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Kimberly Stuart holds degrees from St. Olaf College and the University of Iowa. She is also the author of the Heidi Elliott Series (NavPress). After teaching Spanish and English as a Second Language in Chicago, Minneapolis, Costa Rica and eastern Iowa, she took a huge increase in pay to be a full-time mom. She makes her home in Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband and two young children.

Kimberly's website: www.kimberlystuart.com

Diva, Sadie Maddox, never thought her Second Act would involve pig farms.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (January 2008) – Sadie Maddox loves New York. She’s the toast of the classical music world and the queen of all she surveys. Sadie is, in a word, a bit of a diva. But lately her CD sales are waning, not to mention parts of her anatomy.

When her agent suggests she take on a professorship at a small liberal arts college, Sadie decides to give it a go. Except the college is in rural Iowa, and the closest thing to designer clothes is the western wear shop down on Main Street. Sadie’s colleagues are intimidated, her students aren’t impressed, and she has to live far too close to farm animals.

Then Sadie meets Mac, a large animal veterinarian. She assumes they have nothing in common—he is, after all, a country music fan. Besides, she’s counting the days until she can end her exile from civilization. Er, New York. Yet when Sadie’s forced to spend some time with Mac, she finds she likes him. Her students, it seems, really need her, and this quiet Midwest community begins to grow on her.

But when the semester ends, Sadie packs up and heads for the city that never sleeps…and finds she can’t either. Will she find the courage and grace she needs to embrace her Act Two?

Release: May 2008
Paperback, 256 pages, $13.99, 5.5 x 8.25
Fiction/Christian/General
ISBN: 978-1-4347-0011-7

Interview:


If you had to write your memoir in six words, what would they be?
Wanted Angst, Clung Instead to Humor.

In high school and early college, I wanted nothing more than to be the tortured artist. I read and wrote horrible, dark poetry, tried to find the paradox in everything from God to navel oranges, and made my remarkably sunny parents nutty and fretful, usually within one dinner conversation. If you were so inclined, you could dunk yourself in my many journals of self exploration, a journey which, turns out, is frightfully dull when done alone and in denial of how diverse God’s fingerprints really are. It was only after several years of marriage and the birth of my daughter that I fully let go of the idea of being someone I’m not, tossed my inner longings to wear only black and moan songs by Ani DeFranco, and instead embraced laughter and humor as God-drenched gifts to humanity. Laughter truly is medicine and finally I’m ready to take and give a generous dose on a daily basis without feeling like I’m missing the artistic boat.

Where are you headed next?
God willing, I’ll be giving birth to our third child in August, so I’m afraid I won’t be heading anywhere too quickly. Lactation seems to preclude so many of life’s adventures…In addition to caring for our growing brood and being really snippy with my husband for a few months due to sleep deprivation, I have two more books to write with David C. Cook. Act Two is the first of three, and I must ask you humbly to buy it within the next four minutes as it is time-sensitive material. And it’s a pretty good summer read, if I must be so bold. After Act Two will come two more. This will make a grand total of five books so far from the pen of Kimberly Stuart. Don’t place any bets that I’ll try to have as many children as I do books. When it comes to babies, those in print are much kinder on a uterus.

What’s the most difficult part of the process for you?
*Making myself sit down each day and crank out new material, especially on days when I’m feeling about as creative as a paint tarp.

*Pushing through the middle of a novel, when the characters have lost their initial intrigue and it’d be so much more fun to daydream about the NEXT story to write.

*Getting out of the way of the story. That is, allowing the story to flesh itself out without coercion on my part.

*Being able to, as Stephen King writes, “crucify my darlings,” to part with the elements, characters, plot movements that do not serve the story, no matter how fond I am of them.

What part do you enjoy the most?
Without question, hearing from readers who connect with, cry about, laugh because of the stories I write and then take the time and effort to let me know. Unbelievable and lovely.

Where did you get the idea for the book?
I can’t possibly reveal that to the blogosphere, and I say that only partly because I’ve always wanted to use the word blogosphere. The other reason is that this one percolated for awhile. There was no lightning bolt moment. But I will say that I’m always interested in putting quirky characters in situations that make them woefully uncomfortable and allow the reader to laugh with gusto both at and with the character. A New York opera diva on a farm seemed like a situation that might work for that purpose.

What are the major themes of the book?
Grace, redemption, my love and respect for both urban and rural dwellers, and the under-used gift of laughter.

Thank you for stopping by and sharing with us Kimberly!

Please feel free to leave Kimberly a comment. She'd love to chat with you.

You can also join her on her tour at ...

A Christain Romance Writer’s Journey
Behind the Mountain
Blog Tour Spot
Book Nook Club
Book Room Reviews
Canadian Prairie Writer
Chatter Matters
Fictionary
Footprints in the Sand
Gatorskunz and Mudcats
His Reading List
I Don’t Wanna Blog
In the Dailies
Kells Creative Musings
Life with Missy
Lighthouse Academy
Musings on This, That, and the Other
Net’s Notes
Real Women Scrap
Refresh My Soul
See Ya On the Net
Sips ‘N Cups Cafe
So Many Books. . . So Little Time
Sumballo
The Friendly Book Nook
The Law, Books and Life
The Surrendered Scribe
The Writing Road
Write by Faith
Writing on the Edge

Suzanne Woods Fisher’s just-released historical novel Copper Fire, is the sequel to the three-time award-winning Copper Star, a World War II love story inspired by true events. Fisher was a contributing editor to Christian Parenting Today magazine. Her work has appeared in Today’s Christian Woman, Worldwide Challenge, ParentLife, and Marriage Partnership. She has contributed to ten non-fiction books, including Chicken Soup for the Soul: Children with Special Needs. A wife and mother, Fisher lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and raises puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. The best thing about being a writer, she feels, is that all of life becomes material for writing. It’s all grit for the oyster.

Suzanne can be found at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.

During the month of June, Suzanne is running a book-a-day-giveaway contest. To enter, scoot on over to her blog (www.suzannewoodsfisher.blogspot.com) to leave a comment or pop her an e-mail: Suzanne@suzannewoodsfisher.com

Copper Fire is the sequel to Copper Star, picking right up at the very end of World War II. On a summer day in 1945, my main character, Louisa, receives a telegram from the International Red Cross Tracing Service. She discovers that her cousin, Elisabeth, has just been released from Dachau. Louisa is determined to go to Germany to get Elisabeth…and that’s where the story begins.

Copper Star (ISBN: 0-9793327-4-5) and Copper Fire (ISBN: 978-0-981-5592-0-9) are available at Amazon or other on-line booksellers, at Suzanne’s website, or can be ordered through your favorite bookstore.

Author Interview:

Why did you become a writer? Was it a dream of yours since you were younger or did the desire to write happen later in your life?

SWF: Throughout high school, reading and writing clearly became my only interests, despite dismal career options. (Besides, I was hopeless at everything else. True story: I took Algebra and got a “D,” which I blame largely on the thick accent of my Persian teacher. I couldn’t understand him. Sadly, I had to re-take the class in summer school and was greatly disappointed, on the first day, to discover the same Persian teacher standing at the front of the class. (When he saw me, he looked equally disappointed.)

I got another “D.”

Fast forward to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, a small Christian college. I was on the staff of the college newspaper and met a young student named Ginny. We became fast friends. Sharing a love of writing, we kept our relationship going through letters. A few years later, after we had both married and had started families, Ginny called me to ask if I could take over some freelancing jobs. I jumped at the chance. I started writing for Christian Retailing, then Christian Parenting Today, and eventually became a contributing editor for that magazine. And those relationships have opened other doors.

What inspires you to keep going?

SWF: This is an industry in which “no one is looking for you.” Behind every published piece, a writer has a fat file of rejection letters. But, ah, there’s just something about that published piece that makes up for that rejection file!

What do you love about being an author? Is there anything you dislike?

SWF: Most favorite part? All of life is material. It’s all grit for the oyster. Least favorite? I still only make a dime an hour. And I still get plenty of rude rejection letters!

Please tell us all about what you are working on these days.

SWF: In late August, Grit from the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers, will be released from Vintage Spirit. I wrote Grit with three other very talented authors.

And another piece of great news! I just received a contract from Revell/Baker for a non-fiction book called Amish Peace in an English Life. It won’t be out until 2010…but it is taking up 90% of my brain right now.

After you finish your present project what plans do you have?

SWF: Writing, writing, writing!

Suzanne's Blog Tour Stops

6/2 On Being a Writer

http://vbrotherton.blogspot.com

6/3 So Many Books

http://somanybooks.blog.blogspot.com

6/4 Actual Unretouched Photo

http://www.unretouchedphoto.com

6/5 Cecelia Dowdy

http://ceceliadowdy.blogspot.com

6/9 RelzReviewz

http://relzreviewz.blogspot.com

6/10 Surviving the Chaos

http://survivingthechaos.blogspot.com

6/11 Mumblings of a Mommy “Monk”

http://mommymonk.blogspot.com

6/12 Delia Latham

http://delialatham.com

6/16 Bibliophile’s Retreat

http://forstrose.blogspot.com

6/18 Coming Home—A Christ Centered Blog by Christian Writer Miralee Ferrell

http://www.miraleesdesk.blogspot.com

6/19 Dena Dyer

http://denadyer.com

6/20 Amber Miller Writer & Author
http://ambermiller.com

6/23 Portrait of a Writer…Interrupted

http://portraitofawriter.ginaconroy.com

6/23 Theresa Slack

http://www.teresaslack.blogspot.com

6/24 Diane Wylie

http://dianewylie.blogspot.com

6/25 Christy’s Book Blog

http://christysbookblog.blogspot.com

6/27 Tricia Goyer

http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com

7/08 2^nd Cup of Coffee

http://2nd-cup-of-cofee.blogspot.com

8/03 Trish Berg

http://TrishBerg.com

12/08 Lena Dooley

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com