THE WISE GUY AND THE STAR - Shannon McNear - One Free Book

Welcome back, Shannon. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about? Loss, grief, dealing with past abuse … but also the majesty and faithfulness of the Lord to carry us through anything, even to bring good from the awful things in our life.

What other books of yours are coming out soon? My surprise #4 of Daughters of the Lost Colony, Virginia, releases in September. It is, of course—if you’re familiar with Lost Colony history—the story of Virginia Dare herself, the first English child born in the New World. This series is properly termed alternate history because it deals more with what might have happened rather than what we know for sure.

If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why? I’d love to have a long, leisurely chat with fellow author Lori Benton. I so adore her work!

What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why? Right this minute it’s a toss-up between Corrie Ten Boom, C.S. Lewis, and Susanna Wesley … all of them for their faith and wisdom. 😊

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers? Well … as someone who waited for 30 years on my first publishing contract, I learned that waiting on the Lord is the best path—and His timing is always perfect. The process had deeper purpose than I knew, partly to grow me as a writer and to make my stories “better,” but also to teach me it really is more about the journey than the “destination” of being published. Don’t rush whatever it is the Lord has for you!

Tell us about the featured book. This story was originally part of Love’s Pure Light, a Barbour Christmas collection from 2020, with Susanne Dietze, Janine Roche, and Deborah Raney. The collection features an heirloom Nativity passed down through several generations, and while the other three are back in print, I was not able to get mine released again until now. So without further ado … 😊

Can a chance encounter be the connection they have always needed?

After the end of the Great War, pastor’s daughter Stella Shepherd accompanies her aunt on a business trip by train and meets convalescing war veteran Nat Wise and his two older brothers. The three men are whimsically named after the gifts of the biblical wise men and dubbed “the Wise guys” by their cousins. They claim to be down-and-out soldiers recently returned from the front, but they’re surrounded by mystery.

Stella secretly carries the family Nativity to comfort her while away from family during Christmas. Nat quietly spends his spare time carving a set of wooden wise men to honor his own deceased mother. To him, Stella is the perfect church girl—darling, but unattainable because he’s done too much for God to forgive him.

Stella longs to help Nat find renewed faith in God, but could he be the answer to the wanderings of her own heart?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Charleston, South Carolina—December 1919

Stella Shepherd stepped inside the huge building of Union Station, stared about her at the hustling crowd, then lifted her eyes to the arching beams high over their heads. Why had she ever thought she’d be comfortable traveling so close to Christmas? Away from home. Away from family.

Well, family who extended some modicum of warmth, at least.

“Stella girl, you best get a move on, now!” came the voice of Old Joe, her aunt’s manservant, behind her.

Stella swallowed hard, took a better grip on her satchel and suitcase, and fastened her gaze on the retreating form of her aunt, sailing through the crowd ahead of her like the battleship she was oft compared to. But still she couldn’t move.

This trip was an adventure, Mama said. And surely, if she and Papa had thought it a bad idea, they’d not have allowed her to go with Aunt Lila.

Or, as the case may be, let Aunt Lila talk them into allowing her to go.

“Stella!” came old Joe’s booming admonishment, closer now.

Aunt Lila glanced over her shoulder, her arched brows rising even higher.

No more hesitation. Stella scurried after her, weaving between the other travelers.

The rumble of the steam engine echoed through the busy station and vibrated in the stone floor, growing stronger as she neared the train stretching the length of the station platform in front of her.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://shannonmcnear.com/

http://www.facebook.com/ShannonMcNearAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/shenandoahdawn/

http://www.pinterest.com/shenandoahdawn/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6880909.Shannon_McNear

http://www.bookbub.com/profile/shannon-mcnear

http://twitter.com/shenandoah_dawn

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00BK9VRZ2

Thank you, Shannon, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me.

Readers,  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 2 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

ELINOR - Shannon McNear - One Free Book

Welcome, Shannon. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon? Thank you—it’s been amazing to watch His hand and to see the doors He’s opened! I have books 2 and 3 of Daughters of the Lost Colony to complete (#2 will release Oct 2022 and we’re working on details for #3), and then I’m hoping to see a follow-through on previous interest in my Revolutionary War novel, Loyalty’s Cadence.

