Ann H Gabhart ~ Interview + Giveaway!

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

Today author Ann H Gabhart is telling us about her new book, Angel Sister (February 2011). 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.

Welcome, Ann! Tell us a little about yourself.

I was born on a farm and I still live on a farm now. I had plenty of farm chores as I grew up, but also a lot of time for reading and exploring the woods on our farm. I don’t do much actual farm work these days, but I do still like to explore the woods on our farm with my three dogs. I started writing when I was ten and have been at it in one way or another ever since. My first book, a historical romance was published by Warner Books in 1978. My first inspirational novel, The Scent of Lilacs, came out in 2005. I’ve published over twenty novels in various genres. My husband, Darrell, and I have three children, all married to wonderful people we claim as ours now too, and nine beautiful grandchildren.

Tell us about your salvation experience.
For as long as I can remember, I have felt a strong spiritual need in my heart and believed in the Lord. But as a child I was too shy to make a move to publicly make that feeling known. Eventually I did find the courage with the Lord’s help to make that profession of faith after my first child was born. The Lord removes obstacles if we will only let him do so.

Are you:

A spontaneous writer or a scheduled writer?
Spontaneously scheduled. I need hours of desk time to write a book, so I do have to schedule work time.

Stubborn, or compliant?
Definitely stubborn. I prefer the word persistent.

Organized or completely chaotic?
Mostly organized although if you saw my desk right now, you’d doubt the truth of that statement. The holidays and various other “life happens” issues have gotten me behind on my writing and my organizing. I do make a lot of lists, but sometimes I lose them in the chaos of papers on my desk. So perhaps I just imagine being organized.

How do you handle disasters/BIG problems? Do you have a funny or interesting story showcasing how you handle them?
With aplomb. At least that would be what I would hope. I’m not sure I could have a funny story about handling a disaster, but how about a problem? Year before last we built a new room onto our house so that all our children and grandkids could get together here at Christmas time without sitting on top of one another. While we were in the remodeling mode, we also replaced our heat pump and duct work. The work was going full blast in April and May while the deadline for my Shaker novel, The Seeker, was zooming ever closer. I had to shut myself in my office and write with workmen crawling around under the floor below my feet banging and tearing out the old duct work while yelling back and forth at one another. It made for interesting writing and proved to me I didn’t have to have silence. I like silence, but I don’t have to have it. The story still came when I put my fingers on the keyboard.

In your opinion, what is your best trait? What is your worst?
Best as a writer would have to be perseverance. In the face of rejections and years when nothing went well in my writing career, I never gave up. I kept writing. I kept trying to tell a story readers would want to read. The worst as a writer might be expecting too much from myself and others.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I’m a pretty dull person so there’s not that much surprising about me. But you might be interested in my first writing income such as it was. When I was eleven or twelve I wrote an essay and won the prize of a 100 baby chicks. I didn’t eat a bite of fried chicken that year after I’d fed and watered those babies for weeks. I told that story at a writers’ retreat and got the biggest laugh of the night.

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?
With each new book, the publishers send out a form asking all about the book and my writing. That’s one of the questions on the form that stumps me every time. What writers have a matching writing style? I have no idea. I think each writer has his or her own unique style just the same as we all have our unique personalities and fingerprints. A writer’s fingerprints are her words and the way she puts them together. Unique and individual. That said, the publishers do sometimes compare my style with other writers, but I never do.

I try to make the romance in my books heartfelt as my characters yearn for a loving relationship. My characters generally kiss at least once in my stories, sometimes in the final scene. However, in Angel Sister since the romantically involved couple is married, more than kissing is implied once or twice as would be natural with a married couple especially when the story flashes back to their newlywed days. But this is left up to the reader’s imagination and isn’t described in any kind of detail. I think my books would get a G rating on the romance front.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
Right now I am working on my fifth Shaker novel along with doing edits on my fourth Shaker novel, The Blessed, that is scheduled to be released in July 2011.

How can readers get in contact with you?
I love hearing from readers. You can contact me from my website, www.annhgabhart.com. I also post something new on my blog, One Writer’s Journal, twice a week, usually on Wednesdays and Sundays. www.annhgabhart.blogspot.com. I have an author’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-H-Gabhart/132862247566 where reading friends and I talk. Then I signed on with Twitter a few weeks ago.

Book blurb:

It is 1936 and Kate Merritt, the middle child of Victor and Nadine, works hard to keep her family together. Her father slowly slips into alcoholism and his business suffers during the Great Depression. As her mother tries to come to grips with their situation and her sisters seem to remain blissfully oblivious to any problems, it is Kate who must shoulder the emotional load. Who could imagine that a dirty, abandoned little girl named Lorena Birdsong would be just what the Merritts need?

This richly textured novel reveals the power of true love, the freedom of forgiveness, and the strength to persevere through troubled times. Multidimensional characters face real and trenchant problems while maintaining their family bonds, all against the backdrop of a sultry Kentucky summer.

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

This is another thing I usually have to come up with to help the cover designers at my publishing company. I’m not a big movie or t.v. fan, so when it comes to actors and actresses, I’m sometimes way out of the loop. So I go on the internet and google something like “actresses with brown hair and green eyes.” I can’t always find a perfect match to my imagined character, but I can usually find someone close. So here are my picks for the three viewpoint characters in Angel Sister. Please keep in mind that I’m picking on how a particular photo looks and not from seeing these actors or actresses in movies or t.v. roles. I don’t check out the actors’ or actresses’ roles or personalities, only their photos.

Do you have a link to a place to read the first chapter or an excerpt of this book?

http://www.annhgabhart.com/angel-sister.html

Is there anything you would like to add, or tell your readers?
I am so excited about Angel Sister being released and I’m hoping my readers will embrace the story. A book is not really complete for a writer until it has a reader. Reading and sharing stories is a partnership of minds. So thank you for letting my stories come to life in your imaginations and for inviting my characters into your hearts. I appreciate each and every one of my reading friends.

~~~~~

**USA and Canada addresses only, please**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Angel Sister!

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.
+1 For every person (up to six) you get to come and enter this giveaway. But, they must mention you BY NAME so that I know who to give the extra entry(s) to. :)

Read and leave a comment on one or more of my recent book reviews.
+2 Stars Collide

**You can earn up to TEN entries using 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 (February 4) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (February 10). 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 11th, 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.