Meet Jan Watson and Win Her Books

My Friend, Jan 

"Watson's success lies in her ability to create characters that are endearing and timeless. . . ." Romantic Times Magazine.

 

One of the best things about writing in the inspirational market has been the friends I’ve made of other inspirational writers. One of those friends is Jan Watson who also lives here in Kentucky and writes historical Kentucky novels. So sit back and let me tell you a little about my friend, Jan

Jan Watson was a registered nurse and peri-natal loss counselor before she retired and began a second career as a writer. She got a great start by winning the 2004 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest for her first novel, Troublesome Creek.  She's won many awards since then including being voted 2012 Best Kentucky Author by the readers of Kentucky Living Magazine. Her books are set in the Appalachian Mountains and have a great mix of history, romance and suspense. Jan says that while she has always loved books, she never had the dream to write a book of her own the way so many writers, including yours truly, did. But then she remembered a story her grandmother told her once about a terrible flash flood that swept away a baby whose body was never found. Thoughts of this baby stayed with Jan for fifty years before she decided to save her, if only in a fictional story. 

Troublesome Creek and More

After she began to toy with writing a book about that baby, the first three sentences of what became Troublesome Creek came to her as she waited in a drive-thru line at McDonalds: “Girl! You’d better get to the house. If your mam catches you in that creek again she’ll skin you alive.” When the words wouldn’t stop coming after that and she was scribbling them down on any and every scrap of paper she could find, she knew she was going to write that story. Turns out, that story became more stories as she kept following her characters down their life paths. Her first series about that baby and her family include Troublesome Creek, Willow Springs, and Torrent Falls. I’m sure you’re noting the water connection in all the titles. 

Jan’s Loyal Writing Companion

Jan and I are both dog lovers. That gives us even more to talk about than writing. Her husband brought Maggie, a Jack Russell, home to her when the puppy was a few weeks old. Several months later, they realized Maggie was deaf, but that didn’t seem to slow her down much. Jan says Maggie understands doggy sign language, but if she doesn’t want to mind, she just turns her head and pretends not to see Jan.

Jan sometimes writes with Maggie sleeping on a pillow on her lap. But she says the best thing about Maggie is that she reminds her there’s fun to be had every day and that it’s best not to take life too seriously.

Jan’s Newest Series

In Skip Rock Shallows, Jan begins the story of Lilly Corbett, Copper’s daughter. Copper is the baby rescued from the flood in Troublesome Creek. But now we’re getting to know Lilly after she graduates from medical school and takes an internship in the coal camp of Skip Rock, Kentucky. Lilly is drawn to the stubborn, superstitious people she encounters in Skip Rock–a town where people live hard and die harder and where women know their place. You can follow Lilly down some romantic pathways in this Appalachian town as she begins to earn the residents’ trust.

Tattler’s Branch follows up Skip Rock Shallows. Lilly, married now, loves her life in Skip Rock and the people who are like family to her. With her husband away for a few months at a mining job, Lilly has her hands full with her patients and a younger sister visiting for the summer. Then an abandoned baby plunges Lilly into a struggle between what is right and what is safe. She must discover the strength of her country neighbors, her God, and herself.

Check out more about Jan’s books at her website, http://www.janwatson.net/

  

Win Jan’s Books

I have autographed copies of Skip Rock Shallows and Tattler’s Branch to give away to one lucky person. To throw your name in the hat, just leave a comment here with a way to contact you please. The giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada, but you must be eighteen or over to enter. Deadline to enter is midnight EST, November 27.

And if you don’t want to wait that long to read one of Jan’s books and you have an e-reader, Tattler’s Branch, is available right now through Saturday, 11/16, for the great download price of $2.99. Check it out at your favorite e-book distributor. Here’s the Amazon link.

