Interview with Pamela Thibodeaux

Recently, I interviewed author Pamela Thibodeaux.

What is your favorite theme to write about?

The themes of forgiveness and redemption run throughout all of my stories. I believe God is a god of 2^nd chances and we all deserve one. Some of us require more than one 2^nd chance. I also believe forgiveness is at the heart of redemption. Even if that means forgiving ourselves. I also love sharing my faith and beliefs through the eyes and hearts of my characters.

What are your hobbies (besides writing)?

Walking, swimming, horseback riding, hiking camping, travelling….I love the outdoors! But my favorite hobby is READING. I love to peruse and mine non-fiction books for nuggets of wisdom, healing and spiritual growth. Sometimes I read romance for pleasure, but I’m seldom without a book.

How many books have you written?

To date I have fourteen novels/novellas/novelettes and 2 non-fiction books written and published and several WIP’s.

If you had unlimited funds and free time, where would you choose to travel?

Ireland is by far my #1 destination to visit one day. I’d also love to go to Rome to visit the Vatican and historical churches and Jerusalem to walk the paths of Jesus.

Author bio: Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”

Links:

Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com  

Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/psthibnewsletter

Face Book: http://facebook.com/pamelasthibodeaux

Twitter: http://twitter.com/psthib @psthib

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/pamelasthibodea/

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1jUVcdU

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/pamela-s-thibodeaux

Title: In His Sight

Blurb: Grade school teacher Carson Alexander has a gift—a gift that has driven a wedge between him and his family. Worse, it’s put him at odds with God. Feeling alone and misunderstood, Carson views God’s gift of prophecy as the worst kind of curse…that is until he meets Lorelei Conner, landscape artist extraordinaire, and perhaps the one person who may need Carson and his gift more than anyone ever has.  

Lorelei Connor is a mother on the run. Her abusive ex-husband has followed her all over the country trying to steal their daughter. Distrusting of men and needing to keep on the move, she’s surprised by her desire to remain close to Carson Alexander. Through her fear and hesitation, she must learn to rely on God to guide her—not an easy task when He’s prompting her to trust a man.

Can their relationship withstand the tragedy lurking on the horizon?

Excerpt: Carson Alexander walked through his classroom and tugged desks into a semi circle around the dry eraser board. One thing he loved about teaching sixth-grade English at Stars Crossing Middle School was that the classes were so small. With no more than fifteen students at a time he could work closely with each one and give them the attention they needed and deserved. Another thing he appreciated was the lack of standard or strict curriculum. As long as the children passed the exams set forth by the Department of Education, he could teach as he pleased.

So far, his kids excelled, maintaining some of the highest scores in the entire school. Pride filled his soul and caused his heart to swell, chest to puff out.

Pride cometh before the fall.

The Voice echoed in his mind, ricocheted through his soul. He shrugged off the warning, walked to his desk and picked up the name tags for each incoming student. He thumbed through the stack, pondered each one and wondered about the child attached to the name….Jenny & Jerry Smith – twins or un-related? One name struck him hard, sent unnamed emotion curling through his system – Laurel Connor.

He hadn’t heard the name Laurel in years and then, used only as a surname or when referring to the small town in Mississippi from whence he came. He moved to Stars Crossing, Tennessee five years ago for two reasons. One, the teaching position and two, the town though smaller, reminded him of home.

Memories crashed through the floodgates he’d built around his heart…..the huge two-story house and two-hundred acre farm where he grew up. His seven siblings, parents who adored him – their eldest son, and the pain of losing everything he held near and dear to his heart.

Tears threatened. His vision blurred, hands began to shake. Carson swallowed the lump in his throat, put the stack down, and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his slacks. Adrenaline pumped through him, caused his pulse to skitter and jump. Saliva pooled in his mouth. By sheer force he willed his emotions under control. The bell rang and he turned to greet the children who rushed into the room. He watched as one-by-one they filed in and took a seat.

Purchase Links:

Kindle http://amzn.to/1vJFzHM

Pelican Book Group http://pelink.us/18aucLC

Interview with LoRee Peery

Recently, I interviewed author LoRee Peery. 

How long have you been writing?

My writing journey began thirty-plus years ago. It all started while traveling I-80 in the mid-eighties. I slapped a magazine on my lap, and said, “I could write better than this.”

My husband challenged, “Why don’t you?”

During the week, we spend hours on end without talking much in the daytime. I’ve never asked if he regrets having asked me that question.

Your stories often include reunion. How many books have you written, and why is reunion an important theme to you?

This is a two-fold question. Including novellas, I’ve written The End seventeen times. (There were a lot of years I did other things instead of writing.)

As for the reunion aspect, maybe it’s the idea of unfinished business. Even if the end is hurtful, I like things wrapped up rather than left unresolved. I’ve had failed friendships and relatives that have made promises they never kept. But the big cloud that hovers over my family has to do with my father’s unsolved homicide. From a human standpoint, it’s just not right. From God’s point of view, no answer is His answer. For now, anyway.

