Giveaway and Interview with Jill Chapman!

 Hi, guys! V. Joy Palmer here! Since we are all friends here, you guys can call me Joy. ;-) And one of my favorite things to do is talk with my friends at coffee shops then head to the bookstores. Yes, plural. After all, books and yummy drinks are the perfect combination! So consider this our virtual coffee shop. I'll wait a second for you to get your warm drink and a fuzzy blanket before we chat with today's guest. <3

Today we are going to pry into the private life of CHAT with Jill Chapman, author of Seaside SOS!

Jill resides in southern Indiana with her husband of forty-six years. They enjoy their country lifestyle and visiting with their children and grandchildren. She is an avid movie watcher, loves Mexican food, and paints watercolors. Most days, you’ll find her in her studio working on her next adventure story or crafting new projects.

Jill’s interest in books began in childhood when reading provided a wonderful outlet for her wild imagination. She loves to tell stories about her life experiences with humor mixed in to convey the sense of adventure she feels every day. Jill says her life is like a good plate of nachos, with a tiny kick of spice and a whole lotta cheese.

Connect with Jill on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter)!

Interview ~

This may be the most important question I ask -- no pressure or anything, LOL! 

*drum roll*

What are you drinking in our virtual coffee house? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Something else altogether?

Don’t hate me, but I’m not a coffee drinker. I love extra spicy chia tea, iced or hot. I’ve also began drinking green tea lately. It’s okay, but extra spicy chia tea in the morning is amazing.

Spicy chia tea is loved here! If you could order anything in the world to eat (we can dream, can't we?), what would it be?

Last year, while on vacation, we ate in a Bolivian restaurant in Fort Walton, Florida. It was amazing! We spoke with the owner. He was so passionate about feeding Americans his special dishes from his country. It was fun to see a young man excited about his culture. I expected the food to be spicy, but it had a delicate flavor. I’d eat from his restaurant again in a heartbeat!

That sounds awesome! Where is your favorite place to write, and why is that your favorite place?

I arranged a room in our house to be my studio. Most days, I’m at my desk in the studio, researching and writing. When I struggle to put a sentence together, I can go to my art table and create something there.

What a wonderful space to create! Do you have an odd habit that is only explained by your bookish, writer tendencies? Safe space. ;-)

I would say my CONSTANT internal monologue. I may be in the room with you, but in my mind, I may be in the woods being chased by a bobcat!

This is the way. What inspired you to write Seaside SOS? 

The Bomb Squad series revolves around the adventures of a boy named Bryan and his three friends. My girls loved to go to the beach when they were growing up, so I decided to have the boys solve a mystery on the beach. When they suspect sea turtle eggs are in danger, the boys must save them. Since sea turtles and ocean life can be so vulnerable, this was a way to have children see ways they can help with conservation.

Love that! What led you to write in this genre?

My desire is to create family-friendly stories filled with adventure for children. When I was teaching, some students longed for friendships but didn’t know how to be friends or develop friendships. Children learn from fictional stories in many ways, so I wrote a story about four boys navigating friendship and mysteries together. My stories have settled in middle grade, although I have plans to publish a YA mystery as well.

That's awesome! What message do you hope to convey to your readers?

Friendship with the element of loyalty is challenging for children today. I want to give children an example of how to be a good friend. My stories aren’t preachy, but they do contain Christian concepts and how the boys struggle with them at times.

It's so important! Can you tell us a little about your next project(s)?

Holiday Havoc is the next adventure with the Bomb Squad. In this adventure, the boys must help prepare a Christmas float for a parade, solve a mystery of stolen presents for a children’s event, and help care for a new pet. All of this while navigating a blizzard. 

Tell Yourself is another project very close to my heart. This testimony/journal book will include personal testimonies from my life while providing space for readers to journal about their own lives. It will encourage people to see how God works in our lives in extraordinary ways.

      Those sound great! Do you have a favorite Bible verse or story that inspires you on a soul level? 

There are so many verses that speak to me and have been favorites over the years. Philippians 4:11 has been my life verse for a long time now.  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Life is a challenge for all of us at times. To walk faithfully, we must learn to be content in the knowledge that Jesus knows where we are, and he’ll take care of us. I’ve struggled with feeling out of place or out of touch. This verse helps me remember to be content in where God has me.

