthor

Thank you, Kelly, for sharing this new book with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
A Plain Love Song - Christianbook.com
A Plain Love Song (The New Hope Amish) - Amazon
A Plain Love Song (The New Hope Amish) - Kindle

Christian Book Store

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (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.

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NO CHILD OF MINE - Kelly Irvin - Free Book

Why do you write the kind of books you do?

When I first started out, I wrote books like I was reading at the time. Romantic suspense and mysteries. As time went on, I started to realize that it was really about the stories that bang around in my head. I like to tell a good story, regardless of genre. A character gets in my head and I want to tell his or her story. Strong characters and daunting challenges to be overcome—those are my favorite stories. Oftentimes as the story is revealed to me, the inspirational “take away value” is also revealed. As a seat-of-the-pants writer, I quite often don’t know what is coming. I love it when the moment arrives and God lets me in on that critical piece of information that makes the story more than just a story. I write the kind of books I do because they entertain while at the same time giving readers the opportunity to know the comfort of being close to a living God.

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

I’ve been married for 23 years and have a daughter, 21, and a son, 19. Every day since I married and then gave birth to Erin and Nicholas has been the happiest day of my life. We have our ups and downs like any other family, but I never lose sight of how blessed I am to have an “average, regular, normal” family. Not everyone gets that. My own childhood was not like that. So I love the barbecues and movie nights and Costco runs and arguing over who will change the litter box. This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it is a verse I keep close to my heart.

How has being published changed your life?

It’s given me confidence. Even though I wrote nonfiction as a journalist for years, I never wanted to tell people I was a writer. I didn’t use that term. Or author. It seems that publication gave me the affirmation I needed to stand up and say this is who I am. I still get embarrassed when people ask me about it, but I’m getting better.

What is your current work in progress?

I just finished the second manuscript in a two-book contract with Harvest House for Amish romances. I haven’t landed on a title yet, but it’s a story about the power of faith to give us hope even in the face of tragedy. The first book won’t come out until September 2012 so now I’m contemplating where to go from here. I have a concept I’m kicking around with my editor. We’ll see where it goes . . .

What would be your dream vacation?

That’s a tough one. I’ve never been to Europe. I’d love to travel through Spain, Italy, France, and England in a leisurely visit, but my daughter is a history major and she wants to tour Washington, D.C. I’ve never been and it would be great to see all those wonderful historic places that relate to our country’s roots in democracy together with her for the first time. I guess the bottom line is any time spent with my family away from work would be a blessing.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

So far, they’ve all been places with which I’m familiar. It helps not to have to grapple with those details and be able to focus on plot and character instead. In A Deadly Wilderness, parks played an important role in the story—a murder occurred in San Antonio’s only wilderness park and then the murderer is caught and killed in another well known park that is recognizable to most of my San Antonio readers. I know South Texas. I know Kansas. In No Child of Mine I use both. I don’t have a lot of time for research or travel, so, for now, I’m sticking to what I can easily create from my own experiences and memories.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?  I’d like to buy Christian author Dee Henderson dinner and thank her for writing the O’Malley series. I checked out The Healer from the public library eight years ago. It was my first experience with inspirational fiction and I realized I wanted to not only read more Christian fiction, but I wanted to write that kind of book. The experience made me realize this was how God intended for me to use my spiritual gift. I’d love to pick Dee’s brain about writing and the ups and downs of the publishing business. Mostly I’d just like to thank her for giving me hours of reading pleasure and characters I still consider friends after all these years.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Honestly, I don’t have time for any other hobbies. The other thing that I do everyday is exercise. I wouldn’t call it a hobby, because it’s pretty much a necessity. Running on the treadmill while watching DVDs of old TV shows is the best stress reliever I’ve found and sometimes it helps me clear my head so I can solve a writing problem. When I’ve gotten a rejection or bad news, it helps me to run it off.

