Author’s inspiration:

When my sister was struggling with her faith, I had the idea of an artist who came to know Jesus through the process of painting a mural. From that seed, and from other conversations with friends, Madeleine and her story were born. I’m very thankful to say that my sister is a strong Christian now, thanks to the grace of God and not at all because of this book or anything I did.

About the book:

The last place Madeleine Mullins wants to be is back in Shady Springs, Arkansas–the town where her whole world fell apart. But when her beloved Aunt Clara begs her for help, Madeleine reluctantly takes a job painting a mural at her aunt’s church. Her plan is to finish quickly and leave her bad memories behind. But the more time she spends with the handsome youth minister and the more she reads her Bible, the more she wonders if she’s been wrong about God and the Church all along.

Excerpt:

Slam!

Madeleine jumped and fumbled to catch her pencil and notebook. Was the sound just a church member slamming the front door? Maybe Sam had come to meet her here instead of the restaurant. Or was it someone more nefarious?

“Hello?” Madeleine called out timidly.

Silence. Perhaps she could yell a little louder.

“Hello! Who’s there?”

Silence again. Maybe she’d imagined the noise, and no one was there after all.

Thump.

Nope, definitely someone there. She would have to investigate.

Madeleine opened the nearest door to find something to use as protection, just in case. The room appeared to be a children’s classroom, and they must have been studying the Armor of God because Madeleine found a long, wooden sword labeled “Spirit” at the front of the room.

Brandishing the weapon in one hand and her phone in the other, Madeleine reentered the hallway.

Thud.

She followed the source of the noises until she was fairly certain she was around the corner from the intruder. Madeleine took a deep breath and jumped into the hallway, crashing into a tall man and accidentally whacking him with the sword in the process, landing on her rear end.

She scrambled backward. Looked up. Felt completely ridiculous because the auburn-haired guy—young, handsome guy—was wearing earbuds and carrying a phone. And nothing about him suggested malintent. In fact, a bright yellow bucket spinning down the hallway suggested he was actually here to mop the floors.

“I’m so sorry!”

“Who are you?” His voice was shocked but not harsh.

Madeleine’s cheeks burned. “Madeleine. I’m so sorry! I called out, but no one answered, so I thought—but of course you were wearing headphones, or you would have heard me—and obviously you work here, since, you know, you have a mop—” Shut up! Stop talking! She clamped her mouth closed to prevent any more words from leaking out.

The young man stared at her, dumbfounded, and for a moment Madeleine wished she could sink into the floor. Turn into a puddle he could mop up.

But then he smiled. And it was the most handsome grin she had ever seen. Her stomach filled with butterflies as he burst into laughter.

“Is that a sword from the props bin?”

“Yeah, I…” Madeleine’s embarrassment fizzled away as relief that the young man wasn’t an angry intruder—and wasn’t upset with her—washed over her.

“I’m A.J.”

About the author:

Sarah Anne Crouch grew up in a small town much like Shady Springs. She cherishes the close relationships and beautiful memories from her hometown. Though she’s lived everywhere from Malibu, CA to Nashville, TN, Sarah now resides in Arkansas with her husband, three children, and thousands of books.

Author media links

Website: http://www.SarahAnneCrouch.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/SarahAnneCrouch

Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/SarahAnneCrouch

Pinterest: http://www.Pinterest.com/SarahAnneCrouch

Buy link:

Today my guest is Sarah Anne Crouch, author of the new release, A Summer in Shady Springs. Sarah, it’s great to have you here with me today. Let’s start by telling us a little bit about yourself.

I live in Central Arkansas with my husband and three children (ages 2,4, and 6). My favorite job is being their Mommy, but I’ve also worked as a teacher and have a graduate degree in Library and Information Science. I’ve wanted to be an author ever since I was young and am so happy to be living out that dream!

When I’m not writing or wrangling kids, I love to play piano and watch movies with my husband. We’re big film nerds and have seen every Oscar Best Picture Winner. I also enjoy cooking, but I always try to get someone else to do the dishes.

What is your book about?

The last place Madeleine Mullins wants to be is back in Shady Springs, Arkansas–the town where her whole world fell apart. But when her beloved Aunt Clara begs her for help, Madeleine reluctantly takes a job painting a mural at her aunt’s church. Her plan is to finish quickly and leave her bad memories behind. But the more time she spends with the handsome youth minister and the more she reads her Bible, the more she wonders if she’s been wrong about God and the Church all along.