Tell us a little about your family. My husband and I are the parents of eight—four boys and four girls, plus one boy in heaven. The three oldest are married, with another getting married in April, and we have four grandbabies so far between them all. My youngest daughter is 17 and in her last year of high school (anyone remember the toddler wandering around during ACFW 2005, in Nashville? She’s now taller than me!). Two of her older sisters are in college, with one of those graduated as of December. The youngest daughter and son still live at home, with the son working full time. Oh, and we also have two German Shepherds, a bunny, two cats, and chickens and guinea fowl.

My husband is a 31-year veteran of the military and just a few years away from retirement—at which point we hope to travel more.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how? Oh yes! My reading now is more intentional, less because I’m bored or have time on my hands. Which is great if I’m reading for the sheer love of story (because authors need that, to help fill their own creative tanks) but not so much if it’s research or for contest judging (which I continue to do as a way to give back to the writing community—and also to discover authors I might not otherwise get to read).

It’s also had the effect of making me more critical of what I read, but we won’t talk about that …

What are you working on right now? Book 2 of Daughters of the Lost Colony, titled Mary. It’s both a parallel story and sequel to Elinor.

What outside interests do you have? Cooking, sewing, herbal and alternative medicine, music. I play guitar and sometimes lead worship, but mostly Music Is Life.

How do you choose your settings for each book? I don’t choose them; they choose me. Seriously, though, it usually starts with a character or event, and then the setting just naturally follows.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why? I think I’d have to pick Corrie Ten Boom. It would be amazing just to hear her stories from her own lips.

I love Corrie Ten Boom, too. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels? That it’s more about the journey than any perceived destination (i.e., getting published).

That is so true. What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now? I can’t think of anything particularly new, just more layers and facets of old lessons. Redemption itself just becomes dearer to me the older I get, and grace and mercy, even more incredible.

I know what you mean by that. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful? Read a ton! Write a ton. And attend writer’s conferences and be humble about learning the craft. Realize that nobody is a guaranteed success right out of the gate, but it takes hard work, time, and patience.

Tell us about the featured book. Elinor is a “what-if” historical centering on the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island—the first English attempt at settlement in the New World, 20 years before Jamestown: The daughter of a renowned English artist and explorer, Elinor White Dare journeys to the New World seeking a fresh start and a place to put down roots. What she finds will shake the very foundations of her faith and yet rebuild what she knows of God’s goodness and mercy, even in loss.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Prologue

August 1590

Three years.

Three long years. But soon, please God, he would hold his daughter and granddaughter again.

This close, it seemed impossible to contain either longing or hope. Yet he must. He knew, with every shred of his being, how unlikely it was that the colonists had stayed on Roanoac Island beyond that first autumn. But the anticipation of stepping upon this shore once more—of gaining at least a hint of what had become of them—

He could hardly breathe.

Green and grey and blue were the waters around and behind him, but he had no eye for the dancing splendor of the waves. Only for the blinding brightness of the strand before him, the dunes clothed with grasses bending in the unrelenting sea winds, and the smudgy dark green of the forest rising beyond.

God had, despite much peril and many months of privateering, brought them safe through the storm. Would that He’d now hold back the tides long enough for him to find them.

Days of longing. Days of hope. He was near to exhausted with it. In their slow sail past the islands to the south, he’d expected some sign of life, of habitation, but—nothing. Not even a signal fire.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

shannonmcnear.com

Facebook 

Pinterest

Goodreads

BookBub

Thank you, Shannon, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me. I’m eager to read it.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Elinor&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

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

BACK COUNTRY BRIDES - Shannon McNear - One Free Book

Bio: After more than two decades in the South, Shannon McNear now makes her home on the windy northern plains with her husband, four of their eight children, two German Shepherds, four cats, several chickens, and a noisy flock of guinea fowl. She serves in worship and youth ministry and has been writing novel-length fiction since age 15. Her first novella, Defending Truth, from A Pioneer Christmas Collection, was a 2014 RITA® nominee. When not sewing, researching, or leaking story from her fingertips, she enjoys being outdoors, basking in the beauty of the Dakota prairies.

Welcome, Shannon. How did this collection come about?

