Happy Tuesday! Through this Saturday (culminating with a list of winners), I have the privilege of sharing mini interviews with nearly all of the 2020 ACFW Carol Award Finalists! Today I’m starting with Laurel Blount and her Carol Award finalist book A Rancher to Trust! You can check out a list of all the finalists HERE
FYI – There will be 2-3 posts per day, and a series-long giveaway, so make sure you catch them all!
Laurel Blount lives on a small farm in middle Georgia with her husband, their four children, and an assortment of very spoiled animals. She divides her time between farm chores, homeschooling, and writing. She’s busy, but she’s never bored!
Whenever she’s not working, you can find Laurel with a cup of tea at her elbow, a cat in her lap, and a good book in her hand. Visit her at laurelblountbooks.com
A RANCHER TO TRUST
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Love Inspired
RELEASE DATE: December 17, 2019
PAGES: 224
Searching for forgiveness…and a future.
Suddenly a husband…and a father? This bachelor is ready to claim his instant family.
After learning his ex-wife isn’t so ex after all, rebel turned rancher Dan Whitlock is determined to prove he’s a changed man…but Bailey Quinn is just as set on finally ending their marriage. When tragedy makes Dan the guardian of little orphaned twins, he and Bailey are drawn back together. But can she forgive the past and open her heart to the family she’s always wanted?
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Hi Laurel! Welcome back to the blog!
Q: How has Christian fiction impacted you personally?
Laurel: God’s used Christian fiction to help grow me up spiritually. I’ve been an avid bookworm since childhood, but a whole-hearted Christ follower only since I turned 29. God often speaks to new believers in the language they best understand, and I speak “book” fluently. 😊 He led me forward by introducing me to gifted Christian authors who displayed their faith and a Christ-centered worldview beautifully and gently in their stories.
Carrie: I cannot express how much I love this ♥
Q: When you’re not writing your next award-nominated book 😉 who are your fave authors to read & why?
Laurel: Oh, so many! When it comes to authors, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I keep a towering TBR pile! The author names on the book spines fluctuate, but the reasons they’re there are always the same—great, well-rounded characters and a skillfully written story that draws me in and doesn’t turn me loose until the last page! (Current books on my teetering stack include stories by Francine Rivers, Lauren K. Denton, Shelley Shepard Gray, Lee Tobin McClain, and Tina Radcliffe.)
Carrie: I can so relate to this – a kid in a candy store & the towering TBR pile – yes!!
Q: Do you have any strange writing habits/quirks?
Laurel: Hmmm. I don’t think I’m too quirky! I do tend to chain-chew gum when I’m struggling with a scene, (cinnamon is my favorite flavor). I always write in my teensy office, and I prefer to have some sort of white noise going in the background—a fan in the summer or a heater humming during the winter. I also get up early to write—usually about five a.m. (but in a pinch, I’ll start at four), and I write until mid-morning. This has become such a habit, that I can’t sleep in anymore!
Carrie: I’m so sorry about not being able to sleep in anymore – how sad, lol! (As might be assumed, i love sleeping in when i can haha)
Q: Which of your characters has really stretched you as a writer?
Laurel: Most of ‘em give me fits before the book is finished, but I would say that Bailey Quinn, the heroine in A Rancher to Trust, was one of the characters who stretched me the most. She’d made cameo appearances in each of my other three books before starring in her own story, so she already had a fully formed personality—and a definite mind of her own. She wasn’t very cooperative with some of my plot ideas when it came to her own happily-ever-after!
Carrie: lol the audacity of these fictional characters!! 😉
Q: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve googled lately while researching a book?
Laurel: I’m working on an Amish series for Berkley right now, and so most of my current weird googling revolves around that. Do Amish women have pockets in their dresses? How old would an Amish boy be before he’d be allowed to drive the buggy into town? Things like that.
Carrie: so much new research to do!
Q: What is something God taught you while you wrote A Rancher to Trust?
Laurel: As I wrote this book, God underlined the importance of prioritizing people and relationships over my beloved “to-do” lists. Like Bailey, the heroine in A Rancher to Trust, I can be really goal-oriented, and it’s so easy to slip out of balance.
Carrie: oh goodness – that’s a lesson i have to remind myself of often too.
Q: What is one of your favorite quotes from A Rancher to Trust & why do you love it?
Laurel: I have two—the first from the hero, Dan Whitlock“…he was starting to understand that home for him was wherever Bailey Quinn happened to be.” The second’s from his brother Abel (the hero from A Family for the Farmer) “Love’s what makes this town my home, Bailey. Without it—” he shrugged “—this place is nothing to me but another dot on the map.” The theme here—that home is defined more by relationships rather than by geography—is near and dear to my heart.
Carrie: I love both of these!
I am offering one reader any TWO books (print copies) that finaled in the 2020 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.
What about you? What makes you want to read the short novel Carol Award finalist A Rancher to Trust by Laurel Blount & what did you enjoy about Laurel’s answers?
I like the fact that her author list is like a kid in a candy store. I like a lot of variety, too. I also enjoy that some of her characters had a cameo in a previous book. That’s always fun!
i agree!