So true! What are you currently reading? Inquiring minds -- mine! -- want to know. ;-)

A book way out of my comfort zone! City of End by Katelyn Pfeiffer is a futuristic fantasy about a young woman who must save her city from an evil that is waging a war on humanity. It’s been an exciting read so far, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

That sounds exciting! Thanks for answering all of my prying questions, Jill!

Check out Jill's books and a giveaway opportunity! 

Books ~

Bryan and his three friends hop on a plane to Florida for a fun-filled seaside vacation with their families. The Squad arrives with high hopes for a thrilling time on the beach. In typical Squad fashion, things don’t go as planned. Max runs away from his dogsitter back home, Tim tells them he might leave the Squad, and the boys see mysterious lights on the beach.

Before jumping into the waves, the Squad meets a new friend beside a sea turtle’s nest near their condo. Ava tells them her suspicions about egg pirates prowling the beach at night. Together, they visit a Sea Turtle Rescue to learn more about the dangers these creatures face in the ocean and on the beach. When they decide to help Ava guard the nest, the Bomb Squad finds themselves in troubled waters again!

Will Max be found and brought home before he gets hurt? Is Tim really going to leave the Squad? Can the boys join forces with their new friend to save the eggs?

Learn More!

Learn More!

Giveaway Rules, Info, and Such ~

The author is giving away a copy of Seaside SOS!

This giveaway will close on 3/20/25 at 12:00 A.M. for all the night owls.

A winner will be drawn within four days of close of giveaway. The winner must respond to our e-mails within one week of notification, or their prize will be forfeit. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Enter via the handy Rafflecopter link below. May the odds be ever in your favor. ;-)

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!

See you next time, and God bless you guys!!!

Hugs!

~V. Joy Palmer

V. Joy Palmer loves to write romantic and comedic stories that proclaim God’s deep love for us. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and an avid blogger. In her spare time, Joy loves to sing (especially Disney songs), drink large quantities of coffee, and create aesthetic content for Bookstagram. When Joy isn’t fighting with fictional people, she’s hanging out with her husband and their adorable daughters. Connect with Joy via www.vjoypalmer.com!

Connect with Joy on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Amazon Author Page!

Victoria Kimble Interview and GIVEAWAY!

Happy summer, Diamond Mine readers! Have I got a treat for you today. Victoria Kimble is on the blog to talk about her latest Middle Grade series, The Choir Girls. 

Filled with realistic middle school drama and a solid message, this series is perfect for tweens and teens. It's also great for parents to read who are not always aware what happens in middle school among girl friends. My daughter who is eleven thoroughly enjoyed all three available books! Can't wait for the fourth one to be released. AND...Victoria is giving away a copy of Harmony Blues to a lucky commenter! Details for the giveaway after the interview.

First, here's a bit about the books.

Summer McKidd is a bright, compassionate 7th grader. She has a good group of friends, which can be a hard feat for someone in junior high. She and her friends love to sing in their choir at school, and this is where her trouble begins. At the fall concert, her friends drag her into a mean prank and Summer is soon sentenced to nursery duty at church. When she walks into the nursery, she sees that the victim of their prank is also a volunteer. Summer begins a friendship with this girl but soon sees that she will have to choose between her group of friends and her new friend. Can Summer do what is right and keep her friends?

Sports families do not understand art, so Maddie is going to have to lie.

Maddie Ryland is an amazing volleyball player. She fits right in with her sport-centered family. But when Maddie is invited to join the Aspen Junior High Art Club, her secret dream of painting looks like it can become reality. The only problem is her parents want her to play club volleyball at the rec center. So Maddie tells her parents that her school has a club team, and she’d rather join that. Only there is no club team at the school. Maddie’s lie about the volleyball team starts an avalanche of other lies she has to tell in order to keep her spot in the art club. It’s only a matter of time until Maddie’s lies catch up with her. What will her parents say?

Brittany’s painting was chosen to be featured at the Colorado state capitol building over Christmas, and her best friend Cammie is not happy about it. In fact, Cammie becomes downright mean to Brittany. Then Cammie becomes impossible when Brittany accepts some help from Cammie’s enemy, Pilar. Brittany even finds herself as a victim of some of Cammie’s mean pranks. Not only did Brittany lose her best friend, but she has to decide whether or not to forgive Cammie when Cammie isn’t even sorry.

