Love in the Seams

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Gail

Today I’d like to welcome, Jodie Wolfe. I understand you recently released a new book. Can you tell us about it?

Thank you for having me here today, Gail. I look forward to getting to know you and your readers better.

Love in the Seams is book two in my Twins & Needles Series. Here’s what it says on the back cover.

Mae Stafford longs for the companionship and unconditional love her sister has found in her new husband. But after years of refusing potential suitors because of a pact they made as children, Mae no longer has any choices left once their agreement is broken. She’s given up hope that God will give her what she desires most, a family of her own.

Instead of dwelling on what she doesn’t have, she throws herself into her work in her recently acquired local dress shop.

As a promise made to his late wife, Johannes Mueller agrees to travel west to be a school teacher in Calder Springs, Texas, away from the bigotry associated with being an immigrant in New York City. He hopes to improve his life and forget his loss. Johannes isn’t counting on his five-year-old daughter’s search for a new mother when they arrive.

His little LillyAnn finds ways to bring the seamstress and him together…often. Can he learn to embrace his German heritage and unlock his heart to love again?

I understand your first book is about Mae Stafford’s twin sister, Ellie, is that correct?

Yes. Hearts Tightly Knit is built on the premise of twin sisters who made a vow to always stay together and never marry. I wondered what it would take to persuade one of them to change their minds.

In your new novella, Mae Stafford is a seamstress. Do you sew?

I do, some. I made a Victorian outfit that I wore at a genre dinner at an ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference a couple years ago. While I do enjoy sewing, my favorite craft is knitting.

GOOD GRIEF! I call that really sewing, girl! I do ok w/buttons and hems, but …

Do you have any final thoughts to share about your writing?

The goal of my writing is to point to my Heavenly Father and the hope we can have in Him, no matter what our circumstances.

Where can readers find you and purchase your book?

Website: http://www.jodiewolfe.com

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Seams-Twins-Needles-Book/dp/0997502622/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478548961&sr=8-1&keywords=love+in+the+seams

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/Jodie-Wolfe-553400191384913/; https://www.facebook.com/jodie.wolfe.1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JodieAWolfe

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/JodieAWolfe

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jodie-Wolfe/e/B01EAWOHXO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15220520.Jodie_Wolfe

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116840153259583634192/posts

Fiction Finder: http://www.fictionfinder.com/author/?author=Jodie+Wolfe

Blogs I contribute to: Stitches Thru Time, Putting on the New and of course, Quid Pro Quills.

Thanks, Jodie. I hope your book sells extremely well.

Thank you for allowing me to stop by today, Gail to speak to your readers. I’m giving away a free sewing kit to one lucky commenter between now and November 19th. Winner will be notified.

A New Year with an Author From the Past

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Gail

We remember Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish novelist, for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But even a little research reveals another legacy this author left us.

Stevenson lived only forty-four years, became a literary celebrity during his brief lifetime, and ranks among the 26 most translated authors in the world. Literary geniuses Hemingway, Kipling, Jack London, and Arthur Conan Doyle admired his works, and G.K. Chesterton declared that Stevenson “seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins.’

Robert loved to travel, and fell in love with a married American woman in France. Eventually, she returned to the States, divorced her husband, and married Robert. He gained two stepsons in this marriage, and the couple continued to seek adventures in California, Hawaii, and Samoa.

Perhaps not the perfect example of piety, but neither was King David–and millions still read both men’s writings. Stevenson still exhibited faith. During these days between Christmas and New Year’s, I consider the winter storm bearing down on the route we’ll soon travel to Arizona, and his Christmas prayer informs me.

“Loving Father, Help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men. Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clean hearts. May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake, Amen!”

Acknowledging the world’s hate and evil, Stevenson prayed for deliverance and “… to be merry with clear hearts …” What does this mean? Perhaps to face evil and hate head-on, yet still find joy.

Stevenson knew pain first-hand, since he suffered from hemorrhaging lungs and lived only to the age of forty-four. He wrote many of his best manuscripts from bed, including Treasure Island, conjured after drawing a map for his son. First serialized in a magazine, this story captivated young readers’ hearts.

Since Stevenson’s death in 1894, evil and hate continue to have a heyday. But this author’s prayer still calls us to share the angels’ song and marvel with the shepherds and wise men.

As we enter a new year, his words fit this hurting world’s needs–and ours, to be realistic, prayerful, grateful and forgiving. To be merry with clear hearts–and to use our creative gifts to the best of our ability.

Sounds like a goal for 2016!

On Consistency – Brenda Poulos – April 13, 2015

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Gail

This week, Christian Writers of the West president Brenda Poulos gives us some NEW YEAR’S ADVICE for April. Welcome, Brenda!