Yes!! I’ve always loved to see previous characters cameo in later books in a series–I feel like I’m getting a little sneaky peek of how their love stories are blooming. It’s like catching up with old friends! So, I always try to give my readers those glimpses, too!
Yes, to the kid in the candy store image. So many amazing books to choose from–and I want them ALL! Laurel’s book sounds so intriguing!
yessssssss me too!
I want them all, too! How can we possibly choose between all these fascinating stories?? We just need more time to read! 😉
Congrats to Laurel on being a finalist! 😀
Thank you!! I truly love ACFW–this is a real honor!
So many great authors on this list!
Yes! My TBR pile is even steeper now!! What a great problem to have, though!
Another new-to-me author. Sounds good!
What a cute cover!
i think so too!
Oh, I loved it too, Lori! And, bonus–I was so excited when the mom of the adorable little boy model tagged me in an Instagram post about the photoshoot. For the first time, I got to see behind the scenes of the creation of one of my covers–what a thrill!
She can get up at 4a.m. in a pinch?! Definitely a solid commitment to early writing time. Thanks for sharing! 🥰📚
LOL, I used to be a night owl until I married a guy who grew up on a farm. Took him a few years, but he finally converted me! Now, as long as I have sufficient coffee, early mornings are my favorite time of day! But I conk out around ten pm, so there’s that…
Sweet cover.
Isn’t it, Kim? I especially love the expression on Dan’s face…it’s perfect!!
Such a sweet cover that I want to learn Dan Whitlock’s story.
Dan was one of my all time favorite characters, Roxanne! I loved writing his story–there’s just something about those former bad boys who’ve turned their lives around and become true heroes. They melt my heart every time.
Laurel is a morning person also! Laurel, Congrats on being a Carol Award Finalist!
Thank you, Caryl! And yay! A fellow early bird!! I treasure those quiet hours so much! (As long as there’s plenty of coffee, lol.)
I am totally impressed with Laurel Blount’s organization… farm wifery, home schooling 4(!), and, ho-hum, authoring! Her characters are real and relatable—I dare you to read A Rancher to Trust and not want to move in next door!
Aww, Donna–you just made my day with that one! When I’m reading a book–and the characters pop right off the page–and I think, I KNOW this person–that’s when I know I’ve found a new favorite author. I try my best to write characters like that–people who feel so real that at the end of the book, you actually miss them! As far as organized, I’m really not so good at that! I shoot for controlled chaos most of the time!
Love that she’s learning to prioritize relationships over lists. I’m learning that slowly too!
Yes! So important–but so hard when you tend to be goal oriented! I have to work hard sometimes to yank my mind to the present and focus on the precious person in front of me–instead of the next item on my to-do list for the day! You’re so right–it’s a slow learning curve for me, too! But we’re getting there!
The cover makes me want to read A Rancher to Trust. You can’t get much more appealing than a cowboy holding babies!
Truer words were never spoken, Pam!! They did such a great job with this cover. A cowboy with babies–and with that sweet look on his face?? I love it!!
I like any books with a western, ranching theme, because real life farming or ranching is not as good as in the books!
Donna, you made me laugh out loud–because it’s so true! I just love the ‘farmhouse’ look in decorating, but when I see white sofas, I have to chuckle. Country life is so messy–a white couch wouldn’t last five minutes in my house!
LOVE IT!
Thanks, Natalya!! I’m so excited–and so thrilled to be featured here on Reading is My Superpower! I love this blog, and I love Carrie–so it’s a double blessing for me!!
awww thank you, Laurel! Me too 🙂
The cover draws me into this story, which I’m eager to read. It sounds like an uplifting novel.
Oh, I hope so, Suzanne! I love stories that leave me feeling better at the end–more hopeful, more relaxed. I always want to leave my readers with a smile!
“… Home is defined more by relationships rather than by geography…” I love this theme and the quote that goes with it!!
isn’t that beautiful? me too!
I love this theme, too, Elizabeth! It’s such a comforting reminder in the fast-paced, mobile world we live in these days!! Home is wherever we love–and are loved!
Very cute cover. I like the story line. Thanks for the chance.
Thanks, Lynn–this cover is definitely one of my favorites!
I like the cover.
I like it too, Rita! A cowboy and two cute babies makes for a sweet cover!
Beautiful cover. I liked the blurb. It sounds like a very interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Diana! I loved this cover, too! It really captured the heart of the story!
This sounds like a great book!
Thank you, Paula! It was an interesting book to write–I really enjoyed the characters, and the situation was a challenging one! It was fun, and it kept me on my toes, too!
God found me through music like he found her through books. And I have not read any of Laurel’s works.
Dawn–that’s so very beautiful–that God reached you through music! He is so wonderful–to speak to us in the language we are best able to hear…
I loved getting to know more about you through the interview, especially since you are a new to me author! I also love that you are from Middle Georgia, that’s where I grew up! Looking forward to reading your books!
You grew up in middle Georgia? How cool is that?! So glad to hear from a fellow Georgian!!
Fun interview! Thanks for sharing.