Hello, everybody! It's been quiet here, huh? Some my fault, some technical stuff beyond my control...
But please welcome multi-published author Delia Latham as she visits Whispers in Purple on a CHRISTMAS IN SUMMER blog tour, AND to answer some interview questions.
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| Notebook w/Pen |
First, though, Delia
has decided to award an eBook copy of Smoky Mountain Christmas AND a small
notebook with the cover of her book in the collection (Do You See What
I See?) to one commenter (to be chosen by random.org)
who can answer the following question in a mini-scavenger hunt. Find the answer
somewhere on her website: What do I call
my street team? Then come back here and leave your answer. (Physical prizes
available only to U.S. residents. Commenters from outside the U.S. will receive
only the eBook.)
A
grand prize will be awarded at the end of the blog tour, so be sure to follow
along and leave comments at each blog. Your comments are your entries.
Now, on with the interview. How long have you been writing, Delia?
First, I want to thank you, Peg, for hosting me on
Whispers in Purple. I’m excited about being here!
My first book was released in 2006, but I’d been
writing long before that happened. I like to say that I was born with a pencil
in my hand, but I guess that’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it? 😊 I do remember carrying a notebook,
pencils and pens with me everywhere I went, as early as maybe four or five
years old. I wrote little poems and songs, and then graduated to (very bad)
short stories. I was a staff writer for the largest daily paper in Kern County
(California) for several years, and also wrote for a regional magazine in that
same area. I finally got serious about writing the novel I’d always wanted to
write shortly after leaving the newspaper, and then I couldn’t quite seem to
stop. Maybe someday...
Maybe not.
What sparks your creative juices when
feeling drained?
It could be any number of things, but a change of
scenery works nicely. I’ll grab my laptop and go write in the local coffeehouse
or participate in a writing sprint with a friend. Sometimes I do that alone, as
well—just set a timer for 15-20 minutes and write like crazy until the buzzer
sounds. Don’t edit, don’t even think too much…just write. Writer’s retreats
don’t hurt either. It’s always rejuvenating to be around other people who do
what you do, believe in what you do, and understand all the crazy little
writer-ly things you do!
What is your typical writing day like?
I’m blessed to be able to write full-time if I choose
to, which is great…and not so great. When you know you can write any time, it’s
easier to procrastinate, and I confess, I’m bad about that. But most days, I’m
either writing, editing/critiquing or both. I also design book covers, so if I
have both an editing job and a book cover going on, my time is divided three
ways. I usually edit and/or design during the day and write at night after my
husband goes to bed. I write much more effectively after everyone else is
asleep. Interruptions pull me out of the story and sometimes it’s difficult to
emerge myself into it again, so I long ago developed the habit of writing at
night.
My guest bedroom shares space with my desk, but I
rarely write there. It’s more a place to store files and supplies and a
display area for my books and their covers. I do the lion’s share of my writing
from an oversized chair in the living room.
Is there a theme verse that holds this
story together?
The blog tour features novella included in Smoky
Mountain Christmas, a four-book collection that includes novellas by Jeanie
Smith Cash, Rose Allen McCauley, Amber Stockton and me. Each of the four books
features one of four female cousins who return to Gatlinburg, Tennessee,
unwillingly, for their grandfather’s 80th birthday. More about that a
little later.
My novella in Smoky Mountain Christmas is Do You
See What I See? —and it has two key verses:
Psalm 119:18 [NIV]—Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
Matthew 13:13 [NIV]—
This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
Here’s a blurb for Do You See What I See?
Laramie Buchanan’s fiancé betrayed her on what should have been their wedding day.
Evan
Lassiter is still trying to recover from being jilted at the altar three years
ago.
Now, with
Laramie’s beloved Granddaddy celebrating his eightieth birthday (on Christmas
Eve) she’s forced to return home to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. But even the memory
of that awful day rips her heart to shreds. How can she survive a face-to-face
meeting with the man she still loves?
Yesterday's
heartbreak blinds them both to a surprising truth that could heal their hurting
hearts. Will they see it in time to save their love?
Do you have a favorite character in your
novel(s)? If so, who, and why?
That’s a hard choice to make. I have twenty-six
published novels and novellas, plus a good many short stories and a couple of
children’s books. That’s a lot of characters, all of whom I love for one reason
or another. It’s a little like asking a mother which of her children is her
favorite.
That said, I have fallen rather deeply in love with
Angelina Love, a sweet but mysterious woman from my Paradise Pines series. Miss
Angie is so wonderfully wise and loves to spout scripture at any and every
opportunity, on any and every subject. Most of the time, the verses she quotes are
precisely what another character needs in that moment. No one ever seems
capable of being angry at her, not even those characters who are not
Christians—but then, she never comes across as “preaching” at them—that’s
simply the way she converses. She seems to know almost everything about almost
everybody, but no one knows the first thing about her.
What’s not to love about a character like that? 😊
She sounds delightful! What can we expect to see from you in the
future?
My work-in-progress is One Harvest Knight, #3
in what we (the authors) hope to be a perpetual, rolling-release collection of
books known as Grace Kitchen. All of the stories will have some connection to a
unique soup kitchen (Grace Kitchen, of course) that sits just off the town
square in Harvest, Tennessee. If everyone loves these stories as much as I do,
we’re all going to be very happy. I hope you’ll all check ’em out!
Back cover blurb Smoky
Mountain Christmas boxed set:
Claude Buchanan is turning 80. Ida Buchanan wants her
husband to have an 80th birthday he’ll never forget. His one request is for all
their children and grandchildren to be there for the party. They have four
sons, and each one has a daughter—the heroines in each of the novellas. The
cousins all share the last name of Buchanan.
All four young women left Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the
last few years—for reasons specific to each—and moved to another area or state.
For that reason, they don’t want to return for the party. But because they love
their grandparents, they do. Returning home forces each young woman to deal
with what caused her to leave in the first place, and in each case, opens the
door to true love.
Book box set purchase link:
Delia Latham bio:
Writing Heaven’s touch into earthly tales, Delia Latham puts her characters through the fire of earthly trials to bring them out victorious by the hand of God, His heavenly messengers, and good, old-fashioned love. You’ll always find a touch of the divine in her tales of sweet romance.
Delia and her husband Johnny live in East Texas, where their pampered Pomeranian, Kona, kindly allows them to share her home. The author enjoys multiple life roles as wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, but above all, she loves being a princess daughter to the King of kings. She admits to a lifelong, mostly un-battled Dr Pepper addiction, and loves hearing from her readers.
Contact this author at any of the following locations:
Thank you so much, Delia, for being my guest today! It's been a pleasure getting to know you and learn about this special Christmas boxed set. I love the premise. Many blessings...
