Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Her Amish Wedding Quilt Blog Tour: Author Interview + Giveaway

 

Her Amish Wedding Quilt Blog Tour 

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Her Amish Wedding Quilt by Winnie Griggs, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!


Her Amish Wedding Quilt
Title: Her Amish Wedding Quilt 
Series: Hope's Haven #1 
Author: Winnie Griggs 
Publisher: Forever 
Release Date: December 15, 2020 
Genre: Amish Romance 

An Amish seamstress and a single father have a chance to make a fresh start in this heartwarming novel about finding love when you need it the most. 

Spirited, forthright, impulsive -- everyone told Greta Eicher she'd have to change her ways if she ever hoped to marry. Then her best friend Calvin, the man she thought she would wed, chooses another woman. Now Greta's wondering if the others were right all along. Her dreams dashed, she pours her energy into crafting beautiful quilts at her shop and helping widower Noah Stoll care for his adorable young children. 

Noah knows it's time to think about finding a wife. When Greta offers to play matchmaker on his behalf, Noah eagerly accepts. After all, no one knows his children better. But none of the women she suggests seems quite right, because, unexpectedly, his feelings of respect and friendship for Greta have grown into something even deeper and richer. But will he have enough faith to overcome the pain of his past and give love another chance? 



Winnie Griggs

Winnie Griggs is the multi-published, award-winning author of romances that focus on small towns, big hearts, and amazing grace. Her work has won a number of regional and national awards, including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award. Winnie grew up in southeast Louisiana in an undeveloped area her friends thought of as the back of beyond. Eventually, she found her own Prince Charming, and together they built a storybook happily-ever-after, one that includes four now-grown children who are all happily pursuing adventures of their own. When not busy writing, she enjoys cooking, browsing estate sales, and solving puzzles. She is also a list maker, a lover of exotic teas, and holds an advanced degree in the art of procrastination.

CONNECT WITH WINNIE: Website | Facebook 



Hi Winnie! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and giving my readers the chance to get to know you and your new book- Her Amish Wedding Quilt a little bit better!  I like to start these interviews the same way with something fun to break the ice: can you share 5 random facts about yourself that we will NOT find in your bio?

1.
    I have trouble letting go of things. While I’m not yet a candidate for Hoarders, I’ve had to quit indulging myself in one of my favorite pastimes – estate sales – because I can’t fit any more ‘finds’ in my home.
2.    As a kid I had a pet squirrel for a time. My Dad, who was a big time hunter for a season of his life, found a baby squirrel all on its own during one of his hunting trips and brought it home for us to take care of. We named him Squeaky and Dad built a nice roomy cage for him, though occasionally he’d get loose and run free in the house. Daddy eventually released him back in the wild again when he was old enough to make it on his own (though he waited until we were at school to do it)
3.    I am the oldest of 5 siblings and the baby of the family is 20 years younger than me. I had just finished my freshman year in college when I heard the news my mom was pregnant!
4.    The oldest of my three younger sisters married before I did. So, true to tradition, I danced barefoot at her wedding.
5.    At age twenty-four I got the bright idea that I would make a patchwork quilt for my mom for mother’s day. I’d never made one before but I found a pattern I thought I could work with and started working on it with the optimism of a novice. Sure enough I managed to finish it and proudly gift her – 2 years later. It’s the only quilt I ever made but Mom still has it and uses it on her guest bed.



Let’s talk writing! This is far from your first book with a number of titles going back more than 10 years. This is however your first Amish book/series. What inspired you to take on that new genre?

 

An editor contacted me through my agent stating she was looking for a writer who would help them expand their offerings in that genre. She said she knew I hadn’t written Amish before but thought I had the voice for it.

Were you nervous about tackling a new genre? What has that new challenge been like?

Oh boy howdy, was I ever! But my agent and several of my writer friends got behind me and encouraged me to give it a try and I’m so glad I did! It has indeed been challenging to learn the dialect, mores, and day to day life of the Amish people. But it is also fascinating and invigorating to pursue something so different from what I’ve done in the past.


What type of research went into this series to properly portray the Amish way of life?

 

I spoke to other experienced authors of Amish fiction, some of them with ties to the community, I read a ton of research books, visited lots of Amish websites.  It had been my intent to make a couple of visits to Amish communities in both Pennsylvania and Ohio but of course the Pandemic hit and all those plans had to go out the window.

Can you tell us a little bit about Her Amish Wedding Quilt?

Greta, the heroine, is an outspoken, take charge kind of gal, which is a problem in the sense that everyone tells her she needs to tone it down a bit if she ever wants to find a husband, which she refuses to do. The book opens on the first day of a brand new year with Greta convinced this is the day her best friend, Calvin Stoll will propose to her. But by the end of the day her whole world has come crashing down around her.

 

Noah, the hero and Calvin’s older brother, is a widower trying to cope with raising two very young children with the help of his younger sister. At the beginning of the book he’s just learned he needs to stop relying on his sister’s help. He’s held off on a second marriage because of some painful secrets in his past. But now he figures that’s his only answer.

 

Greta, who has successfully done some matchmaking in the past, decides to help Noah out more as a way to take her mind off her own problems as anything else.

 

Oh, and of course Greta is a quilter who designs the most gorgeous quilts that she sells in a quilt shop in a local Amish-run craft mall


What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

That we all deserve to love and be loved, no matter our circumstances


Her Amish Wedding Quilt is the first book in this new series, what can we expect from the next books?

The books will follow the emotional journeys of the three motherless Eicher sisters. This first one features the middle sister Greta. The next one will feature the youngest, Hannah, who is a baker and is struggling with issues of infertility. The third one will of course feature, Martha, the oldest, who has been the sister managing the household and holding the family together since their mother’s death.


Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. Before you go, are there any other projects you are currently working on that you can share?

I’m looking at a couple of pet projects that I plan to do indie as I can work them into my schedule, but I’m not ready to discuss them yet.  😊


(1) winner will receive a book lover's prize package!

Her Amish Wedding Quilt

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight December 15, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on December 22, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE


 

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

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6 Comments:

  1. Her Amish Wedding Quilt sounds like an interesting book. I enjoyed reading the author interview in regards to the origin of this book idea and the books to come.

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  2. My mother remarried happily after my father died, so I have a tender attitude toward remarriages. I would enjoy reading this book because it sounds like a sweet story.

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  3. Thank you for being part of the blog tour for "Her Amish Wedding Quilt" by Winnie Griggs.

    Enjoyed reading the author's guest post and can't wait for the opportunity to read this book on my TBR list.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  4. Thank you for sharing! - JustRead Tours

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  5. Sounds like my kind of book.
    Marion

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