Kentucky Book Fair Saturday, November 16

If you’re in the area, you can come meet both Jan and me at the Kentucky Book Fair at the Frankfort Convention Center this Saturday, November 16, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We’ll be signing our books there along with about 150 other writers including inspirational fiction writers, Virginia Smith, Jennifer Johnson, Allie Pleiter, Shelley Shepard Gray, and others. Of course, I hope you’ll come by my table way in the back to say hello.The fair is a great place to pick up some unique gifts for the booklovers on your Christmas list.

As a preview to the fair, Virginia Smith and I will be talking about our books and writing at the Frankfort Senior Citizen Center, 202 Medical Heights, Frankfort, KY, at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 15. The event is open to the public, senior citizens and younger citizens too. So come on out and get a jump start on the fair.

Saluting Veterans Day

 

"From the world wars of Europe to the jungles of the Far East, from the deserts of the Middle East to the African continent, and even here in our own hemisphere, our veterans have made the world a better place and America the great country we are today."

 ~John Hoeven 

 

November 11 - Veterans Day

 

I have often set my stories in war times. When you're writing historical stories as I do, then you sometimes look for eras when the history was dramatic. War times certainly fit the bill for much conflict and character growth. But in the process of writing with so many war backgrounds I've done a lot of reading about wars and about the soldiers who fought those wars. It's one thing to make up characters to fight in wars. It's quite another to read about those men and women who actually did the fighting and serving and get a glimpse of the hardships and horrors they endured while responding with steadfast courage. Veterans deserve our thanks and gratitude for standing in the gap to defend our country in times of war and peace.

 

The War to End All Wars

 

I researched World War I for my novel, Angel Sister. In that story we relive many of the experiences of Victor, the father in the story, and how the war continued to affect his life years later. In my research, I kept coming across how everyone expected that war to be "the war to end all wars." It is because of the armistice of that war that we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11. The Treaty of Versailles wasn't signed until June 28, 1919, but fighting had ceased seven months earlier when an armistice went into effect between the Allies and Germany on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. And so that is the date generally regarded as the end of that war to end all wars and why we celebrate on November 11.

 

Armistice Day

 

At first the holiday was called Armistice Day. But then that war did not end all wars. Not even two decades passed before we were embroiled in another World War. I've read about those soldiers too. Young men, some only eighteen or nineteen, flying bombing raids, storming beaches, doing what had to be done for our country and for the world. So, after that war and the Korean War, the name of the holiday was changed from Armistice Day to Veterans Day.

 

Keeping the Date November 11

 

The Uniform Holiday Bill was passed in 1968, changing the observance of many of our holidays to Mondays. Beginning in 1971, Veterans Day was officially changed to the last Monday in October. Many believed changing the date lost the historical significance of the holiday and they refused to change their observance of the day to the new date. After several years of confusion, in 1978, the holiday was changed back to November 11, preserving the historical significance of the date and keeping the focus of the celebration on honoring America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

 

Thanks to Our Veterans

 

"The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognize for their commitment."  ~Judd Gregg

 

Thank you, veterans and families of veterans too.  

 

 

For more information about the history of Veterans Day, you can check out this link - http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

Sunshine and Mirrors

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." ~James M. Barrie

Sunshine

"Sunshine, sunshine in my soul today." Don't you just love the sunshine songs in the church hymn books? Don't you just love the sunshine, especially in the winter time? 

The change from Daylight Savings Time this week has me noticing how the night comes quicker. Too quick, most people say. I know that we actually have the same amount of daylight today as we did last week. It's only our clocks we have messed with, but somehow when it starts getting dark an hour earlier, according to those turned back clocks, you notice the night coming more. But we do have plenty of sunshine if you can get outside to enjoy it before the daytime slides away. I took the above sunny picture last fall. Plenty of bright sunlight then. 

The Norway town of RJukan

But it's not that way for everybody. Enter this little town in Norway, Rjukan, tucked in between some mountains so that for six months out of the year, the residents have to take a cable car up the mountain to see any sunshine. The town has quite a history. It was established by industrialist Sam Eyde to provide workers for a hydroelectric plant he located at the foot of a nearby waterfall. 

