July 23, 2012 by Karen Baney

The Road Home by Naty Matos – Character Interview

Desiree’s life has been less than perfect. All she wanted was to find true love. To everyone on the outside she was beautiful, fun loving, and the life of the party. On the inside Desiree is afraid. Her fear of rejection places her in situations that will alter her life forever and possible tear her family apart. She has the love and support of a good friend, but more importantly she has her prayers. As Desiree makes changes in her own life, she slowly realizes that her dreams are within her reach. Journey with Desiree as she reflects on her life, through both good and bad times, to discover what is really preventing her from having the ultimate dream. True love!!!

For today’s featured author, Naty Matos, we’re bringing you something with a twist. Naty’s latest novel, The Road Home, just released and we thought you might enjoy a character interview with Desiree – the main character. Enjoy!

Susan: We have the pleasure to have Desiree with us this afternoon here at Women’s Magazine. Desiree has had quite an interesting life and we thought that many of us could relate to her life experiences. Desiree thanks for agreeing to talk with us

Desiree: My pleasure

Susan: Tell us, what was your childhood happiest memory?

Desiree: I remember sitting in the living room playing Candyland with my father for hours. I know that he would let me win all the time. He was always very attentive to me.

Susan: Do you have children? If so, please tell us something about them?

Desiree: Yes, I have three children. My oldest is Daniel. I’m so proud that he is a good of a son as he is. He has been a witness to most of the insanities in my life. I guess it just helped him mature quicker. Then my daughter Maryann, she’s the wildcard. My poor baby girl has had a rough life and she’s so confused and lost. And my baby Benjamin, he’s the only one that has had some sense of a normal life. He’s so funny and takes so much after his dad.

Susan: Do you have any regrets?

Desiree: I do. I regret my bad choices in relationships, not so much for the things that I went through, but because of the things my children had to endure due to my bad decisions, especially my Maryann.

Susan: Do you like where you live?

Desiree: I love it! My husband and I live in a house by the lake. My mother in law’s house is on this huge piece of property that she gave my husband the choice of where he wanted to build his house for us. He chose to build the house closer to the lake. It is fantastic, I have a wooden chair in my backyard, where I love to sit and read. I like to sit there to reflect and spend time talking to the Lord out there. I also have a garden with beautiful roses. It’s the closest to my dream life that I’ve ever been.

Susan: We are about to run out of time, but before we go, Are there any final words you have for our readers?

Desiree: All I have to say is this, love your kids with all your heart. Learn to love them in the same way God loves us, in spite of ourselves.

Susan: Thanks Desiree for your words and for being here with us.

Naty Matos was born in the city of New York, from Puerto Rican descendant parents. She grew up in the beautiful Island of Puerto Rico and now lives in the city of Atlanta. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology with a Minor in Mass Media Communications and a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling. Naty writes Christian fiction and non-fiction. She maintains a blog on Christian Living Topics at www.therisingmuse.com

Connect with Naty on Facebook or Twitter.

April 4, 2012 by Karen Baney

Never Say Perfect by Mary Anne Benedetto

Genre: Romance

Format: ebook, paperback

Buy: Never Say Perfect

1. What is special about Never Say Perfect?

The setting includes Pawleys Island, Litchfield, Murrells Inlet, the Grand Strand—all in South Carolina and offers the names of some local points of interest such as Brookgreen Gardens, Hannah Banana’s Sunshine Cabana at the Waccawache Marina and Lazy Gator Gifts in Murrells Inlet. Other locations in the book are Cape May, NJ, New York City, and Milan, Italy.

2. What is a brief synopsis of the book?

Following a romantic second honeymoon in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, Dan Strickland mysteriously disappears at the airport. What inexplicable secrets was he hiding? Why had he seemed so loving and blissful during their vacation only to suddenly vanish? Will the weight of disaster cause Laina’s faith to crumble?

From Pawleys Island to Cape May, New York City and Milan, you will travel this emotion-packed journey with Laina and her family. Will they discover that one should “Never Say Perfect?”

3. What is the theme of the book? What message are you trying to convey?

My purpose in writing this book includes demonstrating that our lives, as we currently know them, can be irreversibly changed in an instant. Everyone has challenges in life, and no one is exempt from sad or difficult events. How do we cope? Even people with strong faith can experience times when they feel disconnected and distant from God, but the point is when we stop relying on God and placing our sorrows in His hands, the longer it will take us to recover. He is our strength.