A lot can happen between January and April. A writing plan made at the beginning of the year will simply not take us past spring, into summer and beyond. It’s time to revisit, update and, if necessary, rewrite.

In April, we may ask: Is my plan still working? Is it still realistic? What has changed in my life since the plan was written? What needs to be adjusted?
Here’s what I have found. The culprit is time. In January, I failed to factor in time for research, webinars, and writing-related reading or allow for the hours to complete submissions.

Finally, I scheduled so much writing, I failed to leave enough time available for my personal life—family dinners, movies with my husband, walking the dog.

Baxter was glad to hear that walking the dog was now part of the daily plan…
So, perhaps I need to include devotions, writing, exercise, volunteering, family/friends activities, housework, and leisure. I need to allow for the unplanned, too—that surprise visit from Aunt Martha, an unexpected phone call, a refrigerator on the fritz.
This quarter, I’m tackling this time problem, once and for all. I won’t answering the door or phone during my scheduled writing time. I’ll be answering voicemail, email, and texts once my writing time is completed. Second, I’m building in an hour of flex time—time for the “expected interruptions.”

I don’t know exactly when they will come, but I do know with a fair degree of certainty that they will. And when they do, I’ll be ready.
I’m hoping this new daily plan will keep me from getting frazzled and help me meet my husband at the door with a smile, rather than the wild-eyed look I’ve been famous for these last few months.

And, oh yes, I’m giving myself a little reward at the end of each day I actually keep to my plan.

Pleasure reading, calling a friend and chatting (yes, a real conversation, not a text), enjoying lemonade on the patio, and watching a favorite television show are on my short list.
Your problem may not be time, but self-motivation or organization. No matter what they are, problems will remain problems, unless we meet them head on.
It all starts with a plan, tweaked often so we can better reach our writing goals, and offering rewards in increments to encourage daily writing.
This year, someone will write words to inspire others for generations to come. Will those words be yours?

Learn more about Brenda and Christian Writers of the West Here:

www.brendapoulos.wordpress.com
www.spiritualsnippets.com

Please feel free to share your thoughts and what has worked for you, and thanks for stopping by. Brenda would love to have you visit her websites at: www.spiritualsnippets.com and www.brendapoulos.wordpress.com She lives in Gilbert, Arizona with husband, John, and aging pets, Baxter and Brinkley. She volunteers at Gilbert Christian School, Hospice of the Valley, and serves in various ministries at Grace Church in Mesa.

Tracy Groot on Setting and Site Visits

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Gail

Elk and javelina epitomize these rugged Ponderosa forests, the setting for one of my novels, and time spent here makes all the difference in writing.

Today, Tracy Groot shares about visiting the site of your novel.

“Site visits are very important. “The land speaks” even decades or centuries or millennia later. Visits have an orienting effect and always, always, always yield the unexpected: my visits to Andersonville for The Sentinels of Andersonville yielded impromptu interviews with the mayor, a storeowner, a museum curator.

“Visiting a site can infuse your story with small but important details–lovely specificities that round out the tone of many scenes. Also, check out any local museums—they usually have dynamite bookstores.

“My visit to France for Flame of Resistance yielded such a wealth of information, I cannot imagine how the book would’ve turned out without it; I ate the local food in Normandy, visited multiple WWII museums, talked with elderly folk who’d been around during the war. Priceless! And fun! And we’ve learned to combine site visits with family vacations, to save money.”

Did I mention I’ve been working on a World War II series set in Southern France for a looooong time . . . maybe a visit is in order!

Last week we focused on character, so here’s a bit more from Tracy on that. (Can’t you just see character in this scrounger eating food scraps?)

Character always informs story and plot for Tracy. “I love what British historian Arnold Toynbee said, that character results from a person’s heredity and interaction with his environment; so I research where one of my characters is from to develop his or her story and personality. Getting to know the character and realizing how they act or react, helps to inform plot.”

What story does Tracy resonate with most?

“Each book has something that is a part of me—scenes in every one came from the gut—and it’s still a thrill and joy that these scenes actually made it to paper. It’s hard to nail down a favorite—I usually pick the one I’ve last worked on, ha ha! Maggie Bright, a story about the rescue of the British army at Dunkirk, is a current fave. It comes out in May 2015.”

Heartfelt thanks to Tracy for giving us an inside look at her vocation—perhaps readers will get a feel for the commitment she puts into each novel. And writers, she’s given us a wealth of food for thought. Feel free to comment about anything and everything. And be watching for Maggie Bright.

Please include contact information with your comment in order to vie for the prize of Tracy’s The Sentinels of Andersonville. We’ll announce the winner next week and send the copy to you posthaste.