April Gardner's "Warring Spirits"

Title: Warring Spirits
Publisher: Vinspire Publishing

Cover blurb: In 1816 Georgia, escaped slaves control the land just beyond the American border in Las Floridas. Lost somewhere between white and black worlds, Milly follows hope to the only place that can offer her refuge—the place Georgians are calling Negro Fort. The first, sweet taste of freedom convinces Milly that surrender is not an option. Death would be more welcome.

Major Phillip Bailey has orders to subdue the uprising and return the runaways to their masters. Forced to fight alongside Creek warriors—the same who etched the scars into his mind and flesh—Phillip primes himself for battle. But inside, a war already rages—return for the woman he thought lost to him or concede her to the enemy she loves; follow orders or follow his heart.

1) How did this story come to you?
When I finished Wounded Spirits, the first book in the Creek Country Saga, I started out writing Warring Spirits with a different story and with different main characters. But there was something about it that just didn’t sit right with me. It didn’t highlight a little known historical event, which is what I want my writing to be known for. So I went back to my research books and dug around until I stumbled upon Negro Fort and the devastation that happened there. By the end of that day, the Lord had given me the plot for Warring Spirits.

2) What kind of research is involved in writing historical novels?
Massive amounts!! I have an entire book shelf full of research books. I’ve been researching ancient Creek Country (part of present-day Alabama and Georgia) for the last decade and there’s still so much to discover.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I’m dyslexic and because it was so difficult, hated reading until I was about 12.
If I didn’t have a computer, I wouldn’t write. My handwriting and spelling is that bad.
I can solve a rubix cube. Takes me ten minutes, but I can do it!

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
At this exact moment? Nothing. With two books having released in November, I’m focusing on marketing, but come January, I’m going to pick back up with a novel I’m co-writing with writer Michelle Massaro. Can’t wait to jump back into it!

5) Parting comments?
It’s always a pleasure to be featured here. Thank you for the opportunity to chat about my novels!

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
Readers can learn more about my books on my website and blog. I love to interact on Facebook!
http://www.aprilgardner.com/
http://www.aprilwgardner.com/

"Angels in Cowboy Boots" by Sunny Eads

Guest post by April W Gardner

Meet previous Clash of the Titles gladiator, Sunny (SQ) Eads. She is the author of Angel in Cowboy Boots.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Two years ago Sarah Bentley lost everything except her faith and it teeters in sync with her hesitant steps. Now a chance encounter with four-year-old Matt and his uncle, Dave McKeever, brings hope for the future with a job, a wonderful new place to live, and...dare she dream?...love. Active outdoors man, Dave McKeever, battles the instant attraction between them believing God can't possibly want him to marry a woman held together by titanium joints and steel rods when he needs a capable, athletic mate. Though God's love brings them up out of the valley of pain and death, can they trust Him not to thrust them there again?

ABOUT SUNNY:

Sunny (SQ) Eads, an award winning author, was born and raised in southern Arizona. She received her higher education at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona and flew several years with American Airlines. Her love of Arizona and the mountains surrounding the state are evident in all of her novels thus far. Sunny has lived in Arizona, New York, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Texas. Inspiration for her characters comes from the hero she married, her two lovely daughters and especially her six wonderful grandchildren.


Sunny, how long have you been writing?

SQ Eads is my pen name, I've been writing for over twenty years.


What do you love about writing in general, and about this book in particular?

I love writing because, unlike life, I can guarantee a happy ending. God seems to plant an idea in my mind, then He lets me run with it and develop the story. In the end, Jesus is the answer to all my characters' problems.

In Angels In Cowboy Boots, Matt, the four-year-old boy, holds a special place in my heart; he's a blend of my five grandsons. Sarah is far from Dave's idea of a perfect mate, but God repairs the broken and makes it ideal.

How did you arrive at this particular back cover blurb? Was it you or your publisher or a group effort?

I created the blurb.  I wanted the reader to see how all things are possible with God. In Angels In Cowboy Boots, God takes a broken life and a misguided one, intertwines the two, and creates a deeply loving couple to parent an orphaned boy.

What do you do first when you’re browsing in a book store? Back cover, front, cover, inside, first few pages? What usually entices you to buy a book by an author new to you?

When browsing in a book store, my first step is to look at the title then read the back blurb. My decision to purchase comes from that information. It hooks me or it doesn't.

Thanks, Sunny!

In her giveaway, Sunny is offering her drawing winner the choice of paperback, Nook, or Kindle.

--April W. Gardner is the Sr. Editor at the literary site, Clash of the Titles. 

                                            She is also the author of the best-selling novel, Wounded Spirits.

" A Stray Drop of Blood" by Roseanna White

Guest post by April W. Gardner

Meet recent Clash of the Titles Champion, Roseanna White. She is the author of A Stray Drop of Blood, which by the way has one of my all time favorite tag lines: Beautiful is a dangerous thing to be when one is unprotected

ABOUT THE BOOK:

For seven years, Abigail has been a slave in the Visibullis house. With a Hebrew mistress and a Roman master, she has always been more family than servant . . . until their son returns to Jerusalem after his years in Rome. Within a few months Jason has taken her to his bed and turned her world upside down. Maybe, given time, she can come to love him as he says he loves her. But how does she open her heart to the man who ruined her?

