Dawn Cahill Visits my Cozy Den

Hi, Dawn. Welcome to my COZY DEN on Whispers in Purple. So glad to have you visit. Let’s get acquainted.

Peg: What five words best describe you?

Dawn: As my mom used to tell me, I have stick-to-it-ive-ness, which I’ve found to be a very valuable trait for an author! As a child, I drove adults crazy with my incessant questions, and exasperated my parents with my tendency to run off and explore. My five words: Persistent, Curious, Exploring, sometimes Impatient, Introvert.

Peg: Tell us something few people know about you?

Dawn: I would not be alive right now if God hadn’t delivered me from alcohol addiction. I have a section on my blog devoted to substance abuse, in hopes of encouraging other strugglers. Since I came to know the Lord, He’s impressed on me the need to minister to others in the same boat. Over the years, He’s brought me opportunities to do just that, mainly through organizations like Celebrate Recovery.

Peg: If you were a book, what would the title be?

Dawn: “People-Hugging God Worshiper.” Here in the Pacific NW, we have plenty of tree-hugging earth worshipers. We need more people huggers that worship the Creator of the earth.

Peg: What have you learned recently about yourself and how has it affected your writing?

Dawn: I’ve learned that I can successfully put myself in the head of someone as unlike me as you can get. I’ve written stories from the POV of a male twenty-something aspiring rocker (see my latest release below), a drama queen (which I’m totally not), a father, and an identical twin. It’s given me more confidence to stretch myself. After all, you wouldn’t want to read a story about someone just like me. How boring would that be?

Peg: Oh, I don’t believe that for a minute!

When you’re not actively writing, what do you like to do? Hobbies, etc.

Dawn: I’m an avid hiker, and I live very close to an awesome mountain trail. I can walk to it from my house. I also sing and dance at every opportunity - even around the house, to my sons’ mortification. <grin> And I love puzzles of all kinds. One of my favorite childhood memories: sitting with my siblings around the card table on a chilly November evening, fire crackling in the fireplace, a 1500-piece jigsaw puzzle spread out in front of us, racing to see who could finish first.

Peg: I love jigsaw puzzles! What kind of books do you enjoy reading, and what are you reading now?

Dawn: I love action-packed, edgy fiction. I just finished a book by Harlan Coben, Gone For Good. But sometimes I just need a fun, light-hearted read, and will select a chick-lit book. Christian authors such as Brandilyn Collins, Frank Peretti & Ted Dekker are top-notch plot-twisters, and I aspire to write stories as compelling as theirs.

Peg: Ooh, I agree with you about Brandilyn Collins. She’s top-notch in my book.

At the last minute you learn company was coming. What kind of meal would you throw together?

Dawn: The truth? I’d run to Safeway around the corner and load up on their pre-made trays. I live alone now, so I usually only keep enough food on hand for my own needs. And after raising three constantly-hungry sons on my own, I’m a little burned out on food preparation.

Peg: I understand you’re re-releasing a book from your backlist. Tell us about it.

Dawn: When Lyric Met Limerick: Two creative souls – a songwriter and a poet - meet one day at Pike’s Place Market in Seattle. But obstacles keep popping up to stop them from being together.

I became very attached to the MCs as I wrote, because both of them love word-play, as I do, and rhymes. So they make the perfect pair!

It’s available as an e-book on Amazon. Get a sneak preview HERE

 

Peg: Where can readers find you on the Internet?

Dawn: http://dawnvcahill.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/Dawn-V-Cahill-581290478668884

AVOUT DAWN:

Dawn V. Cahill loves stories that entertain and inspire. “The characters in my stories don’t always live pretty lives…just like you and me. But God can take the messiest of stories and turn it into a happy ending.” In her Hot Topic Fiction series, she tackles current events that real people in the real world face with ever-increasing frequency. Issues without pat or easy answers.

Along with word-crunching, Ms. Cahill also crunches numbers, and can’t live without her morning frappuccino. She wrote her first story at age 5, and at age 8 heard one of her stories read on a children’s radio program. Someday she plans to finish the novel she started at age 11 called Mitch and the Martians. She has published a short story, written several newspaper articles, two Christian contemporary novels, and more limericks than she can count. Email her at dawn@dawnvcahill.com, or find her on Facebook. She is a member of Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) and American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

FOOTNOTE FROM DAWN:

I have a section on my blog called "Crumpets and Tea: Encouragement for Single Moms." It includes anecdotes from my years as a single mom, mock interviews with "Solo Mama", and interviews with real-life single parents. If any of your single-parent readers would like to share their story on my blog, they may email me: Dawn Cahill dawn@dawnvcahill.com

Thanks for that information, Dawn. I hope there are some reading this who will take advantage of this.

