Hello, everyone! I have a
special guest this week…Danele Rotharmel. I know you’re going to love her as much as I
do.
I remember the day I met
Danele. We joked around and chatted on Facebook and before we knew it, an hour
had disappeared. It was like I’d found a long lost sister. She has a contagious
sense of humor. You can literally feel her love for life the second she opens
her mouth! Without further ado, let me introduce you to Prism’s Danele Rotharmel.
Renee: Hi, Danele, welcome to the Diamond Mine. I’m so
excited that you’re here. Time Tsunami,
your debut novel, is an awesome book! Congratulations on its outstanding
success. What’s so unique or special about it…from your point of view?
Danele: When I wrote Time Tsunami, I wasn’t seeking
publication. I was writing to distract myself from physical pain. I was
extremely ill and in the middle of a seven-year period of quarantine. I needed
a way to entertain myself—so I wrote. I would laugh like crazy over my funny
scenes, and shiver when I wrote my scary ones. I lived Time Tsunami with my characters,
and when I was through, I’d written a book that made me proud. Time Tsunami is
a “clean” book that focuses on beautiful themes like self-sacrifice, love, and
friendship. It’s a story about overcoming the odds. I’d like to think that my
book has something for everyone. It’s full of suspense, romance, and humor.
There are plot twists to keep you guessing, action to keep you on the edge of
your seat, religious discussions to make you think, and funny scenes to make
you laugh. Throw in a few time travel twists, and you have a unique book that’s
designed to entertain.
Renee: What about your characters? For our writers out there…how
do you make them “real?”
Danele: When I was in quarantine, my characters were very
important to me—in a real way, they were my friends. As the long days of my
quarantine stretched, I enjoyed analyzing my characters and discovering their
strengths and weaknesses. I worked hard to give them backstories to explain
their quirks and behavior. I came to love my characters, and I treated them
with respect. I let them evolve and grow. Just like real people, my characters
have victories, but they also have failures—and it’s how they handle their
failures that determines the caliber of their personalities.
Renee: Is writing easy or hard for you, Danele? What about
editing?
Danele: For the most part, writing is easy. It’s like flying.
I love it!!! I enjoy editing too, but I’m such a perfectionist that editing my
work can take forever. Sometimes it takes me an hour to edit each page. That’s
because I read each sentence hundreds of times. I analyze the language, the
punctuation, and the flow. For me, five hours of excruciating work can mean
five complete pages. When you read my novels, you’re looking at literally
hundreds of hours of work. I want to be proud of each and every sentence. I
want to do a good job.
Renee: What’s your biggest challenge as an author?
Danele: Time. When I was in quarantine, the pace of my life
was extremely slow. The days stretched on forever. There was all the time in
the world for writing. But now that I’m starting to reclaim my life, I find
that days are zipping by so quickly that I don’t know where the hours have
gone. Sometimes I find it hard to squeeze all of my tasks into a single day—but
I suppose that’s true for everyone. There’s a talent to managing time—I’m just
a bit rusty.
Renee: I can relate to that one! I don’t know if I can help
you or not, Danele. All I can say is…get a planner, but don’t forget to make
time for God, you, your family, and rest. LOL Oh, and practice how to say the
word “no.” That’s my advice on “time.” So…now that you’re a published author,
do you have any advice for the new writer?
Danele: Pray about everything. Dedicate your work to the Lord
from the very beginning. God gave you your talent—use it to glorify Him. Never
compromise. Never write a single sentence that you would be ashamed to read
directly to Jesus.
Renee: Very good advice…even for the best-selling author.
Thank you, Danele. Let’s switch topics from writing now to something a bit more
personal. I know you’ve experienced a great deal of trial and pain in your
life. Is there a special quote or verse which comes to mind in times of need or
adversity?
Danele: I love Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through
Christ who gives me strength.” When I was in quarantine, I would quote
Philippians 4:13 as I went through each day. When I was in pain, knowing that I
could do ALL things—even survive—was important to me. A special comfort comes
when you know that Christ’s help makes everything attainable, doable,
survivable, and reachable.
Renee: Our God is an awesome God, isn’t He? I have one last
question for you. As most people know, I’m from Wyoming. I love to spend time
in this rugged but beautiful land. I call it God’s country for I experience the
glory and peace of God here in many ways. Do you have a cherished “spot?” If
so, where and why.
