Welcome Harlequin Love Inspired Author Patricia Davids!

Patricia Davids is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 25 Inspiration and Amish romance novels. Her book, A Home for Hannah, won the Romantic Times Review's Choice Award for Best Love Inspired Novel of 2012. She was a finalist in both the Review's Choice Awards and the National Reader's Choice Awards in 2011. In Nov. of 2013 her trilogy, Christmas Bride of Amish County landed her on the USA Today bestsellers list. She has sold over 2,000,000 books world-wide since her first novel appeared in stores in 2006.

Born and raised in central Kansas, Patricia has found a way to combine her Midwest values and sense of humor into emotionally rich stories that deal with contemporary subjects. Her Amish novels have become increasingly popular with readers who are looking for books with a bit of nostalgia, a sweet romance, and a measure of faith in our turbulent world. Patricia currently resides with her family and her dogs in Wichita, Kansas.

THE AMISH MIDWIFE
Amish midwife Anne Stoltzfus is used to late-night visitors—but she's shocked to find reclusive bachelor Joseph Lapp on her doorstep with a baby in his arms. Their neighborly quarrels are pushed aside when Joseph explains that his sister has left her daughter in his care—and Joseph needs Anne to be her nanny.

Soon they're bonding over baby Leah, and the love they feel for her is healing them both. When Joseph makes an offer of marriage, Anne's painful past resurfaces and she's unsure of what to do. But taking a chance could mean love—and family—are waiting just across the fence.

READ A LITTLE, BUY THE BOOK

http://www.amazon.com/Amish-Midwife-Lancaster-Courtships/dp/037387992X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Jan Schliesman: How often do you Get Lost In A Story?

Patricia Davids: I'm a little ashamed to admit that I don't read for pleasure the way I used to. I have four books out in 2015. That kind of schedule doesn't leave me much time to read for more than research. Don't feel sorry for me. I love research. I can spend hours reading about topics like dairy goats and pumpkins as I did for my new release, The Amish Midwife. Before I became a writer, it was nothing for me to read three books or more a week. I was an AVID reader. I do miss those days and when my schedule permits, I'm going to become a reader again.

Jan: Like many authors, writing was your second career. What did all of those rejected stories teach you? If you could do it differently, would you go back and change anything?

Patricia: You're right. My first career was as a neonatal nurse. I loved it, but I had dreamed about writing a novel from the time I was in high school. Rejection letters taught me that persistence pays off. It was my intent to make each and every editor who rejected me sorry for passing on such talent. It also taught me that ice cream soothes many wounds.

Jan:  What is your definition of romance?

Patricia: Really? Couldn't you ask me what is the meaning of life instead?

Romance is so many different things to different people. Its meaning has changed for me over the years, as well. Once it was a pulse-pounding rush that made me want to die if he didn't kiss me. The only place I felt complete was in his arms. Later, it was as simple as a shared glance across a crowded room. When our eyes met, we both smiled. Always. It was seeing the love spring into his eyes when he caught sight of me. That was romance, baby.

Jan: This year marked your 25^th release with Harlequin. Congratulations! All of your stories have been through the Love Inspired imprint. How did you stumble upon your niche?

Patricia: Rejections drove me to it. No kidding.

Before that story, I have to share a secret. Not all of my books have been Love Inspired. I have another identity. I published a contemporary cowboy story for Harlequin's Superromance line under the pen name of Hope Navarre called A Ranch for His Family. Because it wasn't inspirational, my editor suggested I use a different name. I was okay with that because when I first dreamed of writing, I wanted to be Hope Navarre, Romance Author. It has such a cool ring to it. And, I grew up on a farm between Hope and Navarre Kansas.

Okay. Back to how my rejections drove me to the inspirational market.

I love my heroes. My heroines are okay women, but I love my heroes. In the early days of my career, many of my rejection letters said my hero was just "too nice a guy." I can't help it. I like nice guys. However, they weren't popular or selling in the secular market. They were looking for alpha heroes.

I belong to a writing group called the Wichita Area Romance Authors and at one of their meetings, I heard author Deborah Raney talk about the growing inspirational market. It was truly a lightbulb over the head moment. I knew I needed to send my stories to where they liked nice guys. I revised my third completed manuscript and my agent sent it out to a number of inspirational publishing houses. I quickly got a boat load of rejections because I didn't understand what elements an inspirational story needed. However, Joan Marlow Golan, (a brilliant former editor for Harlequin) saw something she liked in my voice. Her letter to me was one paragraph about what a great writer I was and three pages of suggested revisions. It was painful, but I made those changes and BOOM, I was a published author. My first book came out in 2006.  

