Monday, January 14, 2013

Elizabeth Maddrey's "Wisdom to Know"

Title: Wisdom to Know (Grant Us Grace Book 1)
Publisher: HopeSprings Books

Cover blurb: Is there sin that love can’t cover?

Lydia Brown has taken just about every wrong turn she could find. When an abortion leaves her overwhelmed by guilt, she turns to drugs to escape her pain. After a single car accident lands her in the hospital facing DUI charges, Lydia is forced to reevaluate her choices.

Kevin McGregor has been biding his time since high school when he heard God tell him that Lydia Brown was the woman he would marry. In the aftermath of Lydia’s accident, Kevin must come to grips with the truth about her secret life.

While Kevin works to convince himself and God that loving Lydia is a mistake, Lydia struggles to accept the feelings she has for Kevin, though she fears her sin may be too much for anyone to forgive.

1) How did this story come to you?
I grew up active in pro-life ministry. My mother ran a Crisis Pregnancy Center for twenty years and over that time, I spent a lot of time helping out, both as a volunteer and on staff. One of the things we did a great deal of at our Center was after-abortion healing. Seeing the women and men who came through the Center – many of whom were strong believers at the time they made their choice – wrestle with forgiveness (feeling they deserved it as well as giving it to others involved) is not something I’ll ever forget. Lydia is an amalgam of many of these women.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
The first major hurdle for me was talking myself into actually letting someone other than family look at my manuscript. I was terrified. At the same time, unlike so many of the other novels I’d written (that live on my hard drive, never to see the light of day), I really felt like this one needed to see the light of day. So I spent a good bit of time polishing it, sent it out, never heard back from anyone (which, of course, means they weren’t interested) and went to a writer’s conference. At the conference, I got some good critiques that showed me changes I needed to consider and I met up with the editor I’d worked with on a non-fiction project a while ago. Talking to her, the pieces all kind of just fell into place – they were looking to start a fiction imprint and were interested in my story. I really believe God pulled all the strings to get it to this point.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
1. I did archery all through middle and high school and have marksman medals.
2. I originally intended to write science fiction, not romance. (And I’ve still got story ideas brewing in that genre, so that might happen yet.)
3. My husband and I are semi-serious about retiring to Ireland to run a Bed and Breakfast later in life.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
Right now I’m working on book 3 in the Grant Us Grace series. It’s scheduled to be released in September, so I need to get a bit of a move on with it! I’m also busy with lining up the promotion/marketing for book 2, Courage to Change, which will be released April 8, 2013. As for what’s next, I really hope it’s writing and publishing more books. I’ve got so many story lines in my head; I hope they’re things people will want to read.

5) Parting comments?
Thanks for having me, this was fun!

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
I love to have people connect with me! You can visit me at my website: http://www.ElizabethMaddrey.com  or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMaddrey
I’m also on Twitter @ElizabethMaddrey


23 comments:

  1. This sounds like quite the interesting book! Pro-life is something that is very near and dear to me and something that we were very involved in when hubby's health was better. Thank you for the giveaway.

    Blessings,
    Jo
    azladijo(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jo,

      Involvement in pro-life efforts is such a hard but rewarding thing - so nice to meet another laborer!

      Thanks for stopping by!
      Elizabeth

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  2. Please enter me.I would love to win and read this book.Thanks...jackie_tessnair@yahoo.com

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  3. This sounds like a very important book to have available to help people heal. I attend church with a director of a pregnancy resource center. I would love to share this book with her if I happen to win.

    I enjoyed hearing about the process that led to your publication. Grace---don't we all receive so much! God is so good. Glad to see you have a series about grace.

    Blessings, Janice jsmithg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    Replies
    1. Janice,

      I think (hope!) that your PRC director friend would be encouraged by it - lovely of you to share if you win.

      Grace is so incredible and simply astonishing, isn't it?

      Thanks for stopping by!
      (:
      Elizabeth

      Delete
  4. I can see that Lydia & Kevin's story is going to be quite emotional reading. Thank you for sharing today, especially about how the story came about.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary,

      It's definitely an emotional story - I did try to put some humor in there to keep it from being too heavy on the heart all at once. :)

      Thanks for stopping by!
      Elizabeth

      Delete
  5. I love the title and would love to read this book. rdunson(at)knology(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Deborah - I was surprised by how hard it was to come up with a title. It took several (looooong) phone calls with my editor. At the end of it all though, I love it too! :)

      Thanks for stopping by!
      Elizabeth

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  6. I am so glad to see books covering topics like this. Having made similar unwise choices in my life, I am so grateful for the forgiveness of God in this. Books like this help hurting ones know that forgiveness is possible, that lives are not ruined by unwise choices. Thanks for writing this.

    HM at HVC dot RR dot COM

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heather,

      That really is the number one take away I hope people get - forgiveness is there for everyone. And every single one of us needs it.

      Thanks for stopping by!
      Elizabeth

      Delete
  7. I enjoyed the interview! Wisdom to Know sounds like an interesting book. I would love to win a copy.
    may_dayzee(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kay - glad you enjoyed it! I'll admit to being a little terrified at the idea of doing one, but it was painless. :)

      Thanks for stopping by!
      Elizabeth

      Delete
  8. Wisdom To Know sounds like a very powerful book. I would love to read it. Forgiveness is possible but we must forgive ourselves. That isn't easy. Sounds like Lydia is having a hard time of doing just that. Oh my...we've all been there to a certain degree.
    You are a new author to me and it was great getting to know a little about you. Wouldn't running a Bed and Breakfast be a dream come true? Especially in Ireland!
    Blessings and thanks for this interview and giveaway!
    Judy
    sweetpea.judy(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Judy, Forgiving ourselves is, I think, often harder than forgiving others. I think sometimes we get caught up thinking we don't deserve it.

      As for the B&B, I so love the idea, but then I think of all the housecleaning and I look around my house...I would probably have to hire someone. :)

      Thanks for stopping by!
      (:
      Elizabeth

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  9. Sounds like a wonderfully emotional story line, that I would truly like to read. Thank you for the free book drawing. God bless your writing career!!
    Dawn
    crashingoceanwaves@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks, Dawn!

    Thanks for stopping by
    (:
    Elizabeth

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  11. Please enter me in the the free book drawing for WISDOM TO KNOW! Sounds like a book my step-daughter sould read and I would love to read this book too!
    Thanks!
    Rebecca
    rbooth43 at yahoo dot com

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  12. Thanks for dropping by, Rebecca!

    :)
    Elizabeth

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  13. Thanks for the opportunity to win a book!

    bonnieroof60@yahoo.com

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  14. I enjoyed reading the interview. Hope it's not too late to enter my name in the drawing. I've been writing about this subject on my blog: http://juanitanobles.blogspot.com.
    Juanita Nobles
    DeSoto, Missouri
    mjnobles@charter.net

    ReplyDelete

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