POSTMARK: CHRISTMAS - Kathy Kovach, Paige Winship Dooly, Paula Moldenhauer, Darlene Franklin - Three Free Books

Kathy Kovach, one of the authors of the collection, is with us today. Her co-authors are Darlene Franklin, Paige Winship Dooly, and Paula Moldenhauer.

Welcome, Kathy. How did your story for the collection come about?

Mine is titled, A Blessed Angel Came. I lived in Florida for ten years and Darlene Franklin knew that. She asked me if I’d like to write another story with that setting, (my other was Merely Players now in the compilation, Florida Weddings,) and I said yes. Christmas is a real town in Florida, so when I researched what was in that area, I found a fun little place called Jungle Adventures Nature Park, home of “Swampy”, the World’s Largest Gator. I thought it a good place to set a Christmas story. lol 

What are you reading right now?

Courting Miss Amsel by Kim Vogel Sawyer in paperback and Perfect by Harry Kraus, M.D. on Kindle.

What other books have you had published?

My latest is one I co-authored and self-published with Paula Moldenhauer. Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal is a contemporary with a historical frame. Here’s our tagline – A secret. A key. Much was buried when the Titanic went down, but now it’s time for resurrection. For fun stuff and ordering info, visit www.titaniclegacyofbetrayal.com. Besides the one story in Florida Weddings, I wrote all three stories in Oregon Weddings. Also Cookie Schemes in the novella anthology, Love Letters. All published with Barbour Publishing. For all my books visit my Amazon page at http://amzn.to/NDDg23.

What is the hardest thing about writing a part of a novella collection?

All of our stories revolve around a fictitious Christmas festival. You take four different authors writing four different stories and you get four different interpretations of the setting. We had to adjust several things to pull our ideas into one solid festival.

How did collaborating with this team impact you?

These are a great bunch of ladies. I know Paula and Darlene personally, and have a connection to Paige because she lives in NW Florida, not far from where my husband and I spent ten years stationed at Hurlburt and Eglin air force bases. I’m not sure I would call it an impact, but I did enjoy the experience.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I always like my names to mean something. The heroine is Gabriella Archer. Her character has an important message, much like the archangel Gabriel. But, unlike Gabriel, she is too shy to be effective. Enter David Levine. Levi means praise and so does Judah. Bethlehem, the city of David, is in Judah. See my thought process?

What did you want the reader to take away from your story?

To step into the gift God gave you, whether you feel worthy or not. He will equip you for the task.

Are you a member of American Christian Fiction Writers? If so, why?

Yes, I’ve been a member since 2002 and have attended every conference and volunteered in various positions. I’m currently the Rocky Mountain Zone Director. Ten years ago, when I started writing for a career, I was told by three separate people about this wonderful organization for Christian fiction writers. It was then called American Christian Romance Writers. You know how it goes. A person needs to hear something at least three times before they act. That’s what happened with me, and I have never looked back. I love ACFW! It has taught me craft and helped me network with important people in the industry as well as given me a writing family.

What is the best piece of advice you received as an author?

I have to pick only one? Probably to write my passion and not worry about the market. I have stepped outside the normal in some of my stories, a fortune cookie maker, a female charter boat captain, a talking parrot who plays cupid, and in each case have heard wonderful things from my readers. Often when a publisher releases several books a year under a certain division, (i.e. Heartsong Presents or the Barbour novellas,) the stories start to look alike. This is a common complaint among readers. I hope that I’ve been able to give them more variety.

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

Website – www.kathleenekovach.com.

Blogs – www.katleenekovach.blogspot.com and www.craftcinema.blogspot.com. 

Welcome, Paige. (Readers, I'm always teasing Paige that her husband doesn't know how to spell Dooley.) How did your story for the collection come about?

I’ve always wanted to do an RV story and this one felt right for this set. Once we started tossing around ideas for the title, the story grew from there.

What are you reading right now?

A Love Inspired Suspense and a Love Inspired Historical. I love to read more than one story at a time—it depends on my mood what I pick up at any given time.

What other books have you had published?

Georgia Brides is my latest 3-in-1, and I have a couple more contemporary Heartsong Presents coming out in the next few months, Sweet Lullaby and Special Delivery.

What is the hardest thing about writing a part of a novella collection?

The hardest part for me is during the planning phase when we’re trying to figure out how much of a tie in we want with the other stories. It’s fun to revisit characters and locations in the different stories!

