My Friend Joan – Interview and Giveaway

My Friend Joan – Interview and Giveaway

by | Jan 22, 2010 | Uncategorized

Today we’re welcoming Joan, writing as J. M. Hochstetler, to talk about Wind of the Spirit, the third book in The American Patriot Series.

Joan has offered to give away a signed copy of Wind of the Spirit to one lucky reader, so leave your comment between now and next Thursday for a chance to win!

~*~

About Wind of the Spirit

Elizabeth Howard’s assignment to gain crucial intelligence for General Washington leads her into the very maw of war at the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, where disaster threatens to end the American rebellion. Yet her heart is fixed on Jonathan Carleton, whose whereabouts remain unknown more than a year after he disappeared into the wilderness. Carleton, now the Shawnee war chief White Eagle, is caught in a bitter war of his own. As unseen forces gather to destroy him, he leads the fight against white settlers encroaching on Shawnee lands—while battling the longing for Elizabeth that will not give him peace. Can her love bridge the miles that separate them—and the savage bonds that threaten to tear him forever from her arms?

About Joan

J. M. Hochstetler writes stories that always involve some element of the past and of finding home. Born in central Indiana, the daughter of Mennonite farmers, she graduated from Indiana University a degree in Germanic languages. She was an editor with Abingdon Press for twelve years and has published four novels. Daughter of Liberty (2004), Native Son(2005), and Wind of the Spirit (March 2009), the first three books of the critically acclaimed American Patriot Series, are set during the American Revolution. One Holy Night, a retelling of the Christmas story set in modern times, is the 2009 Christian Small Publishers Fiction Book of the Year and a finalist for the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers Long Contemporary Book of the Year.

Hochstetler is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Christian Authors Network, Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, Nashville Christian Writers Association, and Historical Novels Society. She and her husband live near Nashville, Tennessee.

~*~

What’s your latest book?

My latest book is Wind of the Spirit, book 3 of the American Patriot series, which is the only comprehensive historical fiction series about the American Revolution. It was released by Sheaf House in March 2009.

What’s your favorite part of the story?

I really love the scene where Elizabeth and Jonathan finally come face to face after more than a year apart, and do so in the midst of a situation that puts both of them in great danger. But I especially like the chapter where Elizabeth is adopted into the Shawnee tribe, which is both touching, sensual, and funny, and then the marriage scene that follows—though I won’t reveal which characters get married! You’ll have to read it to find that out. But the Lord really gave me some deep insights into the beauty and passion of the love that binds one man and one woman together for all their lives.

Ah, I’m such a sucker for passion and love! What was the hardest part to write?

The Battle of Long Island. By necessity I’ve become pretty expert at writing battle scenes since I had to cover the battles of Lexington and Concord, and then the Battle of Bunker Hill in the previous volumes. But this one had a particularly long, involved battle line with hot spots developing at different times and places, and I only had one of my characters to work with since Carleton was away among the Indians. I had to chart the action out, and then figure out how to get Elizabeth from one end of the battlefield to the other in a believable way. Choreographing battle scenes so they’re realistic and intense is very hard, but thoroughly involving. This one turned out to be pretty exciting, and I’ve gotten great feedback on how well it flows, which has been quite gratifying.

I bet! That sounds very intense, which of course makes it awesome when people comment on it. What do you hope your readers will get out of the story?

A greater understanding of and a renewed appreciation for the great sacrifices our Founding generation made to secure the precious legacy of freedom we enjoy today. And a hair-raising, edge of your seat, thrilling ride with a hot romance that will leave them breathless.

What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?

For both, historical fiction, absolutely!

Mm, big surprise. 😉 What are you reading right now—and what do you want to read next?

I’m in the middle of research for book 4 of my series, Crucible of War,so currently I’m reading The Winter Soldiersby Richard M. Ketchum and Washington’s Crossing David Hackett Fischer—both really excellent reads, by the way. ’m hoarding Leaving Carolinaby my MTCW buddy Tamara Leigh to enjoy as soon as I’ve taken all the notes I need from those two. While I’m actively researching one of my historicals, reading something totally different helps to recharge my brain, and Tammy’s stories are always a really fun break.

Oh yes, I love Tamara’s books. What would your dream office look like—and what does your REAL writing environment look like?

It would be big, and there would be a large U shaped desk, with one wall reserved for bookcases housing all my research books and another lined with file cabinets. And everything would always be impeccably tidy with a place for everything and everything in its place. Um . . . needless to say, I have a small office where everything is crammed in and a lot of files and books end up piled on the floor because every available inch of space on my desk is covered.

Yeah, I have a kitchen table. =) Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?

Maps. I can’t function without detailed maps. I’m a map-a-holic. If it’s a fictional location, I draw a map so I can keep track of the lay of the land.

Are there any people (family, writing group, editors) who you rely on when writing?

The members of my local writers group, Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, are a terrific sounding board, plus our meetings are devoted to learning the craft and improving our mastery. I can’t say enough about how helpful and encouraging this group has been.

What writing goal have you set for yourself that would be the hardest (or unlikeliest) but most rewarding to achieve?

