Anne Mateer's "Wings of a Dream"

Title: Wings of a Dream
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Cover blurb: Rebekah Hendricks dreams of a life far beyond her family's farm in Oklahoma, and when dashing aviator Arthur Samson promised adventure in the big city, she is quick to believe he's the man she's meant to marry. While she waits for the Great War to end and Arthur to return to her so they can pursue all their plans, her mother's sister falls ill. Rebekah seizes the opportunity to travel to Texas to care for Aunt Adabelle, seeing this chance to be closer to Arthur's training camp as God's approval of her plans.

But the Spanish flu epidemic changes everything. Faced with her aunt's death, Arthur's indecisiveness, and four children who have no one else to care for them, Rebekah is torn between the desire to escape the type of life she's always led and the unexpected love that just might change the dream of her heart.

1) How did this story come to you?
The first kernel of this story came in the form of family history--my great-grandparents’ history to be exact. But I couldn’t just tell their story. Several years after the initial idea, I learned some local historical facts that gave the story a more sturdy framework.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
I’d been writing seriously for 9 years and completed 4 novels, 3 of which were contemporary, before the Lord made it very clear that it was time to again tackle my true love--historical fiction. I began the book in January of 2009 and entered it in ACFW’s Genesis contest. It finaled and I received a request for my full manuscript. Eleven months and two revisions later, I received a two book contract.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
1) I am fiercely competitive in our family’s fantasy football league.
2) I hate mornings.
3) I absolutely despise cooking.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I have another book (as yet untitled) releasing in September of 2012 that involves missionaries and auto racing in 1916. How’s that for a hook? That book is completely done, so now I’m fleshing out new story ideas. We’ll see what God has in store!

5) Parting comments?
I am honored that you took the time to read a little more about my book and about me. I very much enjoy connecting with people who read.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
I can be found at www.annemateer.com, www.facebook.com/AuthorAnneMateer and www.twitter.com/AnneMateer.

Kathryn Cushman's "Another Dawn"

We're happy to have Kathryn Cushman with us today talking about her book Another Dawn. To learn more about Kathryn and her book, read on!

Title: Another Dawn
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Cover blurb: When life gets complicated Grace Graham runs. She's left romantic relationships, friendships, and even her family after the death of her mother. But now her sister, Jana, is giving her one last chance: Come home and help care for their father--whom Grace still blames for her mother's death--or never show her face in Shoal Creek, Tennessee, again.
With her son, Dylan, in tow, Grace returns home from California. But is she returning for the right reasons? And when costly decisions from the past suddenly put her son's life and the lives of other children in town at risk, will she have the strength to stand strong and await Another Dawn?

1) How did this story come to you?
Through my editor. He sent me a link to a Public Radio documentary about a measles outbreak in San Diego. There were lots of valid points on both sides of the vaccine issue. We knew there was a story there.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
This is my fifth book, it was contracted a while back without a firm story idea in mind. The difficult part of this book was the actual writing, because I was dealing with an extremely ill teenage daughter and a terminally ill father. It was almost impossible to focus for any length of time.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I never read my books after they are published. Every time I read through my work, I find something I want to change. After it's printed and final, I can't bear to look at it.
I'm pretty bad at all things domestic (cooking, organizing, etc.), although I really wish I were good at them.
I was a pharmacist for 10 years before I "retired" to be a stay-home mother.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I've just started my next project, which should be out in Summer 2012. It's about a family who attempt to live "almost Amish" as part of a television show.

5) Parting comments? Thanks for letting me visit your blog!

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