Our guest is Karla Akins, author of The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots. Karla offers a copy of this book to the winner of a random drawing on August 25 of ACTIVE newsletter subscribers. I had the most fun reading a book when I read Karla's new release. Yes, I got to know her characters-I cried with them, laughed with them, cheered them on.
 |
| Karla Akins |
Karla Akins is a pastor's wife, mother of five, and grandma to five beautiful little girls. She lives in Northeast Indiana with her husband, twin teenage boys with autism, mother-in-law with Alzheimer's and three rambunctious dogs. When she's not writing she's dreaming of riding her motorcycle through the mountains and hunting for treasure.
Hello, Karla, what 4 unique things can you tel us about yourself that we don't know?
I play violin, piano and am a classically trained singer and write songs.
I love dogs and have three of them.
Please describe yourself with three words.
Focused. Loyal. Creative.
What do you enjoy doing when you're not writing?
I love to research and study. Learning new things. Riding my motorcycle. Studying the Bible.
What novel have you recently read that impressed you that you would highly recommend to others?
And the Mountains Echoed by Kahled Hosseini. His prose is amazing.
I have a list of my 5 favorite novels I've read. Please tell us your 5 favorite novels of all time.
This is hard to whittle down to only 5! I love so many. I'll list the ones I read as a youngster that have stuck with me all these years:
Christy by Catherine Marshall
The Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
If you could have dinner with one person from today or history (except Jesus), who would it be?
The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton. I'd like to know when she and William dated if they ever did things like play hide and seek in the palace, or what it was like to meet the queen for the first time. Also, how does it feel to know her every move will be scrutinized in history books for eternity? I have so many questions.
How did you become involved in writing?
When I was in 5th grade my teacher caught me writing poems and stories. Since I was a disruptive child, bored in school, and would finish my work before my peers, she encouraged me to put my stories and poems together and make book covers for them. That kept me busy at my seat and out of her hair!
Where do you write? Do you have a dedicated office or a corner or nook in a room?
In my writing chair in the living room or in my office, depending on what I'm working on.
Please tell us about The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots.
Pastor's wife, Kirstie Donovan, lives life in a fishbowl, so when she hops on the back of a bright pink motorcycle, tongues start to wag at the conservative, century-old First Independent Christian Community Church of Eels Falls. Kirstie loves roaring down a road less traveled by most women over forty, but she's not just riding her bike for the fun of it. Kirstie has a ministry. However, certain church members have secrets to hide, and when God uses Kirstie's ministry to fill the pews with leather-clad, tattooed bikers, those secrets could be exposed...and some will stop at nothing to hide the truth. Join Kirstie and her motorcycle "gang" -- two church matrons and a mouthy, gum-smacking non-church member - as they discover that road-toughened bikers are quite capable of ministering to others, and faith is fortified in the most unexpected ways.
 |
| Karla Akins |
What takeaway value do you hope your readers receive after reading this book?
To love and accept others regardless of background or ability. Christ died for your enemies. Love them as Christ loves.
Did you have to do any research for this book?
Not really. I am a pastor's wife who rides her own motorcycle, so I drew from a lot of my own experiences. However, the book isn't biographical at all.
How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?
I've been writing since 5th grade, of course, but I didn't sell my first book until 40-some years later in 2011 when Bramley Books published my collection of narrative biographies in O Canada, Her Story.
What advice would you give to writers who have been writing a few years but still haven't interested an agent or publisher in their novel?
Don't quit. Don't give up. Someone needs to read what you have to write. It's not about you. Be teachable, learn as much as you can, join a critique group, go to writer's conferences simply for the value of learning. Never, ever stop learning.
What are you working on now?
A historical full-length novel entitled River Moon Don't Cry set in the 1830s about a Melungeon girl whose father gambles her off to a sex trafficking and gaming steamboat.
Please tell our readers where they can get your book.
Amazon.com and book stores, if they request it, will have the hard copy. The digital copy will be available after August 9 on Amazon and other online stores.
Please tell our readers where they can find you online.
http://www.KarlaAkins.com
http://facebook.com/karlakakins
Any parting comment?
Thanks so much for hosting me, Jo! It's an honor and privilege to meet so many gifted writers such as yourself. It's the icing on the cake of being an author!
Also, I'll be at the ACFW conference in Indy in September, and I'd love to meet your readers there!
Karla, thanks for visiting with me and my readers and for offering a copy of your book to one of my newsletter subscribers.
I've recently rea
A man decided that he was going to ride a 10-speed bike from Pheonix to Flagstaff. He got as far as Black Canyon City before the mountains just became too much he could go no farther.
Everything went fine for the first 30 miles. Suddenly, another Corvette blew past them. Not to be outdone, the Corvette pulling the bike took off after the other. A short distance down the road, the Corvettes, both going well over 120 mph, blew through a speed trap.