Thursday, September 12, 2019

September interview with Alice K. Arenz about Hiding From Christmas and #giveaway!!!


September interview with Alice K. Arenz about Hiding From Christmas. Alice is very graciously giving away one ebook copy of Hiding From Christmas!   Please leave a comment  and include contact information.

Tell us about the book – a brief blurb for Hiding From Christmas:

No matter how hard she tries, Maddie Kelley can’t seem to fit in at Ornamental, a company founded by her great grandfather and his best friend. Now, after yet another screw-up, she’s been sent into the “enemy’s” camp—two hours away from home for the next two months.

A punishment or a blessing?

Her life is turned upside down when the mundane turns unexpected, and she finally discovers where her heart truly lies.

This is the fourth novel set in the fictional Missouri community of Tarryton. Come visit old friends and make some new ones! Others include: The Wedding Barter, The Case of the Bouncing Grandma, and The Case of the Mystified M.D.


MISC:  I’d like to add  that this book is a true “labor of love.” Not only is one of my granddaughters on the cover, but the book itself is something I never thought possible for me to write. Every time I turned around, I was doing more researching, checking and rechecking to make certain it was possible—that’s what you get when God gives you a story about a non-existent company and then you have to learn different things to “populate” the company. It wasn’t just making up a name, it was the whole package! Totally and completely out of my wheelhouse. But, God gave me the story and provided me a way to tell it. I learned a lot in the process.

But I still hate research!

Do you create playlists for each book, write to the same music all the time, don’t listen to anything?

I prefer it to be as quiet as possible—only ambient sounds. I’ve an issue with my hearing where I ‘over hear’ things, meaning that things can seem louder than they actually are.

Where is your favorite place to write? Pictures?

I used to write in our third bedroom which we made into a kind of office. Now, I write at the kitchen table. As for pictures... if I had a beautiful, peaceful place for writing near the ocean or a waterfall, then I’d send them. I don’t think anyone wants to see my kitchen. Let’s just say it’s not HGTV ready. :)


Will complete this opening? “It was a dark and stormy night…”

The wind seemed to crash into the side of the house, rattling the windows and finding every nook and cranny to seep through the cracks in the walls.

What book do you admire do you wish you’d written?

I’m a Dean R. Koontz fan and am fascinated by his books. One of my favorites is Twilight. Love the way that man’s brain comes up with things!


How do you find the balance of writing time and family time?

I don’t do social media, which may not help in selling books, but it makes more time to spend with my family or actually writing.

When I’m up against a deadline, it’s really tough to find a balance—especially when the deadline in looming right in front of you. My kids and grandkids had to work around my schedule to celebrate my birthday recently. That’s not an easy thing when a hundred miles separates one part of the family from the rest—and you have to find a couple hours that doesn’t interfere with anyone’s activities. But, those couple hours were awesome!

Share your bio and links for social media and to buy:

BIO:

Alice K. Arenz has been writing since she was a child. Her earliest publications were in the small, family-owned newspaper where her articles, essays, and poems were frequently included. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Arenz is a Carol Award winner and two-time finalist. She writes “clean” fiction as well as Christian fiction in a variety of genres and lengths.  Hiding From Christmas is her fourth book to be set in the small, fictional community of Tarryton, Missouri.

Visit her at her web site: www.akawriter.com

Buy link for Hiding from Christmas








1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for inviting me on your blog today, Laura. I really appreciate you and your readers. Alice K. Arenz

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