Donita K Paul ~ Interview + Giveaway!

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

Today author Donita K Paul is telling us about her new book, Dragons of the Valley (Sept 2010 -- Dragons of Chiril series #2). 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, Donita! Tell us a little about yourself.

I love children and am passionate about literacy. My ability to function begins to deteriorate if I don’t get a daily fix of being with kids. Fortunately my grandsons are close. My children used to tease me that my preschool Sunday school class was my peer group. I always felt better after Sunday morning, no matter how rough the week had been. I love making up new recipes. There are some posted on my website. I knit for exercise. LOL. And I can be crafty when the notion hits, but I do not do one craft beautifully. It is more like many, adequately. I hate to sew. But I have been known to make costumes. I will be 60 this year and my mind feels like I am still in my 20s. However, my body does not agree.

I began writing as a kid and kept it up as I aged. When my husband and I were cleaning out my parents’ house, we discovered a box full of my childhood writing. I chucked it all. Some of it was truly embarrassing. As an adult, I was too busy doing life and didn’t take much time to write. Then I had a flesh-eating strep in my leg and that retired me from teaching. My mother said, “You always wanted to write. Now’s your chance.” So, I gave it a try. My first book was published when I was 49.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I briefly did clowning for hospitals and church festivals.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
Am finishing Dragons of the Watch, which is the third and final book in the Chiril Chronicles. Next? I have a whole bunch of ideas swirling around in my head. It will be hard to choose just one.

How can readers get in contact with you?
www.donitakpaul.com On this site, there are individual blogs listed under Mrs. Paul.

www.dragonandturtle.com Blogs here, as well, under Parents’ page

And I do twitter, facebook, and shoutlife

Book blurb:

With an invasion of her country imminent, Tipper Schope is drawn into a mission to keep three important statues from falling into the enemy’s clutches. Her friend, the artist Bealomondore, helps her execute the plan, and along the way he learns to brandish a sword rather than a paintbrush.

As odd disappearances and a rash of volatile behavior sweep Chiril, no one is safe. A terrible danger has made his vicious presence known: The Grawl, a hunter unlike any creature encountered before.

To restore their country, Tipper, Bealomondore, and their party must hide the statues in the Valley of the Dragons and find a way to defeat the invading army. When it falls to the artistic Bealomondore to wield his sword as powerfully and naturally as a paintbrush, will he answer Wulder’s call for a champion?

Is there anything you would like to add, or tell your readers?
This is a very exciting time in my career. This fall we have the picture book, The Dragon and the Turtle, which came out in August. I’ve always wanted to write picture books. And the illustrator is phenomenal. http://www.dragonandturtle.com/

Vanishing Sculptor came in second in the Clive Staples Award, and is up for the Carol Award from American Christian Fiction Writers. The award is given this Saturday, September 18th.

Dragons of the Valley comes out Sept. 21st and some have told me it is the best dragon book I’ve written so far. I hope readers think so, as well.

And Two Tickets to a Christmas Ball comes out Oct. 5th, and it was a labor of love. And I have been blessed. The cover is amazing. You can’t tell online but certain parts are highlight with a shiny print and a bit raised. And it is my first hardback book.

