Spotlight on Jill Elizabeth Nelson and Calculated Revenge

Don't forget the new rules of the spotlights here. Random questions will be inserted in each spotlight for you to find and answer in the comments in order to be entered. So, be on the lookout!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JILL ELIZABETH NELSON writes what she likes to read—tales of adventure seasoned with romance, humor, and faith, earning her the tagline: Endless Adventure, Timeless Truth. Jill speaks regularly at conferences, writer’s groups, library associations, and civic and church groups. When teaching classes for writers, she delights in bringing the Ahah! moment to her students as they make a new skill their own. Jill and her husband live in rural Minnesota where they raised four children and are currently enjoying their first grandchild. Visit Jill on the web at www.jillelizabethnelson.com.

CALCULATED REVENGE
by Jill Elizabeth Nelson
Published by Steeple Hill Suspense

ABOUT THE BOOK

It’s been eighteen years since Laney Thompson’s sister was abducted and killed, but Laney’s pain and haunting guilt has never faded. Now the murderer is back, taunting Laney with mementos of her sister and threatening Laney’s young daughter. School principal Noah Ryder is her best hope for protecting her daughter—if she can convince the former investigator to take the case. As the threats escalate and clues lead to shocking secrets from the past, Laney’s survival—and that of her daughter—depends on the rusty gifts and skills Noah wants only to forget.

Readers, buy your copy of Calculated Revenge today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

I'm passionate about kids--protecting them and educating them--and I've long wanted to do a story about child abduction. However, I also wanted to give the plot unique twists, so we're not just dealing with the standard pervert. My familiarity with public schools from former employment and sending four children through the system made a solid springboard for the story. I'm also a life-long native of small towns in Minnesota, so I know how they tick. It's an intriguing dynamic I hope my readers enjoy.

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

Setting was probably the story aspect most influenced by my own experiences and not so much the characters. However, my acquaintance with our local elementary school principal and various teachers helped with the primary concerns common to these kinds of occupations. The personality traits and history of my characters are pretty much their own. Noah and Laney, my hero and heroine, both struggle with ugly, gut-wrenching events in their past, along with the accompanying guilt and self-doubts. This creates a subtle bond between them that I capitalized on covertly throughout the story. My depiction of Laney's former neighbor is based on personal experience with alcoholics.

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

You want us to try avoiding Rocky Road? LOL! Yes, I think that would be the flavor of every fiction plot on the planet, as well as the characters.

Laney, my heroine, is vanilla fudge brownie. She's a pure and honest soul, a wholesome girl-next-door type--hence the vanilla. However, veins and nuggets of depth and richness lie within. No wonder my reluctant hero finds her irresistible!

4. Are there any themes in Calculated Revenge that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

I hope the reader sees the theme of forgiveness front and center. The depth of forgiveness required from my characters is cavernous, but not nearly the scope of what Jesus did for us. I hope the reader grasps that comparison and is helped to come to terms with the need to forgive others in their own life. The corrupting power of hatred and bitterness is the flip side to that forgiveness coin. I hope the reader takes the example played out in the story as a jolt of awareness--a spear to the gut, if you will, as to what could happen in their own soul if they don't let go of hurts and grudges, even those that seem just and deserved. If God gave us what was just and deserved, instead of His unmerited grace and favor, we'd all just be greasy spots on the road. His example must be our lifestyle if we are to enjoy peace and freedom in our hearts.

A more subtle theme would be an admonition not to accept people at face value, but to look through the eyes of the Holy Spirit to discern the heart. None of us are exactly who we appear to be on the outside. Kind of a scary concept, which should drive us closer to God for His protection and discernment.

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

I found it challenging to write the scene near the end where the heroine loses hope for her daughter and is confronted with the ugliness of unforgiveness in her own heart. Even though it was a difficult part to write on an emotional level, since Laney's loss and betrayal is so overwhelming, it was also one of my favorites because it was a deep, defining moment for both Noah and Laney. Through Laney's predicament, Noah is forced to confront his own need to forgive and let go.

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

Legacy of Lies releases to bookshelves in October from Steeple Hill. A cop's widow discovers the bones of an infant in her grandmother's back yard. Were her upright grandparents really the kidnappers and killers that took the son of the town's most prominent family decades ago? Is murder her legacy? In order to clear her family name, she must defy the clout of the town's founding family and team up with the last man on the planet she'd care to feel attraction for--another cop.

Question: How long has it been since Laney's kid sister disappeared, and have you ever tried to comfort someone who has lost a love one prematurely? Or have you ever been the person to experience such loss?

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Thank you, Jill, for being in the spotlight with us.

