Meet and Greet Monday: Ann Shorey

I’m Ann Shorey, and I’m delighted you’ve invited me to chat with your readers. To see the At Home in Beldon Grove series published is a dream come true for me. Starting with the first book, The Edge of Light, and continuing with my newest release, The Promise of Morning, these stories honor a promise I made to my four-times-great grandmother when we visited her grave on the original homestead land in Kentucky.

Book Giveaway Contest!!!
Find the details at the end of this post (limited to those with mailing addresses within the United States and Canada).
  

Today's guest, Ann Shorey, has been a story collector for most of her life. Her writing has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul, and in the Adams Media Cup of Comfort series. She made her fiction debut with The Edge of Light, released in January 2009. When she’s not writing, she teaches classes on historical research, story arc, and other fiction fundamentals at regional conferences. Ann lives with her husband in Sutherlin, Oregon. The Promise of Morning is the second book in her At Home in Beldon Grove series.

Contact Ann through her website at www.annshorey.com .

             These books are the novelized stories of my pioneer female ancestors. The Promise of Morning tells the story of Ellie and Matthew Craig. In the book, Matthew is a former circuit-riding preacher, as was my great-great-grandfather. Ellie struggles with the loss of three of her children as infants, which wasn’t all that uncommon in the early 1800’s. This situation comes from family history as well.

              I took what I knew and imagined what life would have been like for Ellie and Matthew, which is how my novel took shape. Most of The Promise of Morning is fictional, with bits of truth inserted here and there. I love hearing from readers with questions about what’s real and what isn’t in the stories. You’d be surprised—sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.

              The theme in The Promise of Morning is the importance of keeping promises, and the often unforeseen consequences when we fail to do so. The funny thing is, The Promise of Morning isn’t the working title I gave the book. My publisher, Revell, suggested this title and it fits so much better with the story than the one I had chosen. The Lord at work, I’m sure, as He has been throughout my writing journey.

              Right now I’m working on edits for my next book, tentatively titled The Dawn of a Dream. Book 3 carries on with the characters from the first two books. For those of you who’ve read The Edge of Light, the protagonist is Luellen McGarvie, Molly McGarvie’s oldest daughter, now all grown up. I had a lot of fun writing this one, since Luellen is such a spunky character.

              Each story in the At Home in Beldon Grove stands alone, but since all the characters live in Beldon Grove, the reader can follow previous story lines.

              I can be reached through my website, http://www.annshorey.com. You’ll find my book review blog there, too. My books are available through all major booksellers, as well as online at http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.christianbook.com/.  By clicking the “Buy This Book” link on my website, http://www.annshorey.com/novels.html,  you’ll be taken to a list of other online retailers.

              It’s been fun chatting with you. Thank you, Janalyn, for inviting me.

Book Giveaway: Leave a comment to this post to enter, or click here  to comment privately. Be sure and include "The Promise of Morning Giveaway" as your subject header. Entries will be accepted until midnight (Pacific time) on Wednesday. Visit this blog on Friday to find out the winner!