How did collaborating with this team impact you?

I had a great time working with Darlene, Paula and Kathy! I’ve worked with Darlene before, but this is the first time we’ve sold something together. I had fun getting to know Paula and Kathy as we went. The stories and ideas just flowed.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I keep on ongoing file of names that I like, and I start with that. If I don’t find what I like for a particular character, I’ll keep searching until I find the one that clicks. My names usually come up as I envision the characters and start to get to “know” them.

What did you want the reader to take away from your story?

We aren’t created to be alone. I think God wants us to have companionship with other people and definitely with Him. Trusting God to be there for us and trusting others to share our burdens helps us grow as people.

Are you a member of American Christian Fiction Writers? If so, why?

I am a member. I like the fellowship and I like to keep in touch with other authors as we share about the industry.

What is the best piece of advice you received as an author?

Do it now! If you put off trying to write that next book (or starting the first book!) you’ll never get anywhere.

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

Facebook

Welcome, Paula. How did your story for the collection come about?

The collection was the brain child of our leader, Darlene Franklin, who saw a newspaper article about the postmaster in Christmas, Florida. When I joined the team already in place they had a list of ideas for the collection. I fell in love with the postmaster idea and combined it with an idea already suggested about a police officer who dressed up as the Grinch to raise money for charity. When Rick Stanton was born in my imagination he arrived retired with a caring heart bigger than Texas, broad policeman shoulders, quoting Dr. Seuss, and head over heels for Edie. I still don’t know how feisty Edie resisted him as long as she did. His charm really does come from the inside out—thus the title, You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch.

What are you reading right now?

Okay. This question makes me want to cry. I’m a voracious reader, but was in a car accident last June which caused a concussion, and it makes me sick to curl up with a novel! I feel like part of me was cut away! But I’ve survived in part by listening to books on tape. I spent most of my summer with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is so much better than the movies. I’m blown away.

What other books have you had published?

You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch is my first published romance. One of the authors in this collection, Kathleen Kovach, and I co-authored my other published novel, which released in April. It’s called Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal. Your readers can find information on it in your blog archives, Lena, at http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/2012/04/titanic-legacy-of-betrayal-kathleen-e.html . We so appreciated your willingness to tell them about it last spring. It’s a full-length contemporary novel with a historical frame based on a hundred-year-old secret from the RMS Titanic.

                                 

What is the hardest thing about writing a part of a novella collection?

I wanted to be sure I connected my story in some way to the other stories and that I accurately represented the characters created by the other authors. Since we were all meeting different deadlines on other projects, it was sometimes crazy to know these kinds of things from each other because the stories weren’t all completed at the same time. But it worked, and we all were willing to adjust here and there to make the collection fit together.

How did collaborating with this team impact you?

I have deep gratitude for Darlene and Paige’s willingness to take a chance on me, as I was an unpublished novelist when they invited me into this collection. My friend, Kathy, was on their team, and they experienced an opening. Kathy suggested me. We’re in the same critique group, and she felt my writing was strong enough for me to hold up my part of the collection. Darlene and Paige didn’t know as much about my writing, so I was incredibly honored to be welcomed into this circle of successful, seasoned authors. There were a couple of times Kathy had to talk me down when I got nervous. I wanted so much to do well that I freaked out here and there. But my Kathy K. was there to remind me that I really did know what I was doing.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I actually grew up in the south and my character, Rick, talked to me with an accent. I decided he was raised in Tallahassee since central Florida doesn’t necessary have that southern flair. As he talked he reminded me of some distant cousins back home who spoke with a strong accent. Their names were Rick and Stanton. Thus Rick Stanton was born. I have no idea how Edie was named. She just walked onto the pages knowing her name, I guess!

What did you want the reader to take away from your story?

Part of Edie’s journey is that she’s been through a lot of hard knocks which made her protective of her heart and afraid to believe life can be better than it has been. When I got this contract I’d just come out of several years of intense struggle, including the near death of my husband. I think I was exploring this for myself—how to hope again, believe again that life can sparkle despite multiple set-backs. My novella is a joyful little story and perhaps my own statement of faith in the belief that God truly has an abundant life for us, not just a life of survival.

