Books, Movies, and Chinese Food

I'm happy to have here today on my blog, Paige Harbison , author of Here Lies Bridget . I see that you're from the DC Metro Area. What is the best/worst thing about living in this area? Well, to mention a typical gripe, the traffic. I hate having to base my activities for the day on whether or not I’ll be able to get home afterwards. Your computer with your latest manuscript has crashed and there's no way of retrieving what was on the hard drive. How do you react? I freak out and call all my techie friends. Of course, the rewrite is always better…but who feels like doing that??! A muggle's wish come true: you've been granted magical powers from Harry Potter's world! What's the first spell you use? I find that luck potion and run right to the lottery. When you saw the first finished copy of your book, what was going through your mind? “EEP!” Star Wars fan? Yes? No? If no, why not?? (this is a question...

Alright, I know everyone's heard me talk about G lue a lot for the past year or so, whether through Twitter, this blog, email or in real life. I swear I do not work for them. Nor do they pay me to talk about them. I just hap pen to really enjoy their product. And like any product you enjoy, you tend to gush about them. And I can't help it if my Glue t shirt is one of my favorite shirts (and super comfy to boot). It is also a great conversation starter. ("No I do not sniff", "It's GLUE not CLUE") Anywho, I found out about Glue through this genie who granted me some wishes through twitter (Twitter is a wonderful thing but that's another post). Then I got to know one of the people behind the genie and he turned out to be a really cool guy. I think I've bugged him quite a bit over the past year with my numerous questions about Glue but he's been rather patient through it all. Fraser is the VP, Business Development at Adaptive Blue which m...

Today we have an interview with new author Jill Eileen Smith whose debut novel, Michal , was published earlier this year by Revell . Here is my review of Michal which I greatly enjoyed. Biblical fiction is one of my favorite genres and it was awesome to see a new twist on a familiar character. And without further adieu, an interview with Jill Eileen Smith. To get things started, if you were to introduce yourself as an ice cream flavor, what would you be and why? Dark chocolate peppermint mocha - is that a flavor of ice cream? It is for coffee. :) Dark chocolate anything is my favorite. This is your first published novel. What has the experience been like for you? Surreal. I'm still in awe of all that God is doing and has allowed with this first book. I've experienced ups and downs I hadn't expected - one of which is hoping I don't disappoint my readers with the next books. When you hear good things, you hope you keep hearing them! What made you choose to tell M...

Christa Ann Banister is one of my favorite chick lit authors and yes I am geeked to have her on my blog (I think I say that about every author I interview but really come on wouldn't you be too?) Her boo ks are great to pass along to anyone even if they don't read Christian fiction at all. Here is my gushing review of her first book Around the World in 80 Dates . Scroll below for review of her second book. And without further adieu, an interview with Christa Banister! Sydney lives the life, I think every 20something woman wants. How did you come up with character? Is she based on you or anyone else? Writers can't help writing "what they know," so Sydney Alexander-Williams definitely has shades of me in her personality. She's optimistic, faith-driven, slightly sa rcastic, a romantic and definitely opinionated, which are all accurate descri ptions of yours truly. But I was also very intentional about her not being just a carbon copy of myself. I mean, how lazy...

I'm happy to have here today Virginia Smith , author of Stuck in the Middle, Just as I Am and her new book Sincerely Mayla as another stop on her blog tour. If you haven't read any of her books, I highly reco mmend you pick one of them. Also... I 'm giving away a bran d new copy of today's book! Leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll pick a name and announce the winner on Tuesday, May 20 . US readers only. Good luck! Here is a link to my review of Sincerely Mayla. Mayla Strong’s life is finally starting to seem normal. She has been working at the same job for four years, living with a good friend, and enjoying a deep relationship with God. But when Mayla is suddenly laid off, the placid surface of her life is shattered. In this touching sequel to Just As I Am , Mayla comes face-to-face with the responsibilities and joys of friends and family. As Mayla tries to help her friends, she realizes that God has all the answers—the t...

