Family, Holidays, and Writing Journeys with Debut Author Erin Unger

This week we welcome a debut author to the Diamond Mine that you'll be seeing more of in 2019. Not only because of the books she's got releasing next year (which we'll talk a little later) but also because she's joining the Diamond Mine team!

Let's give a warm welcome to romantic suspense author Erin Unger.

Erin Unger was raised in the hills of Virginia, exploring abandoned houses and reading the scariest books she could find. After marrying so young it would make a great romance novel, she has enjoyed an exciting life with her hubby. But her fast-paced life sometimes rivals the suspense in her books thanks to all her mostly grown children and a couple grandkids. Her novel, Desolate Paths, releases January 11, 2019.

Connect online:
www.erinungerwrites.com
https://www.facebook.com/ErinUngerWrites/
 https://twitter.com/erinungerwrites

https://www.instagram.com/erinungerwrites/

Suzie: Welcome to the Diamond Mine, Erin. We are delighted you could join us for a visit.

An icebreaker is always a fun way to learn a little about a new friend, so let’s start with a game of Would you rather (I promise not to ask about eating anything disgusting)!

Would you rather win a million dollars in the lottery or never have to buy anything for yourself ever again?  

Erin: I’d rather not have to buy anything for myself. I bet that would equal tens of millions, lol.

Suzie: I agree (plus I'm not a huge fan of shopping to begin with). Would you rather be a contestant on a game show or a character in a soap opera?

Erin: A character in a soap opera would be so fun to over act.

Suzie: Would you rather sing like a diva or cook like a 5-star chef?

Erin: A 5-star chef is way more interesting. And it would make my family so happy to have all those gourmet meals every night.

Suzie: A 5-star chef would also produce something delicious. Would you rather have your own boat or your own island? 

Erin: Don’t you think an island would be such a dream come true? Then at least I could hide on it and get some writing done without a million interruptions.

Suzie: I am in complete agreement! Would you rather live a hundred years in the past or a hundred years in the future?
 
Erin: I’d go back to the past for sure. I’m dying to know all the little details of life that we can only guess about.

Suzie: Would you rather never be able to speak what’s on your mind or always speak the truth?

Erin: If I couldn’t speak what was on my mind, I think I’d go crazy!

Suzie: Ok, that was way fun! Now let’s get to some more personal questions. You have a large family. Five kids, y’all! As a single lady, I can’t even imagine! Can you share a couple of your favorite recent family moments with us?   

Erin: I’m so glad you asked Suzie. Last week, I went to visit my army son and his family in Texas. He just had a brand-new baby—my first granddaughter! I held her almost the whole time we were there. And playing with my three-year-old grandson made my year. Top all that off with seeing a bunch of iconic tourist sites and it was by far a favorite trip of all time. 


Suzie: Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, let’s talk about some of your family traditions for the holiday.

Erin:  Thanksgiving at my house is a crazy mix of family and fun. We cook for days. All my kids prepare a dish or dessert of their choice. And my whole extended family also contributes in potluck style. But I always do the turkey. We spend the whole day together, eating, doing puzzles, and playing games—and getting in a little nap too.






Suzie: Sounds like a great day of family and fun! By necessity (did I mention the five children?), you are a couponer. What advice or insight do you have for someone interested in saving money?  

Erin: I don’t coupon like I used to, but it’s a very important aspect of having a big family. The best advice I have is to always shop at stores which double every coupon. And match them to the sales in the sales ads. I’ve done it for years and saved about 65% on my grocery bill on a regular basis.

Suzie: Thanks for the tip! Now, tell us a little about your writing journey. 

Erin: My writing journey has been...well interesting. It hasn’t been easy or quick. But I’m so glad that God brought me through the difficult years and kept me from quitting many a time. I started writing nine years ago, but it isn’t until this coming year that all my hard work is going to come to fruition. 

Suzie: What a great testament to not giving up. With a full house (and then some), what kind of writing routine—or non-routine—do you have? 

Erin: I’ve been on sabbatical for a month but normally I write three days a week. I spend one day a week doing social media, guest posts, and writer maintenance or editing. And I write the other two days. I don’t always worry about word count because I have days where I work all day and still only get out 500 words.

Suzie: What drew you to romantic suspense? Who are your influences?

Erin: I’ve always been drawn to mysteries and suspense since I can remember. Even as a kid, I was looking for every Nancy Drew book and every mystery story I could find. I’ve been influenced so much by Harlan Coben, Stephanie Myers, Erynn Newman, Lynette Eason, Lynn Blackburn, Ronie Kendig, Dani Pettrey, and so many more. They’ve helped to shape my writing more then I imagined possible.

Suzie Definitely some names I recognize on that list. Romantic suspense intrigues me because of the research into procedures and laws and more. What is an interesting tidbit or experience you’ve come across while researching your books?   

Erin: Because of my novel, Desolate Paths, I learned a lot about alcoholism and how it affects people so differently. Some people can drink regularly for years and not be addicted, while others can drink for only a short amount of time and become alcoholics. Even the types of withdrawal can vary in extremes. And they aren’t necessarily directly related to how long a person drinks.

Suzie: Share with us a little about your debut release (coming January 11, 2019).

Erin: When rehab is Brooke Hollen’s only chance at redemption, she runs straight to it. But can she survive the serial killer who hides amongst the damaged and healing? And can she trust Kyle Reston, another rehab resident, who wants to take her under his wing? Or is he responsible for the residents who keep going missing?











Suzie: Do you have anything else in the works?

Erin: I have five books releasing next year. It’s going to be an exciting year. And, I’m in the middle of writing a series about a tight-knit urban community and its secrets, and I’m so excited about it. I can’t wait to get it in my readers’ hands.

Wow, five books? That is amazing (and goes back to that persistence paying off). Erin, thank you again for your time today! I look forward to reading Desolate Paths soon!

Giveaway

Erin is giving one reader a $5.00 Amazon gift card. To enter, leave a comment below and tell us about your favorite Thanksgiving family tradition. For a bonus entry, follow Erin on social media and tell us you did so in the comments.

 ***Must be five original commentors for giveaway to be valid. 

Real-Life Story Inspiration with Kelly Goshorn (& a Giveaway)

Hello reader friends! I'm very excited to introduce you to a debut author whose book I've already added to my TBR pile! Kelly Goshorn's A Love Restored is brand new this week. Historical fiction, romance, and more are in store for you! Be sure and enter the giveaway before you leave!

Kelly Goshorn weaves her affinity for history and her passion for God into uplifting stories of love, faith and family set in nineteenth-century America. Her debut novel, A Love Restored, received recognition as the winner of the 2015 COTT Olympia Contest and as a semi-finalist in the 2015 ACFW Genesis Contest. Kelly has been enjoying her own happily-ever-after with her husband and best friend, Mike, for 27 years. Together they have raised three children, four cats, two dogs, a turtle, a guinea pig, a gecko, and countless hamsters. Thankfully not all at the same time. When she is not writing, Kelly enjoys spending time with her young adult children, scrapbooking with friends, board gaming with her husband, and spoiling her Welsh corgi, Levi.


You can connect with Kelly on:

Her website: http://kellygoshorn.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.j.goshorn/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KellyGoshorn
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/KellyGoshorn/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyjgoshorn/

SW: First of all, congratulations on your debut novel! We’re so pleased you could join us here at the mine and share a little about your journey.

KG: Hi Suzie, thanks so much for welcoming me here on The Diamond Mine. I’m excited to share A Love Restored with your readers.

SW: Let’s get right into it with a few multiple choice questions to warm us up!
Original draft: computer, paper, or phone?

KG: Computer

SW: Chocolate, vanilla, or something else? 

KG: I like vanilla based ice cream with lots of stuff in it—peanut butter cups, chocolate covered peanuts, M&Ms, coconut, chocolate chips…well, I’m sure by now you get the picture. Was this supposed to be a short answer! LOL!

SW: Anyone else craving ice cream all of a sudden? Spring, summer, fall, or winter?

KG: Fall

SW: Night owl or early bird?

KG: Early bird

SW: I'm always in awe of early birds (but, to tell the truth, I'm not really a night owl anymore either). Ok, now that we know a few surface things about you: When (or why) did you start writing? 

KG: Truthfully, I never saw it coming! So many writers I’ve talked to have wanted to be a writer since they were a child. Many have drawers full of half-written manuscripts. Me? Not so much. I had always enjoyed writing papers for my college classes, but I NEVER considered writing fiction. I’d been a successful in-home childcare provider for nearly twenty years, but I knew in my heart it was time to move on to something new. My husband and I began praying for God to give me a new direction, a new passion in my life I would undeniably know He’d planted in my heart. On a whim, I began tinkering with story writing and it didn’t take long for my secret hobby to become my God-given passion!

SW: I love that. You have a unique writing journey that proves there are multiple roads to publishing. Authors often say there’s no such thing as a consistent routine, but what would you like your writing day to look like? 

Levi and I working

KG: I’m still chasing the ideal writing day. As that rare breed, an extroverted writer, I am usually my own biggest distraction. When a friend texts to meet up for coffee or lunch I have a hard time saying no. I work from home in the afternoons as a virtual assistant, so the mornings are my time to focus on my writing. After a lifetime of being a night owl, I have recently been rising early to write. This has brought a great deal of discipline to my schedule that I never had before. On an ideal writing day, I set the alarm for 4:45 a.m. I hit the snooze a few times and begin the day talking with the Lord. Then I head for the kitchen and make a cup of tea, usually Earl Grey. My trusty companion, Levi (an adorable Welsh corgi), follows me downstairs and gets his morning treat. He can usually be found by my feet while I write. Before I begin, I pray. Writing is the hardest thing I’ve ever done and each day I ask God to come and inspire me and to tell the stories He wants told through me. By 8 a.m. I have usually met my daily word count. After I dress for the day, Levi and I head out for a walk. When we return home, I try to focus on other writerly tasks like editing, marketing, blogging and critiquing.

SW: Wow, I don't thing I've seen 4:45 am in years. I’m in awe of historical writers due to all the research. What drew you to this genre over contemporary or suspense? 

KG: Hahaha! I love that part and can get lost in so many historical rabbit trails while researching. I guess I’m just a big old-fashioned, nerdy, history-lovin’ kinda girl at heart! I’ve always loved history, even as a kid in school. In college, I earned a B.A. in social studies education and an M.Ed. in History. It’s my favorite genre to read as well and on my birthday, I enjoy dragging my children to historical sites and watching them cringe as I read every sign and placard! LOL!

SW: Maybe that's my problem, I was never a huge history buff. But, I love how it's brought to life in novels. Tell us a little about your road to publication. 

KG: God has blessed this journey in so many ways. I began writing in 2011. By 2013 I had a completed draft of A Love Restored and joined a critique group through American Christian Fiction Writers.  In 2014, A Love Restored finaled in ACFW’s First Impressions contest. In 2015, that was followed by winning the COTT Olympia, a reader-driven contest, and finaling in the WisRWA Fab 5 and the Tara, along with a semi-final nod in the ACFW Genesis contest. At the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference that same year, I had the opportunity to pitch my story to several agents and editors. I was blessed to have several requests for full manuscripts. A few weeks later, I received a call from one of the editors I’d met, Paula Mowery. A weeks later she called and offered me a contract with Prism Book Group. I was floored. She’d never read the entire manuscript. From all the contests I’d entered, the first few chapters were well-polished, but no industry professional had read the entire manuscript. When I questioned why she didn’t want the full manuscript first she said, “I have a God nudge and I like to follow my God nudges.” I’m so glad she did!

SW: God nudge, I love it! Here is your chance to acknowledge those who’ve walked alongside of you in the writing process. Who is your tribe? Who supports you, reads along with you, helps you out of a difficult place in your story, etc. 

KG: I’m so blessed to have a husband who supports this crazy writing journey of mine, in fact it was his idea to write A Love Restored. I also have a loyal group of friends who, are not writers, that regularly pray for my writing journey and read all my stuff—my sister, Cindy Scott, and dear friends Becky Redman, Steph Sloan and Colleen Hoernke. Colleen has read and critiqued my story so many times, I think she knows it as well as I do! My first critique partners through American Christian Fiction Writers—Angela Couch, Sarah Monzon, Tammy Kirby, Crystal Barnes, Jodie Wolfe, Jessica Konek Johnson and Linda Cushman. Where I’d be without those wonderful women, I do not know. And keeping me faithful to this writing journey are my early morning writing buddies, Megan Whitson Lee and Debb Hackett!


SW: Some of those critique partner names are familiar. What a fantastic group to get input and feedback from. I’m so excited that your heroine in A Love Restored is not the svelte character in so many (too many?) books. What influenced that decision?

Kelly and her groom

KG: You’re right, Suzie. The heroine in most romance novels does not resemble me or most of the women I see around me, but the primary reason Ruth Ann has a fuller figure is that A Love Restored is based on the true-life romance between my husband and myself. Ruth Ann is me in so many ways. She is stubborn, always seems to find herself in a pickle, and is definitely on the rounder side of feminine figures. I have struggled with weight issues my entire life and that struggle plays an important part in our story. Ruth Ann’s biggest weakness is not seeing herself as the beautiful, Godly woman she is. Her journey to self-acceptance is at the heart of the story.

SW: I think women need that reminder. And since we gave Ruth Ann some love, tell us a little about Benjamin.

KG: Now that you know A Love Restored is based on my story, you would be right to assume that Benjamin is based on my husband, Mike. Like my husband, Benjamin makes Ruth Ann laugh, holds her accountable to herself and is very generous with his time and talents. He is extremely intelligent, and like Benjamin, my husband wooed me with his guitar and teases me about my not-so-stellar singing voice. Like Benjamin, my husband struggled with his pride and let vows, words he’d spoken over himself, dictate his choices. Benjamin’s journey is about finding the courage to challenge society’s idea of what success looks like and trusting God’s plan for his life.

SW: What do you hope readers come away with after reading A Love Restored? 

KG: At its core, A Love Restored is a story about the power of words in our lives. It is a story about the struggle each of us faces to take our thoughts captive to the truth of Scripture, so we may experience the fullness of God’s unequivocal love for us.

Words have the power to lift us up and tear us down, and the most dangerous ones are the ones we repeat in our own mind every day. I spent way too many years repeating words of death to myself—that I was fat, ugly, unlovable and unworthy of the very God I believed sacrificed His son on my behalf.

1 Samuel 16:7b says, For the LORD does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. My prayer for you and your readers is that you will not allow the enemy to steal the joy that is rightfully yours as a child of God. Speak the truth of the gospel over yourself every day and ask God to give you His eyes to see yourself as He does.

SW: Amen! Are you working on anything new you can tell us about?

KG: I’m very excited about the series I’m working on now, Surrendered Hearts. Set in Civil War Virginia, the series examines what happens when God calls us to surrender those things we hold most dear. Characters are called to sacrifice their dreams and ambitions, their pride, and ultimately their hearts as God recklessly pursues each of them. Hearts and wills are challenged, and lives transformed as characters experience restoration with one another and with God. If readers are interested in learning more, the can visit the Surrendered Hearts page on my website.

SW: Thank you for visiting with us today and may God bless your writing career.

KG: Thank you, Suzie. I had such a wonderful time sharing my writing journey with your readers.

More about A Love Restored

She was nothing like the woman he’d envisioned for his bride, but he was everything she’d ever dreamed of—until a promise from his past threatened their future.

Twenty-year-old Ruth Ann Sutton doesn’t measure up to society’s vision of a perfect lady. She would rather read Jules Verne or teach Negro children to read and write than join the Women’s Benevolent Aid Society or practice her voice lessons. Her pert opinions and less than perfect figure keep many suitors away. When Ruth Ann accepts a position teaching at the new Freedman’s School, it threatens the only marriage offer she is likely to receive. Should she risk life as a lonely spinster or reinvent herself to accept a proposal from a man she does not love?

Determined to rise above his meager beginnings, Benjamin Coulter’s reputation as a fast learner and hard worker earn him the opportunity to apprentice with a surveyor for the railroad—a position that will garner the respect of other men. All he needs now is a woman to share his promising future. When Benjamin has a chance encounter with Ruth Ann Sutton, he is smitten with her pretty face, quick wit, and feisty personality. When others ridicule his choice, Benjamin must decide whether he will listen to his heart or put ambition first.

Order from your copy here

Giveaway

Kelly Goshorn is giving one reader a book charm with a quote from her debut and a copy of A Love Restored (Paperback if you are in the US, Ebook if you are international). To enter, leave a comment below along with a way to contact you if you are our randomly chosen winner. For an extra entry, follow Kelly on social media or sign up for her newsletter and let us know you've done that as well. Plus, if you sign up for her newsletter, you'll get a sugar cookie recipe (yummy!).

Book Charms for A Love Restored

***Must be five unique commenters for giveaway to be valid.

A warm welcome to Heather Day Gilbert!!

This week we will be talking to Heather Day Gilbert. She is a fascinating woman I’m sure everyone will enjoy getting to know. She will be giving away a copy of her book Miranda Warning to the lucky person drawn from those who leave a comment.

Hi Heather! Welcome to the Mine. We are so happy to have you.

Thanks for having me today! Glad to visit.

Let us get acquainted. Could you tell us who you are, and what you hope to accomplish through your writing?

First of all, I'm a wife and mom (homeschooler). I think of myself as an author second, although it does take up a lot of my time at this stage! I'm a West Virginia gal who just moved back a couple years ago to my home state.

I feel my writing is one way of using my gifts and talents for God. I truly hope, above all, to bring stories to people that make them think, take them to a new locale (be it Greenland in AD 1000 or the back roads of West Virginia), and bring them characters they can relate to in some way.

Tell us a little about your genre and why you chose to write in that particular one.

I am actually writing in two genres now: Viking Historical (Vikings of the New World Saga) and Contemporary Appalachian Mystery (A Murder in the Mountains Series).

I chose Viking historical because the sagas are a rich source of information on a little-known period of history (I'm allegedly related to Eirik the Red, which fueled my interest), and in particular I wanted to highlight the Viking women who historically sailed to North America. Gudrid, the main character in my first novel, God's Daughter, was a Christian Viking. So I felt it was interesting to explore what it would be like to be a Christian in a very pagan society. Freydis, the main character in my second (upcoming) book, was Eirik the Red's daughter and was known as a warrior woman.

I also enjoy writing my contemporary mysteries (Miranda Warning is my first novel in that). My main sleuth, Tess Spencer, is a West Virginia "mountain mama," and I really enjoyed creating a strong family dynamic in this series. Actually, come to think of it, a strong family dynamic runs through both series.

I guess I will start off by asking how you come up with your characters. Do you imagine them and then create, or model them after someone you know or have seen, etc.?

For the Viking historicals, I had the rough outline of who these women were and what they did. I just had to fill in the blanks as to why they did things and what motivated them. Character depth is very important to me, especially since I write in first-person point of view. I have to be in the main characters' heads and try to understand them.

For  the mysteries, I do draw from my surroundings to some degree, since I live in West Virginia and so does Tess.

I love searching Pinterest for pictures of people who resemble my characters and for locations/settings so I can have visuals. You can find my Pinterest boards here.

I think all our characters are truest to life when they resemble people we know/have known or ourselves. Even when we're writing someone totally unfamiliar or distasteful to us, we know they still have things driving them we can relate to, be it power, protectiveness, etc. I think the key, especially for writing in first person, is finding those points where we can relate and drawing those characters true to form, even if we don't think that way ourselves.

Could you tell us a little about how you felt when you first realized you would be published?

Being published was actually my decision, because I self-published. The decision to self-publish was not a light one (like most of the indie authors I know). I had three agents and had submitted three books via traditional publishing routes. God just showed me the time was right to self-publish. It was something I hadn't really wanted to do, because I knew I couldn't afford to outsource a lot (formatting, editing, cover art, marketing).

But God provided people in my life who were able to help me with those things and it was a learning process for me—one of those things where "teach a man to fish, feed him for life" held true. I learned hands-on how to publish my books and it's not something I'll forget. It's also not a solitary process. My brother is my cover artist; my critique partner edits and is my audiobook narrator, and the list goes on.