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

Finding enough time to write. I work full-time as a public relations professional, proofread trial transcripts for two court reporters, and I have a family that includes two young adult children, three cats and a bunch of fish, so writing time is constantly a challenge. I go to work two hours early each day in order to write before work starts and then I eat lunch at my desk so I can get in another 45 minutes or so. When a story is going well, I’ll squeeze in a little time in the evenings as well, if I can. It requires a lot of juggling but it’s worth it. Having a supportive family helps.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Number one, don’t give up. It took me seven years to publish my first novel. Join a critique group, go to writing conferences, hone your craft, and write everyday. Every craft worth learning requires practice and dedication. You don’t just pick up a violin and become a virtuoso from one day to the next. Be willing to take criticism and rejection—it comes with the territory. That’s not to say you’re not allowed to cry about it. I’ve cried buckets of tears over the years, but when you’re done, wipe those tears, plant your behind in the chair, and get back to the keyboard. Publication is the best medicine.

Tell us about the featured book.

I’m proud of this story. It’s the most complicated one I’ve ever attempted in terms of combining two plot lines (two crimes involving children are committed and my police investigators must figure out how they are related), using two distinct settings, and finessing two romantic entanglements. No Child of Mine is a reflection of the huge challenges faced by society today in protecting our children from people who should love them and take of them. Child Protective Services in Texas is overwhelmed as I imagine is every similar agency in states all across the country. Good foster parents and “forever” families are desperately needed. I hope No Child of Mine encourages readers to perhaps consider that option. Having said that, here’s the flap copy:

On a blazing South Texas day dozens of law enforcement officers, family, and friends gather to celebrate a wedding. Detective Deborah Smith is happy for the couple, but she’s fighting a loneliness that makes her long for her best friend—whiskey. Then the unthinkable happens. Colleague  Daniel Martinez’s foster son, Benny, disappears during the reception. Deborah is assigned to team up with Detective Alex Luna to search for the missing boy. Instead of finding Benny, they make a horrifying discovery on the groom’s property: the skeletal remains of a small girl. 

Torn between salvaging his marriage and trying to save a child he’s grown to love, Daniel fears both are slipping beyond his grasp; and Deborah struggles to hang on to her newfound sobriety in the face of the pressure of her job and her past, while Alex chips away at her resolve not to trust him—or any man. 

The team of investigators travels from the seamy underside of San Antonio’s drug-dealing gang territory to the back roads of rural America where secrets fester in peaceful country homes. Their investigation rips off the Band-Aid that covers the cracks in an overburdened foster care system and reveals the painful reality that children are all too often are battered, terrified victims of the people who should love them the most. 

As the two investigations become more and more entwined, Deborah, Alex, and Daniel must risk everything—even their lives—to bring a little boy home safely and unmask a child’s murderer.

This fast-paced follow-up to Irvin’s debut romantic suspense novel, A Deadly Wilderness, will keep readers turning the pages long after it’s time to turn out the lights.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Benny Garza tore down the gravel road like a bunch of gangbangers were chasing him.

He was used to that.

If Mom could see him now, she’d laugh. Always forgetting stuff. Stupid.

As he ran, he bit into the rolled-up tortilla and fajita in his hand, chewed, and tried not to choke. A hawk soaring over the trees caught his gaze. In San Antonio, he never saw stuff like that. He’d like to soar, too. High and far away.

His shoe hit something hard. Benny stumbled, arms flapping like a chicken trying to fly, and fell smack in the middle of the dirt. The taco flew. His nose scraped gravel, and he bit his lip. “Oh, man!”

He rolled into a sitting position, gasping from the sting. He clapped his hands to his face and rocked back and forth, working through the pain. He was used to that, too.

Dirt smeared the white church shirt and black pants Mr. Daniel had bought him special for the wedding. He tried to brush it off. The stain darkened and spread. “Oh, no, no!”

That’s what he got for rushing to get his jeans and tennies from the Jeep. That’s what he got for being in a hurry to have fun at the party. Like Mom always said, everything came with a price.

