Friday, November 9, 2018

"Yesterday Christmas" by A. M. Heath Blog Tour and GiveAway and Interview


Book Info


During a snowstorm, Betty Tanner finds herself stuck with her estranged husband. Spending Christmas with Glenn wasn’t what she had in mind, and her mind reluctantly travels back three decades to their first Christmas together, when another snowstorm caused her to wreck her car outside the Tanner home … 1954: Stranded with the Tanners over Christmas, Betty is forced into the company of Glenn, who had spurned her for years. But as the snow falls outside, the walls between Betty and Glenn begin to crumble, revealing a side of him she never knew existed. A side she longs to know better.Pride and bitterness can make a beast out of anyone. And the hardships they face in their relationship are of their own making. But can following Christ’s ways lead Betty and Glenn to the reconciliation they long for?A.M. Heath invites you to spend Christmas with the Tanners in a dual-timeline novel loosely inspired by Beauty and the Beast. You’re sure to fall in love again and again.

             
Release Day Spotlights: 
Nov. 5: 
Alicia G. Ruggieri @ A Brighter Destiny
Reviews for If Only It Were Yesterday:
Nov. 6:
A. Kaylee Harrison @ Kaylee’s Kind of Writes
Plus Interview!
Nov. 7:Becky Dempsey @ Blossoms and Blessings
Nov. 8: 
Raechel Lenore @ God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae
Nov. 9:
Debbie Curto @ Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations
Plus Interview!
Nov. 12: 
Deana Dick @ Texas Book-aholic
Nov. 13:Robbie Pink @ Captive Dreams Window
Nov. 15:Alicia G. Ruggieri @ A Brighter Destiny
Plus Interview!
Nov. 16:Faith Blum @ Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections




Author Info
Besides being an Indie Author, I’m a wife, mother of four, children’s Sunday School teacher, sweet tea drinker, history fanatic, romantic, bubbly, lover of broccoli, and cake decorator who has a soft spot for Christmas trees, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What I’m not is a laundress (or at least not one who keeps up very well), a duster, tall, or patient in a doctor’s office.                                 
        

Author Links: 
You can visit me online on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and my blog. *Note: I’m most active on Facebook and my blog.
Whether you’re on social media or not, you can ensure that you never miss one of my sales, giveaways, or new releases by signing up for my newsletter. I’ll send you a direct link to your email anytime something big happens. http://eepurl.com/dDbVNz
My Review: 
"Yesterday Christmas" by A. M. Heath is the second book in the (A Season Passed) series. Each of these books are loosely based on "Alice in Wonderland" and "Beauty and the Beast".

I really like that  "Yesterday's Christmas" is told both in the present and in the past. This is really a love story about a married couple who are separated and heading for divorce.

This book had me crying. The marriage troubles that Glenn and Betty are having is all too familiar to couples in real life. So, many times, husbands and wives are not communicating and each expects  the other to know that they are loved and needed by the other. This book shows that spouses need to spend time together, too many marriages are being destroyed by husbands being absence whether due to being  workaholic or other reasons, or just being a couch potato and showing too much interest in tv. This leaves both spouses feeling lonely.

This book is a perfect story to pick up and read, just because you like love stories, but it is also a good story to read if you need a reminder that there is still hope for a troubled marriage.  This book is fiction but I say we need a new category of genre , " Real Fiction". 

Even through this book is fiction, this quote really reached down into my heart and I thought how true is this in most of our relationships whether marriage or family relationships or friendship " Lord, Why haven't you changed them by now ? Why haven't you opened their eyes and shown them what they were doing wrong."   ............"God replies " I'm not changing them; I'm changing you. 

This story if allowed to could be the start to bring a marriage that was dying back to life. Yes. I know that is quite a claim, but if you let in the truth that is spoken in this book, you really can't remain the same.

I am going to close this review with this quote " The secret to a happy marriage is this: It's never the wrong time to dance with your beautiful bride." 

I received a complimentary copy by the author and these opinions are my own.





GiveAway 
There’s a giveaway in progress for the duration of the tour. The giveaway closes on Nov 16, 2018. The winner will be announced here on the blog.


Interview 
1) What is the most interesting thing about your life as an author?

Imaginary characters have a way of keeping life interesting and unpredictable. I love creating. Just being able to delve into a world and story of my own making that somehow feels as real to me as anything else around me is probably one of coolest things about being an author. 

2) Would you recommend being an author? Why or why not?