Mirrors to the rescue

Photo by Terje Bendiksby, AP

A hundred years ago, Eyde came up with the plan to put mirrors on top the mountain to reflect sunlight down into the town. He never saw that idea come to fruition, but now it has. On Wednesday, sunlight reflected off three 183-foot mirrors reached the town square and for the first time ever the residents felt the winter sun in the town. The residents cheered, wore sunglasses, played volleyball and some even brought out their lounge chairs to sit and soak up the reflected sunshine. 

A Town with a History

This wasn't the first time this little town made the news. The town was occupied by the Germans during World War II and Hitler was using the factory to try to develop the atomic bomb. Twelve Norwegian saboteurs parachuted into the nearby tundra and survived the freezing temperatures to destroy the factory's "heavy water" plant. Their bravery inspired a Hollywood movie in 1965 and now a TV series is planned. 

The Surprises of Research 

You start out looking for one thing and then oftentimes, you find something even more interesting that you weren't expecting. I'd heard the mirrors reflecting the sunshine down on their town square mentioned on the radio last week, and then I find out the role this little town and its people played in the history of the world. That's the way research is and what makes it fun for the historical writer.   

So the town has known dark days not related to the lack of sunshine, but they've also known dark winter months every year. But now, the sun shines from the mirrors down into their town square. The lady I heard on the radio said the townspeople would be willing to share the spot of sun with one another.

 Some days you just have to create your own sunshine. ~Sam Sundquist

If you want to read more about the little town of Rjukan, here are a couple of links where I found my information.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/10/30/norway-town-sun-stavanger/3313105/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/rjukan-norway-sun-mirror_n_4177006.html

Again, thanks to all of you who played my mystery photo game. I have one of my winners, Sharon, but I haven't heard from Mary Preston. Mary, if you read this, please either leave info here on how to contact you or contact me at annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com. If I don't hear from you before Sunday, I'll have to draw a new winner. 

Thanks for reading. Wishing for plenty of sunshine to shine down on you. And me too!  

Cows, Pigs and Dogs and a Captive Audience

The Mystery Revealed 

 The guesses were fun. All of you were ready to be out on the farm. And I finally fooled some of you. That made me smile. But a few of you were right. It wasn't a cow. Or a pig. My daughter-in-law knew who it was on first glance, but she privately messaged me her guess so as not to mess up the fun. Above is the "rest of the picture." Meet my neighbor dog, Roxie. She's a sweet dog but she does have a drooling problem and when she shakes her head you have to dodge those "slingers."

A Cow Picture for the Cow Guesses

For those of you who guessed cow, here are the color cows we have. But I could almost see what you were seeing in the mystery photo. Almost. I was really expecting somebody to say panda bear. Maybe I need to go look at a panda bear picture myself. And the pig guesses, well, there are black and white pigs, but I don't have any pictures of those.

On to the Winners

I did draw for the two winners of Orchard of Hope. Susan from CA and Mary Preston. So far I haven't exactly been able to contact them. I'm having trouble with that lately. But I have sent Susan a Facebook message and I'm hoping Mary will send me a message on Facebook or leave a way to contact her in a comment here. If I don't hear from them, I'll draw more winners next week. 

Meanwhile - You Might Win Christmas at Harmony Hill

You can hop over to WFBC Media Center Blog to read my Christmas themed interview there and leave a comment on that that blog for a chance to win Christmas at Harmony Hill. I shared a couple of recipes too. One for the Christmas punch my aunt made when I was a kid and I've carried on the tradition and another for Hummingbird Cake. Don't ask me why they call it hummingbird cake. I have no idea!

A Captive Audience 

Tomorrow morning I'm going to one of my granddaughter's school and talk to some school kids. That's why they're a captive audience. Their teacher will insist they listen to me or at least I hope they will. Two first grades, two second grades and two fifth grades - in three different sessions. I love talking to kids but I'm a little worried I won't be able to keep their attention for the time the librarian has scheduled for me. And three sessions is a lot of talking. I'm hoping I won't let my second grader granddaughter down. Pressure's on! Prayers appreciated!  

