SANTA FE SUNRISE - Tanya Stowe - One Free Book

Welcome back, Tanya. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I don’t know why I write the books I write. An idea comes. It intrigues me. I try to find the faith challenge in the concept and I write it. I don’t understand it but I appreciate how the Lord lets me work through things in my writing.

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

I was so stressed at my wedding I can’t say it was that day. I’ve had many, many wonderful days in my life but I’d have to say one of the highlights was the day I sold my first book.

Being published has changed my writing in several ways. Now I get to write full time instead of squeezing it in my spare time. I have many more friends but the most important change has been having a community of readers who have become friends as well. So now I have someone to talk to about my books!

What are you reading right now?

I’m getting ready to start How to Charm the Beekeepers Heart by Candice Patterson.

What is your current work in progress?

My current work in progress is doing revisions on a romantic suspense I just sold to Love Inspired Suspense.

What would be your dream vacation?

I’ve had some pretty awesome vacations. Europe. Egypt. Petra. Motorhoming across the U.S. Right now, given my current schedule, sitting on the beach in the Caribbean sounds pretty good. Lol.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

They choose me. As I said, my husband and I travel a lot. Sometimes when I go to a place, something just strikes a chord and won’t let go of me until I’ve built a story around it. My first visit to Santa Fe was like that. Something about the place just compelled me to find a story to fit. The same with Sedona Sunset. Never Ending Night came about when I read about a Civil War battle. So … they choose me and won’t leave me alone.

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

Mel Gibson and not for the reasons some people might imagine. He’s a master craftsman. His life has had the highest of highs and the lowest lows struggling with alcoholism. No matter how low he gets, he picks himself up, brushes himself off and moves forward without giving in to despair like so many others do. I honestly don’t think someone could do that without an intense, personal relationship with and love of Jesus. And on top of all that, he brings those highs and lows into his movies and shares those realistic struggles with us. I wish I had the courage to do that. Amazing.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Travel. Tennis. Hiking.

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

In writing I’m a storyteller not a word crafter. I have to work at it constantly. And in life, storytelling very often gets in the way of listening. I work on that too.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Take grammar seriously. You have to know the rules to break them. After that write constantly.

Tell us about Santa Fe Sunrise.

I love this book. I suppose because I love Santa Fe and the curious mélange of atmospheres there. History. Art. Culture. They all blend into a feel that is distinctly Santa Fe. I also the love the hero. He appeared in Sedona Sunset and grew so much in Santa Fe that I hardly recognized him. Also, I think I’m a little like the heroine, Rafaella. Devoted to family. Determined to honor her heritage but trying to be practical. So busy doing so many things she forgets to sit at the feet of the Lord and listen. I guess that’s enough without giving away too much of the story!

Please give us the first page of the book.

Brett Fraser couldn’t move his neck. He’d caught a few hours’ sleep hunkered into the crevice between his car seat and the door. His right hand throbbed with tiny needles as the circulation came back, and his knee, wrapped around the gearshift, wouldn’t unbend even after he sat up.

As soon as I get off this back road and locate Santa Fe, I’m going to find a nice hotel, a shower and a king-sized bed.

Sleeping in his car had definitely lost its charm. After six months of a self-imposed sabbatical touring the great Southwest, he was ready for some creature comforts.

One thing for sure, he’d seen some spectacular country. The Grand Canyon with its sheer drop-offs and hidden valleys. Lake Powell’s amazing mixture of colors—blue, green and a thousand variations of rust. Canyon de Chelly, the Navajo’s sacred place, with its smooth, sheer walls of swirling sandstone and cliff dwellings. Absolutely unbelievable.

He might not know where or how he fit into it, but one thing was clear, God had a plan. Anyone who’d witnessed these spectacular sights had to recognize the Master Artist at work.

Case in point: the sunrise in front of him.

In Arizona, fire burned the skies during sunrise and sunset. Bright golden light and fireballs of orange and gold lit the horizon. But here, in New Mexico, the colors were softer, more subtle. Above the dark ridge, the horizon was streaked as if by a paintbrush with bands of subtle gray blending into purple, then mauve, and finally pink.

