October's Authors of the Month: Stacy Henrie and Joanne Bischof

 Welcome to October, all you lovely ladies out there! September was wonderful and I LOVED featuring Jody Hedlund. She is a doll. I hope that you have already read her new book UNENDING DEVOTION at least three times, because it really is that wonderful!!

One of the blessings of having my blog, is that I get to "meet" new people who truly enrich my life--and that's how I feel about the ladies I am spotlighting this month.

For October, I am featuring TWO new and TOTALLY wonderful authors!  I am thrilled to introduce to you (if you don't already know them) Stacy Henrie and Joanne Bischof! (This is where we stand up, cheer, whistle and clap until our hands hurt!!!) I have read both LADY OUTLAW and BE STILL MY SOUL, and each story is wonderful and uplifting. If you haven't read them go out and yourself a copy of each ASAP! *teehee*

So, here you go, you awesome HRC fans! Here's my questions for these ladies and their FUN answers.
Also, BOTH authors has been sweet enough to offer to do a book GIVEAWAY! If you want to be entered to win, please comment and TELL ME what you liked most about these interviews, and please remember to include your email address. The drawing will take place ONE WEEK from tomorrow (Oct 8th). I'm very excited to see what you all have to say!


STACY HENRIE~

First, give us the low-down on Stacy Henrie: (Tell us about you, and include something fun and funky...if you want! :)

My husband and I have been married 11 years, last month - we actually met in high school, though we weren’t boyfriend/girlfriend. By the time we married, we’d known each other seven years. Which is probably why my heroes and heroines seem to always start out as good friends! J I’m a stay-at-home mom to our three children - two boys and a girl.

I’m a California-native, but I’ve lived in Utah most of my life. If I could live anywhere, I’d probably say England. I’ve always had a fascination with the British Isles. It was actually on a trip to England, before I got married, that I got my first story idea!

In addition to writing and reading, I love digital scrapbooking, interior decorating and singing. I also enjoy acting and ballroom dancing, though I haven’t done either in years! J I have a fear of heights and sharks, and I can’t talk or read about blood without getting sick. (Though I just made it through typing that sentence okay, so that’s a victory!)

I’ve always liked history and reading historical fiction, so it’s only natural that I like to live out those “olden days” through my characters! My favorite historical time period is the 19^th century, though with writing my new WWI series, the early 20^th century is really growing on me. I’m a Downton Abbey fan and wish January would hurry up and get here already so I know what’s going to happen next!

I’m a chocoholic! If a dessert doesn’t have some kind of chocolate in it, then it’s not really dessert, in my opinion.  I’m not a big candy person, though. However, I recently discovered Dove dark chocolates and it’s definitely challenged my whole candy philosophy.

How long had you known you wanted to be a writer?

As an 11-year-old, I wrote in my journal that one of the things I wanted to accomplish in my life was to write and publish a book. I wrote poems, started some stories and wrote a 50-page novella. But it wasn’t until a couple months after my oldest son was born that I got serious about writing.

LADY OUTLAW is my first published book. I also have a three-book, WWI series coming out with Grand Central Publishing in 2014. 

Tell us your favorite things about Jennie and Caleb! What did you enjoy most about them when writing your book?

Jennie and Caleb’s romance was so fun to write because they’re both struggling to overcome and forgive the past, and it’s through helping each other that they are able to do this.

Caleb didn’t always have the tragic past that he does now, but once I added that element, I loved him so much more! He can be a tease and has a fairly laid-back personality, similar to my husband.

Jennie, on the other hand, is quieter until one gets to know her, but she loves to banter with those she knows well - she and I are alike in those two respects. J I love Jennie’s independence and bravery. It was fun giving the typical outlaw tale a twist with a female outlaw, but I also love Jennie’s journey back to a life of honesty and hope.

I liked exploring the idea of what would make one desperate enough to turn to outlawing, but on the flip side, how things - like land or wealth - are not what matters most in life. In the end both Jennie and Caleb give up something they thought they wanted/needed for the other, which shows their growth and love for each other.

What is your favorite scripture story?

It’s hard to pick just one! The one that comes to mind right away, though, is when Jesus heals the woman who’d been sick for 12 years. I love how she had such complete faith, that despite all she’d been through and the lack of a cure, she just knew that if she touched the hem of Jesus’s garment she’d be totally healed. And she was. Her faith is the kind of complete faith I want to have in my Savior.




JOANNE BISCHOF~ 

First, tell us about you! (You can include something fun/silly if you want.:)

I'm one part writer, one part homeschooling mommy and one part domestic arts nerd. My husband and I joke that he's the mathematician and I'm the mess maker. We're a good fit and while he balances the check book, I'm usually in the kitchen, stirring something up with flour or at the table doing a craft of some sort. The kids and I have so much fun spending our time together working in the garden or reading books and when I'm not writing, I absolutely love to be with my family.

What do you love most about this genre of book?

I love historical romance because of the added element of suspense that it lends to romance. Culture was so different back then. Rules had to be followed. I think of Stacy's book, Lady Outlaw, a heroine who's an outlaw is absolutely fascinating. With Be Still My Soul, a goodnight kiss gone wrong results in a shotgun wedding. If these stories happened today, they probably wouldn't have been such a scandal. But historically speaking, honor, decorum and manners adds a whole other element to a love story. The setting or time period is almost a character of its own. I think that's what makes writing historical romance so fun!

Tell us how you came up with the idea for your story!! What did you like best about writing it?

I really wanted to show how love can blossom even between two very mismatched people. Even when all hope seemed lost. I absolutely love to write about redemption. Taking someone like Gideon, who is an unlikely hero, and show his growth through the story--his grown that makes him taking strides toward becoming a man to deserve Lonnie, was a challenge. I hope readers will see in this story that hope is never lost and that the seemingly impossible is unattainable when God works in a life.

What is your favorite story in the Bible?

This might not qualify as a story, but it's what comes to mind. Ephesians 4:28 is one of my absolute favorites. "Let him who stole, steal no longer, but rather, let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need."

I learned this verse while walking the amazing path of redemption with my husband. He was saved just over a year ago and it's been a miraculous time in our marriage. So many blessings, including the birth of our third child. This verse is a constant reminder that change can always happen, but that it is a choice, an action...and it's work. When men and women rise up, and with God's help, decide to make the right choice, grow, become a person that both honors God and their family, it's one of the most awing events.



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Wasn't that fun?! I love these ladies, and I have had a wonderful time communicating with them. I thank you both--Stacy and Joanne--for letting me spotlight you!!  God Bless you!!

Happy Reading!