Love Inspired Historicals discussion

Hi everyone! Just a quick reminder that our November Q&A will start up tomorrow!

Tomorrow, reader favorite, Renee Ryan will stop by to get us in the holiday spirit with Finally a Bride, a story that combines two of my favorite things -- Christmas and weddings! On Tuesday, we'll get to welcome long-time Harlequin author Penny Richards who is making her LIH debut this month with Wolf Creek Wedding. I'll be here on Wednesday to talk about The Duke's Marriage Mission, a book that has special significance for me. Karen Kirst will round up our Q&A week on Friday to tell us about The Husband Hunt, which got 4 1/2 Stars from RT Book Review!

I hope lots of our members will drop by this week for fun conversation and a chance to win some books!

Yay, can't wait!!!! :)

Welcome to our November Q&A and thank you to Renee Ryan for getting us started!

Renee's LIH book for this month is Finally a Bride, the latest addition to her Charity House series. To appease their matchmaking employer, Garrett Mitchell and Molly Scott agree to a pretended courtship. In truth, Garrett is not inclined to trust his heart to a woman with a history of broken engagements. But could the reason Molly has never settled down be because no other man could measure up to Garrett in her eyes?

The Runaway Bride is one of my favorite romance films, Renee -- did you draw any inspiration from it for Molly and Garrett's story?

Good morning Deb and Renee, I like the title on this one, all little girls dream of "The one" and looks like Garrett just might be that one for her. I love to read stories of Brides. Matchmaking can be an art, why did this employer feel the need to get these two together? thanks for sharing some time with us today Renee.

Good morning, Deb! I always look forward to the first of each month, thanks to you and our authors.

Welcome, Renee! We appreciate you taking the time to be with us. I adore the cover of Finally a Bride - and like Deb, I love the combination of Christmas and weddings.

Can you tell us a little about the Charity House series? And do the books stand alone or should they be read in order?

Hi Renee! Finally A Bride sounds like a good read.

Looking forward to hearing about the new books this month! Finally a Bride sounds like a fun storyline.

Ooh - Christmas & weddings, 2 of my favourite things too!

Are there going to be anymore in the Charity House series?

Hi Renee! I confess I haven't picked up Finally a Bride yet, since I have quite a drive to get to town big enough to buy a book. (Love small town life, though!) I have read some of the other Charity House books, and loved them. Looking forward to this one.

What is your favorite part of writing the Charity House series?

Beautiful cover, Renee! I'm curious what you find challenging about writing a series. Fill us in, please. :)

I love the look of this book too and the story sounds so fun. Did you learn anything special in your research for this book?

Renee wrote: "Hi Penny! The book only hits the shelves this week (or maybe next) so you're right on time!"

YAY! Fantastic cover, BTW!

I was so hoping you'd do Molly's story! Can't wait! This is an excellent series! :) I highly recommend it!

Hi Renee - as you know I'm a BIG fan of your Charity House series. Finally A Bride is sitting on my TBR shelf taunting me but I promised myself I wouldn't start it until next week because of the length of my to-do list. We'll see if I can hold out :)

Renee, after asking about the Charity House series, I remembered reading and enjoying one of the earlier ones, The Marshal Takes a Bride. I obviously need to catch up! I also enjoyed Dangerous Allies, which I believe was a stand alone. Which do you prefer, a series or single books? And what other books or series do you have planned?

Renee, the cover of your book is beautiful, and I really liked the one Charity House book I've read so far, Loving Bella. I will certainly look forward to reading this new one. I also loved your WW II series Dangerous Allies and Courting the Enemy. Do you plan to write any more set during WW II? Is there a time period that is easier for you to write about, either because you know more about it or are more interested in it personally?

I really need to pick up the books in your Charity House series! What are you currently working on?

Big shouts of thanks out to Janet for directing me here! I LOVE LI books, and adore series, so where have I been hiding to not have come across the Charity series? (Maybe in the wheat field, or the forest with the bear and moose?). Will have to look for these books...what are the titles?

Our guest author for today is Penny Richards who has written many books for a number of Harlequin and Silhoutte lines. Now Love Inspired Historicals is fortunate to be publishing her Wolf Creek series, beginning this month with Wolf Creek Wedding!

I love a good marriage of convenience story and this one pairs it with a second chance at love. But the marriage between Abby Carter and Caleb Gentry is more of necessity than convenience. Both widowed, Abby and Caleb need to create a family for the sake of their young children. Abby hopes to find love again, but her new husband doesn't believe in love.

Welcome, Penny and cheers on your LIH debut! Can you tell us a bit about where you got the idea for Wolf Creek Wedding? Did you set out to write a series or did that come after you had written this book?

Congratulations on your LIH debut.

I do enjoy marriage of convenience stories - & I also love it when children have a role to play aswell, so this sounds right up my street.

What inspired you to call the series "Wolf Creek" - I like it...it has a very rural & rugged sound to it!

