Women of Faith and Fiction ~ Linda Yezak

June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 / Gail Johnson / 21 Comments

Good morning, readers. Welcome to another interview with Women of Faith and Fiction. This morning I am talking with the lovely Linda Yezak. Linda is an author and editor. You can find her offering writing advice and bits of humor on her blog. Now, let’s get started.

Personal

Good morning, Linda. Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m getting old. Strands of gray are filtering in with my red hair, my right hip occasionally refuses to bear my weight, and I’ve learned the truth about looking around to see what else I can do while crouched on the floor. Sixty may be the new forty, but sometimes it is every bit my sixth decade. Good news is that I’m more comfortable in my wrinkling skin, my forgetful mind tends to hold more wisdom and patience, and my failing eyes behind these trifocals tend to overlook a lot more than they used to. It’s all good.

Linda, I love the way you express truth with a dash of humor. Next question…

Professional

Linda, I made sure to include coffee in this picture. I know how much you love it. 🙂

Where did you get the idea for your latest WIP or your current release? And what inspired you to choose the setting of your story?

Ride to the Altar is the third and final novel in the Circle Bar Ranch series. When I first started the series, my mother had just sold her family’s ranch near Stephenville, Texas. It’s a beautiful ranch, horseshoed by massive hills, with plenty of natural grass and ponds, so it was painful to watch the deed shift hands. The Circle Bar Ranch ranch is based on my too-short time in the area.

The ranch sounds lovely. It’s always sad when deeds shift hands. Now, what’s your favorite thing to do when not writing?

I love to fish. Doesn’t mean I get to do it often, but it’s my favorite thing to do when I’m not writing. But even then, I’m writing. Doesn’t much matter what I’m doing. I’m writing.

I totally understand that statement. Whenever I relax, my characters show up and begin talking. 🙂 Please share a writing quirk—a ‘must have’ or a ‘must do’ to get words down on paper.

I can’t remember who said it, but some famous somebody said to leave a sentence unfinished at the end of your writing session, so at the beginning of the next session, you can be off to a running start. I’ve adopted this technique. It works.

I love that. Not sure if it would work for me as a writer but as a musician…definitely. Final questions…

Inspirational

This year’s theme is First Things First. Setting our priorities is a must if we’re to be about our Father’s business. What advice would you offer someone struggling to spend time with Him? And, how has spending time with Him changed your life?

I’m not capable of staying up late, so I get up early to spend time with Him—used to be 5:00, but now it’s more like 4. I love studying His word and learning from Him, so I try not to miss. When I have my full time, I flip through the hymnal I keep beside my chair and sing to Him. Then I engage in whatever study I’m working on. Afterward, I read the day’s devotional, then I meditate on what I’ve learned, pray for those who enter my mind, share my plans and concerns with Him.

Spending time with Him is fortifying. It starts my day on the right note. It feeds my yearning to be with Him, to be more like Him. It reminds me to see Him in everything, seek Him in everything, acknowledge Him in everything.

Create the habit of devoting time to Him. Carve out time in your day. It’s just like your writing. If you really want to do it, you’ll figure out how. There aren’t any valid excuses. Get up early. Go to bed late. Skip a TV show. Lock the bathroom door. If you don’t have hours, dedicate minutes to Him.

Stick to your set time the best you can given your circumstances, but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or if things don’t work out. Sometimes, all you need to do is to thank Him for being there with you. Acknowledge Him so you don’t lose your connection with Him during a busy day. The more often you do that, the more likely your day will go smoothly and your emotions will remain in check.

I love that advice! I agree that acknowledging Him daily strengthens the bond. Linda, thank you for joining us today on WFF. It has been a pleasure talking with you.

Readers, Linda’s book (paperback) is up for pre-order. Cl

Click to Tweet: I love to fish. Doesn’t mean I get to do it often, but it’s my favorite thing to do when I’m not writing. #Interview with @LindaYezak #WFF

Ride to the Altar

Ride to the Altar Cattle are dying on the Circle Bar, putting the Texas ranch in financial jeopardy. Newly engaged Patricia Talbert and Talon Carlson must root out the cause before they can concentrate on wedding plans.

But that mystery isn’t their only obstacle. To placate her father, Patricia must return to her hometown of Manhattan to make amends with her mother, the interfering, dominating woman she has hardly spoken to in a year. Her father decides it is time for them to declare a truce, but considering the depth of anger she holds against her mother, how can she?

While she is away, Talon discovers that the attacks on the ranch are connected to the murder of his first fiancée over eight years ago. Memories plague him and emotions confound him as he scrambles to discover who is trying to destroy him and the ranch. By the time Patricia returns from New York, the strikes against the Circle Bar have become more aggressive, to the point of injury for one of the ranch hands.

Before they can move forward together, each have to resolve the past. Their Ride to the Altar has twists and turns neither ever considered. Will they be able to start their new life with a clean slate?