Carrie Fancett Pagels, the founder of the Colonial Quills blog, has dreamed for years of doing an all-colonial collection for Barbour. Two years ago, she organized several of us who are contributors to that blog and we submitted the proposal June 2016. Not until May 10 of last year (a year ago today as I write this!) were we offered a contract on it.

I’m in a group that Carrie put together in 2015. We were contracted in 2017. Are these stories connected in some way?

Besides all being set in colonial-era America, and all based around the theme of a “backcountry bride,” the strong women who helped make our country what it was, no. (Backcountry being the period-correct term for the regions along the frontier … not exactly backwoods, but close.)

How does your story fit in with the others?

Mine is set November-December 1781, just after the surrender of the British at Yorktown, showing how the war did not end easily in various parts of the colonies. Others are set against the backdrop of the French and Indian War, or during the Revolution, and after.

Who chose the setting for this collection?

See my answer above—Carrie. We each chose our individual times and settings, though.

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

That God can reach down into any situation, no matter how hopeless, and change both the situation, and us. That the risk of putting our lives on the line for the sake of doing the right thing is always worth it, even when we think there’s no chance of making a difference.

Readers want to get to know the authors they read. Can you tell us three things my readers probably don’t know about you?

Hmmm … one, I started college but never completed a degree. Barely finished my third semester with an undiagnosed case of mono, intended to take off the next semester and come back, but met and married my husband instead. (Who started at the same college but also never finished.)

Two, the only language I’ve ever taken formally is New Testament Greek. Two semesters in college. The pastoral majors, for whom the class was required, were really annoyed by the presence of this girl who took it just for fun …

Three (and notice a theme here? LOL), I attended college with DCTalk. I didn’t know then who Toby McKeehan was, but Mike Tait sang often in chapel and was one of my favorites. Later, when my husband and I moved back so he could attend classes, I worked with a girl who knew Toby and had gotten a 2-song demo tape from him … we wore that thing out. J Incidentally that was when DCTalk was just Toby and Mike. Afterward they added Kevin, and when their first album showed up in the campus bookstore, I was right there to buy it. It’s been amazing to follow their career all these years and see how God has honored their desire to maintain integrity in near-impossible circumstances. (The music industry is just brutal, even on the Christian side.) And even now, they’re among my favorite artists.

Please give us the first page of your story.

Charlotte Town, North Carolina, mid-November 1781

“Do these people even know they’ve lost the war?”

“Obviously not.”

Tucked in a corner of the tavern where the babble of conversation was not quite louder than his own thoughts, Jedidiah Wheeler dropped the much-folded paper on the tabletop and stared at it with distaste. “And why can’t we leave this rascal to Sumter and Marion?”

Harrison leaned on one elbow, dark gaze intent. “We need someone on the inside. Someone he doesn’t know yet. Someone he could possibly trust. Doesn’t have to be for long.”

Jed chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking. “A man would have to have a death wish to accept this appointment.”

A smirk twisted the other man’s mouth. “I’ve heard of your exploits over the past five years. One could say that description fits you.”

’Twas true he’d little enough to lose. An occupation that became useless with the tide of war sweeping the colonies for the past five years and more. A mother and then a father who succumbed to age and illness during that time.

A sweetheart who spurned him for another, despite her avowed admiration for his service in the militia. And fine by him. He’d always welcomed the adventure that went along with riding first with the local militia and later with the Continental Regulars.

“I’d like to live long enough to return to riding the Great Road up to Philly,” he groused.

This time Harrison laughed outright. “Now you’re just being sentimental. Deadly dull, that.”

Jed lifted his fingers dismissively.

“Besides,” Harrison went on, “no one lives forever. And this rapscallion and his band must be stopped. Could you sleep at night if you didn’t at least make the attempt?”

“Mm. Next you’ll be singing about king and country.”

Harrison gave a silent laugh that disappeared under a wave of uncharacteristic sternness. “Outright slaughter, Jed. And after they’d surrendered. For the sake of all that’s true and holy.”

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

shannonmcnear.com

Facebook

Pinterest

Goodreads

Twitter

Colonial Quills

Thank you for sharing this collection with us. My blog readers love reading the Barbour collections.

