CFBA TOUR: Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa

Summerside Press (March 1, 2010)

by

Melanie Dobson





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Melanie Beroth Dobson is the author of the inspirational novels Together for Good (2006), Going for Broke (2007), The Black Cloister (2008), Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana (2009), Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa (2010), Refuge on Crescent Hill (2010), and The Silent Order (2010) as well as the co-author of Latte for One and Loving It! A Single Woman's Guide to Living Life to Its Fullest (2000).



Prior to launching Dobson Media Group in 1999, Melanie was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family where she was responsible for the publicity of events, products, films, and TV specials. Melanie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Liberty University and her master's degree in communication from Regent University. She has worked in the fields of publicity and journalism for fifteen years including two years as a publicist for The Family Channel.



Melanie and her husband, Jon, met in Colorado Springs in 1997 at Vanguard Church. Jon works in the field of computer animation. Since they've been married, the Dobsons have relocated numerous times including stints in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Berlin, and Southern California. These days they are enjoying their new home in the Pacific Northwest.



Jon and Melanie have adopted their two daughters —Karly (6) and Kinzel (5). When Melanie isn't writing or entertaining their girls, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, traveling, hiking, line dancing, and reading inspirational fiction.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Times are hard in 1894. Desperate for work, former banker Jacob Hirsch rides the rails west from Chicago with his four-year-old daughter, Cassie. When a life-threatening illness strands the pair in Homestead, Iowa, the local Amana villagers welcome the father and daughter into their peaceful society. Liesel, a young Amana woman, nurses Cassie back to health, and the Homestead elders offer Jacob work. But Jacobs growing interest in Liesel complicates his position in the Amanas. Will he fight to stay in the only place that feels like home, even if it means giving up the woman he loves? Or will Liesel leave her beloved community to face the outside world with Jacob and Cassie at her side?



If you would like to read the first chapter of Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa, go HERE.

PLEASE NOTE: A complimentary copy of this book was provided to the me as a blog tour host by the publisher in exchange for posting this interview on my blog.

Harry Potter

This weekend the kids and I watched a Harry Potter marathon. We love Harry Potter. The kids enjoy the movies and I loved the books.

For the last book, our main Library had a big event to celebrate the book. They turned the library into Hogwarts. I think I had more fun than the kids did. There were trivia games, costume contests and video games. It was one of the best book events I’ve ever attended.

The movies introduced me to the books, because I wanted to see if they lived up to the movies. They were even better. I just loved the vivid imagination of Ms. Rowling. She took a simple idea and ran with it. Yes there are many books about witches, but she expanded on her idea and made it an adventure for the reader.

I know a lot of people didn’t like the books but as I told my children it’s not real life its fiction.

I’ve learned from these books that anything is possible when you’re writing. Let your imagination flow and don’t let the word intimidate you.

If you are a Harry Potter fan, what did you like about the writing?

Resources On The Net

Over at SORMAG our theme is Resources On The Net. I decided to day to share a few blogs I like to visit.

Patricia Woodside – Shares her writing experiences and keeps you up todate on the literary industry
http://readinnwritin.blogspot.com/

Rachel Gardner is an agent who shares her wisdom about the business
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/

Penny Pinching Diva - Are you a fugal mom, this is great blog to visit. She shares more ways to save.
http://pennypinchingdiva.com

Jim’s Marketing Blog – Want to learn about marketing for your business this is the blog to read
http://jimsmarketingblog.com/

Hip to Save - Are you into coupons? This sites know where to find them.
http://hip2save.com/

Lion Brand Yarn - Do you like to knit or crochet. This site has some great patterns.
www.lionbrand.com

Grey Anatomy – Are you a fan? Check out what their writer’s blog has to say.
http://www.greyswriters.com/


Please feel free to share the blogs you don’t miss.

Hanging with my son

I’ve never had the desire to be a stay at home mom. I enjoy working and some days I can’t wait to get out of the house. Then every now and then I want to stay home with the little ones.

Last Friday my daughter had a picture displayed at the St. Louis Zoo, so I decided to take a vacation day and hang out with the three year old. He’d never been to the zoo, so I thought after art festival we would walk around the zoo.

He enjoyed seeing the animals. I was impressed by his knowledge of many of the animals. I think it was still sleepy time for most of them, so he laughed at how some of them slept with their legs in the air. He roared at the lions and was amazed by how tall my favorite animal, the giraffe is.

His favorite parts of the zoo were riding the carousel and the train. He’s a big train buff; he even had on his Thomas the Train shirt. He got a kick out of saying, “All aboard”

I promised him that we would come back again to the zoo for another adventure. This time we would bring his brother and sister along.

Even though I work full time, I’ve always made time for my children. I enjoy my one on one time with them. They are growing up so fast; I hope that they too enjoy our time together.

What’s happening with LaShaunda?

This is my birthday month so I’m happy to be turning a year older. Some days I can’t believe I’m in my 40s. What happen to the 30s? Some days I can believe I’m in my 40s. lol

This month I’m a cover girl. I’m featured in an online magazine called EKG Literary Magazine.

I’m so use to being the person interviewing; it was kind of strange being on the other end of the interview.

I want to thank Gena Garrison for an excellent interview.

If you have a moment check it out. You can also get a hard copy for $4.00. I plan on getting a copy for my scrapbook. My first cover, a girl has to document this special occasion.

http://www.ekgliterarymag.com/

This Sunday I will be on a radio show. I’m gathering more information and will let you know all the details tomorrow.

I’m excited about the radio show because it’s an audition for a co-host spot. I haven’t done online radio in a while. I think it would be nice to be part of a group this time around instead of doing it by myself.

The Girl Scout cookies came in and I’ve been running around delivering cookies and trying not to eat all the cookies in my house.

If you know a girl scout, please consider supporting them in their cookie campaign. Selling the cookies helps support the Girl Scout Council, which is a really good organization.

World Building

When I decided to write a middle grade book, I knew it would be on another planet. I just didn’t know what the planet would look like or where it would be.

Who knew coming up with a new world would be so hard.

My first step was to Google world building. This mini search helped a lot to steer me in the right direction.

The Beginning – How does your world begin? Do they believe in a God or higher being? What is their history?

What does the world look like? – Do you have an idea of what the world looks like, what it is made up, what type of weather does it have?

Who lives on the world? – What beings live there? What do they look like?

What is their culture? – What do they speak, eat, or do?

What are their economics? – Do they have money, do they trade?

Do they have a government?

Seems like simple questions, but they are not. They can be very difficult. The good thing for me is that I’m enjoying building my new world. Finding out what the people like and what makes their world has been fun. It’s like building Superman’s home.

What are your experiences with world building?