Israel's unrest finds a home in her bosom, but their rebellion tears apart her world. Death descends with Barabbas's sword, and Abigail is determined to be there when the criminal is punished. But when she ventures to the trail, Barabbas is not the one the crowd calls to crucify. Instead, it is the teacher her master and Jason had begun to follow, the man from Nazareth that some call the Son of God . . .

ABOUT ROSEANNA:

Roseanna M. White is the editor of Christian Review of Books. She makes her home in the mountains of Western Maryland with her husband, two small children, and the colony of dust bunnies living under her couch.

Welcome, Roseanna! Have you learned anything new about God's character through this book?
Oh my, yes. As I rewrote this book a couple years ago for its paperback release, I realized that one of the most beautiful aspects of God’s nature that the story highlights is how He surprises us by meeting us in unexpected places. In Stray Drop, Abigail goes to Jesus’ trial hungry for revenge, and instead runs smack into the Lord’s forgiveness. She’s never the same, and I wasn’t the same after writing it.

What does your process look like? Are you a Plotter or a Pantser?
Both. ;-) When I’ve got an idea for a book, it’s usually about 70% complete within 24 hours. I’ll write the first three chapters, then a synopsis. I’ll pants my way through the first half of the book, sticking to my loose outline (mostly) but with plenty of freedom. By the second half of the book, though, I’ll have already figured out what scenes need to finish it out, so I’ll jot down a more detailed outline so I don’t forget them and can pinpoint any holes that need filled in before I hit my climax.

Of course, Stray Drop was so long that I went through this process twice—the crucifixion scene being my first “climax,” then the actual ending my second one. Beginning the second half of the book was like starting a sequel in a lot of ways, though I couldn’t conceive of actually ending it after that first “climax.” (Quotes on purpose, since it’s not the real climax, LOL.)

When's your favorite time to write?
It used to be early morning, but that was before my kids started waking up at 6 rather than 8. (boy do I hear ya) Most of my writing time ends up being during my son’s naptime, but my favorite times are still those times of quiet and semi-darkness, when I can sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, some treasured silence, and no interruptions—early morning or after the kids are in bed, when hubby’s occupied with a hockey game. ;-)

Thanks, Roseanna!

--April W. Gardner is the Sr. Editor at the literary site, Clash of the Titles. 

She is also the author of the best-selling novel, Wounded Spirits.

April Gardner's "Wounded Spirits"

We're happy to have April Gardner with us today talking about her book Wounded Spirits. To learn more about April and her book, read on!

Title: Wounded Spirits
Publisher: Vinspire Publishing, 2010

Cover blurb:On the frontier, Adela McGirth’s life is simple, rugged, and exactly to her liking. Her greatest concern is whether to marry the settlement’s most eligible young officer. When a distant war among the Natives spills over into a nearby skirmish, life takes a perilous turn. Deep in enemy territory Adela must choose between the man she loves and a baby that has yet to be born.
A peace-loving yet loyal Creek warrior, Totka is forced to align with the extremist Red Stick faction whose purpose is to eradicate the Whites from Creek soil. In the midst of battle, Totka is assigned to protect those he is expected to hate–and kill. Life was simpler before his enemy became a beautiful face with a quiet strength and dignity he cannot resist.

1) How did this story come to you?
I came across the lives of the Creek Indians and the McGirths on the pages of history books and felt a burning need to know these people better, to understand how they might have reacted and dealt with the circumstances thrust upon them. There’s a certain mysterious and regal quality to our country’s Natives that lures me. They had nearly perfected the true sense of community, selflessness, and passion. I just needed to live in their moccasins for a while.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
I broke my “writing teeth” on book reviews six years ago. Writing and publishing reviews gave me the confidence I needed to put the story of my heart onto paper. But it was a single book review that prompted my relationship with Vinspire, my publishing house. Vinspire author Suzanne Woods Fisher thanked me for a review I’d written of her first book Copper Star (great book, by the way!). For some reason still unknown to me (besides the obvious—that she’s a super-cool gal) she took it upon herself to encourage me to submit my writing to Vinspire. Without her belief in me, I never would have had the confidence to do it. Thanks, Suzanne!

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I backed into my husband’s car, crunching the bumpers of both vehicles. Twice. In three months.
I’m a self-proclaimed ditz. (Why deny the obvious, right?)
I collect antiquarian books.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I’m currently writing Warring Spirits, book two in the Creek Country Saga. Here’s a sneak peak at the working back cover blurb:
In 1816 Georgia, a fort controlled by runaways looms over the white population, threatening everything they hold dear. But to Milly—neither white nor black—it is a refuge. Major Phillip Bailey has orders to subdue the uprising at any cost, but a devastating event drives the price higher than they expected to pay. Neither imagines that where blood is split unexpected love can bloom.

5) Parting comments?
Thanks for having me today! I’m honored to have Wounded Spirits counted among the many wonderful books that have passed through your literary halls.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
www.aprilgardner.com
http://www.facebook.com/#!/april.gardner1