Most author started writing because they read a book (or dozens!) that they loved. Amy R. Anguish’s love of stories started with a Little Golden Book and continues on today.

Thank you so much for being here today! What was your favorite picture book as a child?

Favorite picture book (that I can remember loving now that I’m an adult with kids of my own) is a little golden book called The Tawny, Scrawny Lion. The pictures are fun, the words are playful, and the lesson that the lion gets fat and sleek on veggies and fish and berries instead of chasing all the other animals to eat is a bit ridiculous. But I still love it, and am always excited when my kids want to read that one instead of one of the newer ones.

That sounds so cute! What’s the first book you remember reading that you couldn’t put down?

The first book I remember reading by myself that I couldn’t put down is Listen for Rachel by Lou Kassem. I bought it with my own money from the book fair at school, and was rather upset when my mom made me go to bed instead of reading more. It’s set around the end of the Civil War in East Tennessee and the girl ends up nursing a guy from the other side of the war than the one her cousins fought on. But it’s a sweet romance, too. I still go back and reread it sometimes.

Have you ever been disappointed by a highly recommended book?

Yes! And it’s so sad, because the people who recommended the books are so excited about them. Usually, they’re ones on popular reading lists made by celebrities, which should be my first warning. They talk about how they got sucked in and couldn’t put it down, so I reserve my copy at the library and dive in. And it’s full of cussing and sex (especially sad when it’s a YA book) and other things I don’t want to think about. And I go back to my Christian novels and try to purge my brain of the other. Sigh.

I suppose that’s further proof that reading is subjective. But now back to books that you love. If you could eat dinner with any fiction character, who would it be?

The family from Little Women. Even though they weren’t always perfect, they’re so loving and kind. They can make a bad situation into a good one, no matter what. And they always learn from their mistakes. Besides, I’d love to talk writing with Jo.

I love the March family too! What about fictional places–where would you go?

Narnia. Definitely. I want to walk and talk with Aslan, see the other creatures, visit the sea, walk through the forest, and drink tea. If that one was already booked, I’d probably choose Oz as my second option.

And now every author’s least favorite question–who’s your favorite author?

I don’t have only one favorite author, but I do have a handful I snatch up whatever they’ve written and don’t even read the blurb to see what the book is about. I simply know I’ll love it because I’ve loved everything else they’ve written. So, to cheat, my top must-read authors are (in no particular order) Karen Witemeyer, Katherine Reay, Julie Klassen, and Roseanna M. White. There are very few books, if any, they’ve written I haven’t read.

Excellent choices! And now my favorite question: can you share five books from your to-be-read pile with us?

Five books from my TBR is limiting, but here’s the ones I most want to read next in no particular order:

The London House by Katherine Reay
Under the Texas Mistletoe by Karen Witemeyer
To Treasure an Heiress by Roseanna M. White
Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen
Healing Skye by Janet Ferguson

I could probably go on, but you only asked for five. 😉

Can love secure Adrian’s wandering heart?

Roots are overrated, at least to someone like Adrian Stewart, preacher’s kid, who has never lived anywhere longer than six years. That’s why her job with MidUSLogIn is so perfect for her—lots of travel and staying nowhere long enough to have it feel like home. But when work takes her to Memphis, TN, closer to her family for the first time in years, and in the same small office as Grayson Roberts, she starts to question her job, her lack of home, and even her memories of her rocky past with the church.

Gray is intrigued by Adrian from the moment he sees her, and he’s determined to get to the bottom of why this girl who loves old movies and hums when she works won’t go to church with him. As they grow closer, he wants more, too, but how can he convince her to stay in Memphis when she doesn’t believe in home—or God? Can he use his own broken past to break through hers?

Amy R. Anguish grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.

Follow her at
http://abitofanguish.weebly.com
http://www.facebook.com/amyanguishauthor
https://twitter.com/amy_r_anguish
https://www.pinterest.com/msguish/my-books/

And check out the YouTube channel she does with two other authors, Once Upon a Page