Book Boyfriends: Bonnie's hero

Interview with Lance W. from A Winning Recipe by Bonnie Engstrom:

Bonnie: Hi, Lance. What on earth made you enter a cooking contest? Especially, with a meatloaf recipe?

Lance: I love to cook as a diversion from my job. It’s so relaxing.

Bonnie: But, why meatloaf? And, why a contest?

Lance: Meatloaf is fun, and it’s hard to mess up. You don’t really have to measure much. You can toss in spices by the handful, a cup of onion or a half cup, a bit of this or that sauce, even a package of dry taco sauce mix. Oops! I think I just gave away my best secret.

Bonnie: Mmm. Sounds good. I’ll have to try that. You still didn’t answer why you entered it in a contest.

Lance: Partly because I love competition, and I love to cook. But, mostly, to honor my Aunt Harriett who pressured me so much that she practically filled out the form and mailed it in. I was flummoxed, and she’s such a dear I didn’t want to disappoint her. I never thought I’d make it to the national finals in California.

Bonnie: What is your real job? I know you love competition, so is it in sports?

Lance: That is a secret. Yes, it’s in sports, but a very special peripheral role in sports.

Bonnie: Well, you couldn’t be a basketball player. You’re not very tall.

Lance: Naw. Not movie star handsome either. Notice my hairline?

Bonnie: I do. It’s prominently receding. Does that embarrass you in your ‘special role'?

Lance: Actually, I think it’s a benefit. Being competent in what I do, and not being drop dead gorgeous, makes my clients trust me.

Bonnie: Clients? Are you a promoter for sports figures?

Lance: Can’t say. But, I do think it also helped Kate to trust me, until . . .

Bonnie: Until what?

Lance: Until I almost lost her by deceiving her. I thought I was giving her a wonderful surprise. Guess not. Thank goodness Sandy (her dog) saved the day!

~*~
Author Bio: 

Bonnie Engstrom is a multi-published author of contemporary Christian romance. She is also a multi-grandma with six blessings. 

Four of her grandchildren, including twins, live a stone’s throw from her and her psychologist husband Dave. Two live in Costa Rica - Pura Vida - where they surf, even at seven and nine, thanks to lessons from their surfing teacher dad. 

When she and Grandpa Dave aren’t taking the Arizona kids to gymnastics, chess tournaments, Starbucks for after school treats and watching soccer games, she moderates two online prayer chains. They reside on a lagoon where Canada geese flourish every winter, and sometimes a snowy egret. Their two rescued mutts, Lola and Sam, love to chase the geese. Well, Sam does, but even though scruffy Lola is the bossy one, she doesn’t understand the chase part. She still doesn’t know she’s on the cover of the latest book in The Candy Cane Girls Series, Melanie’s Blue Skirt. Won’t she be surprised! Bonnie is a long time member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a Pro member of Romance Writers of America.

Visit Bonnie’s website www.bonnieengstrom.com to see all the grandkids and sign up for her newsletter Life On The Lake to win fun prizes.

She loves to hear from readers, so be sure to email her at bengstrom@hotmail.com with BOOK in the subject line.

You can see her books and the collections she is in on Amazon. All her books are available there (on Amazon) and can be ordered at Barnes and Noble. 

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Blurb for Bonnie's book: Need to be in control Kate meets take charge Lance during a National Cook Off in California, and sparks almost fly. How could the sponsors have scheduled the only two meatloaf contestants to share the kitchen at the same time? 

After Kate boldly credits Christ for her cooking success on national television, the CEO of Family Foods professes his faith. Kate’s promotion to Global Outreach Minister at church threatens her relationship with Lance, and she still doesn’t know what he does for a living. But, his personal assistant, Felicity, does. “I know everything.” Lance impulsively buys a house for them without Kate’s involvement, and sparks really do fly, practically putting an end to their romance. “I had no say in it!” 

Hopefully, her Golden Retriever Sandy can save the day when the dog’s soulful, amber eyes approve of the house. “She wants a child in here to play with.” Will these two ever be able to create magic in the kitchen when they’re still trying to figure out the recipe for Happily Ever After?

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Buy Bonnie's book on Amazon

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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Thankful Thursday: My first traditionally published book!

It's Thursday and I'm thankful for my first traditionally published book! I'm officially a member of the Forget Me Not Romances family of traditionally published authors.

My journey to being a traditionally published author is a long one. It spans four years! Are you ready to hear the story? I'll try to keep it short.

After my first book was self-published through Crossbooks in Sept. 2013 and re-branded by WestBow Press in Nov. 2015, I've been praying for God to bless me with a writing contract from a traditional publisher. My reasoning at the time was that since I could not afford to self-publish another book (it's very expensive) through a vanity press, it only would make sense for God to bless me with a writing contract from a traditional publisher. If that happened, I knew that I wouldn't have to pay any money to have my book published.

