Interview with Bernadette Botz and Giveaways!

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It is my honor and extreme pleasure to introduce you to Bernadette Botz. We first met when our kids were school age and played sports together. She lives in Montana (as do I) and is a sweetheart.

Bernadette has graciously offered to give away not one but two copies of her debut book, Liar. Be sure to read this post to the end to find out how to enter for your chance to win a copy.

 Welcome to the Diamond Mine, Bernadette.

BB: Thank you for the opportunity to be here.

RS: I know this is your debut novel. Can you tell us what your occupation was before writing?

BB: I homeschooled my five children. Read-aloud time was my favorite. I wrote Liar as a read-aloud specifically targeted to homeschooling families.

RS: I loved storytime with the kids.  I even read aloud to my study hall students. It seemed to help them work better. Did this time with your children influence your writing?

BB: Absolutely! I want to create quality fiction that will challenge and encourage the Body of Christ. I also want to create characters that stay in the mind and heart of the reader. We read a few books at home that my kids are still talking about. To see that happen for other families would be a dream come true for me.

RS: I think as authors, we all our dream of writing something that will stick with others in some way. I believe your novel Liar will do that. Can you tell us about your inspiration for this story?

BB: My kids were struggling with the messages of the world. I wrote it because I wanted to make them aware of the enemy’s voice. “Idiot. Worthless. Ugly. Stupid. Fat. Unliked. Unloved. Unwanted.” That and the suicide rate in Montana. I felt sick over the enemy’s work, and I wanted to expose him as much as I possibly could.

RS: The enemy’s voice can be so strong. You are right; the suicide rate here in Montana is high. Liar will definitely bring hope to the hopeless. I know the Bible brings you hope. Can you share with us your life verse and why you chose it?

BB: It’s always hard to choose one verse, but I always go to Zephaniah 3:17. This was the first verse I memorized as a new believer at the age of thirty.

“The Lord, your God, is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you with his love. He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

The Lord did a lot of housecleaning when I first became a Christian. This verse meant a lot to me because I read that He was with me, that He didn’t turn His back on me, even when I didn’t have my act together. I read that He is a mighty warrior. I needed someone to fight for me, and I knew I could trust Him to do that for me. That Jesus Christ takes delight in me with His love, that He no longer rebukes me (which I deserve) and especially that He rejoices over me with singing??? I couldn’t believe what I was reading! In this verse, my Savior expresses so much of His character from beginning to end, and it has helped me overcome a lot of my fear of man. It reminds me that I am known, protected, delighted in, loved, rejoiced over and amazingly… that I belong to a Savior who sings over me. I never, ever thought about the Lord singing, and it just blew my mind!

RS: I was thirteen when I became a Christian, but I will never forget the first time my daughter Sharla showed me the verse in Philippians 2:15, where it refers to us as shining like stars in the sky. That blew my mind. I couldn’t believe I’d missed God’s voice in this verse. 

Liar speaks a lot about voices and which one we are to seek. Your characters take quite a journey in this book.  Did you take a personal journey as well while writing? 

BB: This book sent me on the hardest journey for any Christian. It is voiced in my book when Yeshua asks, “WILL YOU TRUST YOUR KING?” 

Will I trust Him when everything is upside down? Will I trust Him when I feel alone and unseen? Will I trust Him to be enough for me when nobody knows what the work is costing me? Will I trust that He won’t let me put something worthless out into the world? Will I trust Him with critics? Will I trust Him with haters? Will I trust Him to help embrace that part of His design for me that is writer? Even though I’m terrified? Even though I feel completely inadequate.

I wrote this book for my kids. Jesus saw to it that I wrote it for myself.

RS: Powerful questions. How does it feel to see your book in print?

BB: When my book was delivered to my house, I just happened to be alone. I opened up the box and saw my name and the beautiful cover. (painted by my friend, Kathy Smith) I wanted so much to share my joy with someone – someone who would understand all that I had been through in birthing this story.

  Since I was alone, I sat on the hearth of our fireplace, imagining all my characters around me.  I read the entire book aloud to them!  It was a profound moment.  It was a way to honor them for all their help, and it was a way to say goodbye. As my original intent was that the book function as a read-aloud, it was a wonderful way to say, “The End.”  It was a holy moment shared only with the characters from my book and the Lord. They fully knew the cost.

RS: I have enjoyed our interview. I pray you have, as well. One last question before we talk about the giveaways. What do you hope to leave with the reader through your writing?

BB: I hope Liar leaves the reader with a renewed sense of hope in doing the right thing. For men, that means returning to protecting women, children, and culture. Men are called out of passivity in this story. For women, it means leaving fear and insecurity behind. It means allowing yourself to become vulnerable so that you can be free. It means that freedom first starts with Christ. I want my reader to leave the kingdom of Struggle having identified with the characters in a way that changes their life. I want the Body of Christ to return to the kingly qualities of truth, courage, honesty, and confession so that they can take their rightful position in the battle against the enemy. To arms! This book is a call to arms!

