Heidi here. Today we have one of our own bloggers here, Angela K. Couch!

Angela K Couch is an award-winning author for her short stories, and a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in there, as well. Angela lives in Alberta, Canada with her “hero” and three munchkins. Visit her at www.angelakcouch.com, or follow on Twitter or Facebook!

backcover copy: Four heartwarming historical romance novellas woven together with faith and love. Mail-Order Revenge by Angela K. Couch - Elizabeth Landvick will stop at nothing to take her revenge and recover her wealth, even marriage to her enemy's son.

Cloaked in Love by Elaine Manders - When Jeannie Baylor is captured by a vicious gang, her only hope of escape is to marry one of the outlaws. Love's Harvest by Linda Shenton Matchett - After losing everything, Noreen Hirsch goes with her mother-in-law to a country headed toward war. A fictional account of the book of Ruth set in WWII. Hearts Tightly Knit by Jodie Wolfe - Twin sisters make a childhood pledge to never marry, but complications arise when one of them meets a handsome rancher.

Angela, congratulations on your novella, Mail-Order Revenge and thank you for stopping by to visit with us today! Tell us what instigated you writing Mail-Order Revenge.

Thank you for having me! As for the idea for Mail-Order Revenge, I had been reading some mail-order bride stories when asked if I wanted to contribute a novella to the Threads of Love collection. I thought a mail-order bride would be fun to write about, but wanted to find an angle to freshen up the premise. What about a bride who goes west to get revenge?

Sounds full of conflict, my favorite kind of read! Who/What spurs you to write?

Writing has always been one of my passions. I think it is because the creative process of producing something that never existed before. I also love life and enjoy deepening my understanding of the human condition. In a way, writing lets me step into other experiences—that honestly, I would never want to live through if they were real. War. Heartbreak. Danger…but always rising above to find love, courage and forgiveness.

Wow, you sound deep . . . Where do your story and character ideas come from?

The great “what if”. I can’t look at an event in history and not wonder what experiencing that would have felt like. Suddenly it all comes to life in my mind, along with the desire to bring the story to life for others.

Your excitement is infectious, I feel like writing a chapter right now! So, let's talk about the craft of writing. I love plotting and am always looking for tips. How do you plot a novel? How close to the final version does the first draft read?

I keep hearing new ideas and trying new processes with each book, but one of my staples is sitting down and brainstorming out the general storyline and characterizations. I usually write a couple of pages, and that gives me enough to get started. My first draft is pretty rough (like one big brainstorm, really) as I’m still getting to know my characters. Then I go back and breathe more life into them and the setting. To give you an idea, I usually aim for 60,000 words for a first draft of a novel, and upwards of 80,000 for the finished manuscript.

Time for a fun question . . . You are alone and stranded on a desert island and can have ONE food product and ONE drink, what would they be?

Do I get to order the whole pizza, or only one ingredient? J I’m honestly a sucker for almost anything Italian…so it’s too bad Italy isn’t a desert island. For beverage, I would have to go with water—it’s my staple and I drink a lot of it—with milk as a close second (but milk wouldn’t keep well on a desert island.) 

Since I like you, I'd give you a whole pizza! Angela, tell us about future books planned?

Oh yes! I am in the middle of writing a four book series for White Rose Publishing/Pelican Book Group set during the American Revolution. TheScarlet Coat is already available for preorder, and The Patriot and the Loyalist will soon follow. I am currently writing book three, The Tory’s Daughter. (You can probably get a feel for the theme!)

That series sounds super-exciting! Angela, thank you for your time today, it was fun! And congratulations again on your novella, Mail-Order Revenge, as well as your four book series.