Author Mini-view:
Tell us a bit about yourself and your writing. (How did you get started? How many books have you written? Where are you on your writing journey?)
I'm married and live in north eastern Indiana. I have three cats and a baby boy. And I have ADD.
I started writing The Hesitant Heiress in January of 2010. I'd never written much, but I knew I would someday write a novel. It ultimately took my husband finding out about it to get me to actually do it. He encouraged me to stay home and write, so I finally did. In 2011, I went to my first American Christian Fiction Writers conference and signed with my literary agent, Joyce Hart, about a month later. I'd only just barely finished The Hesitant Heiress at that point. The year after that, while my one and only proposal made the rounds with publishers, I wrote The Bound Heart, which semi-finaled in the 2012 ACFW Genesis Contest. The next year after that, my proposal was still actively in submission, but because my agent believed it would eventually sell, I started the third book in the series, The Captive Imposter. I quickly wrote the rough draft (which I don't usually do) so I could enter it into the 2013 ACFW Genesis Contest. The Captive Imposter and The Hesitant Heiress both semi-finaled that year, and The Captive Imposter ended up finaling in the Romantic Suspense category. Soon after that, I received my three book contract from Whitaker House--one that would have my series release rather quickly (since the series was almost completely written) every three months as as eBooks... and then later as paperbacks... which is happening this fall. It's been a crazy year, plus I had my first baby during all this! All three books released within the first year of his life!
So far, these three books in The Everstone Chronicles series are the only three books I've written. I have a fourth novel out on submission with my literary agent, and it's all ready to be fully written once I get the go ahead.
Right now, it's been 13 months since The Hesitant Heiress debuted, and it has fortunately been a great success! It has won two awards through chapters of Romance Writers of America, 2015 The Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and the 2015 Write Touch Readers' Award. And it is currently a 2015 ACFW Carol Award Finalist! It was also announced last week that The Bound Heart has won an award as well, the 2015 Laurel Award from Clash of the Titles!
Even though I now have an 18 month old baby boy... I am still committed to writing. I just have to do it a little differently now that my first and only three manuscripts have been published! Now it's all about pitching ideas and seeing if any publisher is interested in publishing them.
What is your favorite Bible verse?
I have too many favorites! This is just one of them, and one that I try to live out every day.
Phil. 4:8 – “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
What have you read lately that you would recommend?
The Lost Heiress by Roseanna White –
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22383696-the-lost-heiress?from_search=true&search_version=service
What book are you featuring today?
The Hesitant Heiress – NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK! Yay!
After being unjustly expelled from the Boston Conservatory of Music, Amaryllis Brigham sees her dreams of founding a music academy in her hometown of Seattle, Washington, disappearing before her very eyes. Now, the only way to achieve her goal comes with high stakes for someone set on avoiding men as much as possible: Marry within the year to inherit the immense fortune of her estranged grandmother. Amaryllis reluctantly moves in to her aunt's Boston home and rubs shoulders with fashionable society. Despite her own misgivings, she soon finds herself quickly falling in love with the most unlikely of men, Nathan Everstone, the envy of every eligible female, whose father has haunted her dreams for the decade following her mother's tragic death. However, Nathan turns out to be much more than he seems...and everything she never knew she wanted. But can she ever really trust an Everstone man?
Author Bio:
Giveaway Time!
God bless and see y'all next week!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
The Hesitant Heiress
by Dawn Crandall
Giveaway ends September 29, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.