#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Doug Lawrence

I’d like to welcome Doug Lawrence back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Things you need for your writing sessions: Peace and quiet

Things that hamper your writing: Too many distractions

Word that describes you: Loyal

Word that describes you, but you wish it didn’t: Focused

Something you’re really good at: Doing the dishes

Something you’re really bad at: Cooking, but I am getting better at it now – thank God for an air fryer.

Last best thing you ate: Schnitzel

Last thing you regret eating: Liver

The last thing you ordered online: Copies of my book

The last thing you regret buying: A sweater

Things you always put in your books: Lived experiences

Things you never put in your books: References but I am getting better

Favorite places you’ve been: Dubai

Places you never want to go to again: China

Favorite things to do: Going for a long walk

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Bike ride

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Zip line

Something you chickened out from doing: Bunge jumping

The nicest thing a reader said to you: Reading your book is like sitting on a park bench, and you are there reading to me.\

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I can’t wait to read your next book – not bad for someone who never wrote a book before.

My favorite book as a child: The Hardy Boys

A book I’ve read more than once: The Hardy Boys

About Doug:

Doug Lawrence is the founder of TalentC® and Co-founder of the International Mentoring Community (IMC).  Doug has achieved the highest level of Mentoring certification – The Certificate of Practice - Journey Mentor (IMC). Currently, he alone holds this certification.

Serving as a Staff Sargent in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for 25 years, Doug retired in 1999. He is a volunteer mentor with the Sir Richard Branson Entrepreneur Program in the Caribbean and with the American Corporate Partners in the United States working with military personnel in their transition from military life to civilian life.

Doug through research has determined that there is a role for mentoring as a support for those struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). His experience in law enforcement coupled with working with people suffering from PTSD has afforded him a unique view of mentoring and mental health. In addition, Doug’s mentoring practice utilizes Effective Mentoring Processes, his system to help people on their mental health healing journey.

Doug works with people who are struggling with their healing journey. Doug lost his wife, Debra to cancer in 2021 and has since devoted his life to helping others with their healing journey.

Doug began his Mentoring Practice in 2009. He is an international speaker, mentor and international best selling author: The Gift of Mentoring (2014), You Are Not Alone (2022), and has launched The Silent Pandemic in April 2024. He has appeared in over 200 podcasts either as a guest or host to share his message about mentoring, mental health, and grief.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doug.lawrence.1610/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/douglawrence-mentor

Twitter: @DougLawrenceJM

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE4YC1GkfHrQtFYgYrf8baQ

Website: https://www.talentc.ca

#WriterWednesday Author Interview with Randi-Lee Bowslaugh

I’d like to welcome Randi-Lee Bowslaugh back to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Promoting the book.

Easiest thing about being a writer:  Being creative and getting the idea written.

Things you need for your writing sessions: Noise-cancelling headphones and a great playlist.

Things that hamper your writing: Mess around me. 

Words that describe you: Creative, eccentric, smart, honest

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Annoying, perfectionist, silly, blunt

Last best thing you ate: Gluten-free Skor butter tart from Bomb Bish

Last thing you regret eating: Chicken and frozen diced cauliflower that I made and really overspiced 

Favorite music or song: Punk Rock and Country

Music that drives you crazy: Most pop songs

The last thing you ordered online: Invisible fence dog collar (to keep my pup out of my garden). 

The last thing you regret buying: Slime for my kid - it stuck to the ceiling, and the purple spot is still there.

Things to say to an author: Keep going, write true to who you are, and you will find your audience.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Your books are boring cliches.

Favorite places you’ve been: Cuba, Parc Omega, Ireland, Salem

Places you never want to go to again: The hospital.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: High ropes course by Niagara Falls with a 40-foot drop at the end.

Something you chickened out from doing: Skydiving when my dad asked me to go with him. 

The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: Garth Brooks’ first album on cassette.

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: Screamo (but my child loves it).

