BEHIND THE WORDS:: Laura Frantz

BEHIND THE WORDS welcomes historical Christian romance author Laura Frantz.

Welcome Laura, we’re excited to have you on Reader’s Entertainment. First, tell our readers a bit about yourself. Where you’re from, where you live? Is writing your full-time job?
I’m from Kentucky but am currently in Washington State where I write full-time. Prior to
publishing I was a waitress, teacher, social worker, then a homeschooling mom. But writing is by far my favorite of them all.

How long have you been writing?
Since age 7 right after I learned to read and discovered books. I still remember the very spot I stood in my elementary school library looking at the historical fiction shelf.

Briefly describe your writing day. 
My writing day varies from day to day. In winter I write by the fireplace and in summer on the porch.

Tell us about your latest release.
Tidewater Bride is my latest release and is the equivalent of the colonial America dating
game per the 17th -century, based on actual Virginia history with tobacco brides and planters.

What inspired this book?
My fascination with Virginia’s colonial history, especially Pocahontas and the founding of
Jamestown.

Could you share one detail from your current release with readers that they might not find in the book? Perhaps a juicy bit of back-story, or something only you know about a character? 
In the novel the character of Mattachanna is actually Pocahontas and the hero, Alexander Renick, is Pocahontas’s English husband, John Rolfe. The story revolves around their relationship though one of them is no longer living in the novel. As Americans, we’ve been taught many fictitious things about Pocahontas. I shed some light on what I believe to be true about her in Tidewater Bride based on the accounts of her own people.

What has been your hardest scene to write?
Always the ending of any story. I could keep writing but realize every book needs to have a finish, sadly!

Who has been the most difficult character for you to write? Why?
Villains are always hard for me. I actually like my villains as I understand their nature, being fallen myself. My villain in Tidewater Bride is somewhat charming but he really is inherently evil and flawed. As has been said, the devil doesn’t come dressed in a red cape with pointy horns but as everything you’ve ever wished for. An angel of light.

If you could be one of your characters for a day which character would it be? Why?
Morrow Little in Courting Morrow Little, my second novel. Her love interest has always
intrigued me. I wrote the story from her perspective only so her elusive hero is very much a mystery I’d like to follow around the Kentucky frontier and know better.

All writers are readers. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you? 
There’s an old-fashioned quality to my writing that reflects the authors that have had the most impact on me – Lucy Maude Montgomery, Charlotte Bronte, Janice Holt Giles, etc. I have a deep love of the natural world and favor ‘purple prose’ though I have to trim it in my novels.

What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
The Blue Castle by Lucy Maude Montgomery. Superb storytelling though her Anne of Green
Gables gets all the glory.

Do you have a secret talent readers would be surprised by? 
I actually have a singing voice that people comment on. It’s untrained but I think it might have been developed if I hadn’t gone in a writing direction.

Your favorite go to drink or food when the world goes crazy! 
I just finished half a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Netflix and Chill’d. I’m not a big ice cream fan but it’s this election gone haywire, ya know!?

What is your writing Kryptonite?
Fasting. It clears my head and helps me focus on the words, not what’s on the menu. Being a foodie this isn’t easy for me but it works every time!

What is the one question you never get ask at interviews, but wish you did? Ask and answer it. 
That would be, what profession would you have chosen instead of writing? Professional ballerina or concert violinist/fiddler. But I can’t actually play anything musically and even somersaults are a challenge. Good thing we don’t assign our own gifts!

Thank you for the delightful interview!

Thank you so much for joining us today, Laura!

HERE’S A LOOK AT LAURA’S LATEST RELEASE:::::TIDEWATER BRIDE

Selah Hopewell seems to be the only woman in the Virginia colony who has no wish to wed. True, there are too many men and far too few women in James Towne. But Selah already has her hands full assisting her father in the family’s shop. And now she is in charge of an incoming ship of tobacco brides who must be looked after as they sort through their many suitors.

Xander Renick is perhaps the most eligible tobacco lord in the settlement. His lands are vast, his crops are prized, and his position as a mediator between the colonists and the powerful Powhatan nation surrounding them makes him indispensable. But Xander is already wedded to his business and still grieves the loss of his wife, daughter of the Powhatan chief.

Can two fiercely independent people find happiness and fulfillment on their own? Or will they discover that what they’ve been missing in life has been right in front of them all along?

Bestselling and award-winning author Laura Frantz takes you to the salty shores of seventeenth-century Virginia in this exploration of pride, honor, and the restorative power of true love.