My switch to Amish romance came because my editor Emily Rodmell saw how popular Amish fiction was becoming back in 2009 and asked me to develop a series for Love Inspired. That series ended up being 13 books and one novella. The genre remains very popular with readers. If as a reader you're turned off by inspirational fiction because you feel it is preachy, try one of mine. I don't preach. Yes, the faith element is an integral part of the story but only because the CHARACTERS live that way. The REAL STORY IS THE ROMANCE. 

Jan: What snacks always occupy your writing space?

Patricia: That's easy. Coffee, coffee, more coffee, almonds, black licorice and at rare times, dark chocolate. Oh, and coffee.

Jan: What does a typical writing day look like for you? Any rituals you following while writing a book? 

Patricia: My divorced daughter and her two children live with me along with two dogs. No day is typical. I do like to write late at night. 10 pm until 2 am are my most productive times, but when I'm a week past my deadline, I have been known to write for 48 hours straight with only a few 30 minute naps. Honest. I love that kind of from-the-gut writing. I do my best work then.

Jan:  What’s the best writing advice you’ve received?  What would you share with new authors?

Patricia: My dear friend Roxann Delaney once told me I had to understand my character's deep internal motivation. If the character is driven by that motivation, makes decisions based on the motivation, then they become a believable character.

If you want to be a writer, always remember that publishing is a small world. Be professional. An editor who once rejected me is now Executive Editor for Love Inspired, the line I write for. She is delighted at my success and her reason for rejecting me was never personal.  

Jan: If you could live anywhere but Kansas, where would you go?  

Patricia: The coast of Maine in a heartbeat. Peaks Island to be exact. I love it there.

Jan: What do you like to do in your spare time?

Patricia: Spare time? You're talking to someone who puts out three to four books a year. Who has spare time?

I cook, I clean, I do yard work, I play with the dogs and when the itch can't be ignored, I grab my pole and go fishing. Or, I go to Maine, or Montana, or somewhere else I enjoy visiting.

Jan’s GOTTA ASK: 

Patricia’s GOTTA ANSWER: Black Walnut, hands down. Don't feed me anything else unless it is vanilla on a slice of hot cherry pie. (Okay, you could twist my arm and make me eat any Haagen-Dazs flavor and I would still be your friend for life.)

FIND PATRICIA DAVIDS:

Contact: pat@patriciadavids.com

Website: www.patriciadavids.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatriciaDavidsAuthor?fref=ts

Coming up next: Patricia's second book in her Amish Bachelors series, An Amish Noel, will be out on Dec 1st. 

HUGE THANKS to Patricia for a wonderful interview! As an added bonus, Patricia is giving away TWO copies of her latest release, The Amish Midwife!

Click below for your chance to WIN!

Patricia has a question for today's readers:

In recent years, the inspirational market has been flooded with Amish romances. As a reader, what do you feel makes a "good" Amish romance?

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E.E. Burke's New Release: FUGITIVE HEARTS

Order from Amazon, ibooks,
Kobo or Google Play

What shapes a hero? 

Violent events in America's past shaped the character of Frank Garrity, the hero in my new release, Fugitive Hearts.

This character was inspired by stories I’d read about a period of time preceding the Civil War, a time of unspeakable violence on the border between Missouri and Kansas. 

In fact, the fighting became so intense the state was dubbed for a time, “Bleeding Kansas." 

Trading Post, Kansas, near the Marais Des Cygnes River, is about an hour down the highway from where I live. This unincorporated town is reputed to be the longest continuously occupied community in Kansas, established in 1825 as (you guessed it) a trading post with the Osage Indians.

For years I drove by this tiny spot on the map and had no idea of the monumental impact it had on this region and the whole United States. In 1858, a brutal massacre on “free state” men occurred just a few miles away. John Brown built a "fort" close by to protect fellow abolitionists and plotted vengeance on slave owners, which culminated with his raid on Harper’s Ferry Virginia, a year later. From trading post, Kansas Senator Jim Lane and his infamous Jayhawkers launched a retaliatory raid on southern sympathizers in Missouri in 1861. 

All this from a little place called Trading Post. 

Nearby is the site of the Marais des Cynes Massacre, which inspired John Brown to greater violence, spurred Jim Lane to attack Missouri, and arguably lit the spark that started a Civil War. 

Did you know?

Kansas suffered the highest rate of fatal casualties of any Union state, largely because of its great internal divisions over the issue of slavery.

