Summer Love: Lena's story about marriage and trusting in God

Interview questions for Lena Nelson Dooley, author of A Heart’s Gift: 

Alexis: What was the inspiration behind your book, A Heart’s Gift?

Lena: I love marriage-of-convenience novels. The idea for the book percolated in my head for several years. I’m a seat-of-the-pants writer, and I pray a lot while I’m writing the book. God planted ideas for things I’d never thought about, and at two-thirds of the way or so through the book, He turned it into a suspense novel.

Alexis: Why did you write this book?

Lena: After all that time in my head and heart, I had to write it.

Alexis: What do you hope your readers will take away from this book?

Lena: A new understanding of just what a marriage-of-convenience is, according to scripture. And the understanding that God sometimes provides His supernatural answers to your problems.

Alexis: The hero of your story is Franklin and he’s very guarded. Why? Give us insight into his character, hopes, personality, and flaws.

Lena: If I tell you the reason, it will give away some of the vital information of the story. I can tell you that Franklin has a hard time trusting anyone, even God. He doesn’t want to open his heart, but he does want an heir to leave his ranch to.

Alexis: The heroine of your story is Lorinda and she is a liberated woman who vows to never let a man control her again. Why does she have this firm resolve? Share her backstory and describe her goal/motivation/conflict.

Lena: Lorinda had a hard time after her mother died when she was very young. Her father and uncle were alcoholics and mistreated her. Her first husband rescued her from them, and he was good to her in many ways, but he also thought that women didn’t have any say in the decision making.

Alexis: Why does Franklin want to protect Lorinda? What is about her that draws him in?

Lena: From the first moment he saw her, he was drawn to her. She’s beautiful and has a lot of gumption.

Alexis: What does Lorinda think of Franklin? Is her first impression of him her lasting impression? Explain.

Lena: The first time she meets him, he’s just the rancher who lives in the valley below. I can’t explain anymore without revealing too much of the story.

Alexis: What is the moral of this story?

Lena: God is always on your side. You can trust Him with everything.

Alexis: Who are your favorite authors? Name two then tell us which one of their books you cannot live without.

Lena: Francine Rivers (author) – Redeeming Love (book)

Because I read voraciously, it would be hard for me to choose just one more.

Alexis: What do you do when you’re not writing?

Lena: Both of my daughters and their husbands, children, and grandchildren live close by. We get together a lot. I volunteer at church, where we’re very active. I teach writing workshops. And I read a lot.

Alexis: If you were not an author, what would you like to be?

Lena: At my age, I’ve done most of the other jobs I’ve wanted to have—drama director, actress, radio voice-overs, live theater scriptwriter, screenwriter.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Lena! Do you have any final comments?

Lena: Thank you for hosting me here. I love to connect with other readers. If a book club chooses one of my books to read, I’ll gladly Skype with them when they meet.

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Author Bio:

Multi-published author Lena Nelson Dooley has had more than 875,000 copies of her books sold. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the local chapter, ACFW - DFW. She’s a member of Christian Authors’ Network and Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas.

She has been on the ECPA and CBA Bestseller lists, Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list, and several Amazon Bestseller lists as well as a reviewers’ Top Ten Books of 2011. Her awards include: Will Rogers Medallion Awards, the Selah Award, Reader’s Choice book award, a Reader’s Choice blog award. She has finaled in the Can Golden Scroll Award, and finaled three times in for the Carol Award. A Heart’s Gift is currently a finalist in the Faith, Hope, and Love Chapter of RWA’s Readers’ Choice Award for long historical. Lena has also been featured in several magazines, including Charisma and Christian Retailing. She’s been on one magazine cover.

In addition to her writing, Lena is a frequent speaker at women’s groups, writers groups, and at both regional and national conferences. She has spoken in six states and internationally. She hosts “The Lena Nelson Dooley Show” on the "Along Came a Writer" blog radio network.

Lena has an active web presence on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, LinkedIn and with her internationally connected blog where she interviews other authors and promotes their books.

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Book blurb: Because of an earlier betrayal, Franklin vows never to open his heart to another woman. But he desires an heir. 

When Lorinda is finally out from under the control of men who made all the decisions in her life, she promises herself she will never allow a man to control her again. But how can she provide for her infant son? 

Marriage seems like the perfect arrangement until two people from Franklin's past endanger Lorinda. How can he save her? And how will this affect the way they feel about each other?

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Buy Lena’s book on Amazon via Kindle or paperback

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Connect with Lena:
Website ~ Blog ~ Pinterest ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Official Fan Page ~ Goodreads ~

Blogtalk Radio, The Lena Nelson Dooley Show ~ Instagram ~ Amazon Author Page

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