Do you have a day job? If so, how do you find time in your day to write?

I have three small children, and they are my day and night job. My best time for writing is nap time. I always try to start with my Bible study, then a few minutes of housecleaning, then I settle in to write as long as I’m able. Sometimes I get a couple hours, sometimes I get nothing, but if I keep at it every day, I can eventually finish a manuscript.

Do you reward yourself when a book is finished? If so, what is your favorite treat?

Yes! I love chocolate, so if any particularly large bars of chocolate enter our house, I usually commandeer them as a writing incentive.

How did you come up with the names of your hero and/or heroine?

I named my heroine after my favorite author, Madeleine L’Engle. I’m actually not great at coming up with names for people, places, or books. So, I look around me for inspiration. My characters in this novel come from favorite authors, theologians, and historical figures. Sometimes I’ll mine yearbooks or newspapers for new character names. Having said that, I have no idea where A.J.’s name came from. That one was just floating around in my brain.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m a big plotter! I actually find outlining a book to be more freeing. I’ll set myself up with the primary goals and conflicts of the story, then each scene is framed around those essential elements. Plotting keeps me from wasting my time or being paralyzed by indecision, but I still let myself change my mind as I go along if breaking away from what I’ve planned feels right at the time.

Are you part of a writing group?

Yes, and they are the best! Amy R. Anguish (a fellow Anaiah author) and Rachel Herod have helped me out immensely on my writing journey. They spur me on and give me ideas and help me hone my craft.

Who was the first person you allowed to read your completed book?

My mom was the perfect first reader because she was so encouraging. A Summer in Shady Springs is my debut novel, so neither of us knew if I was any good yet. Her actual words were “I think this could be a real book.” And now it is!

Do you experience writer’s block? What do you do to get through it?

I think I get editor’s block more often than writer’s block. When I get notes back from a beta reader or my editor, sometimes it takes me a long time to figure out how to answer their question or fix the problem they found. Usually if I get my hands busy with something like vacuuming or cooking, while I let my mind mull over the issue, I can figure it out eventually. If not, I can always reach out to my writing group or talk it over with my husband.

What’s next for you as an author?

I’m very excited to say I will get to be a part of a novella collection coming out September 2022 with Amy Anguish, Heather Greer, and Regina Merrick. The title is Love in Any Season, and my story is called “A Sweet Dream Come True.” It’s a delicious romance about an ice cream man and a chocolatier. Each story focuses on a Main Street business and seasonal festival, and it’s going to be super cute!

Author Media Links:

My website is SarahAnneCrouch.wordpress.com.

You can find me on Facebook.com/SarahAnneCrouch, Twitter.com/SarahAnneCrouch, and Pinterest.com/SarahAnneCrouch.

Buy Link:

Kindle version:

Print copy:

The Facebook Group, Free Christian Books and More, is holding a summer reading challenge. You can read the details at this link.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1184333868259877

My book, The Reluctant Billionaire, is one of the promoted books for the challenge. Today I’m taking over the Facebook page and hosting some games and giveaways. I hope you can stop by, join the group, and follow along.

And follow the instructions to enter the Summer Reading Challenge where you’ll have a chance to become eligible for more prizes.

Two years ago this month, I looked out the sliding glass door into the backyard and saw some little kitten heads peeking out from under the garage. The stray black cat who’d been hanging around our garage for a few months had given birth to a litter of five. My kids made friends with them.

My son decided to keep one of the kittens and brought Stormy into the house. Then a few weeks later we brought the other four in to train them for the litterbox and find homes for them. We named them Ash, Lila, Socks and Jasper.

We found a home for Lila, and unfortunately, Socks died a short time later.

We couldn’t find homes for the other two, so now Ash and Jasper are part of our household as well as Stormy.

My daughter labeled those three: The Kids.

Stormy is the long-haired black cat. My son chose him as the one we were going to keep. He likes to take him out on the deck in the sunshine, where he rolls around contentedly. (He also likes to wake me up some mornings by licking my hands.)

Jasper is the long-haired tiger-striped one. He likes my daughter the best and follows her around. (He likes to nip at her feet.)

We originally called Ash the Tiny Terror. She jumped up on everything. Recently she gained a few pounds. She isn’t as active as she used to be. She doesn’t like to be held, but when we pick her up, she purrs loudly. She just wants to get back down out of our arms quickly.

