Today we have an interview with Faith Blum! It’s a great interview where Faith provides some answers to questions about Sing a Wondrous Story and her writing process.
While you’re here, remember the giveaway is still running! Be sure to enter now for a chance to win the prize!
On an unrelated note, I have a quick announcement/request at the bottom of this post, like always. (Do I never stop?)
About the Books
Sing the Wondrous Story
an Orphans of the West novella
Jason was kicked out three years ago. His judgmental actions and decisions caused a rift and turmoil within his family, especially concerning his sister, Jessamine. Now God is leading him to return home—a home he isn’t certain he will be welcomed back to. The last three years has led to personal growth, he still has a lot to learn. Can he overcome his past mistakes or will he always be the black sheep?
Jessamine has popularity and the attention of many in town except the two men she wants to catch for herself. She lives for those moments of attention and needs to marry a rich man to buy all the pretty things she desires. There are two men who fit that and she will stop at nothing to find a husband to make her life perfect. When Jason returns and challenges her actions, will she be able to let go of her plan? Can she find love in more than herself?
He Leadeth Me
(Orphans of the West, #4)
Gage was eight when his parents died, but despite that, he has been content with his life. He misses the farm, though, and when his uncle gives him the deed and tells him to go back, he seizes the opportunity.
Almost a full day’s ride, Gage reconnects with his friend, Danny and settles into farm life. Then someone shows up claiming Gage’s long-dead father owed a large sum of money that has accrued thirteen years of interest.
What will Gage do when he learns of his father’s past? Will he let God lead him no matter what happens?
About the Author
Faith Blum is a small-town Wisconsin girl. She’s lived in, or outside of, small towns her whole life. The thought of living in a city with more than 60,000 people in it scares her, especially after some interesting adventures driving through big cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.
Faith currently resides in the middle of the state of Wisconsin with her husband and their cat, Smokey. She is blessed to be able to have writing as her full-time career with household work and cooking to do on the side. She loves to paint walls as long as she doesn’t have to do hallways or ceilings.
When not writing, you can find her cooking food from scratch due to food allergies (fun), doing dishes (meh), knitting, crocheting, sewing, reading, or spending time with her husband (yay!). She is also a Community Assistant for the Young Writers Workshop and loves her work there. She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to contact her on her website.
The Interview
What inspired you to write a book about Jason, Jessa, and Claire?
I actually wrote this novella after writing the novel. Jessa was in there as a minor character and I decided to explore her backstory a little. I also wanted to do a Pride and Prejudice retelling using a brother and sister, so I tried to combine the two. The first part worked, the second didn’t. I have a couple minor elements of Pride and Prejudice still in there, but not enough to be a true retelling.
What does your writing process look like?
This is a rather broad question, so I’ll try to answer it as best I can. When I come up with an idea, I do an outline. The outline is usually a list of scenes I want to include, but with the knowledge that some of them may change in some way such as being longer or shorter than I anticipate, being moved around, etc.
After the outline, I write the book. How long that takes depends on the length of the book and what else is happening in my life at the time. The fastest I’ve written the rough draft is 32 days for a 60,000 word novel. I’ve never repeated that.
Then my books go through a couple of edits, beta-readers, and then another 3-6 edits before going to my proofreaders. After the proofreaders are done with it, I send the book to my formatters and publish the book about a month later.
Most of your books feature one hymn. Do you decide on what hymn you’ll feature as you’re writing or is it the first thing you come up with or what?
This depends on the book. Some of them have been easy to pick the hymn, others are harder. Most of the time, once I figure out the theme of the book, I can easily find at least one hymn with the same theme. There have been a few times when I have changed the hymn after writing the rough draft, but that’s the exception rather than the rule.
What’s one thing you really love about Sing a Wondrous Story?
That would probably have to be the one main element I kept from the Pride and Prejudice retelling aspect. The part where I reworked the first couple of lines of Jane Austen’s book. It was hard to rework, but when I finished it, I really, really liked it. And from what I’ve seen, particularly during this blog tour, other people have liked it, too.
Thanks for having me on your blog, Kellyn!
Follow Along!
Wednesday, September 12th
Intro Post // Kellyn Roth @ Reveries
Sing the Wondrous Story Spotlight // Faith Blum @ Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections
Author Interview // Germaine Han @ The Writing Mafia
Thursday, September 13th
Book Spotlight // Kaylee @ Kaylee’s Kind Of Writes
Saturday, September 15th
Book Spotlight // Angela R. Watts @ The Peculiar Messenger
Monday, September 17th
Review of Sing the Wondrous Story // Abigail McKenna @ Novels, Dragons, and Wardrobe Doors
Wednesday, September 19th
Author Interview // Maddie Morrow @ What a Novel Idea
Guest Post // Medomfo @ Writings from a God Girl
Thursday, September 20th
Guest Post // Rachel Rossano
Friday, September 21st
Book Spotlight // Amanda Tero @ With a Joyful Noise
Saturday, September 22nd
Author Interview // Kellyn Roth @ Reveries
Monday, September 24th
Review of Sing the Wondrous Story // Grace Maples @ Proclaiming His Excellencies
Tuesday, September 25th
Review of Sing the Wondrous Story // Chloe @ Purely by Faith Reviews
Wednesday, September 26th
He Leadeth Me Spotlight // Faith Blum @ Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections
Review of Sing the Wondrous Story // Hanne T @ RockandMinerals4Him
Wrap-Up Post // Kellyn Roth @ Reveries
Giveaway Info
Enter the giveaway! The winner will receive a notebook, metal bookmark, and a paperback copy of one of the books (their choice).
Click Here to Enter!
And that Brief Announcement
A traditional publishing house recently hired me to host not one, not two, but five blog tours for them!
Now, I’m confident I can do it, but of course I need some bloggers to make it happen. In particular, I need some for the tour coming up first for Chad Pettit’s Fate of the Watchman, a Christian thriller novella.
This tour will run from October 1st through October 6th, so we’re running on rather short notice. I’d love to have a couple more bloggers join the ranks!
Click Here To Join!
It would be a huge favor to me and to Ambassador International (the publisher). Blog tours help get the word out about new releases!
TTFN!
~Kellyn Roth~
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p.s.
Did you enjoy the author interview? Have you entered the giveaway? (Excited much?!) What does YOUR writing process look like?
6 Responses
I’m gonna read Faith’s book and have no idea what the Austen stuff is. *guilty* xD OOPS!
Congrats on the blog tours, Kell!!
Haha! 😛 Well, it isn’t huge – that I picked up, there was just the one introductory line that I have in a quote somewhere around here. *squints but can’t remember where I put it*
I entered the giveaway! And you don’t want to see what my writing process is, it’s all over the place, lol. XD
LOL! Same, though …