I am so excited to welcome author Brenda S. Anderson back to the blog to talk about her new book, Planting Hope!
Brenda S. Anderson writes gritty and authentic, life-affirming fiction. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and is Past-President of the ACFW Minnesota chapter, MN-NICE, the 2016 ACFW Chapter of the Year. When not reading or writing, she enjoys music, theater, roller coasters, and baseball, and she loves watching movies with her family. She lives in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area with her husband of 30 years, their three children, and one sassy cat.
Readers can learn more about Brenda S. Anderson at www.brendaandersonbooks.com
You can also connect with Brenda on Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads and Twitter.
Her new book, Planting Hope, is the third book in her Where the Heart Is series!
When flowers and chocolate collide, romance is sure to bloom
Family has always been the one constant in Jess Beaumont’s messy life, so when her parents separate, she puts “Operation: Planting Hope” into action. All she has to do is recreate the circumstances that helped her parents fall in love. Unfortunately, that includes the daunting task of restoring the family cabin’s gardens. When the handsome candy store owner shows up to help, she’s certain she has all the elements required for her parents’ love to bloom again. After all, flowers and chocolate are the perfect ingredients for romance.
Luke Harrison has spent his life trying to win his father’s approval, and a promotion in the family land development business would be a step in that direction. But when he inherits Gran’s candy store, his dreams of being promoted start melting away. Then his dad dangles a Vice President position in front of Luke, with one caveat—acquire the land on both sides of Gran’s store within five months, including the Beaumont cabin, and the promotion is his.
What at first seemed a simple challenge for Luke becomes a tangled mess. Buying the Beaumont cabin and land will nip his blossoming romance with Jess in the bud. Even worse, it could end her parents’ marriage. But if he doesn’t succeed, he could be trading in his corner office for the corner candy store.
Hi Brenda! Welcome back to the blog!
Brenda: That would be Applebee’s Maple Blondie with pecans and maple, white-chocolate sauce. I’m drooling just thinking about it!
Carrie: Oh yum! Yes please 🙂
Brenda: The lilac. It’s short lived, but I love how the fragrance fills the spring air!
Carrie: We used to have a lilac bush in our yard when I lived in Northern Illinois. One of my favorites!
Brenda: Christmas!
Carrie: Yay!!
Brenda: Oh boy, that’s more difficult to choose than Favorite Book! How about my favorite recent release? “Jesus I Believe” by Big Daddy Weave.
Carrie: I know … I would have a hard time choosing too! You made an excellent choice though 😀
Q: Tell me some good books you’ve read recently!
Brenda: Some of my favorites from this year include:
- Portrait of Vengeance by Carrie Stuart Parks
- A Moonbow Night by Laura Frantz
- The Broken Trail by Christa MacDonald
- Knee-High Lies by Dawn Ford
- The Color of Truth by Stacy Monson
Carrie: I’ve read (and loved) those first two – adding the other three to my TBR galaxy!
Q: Writing spaces are as diverse as authors and books. Where is your favorite space to write?
Brenda: Writing, for me, comes in stages, and not all of them include sitting at the computer. I do a lot of pre-writing in my head which happens when I take walks, or when I’m driving, or even as I’m trying to sleep. Once I have a good handle on an idea or scene, then I put my keister in the chair by my desktop computer and spill the words onto the screen.
Carrie: I think the best ideas come when trying to go to sleep lol. Why is that?
Q: In Planting Hope, your heroine Jess is restoring her family cabin’s gardens. Luke, your hero, has just inherited his Gran’s candy store. Which would you rather do?
Brenda: Definitely run a candy store! Unlike Jess, I have a very brown thumb, and I can’t arrange flowers to like nice at all. But I have worked in a candy store, which was a lot of fun! One thing almost every customer had in common, was that they were happy to have their chocolate. The only time we got grumpy customers was during holiday rushes. ?
Carrie: I have yet to meet a plant I couldn’t kill… or a candy store I didn’t love 😉
Q: On a related note, do you have a favorite candy recipe you love to make?
