Guest Author - Delia Latham.

As part of her blog tour today we welcome author Delia Latham. To the commentators of any of the stops on her tour she is offering two (2) $10 gift certificates to White Rose Publishing which will be awarded after the tour. Winners will be drawn from all the comments left at all of the blogs during the 3-week event. The drawing takes place on June 1st.

As an added bonus anyone who comments today/on this entry will be entered in a draw to receive a copy of Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado.

Down the page is a little about her recent release from White Rose Publishing - Yesterdays Promise. The link will take you straight to it :)


Now - an interview :)





First off, could you tell us a little about yourself and how long you've been writing. Do you write everyday? How does each session start? How do you proceed? How, where and why does it end?

I’m a born-and-bred California girl, recently transplanted to Oklahoma when my husband was medically retired and needed to move out of the area where we lived. A huge change for people at our stage of life, but we’re learning to love our new surroundings.

I’ve been writing since … well, I think I was born with a pencil in my hand! J No, actually I won an essay contest in third grade, and that’s when the literary bug sank its sharp little teeth into me and just never let go. I’m a former newspaper staff writer, and contributed frequently to a Bakersfield regional magazine before we left California. I also love to write songs, poems, greeting card verse, and short stories.

I do write something every day, though not always something related to a manuscript. I blog and write book reviews, so when I’m blocked on a story line, I’ll pull off and do something else. Most often, that little break will grease the mental wheels and get me rolling again on my manuscript. If that doesn’t work, I pick up pen and paper (instead of using a keyboard). Writing longhand almost always gets me back into the flow.

Writing sessions start when I plunk my rear down in front of my desk and pull up my manuscript (or a blank page) on my computer. I always read back through the last chapter before starting a new one. It eases me back into my fictional world, and into the story. That done, I’m usually off and writing. I don’t stop until (a) the ideas begin to slow—or worse, come to a standstill. Or (b) my husband insists I come out of hiding for awhile. :)


Where do you get your inspiration from?

I have this theory that ideas are much like chameleons … they’re out there, but they meld themselves into the environment and you must deliberately look for them if you hope to find them. Sometimes I get ideas by magnifying minute events in my own life or the lives of people I know; newspaper headlines yield more possibilities; books I read that don’t pan out the way I think they should lend an opportunity to change the characters and circumstances and write it my own way. I guess the answer to your question is … ideas are all around me. I simply have to open my mind to them.


Much of Yesterday's Promise is set in Yosemite. Have you ever been there?

Funny you should ask. I grew up and lived most of my adult life within a couple hundred miles of Yosemite, but I never visited until I started writing Yesterday’s Promise. Just about that same time, a dear friend of mine moved close by Yosemite. When she found out I was doing all my research online, she had a fit—and promptly invited me up to spend a week with her. She was my Yosemite tour guide, even managing to get me into one of the cabins at Curry Village, so I could describe Hannah’s vacation premises with accuracy and vision. Once there, I was hooked—it’s got to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth!

Is there a story behind Yesterday's Promise? How did the story evolve?

No background story. I was working on another book (Goldeneyes), when I happened on an advertisement for National Novel Writer’s Month (an annual event in which authors are encouraged to churn out a minimum of 50,000 words of a novel). I loved the idea. So without a single plan in mind, I laid aside my WIP, pulled up a blank page on my word processor, and started writing. I didn’t have a clue where I was going or what the story was about. Sometimes that’s what works best for me. :)

What do you do in your spare time? (Assuming you have any ;-)

Spare time … what’s that? :) I have a full-time secretarial job, so most of my writing is done in the evenings and on Saturdays. But I also enjoy designing bookmarks and various promotional materials for other authors, and I love spending time with my children and grandchildren.

What person or experience inspired you to become a writer?

My pastor’s wife when I was growing up was a tremendous inspiration to me. Rita Dawson was one of the most talented women I’ve ever met, and an absolute character! She was an amazing writer, a fluent speaker, and just a barrel of fun. She was my speech coach in high school, and also prodded me constantly to further develop my writing skills, as I was always writing something. I promised her that one day I’d write a novel. Yesterday’s Promise is dedicated to her memory.

When you write do you start with a plot outline, a character sketch, how do you begin? How do you stay on course?