Another message I wanted to share is how important our friends, and particularly for women—our girlfriends can be. Close girlfrends navigate any number of sorrows and triumphs together. Even if we are miles apart, we can still be there for each other, providing emotional and spiritual support. In Never Say Perfect, Laina’s girlfriends come to her rescue when she desperately needs them. She didn’t ask for their help—they just knew and took action. I have a group of friends who would do the same for me, and they are priceless. So a segment of this book was meant to honor them.

Just as in my first novel, Eyelash, I wanted to tell a story that reminds us that family relationships can be complicated. If no one makes an effort, nothing can be gained or resolved. Someone has to make the first move or the situation remains stagnant, and harmony is continuously obstructed.

There is more romance woven into Never Say Perfect than in Eyelash, but I have to be careful not to reveal too much of that aspect. I don’t want to spoil the mystery that was built into the story!

4. Are you taking a writing break now, or are there more books on the horizon?

Just a month before releasing Never Say Perfect, my nonfiction book, 7 Easy Steps to Memoir Writing: Build a Priceless Legacy One Story at a Time! was published. I’ve barely had time to wear the marketing hat for 7 Easy Steps and now Never Say Perfect is out and in need of marketing attention as well. So I’ll be juggling promotion and marketing of both books, as well as speaking engagements for 7 Easy Steps. There are definitely more book projects in the works, however. Never Say Hopeless will follow, as will Never Say Final if I live long enough! These stories will continue the saga of the life of Laina Strickland and her family. Additionally, I have two more nonfiction works to finalize, which are currently in various stages of completion—lots to keep me busy for a very long time. I’m also helping a friend, who has led a rather bizarre life, capture her story. It is more dramatic than a Made for Television movie, and the scary aspect is that it’s all one hundred per cent true. At any rate, I won’t be bored for some time to come!

5. What is the most challenging part of being an indie author? The most rewarding? Without a doubt, the most challenging is the wearing of all hats. I could be glued to my computer 24/7, but must periodically extricate myself from my chair. I have a reminder set to tell me to get up and walk around for a few minutes every two hours. Of course, writers love to write, but marketing and promotion are a huge component of indie publishing. No promotion effort equals no sales. Balancing the two hats, along with wearing the accounting/bookkeeping hat leads to stress overload at times. The rewards are almost too numerous to list, however. A few of my favorites are total control over the project, not having to depend on someone else to do their part—it’s all up to me. It will progress at the pace I choose. If I need to take a break and set everything aside for a while, no one is going to be demanding action on my part for meeting deadlines. I set my own schedule.

6. As an indie author, what would you say to a potential reader who has never read anything from an indie author?

What you read is what the author intended to write and convey. No one has told them that they have to change something in order to please an agent or editor or publisher. Changes might be recommended by pre-publication readers, but ultimately the decisions rest with the authors. The words placed on their hearts is what will be shared with the readers. They are in control.

7. Is there anything you would like to add?

Yes, only that I really love writing inspirational fiction. It’s exciting to be able to mold my characters into anything I want them to be and to put them into situations that are intriguing. I love writing dialogue, something that some authors say that they despise, but I get a real kick out of putting words into the mouths of my characters. At the end of the day, however, my fervent hope is that hearts and souls are touched by reading my books. Nothing makes me feel that it’s worth all of the time and effort more than someone saying, “Your book entertained and blessed me all at the same time.”

Mary Anne Benedetto was raised in Southern California, moved to the Albany, New York area in her late teens, and then south with her charming husband, Fred, to Murrells Inlet, South Carolina in 2007. Her first novel, Eyelash, was borne as she began writing while she sat on the beach with her girlfriends in Cape May, New Jersey during an annual July “Girls Only Week” in Cape May–a laughter filled vacation that they have enjoyed for almost two decades.
As the owner of A Writer’s Presence, LLC, she is a Certified Lifewriting Instructor, affiliated with The Soleil Lifestory Network. In addition to working on new writing projects, Mary Anne teaches workshops to help people write their life and family stories, capture the essence of their Christian spiritual paths, and learn about navigating the publishing highways. She thrives on speaking to community groups about the importance of preserving our stories to share with future generations, having been impacted by a trip to Hawaii where she toured Pearl Harbor and recalled that her father, Ralph Greene, had been stationed there in the Army on December 7, 1941. She knew virtually nothing about his experiences of that day–because she had never taken the time to ask. She is passionate about influencing others to write their own stories and capture the written life experiences of loved ones before it is no longer possible.