So I started praying about this off and on for years (four years, to be exact). As I waited on the Lord, there were ups and downs in my journey to traditional publication but He carried me through it. Last Spring 2016, I reached out to a popular Christian publisher to see if they would consider publishing my second book and I received a positive response. They requested to see my full manuscript.

One of the editors with that publishing company reached out to me within a few weeks after I submitted my manuscript saying that they liked it but would like to suggest a few revisions. So after a brainstorming session with my own editor, I made the revisions to my manuscript and resubmitted it to the publisher, then I waited. While I waited, I remembered that someone told me years ago at a writing conference that the traditional publishing industry moves slowly. So I expected to wait for several months to hear whether or not they wanted to publish my book.

During the waiting, I read a book by Rachelle Gardner about the pros and cons of both indie and traditional publishing. The book's main purpose was to help writers decide whether to publish independently (indie) or with a traditional publisher. Now here's the fun fact: There was a checklist in the book that listed the pros and cons along with characteristics of the type of people who may be happier publishing their book traditionally vs. the type of people who would be happier going indie...and I met every category on the indie list! 

So from that day forward, I started to think that maybe I should publish my book independently through Amazon.com's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and CreateSpace program. I knew and heard of many authors who are experiencing great success going indie and I hoped that it would work out for me too.

But since I'd prayed for a traditional contract for so long (it had been three years at this point) and a publisher was interested, I decided to wait longer just in case this was God's answer to my prayers.

Longer story short, in the third week of Jan. 2017, I followed up again with the first traditional publisher that I submitted my story to and they told me that they were still considering my book for publication with their company. I decided to ask if while I was waiting on their decision, may send my manuscript to other publishers. They said yes. So I sent it to a publisher that I knew through a mutual friend. She expressed interest in my manuscript and received it on Friday, Jan. 20.

Over the weekend, I was thinking about the pros and cons of indie publishing and indie publishing was looking like it may be the best path for me. I called an elder from my church for prayer about my finalizing my decision. I told her that my game plan was to independently publish my next books until hopefully, it caught the attention of a great literary agent and a traditional publisher. So I settled on my decision and on Sunday, Jan. 22, I e-mailed the publisher that I'd been waiting to hear a response from and requested to withdraw my manuscript. They allowed me to and then I reached out the other publisher to inform her of my decision to indie publish my book.

But within minutes of receiving my e-mail, she wrote back and told me, "Okay but I was going to offer you a contract." 

Now that's what we call a "plot-twist" in the fiction writing community. I thought that I knew the outcome and decided on the direction that I was moving forward in, but her response threw me for a loop (in a good way)! 

I had to re-read the e-mail twice because I could not believe what I was reading! Given my concerns about the pros and cons of indie vs. traditional publishing, I asked her if we could talk over the phone first because I had questions. We arranged a phone call for Monday morning, Jan. 23. She answered all of my questions and put my mind at ease. I no longer had those concerns and I realized that this was an answer to my prayers! So I accepted her offer and signed the contract.

Everything moved forward quickly from there. 

My new publisher sent paperwork for me to complete and I did so on Monday. She also sent the formatted version of my manuscript to me along with a few corrections for me to apply to the formatted copy. So I started working on that. Then on Tuesday (Jan. 24), she sent five images for my book cover design for me to choose from and by Wednesday morning (Jan. 25), we finalized my book's cover art. She told me that once I finished making the corrections to my manuscript, it would go LIVE on Amazon.com. So by Wednesday afternoon, I sent the final edit to my publisher. Then, on Thursday morning (today, Jan. 26), she sent the entire file including my author bio and other details, to me for a final look before she published it. I spent about two hours making sure that everything was perfect (which it was, much to my delight) and I returned the files to her with my approval. She told me to check Amazon.com in a few hours and by 2:00 p.m. (EST) today, my book went LIVE on Amazon.com!

Here's the cover to my new novella:

God is good! Right now, only the digital version (e-book for Kindle) of my book is available. The paperback version will be available for purchase within a few weeks.

I am still amazed at how God answered my prayers for a writing contract with a traditional publisher and I'm awed at how quickly He moved this process along! I mean, I signed the contract on Monday and less than four days later, my book was published!

I hope that my story about my path to traditional publication inspires you and encourages your heart. Whatever you're going through in this life, don't give up. Don't lose hope. Keep praying to God and serving Him. Help others and do good works. God has not forgotten you. He hears EVERY prayer that you send up to His throne and He will answer your prayers, maybe not on your timetable but in His perfect time. And when He does answer your prayers, get ready because as you can tell from my story, He moves fast!

God bless you.

