I'm excited about today's interview, because it is a bonanza for you the reader. As a special bonus, we're giving away six free copies, so tell all your friends to come by and sign up. There are lots of chances to win a free copy of this wonderful story.Welcome back to the blog, Anita. I really like the picture of you. God really has been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?
Well, I see more work ahead, and so I am grateful for that. I think God is moving a little faster with my writing career now because I have an empty nest. When my kids were at home, I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could, and so I can see now why God had me working at a slower pace back then. I’m so glad it worked out that way.
Tell us a little about your family.
I have been married to a man named Peter for almost thirty years, and we still love each other. I think we’ll have to celebrate with a cruise. I have a son who is graduating from Texas A&M, and is engaged to be married. My daughter is in college getting a degree in English. She wants to be an editor at a publishing house someday, and I’m really hoping she won’t be rejecting my manuscripts someday!
Has you writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?
Not a lot. I still read the classics. I also pick up new books that tickle my fancy.
What are you working on right now?
Well, at the moment I am pouring all my efforts into the promotion of my latest novel, Love Finds you in Humble, Texas.
What outside interests do you have?
I love hiking and decorating and going to the movies with my family. If you’d like to know of few of my favorite things…I love Valentine’s Day. I love big perfumey bushes hanging heavy with lilacs and walkways lined with every color of iris. I love chocolate truffles, the kind with creamy dark filling, the kind that make you sigh in rapture when you bite into them. I love going to a spa for a massage or a facial and drifting far away where no one can find me. I love having my gal friends over for brunch and treating them each like a princess for the morning. I love cuddling up with a good book while sipping a cup of Earl Gray tea. I love feeling God’s pleasure when I’m busy at work struggling happily to get the words just right.
We like a lot of the same things. How do you choose your settings for each book?
Well, in Love Finds You in Humble, Texas, that particular town was on the publisher’s list of settings, and since the town was close to my house, it was a perfect fit. To explain a bit more, “Love Finds You” is a wonderful new line of books through Summerside Press, and each novel will be set in various quaint towns across America.Actually, I'm working on a contracted book in this series right now. If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
I’m sure you’ve had a lot of female writers mention Jane Austen. She seems like someone I would love to invite to brunch. But then, of course, I’d end up pelting her with so many questions she’d probaby beg for a carriage ride home immediately!
What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
At first I wanted to say, “I would like to have known how hard it would be.” But then I thought, "Well, if I had known twenty-five years ago how hard it really was I’m not sure I would have gone down that path." But seriously, I guess I wish someone would have told me to slow down and enjoy the process of learning the craft. Because writing is a long journey with no real ending. There will always be new things to learn.
What new lesson is the Lord teaching you right now?
I’ve been suffering from some health issues lately, and so I have been learning to trust Him for my daily needs. I know how cliché that sounds, but those really are the facts surrounding my life right now.
What are the three best things you can tell other authors to be successful?
A. Read, read, read. All kind of books, even books that aren’t in your genre.
B. If you really want to be a writer, just remember that there will be days so glorious that you’ll think you’ve dipped your toes into the waters of Shangri-La, but mostly there will be days that will need a river of determination and discipline. And then there will be a few days that will be an impossible flood of heartbreaking humiliation and frustration. So much so that you’ll think your brain’s been worked over by a street sweeper and your spirit’s been pureed. But as long as you know that all writers have bad days from time to time, I think that knowledge makes living the life of a writer much easier. And less lonely.
C. Never forget that the more you write, the better you’ll get at it. Period.
Now, Anita, tell us about the featured book.
Award-winning Circle of Seven created a wonderful book trailer for me, so I’ll let the narrator tell you a bit about the book.
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4269149/11475177
Please give us the first page of the book.
Trudie Abernathy always wondered about two things. First, how was it that some people could live charmed lives while others accumulated troubles like those beetles that spent their time rolling up balls of dung? And secondly, how could one person fall in love as effortlessly as a sneeze, while another hobbled along on love as if it were a twisted ankle?
I am the dung beetle. Trudie smiled over at her sister, who sat across from her in the limo. Lane Abernathy, her sister, was the one who lived the breezy life. Lane was an image coach and always had a string of rich and handsome boyfriends while Trudie had never known the joys of having a steady anything—she was single, not-so-sexy, and somewhat sweaty.
Lane looked out the tinted window as she chatted about some new dress shop in town. Even though Trudie felt close to her sister, they invariably looked at life through different ends of the kaleidoscope. Lane always saw the pretty rainbow designs—the ever-changing wonder of being alive—while Trudie was busy turning the little contraption around to prove the whole thing was just an illusion created out of broken glass. Yeah, that’s so me.
How can readers find you on the Internet?
I just had a new web site created to feature Love Finds You in Humble, Texas. I would love for you to stop by for a visit and then sign my guest book. I’m at http://www.anitahigman.com/
Anita, thank you for spending this time with us.
Readers, you can order the book using this link:
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