There’s also a scene my husband suggested that happened between Rick and a secondary character. I love this scene! It shares a little of the truth of the loving Father-heart of God. One of my personal greatest discoveries is that Father God isn’t a demanding authority who is always disappointed in my imperfections, but a God who loves me just as I am even as He empowers me to be more like Christ. It made me weep when my character discovered this for herself. I pray there are readers out there who will find this truth in my story and make it their own.

Are you a member of American Christian Fiction Writers? If so, why?

Absolutely! Becoming involved in ACFW was one of the very best decisions I made as an unpublished author. It provided me with some of the most valuable learning and networking opportunities out there as well as with a place to find support and encouragement. I don’t know if I would have made it without the love and prayers of the ACFW prayer loop. I got my contract at the 2011 ACFW national conference in front of everyone and couldn’t help but feel this first fiction contract was a collective achievement, not just mine, because so many ACFW friends had impacted my journey. ACFW was such an impact on me that I’ve chosen to give back, hoping to empower others new to the industry. I served several years as a local chapter president and right now I’m the Colorado Coordinator for ACFW.

What is the best piece of advice you received as an author?

This is hard ’cause so many have given me such great guidance and encouragement, but the first thing that springs to mind isn’t so much human advice as something the Lord gave me after I finished my first (still unpublished) novel about ten years ago. I was euphoric at the accomplishment and totally committed to my story. I asked the Lord if it would ever be published. He never answered me other than to point me to Psalm 32:8: “I will guide you on the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” Hanging onto His Sovereignty through the often difficult waters of finding a publishing niche kept me sane. I watch many unpublished authors strive and worry and grieve and stress. Of course I did some of that, too. We are emotional creatures. But my underlying truth was always that verse, and I clung to the knowledge that God would do what was best when He deemed it best. My job was to learn the industry, to develop craft, etc., but that elusive contract was up to Him.

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

I’d love to connect with readers at my author page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/PaulaMoldenhauerAuthor and on my personal website, www.paulamoldenhauer.com

Thank you, Darlene, for coming up with this idea and putting together this team. Can't wait to read this book. I just finished reading your book, A Brides Rogue in Roma, Texas. I loved the novel. I look forward to our interview with you in November. 

How did your story for the collection come about?

A few years ago I heard of a family who sent leftover Christmas cards to random people in the phone book. Since we knew we wanted all of stories to have connections to the post office, I decided to borrow that idea. Ever since the death of my heroine’s husband, she has sent cards to military personnel around the world. In my book, one of the soldiers she has befriended over the years seeks her out after he retires.

What are you reading right now?

I just finished The Preacher’s Bride by Laurie Kingery. It’s a must-read, and I don’t say that lightly. I am dabbling in a book called The World of Downtown Abbey since my son brought me five nonfiction books to read and not one of my beloved novels!

What other books have you had published?

I won’t list them all, since the number now approaches the two dozen mark!

A Bride’s Rogue in Roma, Texas, was released at the same time as Postmark: Christmas; and I have two books in the Texas Trails series, Lone Star Trail and A Ranger’s Trail.

What is the hardest thing about writing a part of a novella collection?

Waiting to hear if the editor wants to buy it? No, that’s true of any writing. Probably the hardest part is completing a group project, which has overlapping elements, when we are all work with different time tables. Paula had questions before I started mine, and Kathy had questions after I finished mine, and so forth. But as long as the authors communicate—which this group did—it’s not too bad.

How did collaborating with this team impact you?

Paige and I have made several joint proposals, but this was the first time one sold. So it was a dream come true for both of us, and she was as much fun to work with as I hoped. Kathy, Paula know each other from way back in Colorado, and writing with them cemented a friendship begun when we were all writing neophytes.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I was working on this proposal when I taught a workshop on naming characters!  I used one of the class’s suggestions, Michael, for my heroine’s son.

The heroine’s name required special thought. She is known as “Randi Pearson” but she signs her Christmas cards as “Aranda H.” – her given first name and the initial of her maiden name. It takes the hero some time to put “Aranda H.” and “Randi Pearson” together.

What did you want the reader to take away from your story?

Since her husband’s death, Randi put her life on hold. She’s forgotten about romance and raised their son, now a troubled teenager. Mike is about to graduate from high school and Troy appears in her life.

How do we respond when one chapter of our life ends and we’re not sure what the next one holds in store? Randi has to trust God to light her path one step at a time.

Are you a member of American Christian Fiction Writers? If so, why?

Absolutely! In my opinion, it is the professional organization for writers of Christian fiction. It’s also a digital meeting place, learning forum, and support system.

