Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Diane Stringam Tolley - Carving Angels - Author Interview

My thanks to Diane Stringam Tolley for stopping by The Plot Thickens for an author interview during the blog tour for her book, Carving Angels.

Author Interview

1. Who is the plot based around?
Carving Angels is the story of Papa Adam, former chief wood-carver for Santa. An elderly elf who has given up on his life and livelihood with the loss of his sight.

2. What is the main idea of the plot?
Papa Adam is waiting to die. But a request to carve once more, given by his youngest grandchild and only granddaughter, Amy, helps him realize that his life is not over. And that he is definitely not useless. Together, the two of them begin a project that will change, not only their lives, but the lives of every single member of the North Pole community.

3. When does the plot take place?
The story begins in early spring and follows Papa Adam and Amy through the year till Christmas.

4. Where does the plot take place?
Almost the entirety of the story takes place in Pap Adam's cottage and work room. Though there is an occasional foray into the reindeer stables and the wood sheds. But all at the North Pole.

5. Why did the plot develop the way it did?
This story is a statement about people with disabilities. And in overcoming those disabilities. It was a sweet story about faith in others and in ourselves. Because of that, it needed no other 'antagonist' or 'motivator' to move it along. Once I realized that, I was free to simply follow my two protagonists through their gentle, peaceful days. To suggest that Carving Angels really took its own path might sound . . . odd. But that's exactly what happened!

6. How did you come up with the idea for the plot?
I was looking at a picture of Santa Claus and his sleigh. And the thought popped into my head, "I wonder where he got his sleigh?" I figured he couldn't have found it on E-Bay or at Sleighs Are Us. It must have been carved by an elf.

The rest of the story developed through a series of questions . . .So . . . what kind of elf? A wood-carver, obviously. But what makes him the most special wood-carver? Well, he was the best. Santa's chief. But what makes this an unusual accomplishment for him? He had retired because of disabilities. (Huh. Elves really do grow old and infirm!)

What sort of disabilities? Age and blindness. Okay, he will need someone to help him, at least at times. Who could it be? This was tricky. I wanted someone who could be a help, but who would also be disregarded by the community at large, due to a 'disability.' Then Amy came to me. A little girl, just five years old. Perfect!

About the Book
Carving Angels

Book Details:
Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.
Published: September 2011
Genre: Children, ages 9-12
Format: hardcover
Price: $12.99
Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com

Blurb:
Papa Adam, an elderly elf and former chief carver for Santa, has given up. Blind, frail and useless, he counts the minutes in every day as he waits to die.

But a challenge to carve, given by his youngest granddaughter, reawakens Papa Adam. Helps him to realize that he is not finished. And definitely not useless.

The two of them, the 'marginal' oldest and youngest members of North Pole society, begin a remarkable project that will change their community forever. Prove that the most paralyzing thing you can do is underestimate or undervalue anyone, especially yourself.

And that with the right love and encouragement, anything is possible.

About the Author
Diane Stringam Tolley

Diane Stringam Tolley was born and raised on a ranch in Southern Alberta, Canada. Educated in Journalism, she is the author of countless articles and short stories and 4 e-books including a novel for young adults, Essence. She and her husband, Grant are the parents of six children and live in Beaumont, Alberta, Canada.

Connect With Diane:
Blog
Author Web Site

About the Tour

Cedar Fort Blog Tours

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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Susan Dean Elzey - Miracle of the Christmas Star - Author Interview

My thanks to Susan Dean Elzey for stopping by The Plot Thickens for an author interview during the blog tour for her book, Miracle of the Christmas Star.

Author Interview

1. Who is the plot based around?
The main characters in my novel Miracle of the Christmas Star are the family of Joshua and Sariah and their daughter Hannah, who has cerebral palsy.