Mr. Daniel might get mad. Sure, he never got real mad like Mom. He didn’t yell or hit. He just looked sad, and his voice got soft. Benny’s stomach would feel funny then, like he might puke. He didn’t want Mr. Daniel to be mad at him. Ever.

Maybe he could ask Marco to show him how to use the washing machine. Maybe he could wash the clothes before Mr. Daniel saw them. Benny struggled to his feet, fighting tears. Eight-year-olds were too old to cry. That’s what Mom said. He trudged to Mr. Daniel’s Jeep and grabbed his clothes from the back seat.

He turned to shove the door shut. A giant man loomed over him, blocking the sun. He had a big smile plastered across his face. “Hey, buddy.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.kellyirvin.com


Thank you for dropping by, Kelly.


Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.


Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (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 Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

A DEADLY WILDERNESS - Kelly Irvin - Free Book

Welcome to my blog, Kelly. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

My characters are much braver and lead much more exciting lives. I think I’m living vicariously. I like what Donald Maass says about letting your characters do all the things you’d like to do, but have never had a chance or dared to do. What fun!

What is the quirkiest thing you’ve ever done?

During college, I spent three semesters at the University of Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica. My friend and I decided to return to Kansas overland through Central America by bus so we bought these enormous, red backpacks in which we carried everything we owned. We might as well have stamped “gringa” on our foreheads. Everyone saw us coming from Nicaragua to Mexico!

When did you first discover you were a writer?

Second or third grade, I think. My sister and I had a little newspaper we wrote and I always kept a diary. By junior high I was writing poems, plays, and short stories.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading?

My first love is a good mystery, but I love suspense novels as well. I read all my favorite ACFW inspirational writers but also am a big fan of mainstream writers such as Earlene Fowler, Diane Mott Davidson, and Marcia Mueller.

What other books have you written, whether published or not?

Two books that are prequels to A Deadly Wilderness, that are now resting in peace in a drawer, although I’d love to see Mine to Avenge, which was a Genesis finalist, published as a prequel. The sequel to Wilderness, entitled No Child of Mine, is now ready to be submitted to my publisher for consideration. I also have a mainstream suspense novel The Dead Parent Society, which placed second in the Molly Contest, that I’m ready to market. Right now I’m working on my first romance, The Glove, and a romantic suspense novel set primarily in Laredo, Texas, which focuses on the problems the gun trade is causing the U.S. and Mexico.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

Physically, I work out on the treadmill for at least 45 minutes every evening, seven days a week. I spend a lot of time in my car, sitting in traffic, so I listen to praise and worship music on the radio or CD player to remind me to stay grounded spiritually. I also rely on my Sunday school class to help me start every week on the right path.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Some come from the telephone book, others I see in the credits rolling on TV shows. My characters have pretty run-of-the-mill names, however. Like most of us real people.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?

Besides raising two wonderful children and remaining married to my husband for twenty-one years? The publication of my first novel at age fifty-two. It’s been a long, hard road, and I’m proud of the perseverance that it took to keep writing at the crack of dawn every day before my “day job” kicks in.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

This turned out to be the hardest question for me to answer. I think I’d be a cat. Not exotic, but cats are really independent, yet loving, creatures. They might curl up with you one minute and then roam off all on their own the next. They seem content with their own company, but willing to share their perch on the back of the couch, too.

What is your favorite food?

Well, I’ve lost fifty pounds in the last two years so bread, cheese, all Mexican food, pasta, French fries, cheeseburgers, bagels with lots of cream cheese . . . just about anything fattening sounds wonderful to me.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Lack of time. At least that was my excuse. I work full-time, I have two teen-age children, I have a second job as a proofreader for two court reporters. Just finding the time to write is an on-going challenge. But I realized that I had to find the time to make my dream come true, even if that meant sacrificing. So I write at six-thirty in the morning, I carry my laptop to work with me and spend my lunch hour writing, I grab an hour in the evening, whenever possible. I carve out the time, period.

