Happy book birthday, Reliance!

This is Christina Yother’s second novel and it releases today. The first novel in the Hollow Hearts series, Reverie, released in June. We’ll take a closer look at her debut later in the post. Christina has graciously offered to give away copies of BOTH novels, so be sure and read through to the end for details regarding how you can enter the giveaway.

Book Blurb for Reliance:

Two strangers. One clandestine wedding. Many hidden stories.

 Discouraged by his limited prospects and tired of trying to find a bride in a traditional manner, Elias Wheeler places an advertisement requesting a mail-order bride and mother for his young daughter. Rebecca Malone, eager to escape an abusive past, travels to Montana to become Elias’s wife despite only exchanging a few letters. Learning to care for one another proves easy; learning to trust proves much more difficult. Elias and Rebecca must navigate the waters of blending families while learning to depend on one another with confidence, loving support, and faith. Together they must learn to rely on each other and what they hope to build while accepting that perfection isn’t the goal; love is.

Book Blurb for Reverie:

Orphaned at a young age Hetty is convinced that her circumstances make her unworthy of having a family of her own. When a job opportunity as a housekeeper presents itself Hetty accepts believing that working for Isaac Wheeler and his family is a welcome, if not temporary, surrogate for her own family dreams. As she’s faced with learning to trust she discovers that wanting a family and building a family are two very different things. Will she learn to see herself as worthy of God’s gifts? Or will she return to the solitary existence that defined so much of her life?

Isaac Wheeler, successful furniture maker and dishonorable bachelor, finds Hetty’s presence in his home to be disturbing and a haunting reminder of his past sins. As he struggles with his growing and unwanted feelings, he can’t help but torment himself with mistakes from his past. Can he navigate the family tensions, infidelity, and sudden choices destined to keep them apart? Or can Isaac endure each struggle and seek forgiveness before discovering what truly makes a family?

Five Questions with Christina Yother:

What was the inspiration for your novel? 

I wanted to write a story that conveyed the value of family. It is something that is so important to me – building that strong foundation of faith and love with my husband and children. It is also something that is so prevalent here in the culture of the south. I wasn’t raised down here, but I’ve lived here long enough to feel myself become rooted in the culture. I’ve learned so much over the years about the importance of family and I hope my novel channels some of that value in a way that will connect with readers.

If you could have dinner with three people (living or dead), who would you choose and why?

Oh, there are so many choices! One of my first choices would be John Green. His novels are so hot right now and he does an amazing job connecting with and creating a younger generation of readers. Plus, he’s a total nerd! I think we’d get along famously! I’d also love to have dinner with Flannery O’Connor. I studied her work in college and grew to love her strong voice. She was one of the first female writers I really connected with and I imagine she’d be a great conversationalist! My third choice would be my grandmother, Mimi.  She passed away in 2005 and never got to meet my two youngest children. She always encouraged me to go back to school for my PhD long before I ever did and she always showed such interest in whatever I was pursuing. I’d love to have another meal with her and just hold her little wrinkled hand in mine while I tell her all about my children and my writing.

 In terms of writing a novel, are you a plotter or a pantser? Or a hybrid combo?

I tend to be a combination of both.  I start by opening a blank Moleskine notebook. I begin creating character profiles, plot points, and a general timeline for the story. Once I have the general outlining done I begin researching. I do all this by hand and keep it in the Moleskine notebook so I always have it as a reference. Once I actually start writing I tend to become a pantser. I have a general idea where the story goes, but the writing flows on its own. Sometimes what I plan to happen is completely different from what comes out. The characters will start talking to me and telling me where they want and need to go. That can’t be planned – it comes in the moment.

What can your readers expect from you in the future? Prequel, sequel, novella, etc. 

In addition to Reverie and Reliance, the third book in the Hollow Hearts series can be expected sometime in Spring 2015. I have a couple ideas to extend the series to five books, but for now I’ll be stopping at three. Once this series is finished I’ll begin working on another project. It’s more contemporary and isn’t really a romance at all.

Please share one piece of advice for aspiring writers you wish you’d known before you started this writing journey.

The mantra that I try to remember when writing is this: Write a great book. Give your readers time to find it. Repeat.  I can’t remember where I heard that advice, but I wish I’d known it from the beginning.   Writing takes patience – an obscene amount of patience.  It’s important to remember that none of this – the process, the publishing, the readers – happens overnight. You have to be willing to wait. And while you’re waiting you have to be willing to keep writing.

Christina’s Bio:

Christina Yother is a historical and contemporary romance writer. She has been involved with writing, blogging, and social media for several years and earned a PhD in 2012 by writing one of the first dissertations to explore how women build community through writing online. She lives in small-town Georgia with her husband and three children. You can find her writing at christinayother.com or at projectunderblog.com where she runs a submission-based collaborative writing blog that celebrates the smaller voices in the blogging community. You can connect with Christina via Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Books available on Amazon, B & N,  Books-A-Million, and iTunes

Thanks for participating in the 31 Days of Debut Authors series, Christina. Congrats again on the release of both your novels. If you’d like to win a paperback copy of Reliance and Reverie, please leave a comment below with a valid email address, telling us one person you’d like to have dinner with (living or deceased). Entries limited to US RESIDENTS ONLY, please. Contest closes at 11:59pm EST on 10/14/2014.