Win a Book!

When you leave a comment on THIS post by 6 p.m. CT Sunday, January 27, 2012 you'll be entered in the DRAWING for a copy of the book below. If you mention in your comment that you’re a follower (see in the left column “Join This Site” and “Follow by Email”), I’ll add your name a second time in the drawing. You must be eighteen, have a U.S. mailing address, void where prohibited. You can read details about my book giveaways here.


Whatever He Wants by Bridgett Henson

I’m pleased to have Bridgett Henson as our guest today. Bridgett is happily married with three wonderful children. She loves attending church, camps, conferences and the occasional mission trip. Her fiction acknowledges God the Father, demonstrates salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ and utilizes the empowerment of the Holy Ghost in realistic conflicts.

JO: Please tell us a little about yourself.  

BRIDGETT: I live in rural Alabama. I’m married with three children and have a wonderful church family.

JO: What four fun or unique things can you tell us about yourself that we don’t know?

BRIDGETT: I have a mixed denominational heritage. My father was a Mormon. My mother is a southern Baptist. I’m married to a Methodist pastor and I am a member of a Pentecostal Church.

JO: Please describe yourself with three words.

BRIDGETT: Persistent, Procrastinator, Peculiar

JO: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?

BRIDGETT: I love to read. I like to travel. I love going to church and listening to fiery preaching.

JO: How did you become involved in writing?

BRIDGETT: I’ve been writing since I learned my ABC’s. I guess it’s inherited since my paternal grandmother was a closet poet and my sister writes on occasion.

JO: Where do you write? Do you have a dedicated office or a corner or nook in a room?

BRIDGETT: I have an office of sorts at home, but I take a notebook with me everywhere. My favorite place to write is at church. The words flow unhindered in the presence of God.

JO: Do you always know the title of your books before you write them?

BRIDGETT: No. However God gave me the title to Whatever He Wants the same time he gave me James’s story.  

The title has a three-fold meaning.

     1.   Whatever God wants.

     2.     Whatever James wants.

     3.     Whatever his son, Isaac wants.

JO: Please tell us about Whatever He Wants.

BRIDGETT: While running from his Pentecostal Heritage, a construction worker must choose between protecting his young son from an abusive mother or a life full of music with the girl of his dreams.

JO: What takeaway value do you hope your readers receive after reading this book?

BRIDGETT: I’d like readers to know that God has a specific plan for their life. If you seek after his will, he’ll show you the way he wants you to go.

Also, Church can be fun. It doesn’t have to be a boring place where you go to take a nap.

And finally the Holy Ghost is real and He is available for all Christians not just a specific denomination.

JO: Where did you get the idea for your book?

BRIDGETT: In March of 2011, at the Southeastern Youth Conference (SEYC) in Enterprise, Alabama, God gave me James’s story.

JO: Did you have to do any research for this book?

BRIDGETT: Yes, but God always directed me to the right people. My pastor’s wife helped with the piano. My husband help me apartment shop for James. A lady in a waiting room just happened to be a social worker for a local orphanage. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law loved the beach road trip. The dry boring facts came from internet searches.

JO: How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

BRIDGETT: I’ve always made up stories. As soon as I learned to write, one of those stories found its way on paper. “Are We There Yet” was written in the first grade. Whatever He Wants is my first published novel.

JO: What advice would you give to writers who have been writing a few years but still haven’t interested an agent or publisher in their novel?

BRIDGETT: Evaluate yourself.  Master the craft of writing first, and then seek publication. Follow God’s leading. I write a unique genre, Pentecostal Fiction. After years of learning how to write by writing half a dozen novels, I incorporated an Indie Publishing Company specifically to publish this series. The six novels written before this book were learning curves. They will never live anywhere other than my hard drive, because quite frankly they’re not good enough to survive the harsh world of publishing. Keep writing. Don’t edit the same manuscript for twenty years. If you write in the Pentecostal genre, my editor, Tyler Chastain is open to submissions www.empoweredpublicationsinc.com.

JO: What are you working on now?

BRIDGETT: Book two in the series, A Swim in the Clouds, is in the revision stage. Book four is in rough draft.

JO: What advice would you give to writers just starting out?

BRIDGETT: Learn all you can. Attend conferences, join writers groups and follow blogs.  Write every day.

JO: Please tell our readers where they can get your book.

BRIDGETT: Whatever He Wants is available in print and eBook. My publisher has a page set up with the links to purchase, including Amazon, Kindle and Nook, to name a few: http://www.empoweredpublicationsinc.com/our-books.html

JO: Please tell our readers where they can find you online.

BRIDGETT: I love hearing from my readers. Friend or follow me at these links.

www.bridgetthenson.com

www.facebook.com/bridgetthenson

www.twitter.com/bridgetthenson

Thank you, Bridgett, for visiting with my readers. Bridgett has graciously given me a signed copy of Whatever He Wants. One commenter will win this copy in a drawing.

Remember: leave a comment on THIS post by 6 p.m. CT Sunday, January 27, 2012 and you'll be entered in the drawing for a copy of Whatever He Wants by Bridgett Henson. You must be eighteen, have a U.S. mailing address, void where prohibited. Please, please remember to leave your email address so that should you be the winner I can get in touch with you for your mailing address. I'll announce the winner on Monday's blog.

Till next time … keep on smiling