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Fabulous Friday Feature-Leslie Gould-Connections





Today we welcome author:
Leslie Gould

A commenter will win a copy of
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: 

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 Reviewer’s Choice Inspirational Book of the Year (2006) Award, but none of them were best sellers—or even stellar sellers, lol. I wasn’t 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 couldn’t write to publish, I’d keep writing anyway—and 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 I’ve 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 Brother’s Crown, released last fall.

God led me to be flexible in my writing, and I’m so glad I followed his direction. I love visiting Amish families and writing about them. I’ve also included many of my own life interests and experiences into the stories—from 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:
  
Website 

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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

Kim Hampton said…
This book sounds fantastic! My mom has recently gotten into reading Amish books and she's been recommending I try them. This would be a good one to start out with! imaclogger23 at yahoo dot com
Donna B said…
I love reading Amish fiction. This book sounds very interesting. I already receive your newsletter through e-mail. d[dot]brookmyer[at]yahoo[dot]com
Leslie Gould said…
Kim, thank you so much for your comment! And a big thanks, too, to your mom for reading Amish fiction!
Leslie Gould said…
Donna, so happy to hear you're on my newsletter list! Thank you for stopping by here and leaving a comment! :)
Kim,
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 :)
Hi Donna,
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.
loretta said…
Love that picture of the laundry, brings childhood memories back. I don't have a clothesline to hang clothes on so it has been a long time since I've done it.
Thank you for an opportunity to receive a copy of Amish Sweethearts. Crossing my fingers :)
Loretta, if you get a chance, I need to have your email for the drawing.
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.
Hi Mary and Leslie, I am late again in getting to read Mary's Friday posts but I am glad I made it today. Leslie, I am a retired librarian and I fell in love with your writing through your first collaboration with Mindy. I have been a fan ever since and even though I don't get to read your books as quickly as I used to :-), I still get them as soon as I can.
Best wishes with this newest title and Mary, as always, great interview!
Connie
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
Leslie Gould said…
Yes, they're both strong--and stubborn--in their own ways!
Leslie Gould said…
Yes, I think laundry on the line is a very nostalgic feeling for a lot of us! Thank you, Loretta, for stopping by and for your comment!
Leslie Gould said…
Connie,
Thank you so much for reading my books and for leaving a comment! I love librarians (retired ones too!)!
Connie,
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!

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