Well, enough of that. Please welcome Liz Tolsma to the blog today!
A little bit about Liz...
Liz Tolsma has lived in Wisconsin most of her life, and she now resides next to a farm field with her husband, their son, and their two daughters. All of their children have been adopted internationally and one has special needs. Her novella, Under His Wings, appeared in the New York Times bestselling collection, A Log Cabin Christmas. Her debut novel, Snow on the Tulips, released in August of 2013 and the second book in the series, Daisies Are Forever, is due out in May of 2014. When not busy putting words to paper, she enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping with her family.
How to connect with Liz...
Website & Blog: www.liztolsma.blogspot.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=liz+tolsma
Facebook: Facebook
Twitter: Twitter
Also see her at: the Barn Door blog {she is a regular contributor there}
Author Interview | Liz Tolsma
Tell us a little bit about yourself: How did you start writing? What has kept you writing?
...I’ve always loved to make up little stories. My fifth grade teacher had us do a lot of creative writing. I remember how much fun it was to write a tall tale because I could be as creative as I wanted. She told me that she hoped to see me as a published authoress one day. That sparked the dream in me. I veered off on other paths for a while, but one day I decided that I didn’t want to get to the end of my life and wish I would have at least tried to follow my dream.
Do you have a favorite book or work that you’ve written? If so, why?
...It would have to be Snow on the Tulips. It’s a story I’ve wanted to share with the world since I first heard about our family’s trials in the Netherlands during WWII and that has become a reality at last. The book taught me so much about my family history and about my Dutch heritage.
What was the hardest thing about publishing? The easiest?
...Juggling deadlines is the hardest. I’ve been promoting Snow on the Tulips, editing Daisies Are Forever and writing book three. I’m a pretty focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time person, so this is tough. The easiest has been the actual writing part. I love it.
Tell us a little bit about your book or what you’re working on currently? Why are you/did you write it?
...Snow on the Tulips is my family story how my cousin found a Dutch Resistance worker who survived his own execution and brought him to my aunt’s house where she hid him for the remainder of the war. I took this story and fictionalized it, but there are many true events from my family and several men who were in hiding during the war that I had the privilege to meet.
Do you have a favorite character in this work? If so, why?
...I like Cornelia. In many ways, she is so much like me. I have many fears that I’ve had to face in my life and I’ve found that the Lord is always faithful.
What is one take-away from your book that you hope readers identify with?
...That God is a faithful God and he will never leave us or forsake us, no matter what the situation.
Writing
Where do you find inspiration for your story/characters? Are they based on real life or pure imagination or both?
...Many are from real life. In Daisies Are Forever, the heroine is based on my aunt and a friend’s mother, both who spend the war in Germany. I like to throw in a few quirky characters for fun and to lighten the tone of the book a bit.
When you write, what is your overall intention with your stories?
...I write to encourage people, to help them begin their Christian walk or to inspire them when their walk falters.
You
What will you do for Thanksgiving?
...My parents and my sister and her family will be at our house. This is the first major holiday without my son, who is stationed in California with the Marines, so it is a bittersweet holiday this year. We’re going to miss him.
________________________
Thank you so much for this interview Liz. First off, I have to say that I just love the cover design of your novel. It is so beautiful! Plus, I'm a huge 1940's/WWII enthusiast, so the idea of your novel sounds suburb to me. I will definitely need to check it out. I love the fact that this is a personal story for you. I think those can be the hardest to write but sometimes the most rewarding.Thanks so much for sharing with us!
Readers, make sure you check out Snow on the Tulips and keep and eye out for Daisies are Forever!
No comments:
Post a Comment