Feel free to pick and choose from among these questions. You may also rephrase the questions so they matche your own style... just don't change the answers :+}
If you would like to provide a list of unique questions, please contact me directly.
Q: Give us a little preview of The Pastor’s Wife.
A: Maura Sullivan never thought she’d see Granger, Ohio, again. But when circumstances force her to return, she must face all the disappointments she tried so hard to leave behind; a husband that ignored her, a congregation she couldn’t please, and a God who took away everything she ever loved.
Nick Shepherd had put the past behind him. At least he thought he had, until the day his estranged wife walked back into town. Intending only to help Maura through her crisis of faith, Nick discovers his feeling for her never died. Now, he must face the mistakes he made and find a way to give and receive forgiveness.
As God works in both their lives, Nick and Maura start to believe they can repair their broken relationship and reunite as man and wife. But Maura has one more thing to tell Nick before they can move forward. It’s the thing that finally drove her to leave six years earlier, and the one thing that can destroy the fragile trust they’ve managed to rebuild.
Q: What made you want to write this book?
A: I served as a church secretary for many years which definitely gave me a unique perspective on the lives of a pastoral family. I worked at two different churches. One was a large denominational church, the other much smaller and non-denominational. But the lives of the pastors were quite similar. There’s always another meeting to go to, or one more person that needs counseling. People feel very possessive about their pastors. This usually manifests itself in positive ways, but sometimes it crosses a line. You have to watch out for that. And the pastoral family faces challenges no one really thinks about. They basically live in a glass house and are expected to be active members of every church activity, whether they’re interested in it or not.
When I was working on the original concept for this novel, I thought about the pastors’ wives I’ve known over the years. They’ve handled themselves with amazing grace under pressure. But what if another woman couldn’t? What if a young woman thinks she knows what she’s getting into, but the reality of losing who she is and becoming a “pastor’s wife” is more than she can handle? What if some other tragedy pushes her over the edge? Would she run? And what would happen if she had to return to the scene of her heartbreak years later? All those questions eventually became The Pastor’s Wife.
Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?
A: I’ve always wanted to be something creative. I went through stages where I wanted to be a photographer, a singer, an actress… but I’ve always been writing. I was that kid in school who wrote a novella when the assignment was only to write a short story. I wrote my first novel during my senior year in high school and finished the second one in college. Neither one were very good, but they were good learning experiences. And I still have both of them packed away in a box.
Q: Beside The Pastor’s Wife, what else have you published?
A: Early in my writing journey, I sold a few short stories. Later on, I had the honor of being recommended for a project at Concordia Publishing House. My pastor at the time writes for them and he thought I’d be good for a book of skits they were putting together. I did that, which led to other projects including writing for their My Devotions series. To date, I’ve written over 100 devotions. My first published book is The Love of His Brother, a contemporary inspirational romance for Five Star. You can read more about it on my website.
Q: What’s your writing process like?
A: When I started out, I was a 100% seat-of-the-pants writer. That means I’d sit down at the computer with just an idea in my head and let it all unfold from there. But over the last few years, I’ve become a little more strategic in my approach. When you submit a proposal to an editor, you have to provide a synopsis of the entire book, from beginning to end, whether you’ve finished writing it or not. While I used to hate it, I’ve now come to appreciate the process. It forces me to think things through so that when I do sit down to write, I don’t spend as much time wondering what comes next. But I'm still quite fluid. If the story changes course in midstream, I go with it.
Q: How do you come up with your ideas?
A: Ideas are everywhere! The hard part is knowing which ones will become great books. I tend to start with something I’m familiar with. In my first novel, The Love of His Brother, I set the story in Montana because, at the time, it was the only state I’d been to other than California. With The Pastor’s Wife, I started with my knowledge of ministerial families and church operations. So I start with a nugget of familiarity and then I start pushing it around, asking “what if this happened?” The questions layer one on top of the other, and pretty soon I’ve got a plot.
Q: Authors sometimes say their characters take over the story. Have you ever had that happen to you?
A: Oh yeah. I love it when that happens! It makes me feel like God’s got a firm hold on the reins and He’s steering me in the right direction. In The Love of His Brother, I had a group of four teenagers in a mall. They were only supposed to be in that one scene, but they kept popping back into the story. They went from being mere walk-through characters to being important supporting players who deepened the story.
Q: What advice do you have for new authors?
A: From a craft standpoint, there are two things you can do to become a better writer: read and write. Read books about the craft of writing and read other books in your genre. But don’t stop there. If you write sweet romances, stretch yourself and pick up a thriller. If you write historicals, try out a sci-fi or fantasy novel. Great writing is great writing, regardless of the subject matter. You can learn a lot by reading broadly.
For personal well-being, I would encourage every writer, no matter what stage you’re at, to have a support system. This includes belonging to a writer’s organization. I’m a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, which has been a huge blessing to me. Through it, I’ve cultivated friendships with other writers, including my best friend who is also my critique buddy. It’s great if your family supports your writing, but trust me, you need to have people you can go to who “get” you.
Q: You have a unique last name. Why is it spelled with a capital letter in the middle?