NEW!! Readers, answer the question associated with the spotlight in the comments, then leave your email address for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Calculated Revenge. If you do not answer the question, you will not be entered.

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

This week, the contest is open to anyone nationwide.

Spotlight on Shannon Vannatter and White Roses

Don't forget the new rules of the spotlights here. Random questions will be inserted in each spotlight for you to find and answer in the comments in order to be entered. So, be on the lookout!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SHANNON VANNATTER is a stay-at-home mom/pastor’s wife/writer. When not writing, she runs circles in the care and feeding of her husband Grant, their eight-year-old son, and their church congregation. Home is a central Arkansas zoo with two charcoal gray cats, a chocolate lab, a dragonfish, and three dachshunds in weenie dog heaven. If given the chance to clean house or write, she’d rather write. Her goal is to hire Alice from the Brady Bunch.

Her series with Heartsong Presents launched in May with White Roses. White Doves follows in October, and White Pearls in January. Each book ships to a 10,000 member bookclub, then to stores six months later. All three books are set in Romance and Rose Bud, Arkansas. Brides and lovebirds take advantage of the re-mailing program to have wedding invitations and Valentines cards mailed from Romance with a unique postmark. Romance also hosts several annual weddings with Valentine’s Day the most popular.

Order White Roses at http://www.heartsongpresents.com/book/detail/9781602607552/. Learn more about Shannon and her books at http://shannonvannatter.com. Her new blog, The Inkslinger, features true love stories, inspirational author’s real-life romances, insight into the love lives of their fictional characters, book excerpts, romantic destinations, and weekly book giveaways at http://www.shannonvannatter.com/blog.

WHITE ROSES
by Shannon Vannatter
Published by Barbour Publishing's Heartsong Presents

ABOUT THE BOOK

Pastor Grayson Sterling loves his wife. The problem is, Sara was killed by a hit-and-run driver two years ago. Grayson knows he needs to move on, that the continuing depth of his grief is not healthy for him or his young son. Desperate, he convinces his church to hire Mark Welch as associate pastor to relieve him of some of his load. When Adrea Welch arrives at his church with her brother, Grayson cannot deny his attraction to her.

For years, florist Adrea Welch has been artfully arranging white roses for Sara Sterling. Now those flowers are carried to the cemetery by a faithful, grieving husband. How can Adrea be so attracted to a man still devoted to his dead wife? When secrets from Adrea’s past collide with their budding relationship, both she and Grayson must learn to lean on God’s abiding wisdom.

Readers, buy your copy of White Roses today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

My dad always sends me flowers or balloons on Valentine's Day. As he's gotten older, I've wondered how I'll feel the first time no gift comes. Then I turned it around, and wondered would happen if I die first. I decided he'd take them to the cemetery. It became a widowed pastor and the florist who did his wife's flowers and grew from there. I still have my dad. He's seventy and still works part-time as a ranch foreman.

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

Adrea is tempted to bite her nails when she's nervous, a habit I had as a kid. Grayson has panic attacks if anyone he loves is in danger or when an ambulance goes by. I lost a cousin in a car accident several years ago. For a long time afterward, I worried that someone I loved was in every ambulance I heard.

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

Adrea is Death by Chocolate, her choice when she's feeling down. Grayson is Chocolate Chip. Just because he's yummy handsome and that's my favorite flavor. So far, all my heroes have dark hair and green eyes like my hubby.

4. Are there any themes in White Roses that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

The theme is letting go of your fears and letting God handle life for you. A side theme that readers might not notice: Wade was a thorn in Adrea and Grayson's side.

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

The black moment was the most difficult because I hate being mean to my characters. My favorite was the happily-ever-after.

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

The next book in the series is White Doves and releases to the book club in October and stores in April. It's set in the Romance, AR post office. The heroine is the postmaster and the hero is the mail carrier.

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Thank you, Shannon, for being in the spotlight with us.

NEW!! Readers, answer the question associated with the spotlight in the comments, then leave your email address for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of White Roses. If you do not answer the question, you will not be entered.

Question: Since it's close to Father's Day:
1. What do you think I should do for my dad in return for all those gifts?
2. What's your favorite memory about your dad?

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

Blog Winners All Posted

Ok, I'm SO embarrassed that 8 weeks of spotlights went without winners being selected. Chalk it up to a vacation in Yellowstone, a writer's conference and then Memorial Day weekend following my daughter's 1st birthday, and now closing on a new house. So much to do, so little time to do it.

Thank you for continuing to leave comments though. I truly appreciate your support. So much more than words can say.

All winners have been posted. Another winner next week. Congratulations to all the winners. And keep coming back to leave comments. You just never know when the next win will be you!

