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.

Ann H. Gabhart ~ Interview + Giveaway!

Today author Ann H. Gabhart is telling us about her book, The Believer. She has offered an autographed copy of her book to one lucky winner!

Welcome, Ann! Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a country girl who loves to write. I have three grown children, all married, and nine beautiful grandchildren who keep me hopping. I’m married to a wonderful man who loves to sing gospel music as much as I love to write. Darrell sings bass in The Patriot Quartet, a Southern Gospel group. I like walking on our farm with my three dogs. I attend a small country church a lot like the church in my Hollyhill books. Right now for lack of anybody else willing to do it, I’m leading the singing there even though I’m not much of a singer. But I’m willing to try most anything except jumping out of an airplane. I’ll leave that one up to President George Bush who says he’s going to skydive again on his 90th birthday. I prefer the birthday excitement of a nice hot cup of tea and a new book to read.

How long have you been writing? How many books do you have published?
When I was nine or ten I loved to read Hardy Boy mysteries and decided to write my own mystery with me, my sister, and my cousin as the crime solvers. That was loads of fun and I’ve been writing ever since. I’ve published nineteen books in various genres and have five more under contract to be released in the next few years. My first novel, a historical romance, was published in 1978. My first inspirational novel, The Scent of Lilacs, was published in 2005. I love writing for the inspirational market. The readers of inspirational fiction are great.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you rate your romance?
While I’ve had some reviewers compare my writing to this or that other writer, that’s not something I do. I like thinking I have my own unique style the same as those other writers do.

I’d describe my novels as G but there is some kissing in the stories. Of course with the Shaker novels, the kissing is rare since the Shakers didn’t believe in men and women having any sort of romantic relationships. They believed all should live as brothers and sisters.

In your own words tell us a little about The Believer.

The Believer is set in 1833-34 in a Shaker community in Kentucky. The two main characters, Elizabeth and Ethan, come to Harmony Hill by different paths. Ethan is raised by the Shakers after he makes his escape from an abusive father. Years later Elizabeth ends up in the Shaker Village when her father dies and she has no way to take care of her younger brother and sister. Naturally when Elizabeth and Ethan first meet, sparks fly, but since such feelings are forbidden in a Shaker community where matrimony is considered sinful and the Shakers practice extreme measures to keep contact between the sexes at a minimum, there seems little hope for their romance. Ah, but the need for love is hard to deny. The story has several other characters that add depth to the story including Elizabeth’s little sister. Hannah is a free spirit who struggles with the Shaker rules even as Elizabeth does her best to keep her out of trouble. Ethan is guided in his spiritual growth by a kind Shaker brother, Issachar. Both Elizabeth and Ethan are faced with challenges that test their beliefs and courage.

While The Believer is set in the same Shaker community as The Outsider, the stories take place in different time periods, 1812 and 1833-34, and aren’t about the same characters. However they are book one and two of my Shaker book series. Book three, The Seeker will be released in the summer of 2010 and takes place during Civil War times.

Blurb:

Elizabeth Duncan has nowhere to turn. In charge of her younger brother and sister after their parents die, her options are limited. When she hears that the Shaker community in the next county takes in orphans, she presents herself and her siblings at Harmony Hill. Despite the hard work and strange new beliefs around her, Elizabeth is relieved to have a roof overhead and food to eat. But when she feels a strong attachment to a handsome young believer named Ethan, life gets complicated. Ethan has never looked on the opposite sex as anything but sisters, but he can't shake the new feelings that Elizabeth has awakened in him. Will Elizabeth be forced to leave the village to keep Ethan from stumbling? Or will Ethan's love for her change their lives forever?

What made you want to write this story?
My first Shaker book, The Outsider, was very popular with readers and actually was a finalist for 2009 Fiction Book of the Year Award given by ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishing Association). So my editor encouraged me to write a couple more Shaker books to build on the popularity of that first book. I was a bit hesitant at first, not sure I could come up with new stories set among the Shakers, but then after more research and getting to know my characters, I really enjoyed telling Elizabeth’s and Ethan’s story.

