Interview and Giveaway with Lena Nelson Dooley!!

Today we welcome prolific author Lena Nelson Dooley to The Diamond Mine!!!

Her new book is called: A Heart's Forever Home. It's book number three in her Love's Road Home series!

After the interview, please leave a comment, and your email, to be entered in the drawing for a free copy of Lena's book!

Hi Lena!! Please share a little about your series: Love’s Road Home, and your newest addition: A Heart’s Forever Home.

These 5 books are all standalone stories, but there are characters in each book that appear in at least one of the other books.

 

In A Heart’s Forever Home, the heroine came to Fort Worth, Texas, on an orphan train. When her new grandmother dies, her world is turned upside down. The hero is her grandmother’s lawyer.

Here’s the back cover copy for the book:

A single lawyer whose clients think he needs a wife. A woman who needs a forever home...or a forever family...or a forever love.

Although Theresa Killdare is a grown woman now, the discovery that her adoption wasn’t finalized sends her reeling. Especially when her beloved grandmother dies and the only siblings she’s ever known exile her from the family property without a penny to her name.

 Wilson Pollard works hard for the best interest of his law clients, even those who think a marriage would make him more “suitable” in his career. And when the beloved granddaughter of a recently deceased client comes to him for help, he knows he must do whatever necessary to make her situation better.

 As each of their circumstances worsen, a marriage of convenience seems the only answer for both. Theresa can’t help but fall for her new husband—the man who’s given her both his home and his name. But what will it take for Wilson to realize he loves her? Will a not-so-natural disaster open his eyes and heart?

 

This sounds wonderful!! How did you get the idea for the series?

Most of these stories have been percolating in my head for a few years. I do believe that God drops the ideas there, and they take time to develop. When I write historical novels, only my characters and their stories are fiction. I do a lot of research to make everything in the book authentic to the time period. I also try to have one or more major historical events in the story. In this one, it was a seriously bad idea that didn’t work out well.

 

I love doing research for historical stories! 

I'm curious. Are any of your characters a lot like you?

I do think that most books have some things from the author in them. My heroine is Irish, and I have Irish in my ancestry.

 

Which do you find easier to write: plot, or characters?

I write character driven stories, and the plot fits in with that.

 

I love stories like that! 

Do you have a central theme for your books?

I have a few that often appear in my stories: forgiveness and God’s plan for lives are two of them.

 

Those are really important themes to address.

Do you write for a set amount of time every day, or do you write in random bursts of inspiration?

I try to write for a set amount of time, but sometimes life gets in the way. This year it was covid. James and I both got covid in January. My case was mild. I wasn’t hospitalized, and I was well in 10 days. James’s was he opposite. He was in and out of hospitals and rehab for two months, then came home in bad shape. We learned later that the rehab center and their doctor thought he came there to die, so they didn’t do much with him. We almost lost him twice during all this time, but literally thousands of people both here and around the world were praying for him. He’s a walking miracle. I was unable to write until June.

 

I'm sorry you had to go through all that. But what a wonderful outcome!

So, what made you decide to be a writer?

God told me to become a professional writer in 1984. You can read the testimony of how that happened by going to my website, http://www.lenanelsondooley.com and read the About Me page.

 

I'll do that! 

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Knowing I’m doing what God created me to do.

 

Amen to that!

Do you have a favorite among your characters?

Usually, when anyone asks me that, I say it’s the characters I’m writing about at that time.

Good Answer!  :) 

What are you working on now?

Book 4 in the series – A Heart’s Redemption set in Grape Vine, Texas, in 1899. The hero and heroine are older than my usual books, and they have a history that isn’t good. He’s now a successful rancher, and she owns a boardinghouse, and they haven’t seen each other for 19 years.

 

That sounds really interesting! Thanks so much for your visit today, Lena! It's been an honor to interview you!

Okay, readers! Here's more info about Lena and where you can connect with her, and her books

 

Bio: Multi-published author Lena Nelson Dooley has had more than 950,000 copies of her 54 books sold. She is a member of ACFW and the local chapter, ACFW - DFW. She’s a member of Christian Authors’ Network and Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas.

She has been on the ECPA and CBA Bestseller lists, Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list, and several Amazon Bestseller lists as well as a reviewer’s Top Ten Books of 2011. She has won over a dozen major awards.

 

Social Media Links:

Website: www.lenanelsondooley.com

Blog: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lenandooley/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lena.nelson.dooley

Official Fan Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Lena-Nelson-Dooley/42960748768?ref=ts

Twitter: www.twitter.com/lenandooley 

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmMImXr00OS8bO4FnT-yhVw?view_as=subscriber

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/333031.Lena_Nelson_Dooley

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lenanelsondooley/ 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lenanelsondooley

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPAIDE

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lena-nelson-dooley

 

Buy Links:

Amazon - http://ow.ly/7tpB50GbrE6

Also Available on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple iBooks

 

 

Shoop, Shoop, Shooping with Kerry Johnson for Some Snowstorm Suspense!

