Whooee! Winners!

Exciting news! Donna emailed me last night that the responses to her interview were so good that  . . . she's willing . . . to . . . give away . . .
THREE SETS of her Lighthouse books!!

Now can good news get any better than that?

After Donna narrowed the choices down to six, I had to make the hard choice of the last three. Here's the names:

Holly
Patricia
Miss Kallie

A huge congratulations to you three. You'll receive an email shortly. Please respond with your snail addresses.

And thanks, all you precious readers and commenters, for visiting! May all of you be blessed.


Wonderful blessings to you all!

Meet my New Friend,
Donna Winters

Want to win Donna's

LIGHTHOUSE COLLECTION Books?

Wondering how?

• Leave a comment telling Donna and me why YOU should win her four books
• Make sure to include your email address so we can contact the person who wins

Thanks for stopping by. Now read on to learn a little about Donna and her writing life:


How long have you known that you were a writer? Did you receive a clear “call?” Or have you just loved writing all your life?

First, thanks so much for your interest in my writing and for giving me this opportunity to meet your readers!

I enjoyed writing as a child. I wrote letters to friends and family and would be disappointed if they didn’t write back right away. Even so, I didn’t consider becoming a writer until well into adulthood. The call came in the form of a deep desire to change jobs rather than the voice of God luring me to serve Him. I began writing romances in 1982 and was able to go fulltime in 1984 when Thomas Nelson offered me a contract for my first book.

What is the genre you write in? Would you explain what it is?

I write historical romances set in the Great Lakes Region. The eras of my stories span the years from 1837 to 1906. The 1890’s forward are my favorite years because I’m more familiar with that time period.

In the mid-1980’s, inspirational romance lines by Thomas Nelson and Zondervan were new on the market. By the end of the 1980’s they had closed down leaving me no market for my work. Then my husband and I, after much prayer and research, decided to start our own trademark series, Great Lakes Romances®. Since 1989 I have been both publisher and author for this series, which in addition to my own work, has produced a limited number of titles by other authors who wrote during the late 1800’s or early 1900’s.

How do you spend your writing days? Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?

When I am developing a story I spend about two to three hours in the morning, five or six days per week, working on research or writing. If I’m adding to the story, I try to finish two pages, or about 500 words per day. I complete a 55,000 word romance in about a year. It’s a comfortable pace for me since we’re retired and interested in a wide variety of activities.

Do you mind telling us some of your likes and dislikes? Hobbies, interests? Where would you like to travel if you could?

• I live in a recreational area and love to kayak and snow ski.
• We also spend a lot of time walking the woodland trails accessible from our backyard.
• In winter I cross-country ski on the trails, or head to a ski slope about 90 miles away and downhill ski the easiest trail there. I learned how to ski when I was 58 and this was only my third season so I’m a novice but enjoy the challenge when conditions are right. 
• Another interest we have is our dogs. Right now we have a retired racing greyhound and a chow/bearded collie mix. We’ve always had rescued dogs, two of them greyhounds and the rest, mixed breeds.

I love to travel, and have been to Europe twice. I’ve seen much of the East Coast and many places that surround the Great Lakes. I grew up in Western New York State, attended college in the northern part of that state, taught near the Pennsylvania border in the Catskill Mountains, and traveled just about all the other areas of NY. Then I moved to Michigan and began visiting the various historical places here. I’ve been to Arizona a couple of times, but I’d like to travel to the West Coast and see it from top to bottom. I’m also interested in touring Alaska and Hawaii. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to!

Would you give us your blog or webpage so everyone can check it out? Anything else you’d like to share? Promotional information?

My books are available at my website, http://www.greatlakesromances.com/. There you will find a downloadable order form along with links to Amazon where you can purchase all but one of the titles. Also, you can enter a drawing for a free book at any time! I offer a different title every two weeks and try to give a book to approximately one of every five people who enter.

I have a blog at http://greatlakesromances.blogspot.com/ where I explore Great Lakes subjects.

Thanks, readers, for visiting! Leave your comment if you'd like to own four of Donna's romance books.

Blessings!

Winner!

of Connie Cameron's book,

God's Gentle Nudges

Congratulations to Linda!

NEXT WEEK: Wednesday, April 28, Donna Winters will visit my blog. Be sure to leave your comment and email address for a chance to win her book, set in Michigan!

Blessings!

Tidbits!

The winner of Jena Morrow's book "Hollow" was Dawn! BUT I haven't heard back from her, so, Dawn, please contact me today. Tomorrow morning, I will contact the second person on the list for the book. Gotta keep things moving, readers, and we don't want to drag out the suspense too long! Smile.

Wednesday, April 21, I'll have on this blog exciting news about Faith and Finances, the new devotional book being promoted by Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles.

Here is a very short interview with multi-published author Irene Brand, who is a contributor to "Faith and Finances":

Irene Brand talks about Faith and FINANCES: In God We Trust, A Journey to Financial Dependence. http://www.faithandfinances.us/

Question:  Please share details of how you became associated with Christian Devotions Ministry.

Answer: I needed someone to prepare a video trailer for my forty-fifth inspirational romance and was directed to Cindy Sproles, co-founder of the Christian Devotions Ministry: http://www.christiandevotions.us/. During the making of the video, I was impressed by her dedication to the evangelistic outreach of her ministry’s devotions, and when I was asked to prepare some devotional messages, I was pleased to do so.

Question: Why did you opt to write a financial devotion?

Answer:  I believe that the way people value their finances indicate the strength of their spiritual life. I have been treasurer of our local church for many years. I know the members of our congregation quite well and have some knowledge of their financial background.  Although we have many who give faithfully, and generously, I suspect that a small percentage of our members actually tithe based on New Testament principles. For one thing, most of them tithe on the amount left after all deductions are made. I’m sure that our church’s situation isn’t an exception. Therefore I welcomed the opportunity to pass along my beliefs (based on Scripture) in Faith and Finances.

Question:  How has God worked through you in financial giving?

Answer:  My husband and I were tithing when we were married. We both agreed that we should tithe on the amount of our salary before any deductions were made, and that this money should be channeled through the local church. We have never deviated from that practice. The Lord has blessed us, not with wealth, but with the satisfaction of knowing that we’re part of the worldwide outreach of the Church. We believe that we never start “giving” until we’ve exceeded the tithe on our gross income.

Irene Brand (http://www.irenebrand.com/) began writing inspirational novels in 1984. With forty-five books and over two million copies in print, Irene still holds to her grass roots of faith, family and friends. Irene and her husband live in rural West Virginia. Her devotions, “Of All I Possess” (page 45) “Tithe on a Salary of $15.00 a Week?” (56) and :Sam I Am” (page 107) appear in Faith & FINANCES: In God We Trust.




Next week, April 28th: Donna Winters with her Michigan series books and a great giveaway!.

Blessings!