RS: After reading Liar, I believe you and GOD will accomplish much in the direction you speak. The story is poignant and thought-provoking, indeed.

BB: I’m so grateful to you!  Thank you for investing in me this way.

Let’s do two free book giveaways. One drawing for signing up for my newsletter. One drawing for signing up for writing practice. Please go to https://granberrybooks.com/category/news/, then come back here, drop a note in the comments letting us know which or both you have signed up under.

   

Christy Barritt Shares about Life, Books, and Road Trips

I first learned of Christy Barritt about three years ago when I came across a little free book on Amazon called Hazardous Duty. Eleven books (and two novellas later), I still can’t get enough of Gabby St. Claire and the Squeaky Clean Mysteries gang. Christy’s success as a hybrid author (both independently published and traditionally published with Love Inspired Suspense and Amazon’s Waterfall Press), she churns out intense and engaging books for her readers regularly. Just to give you a glimpse at what this looks like, 2016 releases include Mountain Hideaway (Love Inspired Suspense) in January, Thrill Squeaker in February (Squeaky Clean series), Rattled (The Sierra Files) and Swept Away (Squeaky Clean novella) in April, Dark Harbor (Love Inspired Suspense) in June, Disillusioned (Waterfall Press) in August, and Cunning Attractions (Squeaky Clean) in September.

A little more about Christy Barritt

Christy Barritt is an author, freelance writer and speaker who lives in Virginia. She’s married to her Prince Charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious–but only when she’s not trying to be. Christy’s a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover who’s known for spontaneously bursting into song, and a road trip aficionado. She’s only won one contest in her life–and her prize was kissing a pig (okay, okay… actually she did win the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery for her book Suspicious Minds also). Her current claim to fame is showing off her mother, who looks just like former First Lady Barbara Bush.

When she’s not working or spending time with her family, she enjoys singing, playing the guitar, and exploring small, unsuspecting towns where people have no idea how accident prone she is.

Connect with Christy on social media:

Website: www.christybarritt.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorchristybarritt

Twitter: www.twitter.com/christybarritt

As you can see, Christy Barritt keeps herself busy. Thank you, Christy, for taking some time out of your schedule to visit with us today. I’m excited to share a little more about you with our readers.

Welcome, Christy. Thank you for joining us this week on The Diamond Mine. Let’s dive right into some questions.



SW: After listing your book releases for 2016, I can’t help but wonder how you stay on top of all of your projects. What does your writing process look like? Do you work on writing one book at a time?

CB: I usually write one book at a time, but I may be editing or mentally plotting ideas for another. When I write my first draft, I write it pretty quickly—usually in about three weeks. I aim for 20,000 words a week. Then I spend the next two or three weeks in intense revisions where I usually add another 20,000-30,000 words to manuscript. After that, I begin the fine tuning process where I edit for clarity and send it to my assistant and editors for feedback. That said, I can usually write a book in approximately 2 months, depending on the book’s length.




SW: What are three to three things you have with you while writing?

CB: A water bottle, my dog Molly (a Maltese mix), and my cell phone. 

SW: If you were not an author, what would you be doing?

CB: If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve probably seen that I love taking pictures, so I’ll say a photographer.

 SW: You’re a fan of road trips. What’s the last one you’ve taken and what was your favorite part?

CB: We went to the Eastern Shore of Virginia and kayaked to abandoned beaches filled with conch shells. It was great fun. Being with my family made it fabulous.

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SW:  I love some of the stories you share about your boys on Facebook (and they almost always make me laugh). What have your boys taught you?

CB: So many things! People before projects, a hug makes everything in life a lot better, learning to read is an amazing thing, and that the years go by too quickly.

SW: For Mother’s Day, your boys made you a cute video where they answered questions about you. One of them was “What is Mommy good at?” The boys answered typing and playing the guitar. What is your answer to that question?

CB: Hmmm . . . Good question. I love creating—mostly characters and stories. But I also love creating adventures. I don’t care all that much about stuff—you can’t take it with you. But I love experiencing all that life has to offer. It’s one more reason I love road trips. So, I guess I’ll say “being creative.”

SW: You write books from both the first person point of view and the third person point of view. Do you have a preference for one over the other?

CB: Actually, I don’t. I like mixing things up because it helps my ideas not to grow stale. I usually alternate as I’m writing books—I’ll do one in first person, and then my next is in third and so on. Each one is fun in its own way.

SW: Switching gears a little bit, tell us a little bit about the book that released earlier this month, Dark Harbor.