And, it’s been fun getting to know you!

Thanks for having me!

A Little Chat w/Darlene Franklin

Best-selling author Darlene Franklin’s greatest claim to fame is that she writes full-time from a nursing home. She lives in Oklahoma, near her son and his family, and continues her interests in playing the piano and singing, books, good fellowship, and reality TV, in addition to writing. She is an active member of Oklahoma City Christian Fiction Writers, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Christian Authors Network. She has written over fifty books and more than 250 devotionals. Her historical fiction ranges from the Revolutionary War to World War II, from Texas to Vermont.

~♦~♦~

Welcome to Whispers in Purple, Darlene. It’s great to have you here today. Let’s chat a little.

How do you start your day?

I try to have my quiet time first thing. Otherwise I get caught up in other things. Breakfast whenever it’s served (I live in a nursing home) After that, it depends on the day.

What ten words best describe you?

I asked my friends, so I wouldn’t be bragging about myself. According to them, I am encouraging, smart, creative, tenacious, kind, friendly, sweet, giving, faithful. On my best days, that’s the person I want to be.

Those are great, admirable traits, Darlene. How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing every day since 1991.

What authors have inspired or mentored you?

My original mentors were the writers I met with every other week for years: Vickie Baker, Janet Garmon, Laurel Becker, Sheila Seifert. Tamela Hancock Murray believed in me enough to be my agent. Susan Page Davis and Cynthia Hickey have been close writing partners and co-workers throughout the years. From there, I could list dozens of authors who have touched my life over the years.

What is your favorite food?

Either a rare steak or a hot caramel & fudge sundae

Yummy! I love a rare steak, too. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Hmm. Maybe traveling home to Maine from Mexico City by bus?

Yikes! I would say that definitely qualifies!

Describe your writing process.

I used to have a lengthy pre-writing process. Now I write in chunks. For the next hour, I’m writing on my big project. Break. For the next half hour, I’m editing devotionals, and then I’m posting on Facebook for half an hour and take a break. At any time I may be interrupted for a shower, to clean the room, eat a meal . . .

OKAY, let’s talk about your book.

•  Title: Gifts of Christmas
• · Publisher: Forget Me Not Romances
• · Release Date: 8/23/15
• · Genre: historical romance, novella, holiday

Tell us a little bit about it and how you came to write it.

Gifts of Christmas is a trio of three stories I had already written. An Apple for Christmas is part of the Christmas Traditions series. Lucy Ames, Sharpshooter was originally published by Barbour about a family of four sisters with significant ranching skills. And Christmas Visitors is a short story my agent encouraged me to write last year, one of my first solo-published books and which has been well received.

Give us the back cover blurb:

Enjoy Christmas from time gone by, when times were simpler and celebrations wholesome. In Gifts of Christmas, Darlene Franklin has brought us clean, sweet stories that celebrate the true meaning of the holiday and leave our hearts warm and our spirits uplifted.
Includes the novellas: An Apple for Christmas, Lucy Ames, Sharpshooter, and Christmas Visitors

Give us the buy link/s where folks can purchase it.

http://www.amazon.com/Gifts-Christmas-romantic-novellas-ebook/dp/B014DT19DA/

Where can folks find you on the Internet?

• Website/blog: http://darlenefranklinwrites.com/
• Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Darlene-Franklin/e/B001K8993A/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Poet.Darlene.Franklin
• Twitter: @darlenefranklin

~♦~♦~

Thank you so much Darlene for being my guest on Whispers in Purple. God’s Blessings on you and your writing career.

Proximate Point of View, on Writing Talk Tuesday

Proximate Point of View

Hello, my name is Paula Mowery, and I have an obsession for using point of view correctly and expertly. The authors I edit for in my role as editor for Prism Book Group can all attest to this as well as those attendees to my point of view classes at writing conferences.

Point of view can simply be defined as the character the reader is experiencing the story through at any given moment. The term, deep point of view, has been coined to represent that state at which the writer has successfully allowed the reader to sense everything the character is sensing and be pulled into that story as if he or she was that character.

I’ve coined my own term for this: Proximate Point of View.

Proximate means very near. This is exactly what I want to achieve in my stories. I want my reader to feel very near to the characters. The closer my reader can feel to my characters, the better experience they will have while traveling through my story.

What specific ways do I achieve this proximate point of view?