Series Info:
The series name is The Chiril Chronicles. Vanishing Sculptor was the first book but they are re-releasing it next spring as Dragons of Chiril. This book is the second, Dragons of the Valley. The third will come out in 2011, and is titled Dragons of the Watch. Bealomondore from the first two books is the main character in number three.

~~~~~

*USA residents only, please*

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Dragons of the Valley!

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 A Hope Undaunted
+2 The Healer's Apprentice

**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 (September 24) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (September 30). 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 1st, 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.

Donita K Paul ~ Interview + Giveaway!

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

Today author Donita K Paul is telling us about her new book, Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball (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.

Welcome, Donita! Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a frumpy (sometimes grumpy) grandmother who retired early from teaching. I love my role as huggable grandma, but I also enjoy interacting with readers. I am guilty of speaking Christianese and try to forsake “the talk” when I write and present Bible truths that effect the heart but don’t sound like Sunday school (which I started teaching when I was 13).

Tell us about your salvation experience.
In order to familiarize you with my website, I’m going to give you a few URLs to explore. My testimony is at http://donitakpaul.com/author/testimony.html

Are you:
A spontaneous writer or a scheduled writer?
Definitely a spontaneous and I wouldn’t want to be anything else except two weeks before deadline, I would prefer to be an outliner.

Stubborn, or compliant?
I am both. It depends on whether the bridge must be held or not.

Organized or completely chaotic?
Completely, utterly, decidedly, and permanently chaotic. At this point in my life I am not going to waste time trying to reform.

How do you handle disasters/BIG problems? Do you have a funny or interesting story showcasing how you handle them?
Well, this is not a disaster, but is typical of my reaction. We were in charge of the Chili Dinner Fundraiser. Every night for a week, I made this huge batch of chili, cooled it, put it in freezer bags, and put it in the freezer. Two days before the dinner, I would distribute the chili to various crockpots of families who were participating in the fundraiser. We had somewhere to go and I decided we’d be gone too long and the chili was cool enough to bag and freeze. When I was putting in one of the bags, I hit the side of the shelf instead of putting the bag on top. It burst open and did a tame geyser type fountain out of the top of the bag and down my dress and into my shoe and all over the linoleum. I called my teen-aged son to come help, and he found me laughing. I mean, come on, I was standing in front of an open freezer stuffed with bags of chili, with the evidence of disaster in my hands and all over me. And my right shoe was full of chili. He said, “Mom, really! This is not funny.”

Which made me laugh more. I did the same thing when we had a plastic bottle of ketchup burst, spraying the cabinets and ceiling with that delectable tomato sauce.

In your opinion, what is your best trait? What is your worst?
Best- compassion, generosity
Worst- impatience, can’t keep a budget

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I’m part Indian, Cherokee to be exact. But by the time you get down to me, there is only a smidgeon left. My daughter shows the Indian features in her cheekbone structure.

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 really don’t think I write like anybody else. In this book, totally G

What are you working on now or going to write next?
Am finishing (I hope) Dragons of the Watch, which is the third and final book in the Chiril Chronicles. Next? Holiday. And what I write during this vacation period will probably be another Christmas novella. More matchmaking wizards and their annual ball.

How can readers get in contact with you?
http://www.donitakpaul.com/

http://www.dragonandturtle.com/

On the Donita K. Paul website under Mrs. Paul, there are several blogspots I run. And I do facebook and shoutlife

Book blurb:

Can mysterious matchmaking booksellers bring two lonely hearts together in time for Christmas?

In a sleepy, snow-covered city, Cora Crowder is busy preparing for the holiday season. Searching for a perfect gift, a fortuitous trip to Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdad’s (a most unusual bookshop) leads to an unexpected encounter with co-worker Simon Derrick. And the surprise discovery of a ticket for a truly one-of-a-kind Christmas Ball.

Every year, the matchmaking booksellers of the Sage Street bookshop host an enchanting, old-fashioned Christmas Ball for the romantic matches they’ve decided to bring together.

This year, will Simon and Cora discover a perfect chemistry in their opposite personalities and shared faith? Or will the matchmakers’ best laid plans end up ruining everything this holiday?

Is there anything you would like to add, or tell your readers?
I’m really thrilled with this story. It was fun to write, and many people have said when they read it that it had the feel of a Hallmark made-for-TV movie. That’s good because that is what I was aiming for, a warm, cozy, fun read.

~~~~~

*USA residents only, please*

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball!

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 Latte Daze
+2 Driftwood Lane

**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 (August 27) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (September 2). 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 3rd, 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.

New series by Donita K. Paul

     The Vanishing Sculptor is the first in a brand new three book series by Donita that fantasy readers are sure to love. The series is called the Chiril Chronicles, because it takes place on a brand new continent (though still the same world as the DragonKeeper Chronicles). We see some very familiar faces in this book and it really opens up a new side to some well-loved characters.

     About the book:

In The Vanishing Sculptor, readers will meet Tipper, a young emerlindian who’s responsible for the upkeep of her family’s estate during her sculptor father’s absence. Tipper soon discovers that her actions have unbalanced the whole foundation of her world, and she must act quickly to undo the calamitous threat. But how can she save her father and her world on her own? The task is too huge for one person, so she gathers the help of some unlikely companions–including the nearly five-foot tall parrot Beccaroon–and eventually witnesses the loving care and miraculous resources of Wulder. Through Tipper’s breathtaking story, readers will discover the beauty of knowing and serving God.

     My review:

Once again Donita gives us a new story filled with action, confused wizards, eccentric artists, and the forever-loving Wulder. I loved the characters in this book. Some we know and love, and some are new to us, but equally lovable. I can't wait for the other books in this series! This book, along with Donita's DragonKeeper Chronicles, make excellent fantasy reads.

OK, so, a writer I'm not. But still. I can't say enough good things about this book and Donita's other series. I love them both! If you haven't read this yet, I recommend that you go and get it ASAP!