Vickie McDonough ~ Interview + Giveaway!

*You can earn up to 2 entries in this giveaway. Read below for details*

Today author Vickie McDonough is telling us about her new book, Finally a Bride (Texas Boardinghouse Brides #3) -- April 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 leave a comment on this post to find out the answer!

Welcome, Vickie! Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a wife of 35 of years, married to a computer geek. We have four grown sons, a daughter-in-law, and a feisty five-year-old granddaughter, whom I babysit twice a week after school. I’m also primary caregiver for my partially-handicapped mom. I’ve lived in the same town all my life, except for a year when my husband and I lived on a kibbutz in Israel.

I’ve been writing for ten years and am the author of 23 books and novellas.

Tell us about your salvation experience.
I’ve gone to church my whole life and gave my heart to God when I was very young. Jesus is my savior and I strongly rely on His help in life and when writing.

How do you handle disasters/BIG problems? Do you have a funny or interesting story showcasing how you handle them?
Fortunately, I haven’t encountered many disasters, and how I handle them depends on what they are. I’m pretty organized, so when bad things happen, I usually kick into maintain mod. Just do what has to be done and get through it as quickly as possible.

I did have something happen that’s funny now but wasn’t at the time. I’d twisted my ankle really bad and was on crutches. I had gone across the street for some reason and was leaning on my crutches at the curb, waiting for a car to pass. But instead of just driving on, this car slowed, the driver leaned forward and gawked at me, then finally drove on. Weird, right? I glanced down, and to my horror, the crutches had somehow pulled up my shirt clear over my bra. Yikes! Talk about embarrassing.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
When I was in high school, I hated writing. True! It amazes me more than anyone that I’ve become a writer. It was just a God thing.

What is one book that you recently read and would recommend to your readers?
I’m just about done with Surrender the Night by Marylu Tyndall. It’s a fabulous forbidden romance between an American woman and a British naval officer. Lots of yummy chemistry and exciting action.

What is your favorite time of day to write?
I prefer to write from 10 – 2, but that rarely happens. Some days I get a late start and other days I’ll write most of the day. It kind of depends on how far away my deadline is.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be?
I don’t like to compare my writing to others. Each author has a unique voice and their own special abilities. I write mostly historicals, and love exciting scenes, a sweet romance with some juicy conflict between the hero & heroine, and a dollop of humor. If you enjoy books by Cathy Marie Hake, Mary Connealy, or Lori Copeland, you’ll probably like mine.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
I’m currently writing Long Trail Home, which is set just after the Civil War in Texas. This is a rather unique project. I’m writing a series of six books with two other authors, Susan Page Davis and Darlene Franklin. It’s called Texas Trails: A Morgan Family series and spans 50 years and several generations of a Texas family. Each author will write two books, and the first three novels release this fall.

Here’s a blurb about my book: A weary soldier returns from the War Between the States to discover his parents dead, his family farm in shambles, and his fiancée married. A pretty, blind woman reaches through his scarred walls, but will the secret she holds ruin all chances for a future filled with love, faith, and family?

Book’s back cover blurb:

Jacqueline Davis, a reporter for the Lookout Ledger, is bent on nabbing her story at any cost. When Noah Jeffers comes to Lookout as temporary pastor, Jack suspects there may be something hidden behind his shepherding ways. Soon though, Jack becomes attracted to the new pastor despite her initial hesitation. But as she uncovers the truth, will the story cost her too much? Will she reveal what she’s found, or keep it hidden to protect newfound love?

Carly Payton returns to Lookout after years in prison, hoping to build a new life there. But she soon discovers that new beginnings and second chances are not always easy. Garrett Corbett is determined to marry—but not a jailbird like Carly. When Carly is equally repelled by Garrett’s prank-playing ways, will they see past their dislikes and give each other—and love—a second look?

What research did you have to do for this book?
Since I live next door to Texas, I’ve been there many times. I didn’t have to do too much research for Finally A Bride, since I had already written the first two books in the series, most of the research I did was in the small details like food and clothing of the time period, confirming when the railroad and electricity came to Northeastern Texas. Writing a book in an area in which you are familiar makes it a bit easier.

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

 

Molly Quinn, the cute red-headed daughter of Rick Castle on Castle, would be perfect for Jack.

Noah is a bit harder to cast. Tom Welling is about the right age and size and his looks are similar to what I imagine Noah looking like.

Do you have a link to a place to read the first chapter or an excerpt of this book?
Yes, the first 1000 words of Finally A Bride will be posted on the Chapter-a-Week Book Club on April 15th.
[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chapter-a-Week-Book-Club/48456973308?sk=wall]

How can readers get in contact with you?
My website is http://www.vickiemcdonough.com/

You can find out about my books there, send me an email on the Contact page, and enter my quarterly contest by signing my Guestbook. I’m also on Facebook.

Is there anything you would like to add, or tell your readers?
Thanks for spending this time with me. I appreciate each one of you. Writers are nothing without readers.

~~~~~

**USA or Canada addresses only, please**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Finally a Bride!

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 do not want 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.

**You can earn a total of 2 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. (You can put them on one comment if you want to, you don’t have to separate each entry into its own comment or anything like that.)**

*The contest will run from today (April 8) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (April 14). 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 15th, 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.