On your blog, you describe Nebraskan farm life in the 50s and 60s. You mention a game called Fox and Geese. How is this played?

Fox and geese is a game of tag played in the snow. A huge circle is tracked in the snow with a center, or hub. Then you make snow tracks of eight triangular pieces to form a pie. The fox is “it” and chases after the “geese,” who try to out run the fox. If a person is tagged by the fox, he or she becomes the fox. If anyone goes outside the original path or line, that person becomes the fox while the geese run. It’s a terrific form of exercise and a way to keep warm on frigid winter days.

You've written a story based on your father's unsolved homicide. What is the title? Tell me more about it.

Touches of Time is a fictionalized account of the incident. I tried to write about the case and how it affected me, as well as my obsessive frustration, over and over. Earlier versions of the story were called Unfinished Business, Ultimate Answer, The Touch of Time, Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow. I titled a couple smaller pieces “Murder on a Country Road,” and “The Hidden Will be Revealed.”

In Touches of Time, Sarah Bishop embarks on a journey her mother Lena began, to discover who killed Sarah’s grandfather. She seeks a whodunit answer for her unborn child and the whole family. She’s troubled by what she does, and does not find, but determined to keep searching for answers.

Cold-case Investigator Ford Melcher officially meets Sarah at a barbeque sponsored by a church grief support group. She reveals the time and location of an unsolved crime. He wonders if there’s a link between that old incident and his current case.

Sarah and Ford fall in love as they go through documents and journals Lena left behind. I solved the case through fiction. By doing so, the Lord blessed me with a peaceful heart concerning the matter.

Blurb:

A decades-old unsolved homicide.

A grieving single mother-to-be.

A cold-case investigator.

Sarah Bishop goes through her deceased mother’s belongings and becomes immersed in the details of her grandfather’s unsolved homicide. Determined to find who was responsible, for the sake of her unborn baby, Sarah vows to seek out the answers her mother had failed to find.

Cold Case Investigator Ford Melcher is intrigued by Sarah’s dogged drive to solve the old mystery. His current case has reached a frustrating dead end, but he comes to believe it is somehow linked to Sarah’s quest. His desire to protect her from further hurt is put to the test, especially when he has secrets he’d rather not disclose.

Answers could remain elusive as to who struck Sarah’s grandfather and left him in a ditch. Will the search for those answers open doors for her to discover the life God planned? Can she accept that plan if it includes a man who wasn’t forthright with information?

Bio:

Christian romance author LoRee Peery writes to feel alive, as a way of contributing, and to pass forward the hope of rescue from sin. She writes of redeeming grace with a sense of place. LoRee clings to I John 5:4 and prays her family sees that faith. She has authored the Frivolities Series and other e-books. Her desire for readers, the same as for her characters, is to discover where they fit in this life journey to best work out the Lord’s life plan. She is who she is by the grace of God: Christian, country girl, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend, and author. She’s been a reader since before kindergarten. Connect with LoRee through these links: www.loreepeery.com

Pelican http://tinyurl.com/kwz9enk

https://twitter.com/LoreePeery

https://www.facebook.com/LoReePeery

Interview with Kristen Joy Wilks

Recently I interviewed Kristen Joy Wilks.

If you had unlimited time and money, where would you travel? 

If I had unlimited time and money ... I would want to go to either Chichen Itza on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, the ruins of Nineveh in Mosul Iraq, or to Ireland for a long castle tour. The first two locations were researched for books and the last just sounds so fun. Way back in the day, my family came to the U.S. from Ireland so it would be special to see that area. 

How many books have you written? 

I have written twelve books, but only three of them are published with one more due to be published in June of this year. The first book that was published was my fourth manuscript. I learned a lot writing those first three and it showed in that fourth story. 

What is your favorite book of the Bible? 

As far as my favorite book of the Bible, I love the book of Job. When I set out to start reading the Bible as a girl, I asked my mom where to start and she said "Anywhere, but Job. What about John." I immediately rushed out to read the book of Job. It is a long and difficult book but holds such depth for times of hurt and confusion. Does God still care when everything is going wrong? The book of Job is actually in epic poem that addresses this question. Like Job, I have found comfort in the knowledge that God is creative and powerful, we do not know all of the story of what is going on around us, and that God does indeed love us. 

Trailer for Athens Ambuscade: https://youtu.be/8pxgdimJrNI 

Blurb for Athens Ambuscade: 

What happens when a strapped-for-cash bridal designer needs a stuffed animal...and fast? Up-and-coming bridal designer, Jacqueline Gianakos must fly a Montana taxidermist to Greece in order to stuff her Grandmother’s cat. If Chrysanthemum isn’t preserved within two days' time, Jacqueline will lose the home that was her childhood sanctuary. But will she survive the next 48 hours when the taxidermist ignores her pointed request and then shows up wearing flannel?

Other books By Kristen Joy Wilks: