Love Inspired Historicals discussion

Happy New Year everyone!! Karen Kirst here wishing you all peace, joy and loads of exciting books to read in the coming year. :)
Our January authors will be here this week with a brand new batch of historical romances. Kicking off our Q&A is Danica Favorite on Monday Jan 2, with her book, For the Sake of the Children.
On Tuesday, Jan 3, Linda Ford will chat about her latest, Montana Cowboy Family.
Dorothy Clark joins us Wednesday Jan 4 with His Substitute Wife.
And Bonnie Navarro will be here Thursday with Rescuing the Runaway Bride.
I look forward to learning about these new books!

January and a new beginning -ready for new authors and the older ones too sharing their books, See you soon Ladies.

Karen wrote: "Happy New Year everyone!! Karen Kirst here wishing you all peace, joy and loads of exciting books to read in the coming year. :)
Our January authors will be here this week with a brand new batch of..."

Happy New Year Karen!
I look forward to many new books this year.

Happy New year ,everyone! Looking forward to hearing about the new books.

Andrea wrote: "Karen wrote: "Happy New Year everyone!! Karen Kirst here wishing you all peace, joy and loads of exciting books to read in the coming year. :)
Our January authors will be here this week with a bran..."

Thank you, Andrea! I'm eager to read more, too. :)

Welcome everyone! Today we kick off our 2017 author Q&As!


A self-professed crazy chicken lady, Danica Favorite loves the adventure of living a creative life. She and her family recently moved in to their dream home in the mountains above Denver, Colorado. Danica loves to explore the depths of human nature and follow people on the journey to happily ever after. Though the journey is often bumpy, those bumps are what refine imperfect characters as they live the life God created them for. Oops, that just spoiled the ending of all of Danica’s stories. Then again, getting there is all the fun.
You can connect with Danica at the following places:
Website: http://www.danicafavorite.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/danicafavorite
Instagram: https://instagram.com/danicafavorite/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanicaFavori...



For the Sake of the Children

The Nanny Agreement 

Widower Silas Jones needs a mother for his daughter, and marriage could help his former sweetheart repair her tattered reputation. Yet he can't blame Rose Stone when she refuses a marriage of convenience after he once broke her heart, marrying another woman to save his family's farm. He's blessed Rose agrees to be his nanny. If only she'd look at him again with the warmth she shows little Milly… 
Rose's tarnished past hasn't quelled her spirit. She's building a good life in Colorado with her infant son—and the glimmer of a future with Silas. But when his in-laws try to claim Milly, Rose must decide if the makeshift family she and Silas have forged can reopen her heart to love.

Congratulations on your latest release, Danica! What's your favorite thing about writing historical romance?

*Danica's book will be given to one lucky commenter.

Morning everyone! I hope everyone had a great New Years Eve and Day! Danica are you and your husband feeling any better? I saw a few facebook posts about you guys being sick over the holidays. :(

I already have Danica's book so please don't enter me for hers.

Good morning Danica, A new dream home sounds wonderful, I hope you enjoy for many years and it meets all your expectations.
The characters in this book sound interesting. He is a widower yet talk of a former sweetheart, did he still love her when he was married? why did they part-was it mutual?
This indeed sounds like a story with a twist.
I got books last time so leave me out of the drawing...

This story sounds like it will have lots of wonderful tension between the main characters! We're there any challenges as you wrote the story that you had to work through to get it to be just the right balance between the main characters?

Happy New Year to everyone!

Danica, congratulations on your newest release! Does this story take place in Leadville, Colorado? What seasons does the book go through? Winter in the mountains would add challenges for the characters. Another charming cover!

Blessings to all for 2017!

Did you build the story around the idea of the children first or did the story evolve that way ?
Love the cover.

Good morning everyone! Happy new year! I'm looking forward to chatting with you all this week. I've had computer and laptop trouble, and Wi-Fi trouble, and program trouble that kept me off line for quite a time and I'm thankful to be here!

Danica, I enjoy second-chance romance stories and yours sounds like a good one. Adding children to the already existing problem of a past history should make a lively story. Why did you decide to give them each a child?

