Hello!
Happy Tuesday, blog friends! I hope you are all doing well. We are kicking off this month of giveaways with an interview and giveaway from author Patrick E. Craig. Let's get this interview started!
Mini-view:
#1. 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 have been writing most of my life. I published my first article when I was seven years old. It was a piece for the school paper titled "What we did this summer." I got such positive feedback from family and friends I decided that writing was something I could do well and I've been writing ever since. My mother and my aunt both encouraged me tremendously. My Aunt was a real Irish Shanachie, a storyteller, who had most of the history of our family going back for generations in her head. And so throughout my young life I heard stories all the time. In school I was always on the school paper, usually as editor, entering writing and poetry contests and so forth. In high school my interest shifted toward music and I was playing in bands. But my favorite part was writing songs—songs that told stories and I achieved some success as a songwriter in the seventies and eighties. When I got saved in 1984, I went to Bible College and then became a music minister for many years. I also wrote non-fiction teaching books and articles. Then in 2007, I decided to put that all aside and pursue my real love—writing fiction books that created wonderful characters and told spellbinding stories. I did a three book series for Harvest House, Apple Creek Dreams, wrote two kid's mysteries and self published The Amish Heiress. So I've written seven books since 2007 and I'm working on number eight right now.
#2. What is your favorite Bible verse?
Well I have several but certainly Philippians 4:6&7 is one of them. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
#3. What have you read lately that you would recommend?
I'm a big Zane Grey fan but I've read most of his books so I was looking for another adventure author to read. Someone recommended Louis L'amour so I've been reading his Sackett series. He has an interesting style—every book so far is written in first person, something I have never tried. I like the books and I suppose that fact that he sold twenty-five million of them says something about his skill as a writer.
#4. What book are you featuring today?
I am just now getting the second book in The Paradise Chronicles Series, The Amish Princess, ready for printing. It will be out in early November, but I want to feature it because it's been a year since The Amish Heiress came out. The Amish Princess is historical Amish fiction. The first book in the series, The Amish Heiress, did quite well and was on the Amazon bestseller top 100 list in three categories for over seven months. This new book is very unique and I think my readers are going to like it. Here's the blurb:
Opahtuhwe, The White Deer, is the beautiful daughter of Wingenund, the most powerful chief of the Delaware tribe. She is revered by her people–a true Indian princess. Everything changes when the murderous Shawnee renegade known as Scar brings three Amish prisoners to the Delaware camp. Jonathan and Joshua Hershberger are twin brothers that Scar is determined to adopt and teach the Indian way. The third prisoner is their father, Jonas Hershberger, whose stand against violence kept him from defending his family. White Deer is drawn to Jonathan but his hatred of the Indians who murdered his mother and sisters makes him push her away. Joshua's gentle heart and steadfast refusal to abandon the Amish faith lead White Deer to a life-changing decision and rejection by her people. In the end, White Deer must choose between the ways of her people and her newfound faith. And complicating everything is her undying love for the man who can only hate her.
#5. If you could tell people who are going to read/have read your books one thing, what would it be?
We live in a very crazy mixed up world. The only thing that will really help people to make it through is a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. So as a writer I have two imperatives. One is to, somewhere in my story, present the gospel of Jesus Christ in a simple, clear, concise manner, without preaching so that people can hear the truth and decide what they are going to do about it. The other thing I want to do is to preserve our wonderful language. So I take every opportunity when I write to use words that will stretch people, get them out of the texting mode that most people live in today, and make them aware that real communication is everything.
I have been writing most of my life. I published my first article when I was seven years old. It was a piece for the school paper titled "What we did this summer." I got such positive feedback from family and friends I decided that writing was something I could do well and I've been writing ever since. My mother and my aunt both encouraged me tremendously. My Aunt was a real Irish Shanachie, a storyteller, who had most of the history of our family going back for generations in her head. And so throughout my young life I heard stories all the time. In school I was always on the school paper, usually as editor, entering writing and poetry contests and so forth. In high school my interest shifted toward music and I was playing in bands. But my favorite part was writing songs—songs that told stories and I achieved some success as a songwriter in the seventies and eighties. When I got saved in 1984, I went to Bible College and then became a music minister for many years. I also wrote non-fiction teaching books and articles. Then in 2007, I decided to put that all aside and pursue my real love—writing fiction books that created wonderful characters and told spellbinding stories. I did a three book series for Harvest House, Apple Creek Dreams, wrote two kid's mysteries and self published The Amish Heiress. So I've written seven books since 2007 and I'm working on number eight right now.