Blog Spotlight - Gina Holmes and Crossing Oceans

Don't forget the new rules of the spotlights here. Random questions will be inserted in each spotlight for you to find and answer in the comments in order to be entered. So, be on the lookout!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

GINA HOLMES began her career penning articles and short stories in 1998. In 2005 she founded the influential literary blog, Novel Journey. She holds degrees in science and nursing and currently resides with her husband and children in Southern Virginia. Her debut novel, Crossing Oceans released April/May 2010 with Tyndale House Publishers. To learn more about her, visit: www.ginaholmes.com or noveljourney.blogspot.com

CROSSING OCEANS
by Gina Holmes
Published by Tyndale House

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sometimes love demands the impossible

Nothing deepens a stream like a good rain . . . or makes it harder to cross. Jenny Lucas swore she’d never go home again. But life has a way of upending even the best-laid plans. Now, years after she left, she and her five-year-old daughter must return to her sleepy North Carolina town to face the ghosts she left behind. They welcome her in the form of her oxygen tank-toting grandmother, her stoic and distant father, and David, Isabella’s dad . . . who doesn’t yet know he has a daughter. As Jenny navigates the rough and unknown waters of her new reality, the unforgettable story that unfolds is a testament to the power of love to change everything—to heal old hurts, to bring new beginnings . . . even to overcome the impossible.

VIEW THE TRAILER



ENDORSEMENTS

"Beautiful and heartfelt."
Charles Martin, NYT bestselling author of Where the River Ends

"Poignant and unforgettable, CROSSING OCEANS will break your heart — and then put the pieces back together again. This is an uplifting and inspiring tale that reminds us to live every day as if it’s our last."
Tess Gerritsen, NYT Best-selling author

"Moving, heart-rending and poignant, a stunning debut. Holmes returns us to what matters in a too-short life—what it really is to come home."
Tosca Lee, author of Havah & Demon: A Memoir

"Gina Holmes explores the beauty, tenderness and tenacity of mother-love in Crossing Oceans with marvelous skill and insight. An outstanding debut from a gifted storyteller. Bravo!"
Susan Meissner, author of The Shape of Mercy

Readers, buy your copy of Crossing Oceans today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

I was writing suspense novels at the time I started, but no longer wanted to read suspense. I had discovered classics like Jane Eyre and Watership Down, and then had been reading Charles Martin, Lisa Samson, Tosca Lee, Claudia Burney, Francine Rivers, Memoirs of a Geisha, Kite Runner, and I fell in love with words all over again. I wanted to try something different.

The idea about a dying woman who never told her boyfriend she was pregnant just popped in my head. I was going through a divorce at the time. It was something I had prayed so long and hard for a miracle for, and that miracle never came. Instead my husband asked me for the divorce. I felt like I was dying. I think subconsciously I was working that out through my story.

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

Good question that only a writer would think to ask. Ha. My parents divorced when I was a baby and I was very much a mediator type like Isabella. I saw the good in everyone when I was that little, and in everything. So, she is somewhat based on me at that age, and pieces of my own children. She's a lot more sanguine than I am though. I have more melancholy, like Jenny.

Speaking of Jenny, she always tries to do the right thing, but that's not always her first reaction. She's sort of a knee-jerk reaction type at first, just the way I am. But, like me, give her a few minutes to think about it and she's able to make the right choices and see things through other's eyes. Though, I hope I'm a little more empathetic than she is. She's tougher than me that way.

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

Jenny would be ... okay, I have no clue. She's a dying woman, it's hard to assign a flavor to that.

4. Are there any themes in Crossing Oceans that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

The theme that as Christians, we don't need to fear death, is I guess the most obvious. In the Bible, God promises to those who have called on Jesus' name, streets of gold, no more tears, mansions, and His presence. The end of this human life is only a wonderful beginning.

A theme that took on a life of its self was the one of sacrifice. The twist near the end of the story where Jenny is asked to give even more than I'd planned when I started writing the book completely caught me off guard. I sat there with the idea of what she was going to be asked to do and my heart ached for her. It's too much, I told myself and yet I knew I had to write it.

In this life where everyone, including people in our churches, are using the platitude as though it's gospel of "you deserve to be happy," I wanted to show that personal happiness isn't always the right choice. Jesus deserved happiness more than you or I and what did he choose? And thank goodness He did. You and I don't deserve happiness. We're sinners, we deserve Hell. But because of Jesus giving up what He deserved, we ultimately will have happiness, if not in this life, than in Heaven.