To finish up this series before the end of this decade. Because of the research involved, it’s taking me about 2 years to write each volume, and I’m projecting a total of 7 to 8 volumes to cover the Revolution in the depth it deserves. Including Crucible of War,that leaves at least 4 more to write. Running Sheaf House complicates that too, so I don’t know . . . but my fans are going to kill me if I don’t finally get my storm-tossed lovers together! Considering the cliffhanger Crucible ends on, though, they just might kill me anyway . . . !

Wow, that’s such a commitment to story! I can well imagine the journey that’s taking you on and the dedication. Do you remember where you were when you got your first or most important call about a book contract?

I sure do! I’d just gotten in to my office at The United Methodist Publishing House, where I worked as an editor, and there was a message from the publisher. I had a really hard time not jumping up and down and screaming my head off, but it would have caused considerable consternation among my co-workers, who knew me as a very calm, collected person, so I restrained myself.

What are you writing right now?

I’m working on Crucible of War. volume is going to cover the very end of 1776, and then pretty much all of 1777, from the battles of Trenton and Princeton through the Battle of Saratoga, but it’s also going to go more deeply into the political situation. And of course, there’s lots of delicious romantic tension between Elizabeth and Jonathan, not to mention between several of the secondary characters as well.

Any upcoming releases we should keep our eye out for?

Sheaf House may release new, updated editions of Daughter of Libertyand Native Son, 1 and 2, sometime in 2011. I’m not yet sure whether we’ll be able to squeeze them in before Crucible of Warreleases in Fall 2011. One alternative is to bring them all out together. The new editions release in Kindle format in January 2010, however, so readers who want the electronic version will be able to get them in advance.

Is there another author who has greatly influenced your writing?

That would probably be a toss-up between Charlotte Bronte, Betty Smith, Elizabeth Goudge, Rafael Sabatini, James Hilton, and W. Dale Cramer. That covers a pretty wide range of genres and styles, but when it comes to telling a story, they’re my heroes.

~*~

Thanks so much for talking with us, Joan! Readers, you can check out her website and blog for more info about Joan and her books.

You can purchase it from Amazon.

Again, leave a comment with contact info below for a chance to win!

Giveaway ends 1/28/10. Void where prohibited.

Winner!

Winner!

by | Jan 21, 2010 | Uncategorized

And the winner of Golden Keyes Parsons’ A Prisoner of Versailles is . . .

Marissa! (smrogi@ . . .)

I’m emailing you now, Marissa.


And while we’re on the subject of winning, I’ve been awarded this One Lovely Blog Award by Molly. I’m allowed to pass it on to as many others as I wish, not exceeding fifteen. (I’ve received something like this before and got too lazy to pick other blogs, lol. But you know. I’m bored.)
So, my winners are . . .

1. Stephanie Morrill’s Official Blog
2. The newly debuted Go Teen Writers
3. Sandi Rog’s Dare to Dream
4. Trish Perry’s Reading, Writing, and the Stuff In Between

Thoughtful About . . . Stray Mittens

by | Jan 21, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized

(Real quick–today’s your last day to enter the giveaway for Golden’s A Prisoner of Versailles before I draw the winner tonight!)

I know, I know. You look at the title to this post and think I’m going to talk about my kids’ propensity to lose one of each and every set of mittens in the house. And they do, I assure you. But that’s actually not my point at all. =)

On Tuesdays I take Xoe to Story Time at our Library, which she loves. It’s the usual setup–the librarian reads to them, they sing some songs, there’s a craft or snack. The past few weeks, one of the songs has made use of the felt-board and cutout paper mittens in different colors. When the song calls out the color of then mitten you have, you run up and put it on the board. Simple, right?

I’ve noticed something these last few weeks. Whenever Miss Liz says, “Put them here” and pats the board, every other child–I’m talking every . . . single . . . one–puts their colored mitten where she points. The first to get there will put it by the edge, the second (there are two of each color, go figure) right beside it.

Except Xoe.

Naturally, my little princess must be different. On Tuesday, she put her white mitten right in the middle of the board, though the first child to get there with with white put it by the edge, under the red ones, just like the librarian indicated.

I watched carefully when it was her turn again. By the time yellow was called, the board was mostly full. Again, another kid got there with yellow before her. Again, started a nice, neat row.

Where, I wondered, would my little deviant put this one? There wasn’t much room left, other than beside its match. Would she conform?

Er, no. She put it in the spot still open beside the first white one.

I nearly laughed. There it was, this lovely rainbow of mittens, surprisingly well ordered by a bunch of three-year-olds, and the only oddities in the pattern were those two mittens my daughter put up, one white, one yellow. Two bright, cheerful slaps in the face of conformity.

Now, as a mother of a preschooler, there are a lot of moments when I think, “Can’t you just do what you’re told? Please? Must you make waves? Must you do things your own way? Don’t you see that your outfit looks ridiculous, that you’ve made your ‘art’ over top of an actual picture, that you’ve undone all my cleaning by creating this ‘obstacle course’ of toys?” Especially in public. Especially around other mothers with their well-behaved children who come to the Library appropriately dressed.

