Yowza! All the Books Day 2: Tamera Kraft

Tamera Kraft, Alice’s Notions

Congratulations to yesterday's winner: Becky Griggs, who correctly identified Sarah's grandfather as having served as a Pharmacist's mate. Now, on to today's highlighted author: Tamera Kraft!

I don’t remember exactly when I knew I wanted to be an author.  I have always loved to write. I remember writing my first novel when I was ten years old. It was awful. I think what sparked my love for books was my grandmother. She only had an 8th grade education and was a coal miner’s wife, but she loved to read. I remember sitting on her lap in her rocker and her reading great novels like Black Beauty to me.

In high school, I took all the English and literature classes I could to prepare for my career in writing. I even major in English in college in preparation of being a writer.

At some point in my twenties, my writing career was put on hold for decades. Between raising children and becoming a children’s pastor on staff at my church, there just wasn’t time. I still couldn’t keep from writing. I would write children’s church curriculum and puppet skits for my lessons. Some of it even got published.

Finally about twelve years ago, I resigned as a children’s pastor and started a ministry called Revival Fire for Kids where I travel to other churches to do teacher training, kid’s crusades, and children’s ministry consultations. I also am launching Revival Fire for Kids children’s church curriculum in about a year. This keeps me very busy during the summer, but the rest of the time, I have time to write fiction.

My writing career is back on track and moving along. I feel like God has brought me full circle. I put Him first in raising my children and ministering to other children, and He is fulfilling the desires of my heart by opening up doors for me to write again.

I love to choose names that not only go with the time period I’m writing in, but they also mean something that relates to the characters and to the story.

Alice means noble, but it also conjures up the image of Alice in Wonderland. Because she gets herself into a situation she doesn’t understand but is determined to see justice done, it fits. I chose the name Rick for three reasons. First Rick means someone who is strong and caring to me because my husband is named Rick. Second, Rick means powerful or strong leader. Rick certainly is that in Alice’s Notions. The third reason is because of the time period. I loved Rick in Casablanca.

I also have a cast of minor characters with names that fit them. Lois means desirable, and Lois, Alice’s sister-in-law, fits that description. Her husband and Alice’s brother Pete is a salt-of-the-earth type of guy, and Pete means rock.

My main character in Alice’s Notions loved to compare people to movie stars, and if my book were made into a movie Judy Garland would be Alice and Cary Grant would play Rick.

A novella called Soldier’s Heart was my first book. It was released in 2013. One of the characters in my newest novel, Lost in the Storm, is the main character for Soldier’s Heart, so I revised it and my publisher rereleased it recently. It’s on Amazon and other sites for 99 cents, but you can get it on the Mt Zion Ridge Press site for free. Here’s the blurb:

Can they build a life together when his soldier’s heart comes between them?

Noah Andrews, a soldier with the Ohio Seventh Regiment can’t wait to get home now that his three year enlistment is coming to an end. He plans to start a new life with his young wife.

Molly was only sixteen when she married her hero husband. She prayed every day for him to return home safe and take over the burden of running a farm. But they can’t keep the war from following Noah home.

This Inspirational Civil War romance gives the reader a taste of what it was like for the soldiers coming home from the war with PTSD.

About Tamera:

Award winning author Tamera Lynn Kraft has always loved adventures. She loves to write historical fiction set in the United States because there are so many stories in American history. There are strong elements of faith, romance, suspense, and adventure in her stories. Alice’s Notions, Red Sky Over America, Lost in the Story, Resurrection of Hope, and Soldier’s Heart are among her published works.

Tamera has been married for 40 years to the love of her life, Rick, and has two married adult children and three grandchildren. She has been a children’s pastor for over 20 years. She is the leader of a ministry called Revival Fire for Kids where she mentors other children’s leaders, teaches workshops, and is a children’s ministry consultant and children’s evangelist and has written children’s church curriculum. She is a recipient of the 2007 National Children’s Leaders Association Shepherd’s cup for lifetime achievement in children’s ministry.

About Alice’s Notions:

In this quaint mountain town, things aren’t always what they seem.

World War II widow Alice Brighton returns to the safety of her home town to open a fabric shop. She decides to start a barn quilt tour to bring business to the shop and the town, but what she doesn’t know is sinister forces are using the tour for their own nefarious reasons.

Between her mysterious landlord, her German immigrant employee, her neighbors who are acting strange, and a dreamboat security expert who is trying to romance her, Alice doesn’t know who she can trust.

Connect with Tamera:

Website: http://tameralynnkraft.net

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cdybpb

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7334438.Tamera_Lynn_Kraft

Word Sharpeners Blog: http://tameralynnkraft.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/tameralynnkraft

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tamerakraft

Your turn!

Visit Tamera’s website to be able to answer the following question to be entered into today’s giveaway of Alice’s Notions: Under the name on my website is a tagline. What is it?

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