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

The twist at the end where I ask Jenny to give more than I thought she would have to. I truly asked her to give something that seemed an impossible sacrifice. That killed me to write. It also was so difficult to write the scene at the ocean, where Jenny explains death to her daughter, using the ocean as a metaphor (thus the title of the book.) I cried every single time I read or edited it. I want to cry just thinking about it. As a mother, that's hard.

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

Dry as Rain is being written as we speak, well, after we speak. It's the story of a couple who let's assumptions cause an avalanche in their marriage that leads to infidelity and ultimately the choice of whether or not to divorce. It's supposed to release this time next year. I'm only two weeks away from that deadline. I'd appreciate prayers of those who would be willing. I need a small miracle to pull it together and finish it with a bang.

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Thank you, Gina, for being in the spotlight with us.

NEW!! Readers, answer the question below in the comments, then leave your email address for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Crossing Oceans. If you do not answer the question, you will not be entered.

Question: What one aspect of your life do you feel would be a good starting point for a story?

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

June New Releases in Christian Fiction

Check out the exciting new June releases written by ACFW authors. Great summer reading is ahead!

1. A Hopeful Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer -- An Historical from Bethany House. Can she turn her second-best chance into a golden opportunity?

2. A Love of Her Own; Heart of the West series by Maggie Brendan -- A Romance from Revell. April McBride has everything her heart desires . . .except the one thing money can't buy.

3. A Matter of Character; The Sisters of Bethlehem Springs, #3 by Robin Lee Hatcher -- A Romance from Zondervan. In 1918, writing dime novels simply isn't done by an heiress, so when Joshua looks for the author who's sullied his grandfather's name, he never suspects Daphne's the guilty party.

4. A Tailor-Made Bride by Karen Witemeyer -- An Historical from Bethany House. Sparks fly when a dressmaker who values beauty tangles with a liveryman who condemns vanity.

5. Almost Forever; Book 1, Hanover Falls Novels series by Deborah Raney -- Women's Fiction from Howard Books/Simon & Schuster. Survivors of five fallen firefighters band together to try to make sense of the tragedy that took their loved ones.

6. Anna Finch and the Hired Gun; Women of the West series, Book 2 by Kathleen Y'Barbo -- A Romance from Waterbrook. When an aspiring reporter and a Pinkerton detective get tangled in Doc Holliday's story...and each other...sparks can't help but fly.

7. Chasing Lilacs by Carla Stewart -- Women's Fiction from FaithWords/Hachette. A coming-of-age story set in Texas in the 1950s as a young girl struggles with her own identity in light of her mother's mental illness.

8. End Game; Big Sky Secrets, book #3 by Roxanne Rustand -- A Romance from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. Big Sky Secrets--a five-book Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense series set in the Rockies of Montana

9. Her Abundant Joy by Lyn Cote -- An Historical from Avon Inspired. Can a beautiful young widow find peace in the arms of a Texas Ranger?

10. Maid of Murder; India Hayes Mysteries, Book One by Amanda Flower -- A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Five Star Mystery. College librarian and reluctant bridesmaid, India Hayes, sets out to prove her brother's innocence when the bride is murdered.

11. Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist -- An Historical from Bethany House. Two servants at Biltmore House at the turn of the century find that God can take your life in a very different direction than you had planned.

12. Manor of the Ghost by Tina Pinson -- Women's Fiction from Desert Breeze. Kaitlin didn't believe in Ghosts, until she saw them in Devlin's eyes and heard them in the deafening silence of her son, Derrick.

13. My Son, John by Kathi Macias -- Women's Fiction from Sheaf House. Can God bring healing to a family torn apart by a brutal crime?.

14. Ruby Red; Ruby Red and The Colors of Home Series by Robin Shope -- A Multicultural from Sparklesoup. Eleven-year-old Ruby Red sneaks on board the Orphan Train, meant only for white children, with her pet cockroach in her pocket.

15. Sabotage by Kit Wilkinson -- A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Steeple Hill. Equine veterinary student Derrick Randall tries to help Olympic hopeful Emilie Gill find faith and a way to her Olympic dreams.

16. Shades of Morning by Marlo Schalesky -- A Romance from Waterbrook. When Marnie becomes the guardian of her Down syndrome nephew, will she run again?

17. Steadfast Soldier; Wings of Refuge #7 by Cheryl Wyatt -- A Romance from Steeple Hill. These soldiers of the skies are fearless, faithful...and falling in love.

18. The Heart's Song by Winnie Griggs -- A Romance from Love Inspired. Two lonely people work together to help others and ultimately find love.

19. The Homecoming; Sequel to The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh -- An Historical from Revell. Shawn Collins returns home from the dangers of WW2 to face the loss of his first love, but discovers God has set in motion a plan to heal his broken heart.