Mary Anne is a wife, mom, and grandmother of three, who loves the challenge of creating new writing workshops and projects because they will ultimately touch the lives of people whom she will never know.

Visit Mary Anne at her website: www.awriterspresence.com or check out her blogs at: www.maryannebenedetto.blogspot.com and www.4womenwholove2travel.blogspot.com.

January 30, 2012 by Karen Baney

Cowboy by Staci Stallings

Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance

Format: ebook, paperback

Buy: Cowboy (The Harmony Series)

Life has done its best to knock Beth McCasland to the ground, and the truth is: it’s done a pretty good job of keeping her there. Stuck in a minimum-wage job with a young daughter counting on her, Beth does her best to stay standing under the weight of it all because she knows God is on her side. Then one night she gets the chance to be an angel to another of life’s weary travelers. For once hope has never looked so real.

Cowboy is a grace-filled story about the power of giving everything to God and how a simple act of compassion can change lives forever. Emotional, soothing, and heart-wrenching, Cowboy is infused with the message that no matter who we are and no matter what life has thrown at us, we never have to walk alone.

I recently had the pleasure of reading Cowboy by Staci Stallings and wanted to share this great contemporary romance with my readers. If you’d like to see my review, please visit Goodreads. Welcome, Staci!

1. In the beginning few chapters of Cowboy, the scenes are shorter and bounce back and forth between Ashton and Beth. I think it’s a great approach for relaying important parts of the story. Can you share what motivated you to write like this?

When I quit teaching to have my family in 1995, I got super bored really quickly. At home all day with a small baby and nothing to do will do that to you. This was before the Internet, before DVD’s, and before Satellite–when I got 3 channels plus PBS (hello Letter Lion!). So first I read. Danielle Steele, Frank Peretti, and John Grisham, but I’m a really fast reader so I was spending a mint on books. I also watched soap operas because I couldn’t go to the movies and there was literally nothing else to do. I liked the soaps mostly because they were stories (in fact, years before, that’s what my grandma called them “My stories”). I liked the intrigue and following characters and trying to figure out what was going to happen. However, the drama, drama, drama got old. Finally I got a book by Anthony Robbins which said you should do what you loved. What did I love? Writing! (and romance!)

When I sat down to write, however, the only background I had was the single POV stories I had read growing up (hello, Sweet Dreams romances!). The thing was, however, that since then I had read Grisham, and I really liked how his stories kept you involved and in the action. You were in Mississippi and then in New York and then in Idaho, and you knew as you went that all of these different characters were somehow tied together. It was like a giant jigsaw puzzle that you watched him put together one or two pieces at a time. I loved it. So when I started writing, I took a little bit of all of that experience and put it together.

2. Both of the main characters have suffered grief—it’s what gives them some common ground. Is there some part of your own life that you drew on to create the depth of emotion the characters faced?

I often say that real life is emotional if you really pay attention. The teacher with too many papers to grade and a husband waiting at home. That’s emotional. The new father up at night with a sick child that he doesn’t know how to mend. That’s emotional. Add in some back story about why he feels like he should be able to control this, or how he feels like an utter failure because he can’t, and voila! Emotional writing.

As for my life, when I wrote Cowboy, I had a few grief experiences to draw from like my oldest child being born three months early and the shock and determination to get through that. Since writing Cowboy, I have had numerous and ever-deeper chances to learn what real grief does to a person. I lost my church to a fire, my older brother to suicide a month later, my brother-in-law to suicide 18 months later, and my trusted writing partner to surgical complications less than 9 months after that. I don’t know that any of that really changed the emotions that I write with, they all more deepened my understanding of how things and people can look so good on the outside and be hurting so deeply on the inside. And they taught me how very fragile and temporary this life is. I think Cowboy was kind of an intuitive understanding of all of that long before I was given the chance to learn it so concretely.