My favorite book as a child: The Monster at the End of the Book - featuring Grover by Jon Stone

A book I’ve read more than once:  Acheron by Sherilyn McQueen

Your favorite movie as a child: The Labyrinth (and it still is)

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): “The People Under the Stairs”

About Randi-Lee:

Randi-Lee is an outspoken advocate for mental health, a YouTube host of the Write or Die Show and a public speaker. She is the mother of two grown children, a grandmother, and a wife. She has dealt with depression for more than half her life, and was diagnosed late in life with Autism and CPTSD. She wants others to have the tools they need to keep going.

Randi-Lee graduated from Niagara College for Community and Justice Services and completed a placement at a Drug and Alcohol Recovery House. She worked in social services for six years before becoming an author and focusing on speaking out.
She has represented Team Canada twice in kickboxing, earning a silver medal in 2016. She took a year's break after having cancer. She returned as a kickboxing coach, personal trainer and yoga instructor until chronic pain made it difficult. She continues to fight to regain her life.

Her motto is never to let “too tired keep her down” and wants others to know they are not alone.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rbwriting/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/randileebowslaugh/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@randileebowslaugh
Substack: https://substack.com/@randileebowslaugh?
Website: https://www.rbwriting.ca
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@randileebowslaugh
Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/randileebowslaugh
Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/stores/Randi-Lee-Bowslaugh/author/B08QJTS9T9?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

What's on Your Summer Reading List?

What is on your summer reading list?

Last month, I asked my newsletter readers what was on their list for their summer reading. These are in no particular order, but I think it’s going to take me longer than just the summer to get through all the great suggestions.

• The Lumber Baron's Wife by Lynn Austin

• The Bookshop of 99 Doors by Jaime Jo Wright

• Murder Local Style by Leslie Karst

• Murder Plays Second Fiddle by Heather Weidner (Squee!)

• Circle of Influence by Annette Dashofy

• The Boat House

• Pretty Beach

• Palm Beach Rogues

• Cleo Dang Would Rather be Dead by Mai Nguyen

• 26 Beauties: A Women’s Murder Club by James Patterson (Several people chose this.)

• Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

• Shipwrecked Faith by Danielle Grandinetti

• The Well-Placed Lie by Kari Lee Townsend

• Brighter Than Before by Courtney Walsh

• Jessie’s Girl by Lauren Biel

• The Aloha Lagoon series

• Echoes of Memory by Sara Driscoll

• Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey

• The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick

• The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick

• All That Lies Beneath by D. L. Wood

• A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

• Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

• Harsh Winters by John Randall

• Our Secret Summer by R. S. Grey

• The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees.

• Whiskey Business by Adrian Andover

• The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan

• Tabby Trouble by Emmie Lyn

• Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst

• Secret Lives and Private Eyes by Heather Weidner (Squeee again!)

• Last To Fall by Lynn H. Blackburn

• Clawed and Dangerous by Rita Mae Brown (more than one person recommended this)

• The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris by Mark Pryor

• Denise Grover Swank’s books

• Abigail Keam’s books

• A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz

• M. C. Beaton’s books

• Ellen Riggs’ Bought the Farm Mysteries

• Knight’s Storm by Katie Reus

• A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

• Outliers: Team Two by S. A. Hoag

• Knight’s Obsession by Katie Reus

• Teddy Bears and Ghostly Lairs by Heather Weidner (Squeeee!)

• Phaedra Patrick’s books

• D. L. Woods’ books

• Freida McFadden’s books

• City Hall by Bentley Little

• Revival by Stephen King

• Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates

• Memory Man by David Baldacci

• The Library of Amorlin by Kalyn Josephson

• Soulgazer by Maggie Rapier

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Kathleen Kaska

I’d like to welcome the wonderful Kathleen Kaska to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time:

I love just hanging around with my husband, watching baseball, reading, and enjoying the outdoors. I love going for a long run, hiking through the forestland, and beachcombing.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list:

Trying to figure out anything on the computer that requires technical support.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave:

Peace and quiet and a bottle of water.

Things that distract you from writing: Knowing that I have a lot of promoting to do. It’s an unnerving balancing act.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Tying up loose ends before I hit the send button to submit the manuscript to my publisher.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Creating characters. I’m a pantster, and characters just appear when I need them to. It’s like they enter my imagination and tell me their story. All I have to do is listen and write it down.

Favorite snacks: Potato chips

Things that make you want to gag: Cotton candy

Something you’re really good at: Baking scones. I have two secrets to making fabulous scones.

Something you’re really bad at: Resisting eating too many of the scones I bake.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid:

I wanted to be either a dancer or an artist. Later in life, I actually took art lessons, and now I’m taking Zumba classes, so I guess these dreams have come true on an amateurish level.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do:

When I was a kid, I never dreamed of being a writer.

Last best thing you ate: Shrimp and Cheese Grits and Oysters Bienville at Felix Oyster Bar in New Orleans. 

Last thing you regret eating: Pickled herring

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Scuba diving. Being 80 feet under water took some getting used to.

Something you chickened out of doing: Zip-lining. I’m terribly afraid of heights.

The nicest thing a reader said to you:

After my first mystery, Murder at the Arlington, was released, I received a two-page handwritten letter from a housekeeper who worked at the Arlington Hotel, where the book was set, telling me how wonderful it was.

The craziest thing a reader said to you:

I was selling my book, The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: the Robert Porter Allen Story, at The Whooping Crane Festival in Texas. This book took me seven years to write, and it was a labor of love. All my proceeds were (are) donated to various whooping crane conservation groups. A woman picked it up, looked through it, and tossed it back on the table, complaining the print was too small.

Best piece of advice you received from another writer:

The best piece of writing advice I ever received was “just finish the book.”

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing:

It’s not only satisfying and enjoyable but also agonizing and worrisome. And don’t ever assume you know everything about writing because it’s a continuous learning process.

Recommendations for curing writer’s block:

Take a break, go for a walk, and let your mind clear. That’s when I get some of my best ideas. This also helps me figure out how to handle a difficult scene or what to write in the next chapter.

Things you do to avoid writing:

I don’t necessarily avoid writing, but if I need to get in the mood to write, I organize my desk, make sure my room is straightened up, and everything is in its place, so I’m not distracted by the annoying thing I have to do.

About Kathleen:

Kathleen Kaska writes the award-winning Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series, the Kate Caraway Animal-Rights Mystery Series, and the Mystery Trivia series, which includes The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book, published by Lyons Press. Her Holmes short story, “The Adventure at Old Basingstoke,” appears in Sherlock Holmes of BAKING Street, a Belanger Books anthology. She founded The Dogs in the Nighttime Sherlock Holmes Society, a scion of The Baker Street Irregulars. Her latest Sydney Lockhart mystery, Murder at the Pontchartrain, winner of the PenCraft Award for best mystery series, is set in New Orleans at the Pontchartrain Hotel. Kathleen is the winner of the Amity Literary Award for her novel, Death Without Dignity, scheduled for release in 2027. A Texan at heart, she remains a Texan, even though she now lives in a small coastal town in the Pacific Northwest, where it’s cooler, and there is no traffic. 

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://www.kathleenkaska.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/www.kathleenkaska.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kathleenkaska

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/KKaskaAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenkaska/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/search/authors?search=Kathleen%20Kaska

Book Links:

Anamcara Press: https://anamcara-press.com/product/murder-at-the-faust/

Amazon https://shorturl.at/v3bFQ

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-at-the-faust-kathleen-kaska/1149679615?ean=9781960462862

#WriterWednesday Interview with Carol Floriani

I’d like to welcome the wonderful Carol Floriani to the blog for #WriterWednesday. Keep reading and check out her new mystery! I was able to read an early copy, and it’s wonderful!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Sitting down in front of my laptop and staring at a blank screen.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Typing “The End” after completing a manuscript.

Words that describe you: Super-organized, introverted, impatient.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Super-organized, introverted, impatient.

 Something you’re really good at: Procrastinating
Something you’re really bad at: I’ll get back to you.