Brenda:
Fudgies
Combine in saucepan ~
(2) cups sugar
(1) cup evaporated milk
(1) stick of real butter
Bring to a rolling boil, stirring continuously.
Boil for 5 minutes
Remove from heat
Stir in ~
(1) cup chocolate chips
(1) cup Graham cracker crumbs
(1) cup flour
Fold into a cake pan. I use a 2-quart, 11 x 7 Pyrex pan for thicker bars.
Refrigerate until solid
Carrie: Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard and make a grocery list!
Q: Jess is trying to save her parents’ marriage, so when Luke gets involved Jess thinks she’s finally got the perfect ingredients – flowers and chocolate – for romance. If you were writing a recipe for romance, what ingredients would you use?
Brenda: I would start out with by combining one chivalrous, devoted, encouraging, and handsome young man with a joy-filled, persistent, talented, and beautiful young woman who are both devoted to family. I would gently stir in fresh air, fall trees, lapping water, and bird calls. Then I would fold in generous helpings of chocolate, fruit, and flowers, and infuse it all with Hope that only God can provide.
Carrie: oh i love that!!!
Q: What do you most want readers to take away from Planting Hope?
Brenda: In my life, I’ve been very guilty of placing real hope in things that will always fail us: in family, friends, work, the next sale, a good review… My hero longs for his Dad’s approval. My heroine is striving to keep her family together. And that’s where they place to much hope. Those are all good things, but they will all let us down. Our true hope—our only hope—is in Christ alone.
Carrie: Amen.
Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.
Brenda: I’m excited to begin writing my next book, temporarily titled Innocence Restored. It’s about a woman who fights to free her wrongly-incarcerated husband from prison, only to find that her real battle begins when he’s released: the fight to save her marriage. At this time, the book is a standalone, but who knows what will happen down the road?
Carrie: Oh wow! That sounds powerful!! Can’t wait!
Brenda is offering a copy of Planting Hope to one of my readers! (Print if US winner, ebook if International winner) Void where prohibited by law. This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.
What about you? Would you rather restore a garden or run a candy store?
The book sounds great.
i think so too, Susan!
Thank you! I hope you have the opportunity to read it, Susan. 🙂
Thanks for the fun interview with a new-to-me author. I must add this book to my TBR pile. 😀 It sounds intriguing.
I forgot to answer the question. I think it would be more fun to run a candy store, but less dangerous to my health to restore a garden. Speaking of which, I need to restore my gardens. They’ve been neglected most of the summer. 😀
hahaha!!
Definitely less dangerous to restore gardens! If I had a green thumb, I would! 🙂
For us, Brenda, that garden thing might be MORE dangerous lol
Thank you for welcoming me back, Carrie! It’s an honor to be on your fabulous blog! And your questions are so much fun to answer. 🙂
your answers are always delightful, Brenda!! 🙂
Great interview! I have a greenhouse that I enjoy so I would say I would enjoy restoring a garden. 🙂
How wonderful! I may not have a green thumb, but I greatly appreciate the gifts of those who do!
I have so looked forward to this one!! Love this series! Happy writing on your new book, Brenda! I know it will be a winner!!
Oh, and I would be candy store all the way!!
I agree!
And I look forward to reading your next book, Regina!!!
I would rather run a Candy Store. I don’t have a green thumb. Thank you
Same here!
Unfortunately, I have a “brown thumb,” so I guess I would have to run a candy store. ?? This sounds like a delightful read by a new-to-me author, and I would love to win a copy.
Glad to know I’m not alone in the brown-thumb category!
Good luck to you, Evangeline!
My thumb is pretty Brown, and I love to bake, so I would say run a candy store=)
Oh, baking is a gift! I may not bake a lot, but I definitely enjoy other people’s baking!
I have bad knees , so if I could overcome that– gardening would be less fattening because I’d be tempted to eat a lot of candy.
