Friends or Foes: An Interview with Elaine Stock

Today’s interview is with an award-winning author. Her novel, Her Good Girl (January 2018) won 2 awards: the 2018 American Fiction Awards Winner in Christian Inspirational Fiction and the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal in Christian Fiction. Now let’s read on to see what she has in store in her latest book!

How did you come up with the idea of your Christmas themed book?

Christmas Love Year Round is Book 1 of the Kindred Lake romance series. The story had brewed in my mind for a while, taking various shapes, settings, sub-themes (to the main romance theme), and even character names. In writing Christian-based fiction it is in my heart to paint the picture for readers how God loves each one of us year-round, reflecting on the reason why Christmas is meant to enjoy every day.

This was originally a story of how two former classmates from high school were reunited when Gavin reappears back in their hometown of Kindred Lake and buys the house across the street from widowed Cami. Back during their school days, Cami had joined others in bullying Gavin and his family because they were different from their more posh middle and upper-class families. The story grew into whether or not these two can forgive each other as well as themselves to make their amends into amens against the backdrop of Cami’s eight-year-old son’s flailing happiness and warring parents.

Could you give me a short synopsis on the story for my readers?

Here’s the back of the book blurb: Cami Richardson is good at chasing away the men in her life: first Gavin Kinkaid, a former classmate she’d helped to bully, and later, her husband who left her widowed and a single mom. Now all she wants is to bring a smile back to her eight-year-old son. What she doesn’t expect is for Gavin to become her new neighbor.

Gavin wants to settle down after serving in the Air Force and mend the separation between him and his dad. What he never counts on is his changing feelings when he sees Cami as a kind woman instead of his former adversary.

When Cami’s son blindsides them both during the Christmas season, is their reunion at risk or will it grow stronger?

What made you decide to do a Christmas themed book?

I enjoy writing-challenges. Although I am growing weary from seemingly endless winters in the northeast where my husband and I live, it’s fun to set a story during the winter months.

There are many sensory descriptions (for example, the sound of crunching snow under the weight of a car), and it’s a big plus for intensifying the romantic mood between a couple (for instance, in Christmas Love Year Round, Cami begins to rethink old thoughts on Gavin when she witnesses him, dressed in a wintry sweater and jeans, pull out fresh-baked cookies from the oven to share with her and her son.

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

I enjoy baking treats for the neighbors. I bake, and my husband delivers the goody packages.

What’s next?

I’m at work on Book 2 of the Kindred Lake Series with a hopeful release targeted next spring. Then there will be Book 3, an autumn story. Somewhere between these romance novels, I will be working on a novella as part of a novella collection with other authors I’ve been invited to join, plus another stand-alone time-slip novel that is loosely based on my own family’s past.

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?

Simply—but it’s not easy to do—believe in yourself, your writing, and don’t give up.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?

On a practical level: hone the craft of editing, even though it’s the antithesis of free creativity.

On the emotional level: Do not compare yourself to others. I repeat: Do not compare yourself to others. Every human being, whether she or he writes for fun or for publication, has a different story whether purposely or due to how life has panned out. Envy of others is the destroyer of individuality and one’s voice.

Any last words or tips?

For both readers and writers: read various genres by authors both traditionally published and independently published (the latter have come along way over the past few years and often their well-edited novels tell the story readers crave).

Also, I believe listening to audiobooks (I borrow from the library and listen to and from my commute to the day-job) helps develops dialogue, pacing, description, and characterization.

That’s all for today’s interview. If you’d like to learn more about Elaine’s writing, here are some links to get you started.

Website: http://elainestock.com

Everyone’s Story blog: http://elainestock.com/blog

Twitter  http://www.twitter.com/ElaineStock
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorElaineStock
Goodreads  http://goodreads.com/ElaineStock

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1JYAwNy

Link to purchase Christmas Love Year Round: https://amzn.to/2wnp2z8