The last thing you ordered online: Disposable champagne flutes for the launch party for Invitation to Murder.

The last thing you regret buying:  A “miracle” swimsuit that was less than miraculous.

Things you’d walk a mile for:  I would walk more than a mile along a long and winding road to see Paul McCartney in concert.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Standing around in high heels trying to make small talk at cocktail parties.

Favorite books (or genre):  Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Fantasy genre.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Years ago, I was kissed on the cheek by Shamu the Killer Whale in Sea World, San Diego. The trainer had me stand in a designated place next to the whale’s pool and then she signaled for him to jump up and give me a smooch.  Oh, to be 25 and fearless (or crazy?)!

Something you chickened out from doing: Downhill skiing in the Berkshires in Massachusetts.

The funniest thing to happen to you: After heading to the concession stand to get some snacks at Yankee Stadium, I mistakenly returned to the section adjacent to ours and, of course, I searched in vain for my husband and daughter. Suddenly everyone in my correct section started yelling “Carol,” and I finally got to my proper seat.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: When I was a publicist at Simon & Schuster many years ago, I was on tour with an Oscar-winning actor who had written a memoir. I had arranged for him to play tennis, which he loved to do, right before lunch. We were on a very tight schedule with several television, radio, and print interviews arranged, and as we were heading to the racket club in Chicago, he decided to save time by changing into his tennis clothes in the back of the limo as I was sitting right beside him. I tried to remain nonchalant. I don’t want to drop any names, but his Oscar-winning role rhymes with Hen-Bur.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: James Taylor.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Phil Collins.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I could totally relate to your book.”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: From a reader review, “The characters’ names are so aggressively fictional they break any sense of immersion.”  (Huh?)

The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: A Hard Day’s Night, the soundtrack vinyl album. I was 10 years old and had a little record player in my room.

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: Hip-hop, Rap, Jazz.

My favorite book as a child: The Silver Spoon Mystery from the Scholastic Book Club and the Little Golden Book, Duck and His Friends.  I still have both.

A book I’ve read more than once: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

About Carol:

After studying at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and graduating from Rider University, Carol Floriani worked for many years in the editorial and publicity departments of a Big Five publisher before ultimately embarking on her writing career. In addition to Invitation to Murder, her debut cozy mystery from Crooked Lane Books, she has written two previously published young adult novels, A Summer to Remember by Carol Robertson (Pocket Books/First Love from Silhouette) and Dancing in the Dark by Carolyn Ross (Bantam/Sweet Dreams). 

Let’s Be Social:

Website: carolflorianiauthor.com     

Instagram: @carolflorianiauthor 

Facebook: (Carol Floriani Author) https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566913933568

Why I Am an Author Newsletter Convert

Before I was published, I subscribed to tons of author newsletters. Many of them arrived weekly, and there wasn’t much content. I didn’t see the value in constantly sharing “buy my book” announcements. I unsubscribed to a bunch, and I also didn’t focus on building my email list or my newsletter as part of my platform for a long time.

Later on in my journey, I talked with a publicist who stressed the importance of having a list that you OWN. When Twitter became X, I quickly realized how easy it was to lose followers that I had no way to contact. (My follower list on that platform dropped by thousands in a matter of weeks.) I decided to focus on my email list and to send out a newsletter.

The publicist focused on the importance of a regular newsletter schedule that was not sent too often or one sent too infrequently. I tried quarterly, but it felt like too much time had elapsed between contacts. I settled on monthly. I looked at the analytics from my email service and picked a day and a time where I had the most activity. It’s now on my calendar as a monthly task.

Then I had to decide what to include. I add new things and see how they are received. I am at the point now that I receive a lot of feedback and comments on my newsletter. And I love to talk to readers. I also have sections where I link to blogs or other items. For the links, I can check my analytics to see how many were opened. That helps me decide what to continue and what to replace.

People are busy, and they don’t have time to linger on emails. I try to have short informational paragraphs, links to key items, and bright graphics to separate each section.

