Welcome, Laurie Alice Eakes! #giveaway

Howdy y'all! Crystal here, and I'm thrilled to say our first Birthday Bash guest this month is none other than inspirational historical romance author Laurie Alice Eakes! For a time, Alice was a member of my local ACFW chapter. She's a great gal, and I really think y'all are gonna enjoy this interview. Oh and stick around, she brought goodies!

Welcome to Stitches Thru Time, Alice. For those of us who don't have the privilege of knowing you, tell us a bit about yourself.

Once upon a time, I was born into a family of over-achievers in the beautiful state of Michigan. Most of my memories are of snow and/or water--swimming, boating, and fishing; sledding, snowmobiling, and fishing--yes, on ice--or through it. Then I discovered that fish were disgusting to clean and sitting on the beach reading was more fun.

Reading was always a part of my life. Most of my earliest childhood memories are of being read to or reading. I also remember making up stories in my head when I wasn't able to read, and that's when I decided to be an author.

Getting there took a while other than school papers and poetry, as I went to college in Kentucky, then a job in New Jersey, moved to Pennsylvania for a ridiculous reason, then Iowa for a job, then Virginia for another job, then Illinois to get married... Back to Virginia for my husband's job and then law school for him, then Texas for his job, and now back to the Midwest. Through it all, I worked on writing in spurts until it became official in 2006 with the publication of my first book, Family Guardian. To date, I have 26 books published in various genres.

Wow. What a tale! I didn't even know all that. 

Alice, since we're celebrating our 4th birthday here on STT, can you tell us a funny birthday memory or a memory from when you were four years old?

I'm not sure if I was three or four, but we'll say I was four. I got a tricycle for my birthday. Problem is, it was December 22 and I couldn't ride it outside. So my dad carried it into the basement and I pedaled around, crashing into support posts and the washer and drier and had a glorious time.

Hahaha. I'm sure you were darlin' doing it. :) Sounds like a great day and a great memory. Thanks so much for sharing.

Speaking of the past, I know you write stories from yesteryear. Where did you get your love of history?

Many factors, I think, contributed to my love of history. I had a teacher who read us every Laura Ingles Wilder book one year, my dad loved history and read stuff to me, and we must not forget reruns of Gunsmoke. You'd think I'd write westerns after all that.

LOL. I know about Gunsmoke. ;) That's great you had a teacher who read the Laura Ingles Wilder books to y'all. Believe it or not, those are in my TBR wishlist. I'm sure we can all add to our TBR pile.

Can you tell us about your newest release? What is your story about?

True as Fate is the second book in The Ashford Chronicles, but readers assure me it works as a stand-alone. This was my thesis novel for when I got my master's degree in writing popular fiction. My hero is an American accused of treason during the War of 1812. Now the war is over and he’s in England to prove his innocence so he can marry the lady he thinks he loves—the heroine’s sister. My heroine knew him from the first book and has been in love with him for years. Now she can prove it, but if she tells him how, she knows he can never love her. So they set out across Cornwall, England, to find the other man who can prove his innocence.

Wow! That sounds like a great read, and I love the cover! Where did you get the inspiration for your story?

I have no idea. I had an outline for the first book in the series, though it was never finished, when I had to write a thesis novel, and I knew it would include the younger sister of the hero from the first book and the friend of the heroine from that story, images/scenes just started coming to me.

LOL! I love that answer. Some stories are definitely surprises. 

What do you hope folks will take away from your story?

This story is about trust and loyalty and the strength of the former and pitfalls of the latter. As always, I want people to end the book entertained and happy, and perhaps have a little better understanding of both issues.

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

I love the scene where the hero figures out he has been in love with the wrong sister all along. That’s a great romantic scene. For pure swashbuckling fun, I love the scene where they are escaping people hunting them and create havoc on the wharf to get away in a ‘borrowed’ boat.

Oooo, that does sound like fun. :) What do you plan to work on next?

I’m working on the third book in the series, the younger sister’s story.

Series are great! Where can readers connect with you? Where can readers buy your book(s)?

All but a couple of my books are available on Kindle. A couple of my early Heartsongs are out of print, and I haven’t reissued them under my own name. One can also get many of my books at CBD.com and Barnes and Noble, or any brick and mortar bookstore still left can order the ones still in print.

I’m easy to find online:

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLaurieAliceEakes where I have some contests and lots of useful information and reader discussions.
• Twitter: @LaurieAEakes
• Website: http://www.lauriealiceeakes.com where you can read excerpts of all my books, as well as find a contact form I respond to all reader letters.

Last but not least, what is the quirkiest thing you've ever done?

That depends on your definition of quirky. That also depends on what I’m willing to share. I’ve lived a pretty staid life. But perhaps packing up all my worldly possessions and moving from the Shenandoah Valley, to Aurora, Illinois just to be near a man I met and see what happened between us would qualify as quirky. I truly believed God told me I was supposed to marry him. I did—two years later. That was fifteen years ago.

Because this is a birthday party and birthdays are all about gifts, I am going to give away a copy of Better than Gold and a copy of The Glassblower, my first two Heartsongs, only on Kindle now. All I ask you to do to qualify is go to my page on Amazon under Laurie Alice Eakes, and tell me which book cover you like best.

Here are three of my covers to get you started.

Aww, you're so generous, Alice. Thanks so much for sharing TWO books with us and for being our guest today. 

Folks, you're in for a tough decision. Those are some great covers! Don't wait. Head over to Laurie Alice's Amazon Author page, then come back here and let us know which one is your favorite in the comments.

(Check back in a week to see if your name is listed in the comments as the winner!)