Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Janet Ferguson & Star Rising

Please join me in welcoming the fabulous Janet Ferguson to the blog today to chat about her new book, Star Rising!

Janet W. Ferguson is a Grace Award winner and a Christy Award finalist. She grew up in Mississippi and received a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Mississippi. She has served as a children’s minister and a church youth volunteer. An avid reader, she worked as a librarian at a large public high school. She writes humorous inspirational fiction for people with real lives and real problems. Janet and her husband have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a few cats that allow them to share the space.

You can connect with Janet on her website, Facebook, Pinterest, BookBub and Twitter.

Get her Christy Award finalist novella Falling for Grace FREE when you sign up for her newsletter here!

SERIES: Coastal Hearts #4
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Southern Sun Press, LLC
RELEASE DATE: January 4, 2020
PAGES: 260

Star Youngblood has always been a fighter – a necessity after her mother married a monster of a man. Now, she’s finally on the path to the stable life she’s always wanted. Her employer, Priscilla Kelly, is a sweet woman ravaged by rheumatoid arthritis, and Star will do anything to help her. Even if that means going toe to toe with Mrs. Kelly’s neglectful son.

After being betrayed on the mission field and devastated by the tragic death of his father, Paul Kelly gave up on God. He lives life on his own terms, biding his time as a corporate pilot until he can save enough money to begin his own flight school closer to home. His mother is all he has left, and he wants to be near her. He just didn’t expect her health to decline so quickly. When he discovers his mother has taken in a stray–a woman he’s not at all sure can be trusted–his protective instincts kick into high gear. Paul’s handled a lot of turbulence, but he’s never gone up against a force like Star.

As Paul and Star strive to protect his mother in their own ways, they soon find their hearts are at the greatest risk.

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Hi dear Janet! Welcome back to the blog!

Janet: I’m a summer girl here in Mississippi. I just freeze in cold weather! I do enjoy those occasional perfect in-between days in spring or fall though.

Carrie: I always prefer being cold to being hot BUT those in-between days are really just the best.

Janet: I must have coffee every single day, preferably before anyone expects me to answer a question.

Carrie: haha – sounds like me & my diet coke 😉

Janet: This is funny! I have no idea how I or anyone else puts toilet paper on their holder. I just never pay attention.

Carrie: LOL!

Janet: I’m a beach girl, but maybe that’s because the beach is much closer. I just love the sound of the waves, the feel of the wind, and seeing the little sea creatures and birds on the beach.

Carrie: I do love listening to the sound of waves… but i still prefer my mountains 🙂

Q: Characters often find themselves in situations they aren’t sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?

Janet: How funny! I often find myself in awkward situations, usually of my own making, because the dumbest things come out of my mouth. But something that I wrote into Star Rising was about awkward plane rides. I was waiting for a flight in the Rome airport (as in Italy, not Georgia), and I kept hearing this horrible honking noise. My son and I are trying to figure out what in the world in was. Turns out, this guy was blowing his nose every few minutes, and I can’t describe the sound other than how a Canadian goose sounds. We couldn’t wait to get out of the airport to escape the annoying sound. WEEEELLL, guess who I sit by as we cross the Atlantic back to the Atlanta airport??? Mr. Honk, himself. Did I sleep on that flight? Not a wink, ha! At least I didn’t catch his cold though, bless his heart.

Carrie: hahahaha! oh goodness!

Q: Which of your characters was the most difficult to write? 

Janet: My character Rivers in The Art of Rivers was one of the hardest. She has been terribly heartbroken by the addictions of others. She has bitterness inside her because of it, which isn’t surprising. People in the throes of addiction don’t see past their need to feed their cravings. They hurt people. They hurt themselves. It is so difficult to walk through that. Most of us know dear people on all sides of this problem. (If you don’t, count yourself blessed.) But somehow, I had to come to terms with the fact that I sin. I was addicted to sin before I completed bowed my knee to Jesus. He was killed in a cruel way because He loved me. And I have to love people like He loves me, even when it’s hard. Loving doesn’t mean accepting the actions of people in addiction as okay. It just means putting them in God’s care, praying, and living my own life the best I can with God’s help. Letting go of bitterness is part of that. Because bitterness is often a disguise for not forgiving, which is a command. 

Carrie: amen. I once heard Beth Moore say, “Forgiveness doesn’t make IT all right. Forgiveness makes YOU all right.”

Q: What is one of your favorite quotes from Star Rising & why do you love it?

Janet: I don’t want to give too much away, but Star, who is the heroine of the book, grows so much through the story. She’s able to read others really well too. In this quote, she finally lays out what she believes is the truth to another character, even at risk of her own heart. I can’t tell you what comes after the quote, because it’s kind of a big deal in the story!

“Because I think you still believe in God. You’re just furious with Him that life didn’t go the way you wanted it. Now you hate Him.” 

Carrie: that’s powerful!

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂

Janet Ferguson is offering an ebook copy of Star Rising to one of my readers! Open internationally except where prohibited by law or logistics. 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 about Star Rising and/or Janet Ferguson?