Interview with Sarah Monzon, author of Finders Keepers

Let's welcome Sarah Monzon! She first visited the blog almost two years ago when her debut novel, The Isaac Project was released. It was an instant success! Now, Sarah's back and her writing skills are better than ever with her latest book, Finders Keepers (A Carrington Family Novel, Book 1). Here's the cover to Sarah's latest book:

Lovely, isn't it? It releases today (Monday, May 23)! If you can, leave a comment for Sarah toward the end of this blog post, congratulating her on the "birth" of her newest novel. 

Today, Sarah's taken the time to answer my questions about her new novel.

Enjoy her author interview! :)

*Words by Alexis are in bold, words by Sarah are not in bold.

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Alexis: Congratulations on the May 23 release of your new novel! How does it feel to have another book on the market?

Sarah: Surreal. Exciting. Frightening.

Why did you write Finders Keepers?

It was the story God placed on my heart to write. I know that may sound like a simple, cliché answer, but it’s the truth. He’s the one who planted within me the love of words and story, and He is the one pushing me to share those stories with the world.

Explain what the term “dual timeline” means for those who may not know. Then explain why you took this approach to writing Finders Keepers.

Dual timeline is a book that has two different timelines, and in essence two different stories, woven together to make one “big picture” story. When I started Finders Keepers, I hadn’t planned on making it dual timeline. The thought didn’t enter my head until after I’d written the first two contemporary chapters. Then I went back and started the story from Isabella’s point-of-view. And I’m so glad I did!

Summer Arnet is the modern heroine. Tell us about her role in this story. What is she like? What makes her mad? What or who makes her happy? Why is her passion photography?

Summer has always wanted to be a photographer with the nature magazine Our World, but the publication’s editors don’t think her work is edgy enough. When treasure hunter, Trent Carrington, offers to split the loot in a sunken ship, she’s initially outraged at his plans at pirating, but eventually agrees in an effort to attain her dreams…and regrets it with each wink and smirk Trent throws her way.

What is it about Summer that makes Trent want to become a one-woman man?

She challenges him. She’s spunky and sassy and sees things in him he’s been trying to deny. She makes him face his past and is there to help him through the pain he’s been living with every day.

What is it about Trent that screams “caution” to Summer all the while making her heart beat out of her chest with desire?

Trent is a Harley-riding, leather-jacket-wearing, tattooed, hopeless flirt. He never takes “no” for an answer, and she suspects not many women even say the word to him. It drives her crazy that his crooked grin gives her heart palpitations, but she’s determined not to fall for that kind of man.

Isabella Castellano is the historical heroine on the side of your dual timelines that deals with the past. Tell us about Isabella. Where is she from? What is she running from and why?

Isabella lives in 17th Century Spain. Her stepfather isn’t the most noble of men, in fact she blames him for her mother’s death. So, when he turned his attentions on her, she flees—in a rather dramatic way. She steals some of her stepfather’s clothing and masquerades as a cabin boy on one of his majesty’s treasure fleet.

What makes Isabella special? Describe her role in the story.

Isabella is a mixture of vulnerability and stubbornness. She hides her fears behind a mask of false bravado, but in so doing, accomplishes more than she ever thought she was capable of—saving lives, uncovering mutinous plots, and surviving life-snatching storms.

If you could spend one day with one of your Finders Keepers characters, who would you choose and what would you do? Why?

Oh, that’s a hard one. Hmmm… maybe Captain Montoya could teach me how to sword fight. Because, seriously, wouldn’t that just be so fun?

What do you want your readers to treasure most about this novel?

I hope everyone is reminded that they are children of God. Not just in name, but really and truly God’s sons and daughters.

Thanks for the interview, Sarah!

~*~
Author bio:

Sarah Monzon is a pastor's wife and a stay at home mom to the two cutest littles in the world. 

Playing pretend all day with them isn't enough, she spends the evenings after their heads hit the pillow to create her own imaginary characters. 

When she isn't in the world of make believe, she can be found in a small desert town in central Washington taking care of her family, fostering friendships, and enjoying all the adventures each day brings.
~*~

Buy Sarah's book:
Amazon - http://amzn.to/1XpGvzf

~*~

Connect with Sarah:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorsarahmonzon/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/monzons/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/monzonwrites

Falling in Love with Jesus: The Boy Next Door

Today's Falling in Love with Jesus story is told by bestselling indie author Sarah Monzon. She refers to Jesus Christ as "the boy next door." 