What advice would you give to an author just starting out?

First, grow a thick skin, then join a writing organization (like ACFW), get in a critique group, attend conferences, and continuously work to improve. Be humble. Above all else, never give up. Someone said the only writers who don’t get published are the ones who give up. That’s my mantra.

Tell us about the featured book.

A Deadly Wilderness is a story about greed and deceit and murder. But it’s also about having faith in second chances and in love. Here’s an excerpt from the flap copy:

An idyllic hike in a wilderness park turns deadly when Homicide Detective Ray Johnson tumbles into a ravine and lands on a corpse The victim’s ring finger has been severed, turning Ray’s misstep into a murder investigation. Ray’s determination to find the man’s killer leads him to the wealthiest enclaves in San Antonio. From there, it’s a surprisingly short trip to the city’s dark underbelly inhabited by drug cartel lieutenants and paid assassins and, ultimately, to death’s wide open doors.
A Deadly Wilderness is a romantic suspense novel that will take the reader along on a tumultuous journey as the consuming need for material wealth drives a deadly wedge among family members who haven’t learned when enough really is enough.

The journey ends where it began—in a deadly wilderness. Not everyone will survive the trip.
Please give us the first page of the book:

“Mom worries about everything.”

The irritation in Marco Acosta’s voice made Ray Johnson hide his smile. The boy sounded like an irritable old man, not an eight-year-old. Ray’s amusement faded as he contemplated the reasons Marco had grown up too fast. He edged his way up a narrow spot in the rocky trail and glanced back at Benny Garza. Marco’s foster cousin showed no sign he saw irony in Marco’s complaint. Benny’s mother was in prison, doing time on a drug charge. Marco was lucky to have a mother who cared so much.

“Your mother worries because she loves you.” Ray eased back and adjusted his sunglasses as a cluster of juniper gave way to an open space lit by the early morning sun. “It’s been a rough year for everyone.”

“She’s not going to let me go camping in Big Bend with you.” Marco’s breaths came in puffs between the words. The terrain became more tortuous and the path meandered along a deep ravine. “She doesn’t want me to spend the night away from home.”

Sweat rolled down Ray’s neck and soaked the back of his T-shirt. Susana’s reluctance to let Marco out of her sight was understandable. She’d lost so much already. “I’ll talk to her when we get back. I promise.”

Eyeing the ground to make sure he stayed on the trail, Ray tightened his stride to allow for the boys’ shorter legs. Marco raised a water bottle to his mouth and drank. His tennis shoe was untied. “You need to tie your shoe, Marco.” The police-officer-slash-Boy-Scout in Ray sprang to attention. His nerves hummed with the realization Marco wasn’t paying attention—to his shoe or the sudden jagged swerve in the path. “Watch where you’re going!”

Marco tripped over the shoelace and stumbled toward the ravine. The water bottle flew. His arms flapped.

Ray flung himself forward. His fingertips brushed the strap of Marco’s backpack. The boy glanced back, face startled, eyes wide, his lips a tight O. Then, he disappeared from sight. Ray teetered. The toe of his boot caught in the root of a cedar tree, halting his momentum a split second before gravity kicked in and the weight of his six-foot-four frame dragged him forward. He pitched headfirst into the narrow fissure.

He thrust his hands at bushes and branches but clutched only air. Tumbling, he smacked into rocks. Prickly pear and yucca scratched his face; branches punctured skin.

His head bounced like a soccer ball against the ground. Pain ping-ponged through his skull. He finally landed on his back, arms flung wide, his left foot twisted under his right leg. Noise still rang in his ears.

So much for a relaxing break from an endless parade of murder investigations.

Sounds intriguing. I'm hooked. How can readers find you the Internet?

At http://www.kellyirvin.com/ and I’m also on Facebook.

Thank you, Kelly, for spending this time with us.

Readers, here's a link where you can order the book. By using this link when you order, you'll be helping support this blog.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book.


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 6 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/