 

Guessing Games, Imagination, and Shaker Book Winners

"Imagination has rules, but we can only guess what they are." ~Mason Cooley

I love games that take imagination. Guessing games can be fun too. So thank all of you who have played along with my mystery photos to enter my giveaway for Orchard of Hope. I'll be drawing for the two winners on Saturday, November 2, so you can get in an extra entry by commenting on this post or one of the other mystery photo posts before Saturday. Each guess or comment on a new post gets you another entry. Do you know what this one is? Remember, it's more fun if you make your guess before you read everybody else's.

I'm not quite as mysterious as I'd hoped to be with these photos.
I thought the one last Wednesday would be a real puzzler and what did all of you say? Flower. And all of you were right! However, only a few of you knew what KIND of flower. It is a passion flower. They are strange little blooms. One of Mom's sitters brought it show Mom one night this summer. I'm totally amazed by the bloom from its strange little skinny petals to its merry-go-round center.The amazing gifts of nature.

I really didn't plan to do any more mystery pictures, but since I'm not drawing for the winners of Orchard of Hope until Saturday, I said why not. You may be bored with the game, but I'm determined to stump some of you!! I probably won't. You guys are just too smart and good at figuring things out.  

I did finally contact the winners of the Shaker books which was the bonus prize I offered during the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt. I hope if you took part in that you had fun and maybe won a prize on one of the posts. My winners are Pam of CA and Katie of FL who both chose The Believer. The third winner was Linda of CA who picked The Gifted. I do appreciate all of you telling me what you liked about the scavenger hunt and leaving comments on Lyn's guest post here on the 18th. I read every comment, but was unable to answer every one after the 400 plus message started giving my computer a headache. :) Computers with headaches are not nice to be around. 

The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound, and the future is anybody's guess.
James Thurber
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/guess_3.html#p1cagsRWU1e0j5AW.99

"I guess I'm just quite observant and I pay attention to a lot of things. Human behavior really fascinates me." ~Ellie Goulding

So let's see how observant you are. And I promise. This is the last mystery photo for a while.

There Has to Be a First Sentence

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

That's a famous first sentence from George Orwell's novel 1984 published in 1949. The sentence lets you know at once that this story is no ordinary story. 

Every story has to have a first sentence. That first sentence needs to not only pull the reader into a story, but it needs to grab the writer too. I've written a lot of first sentences over the years. And rewritten them a zillion times before anyone got to crack open that book to read my story. 

I'm at the first sentence stage now. My new story has been percolating in my head while I've written hundreds of other sentences that have nothing at all to do with the story I'm ready to write. Lots of sentences have spilled out of my fingers for blog and Facebook posts and newsletters. I've also been doing edits on Love Comes Home, my Rosey Corner book scheduled for publication July 2014. That meant deleting sentences and rewriting sentences and a few times writing new sentences, but the first sentence stayed the same. 

The news was good. 

A short and to the point sentence that probably means nothing at all to you reading it without the following sentences flowing away from it like a story river. But right now, we're just talking first sentences. The story river is a post for another day.

But yesterday a first sentence for the book I'm getting ready to write popped into my head. I haven't done my character work. I need to do more plotting. But out of the blue, the sentence showed up and so I'm hanging onto it. Whether I actually use it remains to be seen. But here it is. 

When she saw the two men coming, she took the shotgun down from over the door.

What do you think? Would that make you want to read sentence two? Would you want to float out on the story river after that? It's sort of making me want to know what happens next. That's where that plotting work comes in.

But for fun here's some of the first sentences from  my books.

Christmas at Harmony Hill.

Heather Worth sat propped against her washboard, listening to her husband's light snores.

Small Town Girl

It wasn't a good thing to be in love with the man your sister was going to marry.

  

Words Spoken True

Adriane Darcy's heart pounded as the darkness settled down around her like a heavy blanket.

The Outsider

The harsh clang of the meeting house bell shattered the peace of the night.

Scent of Lilacs

Some days David Brooke didn't know whether to count his blessings or to hide from them.