Danele: My cherished spot is an isolated lake behind my
house. I love strolling around it, basking in its beauty. When I was in
quarantine, the lake was my place of escape. When my “cabin fever” would become
too hard to handle, that’s where I’d go. On the shores of the lake, I’d feel
peace seeping back into my soul. I loved watching the dragonflies, and the
frogs, and the hawks. I loved hearing the wind whispering in the leaves. I
loved seeing the waves lapping against the bank. That little lake is beautiful
to me—it’s the place that epitomizes peace.
Renee: I would love to see your lake. I bet it’s absolutely
beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing your writing, your story, and your
heart with us. You are one amazing lady, and author!
Danele: Thank you so much for having me on the Diamond Mine,
Renee! I’ve really enjoyed chatting with you and your readers!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
GIVEAWAY
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
If you love Danele as
much as I do, don’t miss your chance to win a copy of her new release Time
Tsunami. But Danele is AMAZING and is giving away an AWESOME giveaway PRIZE on
the Diamond Mine!
Answer this question and
you will be entered to win this FABULOUS PRIZE!
“If you could travel back
through time, where would you go?”
(One winner will be selected by random draw from comments on 3/23/2016. Minimum of 5 comments required to validate contest. Valid entries include comment and email address.)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
GIVEAWAY
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
About the Book, Time Tsunami, The Time Counselor Chronicles Book One :
To stop a cruel serial killer, she must travel
twenty-four years into the past…
Gil Montgomery, a cadet
in the Temporal Counseling Program, can’t wait to pass her field exam and
become a professional time surfer. The TEMCO program targets death-row
offenders for time-based counseling while they’re children. For her exam, Gil will travel twenty-four
years into the past to counsel ten-year-old Danny Winston before he murders his
abusive babysitter, Rick Olsen.
Preventing the stabbing should stop the chain of events leading to
Danny’s eventual execution.
Gil’s assignment seems
simple until her adviser, Dr. William Ableman, learns that Rick is a serial
killer targeting Danny’s mother. If Gil
stays and protects the Winstons, she might not survive. William wants the woman he loves to be pulled
from the field, but if Gil fails to complete her assignment, it will unleash a
Time Tsunami and destroy the timeline.
As TEMCO undergoes an
emergency lockdown, and Gil’s fellow cadets try to figure out what’s happening,
Gil and William learn the importance of faith and the price of true love.
Everyone’s fate is resting in Gil’s hands, but does she have the strength she
needs to defeat a ruthless serial killer intent on annihilating everyone in his
path? Will she return from the deadly mission?
Time Tsunami is a
fast-moving thriller with time travel twists that keep the reader guessing
until the very last page.
Amazon:
http://amzn.to/234DFBS
Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/time-tsunami-danele-j-rotharmel/1123153640?ean=2940152530919
Prism Book Group:
http://www.prismbookgroup.com/timetsunami.html
About the Author, Danele Rotharmel:
Danele Rotharmel grew up
with a love of the literary word, and by age five, she knew she wanted to be a
writer. However, her life took an unexpected turn when a mysterious illness
brought her close to death. Eventually, she learned that a low-level carbon
monoxide leak from a faulty furnace in her home was slowly poisoning her. This
poisoning triggered severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and partial amnesia.
During this time, the
hardest thing she faced was a crisis of faith. She had to quit her job and stop
going to church. She couldn’t write, couldn’t drive, and could barely remember
who she was. To say she was upset with the Lord was an understatement. She began
reexamining her faith in light of her illness, and eventually, she came to the
firm conclusion that God is real, God is good, God is interested and involved,
and God is trustworthy regardless of tragedy.
When her illness became
even more severe, she was put into quarantine and could only talk to friends
and extended family through the glass of a window. This quarantine lasted for
seven years. During this time, she wrote the first six books in The Time
Counselor Chronicles.
Danele currently lives in
Colorado where she continues to write. Although her journey back to health was
long and difficult, it provided her with the opportunity to grow closer to God
and to write her books. For that, she is forever thankful.
Danele’s Blog:
https://dragonflydanele.wordpress.com/
Blog’s Welcome Page:
https://dragonflydanele.wordpress.com/welcome/
