Everyone please join me in welcoming author, Rose McCauley. It’s a pleasure to have you visit this month, Rose!

Glad to get to visit your site, Deborah. I appreciate the invite!

Rose, I read on your website that, along with having been a MOPS mentor at one time, you were also a “Moppet Worker.” Being the mother of two grown sons, I never heard this term before. For those, like me, who don’t know, please explain what a Moppet Worker is and does.

There is an organization called MOPS—Mothers of Pre-schoolers--that has been around for decades. We didn’t have a local group in the small community we lived in when my kids were that age, but later one started at a church close by, and I wanted to be involved, so I volunteered to be a Moppet (that’s the name for the kids) Worker. Those are ladies who watch the children while their mothers fellowship, have a devotional, craft-time and brunch or a meal. Although the steering team is composed of Christians, no one has to go to any church to join. Later on, our church began a new MOPS group for Teenage mothers (I think we were one of the few in the US at that time specifically geared for teen age girls with children) and I was asked to be the mentor for that group—similar to a chaplain or counselor. I did a short Bible lesson relevant to the mothers and answered questions from them. It was a great experience! I highly recommend it for anyone with kids not in school yet, and for anyone who wishes to volunteer to help young mothers in this way.

I recently read on a blog where you stated that God teaches you while you are writing. Can you share something he recently taught you through your writing?

My latest book out, Surrender to Peace, is about a woman who stopped listening to God and His Word and got engaged to a non-Christian. After the engagement falls through, and she goes on a sad honeymoon-for-one to Puerto Rico, she longs to hear His Voice (the Holy Spirit) speaking to her again, but she has to slow down and listen. This is something I have had to learn to do—slow down, get very still, and give God time to speak to my heart without running ahead first! When we do finally learn to listen and follow His leading, we are often surprised at how much good He can work out of our mistakes which was also a lesson I’ve learned as well as my character.

Why did you choose these two characters to put together in this story?

I needed a heroine (Joy Worth) who came to Puerto Rico in a sad frame of mind, so the broken engagement and un-honeymoon part kind of wrote itself! Then for my hero, Benigno Cook, I needed a strong Christian man who could help Joy while falling in love with her, and also had the patience to wait for her to learn to trust God and herself again.

How is the love of God reflected through your book?

Benigno shows God’s love to Joy without any strings attached. He is patient and loving like God is with us all.

What was your main goal in writing this story, and do you feel you’ve achieved it?

Since I had also had trouble slowing down and listening to God, my goal was to show how easy it is if we still our thoughts and hearts before Him and surrender to Him and let Him guide us, whether it is out loud, or more usually a sensing of the Spirit. I think I showed that through Joy’s decision to surrender all to Him.

What can we expect from you next?

My story that was released last year, Christmas Grace, will be re-released this fall in a 7 story boxed set with 6 other authors titled Home for Christmas. It is a bargain at only 99 cents for 7 stories! It will only be available in e-book format. Pre-orders are already available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015HLUPRE and the release date is October 15th.

Please tell us how readers can connect with you.

Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1LrXNoS or type in Rose Allen McCauley
Twitter @RoseAMcCauley
www.rosemccauley.com        

Is there anything else readers should know about you or your books?
Places to order Surrender to Peace and leave reviews:
Amazon http://amzn.to/1K2yFB5
Apple - itunes.apple.com/iBooks
Barnes & Noble- http://bit.ly/1TFM9b7
or go to http://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/nook-books/_/N-8qa
and type in Surrender to Peace
Kobo - http://bit.ly/1N9ySs
Oyster - http://bit.ly/1hdzOiO
Scribd - www.scribd.com and type in Surrender to Peace

Rose, thank you so much for taking the time to visit. I wish you all the best with this and all future books.

I wish you the best, too, Deborah.

Thank you again for letting me visit. I hope many will leave a comment for a chance to win an e-book copy.

If you’d like to win an e-copy of Surrender to Peace, use the Contact page , and type “drawing” in the comments box. The deadline to enter is October 24th.