I make sure that I stay in only one character’s POV in each scene. No head-hopping.

I only write what my POV character can sense. For example, my character can’t see her own face turn red.

I get rid of telling words like thought and felt. There is no reason to say that my POV character thought something or felt a certain way. That’s a given in his POV. I just state what was thought or felt.

I show what happens to my POV character in order of occurrence. For example, I wouldn’t write that my character screamed after the door slammed. I write it in order. The door slammed then she screamed.

I consider exactly what my POV character would be thinking. I might include internal questions.

I try to show emotions instead of naming them. For example, stating a character is mad isn’t as effective as writing: She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

By striving to incorporate these specific areas of point of view into my writing, I’m allowing my reader to come in closer to my characters. I’m hopefully accomplishing proximate point of view.

Personally, those books I’ve read which have made an impact upon me and left me wanting more are those in which I felt very close to the characters. I sensed their pain and even cried with them. I chuckled at times. I feared for them and hoped for them. What I’ve found to be the key to those types of reading experiences is the author’s use of proximate point of view.

~♦~♦~

I'm a pastor's wife and a former homeschool Mom. I'm also a Christian writer and winner of the 2014 Selah Award in the novella category. My articles have appeared in Woman's World and in my ongoing column on http://christianonlinemagazine.com/. I also write Christian fiction. My debut novella, THE BLESSING SEER came out July 6, 2012 from Pelican Book Group. The sequel, BE THE BLESSING, released Sept. 13, 2013. I am an author and acquisitions editor with Prism Book Group. My story, Forgiven, is in the anthology, Brave New Century which released Nov. 13, 2013. This book appeared on Amazon's Top 100 Bestsellers in Religious Historical Fiction. My first solo romance released in March, Legacy and Love.

Visit Paula on her blog at: http://paulamowery.blogspot.com/

~♦~♦~

Okay, writers and readers, what books have you read recently that have had an impact on you because you've been drawn closely to the characters, leaving you wanting more? Please share in the comments section below. Thanks

[bctt tweet="What in the world is Proximate Point of view? Paula Mowery explains on #WhispersinPurple Blog. Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment."]

2014 Olympia Winner Now Available for Purchase!

COTT's 2014 Olympia winner, Reclaimed, launched in September! Author Jennifer Rodewald is pleased to put this winning title in front of readers, especially the COTT judges who fell in love with her story.

 

About the book:

Suzanna Wilton has had a heavy share of heartache in her twenty-seven years. Left wounded by a marriage cut short, she leaves city life to take up residency in a tiny Nebraska town. Her introduction to her neighbor Paul Rustin is a disaster. Assuming he’s as underhanded as the other local cowboys she’s already met, Suzanna greets him with sharp hostility.

 

Though Paul is offended by Suzanna’s unfriendliness, he can’t stop thinking about her, which unsettles his peaceful life. Intrigued by the woman who lives down the road and propelled by a sense that she carries a painful burden, he frequently drops by to offer help as she adjusts to rural living.

Just as Paul’s kindness begins to melt Suzanna’s frozen heart, a conflict regarding her land escalates in town. Even in the warmth of Paul’s love, resentment keeps a cold grip on her fragile heart.

 

Will Suzanna ever find peace?

 

PURCHASE

Amazon

 

Q: Jennifer, what message or theme do you hope readers will take with them after reading Reclaimed?

 

A: I put up a promo meme the other day on my Facebook page. This one:

 

 

One of my friends posted this response: so thankful He does.

That’s it. Right there.

I write women’s fiction with strong threads of romance, but my heart’s desire is always to point to the romance of heaven, to reflect back to the King’s heart toward his reclaimed bride. He knows every wound, small and festering or fresh and gaping, and He LOVES us. He holds out hope and healing, He waits for us to run into his arms with our heartaches. I think almost every woman’s heart longs for the love of a good man, but ultimately our thirst is for Love. Agape Love, the kind that pours out from heaven to satisfy our thirsty hearts.

 

About the author:

Jennifer Rodewald is passionate about the Word of God and the powerful vehicle of story. The draw to fiction has tugged hard on her heart since childhood, and when she began pursuing writing she set on stories that reveal the grace of God.

Jen lives and writes in a lovely speck of a town where she watches with amazement while her children grow up way too fast, gardens, and marvels at God’s mighty hand in everyday life. Four kids and her own personal superman make her home in southwestern Nebraska delightfully chaotic.

She would love to hear from you! Please visit her at authorjenrodewald.com or  www.facebook.com/authorjenrodewald.