Welcome! Set your ski poles by the door and waddle on in. We're ushering in snow with this new debut author, Kerry Johnson with her Love Inspired Suspense book, Snowstorm Sabotage. And Kerry is giving away one paperback book to one blessed person who leaves a comment or leaves their information on our contact form! Before we freeze over, let's find out more about our guest.

PT: So glad you are here this week, Kerry. Tell us about your genre, how you chose this it, and how the writing bug bit you.

KJ: I’d written several stories before signing my first book contract in 2020, and three of them are part of a middle grade speculative/adventure trilogy that’s near and dear to my heart. I adored writing the action scenes in those stories. I mean, I’d choose a Marvel movie over a rom-com most days (except Christmastime, when I love me some While You Were Sleeping). After writing the middle grade trilogy, I tried contemporary romance, a full length one and a shorter, category romance-length. Then an author friend nudged me to try writing romantic suspense—and I was hooked. It mixed exactly what I love most—action and romance.

PT: Suspense grabs us doesn’t it? Now, what’s your motivation for writing?

KJ: Books and stories feed my heart and soul. They’re inspiring and comforting. I grew up reading tons and making up stories in my head in the woods of Connecticut, talking to trees and acting out scenes. For many years, I truly thought I was a weirdo. Nope, I was just a budding author. 😊 Friends have told me I said I wanted to be an author even back in elementary school, so there you have it.

PT: What helped hone your writing craft?

KJ: Entering contests, writing more books (this is a biggie; don’t spend years focusing on one story like I did—keep writing more!), finding critique partners who have different strengths than I do, and reading craft books. Oh, and attending writing conferences! Those connections and friendships are so important.

PT: Where is Snowstorm Sabotage set?

Click to buy!

KJ: It’s set at a New England ski resort, in a fictional town in Vermont called Maple Creek.

PT: Have you been in a real live blizzard?

KJ: Yes, growing up in Connecticut we had a couple blizzards in the 80s. I enjoyed them because we got to make fires in our fireplaces and snuggle up together as a family, and of course, school was cancelled. Also, my toddler years were spent in Columbus, Ohio, and my parents often recount a huge blizzard in 1977, I believe? Or maybe 1978. Obviously, I don’t remember that one.

PT: Do you ski?

KJ: The ironic thing is that I’ve water skied but never snow skied. So, I watched lots of videos and researched snow skiing for Snowstorm Sabotage.

PT: Do any of the characters in the book have similar personality traits to you or someone you know?

KJ: I would say Everly, my heroine, is very independent and take-charge. I’m independent, too, though not as strong-willed as Everly. I’m not sure I’d be up for running a ski resort like she does.

PT: Is there an inspirational/Biblical theme in this book?

KJ: Yes. The verse I chose for Snowstorm Sabotage is 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” For Everly, it’s trusting God even though it feels like He’s abandoned her. For Isaac, my hero, it’s about recognizing he has value despite what others say about him, because God values him.

PT: What’s your current favorite Bible verse?

KJ: I have so many I pray and recite during the day, Prov. 3:5-6 being one of the main ones. But lately it’s been Psalm 147:3. “He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.” My dad just passed away after a brief, difficult battle with cancer, and I’ve clung to this verse as my family and I mourn.

PT: On behalf of our readers and myself, we are so sorry to hear of your loss. Our prayers are with you and your family. So, what direction are you headed in now in terms of writing?

KJ: I’m currently finishing revisions for my next romantic suspense, then sending it to my editor at Love Inspired. I’m excited about this new story, and hopeful it turns into a series, because I so enjoyed creating these characters. For NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, in November), I’ll be finishing up a timeslip story that I started last year. For now, though, I love writing romantic suspense for Love Inspired!

PT: My favorite part! Tell 5 things about you that have nothing to do with writing.

KJ: I’m highly distracted by babies and animals.

I’m obsessed with peanut butter.

I love lizards of all kinds and would own ten if I had the room and money, etc…

I tell my bed I love you, bed at night sometimes (this is sadly not a joke. I just love that feeling of slipping into a comfy bed at the end of a long day, especially if it has newly washed sheets)

My husband and I went to high school together, but we never met until we both worked at a local Burger King. He made Whoppers and I did the drive thru. We were sixteen.

PT: Well, that's a wrap. Let's hit the slopes! (You know, turn on a Youtube fireplace and snuggle up to read Snowstorm Sabotage!)

Kerry is giving away one paperback copy of Snowstorm Sabotage. Please leave a comment with your email or contact me on the contact form.

Kerry Johnson has been conversing with fictional characters since her childhood in the Connecticut woods. A long-time member of ACFW, she’s a seven-time Genesis Contest finalist and two-time winner. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her engineer husband, two teenaged sons, her nine-year-old niece, and way too many books. She loves Jesus, long walks, all creatures great and small, and iced chai tea.