What research did you have to do for this book?
The Shakers were a unique religious group that started up in America a few years before the Revolutionary War. They grew in popularity in the Nineteenth Century and then gradually died out until now there are only four active Shakers in Maine. I tried to read as many books about the Shakers as I could so that I could get an understanding of their religious ideas and how they lived. I also had to research the time period to try to make the story as historically accurate as possible while letting my characters live their stories.

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

I’m not much of a movie buff, so I have to admit I’m totally out of touch with current movies and movie stars. My publishing company asked me to send in movie star pictures for my heroine in the book that will be out next summer and I had to google red-haired actresses. But I’ll play along. If I was casting the parts of Elizabeth and Ethan in The Believer, Ethan would be the most handsome dark-haired actor there is and Elizabeth would be an actress who is spunky and blessed with common sense. So how about Leonardo DiCapria for Ethan? And Ashley Judd would make a good Elizabeth even though she might be a bit old for the part.

What are you working on now or going to write next?

I’m writing my fourth Shaker novel. It’s in the early stages so I haven’t come up with a title yet. But I’m actually working right now on the copy edits of The Seeker, my third Shaker book, that’s scheduled for release in July 2010.

How can readers get in contact with you?
I always enjoy hearing from readers. It’s fun to hear what they think about my books and my characters. You can get in contact with me from my website, www.annhgabhart.com or check out my Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-H-Gabhart/132862247566?v. I also have a blog, One Writer’s Journal, www.annhgabhart.blogspot.com, where readers can keep up with what’s going on down here on the farm and in my writing life. I usually post on Wednesdays and Sundays and I do my best to respond to all comments and messages.

What are you currently reading?
I’m reading Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier. I’m also reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, an entertaining book about writing and how to find the stories within and then get them out on paper or the computer screen. Her language is not crystal clean, but if you can get past that, her advice is excellent.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I grew up on a farm. When I was fourteen, I begged to bushhog a field so I could drive the tractor. I got married when I was seventeen and have been married forever. I don’t recommend marrying so young, but it worked for my husband and me.

If you could be any animal, which would you choose? Why?
A dog of course. Because dogs know how to have fun. They love without reservation, forgive easily, and don’t mind getting dirty.

FAVORITES:
TV show, and/or movie?
I don’t watch much T.V. My husband likes to watch all those talking head news programs. I like reading newspapers to keep up with what’s going on in the world. I do love sports and watch University of Kentucky basketball without fail. As for my favorite movie, I enjoyed the Raiders of the Lost Ark movies with Harrison Ford because they were so much fun. As I said earlier, I’m not a big movie buff. I’d rather read the books.

Place to go on vacation?
I love hiking in the mountains and I love walking on the beach. So anywhere with oceans or mountains is good.

Book this year or month? Why?
My favorite book this year? That’s a hard pick. Maybe Ahab’s Wife by Sera Jeter Naslund because of the lyrical writing and all the historical details. Or Stephen King’s On Writing. I like to read other writers’ how-I-got-started-writing stories and King is an entertaining writer even when he’s giving out writing advice.

Do you have a link to a place to read the first chapter of this book?
I have links to a portion of the first and third chapters on the Shaker Books page on my website, http://www.annhgabhart.com/

The Believer was released on August 1, 2009.

~~~~~

**USA and Canada residents only, please**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of The Believer! To enter: Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win), and please specify that you want to be included in the contest! *If you want an extra entry, become one of my followers.* The comment is mandatory. (Please, say in the comment if you are a follower!! It makes my job easier when you do.) You will not be entered unless you leave a comment. If you are already a follower, and then you leave a comment, you will still get two entries in the contest. The contest will run from today (Dec. 18) until 10:30 CST on Thursday (Dec. 24). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner on Friday the 25th, 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.