#2. What is your favorite Bible verse?
Well I have several but certainly Philippians 4:6&7 is one of them. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
#3. What have you read lately that you would recommend?
I'm a big Zane Grey fan but I've read most of his books so I was looking for another adventure author to read. Someone recommended Louis L'amour so I've been reading his Sackett series. He has an interesting style—every book so far is written in first person, something I have never tried. I like the books and I suppose that fact that he sold twenty-five million of them says something about his skill as a writer.
#4. What book are you featuring today?
I am just now getting the second book in The Paradise Chronicles Series, The Amish Princess, ready for printing. It will be out in early November, but I want to feature it because it's been a year since The Amish Heiress came out. The Amish Princess is historical Amish fiction. The first book in the series, The Amish Heiress, did quite well and was on the Amazon bestseller top 100 list in three categories for over seven months. This new book is very unique and I think my readers are going to like it. Here's the blurb:
Opahtuhwe, The White Deer, is the beautiful daughter of Wingenund, the most powerful chief of the Delaware tribe. She is revered by her people–a true Indian princess. Everything changes when the murderous Shawnee renegade known as Scar brings three Amish prisoners to the Delaware camp. Jonathan and Joshua Hershberger are twin brothers that Scar is determined to adopt and teach the Indian way. The third prisoner is their father, Jonas Hershberger, whose stand against violence kept him from defending his family. White Deer is drawn to Jonathan but his hatred of the Indians who murdered his mother and sisters makes him push her away. Joshua's gentle heart and steadfast refusal to abandon the Amish faith lead White Deer to a life-changing decision and rejection by her people. In the end, White Deer must choose between the ways of her people and her newfound faith. And complicating everything is her undying love for the man who can only hate her.
#5. If you could tell people who are going to read/have read your books one thing, what would it be?
We live in a very crazy mixed up world. The only thing that will really help people to make it through is a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. So as a writer I have two imperatives. One is to, somewhere in my story, present the gospel of Jesus Christ in a simple, clear, concise manner, without preaching so that people can hear the truth and decide what they are going to do about it. The other thing I want to do is to preserve our wonderful language. So I take every opportunity when I write to use words that will stretch people, get them out of the texting mode that most people live in today, and make them aware that real communication is everything.
About the Author:
Best-selling author Patrick E. Craig is a lifelong writer and musician who left a successful songwriting and performance career in the music industry to follow Christ in 1984. He spent the next 26 years as a worship leader, seminar speaker, and pastor in churches, and at retreats, seminars and conferences all across the western United States. In 2011 he signed a three-book deal with Harvest House Publishers to publish his Apple Creek Dreams series. His current series is The Paradise Chronicles and the first book in the series, The Amish Heiress, was published by P&J Publishing in August of 2015 and remained on the Amazon bestseller lists for seven months. The second book in the Series, The Amish Princess, will be released in the fall of 2016. Patrick and his wife Judy make their home in Idaho and are the parents of two adult children and have five grandchildren. Patrick is represented by the Steve Laube Agency.
Where can readers find me online?
www.patrickecraig.com Webpage
https://www.facebook.com/PatrickECraig Facebook
https://twitter.com/PatrickECraig Twitter
Where can readers purchase my books?
http://tinyurl.com/n6sfagg Amazon
The Amish Heiress is available in on Amazon, B&N and all your favorite online stores. You can also find it on my website at http://www.patrickecraig.com/my-book-store/.
Look for The Amish Princess in late November, 2016.
Giveaway!
In celebration of the release of "The Amish Princess" in November, Patrick is generously giving away a signed copy of the first book of the series, "The Amish Heiress" to one of my blog subscribers. Just fill out the Giveaway Tools form below to enter! (If it doesn't show up in the email, click here and go to http://www.annaweaverbooks.com/giveaways to enter from the website.) Giveaway ends 9/14. Thanks for participating and God bless!
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