But you know . . . on Tuesday, something in me cheered. Something said, “Yeah, go Xoe! Make a new pattern! Color outside the lines! Wear red and black Minnie Mouse shoes with a pink and yellow kitty-cat dress! Be you!”

Now, I would like to note that my daughter is darn good for a 4-year-old. She can color inside the lines, follow precise directions, and pick out a pattern. She can clean up her toys, pick out presentable clothes, and charm the socks off any adult she comes across.

But she can also create. She can go around for a full day, narrating a story in her mind that incorporates everything she’s actually doing. She can turn a boring tan rubber band into an intricate bracelet.

She can turn a paper mitten into a bright spot. And this mommy, who sometimes just wishes she would listen, couldn’t be more proud.

Remember When . . . We Misplaced Tombs?

by | Jan 20, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized

One more day to enter the giveaway from Friday’s post for Golden’s A Prisoner of Versailles!

~*~

This week I’ve been diving back into my 20s Egypt story, and as I got to work on it and began sorting through my research, I realized I needed some more information. So I went online and basically just dove into a haystack to search out a needle.

My goal: find a rich pharaoh whose tomb is lost.

My purpose: put my antagonist on the trail of it.

My complication: his location has to actually contain clues vital to my hero’s search for something else entirely.

In moments like these, I ask myself questions like, “Why do I write historicals? How am I supposed to find this stuff and actually make it make sense? What am I thinking???”

Then I stumble across something that works perfectly, and I have that moment of “Aha! Right! This is why it’s so much fun!”

Yesterday I spent a good hour looking up my lost pharaoh who could somehow be linked to my hero’s search for Atlantis. A formidable task, given the fact that I’m pretty sure there is no actual link between Egypt and Atlantis. But, you know. Fiction. I just need something to fit my version of facts.

Since my version of facts start with Plato’s version of facts, I returned to Critias. According to this fellow, who is quoting his grandfather, who was good friends with Solon (who was in truth Plato’s great-grandfather) the story Plato has of Atlantis originated with the priests in Sais, Egypt.

So Roseanna went to Sais (digitally speaking). Found some pharaohs linked to it, looked one up, and voila! Amasis II! Rich dude, would have had quite a burial. Tomb mentioned in Herodotus but has never been found. Score!! My antag can look for it, fruitlessly. My hero can go to his dig at some point and find, not the tomb, but a secret chamber containing writings that detail . . . well, he won’t know what they detail, because he can’t read them. But still. To a historian, finding a chamber filled with writings at all is super-exciting.

And that’s the fruit of my haystack-dive. Oh, the tangled web we historical writers weave when we practice to make up history that is plausible and yet totally untrue . . .

Story Time . . . FINDING JEENA by Miralee Ferrell

by | Jan 19, 2010 | Uncategorized

First, don’t forget to enter the giveaway from Friday’s post for Golden’s A Prisoner of Versailles.

~*~

I’ll probably post about this book again later when it’s closer to its release date and I’ve actually finished it, lol, but y’all’re getting a sneak peek. =)

Right now I’m reading a galley of Finding Jeena by Miralee Ferrell. The sequel to her first book, The Other Daughter, this one follows Jeena Gregory. We met her in the first book as Susanne’s friend–the one who was a bad influence and kept encouraging our heroine to do what we, as wise readers, knew she absolutely should NOT do!

Now, I’m always a fan of reforming an antagonist, so I’ve been looking forward to this. It can be tricky, taking a character that’s full of herself, materialistic, and ambitious, and trying to make a heroine out of her. And I gotta say, at about halfway through the book I still don’t like Jeena–which is to say, I wouldn’t call her up for advice, lol. But Miralee’s doing something awesome with her. She’s making me cringe at all the right places, making me scream, “No, Jeena, don’t do it! Don’t be an idiot!” She’s letting me see from the get-go in what direction Jeena has room to grow, where she’s likely to change. And she’s making me hope, and look forward to the dynamics.

At the point I’m at in the story, the floor has dropped out from under Jeena’s feet, and she’s been plunged into an abyss darker than she thought possible. I can see the light shining through, but she hasn’t been able to turn her face away from the consuming darkness yet. I’m at the point where I’m aching.

Don’t you just love a book that makes you ache?

Last week was crazy-busy for me, so I didn’t get a whole lot of time to read. It wasn’t until yesterday that I really had the chance to sit down with it, and I got so involved that when my husband told me about something that came up in his business, I found myself projecting Jeena’s troubles onto it and turning it into something totally different in my mind. It took concerted effort to get out of the story and back to reality, LOL.

Finding Jeena doesn’t come out until April, but anyone interested in an intense women’s fiction should make a note to check it out this spring (I’ll undoubtedly remind you closer to release;-)

Miralee’s a lovely writer, a lovely woman, and this is yet another story from her that will take you to places you didn’t expect . . . and show you a little something about yourself along the way.

Cart
Checkout - $0.00
  • 0
  • 1