Meet author Lori Wildenberg
Lori Wildenberg, mom of four, is passionate about helping families build connections that last a lifetime. She’s co-founder of 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting ministry, lead mentor mom with the Moms Together Facebook Community, national speaker, and parent coach. Messy Parenting isLori’s 5th parenting book. For more information go to www.loriwildenberg.com
Tell us about your newest book.
Messy Parenting: Powerful and Practical Ways to Strengthen Family Connection contains a message I care deeply about— family connection in the present and for the future. Most parents raise their children in a way that actually may sabotage future connection and relationship with their children. I hope Messy Parenting shows them another more satisfying way.
What genre do you focus on and why?
Christian Family Life
Why do you write? What drives you?
My passion is fueled by my love for the Lord and desire to encourage healthy faith-filled families. God calls Himself our helper. We are to depend upon Him and also help each other.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
It isn’t too glamorous. I sit at my desk and pluck away at the keys and forget to eat. Then when my back begins to ache I decide it’s time for a walk and a talk with God.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
To reach people’s hearts I must open mine. I’m a fairly private person so this transparency can be tough. Sometimes I feel sort of …exposed, naked. But to God be the glory in the way that He moves when I am obedient. He allows me to see how my writing has helped someone else. This is such great encouragement.
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
I love being with my readers and hearing from them. Doing a speaking event, leading a workshop, or speaking at a conference where I can have personal interaction and conversation with parents brings me great joy. I love helping and supporting moms and dads to be the best parent they can be!
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?
Once I was on a live local cable TV show. The host opened it up to callers. Most people who called in asked typical parenting questions. Except for one man… he asked, “Can God grow back a missing arm?” His non-parenting question totally threw me for a loop. I frantically looked to the host for support. Shea answered his inquiry well. “If God can raise the dead, he can grow back an arm but he typically doesn’t respond this way to missing limbs.”
What are you most proud of?
One thing that comes to mind as kind of a cool accomplishment is my daughter Kendra and I, along with two other moms and daughters, hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim. It was by far the hardest physical thing I had ever done. I even got heatstroke and lost almost all of my toenails! (gross)
What is your favorite pastime?
We live in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and my favorite pastime is hiking those hills with my family and dog.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Yes, I have four other parenting books in addition to Messy Parenting. My fourth book was published May of 2017 titled, Messy Journey: How Grace and Truth Offer the Prodigal a Way Home. My three previous books I co-authored with my 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting ministry partner, Becky Danielson: Raising Little Kids with Big Love, Raising Big Kids with Supernatural Love, Empowered Parents: Putting Faith First.
What are you working on now?
I have a few book ideas brewing. We will see what my publisher (New Hope Publishers) thinks. So stay tuned!
Website: www.loriwildenberg.com
Link to book: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Messy-Parenting-Practical-Strengthen-Connections/dp/1563090414/ref
New Hope: https://www.newhopepublishers.com/shop/messy-parenting/
Social media links:
Facebook : Lori Appel Wildenberg
Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/1Corinthians13Parenting
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MomsTogetherGroup/
Twitter: @LoriWildenberg
Instagram: Lori Wildenberg
Meet Marie Sontag
Marie Sontag loves learning, writing, and kids. These passions melded into a desire to write historical fiction for middle-grade and young adult readers. After earning a BA in social science, teaching middle school for over fifteen years, and completing a PhD in education, her focus was and still is to bring the past to life for today’s youth.
Tell us about your newest book.
My latest release, The Silver Coin, completed the trilogy, Ancient Elements, a series of middle-grade historical fiction novels set in ancient Mesopotamia. My current work in progress, a YA historical fiction novel tentatively titled Yosemite Discovered, grapples with tensions between Native Americans and gold prospectors during California’s gold rush, leading to the whites “discovery” of Yosemite.
What genre do you focus on and why?
I love writing historical fiction for middle-grade and young adult readers. As New York Times bestselling author, Laura Elliott states, “historical fiction helps readers imagine, to contemplate what they might do in the difficult and often death-defying plotlines of past eras.” What better way to engage youth, whose primary maturation goal is self-identity?
Why do you write? What drives you?
I’ve always had a hard time falling asleep. I recall how, at the age of six, I’d make up stories about Robin Hood to entertain myself before drifting off. In college I read Erik Erikson’s book, Identity: Youth and Crisis. That’s when I decided to teach middle school and/or high school. At that point, having recently solidified my own identity as someone fully known, forgiven, and loved by her Creator because of Jesus Christ, I dedicated my life to helping youth navigate the tumultuous waters of self-identity. Writing historical fiction extends my sphere of influence from the classroom to the space between the pages of a book and a reader’s heart and mind. I can’t think of anything more fulfilling than helping youth grapple with questions such as, who am I, why am I here, and where am I going through the vehicle of historical fiction.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
In Yosemite Discovered, my main fictional character is Daniel. I chose this name because it means God is my Judge, God rules me, and Judge of God. In this gold rush story, thirteen-year-old Daniel, an orphan from Illinois who travels with his guardian to California in 1846, must, by 1850, decide if he will follow the path of his guardian, the historical figure of James Savage. In 1851, Savage led the Mariposa Battalion into Yosemite Valley to rout out renegade Indians, resulting in the whites’ discovery of Yosemite.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
My writing days are a frantic balance between spending every other afternoon with my three-year-old grandson when my daughter-in-love is at work, then writing and maintaining our household for two, which means occasionally cleaning, restocking the fridge when empty, and cooking. I typically spend four to eight hours a day honing my craft and setting words down on the page. Depending on the day’s schedule, this happens either in the morning, the afternoon, and/or evening. Occasionally you’ll find my light on at 2 a.m. if a story takes me there.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
The hardest part of being an author is not letting my zeal for writing overshadow my higher priorities of my relationship with the Lord, my husband, kids, grandkids, and my personal physical health. I have to conscientiously pursue this balance because I have a very goal-oriented, type A personality. And writing is so much fun!
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
Meeting and/or communicating with people who actually took part in events I’ve written about—such as Halina Butler, a Girl Guide, and member of the battalion in Warsaw during WWII, in which my main fictional character was a member, and Dr. Julian Kulski, a Boy Scout and participant in Warsaw’s 1944 uprising, the subject of my book, Rising Hope.
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?
The “chance” meeting I had with Halina Butler who read my book, Rising Hope. She told me she had actually been part of the Warsaw battalion, Zoshka, in which I placed my fictional character during the Poles’ uprising against the Germans in 1944. After our “chance” encounter at a Polish festival, I then had the pleasure of having tea with her in her home and hearing more of her personal story.
What is your favorite pastime?
My favorite pastime is playing trains and reenacting scenes from The Land Before Time with my three-year-old grandson (he loves to pretend he’s Red-Claw).
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
My historical middle-grade novels comprise The Ancient Element series: The Bronze Dagger, The Alabaster Jar, and The Silver Coin. My first YA novel Rising Hope, is the first in the proposed series, Warsaw Rising.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently completing a YA historical fiction novel, Yosemite Discovered.
Website: http://www.mariesontag.com/
Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Coin-Ancient-Elements/dp/1620067986/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520069021&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=The+siver+coin+marie+sontag
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMarieSontag
Twitter: https://twitter.com/profsontag
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/maries3612/boards/
Author Video Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9UXzsMHSlzO5twS5ryIaw
The Power of Yes!
This is the second time this year that I’ve had the privilege of being a contributing author to a Chicken Soup book! Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes! released yesterday, August 14, and Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Miracle of Love released in June. In years past, I have contributed to a half-dozen other books as well as others.
My latest contribution is called “Empty No More” and it’s just one of a hundred inspiring stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes! They are stories about people who have tried new things and ended up energized or blessed or changed because they’ve said “yes” to something new whether a new experience, place, or whatever.
We all have a tendency to get in a rut. We start to say “no” to new things, and that can only lead to a narrower and narrower life. When we try new things, we often end up feeling energized and pleased with ourselves. There is tremendous power in saying “yes”. It makes you feel more dynamic, younger, and more of a participant in the world.
For me, I was forced to step out of my comfort zone when my ex left and I had to supplement my income by renting out empty rooms to single, young women. It changed my life and expanded my world. Today, several of my former roommates live around the globe and are still dear friends. We’ve been a part of each others weddings, births, challenges, and more. Saying “yes” to roommates became a place of healing, hope, and friendship.
I hope you will consider checking out Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes! today. You’ll read stories that just might inspire you to find the hope and strength to say “yes” to your own new adventures.
Mark Twain said: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than the ones you did do.”
How can you find “the power of yes” in your life? I’d love to know.
Meet author MaryAnn Diorio
Dr. MaryAnn Diorio is a widely published, award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction for both children and adults. She writes riveting fiction that deals with the deepest issues of the human heart. MaryAnn resides in New Jersey with her husband Dom. They are the blessed parents of two adult daughters and five rambunctious grandchildren.
Tell us about your newest book.
My latest release is titled Return to Bella Terra. It is Book 3 in my trilogy titled The Italian Chronicles. Return to Bella Terra completes the moving story of my heroine, Maria Landro that began in Book 1, The Madonna of Pisano, and continued in Book 2, A Sicilian Farewell. The trilogy was sparked by an incident that occurred in the life of my great-great-grandmother.
What genre do you focus on and why?
I focus on writing women’s fiction. For over 40 years, I have ministered to women from all over the world. As a woman and a life coach, I understand the feminine heart, and I can relate to the deep and conflicting emotions that women often feel. I also understand the complexities of the challenges that women face on a daily basis.
Why do you write? What drives you?
One reason: God called me to write. It is this calling—fueled by my passionate love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and my desire to obey Him—that drives me. He has ordained that I would proclaim the Gospel message of love and redemption primarily through my writing and primarily through writing fiction. I love writing fiction! There is nothing else I would rather do with my life.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
My main character in Return to Bella Terrais Maria Landro. The name simply came to me after I asked God to write the story of His heart through me.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
When writing a novel, I am quite disciplined. I write from 9:00am until 2:00pm or 3:00pm five days a week. When on deadline, I also write in the evenings and on Saturdays. I treat my writing as I would treat a day job. I have a set time to get to my office and a specific word count goal to reach every day. I usually do not stop until I have reached my word count for the day. If I have to stop, I make up my word count before the week is over.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
For me, the most difficult part of being an author is the waiting for results. If God has taught me one thing during my writing career, it is that I am in need of patience. This Scripture verse in Hebrews 10: 36 sums it up for me: “Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
The best part, without a doubt, is the joy of co-laboring with God in the creative process. I see myself as His pen as He writes the story of His heart through me. I know that other writers who follow Jesus have had similar experiences. The joy of it is unspeakable!
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?
I would have to say that the craziest thing I’ve experienced as an author was my first sale. Novice that I was, I submitted a funny poem to The Saturday Evening Post, totally oblivious to the fact that this was a magazine virtually impossible for a beginning writer to crack. The poem resulted from a funny incident surrounding an argument between my two little girls. At the time, I had been praying for a sign from the Lord that He wanted me to write. When The Saturday Evening Postaccepted my poem for publication, I knew that a miracle had occurred and that God had given me my sign.
What are you most proud of?
Rather than proud, I would say I am most thankful that God has chosen me to write for Him. I am also quite thankful to have fulfilled my longstanding dream of writing The Italian Chronicles. So many stories are still gestating in my heart that I feel I will need several lifetimes to write them. My prayer is that the Lord’s will will be done in my writing and in my life.
What is your favorite pastime?
I love to create works of art in colored pencil, oils, and acrylics. I also love to make up silly poems with my grandchildren.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Yes. I have two published novellas: A Christmas Homecoming (Pelican Book Group) and Surrender to Love (TopNotch Press). I also have a published short story titled Magnolia Memories (TopNotch Press). As for children’s books, I’ve published four picture books and one chapter book. The picture books are Who Is Jesus?,Candle Love,Toby Too Small, and The Dandelion Patch. The chapter book is titled Do Angels Ride Ponies? This fall, Lord willing, my latest children’s picture book will be released by TopNotch Press. It is titled Poems for Wee Ones and is a collection of the poetry I have written for children over the years. My wonderful illustrator is Valeria Wicker.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a contemporary novel, also women’s fiction, with romantic elements. It is titled In Black and White and is a story about racism and reconciliation.
Website:
http://www.maryanndiorio.com
http://www.maryanndiorioministries.com
Link to book:
Social media links:
Website: www.maryanndiorio.com
Blog (Matters of the Heart): http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/maryanndiorioblog
Amazon Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/author/maryanndiorio
Blog Talk Radio: http:www.blogtalkradio.com/drmaryanndiorio
BookBub.com: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maryann-diorio
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/DrMaryAnnDiorio
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/@DrMaryAnnDiorio
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/DrMaryAnn
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryann-diorio-phd-dmin-mfa-99924513/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/drmaryanndiorio/
Google+: http://plus.google.com/u/0/+DrMaryAnnDiorio
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmaryanndiorio/
Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/profile/drmaryanndiorio
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user46487508
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/drmaryanndiorio/
Meet author Beth Vogt
Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Both a Christy Award and an ACFW Carol Award winner, Beth is the author of ten contemporary romance novels and novellas. Her first women’s fiction novel, Things I Never Told You, releases May 8, 2018 from Tyndale House Publishers.
Tell us about your newest book.
Things I Never Told You asks the question: Is family always worth fighting for? It’s been ten years since Payton Thatcher’s twin sister died in an accident, leaving the entire family to cope in whatever ways they could. No longer half of a pair, Payton reinvents herself as a partner in a successful party-planning business and is doing just fine – as long as she manages to hold her memories and her family at arm’s length.
What genre do you focus on and why?
This is book one in the Thatcher Sisters Series and marks my debut in women’s fiction. Before this, I wrote contemporary romance. Two years ago, as I was writing the final novel in my destination wedding series, I prayed about my direction as a novelist. I determined that I wanted to transition to women’s fiction. I also switched publishers, and am now with Tyndale House Publishers.
Why do you write? What drives you?
One of the reasons I love writing women’s fiction is because it delves into the relationships between women: sisters, mothers and daughters, best friends. I believe life is complicated – that relationships are complicated – and that God steps into our lives with the truth and says, “I have more for you than this.” Writing is also one of my opportunities to reflect God to the world.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
Payton Thatcher became a “twinless twin” when her identical twin sister, Pepper, died ten years ago. I named her after Peyton Manning, one of my favorite football players, but with an “a” instead of an “e”.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
Interrupted. My writing day looks interrupted. Sometimes I get up early, say at 4 a.m., and I write for a couple of hours before my husband and youngest daughter get up. Sometimes I stay up late and write until midnight. And I write throughout the day – in between doing errands, or letting the dog out, or maybe catching lunch with a friend. Sometimes my grandgirls visit, and they do a “couch” picnic, where I give them snacks on a little tray, and they watch a movie and I write.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
For me, the hardest part is balancing my real life and my writing life. Of course, I always want to be a good writer – a getting-better-at-my-craft writer. But, I’m a relationship-oriented person and I like to be available to my family and friends. I also work on deadline and I’m usually writing one book and getting ready to market another. So balancing all of those competing demands is challenging.
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
I love connecting with other writers and encouraging or mentoring them, as well as celebrating their successes. I also love connecting with readers and talking story with them finding out what’s going on in their lives.
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?
Okay … the first thing that came to mind was when I was writing nonfiction. At the time, I was an editor and I was also writing magazine articles. I was attending a conference and someone asked me what I wrote. I told him and when he found out I didn’t write books, he said, “Well, you’re not a real author then.”
STUNNED SILENCE.
It never, ever occurred to me that someone would think that.
What are you most proud of?
