Robin Jansen Shope's "Ruby Red"

We're happy to have Robin Jansen Shope with us today talking about her book, Ruby Red. To learn more about Robin and her book, read on!

Title: Ruby Red
1) How did this story come to you?

The story came to me when I was reading accounts of the Orphan Train and saw only white faces on the trains.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.

The book went through many rewrites and it took several years because I had to get into the head of an eleven-year-old African American girl.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.

1. I love cupcakes. 2. I garage sale each weekend. 3. I sell on eBay.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?

I am working on the sequel for Ruby Red.

5) Parting comments?

Hearing from readers means the world to me. I write for you.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?

http://write2robinshope.blogspot.com/
And also on FaceBook

Tina Pinson's "In the Manor of the Ghost"

We're happy to have Tina Pinson with us today talking about her book, In the Manor of the Ghost. To learn more about Tina and her book, read on!

(Note: If you're not set up to read ebooks, scroll down on the blog to find out how to download a free Kindle app for your computer.)

Title: In the Manor of the Ghost
1) How did this story come to you?
It unfolded in a dream. I had just visited Minnesota, and passed through an area where there were black walnut groves. I was thinking about how to work the landscape and visit into a storyline, when I dreamed the first chapter for In the Manor of the Ghost, and subsequently the rest of the book.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
I wrote the story in 2000 and tried to get it published, only to learn that I hadn't followed the rules of writing. They'd changed while I was on hiatus to have children, so I needed to tweak the story and do more editing to make it sellable.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I love to sing, was somewhat of a tomboy growing up, which made me think I should become the next Doris Day. I've been married for over 30 years. I am a grandmother and I wrote my first novel in elementary school.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
Lately, when I find time to write, I've been working on a Sci-Fi time-travel series, with clones, gene mutation, and bad people trying to get rid of Christ. Counting Tessa is the first installment. Then I plan to get back to two Civil War Era stories I've been working on, Finding Middle C, and From Hell to Eternity. Another novel, Touched By Mercy, will be released this December 2010 through Desert Breeze Publishing.

5) Parting comments?
Just wanted to take a moment and say a little bit about In the
Manor of the Ghost. Yes, it has romance, a love story and a ghost. But it's important to know that while In the Manor of the Ghost takes place in a manor, some of the houses we reside in aren't made of lumber or stones. They are fashioned from our fears and are as thick around us as a wall might be. Some of the Ghosts we face are those fears. Real or perceived, they can haunt us for years. In the Manor of the Ghost is an inspirational, written with facing those unseen ghosts in mind.
It is my belief that as God is the author and creator of love and romance, some of the most beautiful love stories come out of two people growing together through good times and trials, facing their fears and turning them over to the Lord.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
They can visit my website -- http://www.tinapinson.com/blank.html
Purchase my book at Desert Breeze Bookstore. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-92/In-the-Manor-of/Detail.bok
Stop at my Blogsite— http://tinapinson.blogspot.com/

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to share my books and myself.
In honor of the release of In the Manor of the Ghost, I am running a contest, Win a Kindle… Catch a Ghost for the entire month of June 2010. Check out my blog for the particulars.
http://tinapinson.blogspot.com/

Robert Elmer's "Wildflowers of Terezin"

We're happy to have Robert Elmer with us today talking about his book, Wildflowers of Terezin. To learn more about Robert and his book, read on!

1) How did this story come to you?
It’s been decades in coming, ever since my parents lived through the occupation of Denmark during World War 2. That was way before my time, but eventually I knew I had to tell some of their stories, in fiction. For me, Wildflowers of Terezin is the result of growing up in a Danish family.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
After my first series for kids was published (“The Young Underground”) my author friend Bill Myers suggested that I write a “grown up” version of the World War 2 stories. It took years before that happened, and dozens of books in between, but here it is. I’m grateful my friends at Abingdon Press shared the vision and excitement for this story.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
That I’m a grandpa. (Our first grandchild just turned one.) That I learned English on the street and from TV. (My folks only spoke Danish to me.) And that I used to live in Puerto Rico?

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
Working full-time as a writer/editor at a university in the Pacific Northwest, glued to the keyboard, working on idea file. Stay tuned!

5) Parting comments?
Sometimes authors will tell you they’ve written a book from their heart, or “this was the book I just had to write.” Well, this was the book from my heart that I just had to write. I’ve put everything I know into this story, and it’s deeply meaningful to me. So far, all the comments I’m hearing are telling me that readers are connecting. I’m thankful!

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
http://www.robertelmerbooks.com/