Interview with Ann Fetterman Miller and giveaway!!!

Ann is willing to give away a copy of her book to everyone who leaves a comment. Please leave an email address to be included!

Ann Lee Miller Interview
Author of Kicking Eternity

Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I write coming-of-age/romance novels because I had a lot of childhood baggage to work through and was blessed with a very romantic husband who cherishes me.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

I narrowed it down to four—the days my children were born.

How has being published changed your life?

I’m just on the cusp of publishing since my book launches June 1. But after ten years of trying to break into traditional publishing, working toward indie publishing my books has hopeful experience. I feel a sense of joy, knowing God is walking beside me jostling me along and saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”

The glaring change about moving ahead with publishing is that I haven’t had a spare minute to work on my next book!

What are you reading right now?

Jeff Bennington’s The Indie Author’s Guide to the Universe, and Joel Comm’s Twitter Power.

What is your current work in progress?

My next book is The Art of My Life, which debuts September 1; Avra’s God follows December 1; and Tattered Innocence March 1, 2013. Between all this publishing, I’d like to squeeze in writing Finding My Voice about four characters who have lost their voice in life for diverse reasons. It’s a story about their individual journeys toward speaking up and how those paths tangle into love.

What would be your dream vacation?

It’s been the same dream my whole life, and I’ve yet to live it. Maybe I should put it on my bucket list. I want to sit on a shady porch beside a stream and rock in a rocking chair. I never claimed to be exciting in real life—just in my imaginary one.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

So far, I’ve set all my books in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, the place in my nomadic childhood where I found home. I chose Arizona where I live for my work in progress because it makes my research easier.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

Author Evelyn Christenson has so deeply impacted my faith with her books on prayer. Once at a seminar, she hugged all the ladies, including me, in the restroom line. I’d like to thank her for giving me a heart to pray.

What three things about you would surprise readers?

I lived on a sailboat as a child. My father was often mistaken for Willie Nelson. I and my three sons are color blind.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I hike in the mountains with my husband, do Zumba, and go garage saling every Saturday morning with a friend. This year I mentored three teens from my youth group. I don’t know if it counts as a hobby, but I’ve been guest lecturing on plotting in Phoenix colleges for the past few years. Great fun! I’ve worked at teen church camp for more years than I care to reveal—thus the camp setting for Kicking Eternity.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Plotting. I am a small picture person. It is difficult for me to envision the structure of a story. To compensate, I have become a student of plotting. I probably go overboard by mapping out every scene of the book before actually writing the book.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Learn everything you can about writing, strive for excellence, grow a thick skin, never give up

Tell us about the book.

Kicking Eternity is all about chasing dreams—our dreams, God’s dreams, and the mixed-up tangle of both. Here’s a blurb about the book:

Stuck in sleepy New Smyrna Beach one last summer, Raine socks away her camp pay checks, worries about her druggy brother, and ignores trouble: Cal Koomer. She’s a plane ticket away from teaching orphans in Africa, and not even Cal’s surfer six-pack and the chinks she spies in his rebel armor will derail her.

The artist in Cal begs to paint Raine’s ivory skin, high cheek bones, and internal sparklers behind her eyes, but falling for her would caterwaul him into his parents’ live. No thanks. The girl was self-righteous waiting to happen. Mom served sanctimony like vegetables, three servings a day, and he had a gut full.

Rec Director Drew taunts her with “Rainey” and calls her an enabler. He is so infernally there like a horsefly—till he buzzes back to his ex.

Raine’s brother tweaks. Her dream of Africa dies small deaths. Will she figure out what to fight for and what to free before it’s too late?

What do you want readers to take away from the book?

So many people wrestle with their dreams and God’s dreams for their lives. I wanted to give them hope, the courage to trust God with their future.

What one question would you like us to ask your readers?

Share a memory from summer camp if you attended or from your childhood if not.

Tell us about the giveaway you’re offering.

Anyone who leaves a comment with an e-mail address (JaneReader[at]msn[dot]com) will receive a free e-book copy of Kicking Eternity. Those who don’t want to leave an e-mail may contact Ann for their free book at AnnLeeMiller.com.

AnnLeeMiller.com
Twitter: @AnnLeeMiller
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-Lee-Miller/356653761022022

Book Blurb:
Fresh from college, Raine scores a teaching job at New Smyrna Beach Surf and Sailing Camp. A crush on the camp rebel/art teacher threatens to derail her plans to teach orphans in Africa. The broody recreation director spots her brothers meth addiction and Raine's enabling. Raine believes she is helping her brother--until lives are threatened.

Endorsements for Kicking Eternity:

Kicking Eternity won First Place Long Contemporary in the 2009 Romance Writers of America Faith, Hope, and Love Contest.

“In Kicking Eternity, Ann Lee Miller masterfully weaves the delicate web of emotions experienced in that turbulent ‘twenty-something’ stage of life. Powerful family dynamics, intense loyalty challenges, and tender new loves find their niche in your heart as this story unfolds layer by lovely layer.”
Mesu Andrews, Author of Revell titles Love’s Sacred Song, and Love Amid the Ashes, which won the 2012 CBA Book of the Year, New Author Category

“Ann Lee Miller writes stories straight from the heart with characters who'll become friends, remaining with you long after you turn that final page. You won't want to miss Kicking Eternity!”
Jenny B. Jones, Author of the Katie Parker Production Series from Think and The Charmed Life Series, and other single titles from Thomas Nelson

"I've lost hours of sleep reading Ann Lee Miller's work due to her uncanny ability to yank me into a story with authentic, lovable, yet challenging characters."
Lynn Rush, author of Wasteland, Awaited, and Prelude to Darkness from Crescent Moon Press



Bio:
Ann Lee Miller earned a BA in creative writing from Ashland (OH) University and writes full-time in Phoenix, but left her heart in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where she grew up. She loves speaking to young adults and guest lectures on writing at several Arizona colleges. When she isn’t writing or muddling through some crisis—real or imagined—you’ll find her hiking in the Superstition Mountains with her husband or meddling in her kids’ lives.