Tammy Barley ~ Interview + Giveaway!

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

Today author Tammy Barley is telling us about her new book, Faith's Reward (The Sierra Chronicles #3 -- January 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, Tammy! Tell us a little about yourself.

I have lived in twenty-seven places in eight states (so far) and have visited nearly all. When I'm not writing? I judge a number of top writing contests and love my work as a manuscript editor and biographer. I am also Mom to two sons, one daughter, a rescued American Eskimo dog, sixteen parakeets*, and an aquarium full of fish. The children I homeschool; the dog I taught to sit. She also barks at parked cars.

In my spare time, you're likely to find me baking, gardening, behind a camera, or hugging a horse.

Are you a spontaneous writer or a scheduled writer?
Both! I schedule my work hours, but if an idea for a scene strikes in the middle of the night, me and my bunny slippers hurry to the keyboard.

How do you handle disasters/BIG problems? Do you have a funny or interesting story showcasing how you handle them?
I always see the cloud’s silver lining. When I learned I had suffered kidney failure, I thought, “Well, at least I won’t have to get up anymore in the middle of the night and run to the restroom.”

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be?
My writing style is unique. My novels will carry you back in time to the far reaches of the American West, place you into the saddle of a running horse, and slip you into the cool water of a purling river on a sweltering summer night. I write that you may experience it all firsthand, the stories unfolding around you, so that you feel you are there.

How can readers get in contact with you?
Links to my Facebook, ShoutLife, Goodreads, and other pages are all at my Web site: http://www.tammybarley.com/index.html (where you can also enter the drawing to win The Day of Your Dreams contest)

Book blurb:

The year 1865 starts out as a nightmare come true for Jessica Bennett. The cattle she and her husband, Jake, fought to save from drought the summer before now face the threat of freezing to death. Her fears worsen when Jake contracts pneumonia.

Springtime brings trials of a different kind—the snowmelt causes the ranch to thrive so much that Jake must sell off the last of their cattle to make room for their horses and the young foals to be born. In the meantime, Jess endeavors to recover her rightful inheritance, which mysteriously disappeared from the bank. When she discovers a link between the banker and a group of murderous Unionists, who continue to target Southerners even though the war is over, Jake launches an undercover investigation.

The conspiracy runs deeper and wider than either of them could have imagined. Jess must put her life—and the life of her unborn child—at risk to stop the ringleader and save the lives of many others. Yet, Jess refuses to give up hope in the God she serves—a God of love who often provides above and beyond our greatest dreams.

Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?The woman on the book cover is the perfect Jess, and Hugh Jackman is the perfect Jake.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Faiths-Reward-Sierra-Chronicles-V3/dp/1603741100/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b#reader_1603741100

~~~~~

**This giveaway is open to anyone**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Faith's Reward!

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 GFC follow my other blog, Christian Book Giveaways.
+1 Subscribe by email to my other blog, Christian Book Giveaways.

Read and leave a comment on one of my recent book reviews.
+2 Hatteras Girl

**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 21) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (January 27). 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 28th, 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.

Love's Rescue by Tammy Barley ~ 4/5 stars

Love's Rescue

Tammy Barley

The Sierra Chronicles, Book 1

Whitaker House- Publisher

About the book:

A Dividing Conflict
In 1863, the War Between the States is dividing more than a nation. To escape the conflict, Jessica Hale and her family flee their Kentucky home and head for Nevada Territory. Her brother, Ambrose, committed to the Confederates, rejoins his Kentucky militia and is disowned by his father. But the worst is yet to come.

A Heroic Kidnapper
When Unionists presume the family to be Confederate sympathizers, they set a devastating fire to their home. All alone and then “kidnapped” by cattleman Jake Bennett, Jessica is taken to a ranch deep in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. Can she overcome her resentment toward Jake for failing to save her family?

The Depths of Love
When Jake launches a plan to help Jessica’s brother escape from prison camp, she sees him for the honest, good-hearted Christian man that he is and now knows the depth of his love for her. Through the lingering smoke and smoldering ashes from her ruined home and murdered family, will Jessica see a future with Jake?

 
My review:

I really enjoyed this one! All the ranch happenings were really fun to read about and didn’t get so detailed that you were bored. The way Tammy skipped long periods of time was very well written. Since this book takes place over a few years, she couldn’t include all the day-to-day occurrences; I think she wrote the book in a way that the gaps weren’t missed and it was still easy to follow the storyline. The civil war era is one of my favorites to read about, and this book didn’t disappoint. I loved the way Tammy wrote the cowhands! They are now some of my favorite characters. I especially loved how gentle and protective they were with Jess. It was too sweet! I’m now very anxious to read book two. ;) Congrats to Tammy Barley for this great read!

Love's Rescue ~ Winner!

I'm announcing the lucky winner of Tammy Barley's book, Love's Rescue!

And the winner is:

popstardiva228!

Congrats! I will contact you today for your mailing address. I hope you enjoy the book!

Tammy Barley ~ Interview + Giveaway!

Today author Tammy Barley is telling us about her book, Love's Rescue. Also, she has graciously offered to give away a copy of Love's Rescue (read to the bottom for details).

Hello Tammy! Welcome to my blog.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hi all, and thank you, Carman, for inviting me to your blog! Each of you should note that I’ll tell you how to win a guest ranch vacation for two to Colorado later in the interview, so read on! =)

I’ve lived in 27 cities and towns in 8 states, including the South and the West/Sierra Nevadas where Love’s Rescue (and the next two books in The Sierra Chronicles) take place. My favorite place so far? Kentucky. Why? The horses, history, rolling green hills and forests, people, and climate. (Can I mention horses twice?) =) When I’m not writing historical romance, I ghostwrite biographies and self-help books, mentor writers, and judge a number of top published fiction contests.

C- Wow. I have only lived in one town my whole life! It is amazing that you have moved around so much.

How long have you been writing, and how many books do you have published?

Twenty years. Books with my name on the cover as author? I’m on my second one.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be?

I’m unable to compare. When I set out to write a book, I ask myself, “What hasn’t been done before?” and I strive to make my writing unique, as if you are there, in that time, living the adventure and romance of the main character. My writing is inviting and inspiring, but also real, so that a reader feels the heat of a July night on her skin, and the cool water as she sinks into a refreshing moonlit stream.

In your own words, tell us a little about Love's Rescue.

Here’s a quickie description: A headstrong Southern woman falls for her kidnapper . . . a rancher she blames for the deaths of her family. But there’s more to the deaths than she knew, and now those responsible are coming after her.

Here’s the one-liner I use in advertising: He saves her life. She shows him what it means to live.

Here is the official blurb:

A Dividing Conflict

In 1863, the War Between the States is dividing more than a nation. To escape the conflict, Jessica Hale and her family flee their Kentucky home and head for Nevada Territory. Her brother, Ambrose, committed to the Confederates, rejoins his Kentucky militia and is disowned by his father. But the worst is yet to come.

A Heroic Kidnapper

When Unionists presume the family to be Confederate sympathizers, they set a devastating fire to their home. All alone and then “kidnapped” by cattleman Jake Bennett, Jessica is taken to a ranch deep in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. Can she overcome her resentment toward Jake for failing to save her family?

The Depths of Love

When Jake launches a plan to help Jessica’s brother escape from prison camp, she sees him for the honest, good-hearted Christian man that he is and now knows the depth of his love for her. Through the lingering smoke and smoldering ashes from her ruined home and murdered family, will Jessica see a future with Jake?

What made you want to write this story?
After living in eight states, including the South where many Civil War battles were fought, I was sooo curious to know what took place in the West during the Civil War. The story grew as I looked for answers. During my research, I visited Old West towns still beautifully preserved, and the past seemed real to me, as if time had stopped and the year was still 1863. I wanted to make that real for others who enjoy journeying to an earlier time through fiction.
 
C- I have always liked reading about the Civil War era. It is one of my favorite time periods.
 
What research did you do for this book?
As I needed to know a great deal about a time and place that few know about, I did extensive research both on site and in historical documents. I also needed to know quite a bit about horses, so my years riding in different places including Western mountains came in handy.
 
Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

Hugh Jackman would play Jake Bennett.

 

 

Jessica Hale would be played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

 

 

C- She looks a lot like the model on the cover! That is so cool.

 

 

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

Hope’s Promise, book two in The Sierra Chronicles Series, in which Jake and Jess’s story continues, complete with romance, adventure, and suspense.

 

How can readers get in contact with you?

Here’s my Web site: http://www.tammybarley.com/index.html. Also, to introduce readers to The Sierra Chronicles and to encourage them to read Love’s Rescue, I’m giving away a one-week western guest ranch resort vacation for two to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado! For details and to enter, visit http://www.tammybarley.com/Bookshelf.html. Currently, only about one reader out of every two hundred are entering the contest, so your chances of winning are phenomenal!!!

 

What are you currently reading?

For once, I’m in between books. I’m not sure which one I’ll pick up next (other than that it’s likely to be historical romance)! =)

 

C- That is my favorite kind. : D

 

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.

Twenty years ago I worked as a travel consultant near Hollywood, and planned travel arrangements for various movie productions as well as vacations for actors and producers.

 

C- Cool!

 

 If you could be any animal, which would it be? Why?

Wow, I love these creative questions! I’d want to be several different animals, each for a day or a week, but long term I’d love to be a dolphin. I’d love to swim that fast, leap that high, and discover the world under the ocean.

 

C- I always wanted to be a dolphin too! How funny.

 

Favorites:

TV show, and/or movie?

I love movies more than TV, and I have several movie favorites. One of them is Evita. Antonio Banderas . . . need I say more? =)

Place to go on vacation?

Disneyworld, Florida.

Book this year, or month?

Forevermore by Cathy Marie Hake. Great realism, completely captivating. One I can enjoy again and again.

~~~~~

Love's Rescue released July 7, 2009. Hope's Promise is coming in July 2010.

The giveaway is open to anyone, and the book will be autographed!

Thank you for stopping by, Tammy!

 

 

Alright readers, here is your chance to win a copy of "Love’s Rescue"! To enter: Leave a comment with your 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. 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 (Oct. 2) till midnight on Thursday (Oct. 8). I will contact the winner on Friday the 9th, and then that person will have a week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner. Thanks for visiting! Good luck!