Interview with Guest Author, Anne Bradshaw

Today, my special guest is Anne Bradshaw, who is an expert in Genealogy or family history. She had so many amazing experiences as she searched out her ancestors, and helped others do the same, that she felt compelled to write a book about it. Since so much of my writing is based on old letters, journals, newspapers, and books of a by gone era, Genealogy is dear to me, as well. welcome, Anne! What is your current book and how would you describe it?

Q: I actually have two new books out, but the one I'm concentrating on right now is "True Miracles with Genealogy~Help from Beyond the Veil." Compiling it was an amazing experience.

A: "True Miracles" is a collection of inspiring research stories, spiritual moments as help comes from beyond the veil. It is unique, comforting, and powerful. Each account can't help but touch hearts as readers come to the heady realization that there really is a world of spirits.

Q: How and when did you gather stories for this book?

A: I put out requests for stories on many social websites, including Facebook. Genealogists from all over the USA and from other countries responded. It amazed me to read so many unusual experiences—to learn of the many different ways researchers received the help they needed.

I'm sure my book contains only a tiny portion of the vast number of stories that go unrecorded every year—even every day—throughout the world. As someone says in the book, "Heaven is only a whisper away." It really is that close, but most times in the busy hours of our life, we're not in tune, or not ready to listen and act.

I began compiling seriously at the beginning of 2010. The more stories I received the more fascinating, and compelling it was to keep going. Once the initial call for stories went out, friends began telling others about the project and story gathering took on its own momentum.

There was a lot of work involved in the initial story editing to make each one fit the book's style. I thought about putting different accounts into categories within the book, but as stories kept arriving, I they simply didn't fit neatly into any particular groups because each experience was unique, and as such, each one needed its own classification, which defeated any effort to make them match others.

Q: Is there a website for "True Miracles with Genealogy?"

A: Yes, I created a website at http://www.truemiracleswithgenealogy.com to further the book's purpose of sharing research stories. I hope many readers will send in their experiences. I realize it's unusual for most people to have more than one or two genealogy miracles in a lifetime—and many have none—but treasuring and sharing these events is so worthwhile.

The website is also home to the book's reviews. These are under the Book Review tab, top of the page.

Q: Where can readers purchase this book?

A: It's available in both paperback and electronic form. I deliberately kept the price low so more can afford to enjoy it. The Kindle and Nook eBook versions are only $2.99. I hope local bookstores will soon make it available. The book is on many Internet sites. Below are sample links. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download free software for your computer, phone, iTouch, iPad, and more on Amazon at http://amzn.to/4nck80 .

Amazon's CreateSpace $8.99, shipping $3.61 https://www.createspace.com/3477323
Amazon $8.99, shipping $3.99 http://amzn.to/9IenR5
Kindle eBook $2.99 http://amzn.to/cqZX9P
What other genres do you write?
I’ve tried my hand at several—YA mystery suspense (my other new book is titled "DINGO"), adult fiction, poetry, non-Fiction, and screenwriting.

Q: What type of writing schedule do you have?

A: Now the children are grown and flown, I can write any time I choose, which is most of the day on one thing or another. I get up at 5.30 a.m. and fit speed walking, chores and meal making between writing.

Q: How do you handle life interruptions?

A: Interruptions are good breaks for me. If I type too long, I get neck and shoulder pain, so I welcome a change of pace—unless I’m in the middle of something that’s going particularly well, or coming to an end—then I grit my teeth and hit “save.” And I usually scribble down whatever thought was passing through my mind at the time, because I'm sure to forget it later.

Q: What else do you do besides writing?

A: My hobbies include vegetable and herb gardening, photography, and getting lost in great books. I’m a lousy cook, but we have to eat. Years ago in England, we reared goats, chickens, and bees, and I really enjoyed those times. As for travel, if it weren’t for children and grandchildren spread around the country, I’d be perfectly happy staying home. Travel seems such a huge, uncomfortable thing these days, but, like eating, it has to be done.

Q: Do you ever have self-doubts as to your skills?

A: Oh yes, all the time. If I dwelt on doubts, I would never get anything written. But they do serve a purpose. My doubts make me continue to read about the art of writing. There is much to learn and relearn. I attend writing conferences, also. They are great for rekindling enthusiasm, and an excellent resource.

Q: What have been some of your most successful work habits as a writer?

A: Probably my most successful habit is the ability to stay focused. And I'm happy to change a manuscript if it means a better story. Growing a thick skin against rejection was a tough one for me, because rejection feeds self-doubt. It never gets any easier to read, "Thanks for your manuscript, but . . .” However, these days I'm doing better at shrugging it off and battling on.

Q: Do you believe there is any "magic" formula to being published?

A: I’d love to know it if there is one. Sometimes, it seems more like good luck, striking the market at the right time, and combining that with huge marketing efforts.

Donna: Thank you for joining me today, Anne!

">Watch the YouTube Trailer here.