Love,

Alexis

P.S._ Here's the link to my book on Amazon. It's an inspirational romance standalone novella called, A Second Chance. I hope that you will buy a copy and read it! 

A Prelude to Christmas: Vicki's story about forgiveness and hope

Welcome Vicki Talley McCollum to the blog today! She's here to talk about her book, Love Letter from Vietnam (A Christmas Love Letter novella). This is the cover photo: 

Blurb for Vicki's book: When Chrissy Robinson learns she’s pregnant, after her boyfriend ships off to Vietnam (without proposing to her), she quickly writes to tell him. But weeks go by, and still there’s no response from him. After she learns he’s been listed as MIA, she struggles with how she’ll get through nursing school, pregnant, and working long hours as a waitress. Can she raise her baby, all alone? Then John’s parents insist she allow them to raise her baby. Will John come home? And even if he does, will he marry her?

A story of love, forgiveness, and redemption, just in time for Christmas.

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Enter the book giveaway contest by filling out the form on the Rafflecopter widget for your chance to WIN a copy of Vicki's novella:

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Enjoy Vicki's interview! :)
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Interview with Vicki Talley McCollum, author of Love Letter from Vietnam:

Alexis: The title to your story is quite intriguing! Tell us about the story behind it.

Vicki: It actually came about by being at the right place at the right time. I edit romance novels for private clients and freelance edit for Barbour Books and others, but this is my first published book of my own! I’m thrilled!

I attended American Christian Fiction Writers conference in Nashville, TN, in August of this year, and roomed with my dear friend, Carrie Fancett Pagels (a wonderful historical author). She introduced me to Cynthia Hickey, a multi-published author and publisher (Winged Publications, Forget Me Not Romances).

A group of us had dinner together at the hotel one night, and somehow the conversation turned to Christmas letters, and how they’re always filled with all the wonderful things that we like to share with everyone, but not any of the mundane, or especially, the not-so-successful endeavors our families had tried during the year. I told them about a hoax letter we’d sent to a couple of people in our family, just as a joke (with lots of really bad but, thankfully, made-up failures for the year!). My father-in-law didn’t realize it was a joke! And he was really upset about it! Anyway, we all had a good laugh about it.

Then someone suggested that we should do a Christmas collection of novellas to send out this Christmas (due within a couple of months! Yikes!) about Christmas letters. So, seven of us signed up: Janice Thompson, Cynthia Hickey, Rhonda Gibson, Christina Rich, Mary Alford, Vicki Talley McCollum (me), and Linda Kozar. Our novellas are now in a collection on Amazon, thanks to Cynthia Hickey.

That’s how the collection came together, but now I had to come up with my own idea for a novella.

Our waitress that evening was a sweet young woman, about five months pregnant, with long, auburn hair. I thought she’d be a great character! I asked her if I could take her picture and she agreed (she’s not the one on the book cover) and I came up with a story based on someone similar to her as my character, Chrissy Robinson. I decided it needed to be set during one of the military conflicts so the letter could be of great importance to the heroine. I set it in St. Louis, where I live, and chose the Vietnam Conflict, since we still wrote letters in those days. No tweets, e-mails, or texts! (not romantic).

I brainstormed with my roommate, Carrie, for the basics of the story, and my daughter Lindsey, a nurse, read it, and gave me ideas as she read. My long-time writer friend, Sandra Orchard, was great with critiques, even though she had her house full of family the weekend I sent it to her, and was enjoying babysitting her young grandchildren. Yet she still came through with some excellent ideas for me. So it was a group effort, as most novels are.

Alexis: Tell us about your story’s heroine Chrissy Robinson. Describe her heart, looks and personality. What are her biggest strengths and strongest character flaws? 

Vicki: Chrissy is in her early twenties, has long auburn hair and green eyes. She’s attending nurses training at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. In the 1960s, nurses training was done in actual hospital settings, and Barnes was one of the biggest training hospitals here. Since she doesn’t get paid for her training, she works part time as a waitress at the old Fred Harvey diner at Union Station, the train depot. Fred Harvey restaurants were a fixture at depots, and many trains used their food service on the lines.

Chrissy is an orphan. Her parents died when she was a child, and she was raised in foster care. So she doesn’t have a lot of confidence that she’s wanted or loved, and that carries over in her relationship with John Pelletier, the attractive lieutenant she meets and falls in love with.

Her biggest strength is that she doesn’t give up, and she learns to trust the Lord.

Alexis: Tell us about your hero John. What is it about Chrissy that he loves? Why didn’t he propose to her before going to serve overseas?

