Interview with Jennifer Slattery and #giveaway!!!

Today we welcome Jennifer Slattery to my blog. Jennifer is graciously giving away a copy (USA only) of her new book. To enter, leave a comment  and be sure to include contact information. 

Jennifer, glad you are here. Where did you grow up and attend school? Are there any other authors in your family? 

I spent a chunk of my life in Northern Washington about an hour from Seattle (one of my fav-or-ite cities! That’s where my previous release, Breaking Free, was set by the way.) in a small dairy town called Mt. Vernon. As for where I went to school, I moved around a lot (from one friend house to the next) and went to four different high schools. I’m the only author in my family, though my older sister wrote a middle grade book. My daughter’s a great writer, but she’s pursuing an engineering degree.

How did you get started writing? How old were you? What made you want to start? What did you enjoy reading as a child? 

I’ve always enjoyed writing, though I mostly journaled. I won (or placed, I don’t remember), in a young author’s contest in my sixth grade year. I wish I still had that story! I think it was about a couple of kids who got stranded in the Amazon. I went through a poetry writing phase in middle and high school. Then, once I had our daughter, I started dabbling in fiction writing. I also wrote a lot for ministry purposes—parent newsletters, curriculum, dramas, short stories for children’s church, that sort of thing.  

How and when did you and your husband meet? Was it love at first sight? What does he think about your being an author? 

We met when I was about eighteen or nineteen—when I was self-destructing. I really believe God sent Steve to me, to help me turn my life around. I’m not sure if it was love at first sight, but I was definitely drawn to his kind, gentle nature. Somehow I just knew I could trust him, which says a lot as at that time, I didn’t really trust anyone, especially not men.

How old are your children? Do they read your books? Have any of them got the writing bug, as well?

I have one adult daughter—she’s nineteen. She’s an engineering major, so she doesn’t have a whole lot of time to read, but she loves to when she has time. She has an eclectic taste and will read anything from astrophysics books to the original Sherlock Holmes. We love visiting used bookstores together, and I have to add, she’s very much a book snob—she won’t read paperback. She wants hard cover—and this is why we frequent used bookstores! That and she’s always got her eye out for those rare editions. 

How do you research the communities and people you write about? Do you find yourself having do a lot of research? 

I love, love, love visiting the places I write about. It helps give me the flavor of the area and also triggers scene ideas. Plus, traveling is just so fun!

I also rely heavily on Google Earth. I don’t know how writers survived before that was invented! My latest novel, however, is set where I live—Omaha. That’s been fun—to incorporate some of my favorite locations and also to scout out new ones. My husband often comes with me, which is fun. And romantic. J

Which is your favorite book? Do you have a character in your books you identify with the most?

This is a hard question. Maybe whatever one I’m reading at the time. Right now I’m reading—and loving!—Thin Ice by Irene Hannon. Though I’m learning, this is not something I should read before bed. Oh, my word! Intense! It’s a pulse-racing, nail biting story for sure. 

Novelist and speaker Jennifer Slattery has a passion for helping women discover, embrace, and live out who they are in Christ. As the founder of Wholly Loved Ministries, (http://whollyloved.com) she and her team put on events at partnering churches designed to help women rest in their true worth and live with maximum impact. She writes devotions for Internet Café Devotions, Christian living articles for Crosswalk.com, and edits for Firefy, a Southern fiction imprint with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte

Restoring Love:

Mitch, a contractor and house-flipper, is restoring a beautiful old house in an idyllic Midwestern neighborhood. Angela, a woman filled with regrets and recently transplanted to his area, is anything but idyllic. She's almost his worst nightmare, and she s also working on restoring something herself. As he struggles to keep his business afloat and she works to overcome mistakes of her past, these two unlikely friends soon discover they have something unexpected in common, a young mom who is fighting to give her children a better life after her husband's incarceration. While both Mitch and Angela are drawn to help this young mother survive, they also find themselves drawn to each other. Will a lifetime of regrets hold them back or unite them and bring redemption along with true love?

Buy it on:

Christian Book Distributors: http://www.christianbook.com/restoring-love-jennifer-slattery/9781625915139/pd/915132?event=ESRCN

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/restoring-love-jennifer-slattery/1124423437?ean=9781625915139

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Restoring-Love-Contemporary-Jennifer-Slattery/dp/1625915136

Connect with Jennifer

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte

Twitter: @Jenslattery

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jenslatte/