3. Is there a message you would like readers to grasp?

Yes. That our God is not a fair-weather, only-when-things-are-good God. Sometimes it takes hitting bottom and being completely out of control to really begin to grasp that. Just like Ashton. He had a great life–mega work success, a beautiful wife, a wonderful home, and when his wife died, it threw him into a complete tailspin. The details may be different for all of us–maybe it’s being laid off, or someone close to us getting sick. Maybe it’s a parent’s death, or losing a child. It could even be something far less dramatic like having an injury that will heal but takes some time or not getting something we thought we had to have. All of those and so many more can point out to us that we are not in control, and we’d better learn to grab onto the One Who is. He can and will get us through whatever life throws at us, and as I’ve learned–some of that stuff ain’t easy to get through. But He will be there, and He wants to help more than we will ever know. I often say that what Beth gave Ashton was not so much herself but God. I just wish more of us could do that.

4. Many romance authors decide how far characters will go in their physical relationship and what level of detail to use in describing the attraction. A friend of mine recently observed that even Christian novels aren’t so tame any more. What’s your approach when writing the romance scenes?

I think, for me, when my husband and I were dating, there were lines I would not cross in real life. Those are the lines I try really hard to keep in my writing. Some may think that goes too far. Some may think those lines aren’t being realistic. A long time ago people used to tell me that you should “write what you know.” Well, the God-stuff and the physical lines are what I know so that’s what I write.

5. What is the most challenging aspect of being an indie author? What the most rewarding?

I think the most challenging has been people in the industry wanting to change my writing to make it “good enough.” They didn’t read the story. They saw how I broke “the rules,” and used that as a reason to put down my writing and me. It was really hard for a lot of years to believe in myself and my writing when so many people wanted and tried so hard to put it in a formula box. In fact, I’ve been told because I was indie (when it was still called self-pubbed) that my writing must be full of holes and need a lot of editing and that it surely wasn’t as good as it could be if I had real editors read it. I was told by the editors I got along the way that I had to write their way or they wouldn’t accept it (and they didn’t because I didn’t change). I was told in a couple of contests that my characters were emotional messes that no one would want to spend any time around. In fact, some people went so far as to say I was not listening to God by going that route, that I was being selfish and willfully disregarding God’s Timing. That hurt. It really and truly did. But God showed me through it that the world is ALWAYS going to tell you that you’re doing it wrong (yes, even Christians). They will do everything in their power to make you question yourself, your commitment, your ability, and even where God put you. But if you will hold onto Him and listen to Him, no matter what others are telling you, He will bring you to the place you were always meant to be.

What’s the most rewarding? Ah, that’s easy. Being able to give what I’ve found with God to other authors–whether they are indie-pubbed or not. I love helping them to come to realize that God’s got this and all they have to do is to get really good at listening and being willing to take the steps He’s asking them to take. That’s what I like the most–watching God set others free of the chains the world tries to put on them.

6. Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Right now, I’m about 25 pages from finishing my 31st full-length novel. It’s about a dyslexic writer. The companion book to that “Something’s Not Right” details our family’s struggle with my dyslexic son. The really cool thing about this is, I started writing the first book “More Than This” before we found out what we were facing with my son. As God has walked me through the trials with my son, He has given me the insights to write the novel. It was only as I started talking with others about my son’s struggles that I became convinced to write the non-fiction companion that because of the number of novels I have available to put out will probably come out well before the novel. That’s okay. It’s just fun to watch God put the pieces of my life together in ways I never could have imagined.

7. Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

You know, like Beth in Cowboy, we all have moments every day in which kindness will change everything about everything. So often we choose to be too busy or too caught up in our own lives and our own drama to recognize them. But the fact of the matter is this world is filled with hurting people just like Ashton. They may not be Country Music Mega-Superstars… but then again, they might be. In my own life small kindnesses I’ve extended have lifted people who were really struggling in the mire of daily life and set them on a path for good that have taken them to heights they never in a million years dreamed of reaching. Is this a perfect science? No. Will your efforts sometimes seem to make no difference at all? Yes. That doesn’t mean you should give up and stop trying, just that you need to ask God for His strength to do it anyway. When you do that, miracles happen!

