A Warm Welcome to Donna Schlachter
Donna will give away a print copy (U.S. only) or an eBook of Calli. Leave a comment below and join the Rafflecopter contest to enter to win.
Hi Donna, first, tell us a little about yourself.
I am a Canadian by birth, an American by choice. I moved to the US in 1999, married, and just celebrated 23 years. I am the oldest of five children, hold a business degree in Accounting, and love numbers.
Congratulations on your recent anniversary! Were you an avid reader as a child? If so, what did you read?
I read whatever I could get my hands on. Always ahead of my grade level in reading and comprehension, I once missed my bus stop because my nose was buried in a book. When I lifted my eyes, I was in the middle of nowhere – or so it seemed to my seven-year-old self – at the bus depot. I was in Montreal, Quebec that year, and couldn’t string together two words of French. The bus driver was as surprised as I was. I had to call my mother and she got my dad to leave work early to get me. He wasn’t very pleased.
I really liked horses and all animals, and so read mostly those kinds of books.
Why do you write?
Because the stories and the people are in my head, and if they didn’t come out, I’d burst. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
In truth, I write to be obedient to the Lord. I simply transcribe what He gives me. I’m not claiming that every story is exactly as He showed it – that would imply I am obedient enough that none of me gets mixed in there. But I try hard to keep it on track.
Tell us about your latest book.
Calli works as a nurse with the US Army at Fort Bridger, Wyoming in 1880. When a wagon train full of discouraged emigrants passes through on its way east, a pregnant widow delivers her baby then dies. Bradley Wilson, leading this train, has few options. He asks Calli to travel with them until they find a relative to take the child in St. Joe, Missouri. Calli, drawn to both this dark and quiet man and the child, resists. But when she disappears, he wonders if she’s run away or been kidnapped. Can these two put their pasts behind them and move into a new future together? Or will Calli insist on having things her own way?
What inspired you to write this particular book?
I’d read about folks returning east from California when they didn’t find what they sought out there. And I read about an archaeological dig in the area at that time. The third element was I was invited to write a story that included covered wagons. So, I thought, what if the heroine wasn’t in the covered wagon, but firmly established somewhere? And the hero was returning east—the opposite direction my heroine might want to travel.
What do you love about this book? And what do you hope readers will tell others about it?
I love that I could include real historical facts, such as the archaeological dig, into the story. I appreciate that kind of credibility when I read a book.
I hope readers will say this is a sweet story about how God can work in impossible situations to work all things together for our good and His glory.
Where do you get ideas for your books?
Magazine articles, online research, travel, newspapers (especially obituaries), talking to people, museums, overheard conversations – you name it. It’s all fodder for a book.
In three words describe your style of writing.
Sweet and clean.
What themes do you write about?
Mostly about how God gives us second and third and fourth chances, because I’m a product of do-overs.
What is your writing schedule and where do you write?
I schedule my writing times on my calendar, like an appointment. One chapter per day, Monday through Friday. Two hours. If I don’t get it done, then I have to catch up the next day. Or the next. I hate falling behind.
Does your faith affect your writing? If so, how?
If it doesn’t, I’m in trouble! My goal is for my faith to come out in my writing by the choices my characters make, and how they respond when pushed against the wall. God has put me in some bizarre situations, and I grow through how I work through it and come out the other side. It’s not about the character praying, or going to church, or reading their Bible. It’s about what they do when faced with the easy way out when they know that direction is wrong.
Buy Calli on Amazon
Bio:
Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick, three housemates, and two cats who rule the roost. As a hybrid author, she writes squeaky clean historical suspense and contemporary suspense. She previously published contemporary books under her alter ego of Leeann Betts, but now authors books in her name only. She has been traditionally and indie published more than 50 times in novellas, full-length novels, devotional books, and books on the writing craft. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Writers on the Rock, Sisters In Crime, Pikes Peak Writers, Christian Women Writers, Faith Hope and Love Christian Writers, and Christian Authors Network; facilitates a critique group; and teaches writing classes online and in person. Donna also ghostwrites, edits, and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both. In her spare time, she paints like a whirling Banshee Bob Ross-style in oil on canvas, minus the Afro.
Connect with Donna on her Website to learn about new releases, preorders, and presales, as well as check out featured authors, book reviews, and a little corner of peace. Plus: Receive a free ebook simply for signing up for our free newsletter!
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Check out previous blog posts at History Thru the Ages and All Bets are Off
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Thank you for the chance to win a print copy of this book.
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