Lisa Lickel's "Meander Scar"

We're happy to have Lisa J. Lickel with us today talking about her book, Meander Scar. To learn more about Lisa and her book, read on!

1) How did this story come to you?
It was a process – this is one story that noodled in my head, even before I turned into a writer. I always thought an older woman/younger man scenario would make a good story. No one thinks anything of older men and much younger women – why not the reverse? And when I started to think about what happens to all those people who go missing every year, the two ideas gelled.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
I had an agent who agreed to toss the idea around to his publisher friends. Only he didn’t just pass the idea around, he sent out a proposal which wasn’t near ready. This turned off a lot of publishers. Then I tossed the subject around with an editor who had seen that ugly proposal at a conference, to no avail. I finished the story anyway, got another agent who also didn’t like the idea or the title. When I was back on my own, I pitched the story to a publisher who liked it, but sat on it for so long that I took it back, then pitched it to Black Lyon who took it as long as I was willing to cut it in half.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I love almost anything Star Trek and Star Wars despite the fact that I’m a local historian; I practically throw up when I think about personal promotional appearances yet I love to perform radio theater in front of audiences; I have no sense of direction whatsoever. I can’t even count on being wrong and turning the opposite way ‘cause sometimes I’m right.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I just pitched two more novels. One’s about a woman who would rather not go through another round of treatment for her end-stage cancer, but family members and the doctor who wants to save her life think otherwise. What happens when four people pray for different outcomes of the same situation? The other is a romance about a former missionary who’s sidelined at home and a businesswoman who fall in love and try to make marriage work. I also sold a short story to a new start-up magazine, Harpstring, and am waiting to find out more details on its release.

5) Parting comments?
Never give up – never surrender. Be a noticer. I’m facilitating an ACFW on-line course next year about the submission process.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
http://lisalickel.com/
http://reflectionsinhindsight.wordpress.com/ – coming in June
http://www.shoutlife.com/lisalickel
http://www.facebook.com/lisalickel
http://edgychristianfictionlovers.ning.com/profile/LisaLickel
I’m also an Amazon author and a Goodreads.com author.

Here are purchase links:
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/Meander-Scar-Lisa-J-Lickel/dp/1934912239/ref=sr_1_1_oe_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267452628&sr=1-1

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Meander-Scar-ebook/dp/B0037Z6YM8/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Meander on BN: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Meander-Scar/Lisa-J-Lickel/e/9781934912232/?itm=1&USRI=Lisa+Lickel

Julie Cave's "Deadly Disclosures"

We're happy to have Julie Cave with us today talking about her book, Deadly Disclosures.To learn more about Julie and her book, read on!

Your title: Deadly Disclosures
1) How did this story come to you?
I wanted to find a way to combine my love for writing with my Christian faith. A friend of mine and I brainstormed one weekend and he said to me, “What if the guy in charge of the Smithsonian went missing?” The plot developed from there – I had already developed Dinah Harris as the main character and she was waiting for a story in which to appear!

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
I knew that New Leaf Press was particular in its publication requirements. I sent the novel over in portions of five chapters so that the editors could see my writing style, how the story was unfolding, and how I was including the gospel message within the book.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
1. I never know how a novel will end when I begin working on it – it’s something that comes to me during the process of writing.
2. I am a sports fanatic, and I love to watch Australian sports such as rugby league, rugby union, cricket and Australian football as well as swimming, Formula One car racing, the Olympics and any sporting event that happens to be on!
3. My dog Sage is a Japanese shiba inu descended from champion show dogs and her show name is Rising Sun Spring.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I have just finished the sequel to Deadly Disclosures, called The Shadowed Mind. It’ll be out in October. After that, I’ll be starting work on the third book in the Dinah Harris trilogy. In the meantime, I’ll be travelling to the USA for a three week stay.

5) Parting comments?
I hope that those who read it enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. My desire for the book is that Christians will take pleasure in the plot and the teaching, and that they will give it to their non-Christian friends. At the moment we are running an exciting competition where two winners will win the chance to name two characters in my next book. To enter, all people need to do is become a fan on Facebook and introduce a friend to the fan page, or subscribe to my blog. The details of the competition can be found at http://www.juliecave.com/. It will be drawn on May 27th at the Creation Museum.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
My blog can be found at http://www.juliecave.com/. You can also become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/julieacave and follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/julieacave.

