Please join me in welcoming author, Jan Elder, for the first time on my website.

Jan, it’s a pleasure to have you visit with us, this month!

Thanks, Deborah. A delight to be here!

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Alrighty. I’m happily married to the sweetest man on the planet, I write Christian contemporary romance novels, and I’m a “mom” to two feisty cats. As to where I live, if you look on a map, my house is close to the skinniest part of Maryland, at the “gateway” to Western Maryland. People in the Northern part of the country think I live in the South, those in the South would say that I live in the North, Marylanders would say I live on the western side of the state, and the rest of the country thinks I live in the East. 

My latest release, Love, Lies, and Fireflies is set in the fictional town of Airy Ridge, also in Maryland. I’ve lived somewhere in the state all my life so it’s easy to envision the pastoral countryside when I write. And sometimes it’s handy to be close to two big cities, Baltimore and D.C. so they sometimes sneak into my stories as well.

The bio on your Amazon page reveals you like watching Turner Classic Movies. Which would you say is your favorite (even if you haven’t seen it on TCM)?

My husband is a historian and he was the one who introduced me to “classic” movies. One of our favorites is “Random Harvest” with Greer Garson and Ronald Coleman. This was probably the movie that started the old “hit on the head amnesia ploy,” only it wasn’t old in 1942. Truly brilliantly acted and a genuine “feel-good” kind of movie.

Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't believe a minute of Random Harvest, but the magic created by the amazing stars transforms the wildly incredible into the wholly credible. And that’s why I love it. A totally unbelievable plot that works brilliantly in the hands of the skilled author who wrote the original book.   

Do you have a day job, right now, or do you write full time?

I used to say I wish I didn’t have to have a “day job” but now I truly enjoy what I do. I recently trained to be a life coach and I love it. Unlike a therapist who often explores a person’s painful past, a life coach starts from the “now” and moves forward. I get to talk about God-given talents and participate in helping people find what brings them joy.

This job also dovetails really well with writing because I can set my own schedule for both. I am truly blessed.

Name some of the day jobs you’ve held. Please share an example of any that may have impacted your writing.

What most people might say was my most interesting job is that I owned and ran a petsitting company for 20 years. It started with just me and at one point I had fifty employees. While it was a lot of fun for a while, it’s really hard work to own your own business and that particular business was busiest on weekends and holidays. Many Christmas’ I spent a lot more time cleaning litterboxes than connecting with my family.

With a couple of thousand customers, I also ran across some mighty cantankerous folks. I loved taking care of the pets though, and now I have lots of interesting stories for books, including a cat who loved drinking Perrier out of a crystal goblet positioned smack dab in the middle of the dining room table! 

Jan, please tell us a little about your latest release.

Sure, Love, Lies, and Fireflies is a contemporary romance with elements of suspense. Here’s that all important blurb:

Didi O’Brien is engaged—at least she was an hour ago. Now she’s not so sure. Her fiancé, the suave Kevin Cabot, has just revealed that he’s been unfaithful, and he’s not the least bit sorry. Reeling from the betrayal, with her plans for a happily-ever-after life in doubt, she prays for direction. The answer comes as a complete surprise. God has someone better in mind.

Middle school teacher, Jake Montgomery, is struggling with some issues of his own. Sadly, a year previously his fiancée had been killed in a car crash. Battling anger and despair, in a mountain-top experience, Jake wrestles with the Almighty, and is ready to live again. In his youth, he’d felt an unmistakable call to the ministry but, like the prophet Jonah, since then, he’s been running hard in the wrong direction.

Through a crisis of faith, and glimpses of mercy, Didi and Jake find each other. But can they find the strength to resolve the many obstacles that conspire to keep them apart?

What inspired this story?

One of my clients in the petsitting business was obviously being controlled and emotionally abused by her husband. It’s a long, sad story but I was basically the only friend she had and we didn’t know each other all that well! I got to thinking what her life must have been like, always walking on eggshells. Always afraid the she might make a “mistake.” Living in fear of what might set him off …

I already had a love story in my mind, the heroine, Didi O’Brien a lot like me in some ways. The hero, Jake Montgomery, a charming, strong, moral man a great deal like my own husband. Then the bad guy kind of sprang to life and demanded his own voice. 

Can you share a story about someone who helped you out while researching this book?

In the middle of writing the book I attended the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. I sat in on a fiction class practicum and on the last day, a psychologist joined us as the special speaker. Mark Hancock specialized in personality and I hired him to read the passages that involved my antagonist to see if they rang true. I made a few tweaks as a result of his suggestions, hopefully making Kevin Cabot truly come to life.

Love, Lies, and Fireflies is really more of a romantic love story than a suspense novel, but I like to think the twist and turns keep the reader engaged. I’ll share with you one of the recent reviews of LLF that made my heart happy. The reviewer seemed to “get” what I was aiming at.

I enjoyed this well-written Christian novel that deals with real-life issues and not just feel-good romance! The romance comes to a satisfying conclusion in the end, but so do other issues that the characters deal with: unresolved grief, an abusive relationship, anger with God, and running away from His calling. I so much appreciated that the author portrayed having a right relationship with God and being in His will as the pinnacle of one's fulfillment and joy, rather than simply finding the "right one" and falling in love.

Who are some of your favorite authors you feel influenced your work and how have they impacted your writing?

I’ll share with you what I’m giving a great many friends for Christmas this year. I aspire to write this well and the skillfully interwoven relationship aspects of A Thousand Sleepless Nights by Michael King affected me deeply:
 
In the 1970s, escaping a home where he knew nothing but violence and hate, Jim Harding found work, and love, on the largest horse ranch in Virginia. The object of his affections, Nena St. Claire, is the daughter of the owner, a man who ruled his ranch with an iron fist and would do whatever it took to keep Nena and Jim apart.

Against the wishes of her family, Nena marries Jim, and after her father dies, she sacrifices everything--including her family--to keep the ranch alive. Now their three grown children have lives of their own and want nothing to do with Nena. She was never the mother they needed.

When cancer strikes and Nena is given a devastating diagnosis, can Jim reconcile the family before it is too late?

Yep. My new favorite book. And oh yeah, C.S. Lewis. Love him too. See big grin pasted here.

Your bio states that you and your husband are combing the countryside searching for the perfect ice cream flavor. What have you found so far?

Rounder thighs? Really though, our latest amazing find was chocolate almond joy frozen custard. OH MY! Which reminds me we need to go back.

Jan, where can readers find you on the Internet?

Thanks for asking. My website is: http://janelderauthor.com

Is there anything else you would like readers to know about you or your books?

I have a new book out on November 1st. It’s part of a “boxed set” of Christmas novellas titled “Frosting and Flurries,” put out by me and four other stellar Christian authors on Amazon. My novella is Moostletoe, Book 1 of the Moose Creek series:

Rev. Samantha Evans lands in Moose Creek, Maine, where parishioners chew up new ministers for breakfast. Happily, she also reunites with forest ranger Eric Palmer, her best friend from her teenage years. With Samantha’s career on the line, Eric must save her job and rescue his own shattered heart in the process.  But how does Matilda the moose factor into the mix?

Shameless plug here: If you’re interested in five great books for 99 measly pennies, you can find it through my Amazon author page at https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Elder/e/B00VXW5F2C/

Jan, thank you so much for being here! It was such a pleasure and I wish you all the best with all your current and future works!

Thanks, Deborah. I’m also praying for you and your continued success in wherever God leads you!

If you’d like to win a copy of Love, Lies and Fireflies, use my Contact page and type “Drawing” in the comments box. Jan is generously giving away TWO Kindle copies of her book. The deadline to enter is November 24th.