Guest Bloggers Kathleen E. Kovach and Paula Moldenhauer and Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Kathleen E. Kovach lives in northeast Colorado where she leads a critique group and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, serving as Rocky Mountain Zone Director. With a passion for movies, she has created Craft Cinema (www.craftcinema.blogspot.com) where she discusses movies through the craft of fiction. An award winning author of Christian romance, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people. Visit her at www.kathleenekovach.com.

Author, speaker, and mom of four, Paula Moldenhauer has published over 300 times. Her first two novels release in 2012. She serves as Colorado Coordinator for the American Christian Fiction Writers and homeschools. Paula loves peppermint ice cream and walking barefoot. Her greatest desire is to be close enough to Jesus to breathe His fragrance. Visit www.paulamoldenhauer.com for devotionals, parenting articles and book info.

For fun info and to order Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal please visit www.titaniclegacyofbetrayal.com.

TITANIC: LEGACY OF BETRAYAL
by Kathleen E. Kovach and Paula Moldenhauer
Published by CreateSpace

ABOUT THE BOOK

A secret. A key. Much was buried when the Titanic went down, but now it’s time for resurrection.

April 1912 - Olive Stanford boarded the Titanic determined to protect all she held dear. Her secret will go with her to the grave—but how can she face the afterlife carrying the burden of her actions?

April 2012 - Portland real estate agent, Ember Keaton-Jones, distrusts men, with good reason. Ever since her great-great-grandfather, Thomas, deserted the family after the fateful sinking of the Titanic, every Keaton male has disappointed. Ember is on the brink of a huge sale when a stranger shows up with a key to a century-old secret challenging everything she believes. She meets forward-thinking Jeff Dawson who is working in the family’s musty antique shop and finds an unexpected ally in unlocking the mystery of her past. But can they undo the legacy of Thomas Keaton's betrayal? Carefully researched, this engaging tale includes true stories of the Titanic embedded in historical fiction.

Readers, buy your copy of Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHORS

Draw All Men Kathleen E. Kovach and Paula Moldenhauer

How does one write a Christian story without writing a Christian story? Why would they even attempt that? We hope to answer these two questions in this article.

Let me begin with the second, using a slight paraphrasing. Why would anyone professing Christ want to write a book outside of the traditional Christian publishing market? In the beginning stages of our latest publication, Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal, we knew we were called to write real, to share our hearts without Christian verbiage. Not that writing for the inspirational market isn’t real, but to a fallen world it can certainly sound too good to be true. It becomes a turn-off, or in our case, they shut the book and refuse to give it a chance. We wanted to tell a story that might help someone who doesn’t know Jesus consider who He is. While we hope our Christian readers follow us, we tried to write in such a way that someone without faith will find it believable—and maybe even wrestle with God’s place in his or her life.

And now to answer the how of writing this type of story. Often in our past individual projects, we knew the spiritual thread even before the plot. This time all we knew was that we wanted readers to think about God by the end of the book. As we got deeper into the project we felt God whisper, “Do you see what we’re doing now?” Only God knows who is going to read this book. We gave it to Him to shape and to marble in the spiritual meat. As we worked through the plot, we’d occasionally declare that we had Ember figured out. Ember distrusted men—for good reason. Her journey requires her to step outside her walls and prejudices. She had to see her life through a different lens. We envisioned all sorts of themes, from trust to fear. But when we figured out what God wanted to say, the whole story fell into place. It appeared that He wanted to address generational bondage—how the choices of those who’ve gone before us affect how we think about life.

Some of us are in a prison of pain, blinded by our past, or even the past of our ancestors. We’re oppressed by things that were set in motion before we were old enough to make choices for ourselves. But these generational strongholds can be broken. We don’t have to live in the same dysfunction and patterns of our past or the past of our parents or grandparents. Jesus came to give freedom and a life of fulfillment. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1 NIV). “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT).

He also said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). Even though this verse speaks of his crucifixion, the NIV version also states in the footnotes that “lifted up” can mean exalted. This is what we hope to have done in our story. We have exalted Christ in our worldview knowing that by doing so it will draw ALL men to Him.

How does one write a Christian story without writing a Christian story? Through faith that the One who is really writing it will be sure His message is told. Why would they even attempt that? To draw ALL people to Him.

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Thank you, Kathy and Paula, for sharing with us today.

Reader Question: How important is it to you to read a book with a strong spiritual thread?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a free Kindle eBook copy of the book featured above. Don't have a Kindle? You can download the free Kindle app for your PC, iPhone, iPad, or Mac. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

Spotlight on Kathleen Kovach and Florida Weddings

Today, I have the honor of spotlighting a friend and now Zone Director of the Rocky Mountain Zone for ACFW. But the best part about her story in this anthology featured is that I helped her with some of it and even received an acknowledgment in the book. I was tickled pink when I saw that. So, without further ado, here's Kathy and her book, Merely Players, as part of the Florida Weddings anthology.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Kovach (known as Kathy by her friends) believes that if they'd done an ultrasound on her mother while she was with child, they'd have found a writing instrument clutched in her tiny hand.

