Readers, Donita is generously giving away one free copy of the featured book, plus 3 free copies of her prairie romance ebook Taming the Wild Wind. Here's the blurb for that book:
Ida has always gone her own way like a gentle breeze,
drifting through social barriers as if they weren't even there. Like the
breeze, her comings and goings are hard to keep track of, and her family
assumes Ida's activities are the same as the other society debutantes of Pittsburgh . When she
responds to the wilder wind of the Oklahoma
prairie, she recognizes the untamed quality in her personality. She also comes
to realize that even the wild wind has a Master.
Welcome back, Donita. God has really been
moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?
I’m excited about several projects. Soon I will be
self-publishing an early reader with illustrator Aaron Siddell. Take a look at
his work. http://on.fb.me/1csan9o The
title is House on Troll Hill. It’s
about a real estate agent in the enchanted forest. I will finish the third book
in the Realm Walker series. And a couple of novellas are on the work schedule.
Tell us a little
about your family.
I live in the basement of my daughter’s house. I call it the
hobbit hole, but my son-in-law refuses to let me have a round door at the top
of the stairs. So unreasonable. It would only cost several thousand dollars. I
have two grandsons who sing, “Open the door, and down the stairs, to
Grandmother’s house we go.” They are at fun ages, 9 and 12. I think all the ages
are fun. We have two turtles, a dog, and a bunny. The bunny is mine, but I
can’t catch him. The boys are my official bunny hunters. My son just got his
doctorate in English. My daughter just sold a book, a steampunk YA that will
come out in January of 2016. We are a literary bunch. The 12-year-old makes
graphic novels. The 9-year-old has been making up stories since he could make
sentences.
Has your writing
changed your reading habits? If so, how?
Yes and no. Yes, in that I have to make myself turn off the
editor in my brain so I can fully enjoy the stories I read. No, in that I still
read voraciously and in many different genres. Last year about this time, I had
a stroke which took 80% of my sight in the left eye. Part of my physical
therapy was reading to retrain my brain to accept and make adjustments for my
vision. Now isn’t that a horrible PT to have to endure? Loved it! Thank
goodness for e-books. I could enlarge the font. I am doing very well, both with
my sight and my balance which was also thrown under the stroke bus.
What are you working
on right now?
The last 20,000 words of the second book of Realm Walkers.
The title is Two Renegade Realms and
comes out in January of 2015.
What outside
interests do you have?
I rediscovered Facebook after having been out of it for over
a year. It is a great place to chat with readers. Also I’ve been working on
Pinterest. I call it working because there are some boards that relate to my
writing. My new character Bixby has her own board because her fashion sense is
so fun. http://www.pinterest.com/donitakpaul/bixby-styling/
My books have their own boards, and there are writing related boards as well.
And of course there are boards just for fun.
How do you choose
your settings for each book?
LOL That takes us back to Pinterest. I have boards of
fantastic scenery, buildings, and furniture. Those help me visualize my fantasy
worlds.
If you could spend an
evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
I’d chose Ronald Reagan. I know that’s weird. It struck me
as weird just now when I thought of it, but he had such a varied life. Humble
beginning, glamorous movie star, rancher, and government service. And I think
he thought of it as being a servant, not a king. I liked his sense of humor,
taste, and he was president when I was in my late 20s. I was just beginning to
get a sense of being part of a gigantic, complicated world.
What is the one thing
you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
That I could have done this earlier in my life. I fell into
writing when all the other doors were slamming shut. God brought me to a place
where I had to seriously jump into writing. I thank God and His use of my
mother to bring me to this career. I had a serious illness that disabled me. I
couldn’t teach anymore. My mom said, “Why don’t you write. You’ve always wanted
to.” You should always listen to your mom.
What new lessons is
the Lord teaching you right now?
I’m hoping it’s perseverance, because I think I’ve almost
got that one nailed. Maybe we can move on to something like being a good
steward of worldly goods.
What are the three
best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?
Write what you love to read.
Write like you eat, every day, enjoying different flavors.
Write for the only One who matters.
Tell us about the
featured book.
In the world of the Realm Walkers, the walkers are like the
knights of the round table. They are supposed to be champions of the people, examples
of nobility and chivalry, integrity and valor. Unfortunately, the guild,
responsible for training the walkers, has become corrupt. Our young realm
walkers Cantor and Bixby desire to be the legendary heroes of ancient lore.
They must identify who to trust and who to follow.
Please give us the
first page of the book.
Chapter One - Raising a Ruckus
Cantor straddled the thick tree limb suspended less than
three feet over his favorite fishing hole. He’d fished from this spot for more
than eighteen years, from the time he could barely straddle the fat limb ’til
now, when the tips of his sandals almost brushed the surface of the clear, cold
water. He watched the small fish circling below him, waiting for the big one
just as he had been taught. His fishing mentor, Odem, probably took him fishing
here before he was out of diapers. Cantor wouldn’t want to share the limb now.
Though the tree had grown with him over the years, he didn’t think the branch would
hold the weight of two grown men. He wasn’t eager for a bath in the frigid water
from the mountain’s runoff.
Still and patient, Cantor waited for the large carp he
called Bully to rise and push the other fish out of the way. A sprinkle of
thumb-sized chunks of bread floated on the water. One of the smaller guppies
darted off to the side, and a huge, open mouth appeared under the surface. The
fish snapped up a sodden crust.
Cantor hurled the stone in his hand. The rock thunked
against the skull of his target. All the smaller fish deserted Bully, who
floated on his side. With a grin, Cantor threw his leg over the limb and
slipped into the knee-high water. He shivered in the icy snowmelt, grabbed his
catch, and slogged to the shore.
Exposed roots riddled the steep bank, making irregular hand
and foot holds. Cantor threw the fish onto the grass above his head and climbed
out. Sitting cross-legged in the tall grass, he removed his sandals and put
them on a rock to dry in the sun. He opened the pouch Ahma had sewn into his
tunic and removed an undersized scabbard.
He’d owned this small, sharp knife since childhood. Odem had
visited on his sixth birthday and, against Ahma’s protests, given the tool to
him. Cantor’d thought himself very clever when he named the knife Slice,
especially when Odem laughed in his loud bray that filled the tiny cabin. Ahma
shook her head and fetched another piece of greenberry pie for him and Odem.
She’d caught Cantor that night picking his teeth with the
blade. Boxing his ears, she told him if she caught him doing another stupid
thing with “that weapon,” she’d take it away.
Cantor grinned as he applied Slice to the job of gutting the
big carp. A couple of carrion birds landed in a tree nearby. Cantor nodded in
their direction. “I’ll leave you the tasty insides. I don’t suppose you would
agree to peaceably share between yourselves.”
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
https://www.facebook.com/don.k.p
Thank you, Donita, for sharing this new book with us ... and for giving my readers a chance to win free copies of your prairie romance ebook.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
One Realm Beyond - Christianbook.com
One Realm Beyond (Realm Walkers)
- AmazonOne Realm Beyond (Realm Walkers) - Kindle
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