Valentines Day Interview with Darlene Franklin

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to author Darlene Franklin! One Stitches reader won her Valentines book just last week! 

 Darlene's greatest claim to fame is that she writes full-time from a nursing home. She lives in Oklahoma, near her son and his family, and continues her interests in playing the piano and singing, books, good fellowship, and reality TV in addition to writing. She is an active member of Oklahoma City Christian Fiction Writers, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Christian Authors Network. She has written over thirty books and has written more than 250 devotionals. Her historical fiction ranges from the Revolutionary War to World War II, from Texas to Vermont. You can find Darlene online elsewhere at https://www.facebook.com/Poet.Darlene.Franklin.
 

Welcome Darlene! We're so glad you could visit us on this Valentine's Day! Do you have anything special planned for tonight?

My son often comes to visit on Saturdays with my grandchildren—but I hope he’s out with his wife! I expect to enjoy Hallmark’s latest romance, the highlight of my Saturday nights.

Why do you write Christian Romance?

Let’s ask God that question! I’m a divorced single mom, with my children grown. Seriously, Christian romance reflects on the greatest love of all time, God’s love for us. I recently wrote a devotional on a verse that The Message translates as, “At the resurrection we’re beyond marriage. As with the angels, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God.” (Matthew 22:30) Human love is only a dim reflection of that love.

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

When I begin a book, I look for one or more verses to reflect the theme of the book. Sometimes the story moves in a different direction, but not always. Some of my characters have a strong faith; some are far from the faith they once professed; some have never known the Lord. I don’t work to make my books Christian, but my faith flows through as a natural expression of my life.

Also, many of my books deal with serious life issues. Although My Candy Valentine is fairly light-hearted, the heroine’s father was cheated out of one business and is on the verge of losing another. In the book I’m writing, the heroine is an unwed mother, left pregnant when her fiancé joined the army during World War I.

Where did the inspiration for your latest book come from?

From candy conversation hearts. When I wrote An Apple for Christmas, I used apple sayings for chapter titles, and I liked the idea of using conversation hearts in the same way in this story. I also searched for towns with likely names for Valentine’s Day. Loveland, OK, was founded in 1908 and was a thriving town in 1916. I’m not sure how I decided my heroine should be a candy maker, except that chocolates and Valentine’s Day go hand and hand.

http://www.amazon.com/Readers-Journey-through-Matthew-ebook/dp/B00T8OJ0F0/

The first NECCO conversation candies were made in the 1860s, but the ones we know today started early in the twentieth century. They continue to add new sayings throughout the years, to keep them contemporary. Yesterday I gave each member of my family a candy heart: I.M. Me to my son (to remind him to send me emails), “Luv U” to my granddaughter, “U R Sweet” to my grandson, and “Cutie” to my daughter-in-law.

What are you working on next? 

I just finished my first devotional, A Reader’s Journey through Matthew, which is now available at http://www.amazon.com/Readers-Journey-through-Matthew-ebook/dp/B00T8OJ0F0/.

Now I’m working on the third book in the Holidays of the Heart series, Love’s Glory, a Flag Day romance set in Old Glory, Texas, in 1919.

Very interesting. Looks like you have some great stuff going on. Thank you so much for being with us!