Readers, 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

A PIONEER CHRISTMAS - Shannon McNear and eight other authors - One Free Book

Readers, I've known Shannon for years, and I was thrilled when she received her first contract for this book. The book is a nine novella collection. The other authors are Lauraine Snelling, Margaret Brownley, Kathleen Fuller, Marcia Gruver, Cynthia Hickey, Vickie McDonough, Michelle Ule, and Anna Urquhart. This will be a wonderful Christmas read. For today, we're featuring debut novelist, Shannon McNear.

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

My good friend and writing partner Beth (Elizabeth) Goddard, who’s been a Barbour author for years, forwarded me a call for submissions on the Pioneer Christmas collection. I told her I’d think/pray about it. Within about five minutes, the story idea bloomed to life, and by the end of that week, I had my first chapter and synopsis.

What are you reading right now?

The book of Ezekiel in the Bible...before that, Iscariot by Tosca Lee, and before that, the ARC of Burning Sky by debut author Lori Benton.

What other books have you had published?

Defending Truth was my very first book contract, ever. :-)

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

For me, it was wondering if mine would be “good enough,” if it would fit the guidelines. Making sure I had my history and research right.

How did collaborating with this team impact you?

Because there are nine of us, and each story is a standalone, there wasn’t any collaborating. I’m looking forward to reading the other stories, though!

How do you choose your characters’ names?

For historical, I spend some time going through genealogies of the period, muster rolls, cemetery records, anything that gives me a sense of what was common (or not) for the time and region. I try to pick something that sounds like what a real person would have. When I chose Truth Bledsoe, I went with a real, historical family name and a first name that could have been used for those fond of the old Puritan way of using character traits as names. It was only after the fact that I found the family I anchored her to had a male member by the name of Loving (permuted in some records to Lovin or Loven, which is what I wound up using for my story). So it seemed particularly fitting. For Micah, I chose a not-overused Biblical name combined with what could have been a last name of the period.

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

A renewed sense of God’s grace, and our ability to forgive because of it. Also, a fresh appreciation for the difficulty and complexity of the era.

Please give us a peek into your story.

Papa would tan her hide if he knew she was out here again. Too many Indians to worry about. Not to mention Tories. But Papa was still gone fighting the British, and the young 'uns needed fed.

Truth Bledsoe took a better grip of her grandfather's long rifle and peered through the cold fog of the western North Carolina morning. The narrow path up the mountain lay beneath a carpet of reds and golds, slick with rain. All but a few yards ahead faded into the mist. The forest was still except for the occasional drip of moisture or creak of branch. 

With a deep breath, she trudged on until out of the loomed a great boulder tucked into a fold of the mountainside. 

Her favorite hunting perch. She slid the rifle up over the edge then, with fingers and toes in various cracks, hoisted herself onto the top. There she settled herself herself to wait for whatever game might wander past. She'd taken her share of deer, turkey, and squirrel from this rock. Even glimpsed a few Indians. Today she was hoping for something to fill the new stew pot. 

Her ears strained for shreds of sound. Everything would be muffled in the fog, whether the whoosh of a deer's snort or the rustle of a squirrel in the leaves.

The snap of a twig, when it came, drew her almost straight up, gun to her shoulder.

"Don't shoot!" came a sharp cry.

Sounds like a really good read. I can't wait until my copy arrives. Are you a member of American Christian Fiction Writers? If so, why?

I sure am! I joined ACFW about nine years ago when I felt I needed more guidance and polish with my writing than I received from other critique groups. Now, of course, I wonder if I was just dense :-) but ACFW has been invaluable in terms of the relationships I’ve made, in addition to what I’ve learned as a writer.

My first contract came eight years after I first started writing novels, so though your nine years seemed long, other writers had similar experiences. What is the best piece of advice you received as an author?

It’s about the journey, not the “destination” of being published. Wow, I hated hearing that. :-)

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, and I write Sunday devotionals over at The Borrowed Book (http://theborrowedbook.blogspot.com ). My personal blog is at www.shannonmcnear.com .

Thank you, Shannon, for sharing about your debut book with us.

Readers, here are links to buy the book. When you use one of them, you help support this blog.
A Pioneer Christmas - Christianbook.com
A Pioneer Christmas Collection - Amazon.com
A Pioneer Christmas Collection: 9 Stories of Finding Shelter and Love in a Wintry Frontier - Kindle

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 Google +, Feedblitz, Facebook, 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