Come meet YA author Jean Ann Williams

Today I'm pleased to host and welcome YA author Jean Ann Williams as my debut interview on the Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction! Thank you, Jean Ann for sharing the story of Just Claire and the Lavender Girls Club with our readers. Jean will be giving away one copy of Just Claire. So be sure to leave a comment in order to be entered to win.

Tracey:  Tell us a little bit about why you decided to write YA fiction? 

   

J     Jean Ann: Actually, the book was slotted for upper middle graders, but people who’ve read the book are saying it’s for all ages above upper middle grade. And I chose upper middle grade because I remember my first intense feelings at this age as a pre-teen, and the problems Claire deals with can hit home as early as this age group.

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      Tracey:  In Just Claire there is a group called the Lavender Girls Club. What was your inspiration for them and can you share with us how you developed Claire’s compelling character?

Jean Ann: The idea of a girls club was a suggestion by a writing friend. I loved the idea. So, recalled from real life a time when I didn’t feel I fit at home any longer, and so I reached out to a group of popular girls to find my place in life. At the same time, I observed at this age how mean girls could be even at the elementary school level. In developing Claire’s character, it took a lot of years to create her as her own person. I kept taking my feelings, which can be fine, and making Claire out to be me. It’s good to use one’s feelings, but I reached a point where it didn’t work. Claire wasn’t working, and so I prayed a lot about how to disassociate myself from Claire and make her stand on her own. To make her more well rounded faults and all. The lying part with Claire came only a few years ago toward the end of polishing the story.

Tracey: I’m sure your readers would love to know about your writing process. Do you have a set schedule for your writing time? Is there a special place where you write? 

Jean Ann: I don’t have a set schedule, although, my best times are early morning. I like waking before dawn and catching glimpses of the sun rising as I work. I do have an office, but I’ve been known to use yellow, legal-sized pads to do my very first draft, and I most often do this on road trips in the passenger seat of the car. I heard once the color yellow inspires the creative process and so I tried it and found this to be true.

Tracey: Who are some of your favorite authors? Who or what do you find influences your creativity?

Jean Ann: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Louisa May Alcott, Nicholas Sparks, and Bonnie Leon. What inspires me in my creativity is people watching and hearing them speak. I can take a sentence or a word someone says and create a character from this. I especially enjoy digging into my past memories as a child and use the antics and words my siblings were known for and create from this whole characters and scenes. But then, my own creative process takes over and I’ll build from what I started, fleshing, molding, polishing my characters.

Tracey: What’s next for Jean Ann Williams? Will we see more of the Lavender Girls?

Jean Ann: I have six writing projects from ages New Adult to chapter books for young readers in various stages of completion. Just a few days ago, I finally realized a solid theme and plot for a sequel to Just Claire, and yes, it has to have the Lavender Girls within the story. I’m thinking, just maybe, the theme of forgiveness will be woven throughout the story.

Thank you Jean Ann for dropping by our blog.
Don't forget Jean Ann is giving away one copy of her fabulous book! Be sure to leave a comment.

About the novel Just Claire...

ClaireLee’s life changes when she must take charge of her siblings after her mother becomes depressed from a difficult childbirth. Frightened by the way Mama sleeps too much and her crying spells during waking hours, ClaireLee just knows she’ll catch her illness like a cold or flu that hangs on through winter. ClaireLee finds comfort in the lies she tells herself and others in order to hide the truth about her erratic mother. Deciding she needs to re-invent herself, she sets out to impress a group of popular girls.

With her deception, ClaireLee weaves her way into the Lavender Girls Club, the most sophisticated girls in school. Though, her best friend Belinda will not be caught with the likes of such shallow puddles, ClaireLee ignores Belinda’s warnings the Lavenders cannot be trusted. ClaireLee drifts further from honesty, her friend, and a broken mother’s love, until one very public night at the yearly school awards ceremony. The spotlight is on her, and she finds her courage and faces the truth and then ClaireLee saves her mother’s life.

Downloads available at Amazon: http://ow.ly/XmCJ5

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/just-claire-jean-ann williams/1123223218?ean=2940157880842

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/just-claire

See the trailer: https://youtu.be/s8x5lJKZFHU

Jean’s blog: http://jeanannwilliams.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanAnnWilliams

Author Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Jean-Ann-Williams-848295125269670/?ref=hl

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/

 

Step Back in Time with Pepper Basham

Greetings, readers. I am so excited to introduce our guest today. I finished reading her latest book, The Thorn Keeper, a couple weeks ago and fell in love with there feisty, strong heroine. And without further adieu, I'd like to welcome Pepper Basham to the Diamond Mine.

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the mom of 5 great kids, speech-pathologist to about fifty more, lover of chocolate, jazz, and Jesus, and proud AlleyCat over at a group writing blog, The Writer’s Alley. Her debut historical romance novel, The Thorn Bearer, released in May 2015, and has already garnered its first award with Readers’ Favorites International Awards. Pepper’s second and third books in the series arrive in February 2016. Her first contemporary romance debuts in April.





Suzie: Welcome to The Diamond Mine, Pepper. I’m thrilled to introduce your Historical fiction books to our readers today. The Thorn Keeper is book two in your Penned in Time series. What are your favorite scenes to write? What are the most difficult ones?