As I mentioned in regard to how I wrote Yesterday’s Promise, I’m pretty much a seat-of-the-pants writer. I usually cook up my plots while I’m driving down the road or standing over a sinkful of dirty dishes, but I rarely outline or plot on paper. By the time I sit down to write, I usually—not always, but most of the time—have a fairly good idea about storyline and plot progress.

What made you write Inspirational romance?

I consider my writing skills a God-given talent. Using the skills He gave me to encourage, uplift, and entertain women is my way of giving back to Him.

What genre would you like to explore that you haven’t tried to write in yet? Will you? What would you never see yourself writing?

I’d like to delve a little more into the realm of angels and demons. I love Tosca Lee’s book, Demon. Also thoroughly enjoyed Frank Perretti’s work. What I cannot see myself ever writing is erotic fiction. I refuse to even edit it for someone else.

Do you have a favorite author or authors? Do you read a lot? Is there an author whose books you pick up just because they are the author?

I read a lot because I write reviews for several different publishing houses and publicists. In fact, I read too much—I have to find a way to back off a little and make more time for writing! :) And yes, there are authors I pick up for the name, but you’ll be surprised. Because I write sweet romance, folks are usually shocked to learn that I like to read Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and Robert R. McCammon. I don’t get opportunity to make that foray into other genres often, but when I do, I take a wide detour!

If you were granted three wishes by a genie, what would they be?

They’d be for my children as well as for myself, and I believe they would be:

1. Happiness
2. Health
3. A thin body with a high metabolism :) Can I have one too?

If you could go anywhere tomorrow, where would you go?

Ireland. I’d love to visit the land of my ancestors.

If you could see anyone tomorrow (dead or alive), who would it be?

My parents. I will never stop missing them, and there’s so much I’d love to talk with them about. My Dad loved to read, and I wish I’d finished just one book before he died. But somehow, I feel pretty certain he knows all about it anyway.


Thank you so much :) And here's a little about the book itself.




Yesterday's Promise - Delia Latham
Blurb:A whirlwind romance amidst the natural splendor of Yosemite National Park.A spur-of-the-moment wedding near Bridalveil Fall.A young bride who awakens the morning after to find her new husband gone with the mountain wind.

Songbird Hannah Johns supports the child born of that ill-fated union by singing in a dinner lounge. Her dream of someday owning the elite establishment and turning it into a venue more suited to her Christian values is shattered when an unexpected transaction places it in the hands of Brock Ellis, the handsome biker who abandoned her in their honeymoon suite.

Ensuing sparks fly high, revealing buried secrets and forgotten pasts. Seeking to find peace with her painful past, Hannah returns to Yosemite, and Brock follows hard on her heels. Back where it all began, she finds herself in danger of losing her heart yet again to the man who shattered it the first time around.


Extract:

“I can’t believe you, of all people, can get that look on your face because I have a son without the benefit of a husband. At least I’m there for my son, and I will be as long as God allows me to walk this earth. I would never, under any circumstances, never abandon someone I love. Never. It’s right there.” She pointed a trembling finger at Lissy's house and fumbled for the handle as Brock swung the car to the curb.

By the time he brought the vehicle to a full stop, she had the door open and one foot outside the car. Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

“Hannah, I…” Brock’s bewildered expression almost passed for convincing. “I’m sorry, really. I didn’t mean…”

“Lissy will take us home.” She ignored his apology, then slammed the car door and marched up the sidewalk, head high, back ramrod stiff.

Davey flew out the door to meet her, his dark curls bouncing. “Mommy! Mommy, I missed-ed you!”

Hannah picked him up, hugging him to her. “Hey, big guy! I missed-ed you too.” She rarely encouraged his mispronunciation of words, but at the moment she wanted Davey to stay little for a very long time.

“Who’s that man, Mommy?” One arm around Hannah’s neck, her son pointed to the car where Brock sat watching them. “Huh? Who is he?”

“Nobody, Davey.” She set the small boy on his feet. Taking his hand, she led him to Lissy's door. Behind her, she heard the BMW pull away, but she refused to look back.

Only your daddy, sweet boy. He’s only your daddy.


Review:


Yesterdays Promise arrives on todays doorstep with a huge thud, knocking Hannah's world for six. Ms. Latham weaves an enchanting tale that mixes both past and present together in an ecleptic mix of laughter, tears and heart stopping moment. Hannah and Brock's story is an enticing one, that keeps you reading to the end.