The three of them still chase each other around and play-fight. They don’t often sleep in the same spot, but here is a recent picture of the trio.

The Kids have become special to all of us. They require time, attention and money, but we value them as our pets.

This month my theme for the blog is:

BACK TO SCHOOL

For much of my life, August has been the month of preparing to go back to school. First, when I was in elementary school, then high school, then college. After that, August was spent preparing my children to go back to school. Since 2019, I haven’t had anyone that I needed to get ready for school, but August always signifies a change in seasons from summer to the school year.

To go along with my theme for this month, I’ll be featuring a middle grade book and also one about high school.

This coming Friday, the featured book is about a journalist. You might wonder what that has to do with the theme BACK TO SCHOOL.

Well, becoming a journalist was the goal I had for myself when I went to college. I’ve shared in a previous blog post how God opened up the doors for me to attend and live on campus at a Christian college.

Before I went, I’d already chosen my major, which was a new program for commercial writing with an emphasis on journalism. I’m not sure, but I think I wanted to become a sports reporter. I was a big Detroit Tiger fan at the time.

At the college I attended, there was a program for freshmen called Core Groups. Students were put into groups of a dozen or so students and given an advisor. I believe we moved onto campus a couple of days early for freshman orientation.

One of the interesting things about our Core group was the initial activity. We did a team building obstacle course that included climbing a high wall. One person went over, who helped the next, etcetera, until each person was over the wall.

Another part of the obstacle course was crossing a creek (or something like that) and the group had to choose one person to carry across. I was a lot smaller when I graduated from high school than I am now, weighing about 110 pounds and being just under 5’2”. Another classmate was the same height and weight. For some reason, the group chose to carry me across.

The other classmate and I became best friends. Besides our height and weight in common, we both loved the Detroit Tigers, animals and strawberry shortcake. We called ourselves the Twins. The main difference between us being she was an African American. We looked beyond the color of our skin and became lifelong friends.

Some of the other members of the Core group also became good friends.

I attended college for two years. I took the journalism classes and worked on the school newspaper. I also studied Spanish and went to Mexico on an interim trip that led to a love of the language and many return trips.

I didn’t graduate from college, but I’ve used both my writing classes and Spanish in my life’s work. After studying in Mexico and becoming fluent in Spanish, I worked for a few years for a bilingual attorney. I quit that job to return to Mexico to teach English. Upon returning to Michigan, I went to work for another attorney. I continued that job until after I’d had my first child, when I quit to become a stay-at-home mom.

As a stay-at-home mom, I had a lot of time on my hands where I was alone with my thoughts. That led to the creative spark that I’d had during high school, and I began writing fiction again.

I’ve shared much of my writing journey in previous blog posts, so I won’t go into it here. However, now I am living my dream of having the writing career I’d mentioned in my senior yearbook.

Instead of goals of going back to school this fall, I am focusing on getting back to my writing. I took a hiatus from my blog and fiction writing in July. Besides working, I spent some time with family. My son, daughter and I went on a vacation to a B&B at a lavender farm in a part of Michigan where we’d never been before. We did some sightseeing and tried new foods. I spent a lot of time relaxing and did some journaling.

Now I am working on edits for my novella coming out in November. I’m also hoping to finish up a Valentine’s novella this month. And I’m starting research to see if I can write a sequel to The Reluctant Billionaire.

This month is also the 11-year anniversary of my husband’s tragic work accident and death. I miss his presence in my life, but I’ve accepted his death. I know he is in a better place, and I’ll see him again one day.

I’m in a good place in my life: physically, mentally and spiritually. I have much to be thankful for. As I’ve struggled nearly all of my adult life with depression in one form or another, I can say that I am on the healing side of that as well. God led me to a Christian counselor at a low point in 2013 and through her work, I’ve found my way out of the pit of depression into a life lived in the light.

On Tuesdays, I’ve been sharing the notes from my first few counseling sessions and how they have impacted my life. Tomorrow will be the third week of “My Journey out of the Pit.” That series will conclude this month.

I will also have a CAT TAIL or two this month. I invite you to send in photos and stories about cats that they have rescued, so I can feature them in future CAT TAILS. Those can be sent to authorcarolunderhill@yahoo.com.

This concludes my blog post for Monday, August 2. I hope you will stop by often this month. Also, please consider sharing my blog posts on your social media. I hope to build up my media presence so that I can continue to write and publish future books.