Guest Blogger: Lisa Kline PLUS A GIVEAWAY - Part II

As promised on last week's blog,  Lisa Kline is giving away her second book in the Sisters in All Seasons series. After she shares her process of writing the series you'll find directions how to win a personally autographed copy of Wild Horse Spring. 

Carol: How did you get the idea for four different locations and four different animals?

Lisa: Zondervan bought my novel Summer of the Wolves and asked me to write three more novels with the same characters. Since the novel takes place when the family takes a vacation, I thought, what if all four novels take place during vacations? And I started toying with ideas about places I’d been, places I had memories I could use for the books. And one of the characters, Diana, has a tremendous affinity for animals, and so I thought, what if some type of animal is featured in each book? My husband is a veterinarian, so I knew I could pick his brain! And then I thought, what if each vacation takes place in a different season of the year? And from there my editor and I brainstormed the Sisters in All Seasons title.

Carol: Can you describe the interaction with Zondervan about creating the series?

Lisa: I wrote up my ideas, sent them to my agent, and we had a couple of interactions before I was ready to send the series synopsis to Zondervan. Caryn Wiseman, my agent, was tremendously helpful.

Carol: What are your thoughts on writing a series? Would you recommend it to other writers?

Lisa: This has been a wonderful experience. To be with your characters for an extended time like this has been such a gift. There is time to get to know them layer by layer, so much more deeply. I am also getting to know them over time as well. When the first book takes place, Stephanie and Diana have just completed 7^th grade. By the 4^th book, they are starting high school.

I will admit that I was intimidated at first by having to develop and write three novels in a year and a half. I wasn’t sure I could do it. I did have to be disciplined. I kept myself to a schedule of about two to three pages a day, a minimum of ten pages a week.

Carol: I love how your characters grew up as you wrote the series and you got to know them better with each book. Can you give us a sneak peak into the third and fourth books?

Lisa: Sure! In the third book, Blue Autumn Cruise (due out in October, 2012) they go on a cruise for Stephanie’s grandmother’s 75^th birthday. This venue gave me a chance to introduce members of the girls’ extended family. It was tricky to get an animal on a cruise ship, though – and I won’t give that part away!  The fourth book, Winter's Tide, (release February 15, 2013) takes place in one of my most favorite places in the world – near Beaufort, North Carolina, close to where my grandmother grew up. I just visited the Duke Marine Lab there for research.

Carol: Every writer always thinks into the future. So, what’s next for you? Do you plan to stay in the inspirational market or write another series?

Lisa: I don’t know what is next. I was working on another novel when this one sold, and I might get back to work on that. But working on a series has been great fun and I would absolutely love to do it again. I feel tremendously blessed to have had the opportunity. 

Thank you so much, Lisa for sharing your experiences with my readers. Now, here are directions for winning a copy of Wild Horse Spring. Lisa will also be autographing books this Saturday, June 30, at Park Road Books. She'll find time to pick this giveaway winner! Contest closes at noon on Saturday--so start tweeting, following, and Facebooking now!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Follow this blog (if you are not following yet), or:
2. If you are already a follower--thank you!--then just post a link on your favorite social network site and,
3. Leave me a comment with your email address indicating which you did.

4. If you do more than one thing (follow and post to a social network site, or post on two different sites) I'll enter your name TWICE!!

Guest Blogger: Lisa Kline PLUS a Giveway- Part I

 In this post my friend and fellow North Carolina author, Lisa Kline, answers questions about her first two books in her four-book series, Sisters in All Seasons. Although Lisa has published three other middle grade books, these are her first in the inspirational market as well as her first foray into writing a series.

Carol: What was your inspiration for writing Summer of the Wolves?

Lisa: On a trip with a friend to a ranch in western North Carolina, I became fascinated with some hybrid wolf dogs, especially one wolf that was terrified of people. I also saw a family with two daughters, one of whom seemed as shy and miserable as the wolf. My heart went out to her. I decided to make up a story combining the wolves and the family.

Carol: What an interesting premise! What stands out for you as being the most challenging and/or rewarding part of writing inspirational material for kids?

Lisa: When I wrote Summer of the Wolves, I wasn’t trying to be didactic or inspirational. I was just trying to tell a story that interested me. What engages me most as a writer is a character’s inner conflict; that is, what is the right thing to do in this situation? And do I have the courage to do it? Writing about characters’ inner conflicts gives me a chance to explore some of my own questions about how we should live our lives. I think that many writers write, not because they have the answers to life’s big questions, but because they struggle with them. And maybe readers identify because they struggle too.

Carol: I can totally relate to that, Lisa. Sometimes I feel as if writing Half-Truths has raised many life questions for me. How did you use this increased self-awareness in your book?

Lisa: I grew to love my characters and wanted them to find love, either from parents, friends, spouses, or God. I believe that God loves us and that love is the most powerful force in our world. One of the questions I often ask myself is, how can we learn to live together on this earth and love each other?

Carol: Did you have a goal in mind as you wrote?

Lisa: If my writing inspires or uplifts others, I’m very happy to learn that. But I don’t set out to be inspiring or didactic. I just try to tell an engaging story, and explore some of my own questions in the process.

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Sisters in All Seasons, is about Stephanie and Diana, who become stepsisters when Diana’s mother marries Stephanie’s father. The girls possess very different forms of courage, and don’t respect or empathize with each other at first. The series is the story of their journey to learn to trust and love one another. Each book features a different vacation location in North Carolina and a different animal. The first two books, Summer of the Wolves and Wild Horse Spring, which were just released by Zonderkidz, are recommended for ages 8-12. 

If you live in the Charlotte area, please join Lisa at her book launch on June 30 from 2-4 at Charlotte’s favorite independent bookstore, Park Road Books.

Meanwhile, you could be the first one of your friends to own an autographed copy of this book! Leave me a comment with a promise to tweet, Facebook, or use the social media of your choice to share this giveaway and I will enter your name. If I don't have your email address, make sure you leave your name and address so I can contact you if you win. But hurry! I'll pick a winner on the evening of June 23!

If you don’t win, you’ll get another chance to win one of Lisa's books. Next week Lisa will share more about the places she visited while writing these books, as well as her thoughts about writing a series. I’ll be giving away a copy of her second book, Wild Horse Spring.