Deborah Raney's "Almost Forever"

We're happy to have Deborah Raney with us today talking about her book, Almost Forever. To learn more about Deborah and her book, read on!

1) How did this story come to you?
My husband is always clipping stories out of the newspaper that he thinks I’ll find interesting––that he thinks might hold the seed of an idea for a future novel. One day he placed the story of nine heroic firefighters who were killed in a fire in Charleston, SC. That story and the career of my firefighter nephew, got me thinking about the lives of the survivors and how they find the will to go on after such a tragedy. The Hanover Falls novels explore the questions I encountered that day.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
Because of the reception the Clayburn novels series had, we decided to do another series with the locale being the thread that tied the three books together. The Hanover Falls novels are a little more closely entwined plot-wise than the Clayburn novels were. Each one stands alone, but the Hanover Falls novels are best read in order: Almost Forever, Forever After, After All. Books 2 will release in January 2011 and Book 3 in September 2011.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
1. Though I’m usually a very cheerful, upbeat person, I do tend to have a bit of a temper. I have it pretty well under control these days (thank you, Lord!) but I’ve been known to kick a cabinet or two in my younger years.
2. I was a debate champion in high school and I still love to practice the craft on my husband and kids.
3. I play the piano by ear…not very well, but enough that it’s great therapy to bang out a tune or two when my temper flares.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I’m digging in to write the first draft of After All, Book 3 in the Hanover Falls series. My substantive edit for Forever After will come one of these days and I’ll have to put everything aside to work on that, but for now, I’m happily playing with the characters from this new story. After that I have a stand-alone book contracted, also with Howard/Simon & Schuster, and another two-book contract to announce soon.

5) Parting comments?
Thanks so much for inviting me to your blog! I’ll try to stop by and visit with your readers soon!
6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
http://www.deborahraney.com/
http://novelgarden.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/authordebraney
http://snipurl.com/facebookreaderspage

Jill Elizabeth Nelson's "Calculated Revenge"

We're happy to have Jill Elizabeth Nelson with us today talking about her book, Calculated Revenge. To learn more about Jill and her book, read on!

Your title: Calculated Revenge
1) How did this story come to you?
I’ve always wanted to do a novel about child abduction, but not something typical. The unusual twists in Calculated Revenge are the product of serious time spent extrapolating the logistics of character motivation, behavior and interaction. What would this particular character do next, how does that affect the other characters, and how do I give that logical progression a unique twist that will be believable and intriguing to the reader? It is also my habit always to seek the Lord’s wisdom in any book I write. Even when I paint myself into a corner, He is faithful to show me the way out, and the story is better for His insightful grace!

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
A rather uneventful path, actually. My editor at Steeple Hill asked me for a new proposal, they liked what they saw, and awarded a contract for two more books with them. The second one, Legacy of Lies, comes out in October, but is unrelated to Calculated Revenge. The similarity begins and ends in that they are both set in fictitious small towns in rural Minnesota.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
Hmmm. Good question.
a. I’m well into middle age, but have few gray hairs. This should be an astonishing fact, considering I raised four children, and at one point, they were all teenagers! I do get my brown hair highlighted, because my husband likes it that way.
b. Armed with trusty laptop, I write seated next to my husband in one of our matching recliners. He’s allowed to have the television on, because I can tune that out. However, he’d better not try to talk to me at a crucial moment in the story. ;-)
c. I’ve been on short term mission trips to Jamaica, Thailand, and New Orleans during Mardi Gras. What an eye-opening experience that was! We’re long-time friends with missionaries who are currently stationed in the Philippines. We hope to be able to go over and help out there with a project sometime soon.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I recently turned in a proposal for my agent to shop around and am working on another proposal for a story that he and I really like. Hopefully, I’ll be offered another two-book contract and can do both stories for one publisher.

5) Parting comments?
Reader feedback is an awesome inspiration to writers. We thoroughly appreciate when readers take time out of their busy lives to let us know how our stories have touched them. In fact, I use such testimonies as part of the program I present at libraries on The Inspirational Fiction Phenomenon. I’m booked solid this spring, which reflects the widespread interest in Christian fiction today.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
My web site is http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com/. Hop on over. I have a fun little contest page where readers can enter a monthly drawing for my most recent release. My blog features oodles of awesome authors, and I frequently give away their books as well. Signing up for my quarterly newsletter will keep readers abreast of what’s new in my writing world and also make them eligible for exclusive offers I make available to subscribers only.