Secret Ways : Character Building

I think I�d have to say my genre (the kind of books I write) picked me. I loved watching and reading Little House on the Prairie as a child and the love of the era stuck with me I guess.

Sorry, I can�t limit it to just one.J I�d have to pick three. The day I married my sweetheart, and the days my two sons were born.

While my first two books have been independently published, I recently signed my first contract with a traditional publisher. I�ve thought about that moment for many years, and I dreamt what it would look like, how I would feel, etc. When it actually happened, it wasn�t at all as I'd anticipated. I think because God honed and refined me in the process of waiting. I finally was at the point where it was His timing, and He had changed me in preparation for that day.

I�m reading How to Charm a Beekeeper�s Heart by Candice Sue Patterson.

I recently signed a contract for a novelette that will be coming out as part of a collection with Celebrate Lit this spring. I�m working on researching where I want to set my story as well as finding out what it�s like to have sisters. I grew up with two older brothers so I don�t have any experience in that area. My character, Esther Love, is a dime novelist who finds herself desperate to save the home she loves, even if it means she has to go husband hunting to do so.

Oh, wow. It�s hard to narrow it down to a single destination. I guess I would first fly to England, Scotland, and Wales. Then we'd travel to Germanyand revisit the places my husband and I saw over twenty-five years ago when he was stationed there. Next we would continue on to see Australia and New Zealand before returning home.

Most times I make up a fictional town, but it usually is based on a specific area of the country. It all depends on whether I plan to write a story set in the Old West or on the East coast where I live.

I�ve never been in awe of celebrities or famous people. I�d pick my favorite person in all the world to be with, my husband. J

I love to walk, and I also enjoy knitting. I�d like to get back into relearning how to play the piano again too.

I would have to say balancing writing and keeping up with the house. Most times it�s the house that suffers from my lack of attention.

Keep doing what God has called you to do. Trust Him to bring things about in His timing. Allow Him to work on you as you wait for that contract.

Here�s the back cover blurb:

Mae Stafford longs for the companionship and unconditional love her sister has found in her new husband. But after years of refusing potential suitors because of a pact they made as children, Mae no longer has any choices left once their agreement is broken. She�s given up hope that God will give her what she desires most, a family of her own. Instead of dwelling on what she doesn�t have, she throws herself into her work as the recent sole owner of the local dress shop.

As a promise made to his late wife, Johannes Mueller agrees to travel west to be a school teacher in Calder Springs, Texas, away from the bigotry associated with being an immigrant in New York City. He hopes to improve his life and forget his loss. Johannes isn�t counting on his five-year-old daughter�s search for a new mother when they arrive. His little LillyAnn finds ways to bring the seamstress and him together � often. Can he learn to embrace his German heritage and unlock his heart to love again?

Please give us the first page of Love in the Seams.

�Will you be my new mama?�

Mae Stafford startled at the small child standing beside her elbow and nearly dropped the garment she�d been sewing. She hadn�t heard the bell chime on the door to her dress shop. Golden strands slipped free of the single plait running down the girl�s back. �Why, I � �

�Nein, mein tochter.� A towering blond man placed a hand on the pixie�s shoulder. The gruff sounds of his language were somehow soothing.  �You�ll have to excuse my daughter.� His gaze didn�t quite meet Mae�s. �Sometimes she forgets��

�But, Papa. She�s the lady we saw a few months ago with the beautiful white dress.�

Warmth flooded Mae�s cheeks, and she cleared her throat. �You must be thinking of my twin sister, Ellie. She, uh, got married in the beginning of summer.�

�What�s a twin?� Her nose wrinkled.

�It means that both my sister and I were born at the same time. We look alike, although not all twins do.� Mae refrained from touching the child�s shoulder.

The girl leaned against Mae�s leg and stared at her face. �Do you have a husband and children?�

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Bio: Jodie Wolfe writes a bi-monthly column with Home School Enrichment magazine. Some of her articles are available on crosswalk.com. She�s had a devotion published online with Christian Devotions. Linda S. Glaz is her agent.