What is a day in the life of Heather Day Gilbert like?

This summer, I have spent much of my time marketing and doing a blog tour for my mystery. When school season rolls around, I hope to set hours for writing and let marketing take a back seat to some degree. But I think indie authors do spend a lot of time tweaking our marketing, because it's up to us to get the word out on our books.

I do garden a little, too, though I'm no expert! Every year it seems we learn more about how to get those veggies to grow!

Tell us a little about who has given you inspiration in your writing, and why. I believe readers want to know the author to a certain extent. It makes the reading experience more enjoyable.

As far as believing in me, my family has always been a strong supporter of my writing. My parents, siblings, in-laws, husband, and children have all prayed for me on this writing journey and have shared all the ups and downs that come with it. When the first book released, we were all rejoicing!

Author friends also encourage me to keep going when I hit roadbumps. We uniquely understand that sinking feeling that results from a publisher rejection or a bad review. I love the support system of author friends I have met along the way.

I see that you homeschool. Could you tell us some of the trials and tribulations of that endeavor and how it affects your writing?

I think any homeschooler will say that some days it's great; some days it's extremely hard and you want to quit. Kind of like being a writer, actually! But in the end, you do it because you know that's what's right for that child. My son is in Christian school—that was the best choice for him right now. I homeschool my two daughters.

All my children are more independent learners now. I don't think I could've written and homeschooled when all three were toddlers. I believe there are seasons in an author's life, just like in a mother's life!

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer such as myself about the whole ‘waiting’ process?

Waiting. That's like my Achilles' heel. I like to push and GO and not get hung up in the process. But sometimes we have to wait, to get to that next step. For me, it was years of waiting and submitting and thinking God didn't care about my dreams.

But at the end of all that disappointment, I saw God had a BIGGER and better dream than I could even conceive of. I love being an independent author and I see now how this is the best fit for me. I love having control over everything from my production schedule to my audiobook narrator.

I’ve written many different manuscripts, but there is that one that kind of defines who I am as a writer. What have you written that sticks out in your mind as ‘the’ one?

Oh, wow. That's really hard. God's Daughter, my Viking historical, was probably my most ambitious book. I had many sub-themes and a lot to share in that one. It was my "mission statement," if you will. :) But Miranda Warning, my mystery, is just as much a part of me, and I feel the contemporary Appalachian writing is more reflective of my writer "voice."

Every one of my books is really like a child. I wouldn't ever want to settle and write something just to be trendy or formulaic. I write my heart.

What message, if any, do you want a reader to take away from your work?

I don't like preachy messages in books. I want my books to reach readers, whether the readers are Christians or not. I want readers to remember my characters and the choices they made (good and bad). I do tend to focus on marriage in my books—both the highs and lows—and I do hope readers relate to that.

I know from my own experiences that when writing, sometimes a character begins to become a ‘part’ of us. Have you written a character like this? If so, could you describe the personality of the character and why you think he/she/it stays in your mind so vividly?

Again, I do feel that way with all my main characters, because I have to get into their heads to write first-person. I also feel my side characters are real...I have to, to write them properly. I will say I am very fond of Nikki Jo Spencer as a side character in my mystery series. She's Tess' mother-in-law and you can read an interview with her here.

But sometimes you have to strip away the parts of yourself you'd rather hide to get into your main characters' heads. I'm doing that while writing Freydis' story (my second/final Viking historical, Forest Child). It can be a scary process (trust me, Freydis is something else!), but I want to bring my readers an experience they will never forget. I personally love conflicted characters, like Scarlett O'hara or Anna Karenina. People who seem so real you can never forget them. That's the kind of characters I strive to write. Readers might like them or dislike them, but I'm hoping they will never forget them.

Author Bio:

Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Seventeen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as eleven years spent homeschooling. Heather regularly posts on Novel Rocket about self-publishing.

You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert—Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Her Viking novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon bestseller. You can find it on Amazon and Audible.com. Her Appalachian mystery, Miranda Warning, is here on Amazon.