Winnie Griggs' "Home for Thanksgiving"

Title: Home For Thanksgiving (a novella in the Once Upon A Thanksgiving anthology)
Publisher: Harlequin Love Inspired Historical

Cover blurb: All that stands between Ruby Anne Tuggle and a fresh start is an escort to Tyler, Texas. Rancher Griff Lassiter is too kind to refuse, but too wary of being hurt again to offer anything but protection on the journey.

Then a fever forces an unexpected detour and a chance to find the place they both belong...

1) How did this story come to you?
I’d previously written two books that featured Griff Lassiter’s siblings in lead roles. When my editor asked me to pen a novella with a Thanksgiving theme I immediately thought about Griff and how I’d like to write his story. After that it was a matter of figuring out his backstory and finding a heroine to complete him.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
As I mentioned above, my editor invited me to write a novella, so the journey to getting a contract was pretty simple. Writing the book was another story. While Griff had appeared as a secondary character in three other books, he was still a bit of a mystery to me. He was such a guarded character that it took a while for me to ‘figure him out’. But it was totally worth the effort - I absolutely fell in love with him as I wrote the book.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I have a BS degree in Mathematics, I’m a total brain teaser nerd, and I’m a recovering hoarder.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I just turned in a book that will be the third in a three book continuity for Love Inspired Historicals called the Irish Brides trilogy. The series features three sisters who immigrate to America in 1850 and settle in the Boston area. The series kicks off in April 2012 and my book, A Baby Between Them, will release in June 2012. I’m currently working on the proposal for a brand new three book series set in the East Texas area in the 1870s. The connecting thread in these books will be that all three women are survivors of a single accident and will show how the accident impacted their lives.

5) Parting comments?
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes: “Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. They are the ones who discover what is most important and strangest and most pleasurable in themselves, and keep believing in the value of their work, despite the difficulties.”~ Bonnie Friedman

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
I love to hear from readers! My website is http://www.winniegriggs.com/ .
You can also find me on Facebook.

Laurie Kingery's "The Sheriff's Sweetheart"

We're happy to have Laurie Kingery with us today talking about her book The Sheriff's Sweetheart. To learn more about Laurie and her book, read on!

Title: THE SHERIFF'S SWEETHEART
Publisher: Love Inspired Historicals.

Cover blurb: "He needs to turn his life around...
And Simpson Creek, Texas, is the perfect place to do it. On the run from his dangerous past, Sam Bishop is happy to find a town seeking "marriage-minded bachelors." A wealthy wife is just what he needs to make his gambling problems disappear. But when Prissy Gilmore catches Sam's eye, she proves to be much more than a rich match. Sam wants to deserve her, wants to become sheriff and protect her hometown--wants to be the man she believes him to be. Yet the true test is waiting, when his past returns to challenge his future."

1) How did this story come to you?
My husband and I were going on one of our frequent trips to Texas, as I am a Texan-in-exile and return frequently to visit extended family. A secondary purpose of this trip was to visit the area of San Saba County, in which my "Brides of Simpson Creek" series is set. I did some advance scouting of the area on the San Saba Chamber of Commerce's website, and it told of a famous old tree called "The Marriage Oak" or "Wedding Tree" nearby, where Indians and early settlers had come to get married. We went to see it, and it's a magnificent tree, huge and gnarly with lots of overhanging boughs. The cover of my book, though lovely, really doesn't do it justice. I knew then my characters had to marry under this tree. The story was already somewhat formulated in my head, because Prissy was the next logical heroine of the series. I just had to find her a worthy hero. :)

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
I was already writing the series, so the journey to getting it accepted was not a long one, but I had been hoping to keep my original title, THE WEDDING TREE. My publisher does like to use hooks in titles, though, and in my series that has involved strong indications that it's a western and involves the hero's job or profession--i.e., MAIL ORDER COWBOY, THE DOCTOR TAKES A WIFE, THE SHERIFF'S SWEETHEART--so the title was changed to reflect that. But in my heart, it's still THE WEDDING TREE. So there. :)

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I have 6 grandchildren with one more due very soon, plus 3 step-grands. I've been an ER nurse for 40+ years. I wrote on a DOS program (Word Perfect 5.1) until 4 books ago (yeah, I'm averse to change...)

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I'm working on the 5th book in the series, working title FAITH. After the above title struggle, I've learned to leave the title suggestions till the publisher asks for them.

5) Parting comments?
Thanks, K. Dawn, for letting me visit!
You're welcome, Laurie. Any time!

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
http://www.lauriekingery.com/. I answer all email, except the rare weird or snarky ones which all authors occasionally get.

Laurie Kingery's "Mail Order Cowboy"

We're happy to have Laurie Kingery with us today talking about her book, Mail Order Cowboy. To learn more about Laurie and her book, read on!

Publisher: LOVE INSPIRED HISTORICALS

Cover blurb: With beaux scarce in post-Civil War Texas, practical Milly Matthews and her "Spinster Society" friends have their hands full protecting their ranches. Their only hope: advertising for mail-order grooms. But aristocratic British cavalry officer Nicholas Brookfield isn't exactly Milly's idea of a cowboy—or a man she can trust. And the more Nick proves himself as a ranch hand, the more he must hide his past from the woman he longs to make his own. Now Milly and Nick will need all their courage to face hidden dangers…and believe in a love that can answer all their prayers.i

1) How did this story come to you?
I wanted to start a series, for series are popular in Christian fiction, and was trying to think of a great story concept that hadn't been done in inspirational western fiction, so I used one of the staples of western stories, the mail-order bride, and turned it around so that the series involved mail order grooms instead.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
 This did involve a literal journey. I am a "Texan-in-exile" living in Ohio, so when I started devising this story, I picked out a location in the hill country of central Texas in San Saba County, and situated it on a real creek, Simpson Creek, near the county seat, San Saba. When I took a trip there to survey the area and take pictures, imagine how thrilling it was for me to read a roadside historical plaque that told me there had actually been a community with the same name as my town of Simpson Creek. My first story involved the plucky lady who started the Simpson Creek Spinsters' Club, Milly Matthews, known as "Marrying Milly" in the town. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Milly was not content to be an old maid in a town devoid of bachelors and set about finding her own solution—advertising for mail-order grooms for herself and her friends. I'm pleased that my editor at Love Inspired Historicals is as excited about my mail-order groom series as I am.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
1. I am an eHarmony.com bride, so perhaps writing about mail-order grooms comes naturally to me. 
2. I am an R.N. who is a 40-year veteran of a big-city ER that is a Level One trauma center. And yes, I would love to write medical stories (suspense), but so far, the right plot hasn’t' come to me. I tried a couple of them, but they didn't sell.
3. I am terrified of spiders!

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I am currently working on the 4th book in the Brides of Simpson Creek series, working title COURTING CARO, featuring a schoolteacher who's loved and lost and a trail boss who has no intention of settling in Simpson Creek. If by "next" you mean the next book out, I'll have another Brides of Simpson Creek book out in January from Love Inspired Historicals, THE DOCTOR TAKES A WIFE, with a northern doctor who's matched sight unseen with Sarah Matthews (Milly's sister from MAIL ORDER COWBOY), who refuses to be courted by Dr. Walker as soon as she finds out he's a hated Yankee.

5) Parting comments?
I want to thank K.Dawn Byrd for giving me this opportunity to promote my book. She's so supportive of other writers, and I wish her all success in her own writing.

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