What is the best piece of advice you received as an author?

Aside from the basic, read, read, read and write, write, write, I’ll share a quote from James Michener that made me nod in recognition: “I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter.” An author must be persistent, and she must be willing to rewrite. Talent doesn’t matter as much as perseverance and a willingness to learn from your mistakes.

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

I am on Facebook. You can also follow my blog at http://darlenefranklinwrites.blogspot.com/. I run weekly contests for free copies of my books. 

Thank you, Kathy, Paige, Paula and Darlene, for visiting with us today.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Postmark: Christmas (Romancing America) - paperback
Postmark: Christmas (Romancing America) - Kindle

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TITANIC: LEGACY OF BETRAYAL - Kathleen E Kovach and Paula Moldenhauer - Free Ebook

Welcome, Paula and Kathy. I know that this is a collaboration. How did this story come about?

Paula: Kathy and I discovered we shared a fascination with the RMS Titanic. We kicked around some ideas and shared them with our critique group. Everyone was so enthusiastic, and we loved the story idea so much we decided we had to write it. We actually hid out at a writer’s conference, skipped a few sessions, and birthed it.

Kathy: We’re releasing this primarily as an e-book. The e-book thing came about when the manager of the Barnes & Noble spoke at one of our local chapter ACFW meetings. He talked about the Nook and how their brick and mortar stores were dealing with this new way of buying books. Since the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic was coming up pretty quickly, we knew e-book would have to be the only way to go, and his talk gave us the encouragement we needed.

Did you find it easy to work together on it?

Paula: The story brought out our strengths. Kathy loves to plot while I tend to do a really rough skeleton and fly by the seat of my pants. We plotted carefully at first. I learned a lot, though I kept teasing Kathy saying, “Can we start writing now?” But our writing styles and personalities blend very well. We’re both pretty easy going and have similar passions, so most of the time we found collaboration only strengthened our original thoughts.

Kathy: I wouldn’t write with just anybody. But Paula exudes so much grace that I knew if we had any misunderstandings they would be resolved quickly. Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal is a contemporary story with a historical frame. She started writing the contemporary heroine’s point of view and developed her while I worked on the hero. But she was also researching the historical. When that storyline started to become more than we had originally planned, she asked me to take over the contemporary so she could concentrate on the historical. We essentially wrote two different stories, and I like that better.

How did collaborating with this team impact you?

Paula: I think it strengthened my understanding of story structure and plotting. It also gave me some good “friend” time with someone I already adored.

Kathy: And I could say the same thing. (Hugs to Paula!)

What is the hardest thing about writing as a team?

Paula: I think there were two issues that were hard. Waiting on the other person to write the scenes they were responsible for sometimes interrupted the creative flow. Also, at first we each took a character from the romance thread. I felt it stymied romantic tension and eventually Kathy took both the hero and heroine in our contemporary thread—so when you read Ember’s story you’re actually reading a character written by two people. I was pleased with how seamless this was. I’d interject here and there on little things to keep Ember true to the way she was first written, but Kathy picked her up and made her blossom.

Kathy: I agree with Paula. When you’re used to just sitting down and writing, it’s hard to realize that you can’t go on until your partner writes about such and such. But, when life gets in the way, that’s to be expected. Once we started writing two different stories, it was much easier.

What are you reading right now?

Paula: I’m constantly reading! Every Friday on my blog I post about a new novel I’ve read. I think the last one I posted was Brandilyn Collin’s Gone to Ground, but I’m very eclectic. Right before that was Christmas Belles of Georgia, a romance anthology which included my pals Rose McCauley and Debra Ullrick, and before that I wrote about a couple of novels with a literary feel and a couple of historicals! I also read non-fiction. Right now I’m reading One Thousand Gifts and just finished a book of devotionals based on the works of Charles Dickens.

Kathy: Paula exhausts me. LOL I’ve been reading The Help for the past couple of weeks now. I think I just passed the halfway mark. I read very little non-fiction, but a friend just gave us both one on spiritual sensitivity. I’ve barely cracked it, but like it so far.

Paula: I loved The Help!

I did, too. I remember that time period so well. How did you choose your characters’ names?

Paula: Ember was the most fun to choose. We felt she had this tiny flicker inside of her that needed to flame for her to become all she was meant to be and to enjoy life, so the name just fit her. Plus, her mom was a flower-child and so she’d have chosen an unusual, earthy kind of name for her.