2. What is the main idea of the plot?
The night Sariah’s baby of miracles, baby of sorrows is born blue and lifeless, a brilliant star shines through the window of her tiny home in a village close to Bethlehem. The star bathes the baby with light, and she begins to breathe. Sariah rejoices in the miracle, but soon realizes her daughter, whom she names “Hannah,” is not like the other babies in the village. She is crippled and will never be able to walk or talk. Although haunted by the spectre of her daughter’s future, Sariah believes the shepherds who say that the star heralded the birth of the long-awaited savior, and she begins years of searching and praying for him.

Lovingly caring for her daughter, Sariah’s life courageously endures a hard life, and although her faith wavers, it never burns out. Finally, as word of the Savior’s healing miracles reach her small village, Sariah determines that whatever the effort required, she will put Hannah in a wagon and take her to him to be healed. There follows a harrowing journey through the desert wilderness where Sariah is stripped of all in her life that gives her strength and hope. Only her faith remains, and during one fateful encounter in the terror of the wilderness, her abiding faith proves to be all that she and her daughter need.

3. When does the plot take place?
The story takes place concurrently during the 33 years of the life of Jesus Christ in a little village close to His birthplace of Bethlehem.

4. Why did the plot develop the way it did?
The story is basically the story of one mother’s faith and courage as she tries to find the Savior and have him help her daughter. Along the way in the novel, Sariah basically has to be stripped of everything in her life, except her faith, that she needs to approach the Savior and ask Him to help Hannah. That story line propelled the story line.

Throughout the book, Sariah is faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, which she faces with patience and love and a faith that if she just endures, she will one day find the miracle for her daughter.

5. How did you come up with the idea for the plot?
I have a daughter similarly handicapped with cerebral palsy as my character is. I have always marveled at the healing miracles of Jesus and the faith of the family members who would bring their handicapped loved ones to Jesus to be healed. I also have always believed that had I lived at the time of Christ, I would do make whatever sacrifice I had to and carry my daughter however far I had to for her to be healed by Jesus. My novel merged those two ideas into this story of a mother who had the opportunity to do just that, and did.

About the Book
Miracle of the Christmas Star

Book Details:
Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.
Published: September 2011
Genre: Holiday Christian Historical Fiction
Format: Paperback
Pages: 176
Price: $12.99
Buy Links: Amazon

Blurb:
Hannah died the night she was born. The new star's light brought her back to life, but left her stricken with palsy. Sariah, Hannah's mother, believes Hannah can be healed, if only she can find the Savior. Miracle of the Christmas Star is a tender story of love, faith and endurance that will touch your heart and remind you why miracles happen.

About the Author
Susan Dean Elzey

Susan Dean Elzey was raised an Army brat and moved to southern Virginia when she was a teenager. She is the mother of seven grown children, stepmother to two, and a grandmother to an ever-increasing brood of grandchildren. Her oldest daughter has cerebral palsy and is the inspiration behind the character of Hannah in her latest novel, "The Miracle of the Christmas Star."

Susan works as a writer and an adjunct English professor at a community college in a constant battle against comma mistakes and sentence fragments. For years, she has written a weekly humorous column entitled "7XMOM" (Seven Times Mom)for the "Danville Register & Bee" newspaper in which she shares the experiences of her life and of her family that, as her children say, "make us look stupid."

"Miracle of the Christmas Star" is Susan's fourth novel.

Connect With Susan:
Author Web Site

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Monday, November 14, 2011

Carla Kelly - Marian's Christmas Wish - Author Interview

My thanks to Carla Kelly for stopping by The Plot Thickens for an author interview during the blog tour for her book, Marian's Christmas Wish.

Author Interview

1. Who is the plot based around?
Marian Wynswich's determined effort to see that even if the family estate is going to be lost at Christmastime, there's no reason why one of the diplomats who came home with her brother from treaty talks in Ghent, Belgium, shouldn't have a Merry Christmas with his family. He's been shy about going home, because he was injured in an incident of war. Marian is also falling in love with him.

2. What is the main idea of the plot?
To save the family home with an advantageous marriage for Ariadne Wynswich (who already has a suitor she prefers, even if he is poor), and Marian's determination to have a Merry Christmas and help out Gilbert Collinwood, Lord Ingraham, a diplomat who came home with her brother for Christmas. Gil turns out to be more than he seems.