AMAZON LINKS FOR THE SERIES:

Soprano Trouble
Alto Secrets
Harmony Blues

THE INTERVIEW:

So glad you sat down with us today, Victoria! Let’s get started. First off, what inspired you to write middle grade fiction, specifically middle school girls?

Middle school is burned into my memory. There are a lot of things I’ve forgotten about my childhood, but I remember middle school vividly. So my heart goes out to every single kid who is entering the murky waters of seventh grade, especially the girls. I was not a popular kid during those years, so I spent a lot of time reading. Those books shaped much of my thoughts and beliefs about life. Because of that, I’ve always wanted to write stories for those kids who are deep in the trenches of middle school themselves. 

I too remember middle school well. You’ve done a fantastic job of recreating that time for me. Where did you get your ideas? Did you have any of the experiences of your characters?

I’m sure my ideas are just a product of my overactive imagination. I was in orchestra in seventh grade, then in choir from eighth grade through college, so that provided the perfect base for these stories. I loved that part of my life, from the music to the natural camaraderie that forms within a choir. I also was very involved in my church and in youth group, just like Summer in Soprano Trouble. But that’s where the similarities in my experiences end.

You were able to portray the feelings of middle schoolers so well—those hard ones that never seem to change. Were you like any of your characters in middles school? Or who do you most identify with?

I identify most with Summer. I’m the middle child with two sisters, just like her, so much of her opinions about her sisters are ones that I had back then. I also identify with her struggle to do the right thing, and especially not being very sure what the right thing is. When it comes to Maddie, I connect with her desire to be known and liked for who she really is, not for who people think she is.

Cammie is a big player in the first three books. Will we see her story in book 4?

Yes, you will! Poor Cammie. I hope you’ll get to see a bit of why she is the way she is, and I hope you enjoy the journey that she takes in that story.

I wasn’t much of a reader in middle school. Thank goodness I found that joy later. Did you read in middle school? If so, what was your favorite book?

I have always been a bookworm. When I was in middle school I spent hours and hours with The Babysitters Club series. My dad had enrolled me in a BSC book of the month club, and every month I got a package with three books. I read them over and over. In fact, when I was in ninth grade my English teacher had to tell my parents to forbid me from reading them for a while just so I could expand my horizons. I moved on from those to the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn. And other things, of course. My teacher was right. I needed to expand my reading pool.

Ah, The Babysitter’s Club. Great stories.

What would you say is your favorite Bible verse?

James 4:7 – “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I feel like this makes things simple, when life seems complicated. It reminds me to go back to the Bible to see what God says about life, and submit to that. 

Love that verse and your words. Writing is challenging enough. What is the hardest thing about writing middle grade fiction?

The hardest thing about writing middle grade fiction is balancing the fun with the theme. I don’t want the stories to be heavy, but I also want kids to connect with them. I pray all the time, that God helps me with that balance as He inspires me to write the stories.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

A writing career is a marathon, not a sprint. If you desire to write, you should start now. They say it takes ten years to become an overnight success, so just start and keep going, especially when you don’t see any success right away. I always think of it as planting seed that will hopefully grow in the next five or ten years. If you have that mindset, then it’s easier to keep working during the long dry spells of not seeing any fruits of your labor. It’ll come, if you keep at it.

Thanks so much for being a part of the blog today and sharing your stories. Excited to read the conclusion to this fun series!


AUTHOR BIO:

Victoria is the author of The Choir Girls series. She is a wife, a mom to three girls, a full-fledged homebody, a so-so housekeeper, a mediocre musician and has dreamed of writing her whole life. She lives at the foot of the Rockies in Littleton, Colorado and she will never take that for granted. She loves French fries, superhero TV shows and movies, and cats. She could probably love the beach if she ever spent any time there. She blogs about her stories and writing at www.victoriakimble.com.

GIVEAWAY:

All you have to do is leave a comment on the blog for a chance to win! If there are at least three people who comment, we'll be picking a random winner to receive a copy of Harmony Blues. Good luck!