Everyone Loves Christmas in Spring, Right?

I feel privileged to be able to share another author with you here on my bog. Please join me in saying hello to  Evelyn M Timidaiski, a South Carolina gal. 

SDC: Welcome to A Pen for Your Thoughts, Evelyn. Please tell us a little about yourself. 

EMT: I am a widow with two grown children and one grandchild and have enjoyed taking to the task of writing after retiring from my profession as a Biology teacher. While I do still work with special students, I chose to start writing to fill the void I felt after leaving my teaching job. My home is in Lexington, S.C.where I also spend time with my two pups, Fancy and Bitsey.

SDC: When did you actually begin writing?

EMT: Back in 2010. I finished my first book in 2012 and published my first book last year.

SDC: How does it feel being a published author? 

EMT: I'm still trying to get used to the title, "author." My first book is called Holly and Snowflake Christmas.  I'm waiting anxiously to see how readers react to my novel and writing style. 

SDC:  What else inspires your writing days? 

EMT: I have a great sense of humor and incorporate this into my characters.  Writing has given me the opportunity to tell the stories that keep popping up inside me. Whether it's Romantic Suspense, Mystery, or Fantasy, I love to dive right in and explore the possibilities.

SDC: Tell us what you are working on right now.

EMT: I currently have several projects going, including the sequel  to Holly. It's called Return to Snowflake.

SDC: I wish you the best of luck on your new book. Before we go, please tell us a little more about yourself.

EMT: I taught both Biology and Science for twenty eight years. In my novels, I call upon that experience when writing vivid descriptions of nature. Writing is very similar to teaching. You need to make a plan, keep it interesting, and use discipline for everything to work.

I recently wrote an article about Native American Characters in novels. It can be found on Desert Breeze Publishing. I've had a fascination with Native Americans since childhood. I wanted to write a Christmas Book and I had just been to Arizona so I combined the two.

Snowflake is an actual town in Arizona. I used the name, but made up everything else about the town. Desert Breeze has asked me to make this a series. The series name is Snowflake and the next book comes out November first. It will be called, Return to Snowflake. Notah, the hero in Snowflake is a heart stopping, sizzling Navajo Police Chief. He falls hard for a California, biker girl who comes speeding through his town.

I try very hard to incorporate real Native American tradition and show the plight of the Native Americans who live on reservations.

SDC: Give us a glimpse of your new book. 

Holly Dunnell has always dreamed of the perfect family Christmas, but never experienced one. When her famous racer father is killed on the track, she steals a priceless prototype and tries to ride away her grief.

Proud Native American Police Chief Andrew Notah works hard to protect the people of Snowflake, AZ, and the nearby reservation. Burned by past experiences, he never expects to meet a woman who will love him and embrace his heritage.

After arresting Holly for speeding recklessly, Andrew is attacked by a cougar. Tending his wounds Holly discovers the real meaning of Christmas and love.

Christmas morning brings a warrant for Holly's arrest. Andrew must choose between love and duty.

SDC:  It sounds very inviting. It's been a pleasure sharing you with the guests who come by A Pen For Your Thoughts!  How can the readers reach you, Evelyn? 

EMT: missevietalks@wordpress.com

For those of you who are interested, here is a link to where you can pick up your copy of Holly and Snowflake Christmas. 

What better way  to celebrate Christmas and love in spring?

All about Millie's Story with Pamela Woods-Jackson

Pamela Jackson is a former high school English teacher and author of "Confessions of a Teenage Psychic," which was a 2011 Epic Ebook Contest finalist. Her YA novel "Genius Summer" was released in November, 2014, by Vinspire Publishing. It was a finalist in the 2013 San Francisco Writers Contest and received high marks in the 2013 Pacific Northwest Writers Contest. She also has a contemporary romance "Certainly Sensible" inspired by Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" due to be released in 2015. Jackson lives in Carmel, Indiana with her two rescue cats, Molly and Phoebe, and works part time at Conner Prairie Interactive History Park.

Genius Summer

Millie Olson would rather imagine life in the nineteenth century than face her 21st century life. She’s overwhelmed by peer and family expectations, since everyone assumes the sixteen-year old valedictorian of a private high school will naturally attend a top college. Millie wants to stay home in Indianapolis, take online courses and volunteer at the history museum. Her grandmother’s not having it.

                

Gran has a plan to help Millie overcome her fears during a summer visit to Oklahoma. First, Gran encourages Millie to renew her friendship with high school quarterback Zach MacMillan. Millie’s not interested, preferring to spend her time sorting through the antiques in Gran’s attic, where she finds a diary written in 1865 by Synthia Whitfield. Gran’s second ploy, convincing Millie to visit the small nearby college her father attended, works beautifully when she must take the journal to Zach’s professor father for evaluation. Millie admits she needs Zach’s help navigating the campus, and despite her reluctance, a friendship blossoms.

                

Millie and Synthia have parallel lives, albeit 147 years apart. They both have younger siblings, but orphaned Synthia must find a way to get all three of them from Missouri to join family in Texas. She signs on to travel with a wagon train, and then drives the covered wagon herself! Obstacles occur in Indian Territory, but Synthia is undaunted. She delivers them all safely, and reaching across two centuries, inspires Millie with the confidence she needs to face her future.

Q.  Where did you get your inspiration to write this particular story? 

A.  As a former high school English teacher, writing for and about teens felt natural to me. In 2001 my uncle asked me to write the story of our ancestor Synthia Whitfield Yeager, and the courageous journey she took as a teenager after her parents died. At the time I was teaching full time, and furthermore had never thought about writing a book. After he passed away a few years later and I'd already written a couple of novels, I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, without my uncle, who was the family historian, I couldn't find enough information to flesh out an entire book about Synthia, so I decided to frame her story within a contemporary YA. The result was Millie's story of discovering Synthia's journal and the inspiration she derives from it.

Pamela Jackson's book is available for purchase at : 

Drop by and say hello to Pam at her Facebook page
www:vinspirepublishing.com/
www.facebook.com/pages/Pamela-Woods-Jackson/

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