making waves end of summer giveaway!

I've been waiting for this moment for months:) Last year at the ACFW conference, I met Lorna Seilstad, fellow Revell author, and we've been fast friends ever since. I've been counting down till the release of her debut, Making Waves, wanting to gift one of you with a copy to celebrate. We share the same editor who called Lorna's work "fresh" - a hallmark of good fiction. I have a feeling her debut novel is as funny and warm and winsome as she is. I've been checking my mailbox daily awaiting my copy!

*Tell us about the inspiration for Making Waves.

I've lived in Iowa my whole life and Lake Manawa is about a ten minute drive from my house. Since my dad lived there as a child, I'd heard stories about the resort's heyday, but I had no idea what a fascinating place it was until I began to research it. After I did, I had to write a story set there. I wanted to bring the area back to life.

*How much are you like your main character, Marguerite? How did you choose that particular name?

Marguerite is witty, adventurous, and doesn't let anything stop her. I wouldn't say we had a lot in common. I've never been a risk-taker, but I appreciate that quality in others. My husband is one, and I know he thrives on change. I chose the name from an old U.S. census. It seemed to fit the character I had in mind, but my, was it a long name to type hundreds of times!

*What makes a historical setting more appealing to you than a contemporary one?

I love history. When most kids were going to baseball games on Sunday afternoons, I was going to antique auctions with my parents. My parents also took us to every place with historical significance within a day's journey of our home. There's something so amazing about holding something in your hands that's a hundred years old and imagining who else the object has touched. Time may change the way we dress or what we do - but people don't. We still want the same things. We want to be loved. We want to matter. We want our children to be happy. We still struggle with pride, anger, and lack of faith. I love bringing the past back to life and making it relevant today.

*What do you like most and least about being a published author?

What I like most is telling the stories and connecting with readers. I love that God has given me this opportunity. What I like least is the hurry up and wait side of publishing. There are deadlines you have to speed up to make, and then, there's usually a nice long wait to see what the editor says. That part's hard.

*What are some of your hobbies, interests? Tell us a little-known fact about yourself that readers may not know.

My birthday is on Halloween, so I'm a spook baby. It has its good point and its bad point. On one hand, my husband can never forget my birthday; on the other, I've spent most of my life trick-or-treating or taking my kids trick-or-treating.

Even though Making Waves has a lot of sailing in it, readers might be surprised to know that I've never sailed before even though I'd love to. I read "Sailing for Dummies" and several other sailing books when writing Making Waves. I also had help from a sailing writing friend to make sure I got the information correct.

In college, I was once stopped for armed robbery. Apparently, the getaway car used in a bank robbery matched my enormous '73 Dodge Polara. As I traveled through Kansas on my way home from college for Christmas, the highway patrol pulled me over and approached with their guns drawn. They let me go, but were surprised there were two cars like mine still on the road.

Thanks so much, Lorna, for taking time to be a part of my blog. May God bless your writing endeavors and your readers as they read your book!

A copy of Making Waves will go to one reader here, announced next Friday, September 10th. I've rolled the names over from the other book drawings to this one. But please feel free to leave a comment for Lorna. Bless you all!