Read on to find out why Sarah thinks of Him in those terms and how she didn't really "fall" in love with Jesus, what happened to Sarah in her relationship with Jesus was even better. 

Enjoy! :)

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The Boy Next Door

A Falling in Love with Jesus story written by Sarah Monzon

Now, nobody raise any stones to throw when I say that in my love story with God, Jesus is the boy next door. I'm not trying to be sacrilegious. Truly. But for me, that's who Jesus is—the boy next door.

Think about the boy next door. Go ahead. Close your eyes and conjure up an image that the phrase paints. Got it? Here's what it looks like to me. The boy next door is someone familiar. Someone who's always been around. I don't remember who moved into the neighborhood first, him or me. He was always just...there.

Sometimes I'd play at his house, and sometimes he'd play at mine. Occasionally there'd be a disagreement, but we could never stay mad at each other for long, and before I knew it we were best friends again. We'd hide out in our secret clubhouse and share secrets, and anytime I was afraid (and there were quite a few times I felt afraid as a child) he'd wrap his arms around me and make me feel safe. Thankfully, boy-next-door Jesus never moved away and neither did I. I grew up with him always right beside me.

Now to the juicy part of the love story because every love story has one, right? In romance writing it's called the meet-cute. You know, when the hero and heroine's eyes meet across the room and electric currents leap between them. Or the heroine stumbles only to be caught in the hero's strong arms.

Oops! Sorry to disappoint you, but my story doesn't have any romantic defining moments. You see, I never fell in love with Jesus.

Grabbing for those stones again? Put them down.

I never fell in love with Jesus.

I GREW in love with Him.

Because He was the boy next door, He was always in my life. Maybe it was love at first sight, but I can’t honestly claim that when I can’t recall the first sight moment. Like I said, He’s always been there. I've always loved him. But my love has grown. Every day. And will continue to grow until that boy next door finally comes to take me home with him as is bride.

To live unbelievably, unfathomably, happily ever after.

~*~
Author bio:
Sarah Monzon was raised in Florida (think warm, humid air, palm trees, white sandy beaches) and is currently living in central Washington (no, not the rugged mountains and towering evergreens. The dry, brown desert of rolling tumbleweeds and absolutely no trees).

She wears the badges of Pastor's Wife and Stay-at-Home Mom with honor. Her constant companions are the two cutest humans under four feet tall: Elijah, 4 years old, and Arianna, 16 months. Her days are filled with picture books, Play-doh, LEGOs, and Hot Wheels. After the little ones head to bed, she spends time in adult "conversation" with made up people in a made up world (writing Christian fiction novels). 

Her debut novel, The Isaac Project, is available on Amazon.

Interview: Sarah Monzon, author of The Isaac Project

Today, I'd like to introduce a new friend, Sarah Monzon! She's a pastor's wife, mom of two adorable children and debut author who loves to write stories about "hope and happily ever afters."

Sarah's first book The Isaac Project, releases today (Sept. 1, 2015) and it's available for purchase on Amazon.com. The book cover is so lovely that I had to share it with you first! But that's not all. Sarah promised to give away one Kindle edition of her book to the winner of the book giveaway contest that she's hosting today on my blog! :)

We're doing this the old-fashioned way. Simply answer Sarah's question at the end of this blog post and your comment will be randomly drawn by me (Alexis). The winner will receive a Kindle edition of Sarah's novel. The contest starts today (Sept. 1) and ends on Sept. 15. The winner will be announced here and notified by e-mail so please remember to leave your name AND e-mail address with your comment. 

Excited, aren't you? I hope so! Enjoy my interview with this new author whose fictional love story captivated me from the first page!

*Words from Alexis are in bold, words from Sarah are not in bold.

~*~
Alexis: “The Isaac Project” is quite a clever title for your book! Tell us about it. What or who was your inspiration for this delightful, fictional story?

Sarah: I’m glad you like the title! The story came about from a conversation I was having with my friend who lives in a different state than I do. She was bemoaning her singlehood and the lack of male prospects in her area. She jokingly said she should just let her friends find her a husband, and—voila!—the beginning of a plot formed in my mind.

Becky, your heroine, loves horses and her dear old grandpa. Why is family—horses and human—so important to Becky?

Poppy, Becky’s grandfather, is everything to her. Her parents died when she was young and Poppy raised her. He was there for every knee scape, every breakup, every horse show, and everything in between.

The horses, well, in Becky’s mind the best view on earth is the one between a horse’s ears. There is healing for both body and spirit when one spends time with and on a horse.

Luke, your hero, doesn’t appear to have much luck in love until he encounters Becky. What makes Becky different from all the other women Luke romanced? What makes her stay in his heart?

The other women Luke has had encounters with only think about themselves and their own desires, but Becky has a sacrificial spirit that snags Luke’s attention. The fact that she would put someone else’s happiness, in this case her grandfather’s, above her own happiness has him intrigued. Of course the thought that anyone would ask her best friend to find her a husband has him shaking his head and calling her all kinds of crazy…at first.

What is the most major challenge your leading lady (Becky) and leading man (Luke) face before and after meeting each other?
Their biggest challenge boils down to communication. Or lack thereof. Because of her past, Becky is hesitant to trust and jumps to unfounded conclusions regarding Luke. The fact that the newlyweds are also strangers definitely doesn’t help matters!

As a writer, what was the most difficult aspect of writing this story?
For me, the most difficult part was finding time to write. I started writing the story with a one and a half year old and finished with a three year old and a one year old. I think you can imagine how hard it was to find time to it down at the computer and write.

What was your favorite scene to write in this debut book of yours? Why?

Oh! How do I answer this without a spoiler alert? Let’s just say my favorite scene involves Luke and a very sweet and romantic gesture right before the wedding.

What do you want readers to remember most about The Isaac Project?

I don’t want to oversimplify anything, but the resounding message in The Isaac Project is that love is a choice. God is love, and even though none of us deserve it, He chose to love us so much that He died on the cross for us. He continues to choose to love us every day. Even when we give Him the silent treatment, cheat on Him with other gods, or demand from Him a spiritual divorce. We can take this concept and apply it to our own relationships. Our feelings may ride high and low like a rollercoaster but through the ride we each need to decide to choose to love each other.

What are you working on next? You do plan to write more books, right?
My current work in progress is still in a very much rough draft form, so there isn’t a blurb or synopsis yet. That being said, I am very excited about this story. I’m having so much fun with these characters! What I will divulge is that the story has a dual timeline with the connecting piece being a 17th century galleon of the Spanish treasure fleet.

Why did you choose to go indie for The Isaac Project? Will you continue being an indie author or do you entertain thoughts of being traditionally published?

The simple answer to this question is that God led me to go indie. My manuscript was finished and I was praying fervently for the next step. Was it time to query agents? The answer whispered in my soul. “No.” I was shattered. What about my dreams? Again a whisper. “He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalms 37:4). “Your ways are not my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). I was gently led towards indie publishing and brought that before the Lord. I felt His blessing. There are a few other logistical reasons why indie works for me for now, but it all boils down to God’s leading.

When did you “know” that you were born to be a writer?

My answer is the same as most writers'. I’ve always loved reading and writing and making up stories. My elementary school had a Young Author’s program and my stories were chosen every year to be printed in their “book.”

What can you tell us about yourself as a new author that no one else knows?
Hmmm… something about myself as an author that no one else knows… *thinking, thinking*. Oh! Someone famous once called me on the phone because of something I wrote. That’s right. Mrs. Clause called me to tell me I won my second grade essay contest and got to ride on the float in the Christmas parade with Santa. It was pretty awesome if I do say so myself!

Thanks for the interview, Sarah! Please leave a question for my readers to respond to which will qualify them to enter the contest. 

Sarah's question: As a reader, what is it that makes you “take a chance” on a new author?
~*~
Author bio:

Sarah Monzon is a pastor's wife and a stay at home mom of two small children. She has a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Southern Adventist University. Sarah is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). The Isaac Project is her debut novel.

Book blurb for The Isaac Project: 
Becky Sawyer’s life unravels in a single day. Not only does she catch her boyfriend, the man she hoped to marry, lip-locked with another woman, she also receives the gut-wrenching news that her grandfather, the man who raised her, is dying. His last wish? To see her happily married. Heartbroken, Becky seeks inspiration in the pages of the Holy Scriptures. And finds it in the story of Isaac and Rebekah. 

If love couldn't keep his parents together, Luke Masterson wonders what will make a marriage last. He decides to steer clear of all women—especially crazy ones like Becky Sawyer, who employs a friend to find her a husband. But when he feels the dogged promptings of the Holy Spirit to move across the country and marry a complete stranger, it seems love has little to do with it anyway.

With commitment their only foundation, and love constantly thwarted, can an arranged marriage find happiness in the twenty-first century?

Buy The Isaac Project:
Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/1NeHGMJ

Connect with Sarah:
Blog/Website - http://www.sarahmonzonwrites.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorsarahmonzon
Twitter - https://twitter.com/monzonwrites