Pepper: Thank you SO much for inviting me to join you here. I'm so excited to talk about these stories I love.

As far as scenes go? I suppose my favorites to write are the intense emotional scenes. Those flow so much faster and easier for me, usually. High romantic scenes or dangerous scenes - those are my favorites. Sometimes the very poignant emotional/spiritual ones as well.

I suppose the most difficult ones for me to write are the 'filler' scenes. The ones I must write to move the story alone and get to the next 'emotional' scene :-)

Suzie: As a reader, I become engaged and involved with the characters in the books I read and love. Do you find that to be truer when writing? Is it hard to let go when you’ve finished writing a book?

Pepper: I have never had as much difficulty letting go of any book than The Thorn Keeper. For me, I think the characters seemed to alive and powerful that they lingered with me more than usual. I've only had one other book kind of seize me like this and it's my favorite contemporary. I hope and pray that as I continue to grow as a write, God will help consistently develop meaningful, deep, and 'lingering' characters.

Suzie: Your word for 2016 is JOY. What are a few ways you’ve found your joy so far this year?

Pepper: I always find joy in my faith and my family. My kids are such a delight to me and help encourage me on this journey so much. I find so much joy in writing - and just recently found the 'click' I needed for my Work In Progress, book 3 in the Penned in Time series. It's been such a difficult book to 'get going' in the writing process, and I blame Catherine and David from book 2 for that. They left me emotionally exhausted :-)

Suzie: Your husband’s job is in church leadership. I grew up a PK (preacher’s kid) and know that careers in the pastorate often mean a probability that you’re going to move once in a while. In fact, you mention on your website that you moved from Tennessee to Asheville, NC. How do you prepare your family for those kinds of life-changing moves?

Pepper: Lots of prayer! Also my husband and I are very intentional in trying to prepare our kids and listen to them. This move was easily the toughest one of the eight we've made because the friendships were so deep. I'm very deliberate in finding ways for them to keep up those friendships as best we can.

Suzie: You have five children and work as a speech-language pathologist for children with autism. What lessons have the little ones in your life taught you?

Pepper: God is bigger

People are more important than things - building relationships is what lasts.

Perspective makes a difference...so don't jump to conclusions

Kindness is universal, regardless of the way one processes the world or the disability.

Suzie: Asheville, NC is famous for the Biltmore Estate and the Smoky Mountains. What’s your favorite thing about living in Asheville, NC?

Pepper: You already named my two favorites: The mountains and the Biltmore Estate :-) I am a HUGE fan of the Biltmore. In fact, I just had the opportunity to have high tea in the Biltmore Inn a few weeks ago. There's such an ambience of the past there - and it feeds into my passion for the time period. Also, George and Edith Vanderbilt (the original owners of the Biltmore) were fascinating characters in their own right. Generous, kind, with a  heart for the Appalachian community in which they lived. My heritage is Appalachia and I love to learn about how the Vanderbilts made a difference in this part of the world.

Then there are the mountains....their beauty speaks for itself.

This is a photo I (Suzie) took of the Tennessee side of the Smoky Mountains a couple years ago.

Suzie: Name 3 must-haves (or favorite things) to have on hand when you’re writing.

Pepper: Well, sometimes it depends on the book I'm writing :-)

I love using The Synonym Finder as a 'jumpstart' tool for great descriptive words.

Most of the time I have a cup of English Breakfast tea nearby.

And photos! I usually fill my computer screen or desk with photos from the era or of the characters.

Suzie: When all is said and done, what do you want readers to come away with when they turn the final page in your books?

Pepper: Oh what a great question! Hope. I want readers to end the book and understand that there's hope, no matter the circumstances, the wounds, the heartache and grief. And that hope comes from God. If the readers enjoy some beautiful romance, a little adventure, and some added humor along the way, that's fantastic, but in the end, I want them to know hope is near.

Suzie: In addition to your beautiful Historical fiction books, you also have a contemporary fiction book (A Twist of Faith) coming out this spring. Want to give readers a little peek into that one while you’re here?

Pepper: Oh yes! I'd love to share a little about it. It's a modern day retelling of My Fair Lady...with a twist :-) Adelina Roseland is a speech-language pathology professor with a chip on her shoulder and something to prove, so she makes a wager to change Appalachian cattle farmer Reese Mitchell into corporate world material in only 3 months.

Thank you for spending some time with us today, Pepper.

To keep up with Pepper Basham's releases, visit her at her website, Facebook, or Twitter.

Now, for our readers, here's a taste of what you'll get when you pick up a copy of The Thorn Keeper.

With her newfound faith, Catherine Dougall hopes to take the remnants of her threadbare life and make something beautiful, even if society shuns every choice she makes.

Dr. David Ross must save his war hospital from ruin, but when his notorious aunt makes an offer he can’t refuse, he must choose between his surprising affection for a reformed flirt or his dreams.

From the beautiful Derbyshire countryside to the trenches of World War One, Catherine and David must learn to trust in a God who never forgets his children and fashions beauty out of the most broken things.

Pepper is generously giving one lucky reader a digital copy of The Thorn Keeper. To enter, just leave a comment below along with your email. Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, March 9, 2016.