Amazon Link

Barnes and Nobel Link

Linda Yezak Linda W. Yezak lives with her husband and their funky feline, PB, in a forest in deep East Texas, where tall tales abound and exaggeration is an art form. She has a deep and abiding love for her Lord, her family, and salted caramel. And coffee—with a caramel creamer. Author of award-winning books and short stories, she didn’t begin writing professionally until she turned fifty. Taking on a new career every half century is a good thing.

Website: http://lindawyezak.com

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Women of Faith and Fiction ~ Dee Dee Chumley

May 15, 2018June 18, 2018 / Gail Johnson / 14 Comments

Good morning, dear reader. Welcome to another edition of Women of Faith and Fiction with Dee Dee Chumley. Former high school English teacher and tennis coach, Dee Dee is the author of Some Form of Grace. Leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway!

Personal

Good morning, Dee Dee. Tell us a little about yourself.

Originally a Texas girl, my husband and I moved to Oklahoma in 1978, so I feel I now qualify as a “jen-u-wine” Okie, a status I’m proud of. I taught high school English for twenty-three years and coached girls tennis for eleven of those. I spend a lot of my time these days traveling back and forth across the country to visit family. My mother lives with my sister and her husband on the Oregon coast, and my daughter and her family live in Nashville. Why they couldn’t have found more centralized locations, I don’t know, but at least they live in places that are fun to visit. And visiting Nashville is even more fun now that I have two adorable grandsons there!

Professional

Where did you get the idea for your latest WIP or your current release? And what inspired you to choose the setting of your story?

Through my church, I volunteer with a prisoner re-entry ministry, which is part of the Criminal Justice and Mercies Ministry of the United Methodist Church. Among other ways, this ministry helps recently released prisoners assimilate back into society by offering a rent-free apartment until they can gain financial stability. The apartment complex in Oklahoma City is called Exodus House, and a few years ago, our church agreed to update, maintain, and furnish two apartments there. When I retired, I became involved in this program and started learning some amazing and inspiring stories from the people whose lives have been transformed through their faith and their stay at Exodus House. These stories provided the seed for a book, but not until my minister began a series of sermons on the concept of grace did the idea for the plot, theme, and title fully develop. As to the setting, I used the actual location, although I changed the name of the complex to Transformation Place and changed other names and altered stories in order to protect people’s privacy.

Thank you for sharing that, Dee Dee. It sounds like an amazing ministry. Tell me, what is your favorite thing to do when not writing.

When I’m not writing or traveling, I stay busy reading, exercising, and volunteering at church. A friend of mine recently described retirement as “funemployment,” and I totally agree!

I like that definition. Okay, here’s a fun idea. Share a writing quirk—a ‘must have’ or a ‘must do’ to get words down on paper.

My writing group, the Inklings, provide 90% of the motivation and discipline for my writing. We gather once a month, and I always try very hard to have something, even it’s just the beginning of a poem or a blog post. Often, those little pieces go on to be something bigger like a contest entry, a magazine submission … or a novel! I’ve heard pros and cons on being a part of a writing group, but I can say positively that without the amazing Inklings, I would’ve never pursued writing as long or passionately as I have.

I agree with you. I don’t know what I’d do without my critique group. They are an amazing group!

Inspirational

This is an excellent theme, and it’s something I need to be reminded of. In Some Form of Grace, the protagonist Gracene longs for the peace that can come from a relationship with God but feels she will never be worthy because of a dark secret in her past. A friend advises her to “… start with baby steps. Take a few minutes each day to read some scripture or maybe a devotional.” I think this is also good advice for Christians who struggle to prioritize their time with God. I’ve found two ways to help me with this. One is that as soon as I open my eyes, I express thanks—for a good night’s sleep, for a warm bed, for another day of life …. The other is that I subscribe to an online devotional site. Most days, it’s one of the first emails I receive on my phone, and I read it either before I get out of bed or shortly thereafter. It always includes a Bible passage, an insight from the author, and a prayer. So many times I’ve been amazed that the devotional for the day was the exact thing I needed to hear! After spending time—sometimes just a brief time—with God, I never fail to experience peace and assurance.

I think that’s perfect advice, Dee Dee. Thank you for joining us today on Women of Faith and Fiction!

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Some Form of Grace

full book cover Angry loner Gracene has just stepped out of the prison gates and already she’s pulling another con job: She’s moving to Transformation Place. The apartment complex offers free rent and a re-entry program for ex-offenders. But there’s a catch. The apartments and the program are for Christians, something Gracene knows she can never be. A dark secret has convinced her she is beyond forgiveness.

Faking her faith works for a while. She finds a good job with an understanding boss, and for the first time in her twenty-eight years, she has true friends. Even romance seems a possibility. At long last her life is headed in the right direction. But when a creeper from the past slithers back into her life, can Gracene’s pretend faith save her from a U-turn?

