Margaret Brownley ~ Interview + Giveaway!

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

Today author Margaret Brownley is telling us about her new book, A Suitor for Jenny (Rocky Creek Romance series, book 2 -- October 2010). She has offered an autographed copy of her 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.

Margaret included this in the interview. It's hilarious!
Some timely advice for landing a husband from A SUITOR FOR JENNY:

1) Charm and composure must prevail at all times. If a gunfight erupts, exit the scene with grace and serenity.

2) If you don’t know whether or not to kiss a handsome man, give him the benefit of the doubt.

3) Never engage in boisterous laughter. If you must show mirth, a polite smile or titter will suffice.

4) Never criticize your beau. If it wasn’t for his faults he’d probably be courting someone else.

5) A woman more knowledgeable than a man is obliged to hold her tongue and feign ignorance in all matters except, of course, childbirth.

6) Never show affection in public. Love may be blind but the townspeople are not.

7) Once your vows are exchanged devote yourself to domestication—his.

8) Eschew secrets, for they are normally discovered at the worst possible time. If confronted, weep and deny everything.

Welcome, Margaret! Tell us a little about yourself.

First, I want to thank you for inviting me to visit with your readers. It’s a joy to be here. As for myself, I always wanted to be a writer and wrote my first book in 5th grade—a mystery with no ending and probably no value. I went on to other things but that old writing bug never left me. It wasn’t until my children reached junior high that I decided to follow my dream. I started by editing the church newsletter. After making the church picnic sound like a John Grisham novel my then pastor took me aside and suggested that perhaps God was calling me to write fiction. So that’s what I did. A SUITOR FOR JENNY is my 23rd book.

Are you:

A spontaneous writer or a scheduled writer?
I’m at my desk every morning at 4 a.m. rain or shine. When I first started writing my three children were still at home and I worked outside the home. The only way I could find time to write was at 4 a.m. It’s a habit I can’t seem to break. I guess that makes me a scheduled writer.

Stubborn, or compliant?
Let’s just say I’m determined.

Organized or completely chaotic?
I guess you could say I’m half and half. My writing tends to be chaotic. Plan a book? Me? I don’t even plan dinner. On the other hand, my drawers and closets are tidy and I can’t stand dishes in the sink. My husband often tells the story of getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and coming back to find the bed already made. Part of the fun of writing is being surprised. I never know where my characters will take me. Come to think of it, dinner always surprises me, too.

How do you handle disasters/BIG problems? Do you have a funny or interesting story showcasing how you handle them?
I usually remain perfectly calm in a disaster—and fall apart after it’s over. As for the BIG problems—I let God handle those.

In your opinion, what is your best trait? What is your worst?
I have an enormous amount of energy (people say I’m hyper. My family calls me Everready after the Energizer Bunny because I’m always going, going, going). My worst trait is…I can’t sit still.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I flunked 8th grade English (still can’t diagram a sentence), and got through history by the skin of my teeth (all those dates and battles!). I’m probably more qualified to be an astronaut than a writer of historical fiction.

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’ve been compared to Mary Connealy because we both write western romances with humor. I consider this a tremendous compliment. I really don’t know how to rate the romance. My stories are about two people falling in love—truly a gift from God—and yes, sometimes they kiss and sometimes they simply wish they could.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
The next book in the Rocky Creek series is A VISION OF LUCY to be published in June. I just complete a short story for the Log Cabin Christmas anthology. I’m currently working on book #1 in my Spinster Brides series.

How can readers get in contact with you?
I love to hear from readers. You can contact me through my website:www.margaretbrownley.com

I’m also on facebook and Twitter.

Book blurb:

When looking for a husband it's best to go where the odds are in your favor.

After their parents died, Jenny Higgins felt responsible for taking care of her two younger sisters. Learning that Rocky Creek has the highest number of eligible bachelors per capita, Jenny rolls into this Texas town with a clear objective: find suitable husbands for her two younger sisters and then start fresh somewhere far, far away.

Jenny believes that women who fall in love at first sight often wish they’d taken a second look, so she diligently begins to follow all the rules set forth in her handy manual on how to land a husband. Leaving nothing to chance she subjects each eager bachelor to the Potential Husband Attitude Test (otherwise known as the PHAT), which even Marshal Rhett Armstrong fails.

But while Jenny is interviewing the less-than-promising candidates, her sisters are falling in love the old fashioned way. Jenny is convinced she knows how to pick “perfect” men and it will take two rebellious sisters, a handsome marshal and a whole lot of faith to convince her otherwise.

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

Scarlett Johansson would make a great Jenny. Cool and independent on the outside, vulnerable within.

Finding a rugged, handsome cowboy type actor to play Marshal Rhett Armstrong would be a problem. They just don’t make that kind of thirty-something actor anymore. The closest would be Hugh Jackman (think Drover in Australia).

Is there anything you would like to add, or tell your readers?

Thank you for spending time with me today. I wish I could send you all a book. God bless and have a wonderful and blessed New Year!

~~~~~

**USA addresses only, please**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of A Suitor for Jenny!

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.

+4 GO HERE. (Very simple. I'm only asking for your opinion on something.) :)

**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 (January 14) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (January 20). 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 21st, 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.