Read the first chapter of Cowboy right now!

http://spiritlightworks.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/cowboy-chapter-1/

A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading. Staci touches the lives of people across the globe every week with her various Internet endeavors including Spirit Light Books–The Blog http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com/ among others.

Visit Staci at her website: http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

December 26, 2011 by Karen Baney

Lonely Hearts by Amanda Stephan

Genre: Christian Romance

Format: eBook, Paperback

Buy: Lonely Hearts

Three men. Two scheming children. One single mother.

Becky Callis is the widowed mother of two trying to make ends meet.

Moving to a new town, things get a little complicated for Becky Callis when her mischievous children try to entangle her with the man they each like best. Jen thinks her mother would be better suited to the preacher of the local community church who just happens to be an old friend of Becky’s. Jeff on the other hand, likes handsome cowboy, Scott Boone.

However, the desire of Becky’s heart seems to be aloof ranch owner Pearce Morgan, who is reluctant to become emotionally attached to anyone after being abandoned by his adulterous ex-wife, Michelle, leaving him to raise their young daughter alone. Things don’t always work out as planned, especially when Pearce’s beautiful ex-wife arrives back on the scene to steal him away.

Can these two reluctant heroes learn to put their past behind them and look forward to a future together?

1. When and why did you begin writing?

I can honestly say that I’ve always written. Whether it was silly little tidbits that didn’t even resemble words, or full-length novellas in my teen years that I hid away, I wrote. I remember the first time I wrote an actual story was during my early teen years. I went to the library and all the books I wanted to read were checked out. I couldn’t stand it, so I wrote my own book. I wouldn’t consider it a great work of art, but I still have it to this day, hidden in our attic where no one can see it. I found writing to be a release for me. It was, and still is, a wonderful way to get my emotions under control as well as my thoughts. My family laughs because I’m always hopping around in a different direction or, as I like to call it, channel surfing when I talk. They find it comical that I can write a complete book, yet I get so sidetracked that I often forget where my keys are.

2. What inspired you to write Lonely Hearts?

My latest work of fiction was inspired by my love for, and the antics of, my children, as well as my husband. I’m a huge family person and I often wonder how people can completely miss the point of being a parent and being in love with their kids. You only have those children for a few short years before they fly the coop (or in our case; nuthouse!) ~ treasure it!

3. Why did you choose to write three male roles?

Ah, what an interesting question! I thought it would be appropriate to write different choices into male leads. Everyone has a choice. You may have been given a rotten deal at life, bad things may have happened to you, but you can choose to make the best of things. That would be Pearce. Next, you can mistake an overwhelming feeling of friendship or lust for the real deal ~ that is Jack. (Not saying that he was lustful, just misled.) Then, you have the wild oats sower. One day, you’ll reap what you grow out of those wild oats. That’s Scott.

4. In the book description, it says that Becky’s children pick a man for their single mom. Do you have children? How has this impacted how you wrote the children’s role in the novel?

Yes, I have two of the most adorable, wonderful, crazy, and sometimes annoying children God could have gifted me with. I patterned both children after mine, and more than one of those scenes were pulled out of our everyday lives. There’s never a dull day at our home!

5. What are you currently working on?

At the moment, I’m working on a series of Christian romance/suspense books that I fondly call the Slade Saga. It’s a series of three novels, with a possibility of a fourth. I have the first two books finished, and am working on the third.

6. Do you have anything else you’d like to say to readers?

Don’t take today for granted. I heard someone say once that today is called the present because it is a gift, and it really put things into perspective. Love much and forgive often to keep your regrets as few as possible.

Amanda Stephan is just a normal, everyday country girl. Residing in Middle, TN with her husband and children who closely resemble several of the seven dwarfs, (Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy/Happy), three cats, (only because hubby refuses to get one of his own so she must share,) one dog, and multiple roosters that love to roost under their bedroom windows. She loves to laugh and have a good time, and she loves to read a good book.
Amanda finds writing to be an opportunity to share God’s love for others in a fun and entertaining way. Her first novel, The Price of Trust, was published in May of 2010, her second novel, Lonely Hearts was released at the end of October, 2011.

Not quite a recluse, Amanda’s rather camera shy, doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, and absolutely LOVES to have her feet tickled. But she would say her most interesting accomplishment is that she laughs like Scooby Doo.

Visit Amanda at her website: http://www.booksbyamanda.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter.