Jennifer Hallmark – Authorview

On By Betty OwensIn ACFW, author, fiction, Jennifer Hallmark - Authorview, Scribes, Southern, writer, Writing Prompts


I met Jennifer Hallmark on the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Scribes loop. After working together for a while, she invited me to become a co-writer on a blog she’d started with another member of the Scribes loop, Writing Prompts &Thoughts & Ideas…Oh My! She wanted to inspire writers with her blog. She’s done that and more. 
I hope you enjoy her answers to my “Authorview” questions…
 
Nickname or “wannabe” nameIf you don’t have a nickname, you can choose one you’d like, that tells us a little bit about who you are: Never really had a nickname, but how about Eowyn? I loved her in Lord of the Rings…
I am: Too serious.
My best trait:Persistence.
My bad habit: Overplanning.
Qualities I admire:Honesty, being real.
What I like to read:Fantasy, 1920’s mysteries.
What I write: Southern fiction, fantasy.
What I watch: Sports, competitive reality television, shows about geniuses like Elementary, Scorpion, and Numbers.
My family: loves me for who I am.
My favorite food, snack, or beverage: hot tea, pretzels, dark chocolate Milky Ways.
What I love to do:Read, enjoy time with family and friends.
What I admire: People who are real.
What makes me happy:God, family, music.
What makes me sad:Sickness, death.
I believe: That God has a plan and purpose for everyone, a hope and a future.

Jennifer’s Bio

Writer by nature, artist at heart, and daughter of God by His grace. Jennifer loves to read detective fiction from the Golden Age, watch movies like LOTR, and play with her two precious granddaughters. At times, she writes.With over 160 articles on the internet, her attention has moved to southern fiction.

Her first book was published in early 2014, a multi-authored Romantic Comedy novella, for Valentine’s Day called A Dozen Apologies. She is currently shopping her YA series, “Journey of Grace”, and a contemporary southern fiction novel, “When Wedding and Weather Collide.”

Jennifer’s website is Alabama-Inspired Fiction and she shares a writer’s reference blog, Writing Prompts & Thoughts & Ideas…Oh My! with several other writers. She and Christina Rich share an encouraging blog for readers called The Most Important Thing.
Jennifer and her husband, Danny, have spent their married life in Alabama and have a basset hound, Max.

Sweet Freedom A La Mode 
Buy Link

For some, the fourth of July is a celebration of freedom; for others it is a reminder of bondage. Of pain. Of fear. Of hopelessness. But there is a hope that is deeper, a love that is truer, and a freedom that no one can ever snatch away.
How can one take a step toward that freedom when the road appears shrouded with insecurities and doubts? These pages contain numerous stories: a woman longing to start again but bound by the failures of her past; a young man who, upon reaching adulthood, must face his fears of death; a woman offered a chance of true love but held back by crippling insecurities.
Is God even there? Does He care…enough to reach down and pull these men and women from the messes they’ve landed in, some of them by their own hand?
Freedom. Peace-saturated, joy-infusing freedom.
We pray our stories demonstrate what it looks like in the day-to-day…and provide a little insight into how one grabs hold of that treasured state of heart and mind.

Deanna Klingel – Authorview

On By Betty OwensIn author, biography, Deanna Klingel - Authorview, fiction, historical, Interview, literature, writer, YA
Deanna Klingel

 

I am: Deanna but you could call me Jan Karon if you’d like.

My best trait:I’m totally transparent.

My bad habit: I’m totally transparent.

Qualities I admire:Integrity

What I like to read:Good literature, especially historical fiction well-written

What I write:Everything; short stories, picture books, middle grade historical fiction, YA nonfiction biography and fiction

What I watch:You mean on TV? Uh, sometimes I watch the listings scrolling. The first of the year I’ll watch Downton Abbey.

My family: My husband Dave (married 52 years), our seven children and their spouses and our eleven grandchildren and one great grand, and my mom, 92 years.

My favorite food, snack, or beverage: I like eggs. I love Coke. 

What I love to do:be with my dog, write, read, walk

What I admire:Selfless acts and kindness

What makes me happy:Getting up each day, going to bed every night and everything in between.

What makes me sad:Some of what happens in between

I believe: the words I profess in the Nicene Creed 

Betty: Thanks, Deanna. Some of your answers left me giggling. 

For more information, keep reading!

Deanna’s Bio:
Deanna K. Klingel was raised in a small town in Michigan. She left for college, married, and spent the next twenty years moving every two years with her IBM husband Dave. Their family grew with each move. They eventually settled in Atlanta with their seven children where they put down roots for nineteen years. The children grew up, left home, and Dave retired. They moved to the quiet mountains of western North Carolina. It was here, in the quiet remote setting that Deanna returned to her love of writing, and began the life of a writer.

Her books include Beth’s Backyard Friends, and Rebecca & Heart, both eBooks on Storyrealm.com, and published award-winning short   stories that can be read on her website. Other published books are Just for the Moment: The Remarkable Gift of the Therapy Dog, (Dog Ear Publishing, Oct 2010); Avery’s Battlefield, (Journey Forth BJU Press, March 2011); Avery’s Crossroad, (Journey Forth BJU Press, Sept 2011; Bread Upon the Water, (Rafka Press, spring 2011.) Cracks   in the Ice, (Write Integrity, Oct. 2012.) Deanna writes primarily for young adults.


Discover more about Deanna here:
 http://www.booksbydeanna.com/
Cracks in the Ice, by Deanna Klingel

“We skate deliberately over the wide dangerous cracks, where lesser skaters might fall and never recover …”

Gina Mangalli, niece of a mafia don, has dreams of Olympic gold as a figure skater. When tragedy strikes, her life spins out of control, and then a rash decision changes Gina’s life forever.

The burden of guilt causes a spiral that carries her further from the life she had always dreamed for herself. Have things gone too far? Can her hopes and dreams be restored or is it too late? 

Amelia’s Legacy – 1920s Era Historical Romance

On By Betty OwensIn Amelia's Legacy - 1920s Era Historical Romance, Write Integrity Press

Nancy Sanderson is the heroine of my latest release, Amelia’s Legacy. She’s only eighteen as the story begins, and has big plans for her life. With wide eyes, she surveys her world, and sees what she think she wants. Freedom.

All around her, the world is changing at a frantic pace. Well, for the 1920’s, thirty-five mph is frantic. Folks are replacing their horse-drawn conveyances with gas-fueled motorcars. You can take a train most anywhere you want to go. But more important to Nancy, a young woman can make her own way in the world.

For this young woman, that way is blocked by stone walls. The major one in her life is Amelia Woods-Sanderson, a trendsetter, leading a huge conglomerate in a male-dominated world. She is one tough cookie and she will not be cowed by a teenager. She lays out a plan that assures the final outcome of Nancy’s life, one way or the other.

Amelia set her sights on a young lawyer, well-connected and wealthy. Robert Emerson’s single-minded pursuit of his personal goals has won her attention. What a good prospective husband for her wayward granddaughter.

Nancy has other plans. Robert Emerson is Bor-ing. Nate Conners–sultry, ruggedly handsome football star–now there is an exciting guy. Nate is busy “wasting a valuable scholarship,” according to Robert. Nancy prefers Nate because he has a wild side. She wants to be wild, too. Or so she thinks.

The last stone wall and perhaps the greatest one Nancy will encounter, is the vast fortune her grandmother has amassed–Amelia’s Legacy. Nancy is a young woman of substance and as such, she has certain obligations. Though her young self desires freedom, a bobbed haircut, and short dresses–these things won’t bring her lasting peace.

As she approaches womanhood, she’ll reap the consequences of some of her earlier decisions, but she’ll also encounter opportunities for love and grace, for which she feels unworthy.

Amelia’s Legacy, Book One in the Legacy Series, Write Integrity Press, October, 2014

Dianne Butts – Authorview

On By Betty OwensIn author, Bible Prophecy, Dianne Butts - Authorview, gardening, motorcycles, nonfiction, photography, Prophecy, Writing1 Comment
Dianne Butts
Nickname or “wannabe” name (If you don’t have a nickname, you can choose one you’d like, that tells us a little bit about who you are): I never had a nickname. Unless you count the one young man I worked with at a gas station/rental shop who called me Lady Di. If I could choose one? I’d choose “Sandra Bullock.”

I am: a magazine writer, book author, speaker, screenwriter, and Bible prophecy geek.

My best trait: I’m a student and teacher at heart. I have to study then share what I learn.

My bad habit: workaholic

Qualities I admire: Deep thinking.

What I like to read: nonfiction, especially about Bible prophecy. The one thing I can’t put down.

What I write: Mostly nonfiction. Working on fiction. Developing future film screenplays (which are also fiction).

What I watch:   This season we’re enjoying the new shows Legend, Gotham, Scorpion, and N.C.I.S. – New Orleans. From past seasons we still enjoy the original N.C.I.S, Blue Bloods, Royal Pains, Ice Road Truckers, and catching up on Listener though it’s no longer on. We recently discovered Longmire but now that’s canceled – hoping another network picks it up. There are certain shows we at my house used to watch but quit watching because of the continual, gratuitous sexual connections, including Cover Affairs, Defiance, and Bones. I also enjoy fun family and faith-based movies, like God’s Not Dead, and corny holiday movies on the Hallmark Chanel. We’re often filling our “watch time” with reruns of Touched by an Angel, Murder, She Wrote, or Diagnosis Murder. That might sound like a lot of watching, but I’m lucky because at my house we call all TV-watching and movie-going “research.”

My family:  One husband. One cat.

My favorite food, snack, or beverage: Ice cream. Chocolate. Any other flavor is a waste of ice cream.

What I love to do:  Besides my work? Riding motorcycles. Gardening. Photography.

What I admire:  Strong godly leaders.

What makes me happy:  Christians who firmly but lovingly stand up to erroneous or sin-tolerating thinking.

What makes me sad: Compromising the Truth of God or softening that truth in order to “accept” sinful behavior, whether due to political correctness or fear of being slammed.

I believe: Jesus is coming soon. Not a cliché. I mean really, really soon. And that when He does He will fulfill all the remaining prophecies. That the current set of four lunar eclipses are prophetically significant. That people need to come to Christ for salvation now, but there’s not much more time left.

Thanks, Dianne!  

Read more information about Dianne and her books:


BIO

Dianne E. Butts has been writing for more than twenty years with over 300 published print articles and dozens of online articles. Her work has been published in Great Britain, Bulgaria, Poland, Canada, and Korea. She has contributed to 20 books. Her book Prophecies Fulfilled in the Life of Jesus completes her 3-book “Prophecies Fulfilled” series and is her sixth print book.

Dianne is also a screenwriter. Her feature-length screenplay placed as a semifinalist in the Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays and a short script was a finalist in the 168 Film Project’s “Write of Passage.”

Buy Links & Book Info:
You can find out more about her books on her blog www.BiblePropheciesFulfilled.blogspot.com and web her site www.DianneEButts.com. For writers, Dianne offers the e-book How to Get Published by Magazine and Book Publishers and her blog www.ButtsAboutWriting.blogspot.com. 

How to Get Published by Magazines & Book Publishers

Ruth O’Neil – Authorview

On By Betty OwensIn fiction, freelance writer, Houghton College, publication, publishing, Ruth O'Neil - Authorview, Upstate New York2 Comments
Ruth O’Neil
I am: I have been a freelance writer for more than 20 years, publishing hundreds of articles in dozens of publications as well as a few books. I enjoy helping others of all ages make their publishing dreams come true. I was born and raised in upstate New York and attended Houghton College. When I’m not writing or homeschooling, I spend my spare time quilting, reading, scrapbooking, camping, and hiking with the family.

My best trait: Organized   

My bad habit: Oh, do I only have to mention one? Or any at all? Ok, if I have to mention one, it might be starting projects, but not finishing them. But, then there’s the sarcasm thing…

Qualities I admire: Punctuality, respect, prayer warriors, dependability

What I like to read: fiction, I like to escape to other worlds.

What I write: mainly fiction

What I watch: I don’t watch a lot of TV/movies, but I like the classics and shows on the retro channel.

My family: Husband of 23 years, 3 kids, a son-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandparents, parents…there’s a lot of us.

My favorite food, snack, or beverage: Chocolate is always good, but then I like something salty. Pepsi is my guilty pleasure. Then there are days I have to hit the “hard stuff” – CAFFEINATED Pepsi

What I love to do: Read, write, quilt, go camping

What I admire: People who are more disciplined than I am.

What makes me happy: Spending time with my family and hearing from my readers.

What makes me sad: Lack of sunshine

I believe: I believe God gave me the ability to write and that every experience I have is an opportunity for writing in some way, some day.

Thanks, Ruth! Here’s more about Ruth and her writing—

Ruth’s Bio:

Ruth O’Neil has been a freelance writer for more than 20 years. She sees everything as a writing opportunity in disguise, whether it is an interesting character, setting, or situation. When she’s not writing or homeschooling her kids, Ruth spends her time quilting, reading, scrapbooking, camping and hiking with her family.
Ruth’s Contact Links:


Belonging 
by Ruth O’Neil

After the death of her father, painfully shy and introverted Shelly finds her world turned upside down. She is forced to speak with people and she may even have to move from her comfortable apartment. Sorting through her father’s possessions at his house brings back many memories, including how they would research her mom’s genealogy so that in a way, she could get to know her mother’s family, who are all deceased. Shelly wonders why her dad never researched his own family and she never remembers any family events. Why? She begins a journey that takes her to places she never dreamed. Throughout the entire story, God nudges Shelly to get out of her comfort zone. That’s easy for some, but for Shelly it may almost be impossible.

Buy Links:               Amazon                    Ruth’s website link