Hello, Danica! I, too, hope you are feeling better. I know you have had a terrible time of it! Your new book looks fantastic. I've enjoyed your other books and know this new one will be great too. I can't wait to read your answers to the previous questions. I'll wait to ask one until you answer the others!

I've been reading your book just this weekend, Danica and I'm loving it so far.
I was curious about your name. Other than you, I'd never heard it before. Is is a family name or something your parents created for you or from a different language/culture?

Yay, I actually remembered to check the first day of the q and a! The months all seem to all blend in for me. Can't wait to read all the answers! :)

Good morning everyone!! For those of you asking about my sick family, yes, we are still sick. :( This virus is taking a lot out of us, and I only just woke up a little bit ago. But, since sleep is the best cure for things, I'm not complaining.

Thanks for coming!! (And for being patient with sick little me)

Paula They were sweethearts, but he ended up marrying someone else to save the family farm. It completely broke her heart, and that's why she has some big trust issues that you'll read about in the story.

Oh, and the dream home... funny, because it just came up in my Facebook feed today that two years ago today is when we embarked on the adventure. We bought a fixer upper and are building an addition, which is ongoing. Our house is still not done, but it's getting there. :)

Brittany , it's so weird to think about challenges as I wrote the story, because I'm now working on a book that's two books AFTER this one, so I look at it and think, "will what I'm writing ever get there?" I had to re-read parts of the book yesterday for something, and it seems so much more effortless than what I'm writing now, but maybe that's the cold talking. I think the challenge I had with For the Sake of the Children was keeping the romantic tension on point and balancing it with the family members who want Rose to have a family but also don't want to see her hurt. HAS Silas become a man who won't break her heart again? Is SHE being too stubborn to see it? It was tricky because there is so many more hearts to be broken in this story than just their own.

Sherida The book takes place in the late fall. Which can be interesting in Leadville, because it can be warm some days and cold others. I didn't want it too cold or too snowy for the climax, because it would add an element of danger I didn't want in this book.

Melinda The children were always a part of the story. If you've been following my Leadville books, Rose having a child was always a given, and as I thought about what would bring Silas back to her, I knew there had to be something really special to soften her heart towards him. For someone as wounded as Rose, only a child could get past her defenses.

Dorothy As I mentioned above, the wounds they carried were really tough, and I think children have special abilities to soften people's hearts. Also, for Silas, he knows how badly he hurt Rose, and only the most desperate need is going to get him to face what he's done. He won't go back to her for his sake, but he would if it meant saving his child.

Keli Not a spoiler at all. Rose's ruin is well-documented in The Lawman's Redemption, so if you haven't read that one and want all the sordid details of Rose's past, you can find out pretty easily! She did turn her back on God for a time, and in little snippets in the stories that come after The Lawman's Redemption, you see that her story isn't finished yet. So, by the time we get here, to For the Sake of the Children, we have a woman who has sinned greatly, and is well aware of the depths of that sin. In this book, she comes to terms with what that means, especially in the context of what living in God's forgiveness looks like. (And for those who are wondering, yes, you can read this book without having read the others. But, if you do want the FULL backstory, you can read them.)

Bonnie Danica is a real name. My parents thought they made it up, but it's in baby books. I've since learned it's a more common Slovenian name, which is funny, since my hubby has a Slovenian background. So when we meet people from that part of the world, they know my name, but they say it totally differently. :)

Laura and Valri Thanks for the get well wishes. I'm hanging in there.

Danica

I forgot to ask you, Danica,,,what are the children's ages? Do you like writing children characters?

Oops, forgot one! From the intro. :)

My favorite part about writing historical romance is that I get to explore different pieces of history and culture, and it's fascinating to see things from a past lens.

Danica, I hope you and your family are soon well. I recently read your first book in this series Rocky Mountain Dreams and really enjoyed it. I know I will like this new book. It sounds like Silas and Rose had a lot of work to do to get back together. I love Historical Western fiction.

Glad to hear you are hanging in there, Danica. I'm excited to read Rose's story. I do remember her from The Lawman's Redemption. Have we met Silas before? Maybe you have answered that question but I didn't see it! Sometimes it's hard to remember characters between books!