As an author? I used to think winning awards would be significant – and that has happened, and yes, it means a lot. But when I hear from a reader that one of my books has touched their heart or changed them in some way … it’s not that I’m proud of that … but that’s why I write … because I hope God can use my writing in a way the encourages or helps someone.
What is your favorite pastime?
I love grabbing two cameras – one for me, one for my husband – and going for a long walk or hike and taking photos. I also am the (un)official photographer for my daughter’s high school and club volleyball teams. That’s a lot of fun too.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Things I Never Told Youis my 12th book, including novels and novellas, and one nonfiction book, and my first women’s fiction. There will be two other books in this series.
What are you working on now?
I’m writing the second book in the Thatcher Sister Series. Each of the Thatcher Sisters – Johanna, Jillian, and Payton – is the main character of a book.
Website: http://bethvogt.com/
Link to book: http://bethvogt.com/beths-books/
Social media links:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBethKVogt/
https://www.pinterest.com/beth_vogt/
https://www.instagram.com/bethkvogt/
Meet Larry W. Timm
Larry W. Timm is a husband, father, and preaching minister. He loves creating stories with heart, soul, and high doses of adrenaline.
Tell us about your newest book.
Murder for Emily’s Sake is a story about how the gift of life is not only God’s most sacred gift, but one of His most fragile as well. The story follows the lives of three women being stalked by a man who blames them for the death of his teenage daughter, Emily. On a moonlit night in Wichita, Kansas, a tormented father stands by the grave of his teenage daughter, Emily, and makes a chilling vow to avenge her death. Once he gets his hands on the three women he holds responsible for his daughter’s death, they will regret the day they met Emily outside the abortion clinic. He will expose a dark secret. He will bury them, as he buried Emily. Bury them alive. And after their caskets are in the ground, they will die…for Emily’s sake.
What genre do you focus on and why?
I write suspense fiction because that is what I like to read. I love the tension, danger, action, and twists and turns of suspense. The old axion is “write what you know.” My wife would probably agree that is why I don’t write romance.
Why do you write? What drives you?
I love the power of story and that love drives me to put my heart and soul into crafting stories that will illustrate truth. Our Lord Jesus used stories—many of them quite gritty and suspenseful—to grab people by both sides of their brains and engage them with truth that called for action and response. I am intrigued by the task of communicating God’s truths, whether it be by preaching, teaching, or writing. Yes, I want to entertain in a way that holds a reader’s attention, but I also want to bring them face-to-face with truth that leaves them thinking.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
Lindsay Birk is the main character (but there are several other characters who are major characters also). I’ve dedicated this book to my daughter, Jayne. Lindsay is her middle name.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
My responsibilities as a pastor keep me busy, so I carve out time to write wherever I can find it. Those times seem to be on evenings (when I’m home) and on my day off (Friday). But when I do get to write, I just start and “let ‘er rip.” I don’t outline or prepare any plot plan in advance, so I will write for a while, then go back and revise, interspersed with pacing, mumbling, and several unnecessary trips to the fridge. Often, I will stop to think about something that comes up in the process of writing whatever chapter I’m working on, and do some research to make it better.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
I suppose this changes from time to time, but I’d say the hardest part of being an author for me right now is finding ways to market and promote my book. A close second would be finding ways to engage people so they will be as passionate about reading my book as I was about writing it.
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
I love writing and revising. It really gets my juices flowing! Seeing a story idea take shape and get into the hands and hearts of readers is wonderful. I love to process of writing, but I don’t write just to write, I write to be read. So, when someone tells me they’re reading my book, it thrills me.
What are you most proud of?
Being my wife’s husband, my children’s dad, and my Lord’s follower.
What is your favorite pastime?
Spending time with my family and reading are my favorite things. I’m also a fan on the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Vikings, though both teams test my emotional stability and mental well-being.
What are you working on now? We’d love to know.
I am in the process of revising my second stand-alone novel and hope to pitch it to a publisher soon. It is about the persecuted church and the cost many pay to follow Jesus.
Website: www.booksbylarrywtimm
Link to book: there are links on my website
Social media links: Twitter: @larrywtimm