I"m totally psyched to have author Camy Tang here on my blog today. Little bit of blog trivia: her blog was one of the first blogs I started reading and inspired me to start this blog. Any who, she's just released her first book and you need to go out and buy it. Look above for a review of Sushi for One? and a giveaway! And without further adieu, an interview with Camy Tang! You're in restaurant that features an All you Can Eat Chinese Buffet. Let's say calories, fat, carbs, etc don't exist. What's the first food you run to? Those deep fried lobster balls they serve at Chinese wedding banquets. The ones I’ve had were balls formed around crab claws so you could hold the claw while you bite into the lobster mix. That stuff is sooooo good! You've suddenly been transported in an alternate Jane Austen universe where you've become Elizabeth Bennett. Who would play your Mr. Darcy? Richard Armitage!!!!!! Have you seen the BBC Miniseries North a...

I'm happy to have here today Virginia Smith , author of Murder by Mushroom and Just As I am . If you like cozy mysteries, you'll love this book. Look below for a review of Mur der By Mushroom. And without further adieu, an interview with Virginia Smith! 1. How did you get started into writing? I’ve always loved reading, and one day I read a published short story with a HUGE plot hole in it. I thought, “I could do better than that!” So I did. I wrote a short story – a brilliant work of utter genius, in my and my mother’s opinions – and sent it to the same magazine. The rejection letter arrived in something just short of the speed of light. And there began a very painful lesson, that writing well is a lot harde r than it looks. But as I wrote that first story, I discovered a passion for writing that I didn’t know I had possessed. I kept writing, and kept submitting, and kept falling deeper and deeper in love with the process of writing. And then finally I received a book con...

I'm happy to have here today Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson, authors of The Potluck Club series as part of their blog tour for their new book The Potluck Club Takes the Cake. If you haven't read any of these books about friendship and food, you NEED to go GET A COPY. And without further adieu, an interview with Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson! 1. How did you get started into writing and why did you choose to write this series? Eva: I've written my whole life, but my write to publishing story is a story within itself. Here's the short version: I took a walk one day, had an idea, came home and began to write a novel based on the idea, wrote for a year, a year later received a contract for another book (right place, right time), and three books later, the walk-idea-book became my fourth published book. Linda: When I worked as technical writer my job was to interpret product descriptions from our engineers. My first fiction came about ...

I'm happy to have here today Erynn Mangum , author of Miss Match . If you like chick lit, you'll love this book. I have a review of Miss Match of my blog, it is simply divine. And without further adieu, an interview with Erynn Mangum! 1. How did you get started into writing and why did you choose chick lit? I’ve been writing stories since I was tiny – I’d fill journals with almost every genre of writing possible! I didn’t think writing was ever something I could make a living at but my parents really encouraged me to pursue it after high school. I started taking courses from the Christian Writers Guild and learned so much! As for the chick-lit, I didn’t even know what it was when I started writing Miss Match . I just came home from a friend’s wedding and started typing! 2. How has your life changed since becoming a published author? It’s one of those weird things where it’s totally changed, but hasn’t at all. And I know that makes zero sense! It’s changed in that I...

I'm happy to have here today Sharon Hinck , author of The Secret Life of Becky Miller and her new book, Renovating Becky Miller as another stop on her blog tour. If you haven't read either of her books, I highly recommend both of them. I have a review of Secret Life of my blog, it's fabulous. And without further adieu, an interview with Sharon Hinck! Hi Sharon , Just finished reading Renovating Becky Miller and I absolutely adored it. Dare I say it, it was even better than Secret Life. Hi, Deborah! THANK YOU! I was very nervous with the second book releasing, because sometimes folks like a writer's first book, but the rest fall flat, and so I've been delighted that this story grabbed people in a new way. I love all the movie sequences at the beginning of the chapters. You picked all my favori tes which include a lot of the geeky/nerdy (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Narnia, LOTR!!!) movies. Which movie do you most relate to with your own life? ...