A: AlLee is my married name, so it’s really all my husband’s fault. The origin is French, and it’s morphed quite a bit over the years. Part of the family spells it like I do. Another part uses two lowercase “el”s. And a third rebel faction spells it with the capital “el” and an accent mark. I know it can be quite confusing. But it sure looks nice on a book cover when they get it right!
Q: You grew up in Hollywood. How did that happen?
A: My grandparents met on the vaudeville circuit. Grandma was a dancer and my grandfather was a concert violinist from Hungary: Duci deKerekjarto (how’s that for a last name?) Duci immigrated to make his mark in Hollywood, which is how our family ended up there. He remained friends with another Hungarian performer, a Shakespearean actor named Bela Lugosi. (Yes, the original Dracula.) Bela died before I was born, but my mom remembers sitting on his lap and calling him Uncle Bela.
My own minor brush with fame came on the day I was born. Michael Landon Jr. and I were in the same hospital nursery in neighboring basinets. My Aunt Karen nearly passed out when she realized proud father Michael Sr. was standing at the window next to her!
Q: If you weren’t a writer, what else would you be doing?
A: My deepest desire, even as I write, is to get back on the stage. One of my dearest memories is of the year I spent doing community theatre in my early twenties. I did just about everything you could do: assistant director, lighting person, sound gal, prop mistress, bit part, supporting actor, lead… it was amazing! The only reason I stopped is because our theatre was torn down to expand the parking lot of the police station next door. Over the years I've been involved in church drama ministry, but right now, I am without dramatic prospects. I’d love to do a musical one day, like Godspell, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (although I’m now too old to play the narrator) or Sunset Boulevard (even though I’m not quite old enough to play Norma Desmond... but there's always makeup!)
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: I’m a little nervous about going any place where the natives don’t speak English, so my travel aspirations are humble. I’d love to go to Hawaii. I’d also like to visit Australia and New Zealand. And right now, I’d be willing to give Greece a try because I have good friends who moved there and they could guide me around.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I’m a TV/movie junkie. My tastes cross genres, but I tend to like weird stuff. My favorite current TV shows are LOST, Flash Forward, Lie to Me, and Bones. Recent favorite movies are the new Star Trek, UP, and The Blind Side. Of course, live theatre is the best, but it’s so expensive that I rarely go. A few months ago my son had to do a review of a live production for his drama class, which was the perfect excuse to see Phantom of the Opera. Man, that first blast of music in the overture gave me chills. I wanted to jump right out of my balcony seat and onto the stage to join them.
Blog Tour ScheduleIf you need to change your posting date, that's fine. Just let me know so I can update the schedule
January 30 - Dina Sleiman/Inkwell Inspirations - http://inkwellinspirations.blogspot.com/
January 31 - Lisa Richardson/Inspired Adventures - http://lisakaronrichardson.blogspot.com/
February 1 - Camy Tang/Camy's Loft - http://www.camys-loft.blogspot.com/
February 1 - Janalyn Voight/Book Reader's Central - http://bookreaderscentral.blogspot.com/
February 2 - Cathy Bryant/Word Vessel - http://wordvessel.blogspot.com/
February 3 - Rose McCauley - http://rosemccauley.blogspot.com/
February 4 - Rel Mollet/Relz Reviews - http://relzreviewz.blogspot.com/
February 6 - Delia Latham/My Book Bag - http://my-book-bag.blogspot.com/
February 6 - Teresa Slack - http://teresaslack.blogspot.com/
February 8 - Trish Perry - http://trishperry.com/
February 9 - Jodie Bailey - http://www.jodiebailey.com/
February 10 - Tiffany Stockton/Amber Stockton - http://www.amberstockton.com/
February 11 - Sarah Varland/Espresso in a Latte World - http://espressoinalatteworld.blogspot.com/
February 12 - Mary Connealy/Seekerville - http://seekerville.blogspot.com/
February 13 - Therese Travis -
February 14 - Brenda Anderson/Spire Reviews - http://spirereviews.blogspot.com/
February 15 - Sherri Ashcraft/The Mother Blog - http://sherrieashcraft.blogspot.com/
February 16 - Christine Cain - http://liztolsma.blogspot.com/
February 17 - D'Ann Mateer/Five Bazillion and One - http://fivebazillionandone.blogspot.com/
February 19 - Miralee Ferrell/Miralee's Desk - http://www.miraleesdesk.blogspot.com/.
February 20 - Edwina Cowgill/Musings of Edwina - http://musingsofedwina.blogspot.com/
February 22 - Pam Meyers/A Writer’s Journey - http://www.pammeyerswrites.blogspot.com/
February 23 - Debra Vogts/Country at Heart - http://deborahvogts.blogspot.com/
February 24 - Ane Mulligan/Novel Journey - http://www.noveljourney.blogspot.com/
February 25 - Christa Allan - http://christaallan.com/
February 26 - Peg Phifer/Sips 'n' Cups Cafe - http://www.sipsncupscafe.com/
February 27 - Jeannie Campbell/Where Romance Meets Therapy - http://jeanniecampbell.blogspot.com/
March ? - Tina Dee/The Homestead Heart - http://www.thehomesteadheart.com/
