Guest Blogger - Vickie McDonough

Writing “the end” on a three-book series is always a bit bittersweet. I’ve lived with the characters for over two years and have gotten to know them almost as well as my own children. But each trilogy must come to an end, and such is the case with my Pioneer Promises series.

Some authors plot out a whole book before writing a page, while others are seat-of-the-pants authors, writing it as they think up the story. I fall somewhere in between. I like to have the skeleton of the story prepared in advance, but I flesh it out as I write. When I wrote Ethan Harper’s story, Whispers on the Prairie, the first book in the series, I had no idea who his brothers would end up marrying in their books. I didn’t know that Sophie, the heroine of Call of the Prairie would have asthma or that Janie, heroine of Song of the Prairie would let go of her long-held dream to save her cousins newborn son.

I really can’t explain how story ideas come. Sometimes it’s from brainstorming with other writers, other times an idea might pop into my head when I’m in the shower or preparing supper, and others come from praying for God to give me just the right idea. For me, writing is a ministry. I believe Christian fiction can touch the heart of readers, and it has the potential to changes lives. I also believe that God inspires authors to pen a story that someone in the world needs to read.

I’ve waved good-bye to the Harper family and am already finished with the first book in a new series set in Oklahoma called Land Rush Dreams. The first book is titled Gabriel’s Atonement and is the story of a gambler who kills a man in self-defense. Riddled with guilt, he tracks down the dead man’s wife and son, who are living in poverty, and tries to help them, but the stubborn woman refuses his help. But Gabe is just as stubborn. He soon learns that only Christ can take away his guilt and give a jaded gambler a new life and chance at love. You can pre-buy the book on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1kop7dv

So here’s a question for you. Have you read a Christian fiction novel that had a strong impact on your life? What was the title of the book? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Song of the Prairie, book three in my Pioneer Promises series.