Vicki: John loves Chrissy’s openness. He comes from wealthier circumstances, so he admires Chrissy’s independence and how she’s making a life for herself. John has been hurt by love before, and he’s not completely secure in trusting anyone now, so he’s not ready to commit. And he thinks there’s all the time in the world to get married, if they decide to. But he learns that time, and his life, don’t belong to him.

Alexis: Let’s talk more about John. What’s his background? How was he raised? Is he a man of faith? What is it about Chrissy that first drew him to her?

Vicki: John comes from an established and wealthy, but not overly rich, St. Louis family. His mother sent her children to Sunday school and youth group when they were young, because she’d been raised in a Christian family. But her husband, John’s father, isn’t religious. John is drawn to Chrissy for her sweet, open manner, her bright green eyes and auburn hair, and her ability to trust people, even though her background wasn’t particularly secure in foster care.

Alexis: Describe Chrissy’s feelings when she finds out that she’s pregnant. Does it matter to her that this is happening out of wedlock? Is she a woman of faith? If so, give us insight to her conversations with God on this situation.

Vicki: Chrissy attended church and Sunday school as a child, and youth group with her best friend, Deanna, as a teen. So she knew sex outside of marriage was wrong. But like so many young people, she wanted to believe that love trumped everything. Also, John was shipping out for Vietnam the next morning. She loved him and wanted him to come home to her, so she gave herself to him. The setting, the summer of 1967, was the Summer of Love, right in the middle of the free love, hippie movement. So, that was going on around her, though she wasn’t a part of it.

Naturally, when she finds out she’s pregnant, and learns John is missing in action, presumed captured, she turns to the Lord. She doesn’t feel worthy of His love and forgiveness, but soon, He is her rock.

Alexis: What are Chrissy’s thoughts when she goes weeks after sending the letter to John about her predicament, without hearing a response?

Vicki: She doesn’t know he’s MIA at first. She thinks he didn’t really love her and has jilted her. So she has to come to terms with being a single mother.

Alexis: What are her feelings when she learns that he’s been listed as MIA?

Vicki: She’s worried sick about him, wonders if he’s wounded and being cared for. She prays a lot for him, and God comforts her.

Alexis: Chrissy is a nursing student, pregnant out of wedlock, and she works long hours as a waitress. She’s concerned about raising her baby alone. How did you dream up this multilayered conflict for her? Can you give us a clue into how she plans to overcome these mountains?

Vicki: So many young women find themselves in this situation, even Christians, so it wasn’t difficult to see the layers of conflict. And just like in real life, everything depends on how Chrissy reacts to her situation, and if she will allow God into her life. She turns to the Lord, and He becomes her main strength. And also, as in real life, He uses other people around her to love and care for her, showing His love. So she has her friends and co-workers to encourage her.

Alexis: Love Letter from Vietnam is said to be a story about “love, forgiveness and redemption.” Describe how this all ties into the Christmas theme of your book. What lesson are you trying to teach your readers?

Vicki: Chrissy first needs to learn to accept God’s love and forgiveness for herself. She doesn’t feel worthy of Him. When we are in sin, we don’t feel worthy enough to even pray. Satan keeps us bound in our sin that way. But the Lord reaches out to her through one of her sweet, elderly patients. He loves her, and He wants a relationship with her, even if she feels unworthy to seek that relationship. And he uses this lady to touch her heart and draw her to Him.

Something somewhat similar happened to my sister, years ago. She felt she was too far away from the Lord to be forgiven and she even thought about suicide. But, one night, when she entered the house and headed to her bedroom without speaking to anyone, my brother felt an overwhelming urge to tell her that God loved her. He didn’t know why, and even felt foolish to tell her this, but he was compelled to say the words to her. This, how God reached out to her when she couldn’t reach out to Him, became part of her testimony.

God’s lesson for us is always that He love us and wants to forgive us and be in relationship with us. This is the Christmas story.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Vicki! Would you like to share closing thoughts? 

Vicki: I want to thank Alexis Goring for hosting me on her blog. I’ve so enjoyed being here. We’re giving away three free copies of my novella. I hope you enjoy reading it and will pass it on to your friends. Watch for my next novella (no specifics on it yet), a historical romance set in one of the National Parks, also with Forget Me Not Romances, releasing June 2017.

~*~
Author bio: 

Vicki Talley McCollum grew up in Atlanta, reading romance magazines her sister and aunts left around the house. She discovered Christian romances, fell in love with them, and later, started editing them as a freelance editor. 

She’s written several novellas, but this is her first one to publish. She’s very excited about it.

Vicki lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband, Jeff, her daughter, Lindsey (who’s a nurse and engaged to a fine young man), and two cats, Ninja and Penny. Her oldest son, Scott, lives and works in Colorado, and her youngest, Tim, is a senior at Wheaton College. 

Feel free to write Vicki at vickimccollum@gmail.com and follow her on Twitter.

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