Peggy Trotter's Diamond in the Rough (featuring The Secret Things)

Peggy Trotter's

on the Diamond Mine

Please welcome Peggy Trotter to the Diamond Mine as a featured guest author. She's a special person and for those who don't know this wonderful lady and her books, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you. She's also agreed to give away one copy of her latest and greatest, The Secret Things. This book is amazing so please don't hesitate to enter! Details about the giveaway and how to enter are after the interview! Are you ready? I am! Let's get started.

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Renee: Hey, Peggy! I'm so excited to do this! I can't wait to talk about your new book and writing adventures. Why don't we start with your book, The Secret Things? How did you pick your title?

Peggy: Thanks, Renee. I'm pretty excited to be here myself. I have to say this book has been a loooonnnggg time coming! LOL I wrote this book originally about 15-20 years ago. Most of my books do not have titles until they are finished. I always write and edit with a “working title.” Deuteronomy 29:29 has always been a fascinating verse to me. It basically states that some things are meant for us to know and discover, and others, well, they are just God’s secrets. We all have secrets. True. But some block our closeness to God.  So this verse became the theme for this book. The Secret Things is just the first of a series, individual stories wrapped around some sort of secret.

Renee: What an interesting concept! I love it. We do try to hide things from God, don't we? Too bad that's not possible. I love where this book takes place. Did you pick it by some particular method? For a particular reason?

Peggy: Oh, yes! I’ve been there. The Smokey Mountains are absolutely gorgeous! I love the remoteness, the beautiful mountains, and the mystique the mist lends to the area. Plus, it’s a perfect place for a person to get…lost. So it was a perfect place for Jerrica to be discovered! And perfect for a criminal to hide.

Renee: I love the Smokey Mountains. They are amazing. I've only been there once or twice but I agree with you. They are the absolutely perfect place for your book, any book! LOL I know writing is a lot of fun, at least for us writers. Heehee. Can you share a quick, fun story about writing this particular story? What did you learn from it?

Peggy: Easy! For several years I called this novel my ugly stepchild! 😃 Let’s just say it’s been around the block. It’s had several harsh judges, none of which encouraged me to change my nickname for it. Not only that, I have seven versions of this book. (Yes, the majority of this book has been re-written and reorganized seven times!) It went from being a novella to a full-length book, from simple romance to romantic suspense. It has taken me on quite a ride!

Renee: Through it all...and I say "all" because I know you've been writing for quite a while...what writing style do you prefer?

Peggy: Visceral. That explains it all. I want to feel all the feels. I want to know what the characters are feeling, thinking, planning, fearing, imagining—everything. I think I must write that way. I know that while I write, it can be very gut wrenching. I live and feel it while I write.

Renee: I believe that is probably a good way to do it, if you ask me. Not comfortable, but good. On a more personal note, what do you do when you're not writing? Do you have any hobbies or fun activities you like?

Peggy: I have a full-time day job so I spend a lot of time doing that! But I am a very busy sort of lady, I guess. My hands are seldom idle. And I absolutely LOVE hobbies. Let me just share with you the ones I’ve been involved in over the years: knitting, crocheting (sweaters, afghans, etc.) , cross-stitch, crafting, making pillows, quilts, clothes, making jewelry, latch hooking rugs, beading, sewing Bible covers, making

Barbie clothes (yes, really), painting Scripture signs, crafting interior decorations, painting, making dolls, painting wall murals, playing numerous instruments, writing plays/poems, and any DIY project (making bookcases, refinishing furniture, building a deck, painting kitchen cabinets-twice, lol-roofing, laying flooring, dry walling, hanging drop ceilings, phew! That’s enough!) DIY still very much occupies my time! Curse this old house! 😛 Hope you enjoy a few of my projects.

Renee: Wow! You are a busy lady! I love it. I've enjoyed this time chattin' and I'm sure the folk have too. But before we go, do you think you can share why you are so dedicated to the Lord and how He continues to impact your life today.

Peggy: I would love to! As a farm girl growing up, I could always see Him in the world around me. In the intricate design of a simple flower, the complexities of the animals around me, plus their unique personalities. I always say I first met God at sunset on top of a fencepost as the geese flew south. I even painted a picture of it. So I always was aware of Him. But I didn’t completely surrender my life until my senior year of high school at church camp. At that point I felt my life take a turn, and it would never be the same. Every deed, decision, and way of life was and is filtered through pleasing God. And it has never changed. Although I fail quite frequently, I live the way I do because of Jesus Christ and what He did for me on the cross. I do as much as I can to spread God’s message, because as I tell my students quite frequently, it’s the most important decision of anyone’s life!