CB: Dark Harbor takes place in Waterman’s Reach, Virginia, a fictional town I made up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. A reporter who’s desperate to prove herself must choose between advancing her own career or giving the object of her expose the benefit of the doubt—and possibly falling in love.

SW: Other than the satisfaction of finishing a good story—because I’ve gotten that from every book I’ve read written by you-- what is it you hope your readers come away with.

CB: I want them to come away with hope. Life can be filled with heartbreak and moments of despair. I want people to realize that before the storm, during the storm, and after the storm, there’s always hope on the horizon. It might sound trite to some, but I believe that even though life is hard, God and his love is good and can sustain us through hard times. As someone who’s lost three family members in the last three years, I can say this because I’ve been able to live it out. I can’t imagine going through those hard times without the hope that I find in Jesus.


Thank you so much for stopping by The Diamond Mine, Christy. It has been a pleasure having you this week.






Readers, here's more information about Christy's June Releases. Also, keep reading to find out how to enter to win a copy of Dark Harbor.

Dark Harbor

Someone wants reporter Madelyn Sawyer to leave the small coastal town she's just arrived in—even if it takes hurting her. But she won't give up her goal of investigating Waterman's Reach's new police chief that easily. Madelyn assumes that former big-city detective Zach Davis—who some believe is a murderer involved in a drug-trafficking ring—is behind the threat. Who else would have a motive? But as bullets fly Madelyn's way, it's Zach who keeps saving her life. The closer she gets to the truth, the more she wants to tell the handsome lawman why she's really in town. But if she does, will she lose his trust…and any hope of surviving long enough to bring the real killer to light?

Zach Davis has made an appearance in Desperate Measures, Hidden Agenda, and Mountain Hideaway. About time he gets his own book, right?

                                           Wait Until Dark 

Book three in the Carolina Moon Series

A woman grieving broken dreams. A man struggling to regain memories. A secret entrenched in folklore dating back two centuries. 

Antiquarian Felicity French has no clue the trouble she’s inviting in when she rescues a man outside her grandma’s old plantation house during a treacherous snowstorm. All she wants is to nurse her battered heart and wounded ego, as well as come to terms with her past. Now she’s stuck inside with a stranger sporting an old bullet wound and forgotten hours. 

Coast Guardsman Brody Joyner can't remember why he was out in such perilous weather, how he injured his head, or how a strange key got into his pocket. He also has no idea why his pint-sized savior has such a huge chip on her shoulder. He has no choice but to make the best of things until the storm passes. 

Brody and Felicity’s rocky start goes from tense to worse when danger closes in. Who else wants the mysterious key that somehow ended up in Brody’s pocket? Why? The unlikely duo quickly becomes entrenched in an adventure of a lifetime, one that could have ties to local folklore and Felicity’s ancestors. But sometimes the past leads to darkness . . . darkness that doesn’t wait for anyone.

 Christy Barritt is giving a copy of Dark Harbor to one of our readers. To enter, simply leave a comment below along with your email address so we can reach you if you win. Gain an extra entry by sharing this post on twitter or facebook. Just let us know you did so in your comment. 

Must have a minimum of 5 entries for contest to be viable. Ends July 5, 2016.

Susette Williams Never Meets a Stranger

Welcome Miners. You most likely don't recognize my name as I'm new to the Diamond Mine and this is my first official post. I'm thrilled to join the team and introduce you to some great reads.

So, without, further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Susette Williams.

As a fellow hopeless romantic, I have to ask how you met your husband?

My husband and I actually met in a donut shop and actually went on to start our own. We were only twenty years old! I can’t imagine many twenty year olds doing the things we did at that age.

My husband likes to tell people about when he first asked me out. He said, “If I wasn’t so shy, I’d ask you out.” My response, “Huh?” Yep, I didn’t hear exactly what he said so he had to repeat himself. We still laugh about that to this day.

With six children to care for, how do you find time to write?

If anyone tells you it gets easier when your children get older—they’re lying! I started writing when our twins were ten months old—they turned nineteen this year and it has not gotten any easier trying to find time (or peace and quiet) to write. Stress is probably a bigger inhibitor of writing, and we’ve been under a lot of stress. (Two family members in the house in walking boots, one recovering from a broken bone, the other still recovering from surgery he had in January; and my second grandchild is due shortly. There’s more stress than this, but you get the picture, it all adds up and can be mentally taxing!)


[Side note, Susette and her family could use prayers while they've got so much happening right now]

In the beginning of your Mail Order Brides collection, you mention you and your husband ran a bakery in House Springs, MO (the setting for the books) for more than eighteen years. As a fan of sweets, I have to ask, have you shared recipes in any of your books? 