The bloodiest single incident in the Kansas-Missouri border struggles (1854-1861) occurred May 19, 1858, when thirty pro-slavery Missourians seized eleven Kansas ‘Free-State’ men and marched them to a creek bed near Trading Post. The eleven men were lined up execution style and promptly shot, for no other reason than being in support of a Free State.

The incident shocked the nation and galvanized abolitionists.

A few weeks later, John Brown arrived and built a two-story log “fort” (about 14 x 18 feet), which he occupied with a few men through that summer.  That December he led a raid into Missouri and liberated eleven slaves, killing one white man in the process. Ultimately, he took his fight east to Virginia, where after his ill-fated raid he was captured and hanged. Later that same year, Kansans rejected a proslavery constitution and entered the Union as a “free state” in 1861. 

A follower of Brown bought his property near Trading Post and later, at the site of the fort, built a stone house that still stands there today. The building and grounds are now part of a State Historical Site. 

Visiting this and other historical sites caught up in the bloody conflict, I thought about how the "border war" changed the lives of everyday people for decades to come. Out of this bit of history came the character of the sheriff in Fugitive Hearts. 

Here's an excerpt where Frank reveals an inkling of his past, and his pain, to Claire:

“My mother transplanted trailing roses from our home in Missouri when we moved to a farm just over the border in what was at the time Kansas Territory.” Frank could see in his mind’s eye the profuse vines, heavy with blooms, and his mother’s lined, weathered face, her proud smile. “They spread up a trellis on the side of the house. I can remember how they smelled when the window was open and there was a breeze.”

For years, the scent of roses had reminded him of his mother. Then he’d met Claire. Her soft fragrance reminded him of all he’d lost and made him long for things he wasn’t destined to have, like a stable home and a family. His spirits sank further.

“Are the roses still there?”

“Don’t know. I haven’t been back since she died ten years ago.”

“You don’t have family living there?”

No one lived at the deserted farm. He didn’t know why he hadn’t sold the place.

“No, my sisters live in Missouri with their husbands and families. They’re quite a bit older than me. They married before my parents moved to Kansas in fifty-seven.”

For years, Frank had kept the window on his past firmly shut. Feeling safe with Claire, he opened it. “A year after we moved, southern raiders crossed the border. They rounded up a dozen free-state men, including my father, took them to a ravine and shot them. Murdered them just because they opposed slavery.”

Claire’s eyes were deep pools of sympathy. She had a gift for being able to connect with another person’s pain. Or maybe it was something that was just between the two of them. Whatever it was, it had the same effect on him as bathing in a sun-warmed lake.

“How old were you when your father was killed?”

“Sixteen.”

“That’s too young to lose your father…” A small crease marred her smooth forehead, a sign she was thinking. “You’re thirty-three.”

She said it like she’d compared him to Methuselah.

“Hard to believe with all this gray hair.” Not to mention the extra years carved into his face. He sure felt like he’d lived three lifetimes.

She touched her hair self-consciously. “I’m sure I look older than twenty-eight.”

“Not by a minute.” What a relief to be able to make an honest statement.

Her eyes shone with gratitude, even as her lips twisted in a rueful smile. “Let’s just say we’ve both put a lot of living into our few years.”

She’d been a young bride tied to a broken soldier. He’d spent half his life pursuing justice, which had turned out to be an elusive ideal rather than a hard and fast principle.

“Living isn’t what I’d call it.”

Fugitive Hearts will be released on Tuesday, July 28. You can preorder from Amazon, ibookstore, Kobo or Google Play

Let's Celebrate!

#BestOfTheWest Heroes and Book Release Party
Hosted by E.E. Burke and Angi Morgan
Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central
RSVP http://bit.ly/FugitiveHeartsParty

Chat with your favorite Western romance authors from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central. The all-star cast includes many of my former Best of the West guests: Kathleen Rice Adams, Rosanne Bittner, Linda Broday, B.J. Daniels, Becky Lower, Cindy Nord, Kirsten Osbourne, Kaki Warner and Beth Williamson.

Enter drawings to win books, gift cards and goodies, these generous authors are bringing to the party to help me celebrate my new release.

I'm starting the celebration a little early with a drawing for my GLIAS readers and a giveaway. Enter to win:

FREE on Amazon

1 signed copy, Her Bodyguard

1 signed copy, Passion's Prize

1 signed copy, A Dangerous Passion

You may download my debut novella, Kate's Outlaw, FREE on Amazon from Friday, July 25 to Tuesday, July 28. 

What historical sites have you visited that had a big impact on you, or inspired a story? 

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