Hello, Danica, I look forward to your new book! I always find redemption and second chance stories intriguing.
I saw your December video on Facebook and I was reading about the flock on your website. You really are a crazy chicken lady :) Do you still have the geese?
Now that you are in your WIP dream home, do you schedule time for writing? Do you still get away to write?

Thanks Brenda!

Valri, we didn't meet Silas before. We knew Rose was nursing a broken heart because of him, but not all the details. Now you get to meet the handsome heartbreaker. :)

Hi Andrea! Yes, we do still have the geese. :) I have so many deadlines that I have to schedule time for writing. Right now, I am hiding in my bedroom trying to get some writing done while hubby works on *fingers crossed* getting my office finished. I still try to get away to write, but haven't lately. With the holidays, family obligations, and all that, it's been hard to schedule something. Hopefully soon, though! I need it!

Keli wrote: "I'm intrigued by Rose's tarnished past. I have a hunch she wasn't a believer when she had the relationship that led to the birth of her infant son. Am I close, or would a hint at her history be a s..."

Keli I am intrigued too.

Hi Danica. I had heard the name too before meeting you. Heard it pronounced a couple of ways also.

So glad you are getting an office. I love reading your house "updates"! I know your home will be fantastic when it's finished....someday!

Happy new year, Danica! For the Sake of the Children sounds wonderful. Congratulations on this new release!

Thanks Britney!

And now I have a question for all of you! I'm working on a Christmas book right now (set in Leadville!). What is your favorite aspect of Christmas stories?

My favorite aspect of Christmas stories is (in a historical book) the traditions of the period. I enjoy learning about, say in your book set in Leadville, how they celebrate Christmas during that time period! History fascinates me! You can weave those traditions into the story :)

Hi Danica,

I hope you and your family get feeling better soon. This story sounds wonderful and I can't wait to read it. I can only imagine how difficult it is to remember your challenges while writing this book when you are 2 or 3 more books down the line. Glad to hear there will be more Leadville books.

My favorite Christmas aspect has to do with the decorating and the creations that they make. Especially when kids are involved. I used to make a new set of ornaments every year with my kids when they were younger. (Each making their own of whatever it was we made that year.) Some we still use, others were a one time thing. My hope is that as they move from home and take their set of decorations, that they will have fond memories as they decorate their own tree in the future. Also with the Christmas stories there is usually someone who doesn't like the Christmas season for whatever reason and kids are usually able to get them through it. Thanks for stopping in to visit with us today.

I like to see miracles happen, so weaving that into your Christmas story might be a blizzard and someone almost dies but is saved by an angel....

I like seeing the family celebrations and traditions of Christmas things like the baking (and if there are kids involving them) also the Christmas service with children etc.

Thanks so much for joining us, Danica! Praying for your family's swift recovery.

Today we welcome veteran author Linda Ford. Linda Ford grew up devouring books and making up stories in her head, often late at night when she couldn't sleep. But she hadn't planned to write. Instead, she dreamed of running an orphanage. In a way, that dream came true. She married, had 4 homemade children, adopted 10 and lived her dream. She lives on a small ranch in western Alberta, where she can see the mountains every day. She and her husband continue to enjoy their children and grandchildren. Linda also provides care for a paraplegic, double amputee man. She still finds a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction in creating imaginary worlds only now she does it on paper or rather, at the computer.



Montana Cowboy Family

Temporary Family 
After discovering one of her young students has been abandoned along with his sisters, schoolteacher Sadie Young whisks them away to the safest place she knows—her own home. And when handsome cowboy Logan Marshal vows to assist her in caring for the children, she isn't sure she wants his help…but she needs it. If she lets Logan get too close, though, he may discover the secret she's convinced will be her ruin. 
Logan Marshall isn't looking for a family. But with the parentless children and their unflappable teacher tugging at his heart, it appears he has one—at least temporarily. The kids would like nothing better than to have a real mother and father, and with Logan slowly falling for Sadie, their deepest wishes just might come true…

Congratulations on your latest book, Linda! This sounds like a heartwarming story. Do you have a favorite scene you could share without spoiling anything?