The recipes I have shared in my Amish books were not from the bakery, except for maybe the crumb topping I use for apple pies. We have experienced some odd things over the years in the bakery. We had a person come through the drive thru on a horse, a plane land on the highway and taxi into our parking lot (they came in and got a cup of coffee), and we had a car drive into the building (nobody got hurt thankfully).

You’ve written several different genres—historical, Amish, cozy mysteries, contemporary, and children. In addition to writing, what is your research process? And do have a preference or favorite genre?

I have a wide interest, which is evident by the various genres I write… and have yet to write, but will get around to one day! Some of the things my children went through, did, or said, inspired story ideas for children’s books.

Historical was actually a genre I thought I would never write, but researching information about the city I grew up in (St. Louis) and hearing the locals talking about the area I moved to after marriage, intrigued me.

I struggle with the fact that I want to write so many different things, but unfortunately, I can’t write it all fast enough!

Your mother, husband, and children say you’ve never met a stranger. What’s one of the more unique initial meetings you’ve had? I won’t even ask which book it ended up in. 

My husband and I went out to eat yesterday and he said the server needed a good tip because we didn’t know his life story. He then told me I was going to eventually give up writing and become an interrogator if I kept getting detailed information about people’s lives.

I can’t think of anything specific that is unique. Although, my husband had a wrong number phone call from someone whose house was on fire. He got them away from their home on the phone and drove to find their house to make sure they were safe. The police and fireman weren’t too sure about how or why he ended up there. Sometimes God puts us in situations to be there or to pray for a person. I had a wrong number this past week in which I was able to pray for a situation the person and their loved one was going through. I’m trying to be better at asking God to show me what I am supposed to do or learn in different situations. Sometimes it is harder to focus on others when we are going through storms in our own life, but often that is when God has something for us to learn or do, which may just be being available to meet someone else’s needs. When you’re giving and doing, the weight of your own burdens is lifted it seems.

I enjoy books that make me smile at parts because my dad has a healthy sense of humor. There were several scenes in your Mail Order Brides collection that made me laugh. My favorite was how Caleb obtained his bride. I’m sure there is a lot of laughter in your home, but have you used some of those experiences in your books?

My sense of humor has come back to bite me, because my children can be just as ornery. I love making people laugh, even if it is at me. I told hubby,  my next profession will be a stand-up comedian. LOL

Since you didn’t mention Maid for Murder, I’ll assume you haven’t read that book yet. That was probably the most fun book I have written because I got to let loose on my humor. I read a book one day that I loved, but it had a couple questionable scenes, that I threw the book away and couldn’t recommend it to anybody. I told myself that one day I wanted to write a book that would have readers feeling so embarrassed for the character that they would have a hard time reading. Bailey was my attempt, and to be honest, I still didn’t make it as zany as I had hoped.

Is there one of your characters you relate to more than the others? One that has some of your characteristics or likes and dislikes?

Bailey [from Maid to Murder: Deadly Business]! I used to be bad with the sarcastic comments and one-line zingers. I’ve actually mellowed over the years. While I do have plans to write some more serious books, I think you will usually see a hint of humor somewhere. In one book I still have to finish, the humor comes from a secondary character. While things in life may be serious or solemn at times, not ‘all’ the people around you are in the same mindset, so I don’t think it should be that way in books either. Humor has helped us to get through some really rough times in life.

Thank you for spending time with us today, Susette. I enjoyed reading your Mail Order Brides collection and look forward to delving into some of your other books. It's been a pleasure getting to know you.

Author Bio: 

Susette Williams is the mother of six, and has been married to her husband for 32 years in September. She loves writing various genres; anything from romance, mystery, and suspense to name a few. She usually can't resist the urge to let her ornery sense of humor shine through in one of her characters and has always believed that laughter helps you deal with the obstacles life puts in your way.

Connect with Susette:

www.susettewilliams.com

AuthorSusette Williams

@SusetteWilliams

AmazonAuthor Page

Don't miss out on the Kindle Countdown Deal (Aug 26-27) and get the Mail Order Brides Collection for only $0.99. Four brides for four brothers in four novellettes. 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UPVHTSA

Here's a peek at the first story in the collection:

Jessie’s Bride ~ Book 1 

Jessie Kincaid doesn’t plan to follow in his three older brothers’ footsteps, which seems to include being bachelors. There might be twice as many men as women in their town, but there are still other ways to go about finding, or competing, for a wife. 

Jessie begins writing Sarah Engle in hopes that she will become his mail order bride. Even though there are miles between them, he feels connected to her. He sends her money, along with a stage coach ticket, to come see him so that they can be married. 

Not everyone is happy with their decision to wed. When the preacher said, till death do you part, did he mean literally? Or can a mail order bride and her groom truly have a happily ever after ending?