3. When does the plot take place?
The story is set in 1814, right at the time that the British and Americans were holding treaty talks in Ghent, Belgium, to end the War of 1812. The events happen right around Christmas, first in Devonshire at the Wynswich family estate, and then in Bath, a particular favorite spot of mine in England.

4. Where does the plot take place?
Well, the story takes place in Devonshire, one of England's loveliest shires, located in what is called The West. The plot takes place within the novel.

5. Why did the plot develop the way it did?
Because to be an effective writer, A is followed by B, which logically leads to C and so on. The idea of a novel is to start the ball rolling, and see where it goes, to reach a logical conclusion. I like to use history as a framework, because of my background as a historian.

6. How did you come up with the idea for the plot?
That's what writers do. I sat down and thought about it. I enjoy Christmas to some extent, and knew readers did, too. My editor at SIgnet back then (I wrote this book in 1989, and this is a reprint from the Signet edition) claims that this is the first Regency romance to devote an entire book to a holiday. Also, a writer sets up a conflict that needs resolution. As simple as that. And as complicated, I suppose.

About the Book
Marian's Christmas Wish

Book Details:
Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.
Published: September 2011
Genre: Historical Romance, Holiday
Format: Paperback, ebook
Price: $8.99 paperback, $2.99 ebook
Buy Links: Amazon, Kindle

Blurb:
Miss Marian Wynswich is a rather unconventional young lady. She plays chess, reads Greek, and is as educated as any young man. And she s certain falling in love is a ridiculous endeavor and vows never to do such a thing. But everything changes when she receives a Christmas visit from someone unexpected--- a young and handsome English lord.

About the Author
Carla Kelly

Carla began to write novels in the first grade, with “The Old Mill,” written on her mother’s typewriter. The book had only two sentences, but there was a plot.

In her writing career, which began in 1984 with Daughter of Fortune (set in colonial New Mexico), Carla has written some 26 novels and umpteen short stories, as well as scholarly works about the fur trade and the Indian Wars: her “footnote projects.” Many novels have been Regency romances, simply because a long-ago editor suggested she try that genre, and because Carla has a scholar’s interest in the Napoleonic Wars. The Regencies have large international audiences, so she’s been a bit typecast, writing Regencies.

She writes mainly about ordinary people, because she believes somewhat in the dictum that an author should write about what she knows. She knows the sea, too, as well as the Indian Wars, earning a master’s degree in that subject from the University of Louisiana – Monroe.

The daughter of a naval officer, Carla has a real affinity for life on the rolling main. Her recent Channel Fleet series took on captains, surgeons, marines, a retired admiral, and finally, an American POW in Dartmoor. She is now turning her attention to the American West, specifically, the Indian Wars, which she knows well from work at historic sites with the National Park Service, and various monographs.

Carla has two Rita Awards for Best Regency of the Year from Romance Writers of America; two Spur Awards for Best Short Story of the Year from Western Writers of America; a career achievement award from Romantic Times; and good will from readers. Carla only writes books she’d like to read; she’s selfish that way.

She’s recently taken a fond look at her own religious background, with Borrowed Light, about a Mormon chef from Utah who hires out to cook for Wyoming cowboys. Poor thing. A sequel is in the production stages now. Next up is a book set at Fort Laramie due for Harlequin Historicals, and then two more works of fiction for Cedar Fort, Inc.

Martin and Carla Kelly spent the past 13 years in North Dakota, where Martin was Director of Theatre at Valley City State University, and Carla was an adjunct professor, and then a ranger at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, on the North Dakota-Montana border. After Martin retired in 2009, they moved to Wellington, Utah, in Carbon County, because they like wide open spaces and empty roads. The Kellys are the parents of five adult children.

A recent addition on their house means Carla now has her own office. It’s a step or two up from the laundry rooms and furnace rooms where she used to write. Carla volunteers at the Western Mining and Railroad Museum in Helper, where she does research and writing for the museum.

Connect With Carla:
Blog

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