Penny wrote: "Renee wrote: "Hi Penny! The book only hits the shelves this week (or maybe next) so you're right on time!"

YAY! Fantastic cover, BTW!"

I'm definitely losing it! Since you have a Nov release, of course it hasn't been out yet!

Deborah wrote: "

Our guest author for today is Penny Richards who has written many books for a number of Harlequin and Silhoutte lines. Now Love Inspired Historicals is fort..."

Deborah wrote: "

Our guest author for today is Penny Richards who has written many books for a number of Harlequin and Silhoutte lines. Now Love Inspired Historicals is fort..."

Thanks for having me, Deb. I appreciate the time to get to know the LIH readers and let them get to know me a bit. I initially had two ideas that I'd planned on doing with a friend. Unfortunatley, she had some health issues at the time and the project never came about, so I asked if she'd mind if I did something on my own, and she gave full approval. Those two ideas became Wolf Creek Wedding and Wolf Creek Homecoming. After I moved to Delight (formerly Wolf Creek) and started creating characters to populate it, I decided to stay a while. I hope to have 4 more Wolf Creek titles before moving on.

Wendy wrote: "Congratulations on your LIH debut.

I do enjoy marriage of convenience stories - & I also love it when children have a role to play aswell, so this sounds right up my street.

What inspired you to ..."

Hi Wendy! Actually, Delight, Arkansas where I live, now was Wolf Creek before it became Delight. Wolf Creek actually runs through the back of one of the residential areas, and through across the highway from where I live. There are some amazingly beautiful spots along the banks. It's a small town of about 300, but even though there is civiliazation nearby it can be rugged. Coyotes frequently come to the pasture behind my house and serenade me through the night!

I love children in a story, too, and Abby's children play a crucial role in binding these two people.

Sounds like a great book Penny. What lines did you write for Harlequin & Silhouette? Is this your first time writing a historical?

I just got the invite to come over so I figured I would stop in real quick. I am a fan of the LIH stories and you will often find them in my reading pile:-) The debit novel sounds so interesting! I love marriage of convenience plots as they often end up humorous with two people learning to love each other while not supposed to be liking each other. Can't wait to read your new book!

Laura AKA Loves 2 Read Romance wrote: "Sounds like a great book Penny. What lines did you write for Harlequin & Silhouette? Is this your first time writing a historical?"

I wrote for Superromance and Special Editions mostly. I did do one historical for Harlequin, LAUGHTER ON THE WIND, that was actually a prequel to another book. I'm really enjoying escaping to the past, and love the research!

Renee wrote: "Penny...congrats on your LIH debut. We're so fortunate to have you with the line. I have your book on my TBR pike. Marriage of convenience, kids...good stuff!

Can you share a little with us about..."

Actually, Renee, one of my books for Harlequin's Crystal Creek continuity series was reprinted as part of the Love Inspired launch,since readers said it was "inspirational." Also the last thing I published before taking a really long break was an anthology with Lenora Nazworth, a longtime friend, and Lyn Cote. I'm not sure why it took me so long to decide this is where I need to be. Part of it was burnout, and part of it was maybe venturing into a new arena.

And I'll forgive your typos if you'll forgive mine!

I love books in a series where I can get to know characters from a community over time and many books. And marriage of convenience stories are always a favorite of mine.

Deborah wrote: "

Our guest author for today is Penny Richards who has written many books for a number of Harlequin and Silhoutte lines. Now Love Inspired Historicals is fort..."

Welcome to LIH! This is something I've always wanted to ask an author who has written for other Harlequin book lines. How difficult is it to go from writing love stories with more steaminess and physicality in romantic relationships to writing inspirational stories that depend more on the emotional aspect to develop a love story between your characters? (This question seems so wordy, but I hope it's understandable haha)

It's really nice to have some new group members joining us this month - welcome!! A big thanks to Janet Tronstad for posting the invitation and to Lyn Cote for helping to figure out how to let people know about the monthly Q&A.

And of course we so appreciate our faithful friends who come out month after month to chat about the new books!

Hello Penny! What is your favorite part of writing?

Charity wrote: "I just got the invite to come over so I figured I would stop in real quick. I am a fan of the LIH stories and you will often find them in my reading pile:-) The debit novel sounds so interesting! ..."

Hi Charity. I love marriages of covenience too! Anything that puts two people together whe don't think they want to be. So glad you like the LIH books and hope you do find mine interesting.

Sarah wrote: "Hello Penny! What is your favorite part of writing?"

Sarah, I think it would be seeing how things develop. I work from a synopsis, but there is so much room for unexpected things to happen along the way, and if they do, I chunk what I planned and go with it. I think that's because the deeper into the story you get, the better acquainted you become with both the nuances of the story and the nuances of character. And sometimes something happens and you just say, "Oh, wow! I didn't see that coming."

Beth wrote: "Deborah wrote: "

Our guest author for today is Penny Richards who has written many books for a number of Harlequin and Silhoutte lines. Now Love Inspired His..."

