Welcome, Lucy! Thanks for being on my blog today. First, can you tell us a little about your novel.A cowboy! A mail order bride! Some cute kids and bossy siblings.
What more could you want? (Apart from the book :)
Colorado, 1881. Lydia Walsh is on the run. The quiet rancher she marries and expected to find safety and protection with turns out to have three siblings, next to nothing to live on, and is a crack shot who may or may not be one of the states best cattle rustlers.
Beau Harding wants to keep his family together and do the right thing by them. His mail order bride comes with her own set of baggage: two more mouths to feed and empty hearts begging him to fill. The job he took for some quick money gets him thrown in jail for rustling, and then to clear his name he takes on another job–and learns that his wife may have been the one plotting his family’s downfall all along.
Interesting! I know that inspiration can come from so many different places. What about for you? What was the inspiration for Mail Order Surprise?
Jesus. (Seriously!) Old movies. I’m a shameless borrower. I “borrow” from old movies, books, newspaper articles, random conversations overheard on the train, family skeletons… You name it, I borrow inspiration from it. For Mail Order Surprise I drew inspiration from a few musical classics: Calamity Jane and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Love those films. I definitely get how films and other stories inspire.
Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what did you want to be when you were a child?
I always knew I would write. Just like I always knew I’d buy a house. Careless confidence perhaps? One day after church I decided to sit down and write a book. All I knew about it was that there was a girl getting off a train. No name. No backstory. No idea that she would arrive home to a house in a mess and three unexpected brothers to wash/cook for. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
🙂 So fun! I’m a pantser too (write “by the seat of my pants”, without plotting or outlining)…I love discovering the story as I write it. But it’s not all fun and games. There are things about the craft that each writer doesn’t like as much… What part of the writing process do you dread?
Seriously. Coming up with all the STUFF that happens to a character inbetween the opening and closing lines. I like to just make it up as I go along but it does take me longer to write that way. :-/
The struggle is real!! 😉 I always ask other authors this question: Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer?
Yes! Join a writing organization. ACFW or RWA. American Christian Fiction Writers have an excellent critique group that will help hone your writing along with a monthly workshop you can opt into. Well worth the membership price.
For writing books I highly recommend Susan May Warren’s Deep and Wide. It is SO good. I was highlighting notes in the intro! Also recommend The Emotion Thesaurus and Rivet Your Reader with Deep Point of View.
Love, love, love this advice!!
When I write, I have to get in a rhythm, set a mood. Music is a big part of that. What kind of music, if any, do you listen to when you write?
I listen to EPIC music!! At least that’s what the youtube title says. Ha ha. I like this music as it has no lyrics, is reasonably fast paced (so encourages fast typing/thinking), doesn’t give me a headache if I listen to it through headphones for hours on end, and is uplifting.
I start with this one first: Epic Music Mix: Fate
Then this hour long one: Best of Epic Music 2012
Let me sneak this one in: Can you tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.
The blurb for Waltzing Matilda:
Waltzing Matilda by Lucy Thompson – Sydney, Australia, 1821
Henry didn’t plan on a runaway convict masquerading as a shepherd. Or on the woman’s baby. Keeping them safe will cost him his freedom—or will it?
Something NOT in the blub: in Australia in 1821 the act of dropping one’s handkerchief at the feet of a female convict was considered a proposal.
You bet I used that in my novella.
Here’s what my extended plot/blurb says:
Escapee, Matilda, will die before returning to the Parramatta Female Factory. Last time someone offered her “kindness”, she ended up pregnant.
Six years since Henry Powell completed his sentence he’s increased his sheep herd to head inland.
What he didn’t plan on was a spitfire runaway convict masquerading as a drover—with a baby.
Henry’s offer to return is the last thing she needs. Still, his dreams of new horizons spark a longing. She’s captured and returned to Sydney. Her freedom costs his prized handkerchief—his proposal. Together, they trust God for their happy ever after in the Australian bush.
Thank you so much, Lucy, for talking with me today and for sharing about your works. I look forward to reading more!
Mail Order Surprise
Enjoy an Excerpt from Mail Order Surprise
Close enough to reach out and touch her, he could count the golden flecks in her eyes. He grinned. Only married a few hours and already he felt poetic. He backed off a pace from the distraction she presented. “So, what do you think?”
Lydia blinked, lashes brushing her cheek. “About what?”
“About the house.”
Shutters closed over her face, leaving a polite mask. “It’s nice. Large and … airy.”
Beau followed her gaze as it tracked over the workbench, the table his Pa built with its six mismatched chairs, the sideboard. What did she think about his home, really? Now that he was taking a good look at it, he probably should have washed up last week. Or at least set the dishes to soak.
He let out a huff. “Be honest—the place stinks and needs a decent clean.”
She raised a brow. “You think?”
He nodded, not too hastily, in case she thought he was desperate. If he didn’t already know how ridiculous he’d look, he’d get down on his knees and beg for a clean plate and a hot meal. He crossed his arms and worked his jaw. “Could do. I’ll let you decide what’s best, though.”
Lydia moved to the large black stove that dominated one wall. With a wave, she swirled the dust motes silhouetted against the stove and they twinkled out of sight to blend in with its tarnished nickel plating.
She checked the firebox and then propped her hands on her hips. “I’m thinking fried pork and potatoes. You have a side of pork, right?”
His head bobbed of its own accord. It was their last side of pork, and he’d gladly hand it over, sacrifice it on the altar of good eating.
One delicate finger tapped against her cheek. “And biscuits.”
His knees wobbled. “With gravy?”
She leveled him with a frown.
He hastily swallowed the saliva that had pooled in his mouth. “But only if you want to.”
“Beau….” Lydia shook her head. “One simply does not make biscuits without gravy.”
“Yes!”
She startled at his near shout, her hands flying to clutch her chest.
He grinned. “Sorry. It’s just….” He shrugged. “Gravy. I knew I did the right thing marrying you.”
She considered him with a look that said he’d taken leave of his senses. “Okay.”
His wife could look at him any old way she liked, he was gettin’ gravy and biscuits.
More about the Author
Hi! My name is Lucy Thompson. I’m a stay-at-home mum to five precocious children and wife to the ultra-handy Dave by day and a snoop by night, stalking interesting characters through historical settings, and writing about their exploits.
I enjoy meeting new people from all over the world and learning about the craft of writing. When I can be separated from my laptop, I’m a professional time-waster on Facebook (really!), a slave to the towering stack of books on my bedside table, or can be found hanging out with my five children.
My home is in central Queensland, Australia where I do not ride a kangaroo to the shops, mainly because my children won’t fit.
Buy Link
Amazon: http://amzn.to/22iGjlX
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Giveaway
To join the giveaway, please follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter below. Lucy is offering one (1) ebook copy of Mail Order Surprise. You can gain entry points by posting a comment on this blog, visiting Lucy’s Facebook Author Page, and visiting my Facebook Author Page. Best of luck!