The Gifted

 "Sister Jessamine, where on earth are you taking us?" Sister Annie asked as she held on to her cap while ducking under a low-hanging branch.

The Blessed

 Isaac Kingston didn't think his Ella would really die.

The Believer

 Ethan Boyd didn't like loud voices. Bad things happened when there were loud voices.

Those are some from my inspirational fiction books for adults. Here are some from the young adult books I wrote a long time ago. 

Bridge to Courage

When I reached the beginning of the bridge which stretched away from me into the darkness, I stopped.

The Look of Eagles

I was thirteen years old when Dancer came into my world.

Secrets to Tell

Just when Emily Garnette was sure things couldn't possibly get any worse, thunder rumbled overhead.

Two of a Kind

"It won't last," Birdie Honaker whispered to herself when she spotted her aunt waiting for her at the airport. "It won't last."

Only in Sunshine

I never planned to be a champion of butterflies.

Which ones are your favorites? I was surprised that Only in Sunshine's first line seemed to grab my attention best of the YA books. Of the adult books, I liked the first line in Scent of Lilacs. But every story calls for a different approach and a different first sentence. Writing a good one is a challenge for all writers.

I found the first sentence from 1984 at this link. http://americanbookreview.org/100bestlines.asp. I haven't read all those books, but reading the first sentences was interesting. Some were very short. Some were very long. Below is an opening sentence I found compelling even though I haven't read the book and have no idea what sort of story it might tell. So I'm not recommending the book. Just the first sentence.

It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not. ~Paul Auster, City of Glass (1985)

Now it's time for me to type that first sentence for my new book and hope someday readers will find it compelling - after I rewrite it those zillion times.

Thanks for reading. As a note, I haven't heard from the three winners I picked for my Shaker books. If I don't hear from them by Tuesday midnight, I'll pick new winners. I posted the winners on my FB page last week. Here are the names again, Pam Fresno, Mary Koester, and Rose Marie Kelly. Pam, Mary or Rose Marie, if you're reading this, please leave a comment with a way for me to contact you or send me a message from my Facebook page. 

One More Puzzling Picture

"Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle." (Lewis Carroll) 

So to twist the quote a bit, what in the world is it? Are you tired of mystery photos yet? I hope not. I thought I'd do one more to let you keep guessing to perhaps win that copy of the newly packaged Orchard of Hope. I think Jocie and Wes would have had fun guessing on these mystery pictures too. Maybe I'll let Jocie come up with some sort of puzzle for her Hollyhill Book of the Strange blog. Jocie likes puzzles. Did you see her post about Beatlemania. Do you remember that? I do. I never swooned or screamed, but I sure did like singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Not exactly the greatest song ever written, but it grabbed our attention, didn't it?











But here is the rest of the picture of last Wednesday's mystery photo. Several of you were right on the money with your caterpillar guesses. You even told me exactly what kind of caterpillar and that they were tomato horn worms that becomes a sphinx moth. The bubbles that I thought were so neat were actually deadly to the poor caterpillar according to the info Kathleen found for us. Here's the last bit to explain the bubbles. (Not sure about her source.) "Here's this handy tidbit, if needed: Find out what kind of bug you have: Is it a good bug or a bad bug? Keep a look out for little caterpillar/worm like pests and spray or squish them. The only exception that I can bring to mind would be a tomato hornworm (green caterpillar) -- if it has a bunch of bubbles on its back, it is infected by a beneficial wasp that will eliminate a few generations of the hornworms. Leave them. They are on the way out anyway." 

You readers teach me so much. But now let's see what you teach me about the mystery picture up top. Oh yeah, and I loved your guesses on the last one - garden hose, cabbage leaves, lime halves, cactus leaves.  You were using your imaginations. Thanks for giving it a try. 

If you want to be in the drawing for a copy of Orchard of Hope, just make a guess on the mystery photo or any comment will do. If you've already guessed on one of the other photos, you'll get an extra entry for guessing on this one too. I'll pick three winners on November 1.