Good morning Linda, I like reading this era and know Logan and Sadie will be wonderful characters to get to know. Have these two known each other before? How long has Sadie been teaching? Do you bring some things from your children into this book with the abandoned children? Thanks for sharing your talent.

Good morning, ladies.
I'll try and keep up but am fighting a head cold that just won't quit and sometimes my thoughts don't come out as clearly as I'd like. I'm hoping this cold clears up soon as I am booked to go to Hawaii with 3 of my girls next week and don't look forward to flying with plugged head and ears. Besides, I want to feel my best and make the most of a few days of beach and sun.

Danica, do I have a favorite scene? I guess one of my favorites is when things look like they will work out for Sadie and Logan and they take the children on a picnic. They share memories of their mothers. The children are so honest and fresh that it eases things between Sadie and Logan.

Hi Paula-O,
Sadie and Logan met in the first book of the series when Sadie came to town to be the new teacher. They have seen each other several times both and the Marshall Five Ranch and at events in town.
This is Sadie's second teaching position. She loves interacting with the children and helping them learn but is especially diligent about giving them a voice of their own.
I don't know if I brought anything specific to the story from my own children except the feeling of loss and abandonment and of being a victim. Some--if not all--of my adopted children have known abandonment and abuse so it's a subject near and dear to me as you probably recognize if you've read many of my books.

BTW, good questions.

Hi Linda. I love stories with children. But they can be either too weak as characters to make a difference, or so strong as characters that they threaten to take over the story. I know you're certainly experienced in raising children, but do you enjoy including them in your stories or do you find them hard to write?

Linda, yippee, another book by you! You know I'm always excited about that. this one looks to be like another fabulous story. One that features children is another plus! I imagine there will be some fun scenes with the children involved!

Morning all! I hope you get over your cold soon Linda! What are you currently working on?

Danica I am glad to hear you and your family are on the mend. What are you currently working on?

Dorothy, I love having children in my stories. They give me lots more fodder to work with, more situations, more events which I like. Interacting with children also reveals a different facet of the hero and heroine.

Valri, thanks. There are some cute (in my opinion) scenes with the kids. In the scene I mentioned above in my response to Karen, Sammy talks about helping his mama make cookies. His sister, Beth, says, "You ate so much cookie dough that Mama used to say she wondered if she should bake you." I enjoy having them tease each other gently and share family jokes.

Laura,
Thanks for your well wishes. I'm hoping the cold is gone real soon.

The Big Sky Country series of which Montana Cowboy Family is book #2, is 6 books long so I am working on finishing that series. Also, I am doing extensive research and brainstorming on what I hope will be a 6 book series on the Santa Fe Trail.

So many good questions have been asked already.
I hope you get over your cold soon Linda, I would hate to fly with a cold.
When you start writing a series, do you know how many books are going to be in each series? Is there an outline for the series or do you just let your characters come to life?
On a more personal note, have you written a memoir or considered it?

Happy new year, Linda! Congrats on the release of Montana Cowboy Family! You commented that you are doing extensive research for a new book series. Can you share an interesting tidbit you've learned?

Hi Linda,
I hope you are soon well again and enjoy your trip to Hawaii.
I just finished reading last night one of your books--A Home for Christmas. I decided to start one of my favorite type of books for the New Year--Inspired Historical and Western!
I know the new book will be a good one

Hi Andrea,
Good questions.
With the Bug Sky Country series and the Santa Fe Trail series, I knew I would do 6 books. I've already discussed the possibility with my editor. I try and have the 6 ideas roughed out so I know how to connect them. But the characters don't really come to life until I start writing their story.
Re a memoir: I have thought about writing one but I would have to learn how to do it first and then find the time to do so. I might live long enough to do that!!! lol

Hi Britney,
Happy New Year to you too. (I keep losing this post. :-()
I will try and post some pictures of my research of the Santa Fe Trail. I visited Bents Old Fort near La Junta, Colorado and found the setting appealing. That's how I came to start working on this series.
One of the things I found interesting is the array of goods that were taken to Santa Fe--fine china, English tea, calico, European goods.