Kathy: I think we came up with name for Jeff because it sounded like a 30 year old name. We went through several, discounting each because 1) we knew a kid by that name and couldn’t get past the fact that he annoyed us, 2) we knew an actor by that name, so his face would always be there when this character didn’t look like that all. And the historical names just popped out of Paula’s mouth. Apparently, that’s what they wanted to be called and nothing else would do. We did have problems with Olive Stanford’s last name. She’s the matriarch of a wealthy family who traveled on the Titanic with her grandson, Charles Malcolm Stanford III. She started out as a Stanton, but Paula had given another character in a different book that name. So we changed it to Stanford. Ever since then, we have to think before we write or speak that name. I even had trouble with it in this paragraph. LOL

Would you want to work on another book together?

Paula: We’re already talking about it! Charles, one of our historical characters who was on the Titanic, won Kathy’s heart, and we can’t help but dream of giving him his own book.

Kathy: Oh, Charles. How I love the bad boys. I don’t know why, but he came alive to me through a photo I found of a young man of that era.

What do you want to tell us about the book?

Paula: We’re super excited about the story. It feels like a high-concept idea with lots of intrigue and a strong romance thread. We’re also excited about writing a story that is a little outside the traditional Christian publishing market. We wanted to tell a story that might help someone who doesn’t know Jesus consider who He is. While we hope our Christian readers follow us, we tried to write in such a way that someone without faith will find it believable—and maybe even wrestle with God’s place in his or her life. Much of it explores the idea of generational bondage—how the choices of those who’ve gone before us affect how we think about life.

Kathy: A secret. A key. Much was buried when the Titanic went down, but now it’s time for resurrection. Portland real estate agent, Ember Keaton-Jones distrusts men, with good reason. Ever since her great-great-grandfather, Thomas, deserted the family after the fateful sinking of the Titanic, every Keaton male has disappointed. Ember is on the brink of a huge sale that will propel her career upward, when a lawyer calls telling her he is in possession of a key that opens a 100 year old safety deposit box in New York City. Ember risks her career to fly to New York and protect whatever is in the box from her flighty mother who is about to breeze into town. Jeff Dawson is a computer techie plummeting from a failed business venture. His father, who owns an antique shop, is sucking him into the past. Old things don't appeal, that is until Ember walks into the shop requesting help with a century-old secret. Together they unlock the past, but can they undo the legacy of Thomas Keaton's betrayal?

Sounds intriguing. Please give us the first page of the book.

April 1925, New York City

Olive

We both knew I would get what I wanted, no matter how unconventional. An incredulous flicker passed through Mr. Williams’s controlled features. The slightest rise of my left eyebrow squelched his resistance. With a deposit of cash, a signature, and a shake of the lawyer’s hand, the deed was done.

I left his office leaning hard upon my favorite cane, the one topped with the silver bird whose wings stretch forth.

I, too, make ready for flight.

            Faithful Earl, watching from a parking place across the way, brought the Studebaker around. His gray, pressed uniform honored my status, and an unusual sensation beat in my chest. I thought it gratitude, but perhaps it was merely pride. Earl may be the only person in the world I truly like. With great ceremony he opened the door and settled me into the automobile. Then he offered his customary stiff bow and returned to the driver’s seat. He didn’t even flinch when directed to Cunard Pier, good man. Together we’ve avoided West 12^th or 15^th streets, and most certainly the docks, since that day thirteen years ago this month.

            I detest April.

            Perhaps others in their twilight years have made peace with the twists and turns of their earthly existence. But not I. There are events I would pretend never happened, but it is hard to fool one’s self. Earl would be surprised to know what goads me to the pier this day. Perhaps he would be disappointed in me—or maybe all these years he has known me as I really am and has not been fooled by the façade.

I can hardly wait to read it. Where can our readers find you on the Internet?

Paula: Specific information about Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal can be found at www.titaniclegacyofbetrayal.com

I hope my new website it up by the time this blog releases, but if it isn’t, stop back by. Right now www.Paulamoldenhauer.com points to my blog. Of course I love connecting through Facebook as well.

Kathy: My website is www.KathleenEKovach.com. From there you can find me on Facebook and Twitter, plus there’s a link to my blog. 


Thank you, Paula and Kathy, for the interesting interview.



Readers, 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.
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