Melissa also runs the Inspirational Historical Fiction website.
The following is a September 2014 interview with Melissa.
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THE INTERVIEW
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A Bride for Keeps or A Bride in Store
by Melissa Jagears
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Contest open to entrants worldwide.
Contest runs from
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I'm from the Missouri Ozarks but live in Kansas now. I miss the Ozark hills, they make my heart sigh when I go back to visit. I have three little ones and a hubby who loves me a lot in order to put up with me.
What inspired you to become a novelist, and did you always want to write?
I didn't always write or want to. I know it's a typical answer for writers to say they've been writing since they picked up a crayon, but I didn't. I'd occasionally have a dream or a good idea for a book (I thought) and threw it in a box though. I did that until I had a baby and stayed home. I couldn't take patty-cake anymore and one can only change so many dirty diapers and read during nap times before the need to actively use brain cells becomes apparent. (Yes, it’s possible to have too much time to read!) So I went to my box and picked the story I thought would be the easiest to write and the rest is history.
What do you think is significant about Christian fiction?
Hope. No matter how bad the circumstances are, there is hope.
How do you hope your readers react to the stories you write?
I hope they're entertained. If the stories cause readers to ponder something in their own lives, I'm ecstatic.
That people think I'm interesting and worthwhile to talk to now! I'm still weird ol' me.
How has being a novelist impacted your relationship with Christ?
Oh, this is a tough one to admit. I can't say that it's been the most positive thing since I can get in a panic and shut out everything to try and get a story right. But I almost think getting published though has scared me into making sure I'm right with Christ more than any personal tragedy I've gone through because more people than I could personally ever talk to are reading what I write, and I'll be held accountable for my words.
Other than being a novelist, what other goals do you have for your life?
I wrote that down years ago .....probably a good thing you asked since I haven’t seen that paper for years…. let me find it.
1. Has to do with being a novelist, so you don't want that one....
2. Be right with God
3. Teach my children well
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Ha! When do I get that back? If I ever do find it, I read!
Well, Love by the Letter is my actual debut, but it's a novella, and A Bride for Keeps is my debut novel from last year. It's the first historical romance I ever wrote, and I rewrote that one three times as I grew as a writer.
What stories can your fans expect from you in the days ahead?
Well, my next book, A Bride in Store should be out now, which takes the son of the couple from my novella and gives him a story, and then A Bride at Last will come out next year, giving another character in Salt Flatts his happily ever after.
What would you like to say to your upcoming fans in New Zealand and around the world?
I think as a reader, I didn't realize how important sales and reviews were to my favorite authors. If you want to keep your favorites writing books, make sure you buy them and review them. Don't make authors beg! And I'm not begging for me, just, you know, if your favorite writer is Deeanne Gist, make sure you purchase her books to grow her sales numbers and give her lots of word of mouth praise and write online reviews. Keep Deeanne writing! (PLEASE! I like Deeanne’s stuff! :) Thanks Ellie for doing that here on your blog!
Do you have any parting words?
I love readers! Come talk to me on my FB author page or comment on my website. I always try to answer back!
(Unexpected Brides Prelude)
by Melissa Jagears
- Bethany House Publishers
- Historical
- September 2013
- ISBN: 9781441263346
[Kindle]
Dex Stanton has never had much time for book learning. He's been too busy helping to provide for his family. Now that he's heading west, Dex is hoping to start a family of his own. However, his attempt to acquire a mail-order bride fails miserably when the lady writes back ridiculing his terrible spelling. Rachel Oliver may be the last person he wants to know what a dunce he is, but she's also the smartest woman in town--and it's clear he needs her help.
Rachel Oliver has lingered in town for three years secretly mooning over Dex Stanton, but now she's done. If the fool wants to write to a mail-order bride company, so be it. Once she begins giving Dex lessons, however, Rachel realizes she may not be prepared to give up just yet.
As their time together runs short, can two of the most stubborn people in town set aside their pride long enough to find love?
Love by the Letter is a companion novella to A Bride for Keeps, Melissa Jagears's full-length debut novel available fall 2013. Includes an extended sneak peek at A Bride for Keeps.
(Unexpected Brides #1)
by Melissa Jagears
- Bethany House Publishers
- Historical
- October 2013
- ISBN: 9780764211683
Purchase:
[Kindle | Amazon | The Book Depository]
Everett Cline will never humiliate himself by seeking a mail-order bride. Not again. He's already been jilted by three mail-order brides and figures a wife just isn't in his future. However, a well-meaning neighbor hasn't given up on seeing him settled, so she goes behind his back to bring yet another woman to town for him.
Julia Lockwood has never been anything more than a pretty pawn for her father or a business acquisition for her former fiance. A mail-order marriage in faraway Kansas is a last resort, but she'll do anything to leave her life in Massachusetts and the heartbreak she's experienced there.
Although Everett doesn't see how a beautiful, cultured woman like Julia could be happy sharing his simple life, he could really use a helpmate on his homestead. Determined to prove she's more than just a pretty face, Julia agrees to a marriage in name only. Faced with the harsh realities of life on the prairie and hesitant to explore the tentative feelings growing between them, can Everett and Julia ever let each other in long enough to fall in love?
(Unexpected Brides #2)
by Melissa Jagears
- Bethany House Publishers
- Historical
- September 2014
- ISBN: 9780764211690
[Kindle | Amazon | The Book Depository]
Impatient to meet her intended groom and help him grow his general store, mail-order bride Eliza Cantrell sets out on her travels a week early. But her plan goes sadly awry when her train is held up by robbers who steal her dowry and Axel, her groom-to-be, isn't even in town when she finally arrives. Axel's business partner, William Stanton, has no head for business and would much rather be a doctor. When his friend's mail-order bride arrives in town with no money and no groom in sight, he feels responsible and lets her help around the store--where she quickly proves she's much more adept at business than he ever will be.
The sparks that fly between Will and Eliza as they work together in close quarters are hard to ignore, but Eliza is meant for Axel and a future with the store, while Will is biding his time until he can afford medical school. However, their troubles are far from over when Axel finally returns, and soon both Will and Eliza must decide what they're willing to sacrifice to chase their dreams--or if God has a new dream in store for them both.
Buy Melissa's Books at The Book Depository
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Be in to win a copy of A Bride for Keeps or A Bride in Store by Melissa Jagears One copy to be won Contest open to entrants worldwide. Contest runs from 5-19 September NZDT |
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