Interview with Christine Johnson and GIVEAWAY!

Christine is giving away a copy of her book, LOVE'S RESCUE. Leave a comment (include contact information) to be entered to win. 

Why do you write the kind of books you do?

It's such a privilege and blessing to write Christian fiction. I pray the Lord will use the stories for His glory. History has always fascinated me, and I love a happy ending. Thus Christian historical romance. I haven't been able to confine my writing to one era, though. My first books were set in the years following the first World War. I've also dipped into the 1870s, and this series begins in 1850.

How has being published changed your life?

Life is quite busy since writing consumes a large portion of each day, six days a week. Occasionally I miss crafting, quilting and plunking away at the piano, but I would not trade creating stories for any of those.  

What advice would you give to a beginning author?
 

Persevere. Dwell in the present and learn as much as you can about the craft before submitting. Once you submit, don't get discouraged by the rejections. Remember that God's timing is always perfect. Since 15 years passed between my first rejection letter and getting "the call," I speak from experience.  

Tell us about Love's Rescue – a brief blurb:

When her mother dies, Elizabeth Benjamin heads home to Key West, determined to transform herself into the perfect Southern belle her parents always wished her to be. But nothing goes according to plan. Her brother resents her, the servants do not obey her, and Rourke O'Malley, the dashing man she vowed to forget, refuses to relinquish his hold on her heart. Worst of all, it becomes painfully obvious that her father is not the man he appears to be.

As family secrets come to light, Elizabeth is faced with a difficult choice: to perform her duty and abandon her dreams, or to leave her life of privilege behind to chase the man her father sees as little better than a pirate.

Will we know what happens to your character after the end of the book?

Absolutely. Since Love's Rescue is the first in the Keys of Promise series, the main characters will reappear throughout the series. I love to create a community within a series, so the characters become like family.

Where do you like to write?

Anywhere I can drag a computer! Aren't laptops wonderful? On a beautiful spring day, it's a real blessing to sit on my front porch writing.

If someone else were sitting at your desk right now, what would they see?

A mess! Sad but true. Organizing the chaos is on my to-do list, but I never seem to get to it. To my husband's relief, only my office is messy. He simply avoids it. Wait! Maybe that messiness has a plus side. I do enjoy looking out the bay window at a wonderful little wooded patch. The birds hops around collecting bits of twigs and straw for their nests. What a glorious reminder of God's creation.

When you’re working on a project, how do you keep the immensity of it from getting you down?

Prayer. I absolutely must pray every day before writing, or fear would kick in. Fear is incredibly paralyzing, definitely a favorite trick of the enemy, but prayer sends that trick packing!

Love's Rescue is set in Key West, Florida. What’s so special about Key West?

From the time I read Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, I was fascinated by the idea that unscrupulous people (wreckers) would lure ships onto a reef. In the 1800s, Key West was a boom town because of wrecking. Not that men deliberately lured ships on the reef…well, most of them didn't. Over thirty years, I have explored and soaked in the unique history of the Florida Keys, where many a dream was either fulfilled or lost.  

Christine Johnson is the author of several books for Steeple Hill and Love Inspired and has been twice named a finalist for Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart® award. When not writing, she loves to hike and explore God's majestic creation. These days, she and her husband, a Great Lakes ship pilot, split their time between northern Michigan and the Florida Keys.

Where can readers find you online?

Readers can visit my Facebook author page at https://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnsonAuthor

Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ChristineJWrite

and of course my website at http://www.christineelizabethjohnson.com