Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Books & Writing -- Welcome Darlene Franklin



Hello to Darlene Franklin. 
What a pleasure to have this 
gifted and prolific author with us today.

(Make sure to read to the bottom to find out how to be 
included in a drawing for a free book)











Award-winning author and speaker, Darlene Franklin, lives in Cowboy county, Oklahoma. Oklahoma has the benefit of being the home of her son, his wife and their four beautiful children. 

Darlene loves music, needle-work, reading and reality-tv. She currently resides  in a nursing home, which has become a blessing. Darlene is the author of twenty-five novels and novellas. She has also written 250 devotionals and personal experience pieces  for various publications, including her soon to release book, It is Well With My Soul.


You live in Cowboy, Oklahoma. Can you tell us  a little about what it's like to live in that part of the country? What do you like most about it?

Actually, I say I live in "cowboy country" since Cowboy is the  mascot for the OSU teams. The OU Sooners wear crimson. Since I didn't grow up here I am neutral about the annual "bedlam" battles.

There are many things I love about Oklahoma. The weather and countryside aren't among them; for that I left my heart in Maine and Colorado. But Oklahoma has some of the best people in the country and has a wonderfully diverse, rich heritage that I have grown to love. It's also a great place to raise a family, which my son and his wife are doing.

What do I like best about Oklahoma? Six words: Jaran, Shelley, Savannah, Shannon, Jordan and Isaiah.


I admit that since watching the Wizard of Oz as a child I've had trouble getting the desolate, tornado-ridden image out of my mind. How nice to hear there's another side to Oklahoma. And 
I agree with you, people are the best reason to love a place.


I went online to see what you've been up to. My goodness, you've been busy! You've written a plethora of books--historical fiction, romances, novellas, and even a devotional called It is Well With My Soul. Do you have a favorite genre and time period?

My favorite genre to read is mystery, but I do enjoy writing historical romance. I'm just finishing a 3-book series in the early 20th century. That's been a lot of fun, since I'm writing about my grandmother and mother's generations.


Of All the books you've written, do you have a favorite? Why?

You're asking me to choose among my children. How can I do that? I am fond of my first book, Romanian Rhapsody, for obvious reasons. I am proud of A Ranger's Trail for its hard look at range wars and vigilante justice. I have fallen in love with the fictional town of Maple Notch, Vermont, since it's the setting for six historical books and hopefully a few contemporary books as well.

I apologize for the question. I should know better. Just wanted to know.  ; )
I love the name Maple Notch! Makes me want to visit.


You have a new book releasing in May called Hidden Dreams. Can you tell us about it? And how can we get a copy?




Hidden Dreams is book #4 in the Maple Notch Series. Here's the blurb:

Mary Anne is on the run.

Her father's been murdered, and now the mob's after her too. Leaving New York City behind is the only way to stay alive. Yet Mary Anne Lamont finds herself stuck in Maple Notch Vermont, when her car crashes straight into Wallace Tuttle's truck. Wallace and his family offer her warmth and welcome, no questions asked, but she doesn't dare give them her real name--not without 
risking their safety too.

At first, Wallace chides himself for being distracted by the glamorous flapper. Mary Anne certainly doesn't fit his image of a future wife. But underneath the bleached bob and big-city ways is a courageous, caring woman. When the danger she's been running from draws close,Wallace must risk everything to prove his faith in Mary Anne, in God's plan, and the dreams 
they've come to share.

This sounds good!

You can pre-order a print or electronic copy of the book from amazon.com.


So, what's up next? Do you have another book in the works?

Actually, I have a couple of other books coming out in May. I have one novella in the Texas Brides collection. Six outlaws and four Texas Rangers lock horns in the stories.

I'm very excited about another new venture. A couple of years, I teamed up with Susan Page Davis, Janelle Mowery and Lynette Sowell to write a Christmas anthology called Christmas at Barncastle Inn. The Barncastle is a cross between Fantasy island and time travel, where the guest gets to celebrate the holiday in the time period of their choice. That book is still for sale in print and electronic forms.

The four of us decided to continue the holiday theme with new novellas, set during other holidays Spring Comes to the Barncastle Inn by Lynette Sowell, released on march 24th, and Revolution Comes to the Barncastle (in honor of Patriot's Day) by Susan Page Davis released on April 1st. My book, Barncastle Memorial, will release on May 1st. In it, a family throws a "This is your life" for a lonely widow, which turns into romance (of course).

What a great idea! These books sound fun!


I stopped by your blog, My Daily Nibble,




 (http://mydailynibble.blogspot.com) and found it to be a thoughtful, deep look into God's Word. I like that you don't shy away from the tough stuff. What inspired you to begin writing this type of blog?

As I jumped into the middle of a "Read through the Bible in a Year" plan on line, I kept running into verses that struck me in new and unseen ways. I sent them on to a good friend. She would always come back to me and ask, "And now what?" In other words, she wanted me to take the first spark of an idea, to explore it, and to see what application it might have in my own life.

After several months of this, and encouraged by God to get a little more into nonfiction, I decided to put them into a blog. So each day, whatever the reading is about, I write a blog about that. I look at things that my writer's mind notices, like characters and timing. I look at odd choices of phrases and repetitions. And yes, I make a point to write  about the hard things. Because we all question them. I don't pretend to have the answers, but I at least look at them.

Can you tell I'm passionate about this? I am struggling to accept my qualifications (intelligence, Bible college and seminary, years of study and reading), my calling (can a divorced woman claim to have a gift of wisdom?), etc. etc. etc. Writing the blog challenges me and rewards me in a multitude of ways.


Thank you for your courage and dedication.


Where can readers find you online?

twitter: @darlenefranklin


Darlene is giving away a free copy of her new book Hidden Dreams! For a chance to win all you have to do is leave a comment along with your email address.

I'll be drawing for the winner one week from today!


10 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:44 AM

    Thank you Bonnie for introducing another author to me. When i get old (older?) instead of being the cat hoarder lady, I'll be the one buried in a house of books!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:17 AM

    Bonnie Leon and Darlene Franklin-
    Great interview! I am so excited to have a chance to win Hidden Dreams, please enter me into the drawing
    Thank you!
    Jill
    Email:
    sunnyday12j@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8:20 AM

    Another author I am going to have to add to my list. A wonderful interview and I would love to win a copy of her book.

    Ann Ellison
    abilene_nana@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Darlene I love learning more about you and your books. I am an avid follower of your blogs as well, which have blessed me so much! Thank you for doing this interview Bonnie!

    ps my email address is zoeboboey@rocketmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you Bonnie for doing the interview! I enjoy reading and learning about Darlene, and have been following her blogs for a while now - they are a blessing!

    ps my email address is zoeboboey@rocketmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for having me as your guests, Bonnie! I loved the individualized questions (even the one about "which one is your favorite," lol).

    ReplyDelete
  7. How lovely too meet new friends and say hello to old friends! I love the idea of the book hoarder lady. I recently gave my son permission to get rid of my books, and he had a harder time with it than I did.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous11:21 PM


    Hello Darlene. I love the interview. 3 books coming in one month. Great. I love the cover of Hidden Dreams, also the title. I have 2 of your books." Full Disclosure" and "Knight Music" (subbed for Bridge of Love.) I would love to win this book in this give-away. Thanks Bonnie for having Darlene for an interview. Good job.
    Maxie mac262(at)me(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Maxie! How lovely to see you again.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Darlene, it was a pleasure to have you as a guest.

    Thank you.

    Grace and peace to you.

    ReplyDelete

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