Amazing.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Tanya Stowe

Prepare for the Extraordinary

http://tanyastowe.com/tanyas-travel-topics.html

http://tanyastowe.com/index.html

https://www.facebook.com/TanyaStoweReadersPage/

Twitter: @TanyaStowe1

Thank you, Tanya, for sharing this book with us. I'm eager to read it.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

Santa Fe Sunrise - Christianbook.com
Santa Fe Sunrise - Amazon
Santa Fe Sunrise - 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

CHRISTMAS BELLS ARE RINGING (LOVE AT CHRISTMAS INN Collection) - Tanya Stowe - One Free Book

Welcome, Tanya. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

Not enough. I think if I explored my own fears in a deeper manner, really touched the deep fears and struggles, readers would recognize the feelings more. But I think I’ve been afraid to tackle my own fears and put them on the page.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Hmmm. Quirky. My friends might say everything I do is quirky. Well … when my children were little, one night a week we stopped at our local fast food place for dinner after our non-stop run from practice to practice. This particular fast food location had classic paintings in frames and I fell in love with one. The picture had a moonlit bay with a sailing ship and fisherman and their wives gathering nets. Beautiful. I wanted it. So I asked the manager who painted it or where it came from. He couldn’t find out so I asked if I could buy another print and trade it out. So … one busy lunch day with a packed house, my husband brought his tools in, took down the painting and traded it out. Of course everyone stared and my husband shook his head the whole time muttering, “I sure love you.”

That print sat on my wall for twenty years and now, since I’ve downsized to a motorhome, it sits on my son’s wall. He’s a writer like me and unusual things tickle his imagination like mine.

I love that story. When did you first discover you were a writer?

I was eleven years old. My favorite television show didn’t end the way I thought it should so I sat down and wrote a book with the ending I wanted.

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

I read everything but right now, I’m focused on historical mysteries. I love to read about history and how they solved crimes before forensic science.

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

Who said I was sane? I have four children and twenty-one grandchildren. I run as hard and as fast as everyone else. But while I run, I try to remember Saint Francis’ words. “Preach the Gospel daily and when necessary use words.”

That’s a wonderful quote. How do you choose your characters’ names?

Sometimes, they just appear in my head. Other times, I look them up on the Internet baby name sites. Recently I needed some Scandinavian names so off I went to a site that featured European names and their meanings.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

When my family gets together we go to church together. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to look down the pews and see all my children and grandchildren in church. Quite an accomplishment for a former atheist.

That is so cool. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

A panther. Even though I’m allergic to cats, I still have an affinity for them. I think panthers are sleek, cool and strong.

What is your favorite food?

Italian

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

I have a theory. Writers are either storytellers or wordcrafters. A lucky few are both but I’m most definitely a storyteller so I get dragged down with the “how to’s.” How do I get my story across? What words? How do I shape the sentences? I’m most definitely not a wordcrafter and I work on it constantly.

Tell us about the featured book.

My good friends Mary Manners, Marianne Evans, and Delia Latham and I wrote a novella series called Hearts Haven for our publisher years back. We loved the process so much, we did four collections in the series. We decided we’d like to do another but this time we decided to self-publish. It’s called Love at Christmas Inn Collection.  Four novellas in one boxed set. The family name is Christmas so they keep a Christmas theme year round at their inn. We plan to do at least two more collections in the series. 

Please give us the first page of the book.

The first novella in the boxed set is my contribution. It’s called Christmas Bells are Ringing. Here is the first page:

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ~Deuteronomy 8:2 (NIV)~

The Tennessee countryside rolled out before Ariana Christmas as the highway topped the crest of a small hill, providing a stunning view of Hope Creek. Early October, and the trees had turned. Bright orange, russet and golden leaves created an amazing patchwork of colors on the panorama below.

Beautiful. Even if it was in the back of beyond. She tamped down on the anger and resentment that threatened to raise ugly heads again. Those emotions were useless. When her father first sentenced her to this imprisonment she’d tried sarcasm, rage and finally tears. All to no avail. He’d cancelled her credit cards and her phone account. He’d even taken away her lovely little sports car with its leather interior and told her she had to earn her own way. Her ailing Aunt Lizzie needed help. Ari’s new job was to take care of Lizzie, and oh, by the way, oversee the renovations of the family’s historic Christmas Inn.

So not fair. What did Ari know about running an inn? OK, so she did have a master’s degree in hotel management. But she’d never worked a day in her life. She didn’t need to. Her older brother Ian took his place beside their dad to manage their hotel empire long before Ari left school. Ian was a natural leader and a great asset to the business. Unlike her.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website link:  http://tanyastowe.com/index.html

My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TanyaStoweReadersPage/

My Twitter handle: @TanyaStowe1

Thank you, Tanya, for sharing this new book with us. I’m eager to read it.

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

Love at Christmas Inn: Collection I

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