Michelle Sutton ~ Interview + Giveaway!

*You can earn up to 6 entries in this giveaway. Read below for details*

Today author Michelle Sutton is telling us about her new e-book, First Love (Tombstone Treasures series #2, October 2010). She has offered a copy of her e-book to one lucky commenter. She will also be stopping by throughout the week to answer your questions! So if you have anything you want to ask her, you can include it in your comment for entering the contest. If you are only leaving a question in the comment and not entering the giveaway please say so.

Welcome, Michelle! Tell us a little about yourself.

I'm the author of over a dozen inspirational novels releasing through 2012. I have two wonderful sons who are college freshmen this year and my husband and I celebrated twenty years of marriage this past August. I love to read and write stories with real life situations. My new motto pertains to Healing Hearts, which is my new series releasing in February. It seems to be a theme with all of my books, so I have decided to take that and build on it so people will associate my stories with healing rather than with edginess.

Tell us about your salvation experience.
I thought I was a Christian when I was a teenager, but I was merely religious. It was impossible for me to not sin, so I knew something was wrong. When I was walking down the street one day, alone, and meditating on Romans 8:11-13, I realized for the first time what I was missing and asked Jesus to come into my life and do whatever needed to be done to make me right with Him. When I arrived home after my walk I didn't even have to tell my mother what had happened. She saw the difference in my face, and that confirmed that what happened in my heart that day was real. My relationship from that point on became a personal one with Jesus Christ, and I was no longer mystified as to why I didn't feel close to God when it seemed like I was doing everything right (except until I was saved I couldn't say no to temptation. That all changed when I met Jesus personally.) Now it's not to say that I never sinned after that, but I was no longer powerless to overcome it. I think that's why I write themes in my books about people falling and then being redeemed in a way that only Jesus can do.

Are you:

A spontaneous writer or a scheduled writer?
Totally spontaneous.

Stubborn, or compliant?
More compliant than stubborn. Depends on the situation. If I'm protecting someone I love, I'm like a Pit Bull. If it doesn't matter, I give in for the sake of peace.

Organized or completely chaotic?
Pretty organized. I'm more OCD than laid back. But I'm not neurotic.

How do you handle disasters/BIG problems? Do you have a funny or interesting story showcasing how you handle them?
Depends on the kind of disaster it is. When the kids would get hurt when they will little (like falling down and scraping their knees) if there was any blood involved, Daddy would have to bandage them up. I am a wimp when it comes to blood, so I will either shiver or stare with my mouth gaping. It's not pretty. Just about anything else I can handle fine. Give me an infected ingrown toenail to cure (not mine) and I'm fine with it. But paper cut on a finger? I'm a mess. :)

In your opinion, what is your best trait? What is your worst?
My best trait is probably the fact that when I love someone I tend to overlook dumb stuff that they do and extend a lot of grace. (My husband and kids love that about me and tell me as much.) I am not easily offended and most things roll right off of me because I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. However, if you personally attack me and it's obvious, my hackles come up and then it's hard for me not to get angry and attack back. Fortunately that is not a frequent occurrence in my life. I would rather ignore an issue and slip quietly away than deal with it if there would be a lot of fallout as a result. Stirring the pot is not something I like to do unless it's to protect someone who is vulnerable or to expose something that is immoral and wrong, and thus shouldn't be ignored. Most times I figure the issue is between the offender and God and so I leave it to Him to deal with.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I mentioned in another interview that my mother was a nun. About six months after she left the convent she met my dad. They married, of course, and that's the best thing that ever happened to me.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you rate the romance in your books?
I would have to say that I think I write like several historical authors in the area of romantic tension (but I don't write historical fiction) such as Julie Lessman, Deanne Gist, and Marylu Tyndall. Contemporary authors who remind me of my style when I read their books are Denise Hunter and Lisa Samson. I would have to honestly say that because I like to delve deeper into emotional and sexual tension and I always have flawed heroes and heroines, that my books tend to drift toward the PG realm and several even hit rated PG-13, but only because of subject matter. Mostly I am in the PG realm.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
I am writing the sequel to First Love to finish out the three book series.

How can readers get in contact with you?

http://www.michellesutton.net/

http://edgyinspirationalauthor.blogspot.com/

http://healingheartstheseries.blogspot.com/

michelle@michellesutton.net

Book blurb:

Josiah and Tara had enjoyed acting in their high school plays. They had also been each other's first lover... in fact; most of the time they'd spent together had been in Tara's bed. When Josiah became a Christian, he left Tara to go to college and didn't look back.

Four years later, Josiah is back in town when his father has a near-fatal heart attack. When they meet up again they realize how much their separation had hurt each of them. But now Tara is a Christian and is trying to live a life that is pleasing to God.

Josiah wants Tara back, but neither knows how to relate to each other without the physical intimacy they once shared. They are determined to do things right this time, but find it more challenging than they'd anticipated.

Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

For the character Tara I would have Miley Cyrus and the hero would be Chris Pine









Do you have a link to a place to read the first chapter or an excerpt of this book?
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-112/Tombstone-Treasures-First-Love/Detail.bok

~~~~~

*This giveaway is open to anyone*

Okay readers, here is your chance to win First Love!

TO ENTER:

*Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win). The comment is mandatory. You will not be entered unless you leave a comment AND your email address.

*If you leave a comment you will be entered unless you specify that you would not like to be entered.

*Here are the ways to get entries:

(First entry) The mandatory comment saying you would like to be entered with your email address.

+1 Become one of my followers OR subscribe to my blog by email.

Read and leave a comment on one or more of my recent book reviews.
+2 The Perfect Blend
+2 First Love

**You can earn a total of 6 entries if you do all of the above entry options. Make sure to tell me in your entry comment on this post which of the things you did to get extra entries.**

*The contest will run from today (October 15) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (October 21). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner either directly after choosing him/her or on Friday the 22nd, and then that person will have one week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner.

Good luck! Thanks for visiting.