Christmas Release 2013 Series: The Christmas Quilt by Vannetta Chapman

Vannetta Chapman

Hi, fellow writers! How is your holiday season going so far? We're continuing our Christmas Release series today with another interview. Vannetta Chapman is here to share about her latest release, The Christmas Quilt. Enjoy!

An Interview with Vannetta Chapman

Welcome, Vannetta!

How did this project take shape?

Abingdon was looking for authors for their Quilts of Love line, and they approached my agent and asked if I would consider writing a book to follow up on A Simple Amish Christmas, which was my first published book and a stand-alone.

So this began as a book that centered around the making of a quilt, but like most things in our lives it turned in an unexpected direction and became a story about faith and grace. In particular, Annie's quilt reflects the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5. As each block of the Christmas Quilt is sewn, Annie and Leah share a story based on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It's a romantic story, set in the heart of the Christmas season and focusing on the gifts that God so freely gives to us. 

Please share some themes of your novel.

I would say that the theme is confidence in God's grace and provision. Even when we're in the midst of difficult situations, our God can be trusted. 

What makes your project stand out from other Christmas titles?

The Amish address the Christmas season in a different way than most people in our society, which makes this story different. There's less focus on the preparation for a holiday and more focus on the reason that we celebrate this special day.

Tell us one interesting fact about your book.

A friend of mine, whom the book is dedicated to, made me a hand-stitched, hand-quilted nine patch quilt to go with the book.

What’s next for you as an author?

Murder Simply Brewed, my new Amish mystery series will release in March. I also have a novella coming out in May titled, Where Healing Blooms, which will be in the collection, An Amish Garden.

What else would you like to share about this project?

We all can use a little more peace, joy, and grace, especially during the Christmas season. My prayer is that you will be filled with these things, with God's love, after reading The Christmas Quilt.

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New from Abingdon: The Christmas Quilt

The Christmas Quilt

Your favorite characters return in this highly anticipated follow-up to A Simple Amish Christmas.

Annie's life is deliciously full as the Christmas season approaches. She helps her husband, Samuel, attend to the community's minor medical needs. She occasionally assists Belinda, the local midwife, and most days, she finds herself delivering the buggy to her brother Adam. Annie’s sister-in-law Leah is due to deliver their first child before Christmas morning, and Annie is determined to finish a crib quilt before the boppli arrives. With six weeks to go, she should have no problem . . . but God may have a different plan. Leah is rushed to the English hospital when the infant arrives early, and Annie discovers the Christmas quilt may hold a far greater significance than she ever imagined.

~~~~~

Vannetta Chapman is the author of several novels, including A Promise for Miriam and Falling to Pieces. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace in Albion, Pennsylvania. Vannetta is a Carol award winner and a multi-award-winning member of Romance Writers of America. She was a teacher for 15 years and currently resides in the Texas Hill country. For more information, visit her at www.VannettaChapman.com.

Christmas Release 2013 series: Starlight, Star Bright by JoAnn Durgin

JoAnn Durgin

Happy Veteran's Day, everyone! Sincere thanks for everyone who has served our country. You are all heroes! Today, I'm excited to continue our Christmas Release 2013 series here on Seriously Write. Join us for an interview with author JoAnn Durgin, who visited last Christmas with her previous Christmas novella release. Sounds like a new tradition! Enjoy! ~ Annette

An Interview with JoAnn Durgin

Welcome, JoAnn!

How did this project take shape?

I had such fun writing Meet Me Under the Mistletoe last year that I decided I wanted to try writing another Christmas novella. When I began this one, I wasn’t thinking about writing a sequel, but to my surprise and great delight, many of my readers asked if I was going to write about Starlight, Iowa and its fun, quirky residents again. So, the idea was conceived—and the title, Starlight, Star Bright, came to me rather effortlessly. Truly, this novella was a joy to write and I hope the blessing of the Christmas spirit shows in these characters and their story.

Please share some themes of your story. 

Trusting in the Lord’s plan for our lives is one of the main themes of Starlight, Star Bright. It’s about being true to yourself but also how the things of this earth are temporal as opposed to the things of the Lord being eternal. It’s based on scripture from James 4:13-15: ¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”(NIV) 

What makes your project stand out from other Christmas titles?

The fact that it’s a sequel makes this novella unique, which isn’t something I see often with Christmas-themed books (although there are some). Also, Starlight, Star Bright features an ending that’s a little different (don’t worry, I’m a queen of happy endings!), but it’s completely fitting, endearing, and perfect for my hero and heroine, Dante Moretti and Amanda Marston. Also, this novella features a very special holiday wedding…but that’s all I’m saying.

Tell us one interesting fact about your novella.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe featured a hero who’s the Fire Captain in tiny Starlight, Iowa. In that book, Jake Marston didn’t fight any fires apart from a small kitchen fire at Barney’s Diner. However, in Starlight, Star Bright, Jake and his team do fight a fire, and it’s wonderful to see how the town residents pull together to help the family who has lost their home.

What’s next for you as an author?

I’ve just released a standalone novel called Catching Serenity, set in the fictional town of Croisette Shores, South Carolina. It’s about a woman who lost almost everyone she held dear five years ago. After living in Atlanta for five years, she receives a mysterious note urging her to come home to find her answers. Child psychologist, Jackson Ross, hires Serenity to decorate his new office in Croisette Shores and begins to suspect one of his patients may hold the key to unlocking her secrets. But how can he tell the woman he’s grown to love what he knows without compromising his personal and professional ethics? And when Serenity eventually discovers the truth, will he lose her forever?

I’m currently working on Moonbeams, Book #5 in The Lewis Legacy Series. It will most likely release in the early spring 2014 (I’m aiming for Valentine’s Day, but we’ll see).

What else would you like to share about this project?

This will probably be my last visit to Starlight, Iowa (never say never, right?). I’ve started pondering ideas for yet another Christmas novella. As an author, I’d personally love to make this an annual tradition and introduce readers to many more fun small (but fictional) towns across our great nation.

It was great having you here today, JoAnn! We wish you the best!
 

~~~~~

Starlight, Star Bright

Texas-born goalie and World Cup champion, Dante Moretti, only expected tiny Starlight,

Starlight, Star Bright

Iowa to be a blip on the radar of his life. Stopping at Barney’s Diner for a meal two weeks before Christmas, Dante meets two women who quickly capture his heart in very different ways. Then his rental car won’t start, stranding him overnight. Could the Lord have a plan for bringing him to Starlight?  

Amanda Marston is excited to be home in Starlight for her big brother Jake’s wedding. When she drops in for a cup of Caroline Picasso’s coffee at Barney’s, who is that handsome, Italian-spouting cowboy? Before she knows it, Dante’s staying with Ben and Caroline and helping out with projects all over Starlight. Does God have a plan for Dante in Starlight, one that might include Amanda?

~~~~~

Starlight, Star Bright is the sequel to the popular Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, part of Pelican Book Group's 2012 Holiday Extravaganza. The author of seven books, JoAnn Durgin is an estate administration paralegal in a Louisville, Kentucky law firm and lives in southern Indiana. Visit her at www.joanndurgin.com or via her Author JoAnn Durgin page on Facebook.