Renee: Thank you so much for being on the Diamond Mine today...as an author. You are a true blessing in the Christian Fiction world as well as our little ol' Diamond Mine. I'm so happy that your very own diamond in the rough serves as a beacon for God's glory to the world.

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BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Comment about blog for a chance to win your very own copy of this amazing book!

One winner will be selected by random draw on 5/24/17.

Name and email required to validate entry.

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About the Book, The Secret Things:

Deep in the Smokey Mountains, secrets abound. Jerrica Rankin doesn't know who she is. But she's certain she isn't the woman in the wedding photo. So who is the stranger on her porch gripping this incriminating picture? How will Jerrica conquer her panic attacks and find her identity to prove he's wrong?

Brock Langston buried his wife three years ago. But he finds her, deep in the Smokey Mountains, very much alive and denying who she is. How could she have forgotten their relationship and why didn't anyone contact him? Is Jerrica really his wife? Or an impostor?

About the Author, Peggy Trotter:

When Peggy Trotter‘s not teaching or DIY-ing, she’s immersed in a story scene of some sort, always pushing toward that sigh-worthy, happy ending. 2 kids, 2 in-kids, and 2 grands delight her life as well as her Batman of 32 years whose cape is much worn from rescuing his wife from one scrap or another. Winner of the prestigious ACFW Genesis Award in 2014, she flips from Christian historical to contemporary to suspense. But ultimately, it’s always about revealing God’s incredible love.

Party with Me! My Third Release is Here!

Does this book look like a miracle to you?

Trust me. It is.

I can describe this book no other way but a work of God. I hope you don't mind while I share this tale of of a hard-fought novel that wouldn't quit.

It had to come to life. For someone. Maybe you?

I started this book back in late 90's. Yes, 1990's! Originally it was keyed in on a Brother Word Processor. (I know this reveals I'm not 29 anymore. LOL) You see, I'm a writer from way back. At the age of fourteen, I lugged out a manual typewriter and plopped it on a waggling card table, ready to write the next equestrian wonder. I was a teen in love with horses. Ahhh, those innocent days!
But, as always, realty nosed in, and I got busy with. . .life.

And writing ceased.

That nugget of the need to write, however, had lodged itself permanently in my young brain. Fast forward through sporadic years of spastic writing here and there, some with a practical purpose, some just for dreams. Christmas plays, poems, journals. Notebooks of my chicken scratch writing (I'm not much of a neat freak. Sorry if this disappoints some.)

Then, marriage, kids, job, well, you know the drill. Category: This is Life, 101. And we were poor. We counted nickles just to do the laundry at the laundromat. Publishing? Phsaw. Just as well wish a year long penthouse stay in Hawaii with a million dollar expense account. Pretty much had the same possibility of actually occurring.

Then my kids left home. And God nudged me.

I extracted my files from the old Brother, and "The Secret Things" whispered to me. It wasn't ready to die. It was rejected time after time. Influential people scoffed at it. I started calling it my stepchild. No one wanted it.

I revised it. Rewrote it one, two, three. . .seven times. I revised the opening. It grew from novella-size to a full-blow novel. It started as a sweet romance and merged as a suspense. Wow, what a ride she gave me! I could tell you tons of more adventures she's led me on, but Daddy always said not to give away the farm. Suffice it to say, I've learned so much in the making of this novel.

Phew! I feel better. Confession is out. And I hope you don't mind the break in the interview format. Gee, I really hope you are still reading! 'Cause I'm getting to the nitty-gritty right fast. It releases this Saturday! Hallelujah, come fan me! I feel a little weak in the knees and that's no put-on.

"The Secret Things" is part of a series. The series is entitled Unchained Souls, and as you can tell, it's about secrets and revealing those secrets. (There's another one right now on my computer, whoop, whoop!)

And here's the blurb:

Boom! Need more? Of course you do! Here's the link! http://a.co/4MEIrtg Or if you like a solid paperback, go here:  http://a.co/hJ4AXwB


I'm giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card to celebrate. Leave your email below to qualify for the drawing. I can't give it away unless 5 or more participate! So tell you friends and get them here! P.S. If you need some advice to spend a Amazon Card, let me know. . . . . :)