Dear Readers, I�m featuring one of my new releases on the blog today. I decided to take one of the sets of questions and answer them for you today.
Welcome, Lena . Since you�re being published regularly, what new avenues will your future books take?
I�ve been involved in three holiday novella collections. The novella I�m featuring today, Rescuing Christmas, will become part of the Mail-Order Christmas Angels collection this holiday season.
Another Christmas collection I�ll be in is A Sweet Noel, and my novella is Oh, Fudge!. This collection is releasing this next week.
A third holiday collection I�ll be in is Autumn Love, A Thanksgiving collection. In all the holiday books, Thanksgiving is like the forgotten holiday. This collection will come out in early November.
My next full-length book, A Heart�s Gift, a Love�s Road Home Novel, will release in early November, too.
And I will continue to turn my books into audio books.
What conferences will you be attending this year? Will you be a speaker at any of them?
Actually, I�ll be teaching two sessions at a one-day conference this Saturday. Check it out at WordWyze.com.
I didn�t attend any out of area conferences this year, but the ACFW national conference will be in this area next year. I look forward to connecting with friends I haven�t seen in several years.
If you were in charge of planning the panel discussion at a writing conference, what topic would the panel cover, and who would you ask to be on the panel, and why?
Because of the many new opportunities open to authors today, I�d plan a panel to speak about the ins and outs of Indie publishing. I�d ask these people:
Patricia PacJac Carroll, a very successful Amazon author
Jackie Castle, a successful Indie author and cover designer
Crystal L Barnes, another successful Indie author and cover designer
Janice Hanna Thompson, a traditional author, an Indie author, and a good marketer
Marji Laine, an author and publisher
Linda Kozar, an author and host of the Along Came a Writer blogtalk radio network
How important is it to you to be active in writing organizations?
Being connected to other authors, who actually understand the voices in your head is very important. And connecting with publishing professionals help an author learn about the business.
Where in the community or your church do you volunteer?
I volunteer in the church bookstore. A good place for an author to volunteer. I also teach classes at out church to help equip authors to follow God�s call on their lives.
Who are the five people who have made the most impact on your life, and how?
My parents (that�s actually 3, because my mother died when I was 7 and I had a wonderful stepmother. They all raised me in a Christian home where it was easy to learn about Jesus.
The woman who was my high school English teacher and my Sunday school teacher. I wanted to be just like her, and that made an impact on my choices in college.
James Dooley, who has loved me for almost 52 years. We�ve grown deeper in the Lord together.
Robert Morris, pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake , Texas
And this last one is actually a group, the songwriters who are part of the ministry team at Gateway church. They write the songs that my heart sings.
If you could write the inscription on your tombstone, what would it be?
Jesus changed her heart and life.
Tell us about the featured book.
This novella is different from any book I�ve ever written. Harder situations,
When Rose Ellen Murphy became a mail-order bride, it was the biggest mistake of her life. Or was it?
When Jedediah Strong found what he thought was a dead body of a woman, he�s glad he checked closely before he buried her.
Can God make these things work together for good for this couple?
Please share the first page with us.
A darkness, deeper than midnight without a moon, shrouded Rose Ellen Murphy. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids didn�t cooperate. Where am I? The words shouted in her mind, with not one sound emitting from between her cracked, dry lips. The more she became aware of, the more aches and pains stabbed through her body. Why can�t I remember?
As the memories barely seeped into her consciousness, she felt assaulted and abused. She tried to force them back, but they soon became an agonizing waterfall with flashes of events, stacking into a heap of pain.
From somewhere nearby, voices were carrying on a conversation, but she couldn�t understand a single word. A woman�s sweet voice and a man�s kind one. Soon the memories screamed loud enough to drown them out.
�Don�t you lie to me. You�re nothing but a whore!� Whore � ore �ore. The male voice spewing the word had not a shred of kindness, without a speck of truth in what he spouted.
The hated words were shards tearing enormous holes in her heart while fists pummeled her aching body. Each one harder and more fierce than the last. When she thought she couldn�t stand another second of the abuse, the darkness claimed her once again, freeing her from the memories.
~~~
Jedediah Strong stood beside his mother as they watched the woman lying in his bed.
He�d found her in a deep gully when he was chasing a hungry coyote away from the small herd of cattle in his upper pasture. At first, he thought he�d found a dead body.
He planned to bury her there, since there was no way he could find out who she was. Something stopped him, almost as if he�d run into a brick wall. He sensed he wasn�t alone, but when he looked around he didn�t see anyone. Is that You, Lord? He didn�t hear a voice, but that peace beyond understanding settled over him.
Maybe he should make sure she wasn�t alive. But how could she be? Someone had beaten her beyond recognition. The only thing he was sure of was her abundant red hair. Clumps of curls stuck to her misshapen cheeks and forehead and formed a wide halo on the ground cushioning her head. No telling how long she�d been there.
He leaned close to her face and noticed her shallow breathing disturb the hair that swept across lips, veiling her mouth and chin.
Thank the good Lord that coyote didn�t find her before he did. He glanced toward the heavens. Maybe God was the one who gave him the feeling he needed to check on his small herd.
The book will be available on Kindle sometime next week.
Where can my readers find you on the Internet?
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lenandooley/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lena.nelson.dooley
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lenandooley
Official Fan Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Lena-Nelson-Dooley/42960748768?ref=ts
Christianbook.com: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=1728796&sp=67484&event=67484|1728796|67484
Blogtalk Radio, The Lena Nelson Dooley Show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/along-came-a-writer/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lenanelsondooley
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPAIDE
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lenandooley/
Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the ebook. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
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