Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Kathleen Denly & Sing in the Sunlight

Please join me in welcoming Kathleen Denly to the blog today to chat about her upcoming historical romance, Sing in the Sunlight!

Kathleen Denly writes historical romance stories to entertain, encourage, and inspire readers toward a better understanding of our amazing God and how He sees us. Award winning author of the Chaparral Hearts series, she also shares history tidbits, thoughts on writing, books reviews and more at KathleenDenly.com.

You can also connect with Kathleen on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

SING IN THE SUNLIGHT
SERIES: Chaparral Hearts #2
GENRE: Inspirational Historical Romance
PUBLISHER: Wild Heart Books
RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2021

Richard Stevens isn’t who he thinks he is. Neither is the woman who now claims his last name.

Disfiguring scars stole Clarinda Humphrey’s singing career, her home, and her family, but she refuses to let her appearance steal her future. While attending The Young Ladies Seminary in 1858 Benicia, California, she finds a man who promises to love and cherish her. Instead he betrays her, leaving her with child, and Clarinda must take drastic measures to ensure her child doesn’t suffer for her foolishness.

Richard Stevens’s life hasn’t turned out as he expected, and when a shocking letter turns even his past into a mystery, he travels to San Francisco in search of guidance. On the way, he encounters a mysterious young woman hiding beneath a veil. That night he experiences a dream that sends him on a quest to find the bride God has chosen for him. He never imagines she’s already told everyone they’re married.

Unwilling to lie, nor accept a marriage of mere convenience, Richard wants the real thing. Yet Clarinda’s not interested in love, only a chance to save her child. Can he help her rise above the pain that runs deeper than her scars to accept a love worth every risk?

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In celebration of this second book in her Chaparral Hearts series, Kathleen’s offering preorder bonuses. These include a set of exclusive coloring pages (hand drawn by Kathleen for this novel), and an MP3 recording of the hymn referenced in the book, (God Moves in a Mysterious Way) performed by Kathleen’s wonderful mother.

Anyone who preorders Sing in the Sunlight no later than February 28, 2021 can register to receive their preorder bonuses. To register, email your proof of preorder purchase to kdpreorderbonuses@gmail.com no later than February 28, 2021. A proof of purchase is typically a screenshot of your receipt. Please do not include any personal information such as physical mailing address or account numbers when submitting your proof of purchase. Preorder bonuses will be emailed on the day of the book’s release to all who register.

Hi Kathleen! Welcome to the blog!

Kathleen: Apples. They’re less messy.

Carrie: yes! plus they’re yummier 🙂

Kathleen: Cats. Less drool.

Carrie: awww the drool is worth all the doggy cuddles though lol

Kathleen: Over! It keeps it off the floor.

Carrie: I always put it on so it rolls under but that’s a valid point!

Kathleen: Ebook. I know, I know. It isn’t as pretty and doesn’t smell nice, but it’s more convenient and my hand doesn’t cramp after hours of holding pages open.

Carrie: I love having print books all over my house but I prefer reading ebooks more and more, too, for those reasons & because I can enlarge the font for my poor eyes haha.

Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?

Kathleen: Perseverance. If I see a problem, I don’t quit. If it’s something worth achieving, I find a way to get there. I’m like that song about a bear hunt. I’ll find a way to the other side of a problem whether I have to go over it, under it, around it, or through it. 

Carrie: that’s a valuable superpower to have!

Q: Who is your favorite book character from childhood?

Kathleen: Anne Shirley. I could relate to her in so many ways. I love her imagination, her kindness, her loyalty, and her bravery.

Carrie: Anne is so great!

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?

Kathleen: At the end of a recent day trip to the desert, we were driving home for the day as the sun was setting. The light cast strange shadows over the little-traveled dirt path we were following with our minivan through BLM land. My husband had asked the kids to be quiet so he could concentrate on driving, but of course they chose to bicker over…I don’t even remember what. Probably one of them was looking at the other too long. In any case they distracted him and he took a turn just a hair too sharply. Our van got wedged on a pointy rock in an especially sandy patch of the trail.

He stopped the vehicle and we all piled out to stare at the problem as the sun set and the temperature dropped. Most people think of the desert as continually hot unless they’ve spent a significant amount of time there. It can get very cold and windy at night. Staying the night was not an option we cared to consider. Besides, the problem would still be there in the morning and there was zero cell service in the area. One of us could have walked several miles down the road to try to find help in the tiny little town that was nearest to us, (I’m not even sure they have their own post office) but we decided to try to get ourselves out of the mess we’d landed in.

So we got the kids settled several yards away before pulling the gloves, a collapsible shovel, a metal cup (used as a second shovel), and a jack from our trunk (we always keep those there in case of emergency but hadn’t needed them until this day). Then we started looking for more rocks. We used the largest, flattest rock we could find as a base to set our jack on and jacked the van up off the offending rock. Then we dug and stacked rocks on either side of the big rock that had stranded us in order to create a ramp we could drive off of. It took us a little over an hour to accomplish, but it worked. That night we got to sleep in our comfy beds instead of dry camping in the middle of the desert.

Carrie: oh wow! There’s that perseverance superpower coming in handy!

Q: What surprised you about your book or your characters as you wrote Sing in the Sunlight? 

Kathleen: Richard! There was an element of his backstory (a crucial element) that I didn’t even realize existed until it just showed up on the page and I was like, “Ooooh! That explains soooo much!”

Carrie: I will never understand this part of the writing process for authors but I find it so fascinating lol

Q: Were there any songs that inspired you as you wrote Sing in the Sunlight?

Kathleen: I actually came across a nineteenth century hymn that almost works as a metaphor for the entire novel. It’s called “God Works in Mysterious Ways.” It’s included in the novel and is part of the final scene. I asked my mother to record herself singing it (she has a beautiful voice) so that readers could listen to it as they read the novel. The recording is part of the preorder bonuses I’m offering.

Carrie: awww i love that! how special ♥

Q: What is something God taught you while you wrote Sing in the Sunlight?

Kathleen: He reminded me of how easy it is to misunderstand someone. Too often we interpret what we hear through what we expect to hear and it twists what was intended. It’s important to remember to take a step back when we think someone has said something offensive. We need to take a breath, say a prayer, and consider whether the offense was intended. Too many relationships have suffered and even been destroyed through unintentional miscommunication.

Carrie: so wise – and so important right now!

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.

Kathleen: Sing in the Sunlight [releases March 2nd], but book three of my Chaparral Hearts series, Harmony on the Horizon, is already on preorder and I can’t wait for readers to get to read that story as well. It features three secondary characters from Sing in the Sunlight and introduces a new heroine who was inspired by one of San Diego’s first teachers that caused a scandal still talked about today.

Kathleen Denly is offering a signed copy of Waltz in the Wilderness, 1 “I read past my bedtime” necklace, 1 set of Dabney Lee Magnetic Bookmarks, 1 Chaparral Hearts Pen, & 1 custom bookmark made and signed by the author to one of my readers! (Giveaway not quite as pictured. US only. Void 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 makes you want to read Sing in the Sunlight by Kathleen Denly?