Here are some things that I usually include:

• A welcome to new subscribers

• A brief section of what is going on in my life and my writing life

• A fun fact about my books or series

• Highlights of 6-8 authors that I have featured on my blog lately

• Writers’ Corner - A section full of links to blogs about writing that I have posted recently

• A list of upcoming events

• Photos of recent events

• A give-away of some sort and a congratulations to the last winner

• And information on any book sales

If you’re interested in checking it out, here is the link to subscribe.

What do you include in your newsletter?

#ThisorThat Author Interview with Rosalie Spielman

The amazing Rosalie Spielman is my guest today for #ThisorThatThursday. Check out her latest in her fun series!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Read and cross stitch, not at the same time.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Household chores. (Unless it’s editing time, then my house is sparkling clean!)

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Other than the obvious (computer), I need coffee (and my heated coffee coaster) and my white board.

Things that distract you from writing: The internet, phone games.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Overcoming fear and uncertainty to hit “send” on a new manuscript!

Easiest thing about being a writer: Thinking of things to write about. Maybe not things for the current project…but there are always “plot bunnies” hopping around in my head.  

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: A photo frame. I got one for my mom and mother-in-law, and recently my daughter. We can send photos to each other’s frames.

The thing you wished you’d never bought. Shoes and a racket for tennis. As if.

Favorite snacks: Dark chocolate-covered fruits and nuts.

Things that make you want to gag: Eggplant. The texture. *shudder*

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: A spy.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Write books!

Last best thing you ate: Cold brew brownie ice cream from a local ice cream shop.

Last thing you regret eating: Cole slaw. For my guts, it’s like eating a Brillo pad.

Things to say to an author: “I loved your book!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “I found your book for free on *insert scam website* and loved it!” (Please, folks, request at your local library instead of stealing.)

The most exciting thing about your writing life: Meeting readers.

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: I wish I had made Welcome Home to Murder my debut.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “Genius!” about one of my short stories. (I’m looking at you, Susan.)

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “Genius!” about one of my short stories. (I’m still looking at you, Susan.)

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Don’t compare yourself to other writers. Every writer, every story, is different.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Don’t try to make your writing process fit someone else’s. Do what works for you.

Recommendations for curing writer’s block: Just write. Anything. A character bio and description, a list of cars the characters drive, what they like to eat, what their house looks like, something that happened to them when they were younger… Anything to get you back into or keep you in their world.

Things you do to avoid writing: Doom scrolling. Ugh.

About Rosalie:

Rosalie Spielman is an award-winning author, mother, veteran, and retired military spouse who finds joy in giving people a humorous escape from the real world. In addition to the Hometown Mysteries, she has contributed to the Aloha Lagoon mysteries and several short story anthologies. Rosalie is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Military Writers Society of America, and Women Writing the West. For more information on her books or to subscribe to her newsletter, go to www.rosalie-spielman-author.com Rosalie strives to provide you an escape...one page at a time.

Let’s Be Social:

new release link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GTN7KZ6Q

FB: Rosalie Spielman author

IG: rosalie.spielman

Website: www.Rosalie-Spielman-author.com

#WriterWednesday Interview with Edwina Perkins

I’d like to welcome Edwina Perkins to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Making time to write. Being involved in so many different avenues in the publishing industry, I allow myself to use my best time to do other things instead of writing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Working with other writers. I love pouring into the lives of other writers and watching them soar with their careers.

Things you need for writing sessions: Coffee but most of all I need consistency. I have my office in our guest bedroom, and when I walk into the room, I know I’m going there to work. Finding new locations doesn’t motivate me to write, it usually causes me stress because of the distractions around me. I still have my cup of coffee with me at home.

Things that hamper my writing: Not saying no. The thing I love most about being a writer also can hamper my writing. I usually say yes to coaching and mentoring other writers, but sometimes I need to guard my personal writing time and be willing to say no.

