Interview with Author Maggie Brendan

It is my distinct pleasure to interview my best friend and best-selling (CBA) author...Ms. Maggie Brendan:

1. What does Blue Willow china have to do with your new series "The Blue Willow Brides?" When asked to come up with another series by my publisher, I walked about my house thinking, thinking, and saw my beautiful Blue Willow dishes in my hutch in the dining room. I love the blue and white pattern and remembered when my brother Sam and his wife Olevia gave me a child's tea set of Blue Willow. It was my greatest treasure and gave me many years of pleasure and thus began my love affair with Blue Willow. Suddenly I got the idea of brides from Holland and perhaps they would bring their blue and white china as their treasure to America. My brother and wife have passed on, but I remember the hours of fun with my tiny tea set playing with my doll. Each of the three Brides will have a piece of Blue Willow china to begin their future.

2. What is your greatest fear as a writer? My greatest fear is that readers won't like my next book or failing to live up to my contract, or being inaccurate historically. It's very hard to please everybody, but ultimately, not pleasing God with what I write would be another fear.

3. Where do you remember feeling the most peace in your lifetime? This will probably sound off the wall, but the greatest peace that I ever felt was at my sister's funeral. Though she was taken after a short illness of non-Hodgkins, that day I stood over her grave, God touched me and my sisters with incredible peace in a unique way. Then I knew her work was done here and she was happy in heaven where she longed to be.

4. Describe heaven from your spiritual perspective?
God has placed eternity in our hearts and for Christians, we need to realize where our destination will be. It should be something that we look forward to with great anticipation. Since the beginning of time, civilizations have always been preoccupied with a permanent hereafter or residing place. What it means to me is that means I long to be there one day because it's is my real home where I will be fully known and the continual strife of this world and its injustices will not be present. It not only represents a place of rest but where we will be reunited with our loved ones who've gone on before. Here's one of my favorite passages: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so,, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I a, there you may be also. John 14:1-3. NASB
If you're a Christian, heaven should be on your radar!

5. What has been your most amazing fan encounter?
I've had several wonderful ones, but one that stands out in my mind was a college student that wrote to me saying that she'd moved away from God but after reading The Jewel of His Heart, she turned her life back over to Christ. She said the story of forgiveness and love really touched her heart. That makes the blood and sweat that I put into writing worthwhile to know that I even touched one person's life for Christ. Just awesome!

6. Give your recipe for peach cobbler (Oohhhh Baby!):
Kelly, you're so funny and I owe you a Cobbler. Here ya go!

Easy Peach Cobbler
1 ½ c. of sugar
1 c. flour
½ c. milk
1 stick of butter
1 #2 can of sliced peaches.
Drain off half of the juice from peaches, reserving the rest for cobbler. Heat peaches with ½ c. of the sugar in small saucepan over low heat.
Melt butter in casserole dish, meanwhile, mix 1 c. sugar, flour, milk together. Pour the heated peaches into the casserole, top with the sugar & flour batter. You can add a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon if desired. Bake at 400 degrees until brown. Hint the liquid mixture will sink to the bottom but will rise when baked for a beautiful brown topping.

7. How do animals play roles in your books? I love animals and have had many throughout my life. Animals played a huge role in settling the West. I had horses and cattle in my first novel, No Place for a Lady, but a cat as well. In The Jewel of His Heart, I had sheep and a beautiful sheepdog. In A Love of Her Own, horses played a roll as the hero's livelihood and also as magnificent beasts that pulled the stagecoach.

8. Where do you find your women's historical clothing descriptions? A lot of my descriptions for clothing are from memories of watching so many westerns on TV. I try to envision what they would look like and the colors. Since I used to sew a lot, it's not hard to conjure up the fabric and trim. I wished we still wore beautiful and feminine clothing, other than when we have an "event" to attend.

9. If you lived in the Old West, what would you buy from your riches as a "struck it rich" gold miner? I'd by a lot of land at the base of somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, probably CO and build a large home and have horses, cows, dogs and cats! Then I'd hire someone to take care of the hard work. (I'd also make sure it was during the time with indoor plumbing and electricity. Lol!

10. What would surprise fans the most about you? Fans may be surprised that my brother, Jess McCreede, wrote historical novels until his death. His was a great writer and great mentor to me.

Thanks, Maggie for taking the time to be interviewed on my blog! You can learn more about Maggie at http://www.southernbellewriter.blogspot.com/.

She is currently working on a website and her new series The Blue Willow Brides will release in Sept. 2011 with the first one, Deeply Devoted. Post a comment on my blog and be entered for a copy of A Love of Her Own. I'll draw a winner after Thanksgiving.

Thanks for stopping by!

KELLY