Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Spring into Love: Jodie's story about an angel and a cowboy


Interview with Jodie Wolfe, author of "An Angel for a Cowboy":

Alexis: Essie Love is a sweet, creative name for your story’s heroine. How did you make her name up and what is Essie like? Describe her personality, heart, strengths and weaknesses.


Jodie: Essie's first name is actually Esther. I wanted to come up with a fun nickname for her, which is how I landed on Essie. When it came to her last name, I thought it would be fun to use love since she is a romance writer who has been burned by love.

She's the oldest and has two younger sisters. Her pa's dying words instructed her to care for her siblings. She'll do whatever she can to keep that promise. Essie is a strong and determined woman. She's willing to give up her own happiness in order to protect her sisters. Her weakness is trying to do things on her own. She's determined to marry a wealthy stranger in order to get the funds she needs to save her home and her sisters, as long as it isn't a cowboy.


Alexis: Jud Steele, with a name like that he sounds like a movie star! Describe his looks, hopes, character flaw and most redeeming trait.

Jodie: LOL. He's a rugged cowboy who is badly injured when he lands at Essie's door so he doesn't look so great then. His character flaw is that he's willing to be on the run instead of clearing up the misunderstanding in regard to him and his cousin. He does miss being a part of a family but hasn't given much thought to marriage. His most redeemable trait is that he'll do whatever he can to help Essie. 

Alexis: What is it about Essie that makes Jud fall in love with her?

Jodie: Essie has been growing on him ever since she's daily cared for him and nursed him back to health. His angel needs protection and he's the man to provide for her.

Alexis: What is it about Jud that draws Essie to him?

Jodie: Jud isn't anything like her ex-fiancĂ©. He shows Essie a sacrificial love she hasn't experienced before.

Alexis: Why is the bank threatening foreclosure on Essie’s home? Explain how she reached this perilous point.

Jodie: After the loss of her pa, grasshopper plagues, and drought the farm has fallen behind in their bank payments. She has two months to come up with the amount due on the mortgage or she and her sisters will be without a home.

Alexis: Why does Essie feel that she is the provider for her sisters? What happened to their parents?

Jodie: Both of Essie's parents have died and it's up to Essie to take care of her sisters.

Alexis: How would Essie’s last resort of marrying a stranger save her and her sisters?

Jodie: She's banking on being able to find a man who'll be willing to pay off the money due on their mortgage note.

Alexis: How did Jud land on the wrong side of the law?

Jodie: Actually Jud is an innocent man but the only problem is that he happens to closely resemble his no-account cousin, Jesse, who is on the run from the law. Jesse's wanted poster is for him to be taken either dead or alive. Problem is, men are shooting at Jud before he gets a chance to tell them they have the wrong man. 

Alexis: Why does Essie decide to help Jud restore his health?

Jodie: Jud has a gunshot wound and is too weak to go anywhere else.

Alexis: In what ways does Essie and Jud’s individual life stories intertwine and bring healing to their hearts?

Jodie: They both are on the run. Jud literally is, and Essie is running from the hurts in her past. When they both stop running, healing can begin to take place.

Alexis: What was the most fun part for you as you wrote this story?

Jodie: I loved creating a character who wrote dime novels. I've always wanted to have a heroine that also wrote.

Alexis: What lesson do you want to teach your readers through this tale?

Jodie: That no matter what you are going through, hope can be found in Christ. In the story, Jud and Essie tried to keep secrets and it didn't get them anywhere. So too, the Lord knows everything about us. We can trust Him to work in our lives.

Alexis: If you could step into your story and spend time with your main characters, what would you do, where would you go and why?

Jodie: That's a hard one. I guess since Essie and Jud's story has already been revealed, I'd like to spend time with Essie's sisters, Teddy and Kitty. In fact, I'll get a better chance to learn more about Teddy since my publisher asked me to write another novelette. So be watching for her story in November.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Jodie! Your story sounds fun! 

Jodie: Thanks for having me. It's always fun to chat with you about my characters and welcome others into my story world.

~*~
Author Bio:

Jodie Wolfe creates novels where hope and quirky meet. 

She's been a semi-finalist and finalist in various writing contests and is a member of ACFW. 

When not writing she enjoys spending time with her husband in Pennsylvania, reading, walking, and being a Grammie. 

Learn more at www.jodiewolfe.com.

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Blurb for An Angel for the Cowboy:
When the bank threatens foreclosure on Essie Love's home, it's up to her to provide for her sisters. She’ll do whatever it takes to save them, even if it means marrying a stranger

Jud Steele is wanted for a crime he didn't commit. Wounded and left for dead, he lands on Essie's doorstep. While she nurses him back to health, he finds himself longing for a home and family.

Can two desperate people find a path that leads to what they both need?

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Buy Jodie's book on Amazon

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Connect with Jodie:
Website
"Stitches Thru Time" blog
Google+

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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:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, February 19, 2016

Words of Faith: Natalie's story on trust

Faith, Hope, and Love
A Words of Faith story written by Natalie Monk

One definition of faith is trust. In relationships, trust is as important as love.

I was reminded of this yesterday when an older man shared how he met and married his wife. His father-in-law-to-be wasn’t too keen on the match but, seeing his daughter had made her choice, decided to have a talk with the young man.

The girl’s father said, “Son, there’s one question I need you to answer before you can marry my girl.”

“What’s that?” the suitor asked.

The dad leaned forward. “You trust her?”

The fellow balked, “I-I love her.”

“That’s not what I asked. You can love without trust, but that will make for a miserable marriage if you’re always wondering about her faithfulness.”

Finally the young man answered, “Yes, I trust her.”

“Can she trust you?” the father asked.

The young man hesitated, since he was well known as a carouser and all around mischief-maker.

The father-in-law-to-be continued, “I don’t need to know where my wife is, who she’s with, and what she’s doing all hours of the day. I don’t worry about that…because I know where she’s not. I know who she’s not with. I know what she’s not doing. I trust her. That’s something that’s gotta be earned, son. I know my daughter loves you. But if she can’t trust you, she’ll have a miserable life. I don’t want that for her.”

Of course, things eventually worked out and the lovebirds married. Decades later, they’re now enjoying their children and grandchildren.

But the story stuck in my head, namely the part about love and trust.

We love God…but do we really trust Him? Does He influence every decision in our lives, big and small, especially during the hard seasons of waiting or facing the unknown?

Last year I had a fairly steady income teaching piano, a set schedule, and familiar routine.

I was comfortable.

Then my dad resigned the church he’d pastored since I was a young teenager. Having bathed the whole situation in prayer during the previous year, my dad stepped out on faith, sure of God’s direction, but that’s about it.

How did this affect me? We have a family singing group, and as I’m still living at home, we’ve always traveled with my dad and sung where he preached.

Dad’s phone began to ring, and pastors we knew scheduled him to preach revival meetings at their churches across the country.

As our schedule got busier, I felt God leading me to cancel my piano lessons. That’s where love and trust once again met at a crossroads for me. Would I venture out on faith like Dad or stick with the familiar? Tell my family (and God), “Sorry, I can’t give this up right now, you’ll have to manage without me”? What would people think of me, traveling with my parents, 27 years old and still unmarried, with no other “real” occupation except the hope of publishing a novel. There are loads of pressure in a choice like that.

Then came the game-changer. Nothing new. In fact, it was more an accumulation of “old” things. Memories of times God had seen my family through when there seemed to be no solution. God has never let me down. He’s earned my trust through years of faithfulness. Not because He has to, but because that’s who He is.

I must smile as I admit He’d been working me around to His point of view for some time, I just hadn’t seen it.

When God wants you to step out in faith, but you don’t want to leave what’s familiar and comfortable, God can make “comfortable” become uncomfortable, so much that stepping away from it is now a relief. Then we discover the joy of God’s presence (Psalm 16:11), and the blessings which follow our obedience far outweigh the “comfortable” bondage we didn’t realize we were in.

By the way, He’s provided every need since I said “yes” to Him.

The old man’s father-in-law was right. Without trust, love can be a miserable thing, but where trust has been earned, as God has earned surely earned ours, you have a strong foundation providing hope for the future.

~*~
Author bio:

Natalie Monk writes historical romance full of laughter, love, and redemption. 

A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, Natalie is represented by the Steve Laube Agency and is currently plotting her third novel. 

She is a home school graduate, gospel singer, portrait photographer, devotional speaker and former post-hole digger. 

She loves sweet tea, book talk, porch swings, and watching musicals and action movies with her family. 

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Connect with Natalie:
Website - http://www.nataliemonk.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/NatalieMonkAuthor
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/NatalieDMonk
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/nataliedmonk