Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a Christ-follower, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, a teacher and a writer (in that order). I am a graduate of the University of Calgary, where I earned my Bachelor of Education degree in 1981, and I have spent the last thirty years teaching children in the private and public school settings, as well as volunteering in the children, youth and adult education ministries at my church. In 2007, I earned a Masters of Religious Education degree from the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary, in Cochrane, AB. Canada.   I am the author of two books, “Shoot the Wounded, and Heal the Wounded and I am finishing the final book in the trilogy, Love the Wounded” (The Wounded Trilogy)  Shoot the Wounded was a finalist in the 2010 Readers Favorite Book Awards and Heal the Wounded won the Bronze Medal in the 2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards in the “Young Adult-Coming of Age” category.  My books are listed as resources on the world’s largest anti-bullying site: www.bullying.org  My blog “Journey Thoughts” won top prize in the 2011 Canadian Christian Writing Awards.  I live with my husband, Charles on acreage just north of Cochrane, and I am blessed with three amazing children: Laurelle (Matt and Grandbaby, Jaxon) Brett and Carmen.

Describe your book ‘Shoot the Wounded’ in 30 words or less.

Shoot the Wounded, the first book in the “Wounded Trilogy“ is written for youth and young adults, addresses how lies and gossip destroy a person’s spirit. It speaks to the heart of relevant themes such as bullying, teen pregnancy and family violence .

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Writing my book was a relatively easy task all things considered.  I knew what I wanted to say, how to build believable characters and create an exciting plot line.  The hardest thing for me has always been marketing and building an author platform.  Since Shoot the Wounded was my debut novel, I learned a lot about the industry and basically I learned as I went along what to do and what not to do in an effort to market and create a “buzz” about my book.  As a result, it was a bit easier to market my second book, Heal the Woundedwhen it was published.  That said, it remains a daunting challenge for any author to build a “fan” base and get the reviews so that you ultimately able to sell your books to the reading public.  I have been blessed that my two young adult books have a strong young adult audience and both books have been on best-sellers lists on Amazon.

What books have had the greatest influence on you?

I am a very eclectic reader so I love the classics like Shelly’s Frankenstein, Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Shakespeare’s Hamlet; I also love Canadian classics such as Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables.  I read all kinds of genres and certainly also enjoy Christian fiction and non-fiction.

Briefly share with us what you do to market your book?

I use Book Buzzr of course!  I also try to create an online presence using my personal website, Facebook, Twitter, my award-winning blog: Journey Thoughts, and I am a member of some wonderful author sites online.  I also participate in “blog hops” and writing reviews of books, so I belong to numerous “blogging for books” sites where I receive free books in exchange for posting reviews etc. on my blog.  I have also exchanged my books with other authors so that we both benefit from posting reviews for our books.  

How do you spend your time when you are not writing?

I am a very busy mom with two teenaged children still living at home.  I love being a grandma too!  My husband and I enjoy camping during the summer as well.

What are you working on next?

Shoot the Wounded is the first book in the Wounded Trilogy and the sequel Heal the Wounded as I said just recently won the Bronze Medal in the 2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards.  I am currently finishing up the last book, Love the Wounded that I hope to have published by the end of this year.  I am also going to be a participant in the NaNoWriMo Writing competition, where I try to write a 50,000 word novel in one month!  Should be insane!