Protect the Heart, by guest blogger LK Hunsaker

Protect The Heart

LK Hunsaker

At the end of my most recent release, Protect The Heart, is an old photo. In it, five men of different ages stand posed with a barn in the background. The gray-haired man in the middle is my great grandfather. The others are his four sons, my great uncles. The two directly beside him are in uniform: one in dress uniform, the other in his bomber jacket. They were both Air Force pilots during WW2.

My ancestry is full of those who fought for this country, dating back to the Revolutionary War. Although I haven’t done so yet, I’m eligible to be a member of the DAR. The two younger ones in the photo also joined the Air Force as they became old enough. My grandfather tried to join but medical issues prevented it. He did do factory work that helped with the war effort. My uncle was in the Navy. My husband is a now-retired career vet with war service.

Perhaps that makes us sound like a bunch of scrappers, as they used to call them. Maybe there is some of that, but more true is that we have a very strong belief in standing up for what matters to us and fighting to protect it. My female ancestors were among those fighting for women’s rights. They were among the first women to attend college and receive masters degrees. They also held down the home front when their sons and brothers were away fighting.

I didn’t see my great uncles a lot when I was young, as they all lived elsewhere. When they did come to visit, I found them fascinating, as a child does when “distant” relatives come and are suddenly “part of” the family when you hardly know them. As I grew, I heard more of their stories. They didn’t talk much about their service. In particular, the eldest didn’t talk of his war experience, at least not to us young ones. It was in my nearly grown years when I finally “met” Max. He’s the one in full dress uniform, his hat tipped lightly to the side. I had seen a photo of him on Grandma’s wall every time I visited. He didn’t come home from the war, so I could only meet him through stories which didn’t come often. His loss was too hard on the family.

His story fascinated me through the years. That also tends to happen when you hear bits and pieces of something that has a certain draw to make you want to know more. Apparently, he had at least a bit of a scrapper streak and a lively personality. He was shot down over Japan. His brother, who met and fell in love with a Japanese woman, was taken out on her family’s property to an American plane that landed in their field. It was Max’s plane. Can you imagine being there at that point in history?

Of course there was some conflict in one son bringing a Japanese wife home after the other had been lost there. However, family is family and she did become part of it. I also found my Japanese great aunt fascinating when I had the chance to see her. She was a lovely woman with a pretty, contagious smile and her confusion about why Americans wasted so much land space on grass brought a new cultural outlook we never would have considered. Only recently have I found out that her husband, the uncle who did come home, was very highly decorated.

For many years during and after the war, our German heritage was kept quiet. Back in those days, it was necessary to keep it quiet. That fear and imposing guilt remained with my grandma throughout her life. We were Swiss, we were told. She would never say otherwise, except for the bit of Native, English, and French heritage. Well, yes, and maybe a bit Swiss. For the most part, we are German and Celtic. But first and foremost, we are Americans.

So, my newest release is a tribute to my family, past and present. It is set mainly in southern Idaho, on my husband’s old stomping grounds, and infuses some modern warfare experience with the feel of older days, to include the era of my great uncles and beyond that. It is not “historical” in the defined sense. It has an historical feel. It also has timeless societal issues. It is a “sweet” home front novel, complete with bits of poetry by Catherine Moore, whose father was also a soldier. Part of each *direct sale of Protect The Heart goes to BooksforBoots.org to provide emergency funds for recovering soldiers in military hospitals.

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Protect The Heart

Entrenched on his father's farm in southern Idaho's Snake River Valley, Abraham Luchner pulls up roots to join the war effort. Joined by his friend Cameron Terry, an impulsive adventure seeker, Abe determines to sever ties at home in order to minimize distractions. His greatest connection with his beloved canyon and farm is in the form of charcoal sketches he works on each night to escape his present conditions, as well as the letters Cameron reads aloud from his beloved.

Maura Laerty has been claimed as Cameron's betrothed in the eyes of the community. Determined not to become a war widow or caregiver of one more soul who needs her ongoing assistance, she refuses his proposal, at least until he returns. Despite her efforts, Maura soon finds herself saddled with responsibilities that tax her resolve and turn the townspeople away. Her greatest ally comes from a twist of fate as winding and unpredictable as the great Snake River itself.

Elucidate Publishing

May 2010

ISBN 978-0-9825299-2-8

*Direct sales are from ElucidatePublishing.net for print books and from Smashwords.com as ebooks. It is also available from most major online retailers.

Read the first two chapters here: http://www.lkhunsaker.com/ProtectTheHeart/main.htm

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Bio:

LK Hunsaker is the author of Finishing Touches, the Rehearsal series, and Off The Moon, all of which center around the arts. As a military spouse, she traveled widely, moved several times, and held down the home front during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. She has received inspiration from her family of recognized artists and highly honored service members, and education in the form of arts and psychology degrees. She is now settled in western Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.

Website: http://www.lkhunsaker.com

Giveaway: a copy of Protect The Heart either as pdf directly from the author or from Smashwords.com in the electronic format of your choice, plus signed bookmarks if a mailing address can be provided. To enter, comment on this post and ask to be entered.

Note: 3 print copies of Protect The Heart are now on Goodreads as a giveaway. If you’re a member, be sure to join in!