Author Interview with Dawn Crandall and #BookGiveaway

  Hello Friends!

Today I'm excited to introduce you to Dawn Crandall! Her new book, The Hesitant Heiresss just released YESTERDAY! 

A graduate of Taylor University with a degree in Christian Education, and a former bookseller at Barnes & Noble, Dawn Crandall didn’t begin writing until 2010 when her husband found out about her long-buried dream of writing a book. Without a doubt about someday becoming published, he encouraged her to quit working in 2010 in order to focus on writing The Hesitant Heiress. It didn’t take her long to realize that writing books was what she was made to do. Dawn is represented by Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary.

Apart from writing books, Dawn is also a first-time mom to a precious little boy (born March 2014) and also serves with her husband in a pre-marriage mentor program at their local church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Dawn is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, secretary for the Indiana ACFW Chapter (Hoosier Ink), and associate member of the Great Lakes ACFW Chapter.

The Everstone Chronicles is Dawn’s first series with Whitaker House. All three books composing the series were semifinalists in ACFW’s prestigious Genesis Writing Contest, the third book going on to become a finalist in 2013.

Welcome Dawn, congratulations on your new book! Tell us about your debut novel.

After being unjustly expelled from the Boston Conservatory of Music, Amaryllis Brigham sees her dreams of founding a music academy disappearing before her very eyes. Now the only way to achieve her goal comes with high stakes for someone set on avoiding men as much as possible: marry within the year to inherit her grandmother’s fortune. Amaryllis reluctantly takes part in her aunt’s society, intent on getting to the west coast on her own… and without a husband.

Despite her own misgivings, she soon finds herself falling in love with the most unlikely of men, Nathan Everstone, whose father not only had a part in her expulsion, but whose ominous presence has haunted her dreams for a decade since her mother’s tragic death. Nathan turns out to be much more than he seems and everything she never knew she wanted. But just as everything Amaryllis has recently hoped for comes to fruition, it all falls apart when she finds that the real culprit who has been managing her life isn't who she thought at all.

 Where did the inspiration for your book come from?

I've wanted to write a book ever since I was in high school. However, I also have ADD, and for the most part, in high school and college, I needed to focus entirely on making my grades. The ADD ended up playing a major role in my being able to eventually write The Hesitant Heiress because, as a whole, the ideas for most of the occurrences in the book have come from such random places. I can read a section of the book and remember where I was and why I thought of a part of the book because of something I've witnessed myself or heard about. 

How does your faith and spirituality work in with your writing?

I usually take a spiritual lesson I've learned in my own life to infuse into the lives of my heroines. I love taking them from the beginning of their journey to the end, getting to know them so intricately along the way. As I'm writing a book I already know the end and what kind of freedom my heroine is looking for—think it's so fun to witness her transformation throughout the book.

  Are you doing anything special for your book launch?

I'm having a Blog Tour running from the end of July to the end of August full of interviews and reviews from the middle of July to the end of August based out of my Facebook author page [www.facebook.com/DawnCrandallWritesFirst]. I also made a Pinterest board to go along with the book. [www.pinterest.com/dawnwritesfirst/novel-1-the-hesitant-heiress-by-dawn-crandall-book]

Now, the question we all love: what are you working on next?

Well, I just had my first child in March, so for now I'm still figuring out how this writing while being a stay-at-home-mom works!! I have lots of series ideas, book ideas to go with, and I even have an idea for a fourth book that goes along with The Everstone Chronicles—I could actually keep writing about different characters in this series forever. :) I do also have a Contemporary Romance plotted out and started—which I did just to see what it was like. It was fun, and much easier than writing historicals, but I don't think I'll ever permanently switch over. I love history too much. 

 Ha! I can relate to that. Thanks so much for sharing with us today!

Dawn has generously offered an ebook copy of her BRAND SPANKIN' NEW book as a giveaway! Leave a comment below with your email addy to be entered in the drawing!

 
In the mean time, feel free to connect with Dawn, or check out her book on Amazon.


CONNECT WITH DAWN
Facebook: facebook.com/DawnCrandallWritesFirst
Book Review Blog: APassionforPages.blogspot.com
GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/dawn_crandall
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/dawnwritesfirst
Email: dawncrandallwritesfirst@gmail.com
Twitter: @dawnwritesfirst
  
The Hesitant Heiress on Amazon