Though I wrote the steamier stuff, I wasn't always comfortable with it. I hope I always showed the deeper, emotional side of what the characters were feeling. That's why I'm such a fan of introspection, which seems to be going out of favor these days. To me, that's where the real character and story development take place, inside the character's head, since character and plot are developed together. According to screenwriters, never leave to get a snack or go to the ladies' room after a car chase or shootout, because the quiet time (or sequel) is when the characters inner motivation and conflict are shown, through dialogue in the cass of a movie.

As for the LIH, it's still a love story, it's just that you focus more on their conflict, maybe, the development of the secondary plot, God working in their lives and less on the physicality, though I have encountered a fair amount of sexual awareness in some of the LIH books. (Not that it's called that! LOL) I hope that answered your question!

Brittany wrote: "I love books in a series where I can get to know characters from a community over time and many books. And marriage of convenience stories are always a favorite of mine."

I hope to continue the Wolf Creek stories for a few more books, Brittany, since, like you, I like branching out to see what's happening to others in the community.

Looks good! I am a sucker for stories like that! :) I have enjoyed reading everything today Penny!

Hi Renee, I'm excited to read Molly's story!

I am so exhausted right now. It would be so nice to be able to go to bed.

Welcome, Penny! Congratulations on your LIH debut, which I hope is the first of many more. Like Renee mentioned yesterday, series let us revisit characters and see them grow, which I like very much. Some might say that I'm almost neurotic about reading books in order.

Showing my age here, I fell in love with the traditional Harlequin romance back in the late 60s when they were tender and clean romances, even before the Harlequin Presents line was started. I would even read many of them again if they were published as ebooks, but so far Betty Neels is the only author I've seen in that format. So I wondered how long youv've written for Harlequin and what made you decide to write for the LIH line? I'm certainly glad you did, Penny!

Penny, I also noticed that you've written under two pseudonyms. Were those also romances, or something different? You must have written a lot of books!

congrats on your debut LIH book. I was going to ask where its set but you answered that.
Did you find any interesting tibits in your research?

(late coming and not feeling to great right now the light headedness had hit this morning)

Dear Renee and Penny, What is the most interesting or odd bit of info you have come across in your research in writing your books.
Loved all the books in the Charity House series!

Hi Penny, I am seeing lot of 5 Star ratings on goodreads for this one, I must read it. I like this type of book where they marry for convenience then find Love, sounds like they will find it. Will you have many books in this series? Maybe even visit Wolf creek often with other characters? I look forward to this new series.

Penny, I always enjoy discovering new authors, and look forward to discovering your book. Historical fiction is my favorite!

Interesting and kind of sad but good because at least they had a place to send them. Thanks Renee!

Hi, Yes, it's nice to see new faces here. We didn't want anybody to miss the FUN! Penny Richards attended the first Love Inspired luncheon at a conference in 1997. I was there along with Lenora Worth and a few others who has lasted. I'm so happy to see Penny take up her pen again and begin writing inspirational.

Thanks to Renee and Penny for their lively discussions! Those books sound so good! I haven't seen them in my local stores yet, but I'll be watching.

It always feels a little awkward to introduce myself, but here goes... Our guest author for today is me, Deborah Hale and my November book is the fifth story in my Glass Slipper Brides series, The Duke's Marriage Mission.

Leah Shaw comes to Renforth Abbey to teach the Duke of Northam's bedridden son. The duke, Hayden Latimer, is an overprotective father who fears Leah will be a disruptive influence. But when Leah opens up a whole new world for the child (and for him!) Hayden decides he must keep her at Renforth Abbey by any means necessary, including marriage. The problem is, footloose Leah isn't interested in marriage, not even to a man as wealthy, handsome and caring as Hayden.

This story is very special to me because I was a teacher of special needs children and later became a mother of special needs children. Hayden is the protective parent, who wants to keep his child safe from the world, while Leah is the teacher who wants to foster her pupil's independence. Some of the conversations Leah and Hayden have on the subject are ones I have had in my own mind and heart.

So that's the answer to the question of where I got the idea for this story. :o) Do you have any others?

The book sounds interesting, my cousin also taught children with special needs but stopped teaching after having her own children.

What are you currently working on? Do you have any more Love Inspired books coming out in the near future?

Deb, a warm welcome to you as an author this month!

First of all, I have to say that I love the series title, "Glass Slipper Brides" because of the romantic images from the fairy tale that come to mind. I'd like to know how the glass slipper theme runs through the series.

Secondly, I love the special-needs child theme. My son, although not physically handicapped, really struggled in his early school years with learning disabilities, and it was such a blessing when we were able to get him into a Christian school that specialized in that area. In the beginning, I could see in our family the conflicts between desiring to protect vs. encouraging independence, even denial that he even had a problem. And at times, I experienced those conflicts within myself. Did you have to deal with anything like that in your family, Deb?