The temptation to eat too much candy is real, Paula S.! When I worked at a candy store during college, I never got sick of it, and that brand is still my favorite. Thank goodness, stores are no longer in our state. 🙂
I have to read this book! I would rather garden than make candy. I love to bake and I do make candy but working in a garden makes me feel so close to God. It was nice meeting you today. I am going to go get your book and read it. xoxoxo
Any time we’re out in nature, I think we feel closer to God. Can you imagine those very first gardens He planted?! Someday, we’ll experience that beauty!
Very nice meeting you too, Penny! I hope you enjoy Jess & Luke’s story! 🙂
I’m all about the chocolate, so the candy store would be for me. I have a black thumb. I would love to read your book, as you would be a new author for me. I love new Authors! Thank you for the giveaway opportunity.
Black thumb! I like that, and it would describe me as well!
Thank you for stopping by, Perrianne!
I would rather run a candy store possibly making a lot of the goodies sold there since I love to do that sort of thing. My hubby would be the one to restore a garden since I think he has not one but two green thumbs. So between us both, we should have all the bases covered. 🙂
Sounds perfect! He could craft the gardens outside the store, while you work your magic inside!
Thank you for stopping by, Kay!
I would rather run a candy store because I have brown thumb?
Same here!
Thank you for visiting today, Linda! 🙂
Candy store. I’m not much of a gardener
There are a lot of us out there with brown thumbs!
Thanks for stopping by, Marlene!
i would rather own a candy store,though it would be too tempting surrounded by all that delicious candy.
mmm true
It is tempting, Marilyn, and you never get tired of the candy–I know from experience!
Thank you for visiting today, Marilyn!
NO contest. I would prefer to restore the garden. The goal would be to see the final glorious product. Oh my?????
can you come restore mine next then? Umm… and then stick around and help it live? haha!
I would enjoy seeing your restored gardens as well! I may have a brown thumb, but I greatly appreciate the beauty of a well-planned garden!
Thank you for stopping by, Sonnetta!
I would combine the two half garden and the other half of the store Candy Shop.
there ya go! best of both worlds 🙂
Sounds like a perfect idea for a business, Kristina!
Thank you for visiting, Kristina!
I love the colors of a garden so I would restore the garden.
if only my garden would stay colorful and pretty … instead of dying a tragic death lol!
I love the colors too, but only when someone else creates them! 🙂
That’s Hard but I would have to say for the sake of my teeth restore a garden
LOL!!
True! Gardening is much easier on the teeth!
What’s more important getting a promotion when doing so will hurt the woman you are falling in love with or the money and notoriety that comes with it.
good question!
That’s the ultimate question, isn’t it? 🙂
Chocolate and flowers, along with some romance and tension due to competing motives for wanting that cabin and land? Sounds like a winner.
right?? I agree!
Thank you, Michelle! I hope you have the opportunity to read Planting Hope! 🙂
I can’t imagine I’d be good at either but will choose restoring a garden!
You might surprise yourself, MH, and discover a hidden gift! 🙂
I would rather Restore a garden. I love to see new life arising from barren soil.
That’s a beautiful site, isn’t it? In Minnesota, where all the plants seem to die during the winter, to see them return in the spring, with more glorious blooms is really a miracle.
I’d better stick to the garden because I wouldn’t have much candy left to sell after I ate my share. lol
Haha!!
That could be a problem! 🙂
I would have to choose the candy store because if I tried the garden it would be dead in a week. I love baking and candy making!
That would be me, too! I grew up on a farm, but did not inherit any farming or gardening genes. 🙂
Haha, Donna! Mine would be dead in about a week too, if not sooner 😉
A candy store. SUGAR!!!!!!
Sounds like a no-brainer! 🙂
Candy store for sure! I love making yummy confections! Love this book cover! I am looking forward to reading it!
Once upon a time, my sisters and I made candy at Christmas. That’s a tradition I’d love to renew!
I hope you enjoy Planting Hope, Emilee! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