I’m a firm believer in doing what God created you to do in the season He wants you to do it in. Anytime someone asks me my advice on whether they should or should not write, I always advise them to pray about it and to follow whatever the Lord is leading them to do. Because here’s the reality that I’ve found: Writing is tough! It looks glamorous from the outside. And if you’re reading posts like this one where we’re viewing an author being interviewed and collecting praises on their latest work, it can be hard to see the struggles that take place. You may not see the pressure, stress, and criticism that goes along with the job. I don’t think writing is for the faint at heart. It’s a tough uphill climb riddled with insecurities and painful feedback. In truth, very few aspects of the writing life are easy. However, God has gifted and crafted some to write. And those who He has created with the purpose of writing will overcome. It’ll still be a hard journey but He instilled something inside of them that will drive them forward when they’re tempted to turn back and give up. 

3) What is your favorite part about being an author?

Being able to give in to my imagination. I love getting to know new characters and crafting new stories. The actual birth of a new idea is one of the most exciting moments for me. And it competes only with the completion of a novel. Each of my stories live inside of my brain for a minimum two years. And many of these stories have been camping out in there for several years and counting. There is something so thrilling about finally holding something that has very literally only existed inside your mind. And just as I had mentioned the tough road an author has to travel to see a book into publication, there’s something so overwhelming about knowing that you’ve finished. Lol There’s a graphic floating around of Frodo (from Lord of the Rings) that I tend to refer to at the end of a publication. It’s a picture of him at the end of his journey, where he looks ready to faint away dead, and it says “It’s finished.” There’s so much truth to that. In the end, I’m always in tears because I know that God alone had carried me through. It’s rewarding to sit back and say that you're finally finished. … And then it’s on to the next project! :) 

4) Would you like for any of your books to be made into a movie? Who would you get to play the main characters?

ABSOLUTELY! I think that’s something a lot of authors can realistically dream about now. I have no idea who I would pick for the roles of any of my characters. But I will say, that I think the Ancient Words would make an amazing TV series, chronicling the life of these families during the Civil War. If you’ve read the books, you can understand how easy it would be to break apart into episodes. With the war setting, there were new challenges around every corner and it’d be an easy story to add to as well to bring out new day to day conflicts.
And I also think Yesterday’s Christmas and my upcoming release, Dance With Me, would make fantastic TV movies. There’s so much heart there in both of them. And I think they’d be easy to adapt to a Hallmark or a Christian movie. 

5) Which series did you enjoy writing the most Ancient Words Series or  A Season Passed? Why?

WOW! Tough question! I’m gonna have to say both for different reasons. Not only was Ancient Words my first series, so it’s entitled to sentimental love, but there’s a lot there that I really enjoy as a reader. And as an author, it required a different set of skills. The Ancient Words series is a continuation, so it’s more in-depth. There are more characters involved in that one, so each character’s point of view was more intricately woven into the overall plot. So from a creator’s standpoint, there’s a lot there to appreciate. Plus, the Civil War era is a first love of mine. 
But I had spent about five years writing the first three books of the series. When I started writing A Season Passed, it was like a breath of fresh air! At that point, I didn’t realize how ready I was for a change in scenery. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my old cast and plan to revisit them soon. But I was branching out for the first time with a new set of characters, a new town, and two new eras. There was another big change taking place. A Season Passed is written in the first person with only one point of view character while Ancient Words is written in the third person with multiple points of view. So I was exploring a completely new writing style for myself and I’ve found that I really love it. With a single point of view character, the stories in A Season Passed are shorter and they contain fewer subplots. So I’ve been able to write and publish more novels. 

6) What is the most encouraging thing a fan has ever done for you?


Hands down the best thing is when they private message me to tell me how the story touched their heart in a personal way. With Christian fiction, you’re writing not solely for entertainment but for edification. Each of my novels carry a different theme and a different purpose. Any time I hear back from a reader and they tell me they loved my book or couldn’t put it down, I literally stop and soak in those words, because it does mean a lot to me. But when they tell me that the Lord used my story to show them something they needed to repent of or to encourage them in some way, I feel doubly blessed. 
                                                 

9 comments:

Raechel said...

Fantastic review and interview! Really enjoyed reading. :) Loved this book -and this series - too!

Kara Marks said...

This sounds really good--I'd love to read it.

Linda Romer said...

Looking forward to reading Yesterdays Christmas. Thank you

Marilyn R. said...

Nice review, Debbie. I enjoyed reading Yesterday's Christmas.

A.M. Heath said...

Thanks for featuring Yesterday's Christmas on your blog! I enjoyed your interview questions. And thanks for the lovely review! It meant a lot to me.

A.M. Heath said...

Thanks, Raechel!!

A.M. Heath said...

Thank you, Kara! I hope you find the time to read it. :)

A.M. Heath said...

Thanks, Linda!! I hope you enjoy it!

A.M. Heath said...

Thanks, Marilyn!!