Leslie Gould
A commenter will win a copy of
Leslie's book:
Amish Sweethearts
Leslie's book:
Amish Sweethearts
Scroll down to see how.
Mary here. I'm so happy to welcome Leslie Gould today. This talented woman cared for children, ran her home, and went to grad school, all at the same time. Talk about a tight schedule! I don't want to steal her thunder so without further ado...here is what Leslie said when I asked her: how has God led you on your writing journey. Come, be inspired:
Mary here. I'm so happy to welcome Leslie Gould today. This talented woman cared for children, ran her home, and went to grad school, all at the same time. Talk about a tight schedule! I don't want to steal her thunder so without further ado...here is what Leslie said when I asked her: how has God led you on your writing journey. Come, be inspired:
Connections Made By God
My
first three novels were published in 2003, 2005, and 2006. They received good
reviews and one, Beyond the Blue, won the Romantic
Times Reviewerās Choice Inspirational Book of the Year (2006) Award, but none
of them were best sellersāor even stellar sellers, lol. I wasnāt sure if I
would publish any more novels, honestly, and after a lot of prayer I decided to
go to graduate school and get my masters in fine arts in creative writing. If I
couldnāt write to publish, Iād keep writing anywayāand plan to make a career
out of teaching.
With
four kids still living at home, I started grad school at Portland State
University. To my surprise, I did end
up writing to publish throughout my graduate years, along with writing for my
courses. My agent, Chip MacGregor,
connected me to Guideposts
to do write-for-hire novels. In all, I worked on three different series with a variety
of other authors and wrote eight novels altogether. I learned to collaborate, write
more efficiently, and to keep trusting God with my writing.
Soon
after I graduated, Chip connected me with author Mindy Starns Clark. We began
collaborating on an Amish series, The Women of Lancaster County, and the first
one, The Amish Midwife, hit the #1
bestseller spot and won a Christy Award. Since then Iāve written six more Amish
novels on my own, including my latest, Amish Sweethearts, which just
released. And, currently, Mindy and I are writing a new series, Cousins of the
Dove. The first, My Brotherās Crown, released last
fall.
God led
me to be flexible in my writing, and Iām so glad I followed his direction. I
love visiting Amish families and writing about them. Iāve also included many of
my own life interests and experiences into the storiesāfrom adoption to
midwifery to the military. And I delight in the research I do for my other
projects too. I learn something new every single day.
A double
blessing is that even though I write fulltime, I also teach one college writing
class per semester. God has truly given me the desires of my heart.
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Leslie's family |
Leslie Gould is the #1 bestselling
and Christy Award winning author of twenty-two novels. She has a MFA from
Portland State University and teaches writing at Warner Pacific College. Leslie
enjoys traveling, hiking, and history. She and her husband, Peter are the revolving-door parents of four children
and three cats.
Leslie loves to connect with readers.
You can find her at her:
You can find her at her:
Website
However, the passing of years and the distance between them isn't enough to halt their now hidden feelings for each other. If being together used to be difficult, it's now impossible, especially with the Amish opposed to war. Zane's service takes a dramatic turn when he's sent to Afghanistan. Being on the front line and the reality of taking a life has him questioning whether he can continue to serve or not. But all choices have consequences--both his and hers. With Lila preparing to marry another, will these one-time sweethearts ever find the life together that they both still long for?.
Enter the contest to win a copy of
Leslie Gould's book:
Amish Sweethearts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amish Sweethearts
They've been best friends
for years, but as high school ends, Zane Beck can't help but look at his Amish
neighbor, Lila Lehman, with different eyes. Her controlling father sees only
one future for Lila, though, and arranges for her to be courted by an
upstanding young Amish man. When Zane sees the two together, his plans for the
future crumble, and he impulsively enlists in the Army, following in his
father's footsteps.However, the passing of years and the distance between them isn't enough to halt their now hidden feelings for each other. If being together used to be difficult, it's now impossible, especially with the Amish opposed to war. Zane's service takes a dramatic turn when he's sent to Afghanistan. Being on the front line and the reality of taking a life has him questioning whether he can continue to serve or not. But all choices have consequences--both his and hers. With Lila preparing to marry another, will these one-time sweethearts ever find the life together that they both still long for?.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enter the contest to win a copy of
Leslie Gould's book:
Amish Sweethearts
Here is how:
1. Leave a comment (and email address)
2. AND sign up to receive my newsletter -in the right column
(subscribers to Mary Vee's newsletter will receive a special gift)
AND/OR sign up to receive posts by email if you aren't already
Thank you, Leslie, for joining us this weekend!
We enjoy chatting with you, Reader, and look forward to reading your comments and questions. Or at least your hi, hello, or hey.
Thanks for stopping by!
Don't forget to comment!
Comments
I totally agree about Leslie's book. So intriguing! I, too hadn't read Amish books until someone asked me to. I was so thankful afterwards Loved the book and recommended it to others. Now I'm hooked. Watch out...you'll be hooked too :)
Haven't see you in a bit, so glad you had a chance to stop in to chat with Leslie and me. What I like about Leslie's story is Zane and Lila's strength. I haven't read the story yet, but it seems like this is a big component. Maybe Leslie will tell us if I'm right.
Thank you for an opportunity to receive a copy of Amish Sweethearts. Crossing my fingers :)
Thanks so much for stopping by. My mom use to hang clothes on a line. I do too when the power goes out. You're right, the clothes line brings out an Amish feeling. I look forward to seeing you again.
Best wishes with this newest title and Mary, as always, great interview!
Connie
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
Thank you so much for reading my books and for leaving a comment! I love librarians (retired ones too!)!
I knew we needed to keep the group open for someone...that someone was you! And just think, you've already read some of Leslie's works. How cool is that. Talk about putting a smile on our guest author's face!! I'm so glad you stopped by and chatted with Leslie, the gang, and me!