In 2013, she semi-finaled in the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Genesis contest. In 2015, she finaled in a Novel Beginnings contest through St. Davids Writer�s Conference. She�s a graduate of Jerry B Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Apprentice and Craftsman courses. She also is co-founder and contributor to the Stitches Thru Time, a group blog of writers. She�s a contributor to Putting on the New blog as well as Quid Pro Quills. She�s a member of ACFW and 19th Century Writers.

There is a little bit of me in each character I write. It might be a simple as a thought I had, an expression of mine, or one of my characteristics, although I�ll never tell what they are. J

LOL. It took me a while to come up with something, which should tell you a little bit about me. J Quirkiest thing - I like to drink dill pickle juice.

I was in early grade school when I started writing little stories, stapling them together, and illustrating them. By the time I was thirteen, I started writing my first full-length novel.

Since I write historical romance, it�s typically what I read, however I will pick up a suspense or contemporary romance from time to time. I recently have enjoyed Vannetta Chapman�s new dystopian book, Deep Shadows.

I spend the first hour of my day reading my Bible, doing devotions, walking, and praying. It gives me a fresh outlook for my day. I try and do these six days a week. Then on Sundays, my hubby and I work at practicing a day of rest where we relax and recharge our batteries for a new week.

Most times the names just come to me, although I've been having a little difficulty coming up with the name of my hero and his daughter for book two in the Twins and Needles series. I enlisted help on my FB page, and I think I know their names now.

Raising my two sons and homeschooling them all the way through kindergarten to high school graduation.

I guess it would either be a dog or a guinea pig since those are my two favorite pets.

A good steak.

Usually writing comes really easy for me. This is the first project I wrote that was a struggle. I think it might have been because I was under a tight writing deadline. Praise God, it still came together on time. J

Here�s the back cover blurb:

Orphaned at age ten, Ellie Stafford and her twin sister Mae made a vow�to stick together and never marry. Now in their mid twenties, they are bucking convention in Calder Springs, Texas, as women with respectable occupations who can take care of themselves. Ellie works at the Good Fixin�s Diner and spends her evenings knitting garments for The Children�s Aid Society. When a handsome local rancher shows up searching for a cook, she�s hardly tempted, despite his good looks.

Luke Rogers owns a spread just outside of Calder Springs. It was running as smooth as cattle going through a chute until his cook up and marries and high-tails it back east. With no cook and a bunkhouse full of ranch hands ready to revolt, he persuades Ellie to temporarily fill in until he can hire someone else. He should have known better than to get tangled up with another woman.

�EllieMae, some fella�s here to court you.� Mrs. Wright�s words meandered up the steps, along with the scent of fried chicken, to the small bedroom.

Ellie Stafford flicked the lace curtain aside and caught sight of a dusty cowboy tying his horse to the hitching post out front. �Do you think our landlady will ever be able to tell us apart?� She turned toward her sister. �We've been living in her boarding house for seven years, and she still can�t.� She shook her head. �What's this make now? The tenth man who has come calling?�

�Twelfth, I think. At least, here in Texas.� Mae, her identical twin, stood and eased the kinks from her back.

�That�s not counting all the proposals on the Orphan Train from New York.� Ellie sank into the straight-back chair in front of a worn dressing table. She took one last look at her reflection and tucked a brown wisp behind her ear.

�Heavens no. There were too many to keep a tally of them while we traveled. Besides, that was seven years ago.� Mae smoothed the wrinkles from her pink chiffon gown. �I may have lost count after the banker knelt on one knee in the middle of the street and almost got ran over by a runaway wagon.�

Ellie snorted. �I almost forgot about that one. He didn�t care which of us said yes as long as one of us��

�Accepted.� Mae nodded. �Men. They should know by now we aren�t interested.�

�EllieMae!� Mrs. Wright�s voice raised another octave.

Ellie sighed and clasped her sister�s hand. �Well, I guess we better get to it then.� They padded down the steps.

�Don't forget our promise,� Mae whispered before they entered the sitting room.

As if she�d ever forget.

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Comment question: Do you have any multiples in your family?

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