Interview & #BookGiveaway with Mona Hodgson

Howdy y'all! Crystal here. Look who's stopped by today for an interview and giveaway--my buddy and former Stitches Thru Time blogger, Mona Hodgson! The first time I met Mona in person was at an ACFW conference like the one I attended last week. I think you'll really enjoy hearing about her newest story, and those who comment this weekend will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win!

For those who haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, Mona, tell us a bit about yourself. (Love your new headshot by the way. :) )

I'm Mona from Arizona, where we dash into summer and tiptoe into Autumn, my favorite season. I write American Historical Fiction set in the 1800s. My stories feature family relationships, especially sisters and father-daughter. I love talking to women's groups about God's grace and His heart for second chances.

Congratulations on your newest release! What is The Family Quilt about?

Thank you! I'm super excited returning to the late 1890s and to Cripple Creek, Colorado, for The Family Quilt. But there are lots of firsts, too.

* My first Christmas story
* My first long short story (or short novella)
* My first story in a collection
* My first story with Guideposts Books

An adult daughter is making a scrap quilt for Christmas to cheer her newly widowed mother and soon finds that the painful remnants in her own heart are being stitched together in love.

Meet Patsy Michaels, an 1890s stuck-in-the-middle mom to three children, two of them teenage girls, and daughter to a recently widowed and uprooted mother. Good chance she's not the only one who has found herself in difficult circumstances in the Christmas season. I know I've been there. Perhaps you have, too. Join me in the pages of The Family Quilt to see how God answers Patsy's prayers, even the ones she didn't realized had passed from her heart to His.

If you've read my Colorado series, The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek, you might be happy to know that we're returning to Cripple Creek in The Family Quilt AND we'll once again be having tea in the parlor at Miss Hattie's Boardinghouse.

This sounds like a very heart-touching story. Where did you get the inspiration for your novella?

I was the one at my mom's side when she was widowed at age 56. My two daughters were teenagers, at the time, so I knew what it felt like to be in the middle. My sister, Linda, is a quilter and made a memory quilt for her mother-in-law when her husband passed.

Do you have a favorite scene in the book? If so, can you tell us a bit about it?

The first scene because it features Miss Hattie from The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek books and the scene where Patsy secretly huddles around her mother's trunk with her two daughters.

What do you plan to work on next?

I'm working on the edits for Keeper of My Heart, a novella in the Convenient Brides Romance Collection, available from Barbour Books, July 2015. This month, I begin writing Something Blue, a story that follows a controversial character from Two Brides Too Many as she returns to Cripple Creek.

You're a very busy gal. :) Where can readers connect with you? 

Website and Blog: www.monahodgson.com/blog
Please be sure to sign up for my quarterly newsletter at www.monahodgson.com
Facebook: Mona Hodgson Author Page https://www.facebook.com/Author.Mona?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MonaHodgson
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/602227.Mona_Hodgson

Last but not least, apart from writing, what is your favorite creative outlet?

Decorating my home. I've just given my office a complete makeover.

Ooo, that sounds like fun. Would love to see pictures of that. :) Thanks so much for visiting with us today, Mona. I hope The Family Quilt touches many hearts for God.

Thanks, folks, for taking the time to read this interview. Do you enjoy Christmas stories? Have you read other books by Mona? If so, which was your favorite?

Leave a comment and you'll be entered in a drawing for a copy of The Family Quilt. Check back at the beginning of next week for the winner announced here and on our Weekly Wind-Up post. If you're our winner, please go to our Contact Us page and let us know the snail mail address to send your book to. Thanks!