Jo Ann Durgin's Twin Hearts

Title: TWIN HEARTS (Book #3 in The Lewis Legacy Series)
Publisher: TORN VEIL BOOKS, WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA

Cover blurb: Josh Grant is a man seeking redemption. He’s not looking for love, but finds it in a most unexpected and tender way. His twin sister, Rebekah, is an elementary schoolteacher torn between two very different men: a dashing, British aristocrat offering her the world, and the other a humble, faithful Louisiana lumber man. When family tragedy strikes, the twins lean on Sam and Lexa Lewis and their fellow TeamWork Missions volunteers for encouragement. Together they learn lessons in faith and family and what's most important in life as they discover it’s time to stake their claim on love, which means a road trip from Louisiana to . . . the peace to be found in seeking and finding the sweetest desires of the heart.

1. How did this story come to you?
It’s the natural progression in my series, but I must stress this: all my books can stand alone, but like most series, they build on the other with the background events and characters. In this one, I felt the need to bring back Josh Grant, the wayward sheep of my TeamWork crew, and have him find his redemption. Writing this book presented a unique challenge: two simultaneous love stories—one in Texas and one in Louisiana. There’s a shocking, but very sweet surprise revealed very early, and the spiritual “takeaway” from that storyline is to show how God’s people aren’t perfect and sometimes fall prey to the same temptations and sins as others. It’s how we ultimately deal with the consequences of our sin that makes the difference and can impact others.

2. Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
The answer for this particular book isn’t very dramatic since it’s the third in the series. The first two have done well for a new author and small, independent publisher or I wouldn’t be here promoting this one! The Lord opened all the doors in His timing (and a 10-year hiatus to raise my children). I’d invite you to read all about my journey to publication at my website at www.joanndurgin.com. The Lord knew the right publisher for me; Torn Veil allows me the freedom as an author to write “outside the box” of formula romance in both content and word count. What a blessing!

3. Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
A. I sleep with a backrest and about five pillows; it’s amazing I don’t have neck pain.
B. I’m related to an honest-to-goodness Master’s and U.S. Open Golf Champion (his oldest daughter was the flower girl in our wedding).
C. I sat on the front row of a Broadway theatre once and can say I was sit on my Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor looked me straight in the eye and winked. What a thrill to see those two legends together!

4. What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I have a proposal currently being reviewed by another publisher for a Christmas novella, and the fourth book in my series, Daydreams, releases from Torn Veil Books in early December. This one takes place only a few months after the end of Twin Hearts and includes a TeamWork wedding and goes from Manhattan to Louisiana and Texas and back again. It’s a fun and romantic adventure for your 2012 holiday reading season!

5. Parting comments?
Thanks so much for hosting me on your wonderful blog again! It’s always a pleasure.

6. Where can fans find you on the internet?
I’d love for readers to visit my website at http://www.joanndurgin.com/ or send me a friend request on Facebook. One of my very favorite things is to interact with my readers!

JoAnn Durgin's "Awakening"

We're happy to have JoAnn Durgin with us today talking about her book Awakening. To learn more about JoAnn and her book, read on!

Title: Awakening
Publisher: Torn Veil Books

Cover blurb: Lexa Clarke signs up for a short-term summer assignment in San Antonio with TeamWork Missions, hoping to make a difference in the world. TeamWork director Sam Lewis has a job to do and can't afford to be distracted by the petite, feisty blonde. But when she tumbles into his arms from the top of a house they’re rebuilding, Sam suspects his life will never be the same. A God-fearing man. A God-seeking woman. A combustible combination.

1. How did this story come to you?
A lot of the people, places and events in Awakening parallel my love story with my husband, Jim. In many ways, I lived this story, and I like to think it makes it more real. The strength of character, unwavering faith and goodness in Sam is based on Jim. And the stubbornness, resourcefulness and resilience in Lexa is based on yours truly.

2. Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
Awakening was written more than a decade ago before putting my writing aside to raise our three children. In late 2008, I literally dug it out from under the bed and blew off the dust bunnies, but I only had the last half. Reading it with fresh eyes, I knew this was the story the Lord wanted me to tell. Not only did He give me my story back, but He opened the doors of His choosing in very dramatic ways (read about it on my website). I still haven’t found an agent, but Awakening sold to the first publisher who reviewed it. I am very blessed.

3. Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
(1) I’m related to an oil millionaire as well as a PGA golf champion who won the Master’s and the U.S. Open golf tournaments. (2) I’m a diehard Boston Red Sox fan and can get very loud and boisterous watching them. We were blessed to live in Boston when they won the World Series after 86 long years, and had to go through their biggest rivals, the New York Yankees, to do it. (3) I credit rejection (twice) by one of the best Christian agents out there, criticism from a multi-published, award-winning author who said there wasn’t a market for a book like Awakening, and a layoff from my paralegal job that led to getting my manuscript in the hands of my publisher. Now, I’m on my way in my writing career and have an even better paralegal job. It never ceases to amaze me the miraculous ways in which the Lord works to accomplish His perfect will!

4. What are you working on now and what's next for you?
The next installment in the series is called Second Time Around, and it’s currently under review with Torn Veil Books. The entire series is written, awaiting edits, with a second series right behind it that’s an indirect offshoot from this one. I’ve got a few stand alone novels I wrote years ago I might pick up again, and I started something totally new recently just because I missed the creative process of writing. I’m never idle, and try to do something connected with writing every day.

5. Parting comments?
One of the biggest challenges for a writer is to create characters who become so real they literally jump off the page and into the hearts and minds of readers. If a writer is passionate about their characters, the story shines. The Lord is my co-author, and I’m writing the stories He’s given to me. If you’re a writer, my best advice is to pray and commit your work to the Lord. And then simply write. If you’re a reader, I hope when you pick up my book, you’ll find an involving story featuring a healthy dose of romance with deep emotion and a little adventure thrown into the mix! Thanks for allowing me to share with you today.

6. Where can fans find you on the internet?
I’m on Facebook, and messages can also be sent to me via my website at www.joanndurgin.com. I’d love to hear from you! I regularly blog on Reflections in Hindsight on alternate Wednesdays and Hoosier Ink on the 30th of each month. Blessings!