AN INTERVIEW WITH WENDY WILSON SPOONER ~ Once Upon an Irish Summer ~ Giveaway

Please welcome special guest

 Wendy Wilson Spooner who has 

graciously consented to an 

interview -- and a look at her debut 

novel Once Upon an Irish Summer.

AND...there's a giveaway, too!

Welcome Wendy! Thanks so much for spending some time with us and letting us learn more about you and your writing! 

Are you ready?

How long have you been writing?

I’ve kept a journal since I was thirteen years old. That’s when I began consistently writing. As an adult—and in my career as a professional Genetic Genealogist—I’ve written many professional articles and I’ve dabbled in poetry. I love to write. Period.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how did/do you overcome it?

TIME. Finding the time to write is difficult. One thing I’ve recently implemented that works perfectly is doing writing sprints each evening with a group I belong to. We usually start at 9 or 10 pm by gathering in a Facebook Messenger group, then we sprint for 20 minutes, take a five-minute break, and repeat three times. Even if I’ve already written for several hours during the day, I’ll often still do sprints at night because it’s become a habit. And it’s very productive!

Besides writing, what other hobbies do you enjoy?  

I love so many things in life and the many opportunities this big beautiful planet has to offer that I sometimes have a hard time choosing. But my doable, go-to favorites are:

• ·       Painting. I’ve explored and love to paint in multiple mediums
• ·       Music. I'm a former piano teacher and it’s utter and complete therapy for me to just sit at the piano and play
• ·       Movies. I'm an insane movie buff and I’ve seen pretty much everything
• ·       Travel. Anywhere, anytime! From exotic countries to camping in the remotest of areas, I love to explore ghost towns, historic sites, museums, libraries, parks, rollercoasters, you name it!

If you could travel to any time or place, where/when would it be? Why?

I would travel back in time to Calcutta (now Kolkata), in India. My 4^th great grandfather was a Colonel in the British army and he lived in India with his family in the late 1700s to the early 1800s. He sent his daughter to Ireland to live with his sister—her aunt—to gain an education at his sister’s estate. This true story in my family is similar to that of the Secret Garden. I’ve traveled India three times already, but I’ve never been to Kalkatta. This trip is at the top of my bucket list because there is much that remains from the British Inidia time period all over India!

Let's talk about your book:

Title: Once Upon an Irish Summer

Author: Wendy Wilson Spooner

Publisher: Ambassador International

Release Date: April 3^rd 

Genre: YA/crossover historical fiction romance

Series/Stand-Alone: The first in a series

Target Audience: All girls and women from 10 years old to 110

Is research something you enjoy? To what extent do you go to find answers?

I live for research. I am stopped dead in my tracks by old photographs, historical buildings, yellowed letters, and family heirlooms. I have to know the story behind the letter, or the people in the photo, or who it was that lived in a beautiful old building. I'm utterly compelled to find out. It's like nothing else in the world matters until I know. And then I must write about the discoveries—people’s stories from the past—because every life matters. And what we learn from those who came before has the potential to completely change our futures.

What take-away value do you want readers to gain from your novel?

Emory University has released the results of a study conducted on teenagers knowing—or not knowing—their family history. The study was based on 20 questions. The results showed that kids who knew the answers to these 20 questions had a stronger sense of control over their lives, higher self-esteem, a greater belief in the successful functioning of their families, and they also proved to be more resilient to life’s challenges. So, the take-away from my book? I hope my readers feel inspired to delve into their own family trees to find the people who inspire them!

About Wendy:

My love of what we can learn from history compels me to write the true stories I unearth during research, and I've found that truth is indeed, much more exciting and inspiring than fiction!

I write about family, faith, grief, art, and overcoming obstacles in life by coming to know who we truly are—children of God, and the descendants of remarkable people who paved the way before us—even if they really struggled. I believe in learning from our ancestors, honoring them, and then standing on their shoulders to become someone even better. I know that's what they want for us. How do I know? Because that's what I want for my own descendants, and how great would it be if every generation became just a little better than the one before?

Why I turned to novel writing

As an award-winning author of professional articles and poems, I've turned to novel writing to share the true stories I discover with a greater audience. The spark of the dual-timeline story of Once Upon an Irish Summer came about while I researched an ancestor on location in Ireland. When I unearthed his story and found out why he left his homeland, and then researched his life  after he came to the United States, I knew many readers would relate to what he overcame and feel inspired to successfully work through trials in their own lives.

I wrote the present-day timeline through the eyes of a struggling teenage girl, to show readers the impact of what can happen to us when we come to know our ancestors. It can literally change us.

The study that compels me to write

Emory University has released the results of a study they conducted on teenagers knowing or not knowing their family history. It was based on 20 questions. The results showed that kids who knew the answers had a stronger sense of control over their lives, higher self-esteem, a greater belief in the successful functioning of their own families, and they proved to be more resilient to life’s challenges.

So, this is why I write. To inspire readers—especially the rising generation—to know who they come from, to learn from them, and to stand on their shoulders to become someone even better.

https://wendywilsonspooner.com/

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B084BPSQH4

https://www.facebook.com/authorWendyWilsonSpooner/?modal=admin_todo_tour

https://www.instagram.com/wendyspooner/

https://twitter.com/Wendy_W_Spooner

About the Giveaway:

Wendy is offering a gift eBook copy of Once Upon an Irish Summer to one of the readers of this blog post who leaves a domment below with name and contact information, and answers the (optional) question have you ever been to Ireland? I'd love to get a fun conversation going!.

Giveaway ends one week from today on Wednesday, April1--No fooling!--at Midnight O'Clock CDT. 

OH!! If you're not already a follower of this blog (see sidebar) please consider becoming one, mention it in your comment, and you'll receive one extra entry in the giveawy. What a deal, huh?

 A "two-for-one!"

Thanks, Wendy, for being my guest this week!