2019 Carol Award Finalists Q&A (and a Giveaway!): Liz Tolsma & The Melody of the Soul

Happy Tuesday! Continuing through Saturday (culminating with a list of winners), I have the privilege of sharing mini interviews with nearly all of the 2019 ACFW Carol Award Finalists! Today I’m covering the historical & historical romance categories, including Liz Tolsma and her nominated book The Melody of the Soul! You can check out a list of all the finalists HERE.

FYI – There will be several posts per day, and a week-long giveaway, so make sure you catch them all!

Liz Tolsma is the author of several WWII novels, prairie romance novellas, a romantic suspense, and an Amish romance. She is a popular speaker and an editor and resides in Wisconsin with her husband and their youngest daughter. Her son is a U.S. Marine, and her oldest daughter is a college student. Liz enjoys walking, gardening, kayaking, and camping. Visit her at https://liztolsma.com/

THE MELODY OF THE SOUL
SERIES: Music of the Soul #1
GENRE: Inspirational Historical Fiction
PUBLISHER: Gilead Publishing
RELEASE DATE: January 16, 2018
PAGES: 320

By 1943, Anna Zadok, a Jewish Christian living in Prague, has lost everything, including her career as a concert violinist and almost her entire family. The only person she has left is her beloved grandmother, and she’s determined to keep her safe. But protecting Grandmother won’t be easy–not with a Nazi officer billeted below them.

Anna must keep a low profile. There’s one thing she refuses to give up, though. Despite instruments being declared illegal, Anna defiantly continues to practice her violin. She has to believe that the war will end someday and her career will be waiting. Fortunately for Anna, the officer, Horst Engel, enjoys her soothing music. It distracts him from his dissatisfaction with Nazi ideology and reminds him that beauty still exists in an increasingly ugly world.

When his neighbors face deportation, Horst is moved to risk everything to hide them. Anna finds herself falling in love with the handsome officer and his brave heart. But what he reveals to her might break her trust and stop the music forever. . . .

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Hi, Liz! Welcome back to the blog!

Q: Why do you write fiction? And, why specifically Christian fiction?

Liz: I write fiction because I love to make up stories. I’ve always had a vivid imagination and love to let it go wild when I write. History is more interesting when it comes through a story. I write Christian fiction because my faith is so interwoven in my life, I can’t imagine trying to write a story that isn’t also full of faith.

Carrie: “History is more interesting when it comes through a story.” – YES. Love that.

Q: Other than the Bible, what are a couple of your most cherished books and why?

Liz: I really love the Little House on the Prairie I devoured them when I was young, and they really inspired me to write. If a farmer’s daughter could become a great author, so could I.

Carrie: That’s so sweet ♥ I still have my original yellow box set from childhood.

Q: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever Googled while researching a book?

Liz: Because I write WWII, I Google some pretty weird stuff. I’d hate for anyone to look at my browsing history. I’d probably have the FBI and CIA on my doorstep in no time.

Carrie: LOL probably so 😉

Q: Which of your main characters (either in The Melody of the Soul or over all you’ve written) is most like you?

Liz: Either Anna from this book or Cornelia from Snow on the Tulips are most like me. Like Anna, I love music, but I don’t play nearly as well as she does. Like Cornelia, I’m rather shy and just like to keep my head down.

Carrie: I haven’t ‘met’ Cornelia yet but now Snow on the Tulips has moved up higher on my teetering TBR tower. (PS – I loved Anna!)

Q: What is one of your favorite quotes from The Melody of the Soul & why do you love it?

Liz: “The world will dim, and heaven will grow brighter.” I love this quote because the older I get, the more true this becomes. Unless I live to be a very old woman, most of my life is in the rear-view mirror. More and more, heaven is coming into focus for me, and that is exciting.

Carrie: what a beautiful thought – that heaven grows brighter as we go through life… and this world grows dimmer (thank goodness)

I am offering one reader any TWO books (print copies) that finaled in the 2019 Carol Awards! (open internationally as long as Book Depository ships to your address) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What interests you most from Liz Tolsma’s Q&A or the historical fiction Carol Award finalist The Melody of the Soul?