Author Susan Page Davis: An Interview

Welcome to Whispers in Purple, Susan. Make yourself comfortable in my Cozy Den.

I’m so happy to have you here as my guest. Let’s chat awhile

List five things that you must have in your life–people not included”

Books, a cat, a sharp pair of scissors, my glasses, and comfortable clothes.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you, and how did you handle it?

As I waited for my daughter to complete the road test portion of her driver’s exam, I was telling her instructor why we had chosen him over our older child’s teacher: she had smoked in the car with the students, even though we told her that our son had asthma. Then I turned around, and guess who had accompanied another exam taker and was standing right behind me? Gulp. I think I just said, “Oh, hello,” and that was about it.

Oops!  If you could go back in time and live in another era, what would it be, and why?

I would like to live for a SHORT time in the Middle Ages. I don’t really want to stay there. This era fascinates me, but I know it was a hard time to live, especially if you weren’t rich.

Money being no object, where would be your dream writing getaway?

In the tower room of an old castle, with a fire crackling on the hearth and a servant to keep it going. Oh, and plenty of parchment and quills and ink.

Ooh, that sounds wonderful!  May I join you? What is your favorite material item you own? Why?

I am pretty attached to a watercolor painting of the house I grew up in. It’s not by a famous artist, but it reminds me of “home” and family.

What sparks your creativity when feeling drained?

Solving a code or petting a cat.

Who is your favorite author and what, if anything, have you learned by readinghis/her books?

I love Dick Francis’s mysteries. I learned from him to go deeper with the plot twists and keep the action coming.

What superpower would you like to have, and why?

I’d love to be able to write books by thinking about them. Have the thoughts I think show up on the screen without typing or saying it. But only the ones I WANT to show, of course.

Wow, wouldn’t that be grand? I’m with you!

Let’s talk about your featured book. How did you come to write it?

The Reliable Cowboy is a classic mail-order bride romance. The heroine, Isabella, is a little bit like me. She left her home and friends in Maine and ventured west. I did that, too, when I married my Oregon-born man. But ours was different in that we had met several times and gotten to know each other. We had corresponded for about four years.

Give us a peek into what it’s about.

Isabella Johnston lost her husband to the sea, and now she wants to get as far from the coast as she can. She is tired of always worrying about men on the water. When she hears about a plan to send mail-order brides from her church to Wyoming Territory, she sees it as the ideal chance to move far from the ocean. She leaves Maine to marry a cowboy, reasoning that he will be safe on the ranch. Edwin Gray is being considered for the job of ranch foreman by the owner. This job would include a small cabin, and Edwin decides to put his name on the list for a mail-order bride. Afterward, he wonders if that was a mistake. If a bride comes for him, and he doesn’t get the promotion to foreman, how can he marry her? He needs to be sure he’ll have a place for them to live. Isabella arrives, and they wait for word from the rancher. Every time Edwin is late for an engagement, she finds herself worrying. Has he had an accident, the way her first husband did? What could be horrible enough to make him late for their wedding?

Who is the publisher and what is the release date?

While I published my individual novella, the Christmas Mail-Order Angels collection is published by Forget-Me-Not Romances. It’s available now, as a solo novella (The Reliable Cowboy) or in the collection.

Where can readers purchase it?

Right now it’s a Kindle-only book, and can be borrowed or purchased here for The Reliable Cowboy: http://www.amazon.com/Reliable-Cowboy-Christmas-Mail-Order-Angels-ebook/dp/B012YLM1TK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1443641934&sr=1-1&keywords=the+reliable+cowboy

And here for the Christmas Mail-Order Angels collection: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Mail-Order-Angels-collection-ebook/dp/B015RN2J8U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1443128173&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+mail-order+angels

 

About Susan:

Susan Page Davis is the author of more than sixty published novels. A Maine native, she now lives in Kentucky. She’s a two-time winner of the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, and also a winner of the Carol Award and the Will Rogers Medallion, and a finalist in the WILLA Awards and the More Than Magic Contest. Visit her website at: www.susanpagedavis.com .

You can find Susan at the following links:

• www.susanpagedavis.com On my website, you can see all my books, sign up for my newsletter, enter a monthly drawing, and read a short story on my “Romance” tab.


• https://www.facebook.com/susanpagedavisauthor is my author page.


• www.hhhistory.com is a history blog where I post on the 23^rd of each month.


• Follow me on Twitter @SusanPageDavis

 

Thank you, Susan. It’s been fun getting to know you! Would love to have you come back again soon.