After a lifetime of writing short stories, plays, and poems, God finally released Kathy to write as a career in 2002. This happened at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference where she won first place in the unpublished writers contest for her article "If Anyone Hears My Voice." She also met her editors, Jim and Tracie Peterson from Barbour's Heartsong Presents, who became intrigued with her heroine's profession, a dolphin trainer. By 2006, that novel, Merely Players, became published and went on to place second in the Inspirational Readers Choice Contest (IRCC) 2007. Then in May of this year it was bundled with two other stories by Lynn Coleman and Kristy Dykes under the title, Florida Weddings. In 2007, Kathy teamed up with Mary Davis, Sally Laity, and Jeri Odell for Love Letters, a Barbour novella collection about unique expressions of love, (hers takes place through fortune cookies.) Heartsong holds a readers poll every year, and in 2008, Kathy placed in the upper five of the Favorite New Author category.

After her contest win at CCWC, Kathy became leader of her local critique group, JOY Writers. She joined a local association, Colorado Writers Fellowship, and also a national organization, American Christian Fiction Writers, www.acfw.com. Her affiliation with ACFW eventually led to a position as the Colorado Coordinator, and she just recently moved up as the Rocky Mountain Zone Director.

Kathy lives in northeast Colorado (out where the buffalo roam) with her husband of 30+ years. She has two sons, three grandchildren, and two grandpets - all of whom, at one point or another, have taken advantage of the revolving door on her empty nest.

FLORIDA WEDDINGS
by Kathleen E. Kovach
Published by Barbour Publishing

ABOUT THE BOOK

Contemporary Romance: These fast-paced, simmering Florida romances are the perfect read while relaxing on the beach or reclining on the couch. Here you'll encounter the stories of three very different women. Renee Austin, accused of crimes she didn't commit, finds her relationship and reputation in jeopardy. Jeris Waldron and her wounded heart seem unprepared to take on a ready-made family. Bethany Hamilton, haunted by death and loss, cannot seem to escape her past, no matter where she hides. Do these three females have the faith and the fortitude to follow their hearts under the Floridian sun?

Buy Your Copy Today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this your story in this anthology?

My husband and I lived in Fort Walton Beach, Florida for ten years before he retired from the Air Force and we moved back to Colorado. While there, we visited the Gulfarium, a small aquarium along the Gulf coast. I loved all the marine mammal shows, but what sparked the idea for a story was the dolphin therapy they offered. Dr. Janet Flowers started this program several years ago to help children with special challenges enhance their therapies already in place. In essence, when they complete a behavior they are rewarded by being allowed to motion a sign to the dolphin so she will do tricks for them. Sometimes they're allowed to get in the water with the dolphin. I've showed both of these techniques in Merely Players, my story in Florida Weddings.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that are theirs and theirs alone?

I've always been fascinated with acting and did a little bit in high school. I took my love of the art to the extreme and created my characters to be actors. Brick is a movie star and Bethany is involved with community theater. My son, Joey, has been a stage actor since high school. With his experience and mine combined, I had no trouble creating scenes for my characters. As the book progressed, Brick and Bethany became much better actors than I ever dreamed to be. I think I'd rather write about acting now.

3. What themes exist in Merely Players that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

The theme springs from Psalm 139:1 "O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me." No matter how much you want to hide from God, he always knows where you are, and more importantly, who you are. The theme became "trust." Bethany has to learn to trust that her feelings toward Brick are God-breathed. She also must trust that God is in her future, and has it all planned out. Brick's trust issues run deeper. After growing up with an abusive father, he has trouble trusting himself with relationships. For the ten years he was away from Bethany, he went from one woman to another, never committing. When he reconnects with Bethany's family, he starts the road back to trusting others. He and I both had an epiphany when I wrote the scene where he realizes he had substituted father figures throughout his life.

4. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

The hardest were the Gulfarium scenes. This was a foreign world to me and I had to do a lot of research, a fraction of which made it into the book.

My favorite were the theater scenes. They gave me the chance to "become" an actor. The best part was that I didn't have to memorize any lines. *g*

5. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

I have other romance proposals in to editors but nothing contracted right now. While waiting on those, I'm writing a cozy mystery series about two sisters, possible descendants of the Brothers Grimm, who solve mysteries using their unique knowledge of fairy tales. In the first book, Big Bad Wolf, a girl in a red hoodie is missing and the sisters believe a chef named Wolf is responsible.

Thanks, Tiff, for the opportunity to talk about my book, Florida Weddings -- and specifically Merely Players, the third story in the compilation. The other two stories are by Lynn Coleman and Kristy Dykes. Here's something from the back cover: "The past casts a shadow upon the lives of three Florida women. Can these women find the strength to escape the past and the faith to embrace the future?"

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Thank *you*, Kathy, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Florida Weddings.

If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post. Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net) or that it's available for viewing in your blogger profile. Wouldn't want you to miss out on winning a book. :)

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when I announce the winner.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

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