Title: The Narrow Path

Author: Gail Sattler

Genre: Mennonite Romance

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Release Date:May 2010

Gail's website

Available at Christianbook.com,

Amazon.com, cokesbury.com, barnes and noble

Miranda feels transported back to Little House On The Prairie, and Ted's head spins when Miranda reads the Bible on her cell phone. Yet they must find a way to make peace and meet their common goal to open Ted's Old Order Mennonite church and community. Will they find love in the process?

JO: Please tell us a little about yourself.

DEBORAH:  My husband and I have three daughters and live in Southeast Kansas. As a student at Emporia State University studying English and journalism, I developed a love for the Flint Hills that has never faded. In writing this series, I hope to share my passion for one of the last tallgrass prairie regions in the world, showing that God's great beauty rests on the prairie and in the hearts of those who live there.

JO: What do you enjoying doing when you're not writing?

DEBORAH: I like to take walks with our two golden retrievers or dig in the dirt in my flower beds or garden. I also enjoy playing the piano, baking something, sewing or scrapbooking!

JO: Can you tell us any fun thing about you that might surprise our readers?

DEBORAH: I am weird in that I LIKE to mow. We have a large yard, so it takes me about two hours on an industrial-sized mower, but I enjoy this time to just think or sing. LOL. Yes, I sometimes sing when I mow. It's also a good time for me to pray or to plot out scenes in my current writing project.

JO: How did you get involved in writing?

DEBORAH: I began writing my Great American Novel as a junior in high school--Splendor of the Sun. That earned me an A++ in Senior English. I studied English and journalism in college, but it wasn't until 2002 that I began taking serious steps to be published.

JO: Where do you write? Do you have a dedicated office or a corner or nook in a room?

DEBORAH: I used to write in my kitchen but in recent years, I moved my office to our bedroom where I can shut the door on noise. I have allotted 1/3 of this room to my office with a comfy chair as well as a desk and shelves, file cabinet, etc. All I need for working. When I'm really trying to get my word count in, I'll work on my NEO by Alphasmart, which has a small screen and allows me to write without editing. Some days I'll take my Neo and work outside under our awning.

JO: When you wrote Seeds of Summer did you know the title before you wrote it or after you finished it? Do you come up with titles for all your stories this way?

DEBORAH: My original titlefor Snow Melts in Spring was Quarterback Cowboy, and for Seeds of Summer, The Rancher & The Preacher Man. My first agent wanted me to come up with different titles so Deborah Raney and I brainstormed titles for the series and came up with what I have today. Sometimes a title will come to me after the book is written. I think every instance can be different.

JO: Please tell us about Seeds of Summer.

DEBORAH: Seeds of Summer is contemporary prairie romance and is the second book in the Seasons of the Tallgrass series. A blurb for it is:  A heart-warming contemporary romance set in the Flint Hills of Kansas where a former rodeo queen abandons her dreams in order to care for her deceased father's ranch and her two half-siblings, only to realize with the help of a young new pastor that God can turn even the most dire circumstances into seeds of hope.

JO: What takeaway value do you hope readers receive after reading your novel?

DEBORAH: I'd like readers to remember how important family relations are and that we can get through our difficulties if we remember to love and forgive each other. I also hope to give my readers a taste of the Flint Hills and of how God's beauty rests on the prairie and in the hearts of those who live there.

JO: Where did you get the idea for Seeds of Summer?

DEBORAH: My husband and I read lots of horse magazines at our house, so when he's finished with a magazine, I'll go through for possible story ideas. I'll tear out pages of articles, or even pictures for possible characters, and then I'll file those papers in an idea file. When I'm ready to write a new story, that's the first place I'll go, sifting through the articles and pictures.

So, for Seeds of Summer, many of the pictures I'd filed away happened to be of past Miss Rodeo America queens. From there, my imagination soared. I also knew that I wanted to include one story about a female rancher. Because we have three daughters who are spread out in age, I started wondering what it would be like if something happened to my husband and me, and our oldest daughter was left to care for her sisters. That's where the plot originated for Seeds of Summer.

JO: Did you need to do any research for this book?

DEBORAH: I learned a lot about the Miss Rodeo America organization and was surprised how much these young ladies must know for the interview portion of the pageant. Good grief! They are required to know EVERYTHING about the sport of rodeo, about the horse industry, about the sponsors for the horse industry...not only current information but from years past. I was also amazed at the amount of expertise required to complete the horsemanship events. Riding with confidence on an animal you've never rode before takes a LOT of skill and courage. And carrying those flags, and shining those boots (and blackening the bottoms of those heels). I greatly enjoyed viewing the various leather dresses--and imagining what Natalie would wear. So fun!

JO: How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

DEBORAH: In 2002 I started taking serious steps to get published.I joined a local writer's group and ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). I also joined a critique group, started reading writing how-to's and attended writing conferences. I met my first agent at the ACFW Nashville Conference in 2005. We hit it off at our meeting, and she gave me some tips on making my book series "bigger." I did that and submitted my idea to her and she took me on. We shopped my Seasons of the Tallgrass series for a year and had a few bites (one of them Zondervan) but no sale. In the end, she released me, which was a real heart breaker. However, we don't always see the big picture like God does, and six months later I signed with agent, Rachelle Gardner with WordServe Literary, and we had an offer from Zondervan three months after that in May 2008.

JO: How do you find time to write?

DEBORAH: I've had to learn to be disciplined with my writing time--and I'm still trying to learn how to do better--and how to convince my family that my writing is a real job. I've been fortunate that my books have been slated a year apart, but with everything that goes into the writing process and then the marketing, the months go by so fast!

JO: What are you working on now?

DEBORAH: I'm currently finishing up the third book in this series, Blades of Autumn, which is the story about Clara, the owner of Clara's Café. (Available Summer 2011)

Blurb for Blades of Autumn: With a café to run and three children to raise, Clara Lambert doesn't have time for men or loneliness, despite what her heart might tell her. When two handsome cowboys vie for her attention, one of the brothers proves to be her soul mate, but at what cost? Will it tear the brothers' relationship apart or is blood really thicker than water?

JO: What advice would you give to writers just starting out?

DEBORAH: Write what is on your heart and don't be discouraged. Read LOTS of books (especially those in your genre), join a writing group and/or a critique group. Write, and continue learning the craft. Be open to criticism and helpful advice. Never give up.

JO: Please tell our readers where they can get Seeds of Summer.

DEBORAH:  At Amazon.com and CBD.com

JO: Where can our readers find you?

DEBORAH: At my website or on my Country at Heart blog

Deborah, thanks for spending time with my readers and for the copy of Seeds of Summer, which one of them will receive from a drawing.