Words that describe you: loyal, welcoming, purposeful, generous

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Intimidating, gullible

Something you’re really good at: Cooking. I grew up in the south with a mom who knew how to cook good old-fashioned southern food. When my husband and I gathering with friends, I’ve been asked to bring certain dishes from homemade rolls to chicken and dumplings.

Something I’m really bad at: Saying no. I don’t want to disappoint others.

Last thing you ate: Au jus sandwich and chips that my husband brought me. When I’m focused on my work, I forget to eat. On days he’s home from work, he’ll ask me once or twice if I’ve eaten, then will make me something to be sure I eat.

Last thing you regret eating: How wings with additional hot sauce. I didn’t know it had additional sauce. My mouth tingled for the rest of the evening.

The last thing you ordered online: Emotion support animal stickers. Everyone needs encouragement and I gave them away at a brunch I attended.

The last thing you regret buying: Business cards that didn’t look anything like what I thought I was getting.

Thinks you always put in your books: Things that seem simple, carry truth and are memorable. With my fiction I want to share things that may seem simple but are deeper in meaning. Fiction allows me to share truths in a way that allows people to think. And Memorable? I don’t want someone to read my novel and say, “that was nice,” but I want people to discuss the book and reflect on subject matter they haven’t thought about.

Things you never put in your books: A perfect ending. Satisfying isn't the same as perfect. Life leaves things unresolved. So do my characters.

Things to say to an author: Writing is a marathon, not a sprint, and part of that marathon is learning about the publishing industry. Any writer who is serious about writing needs to be serious about learning and improving their craft. James Scott Bell said something at my first writers’ conference I will never forget. “As a writer you must develop rhino skin, and you will still bleed.” That quote helped me to keep going even when I wanted to quit.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: My cousin writes too. You should connect.

Favorite things to do: I love crafting, but I go all in on one craft, then move on to the next. One year, I made twenty quilts, followed by making doll clothes for our daughter and her friends. Then specialized sweatshirts that sold at Nordstrom. Then Christmas angels out of crepe paper. With every season, God provided. Those crafts sold when our family needed the funds the most. Now I'm into Diamond Art. Some still sell, but mostly it's just therapy for my soul.

Things you’d run through fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Well, won’t do again. I hate heights. Once I was stranded in the top cabin of a Ferris wheel with four young kids. They ran from side to side rocking the cabin, afraid of being stuck forever. I prayed and once my feet touched the ground, I promised myself, never again. I’d rather eat bugs, and I hate bugs.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I broke an arrow with my neck. It was a trust exercise where a wooden arrow was positioned with the sharp metal tip directly against the soft notch of my throat. I focused on a personal goal or a fear I wanted to break through, and walked forward, putting pressure on the arrow until it snaps. The exercise is safe when guided, but don’t try this at home.

Something you chickened out from doing: Ziplining. Nope, absolutely not. Remember, I don’t like heights.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: I can hear your voice as I read your book.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “I just had to meet you! You’re famous!” This was before I published anything.

My favorite book as a child: The Night the Toys Came to Life by Enid Blyton. I loved that book and I believed the story was true. That’s why I always took good care of my toys. During the Christmas holidays, I made a bed on the floor for all my stuff animals. I thought if other stuff animals came to visit at Christmas, they would want to stay when they saw I took care of my other toys.

Your favorite movie as a child: Oscar and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. That’s where my love of musicals came from.

About Edwina:

Edwina Perkins serves as Co-Director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, where she also coordinates Mentoring Moments and manages Sensitivity Between the Lines. As Managing Editor for Harambee Press, an imprint of End Game Press, she champions diverse voices in Christian publishing.

A long-term member of Word Weavers International, Edwina now serves on its advisory board alongside her role on the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association (ECPA) advisory board, where she previously served as Emerging Leader Coordinator.

An award-winning writer and experienced educator, Edwina works as a speaker, freelance editor, mentor, and authenticity consultant. She teaches at conferences throughout the year, advocating for honest, inclusive storytelling in Christian fiction. Her work has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: HOME | Edwina Perkins

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinaperkins/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581949774839