Dee Dee Chumley has received numerous awards for her short stories, essays, and poems, and in 2012 her debut novel Beyond the Farthest Star won Best Juvenile Book from the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. When she’s not writing, she’s traveling across the US with her husband Bill to visit friends and family, volunteering at her church, or relaxing on her front porch in Oklahoma. She is a member of OWFI and ACFW. Please connect with her at http://www.deedeechumley.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/deedeechumley, or on Twitter @dee_chumley.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Women of Faith and Fiction ~ Gail Kittleson

March 20, 2018March 19, 2018 / Gail Johnson / 20 Comments

Good morning, dear friend. Please help me welcome author Gail Kittleson to Women of Faith and Fiction. Gail, please share a little about yourself.

Personal

I’m old enough to know better–about a lot of things–but I still have the urge to plunge into new adventures. As I review the last ten years of my life, I can see mistakes, but I’m also glad I took risks. (Even if I was fearful.) We’re still here on earth to learn and grow, and it’s taken a long time for me to view my errors as learning tools.

My supportive husband has encouraged me to nourish my writing bent through all the ups and downs of this journey, and several times I’ve had the sense of coming full-circle. That tells me to keep listening and do my best to obey the leading I receive.

I believe viewing our errors as learning tools is something we learn to do as we age.

Professional

Where did you get the idea for your latest WIP or your current release? And what inspired you to choose the setting of your story?

Since it wraps up a series, the characters and plot of A Purpose True were already in my mind. So was the setting of Southern France during WWII. But in the process of writing, another subplot kept niggling at me. Many Nazis fled to South America at the end of the war, and my husband and I had visited one location where they sought refuge.

That trip we took entered into A Purpose True rather unexpectedly, and led to WWII flashbacks occurring to a main character in the 1970’s. I felt unskilled at this type of era-skipping, but did my best to make things clear. Some of my beta readers’ reactions increased my confidence that this was, indeed, a vital part of the story.

No matter my age, I seem never to outgrow my need for this kind of affirmation. Like most people, I avoid failure whenever possible, but if you do that all the time, you miss out on a lot.

Favorite thing to do when not writing.

I love to read and spend time with our grandchildren. Our 12-year-old granddaughter likes to read books out loud with me, and that is such a joy. There’s something about that shared focus that magnifies the gift of the book. Our grandson, 14, is all about becoming a pilot — it’s fun to encourage their passions. I hope they spend far less time in fear than I did.

Please share a writing quirk—a ‘must have’ or a ‘must do’ to get words down on paper.

I need quiet. I’m so word-centered that if I hear music, the lyrics run through my mind and get me off track. For fiction, I also need a character whispering in my ear. For me, the characters always show up before the plot.

You are truly a kindred spirit, my friend! 🙂

Inspirational

I think you nailed it when you used the word priorities. Back during my freshman year of college, I learned about having a “quiet time,” even a few minutes alone each day with God. That became a habit, probably because I was so extremely needy of inner peace.

Maybe it had something to do with my love of the written word, too—it seemed natural to listen for messages as I read and prayed. But bottom line, I made a commitment to be there each morning, and decisions like this make all the difference. To some, an every-day meeting might seem dull and wooden, but for me, it’s essential and very alive.

Recently I’ve been studying Spanish, and have learned the word for prayer comes from the same Latin root as the English word orator. To pray is to speak—I used to try following “guidelines” for prayer, keeping lists, etc. But now I see communicating with God as simply listening and speaking, a back and forth relationship.

Commitment and continual conversation is a recipe for growth. Gail, thank you for visiting Women of Faith and Fiction and for sharing your thoughts with us.

Readers, Gail is offering an e-copy of A Purpose True to one commenter.

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A Purpose True

Southern France – Spring, 1944

A Purpose True Gail Kittleson German panzer units crisscross the region, dealing ruthless reprisals against the French Resistance, and anyone suspected of supporting its efforts. Secret Operations Executive (SOE) agent Kate Isaacs is tasked with providing essential radio communications with the Allies, while her guide, Domingo Ibarra, a Basque shepherd-turned-Resistance fighter, dedicates himself to avenging the destruction of his home and family.

Thrown together by the vagaries of war, their shared mission, and common devotion to liberty, the last thing Kate and Domingo anticipate is the stirring of affection that threatens to blossom into love. But how can love survive in the midst of the enemy’s relentless cruelty toward innocent citizens?

Everything hinges on the success of the Allied Invasion – L’Invasion

When Gail Kittleson’s not steeped in World War II research, drafting scenes, or deep in an edit, she does a limited amount of editing for other authors. She also facilitates writing and creativity workshops, both in Iowa and Arizona, where she and her husband spend part of the winter in the amazing Ponderosa pine forest under the Mogollon Rim. Favorites: walking, reading, meeting new people, hearing from readers who fall in love with her characters.

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