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1. What or who inspired you to become an author?
I took journalism in high school from Miss Jean Dugat, who was a dragon demanding perfection. There were times when I disliked her because she made me work (I’m a bit lazy by nature). I had an epiphany by the end of my sophomore year that if I listened to her, I would be a writer. I did and I am. Thanks, Miss D!
 
I was inspired to write fiction by my ranger job at Fort Laramie National Historic Site in the early 1970s. I decided to tell Indian Wars stories as a painless way of educating people about the post Civil War- trans Mississippi army. It worked.
 
Beyond that, I started writing the stories I wanted to read. Simple as that. They needed to have a good plot and accurate history.
 
2. Who are some of your favorite authors?  Do they inspire your own writing?
Nevil Shute really inspired me at a time when I needed it. Great writer, with a straightforward, journalistic style. I love his novel, A Town Like Alice. My other favorite author is Owen Johnson, who wrote the delectable Lawrenceville Stories, and Stover at Yale. Other than those two, my escape reading is crime fiction. Favorite authors there include Robert Crais and John Harvey.  Beyond that, I read a lot of non-fiction/history.
 
3. What inspired the idea for A Season of Love: a Christmas Anthology?
Mostly deadlines. Signet and Harlequin publish Christmas anthologies every year, and I’m invariably asked to write a novella for one company or another. They’re usually written in the summer, so it takes a bit of discipline to get in the Christmas mood in August. So there I am, sweating in my office, and thinking what readers might like.
 
4. What do you want readers to take away from reading A Season of Love: a Christmas Anthology?
Maybe that things seldom go as planned during Christmas, and enjoy it anyway. Also that sometimes good things happen to us when we least expect it. It’s also a welcome release from the hustle-bustle that the season seems to become, if we let it.
 
5. What is your current WIP?  What can you tell us about this project?
I just finished The Unlikely Master Genius, book one in a Regency-era trilogy set at an unusual school for future Royal Navy sailing masters: St. Brendan the Navigator School in Portsmouth, England. The first book is set in 1803 and introduces us to SM Durable Six, a bonafide polymath and genius, and his charming wife Meridee Six, and workhouse boys who are the students. It was sheer joy to write this. The book will be out in early May 2018.
 
I’m currently writing One Step Enough, a sequel to My Loving Vigil Keeping. Basically, it’s the further adventures of Owen and Della Davis, who try to figure out what to do, now that Owen has promised to stay out of coal mines. The larger theme is forgiving oneself for being a survivor, and rearranging priorities. It will be out in early June.
 
6. When you are not writing, what other "hats" do you wear?
Good question. I have no idea how to answer it. I write.  I enjoy a bit of travel. I speak at book clubs often enough to keep me on my toes. I’m in charge of our neighborhood book club, which is lots of fun.

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1. What or whom inspired you to become an author?
I've always loved the sharing of ideas, and that's in large part why I started my blog nearly ten years ago.  When I had the opportunity to write a book about something I was so passionate about, I jumped at the chance. My life has been greatly influenced by those that have shared their experiences and ideas with me, and I wanted to do the same for others. 

2. Who are some of your favorite authors?
I grew up on the classics, and they're still my favorites today.  Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, and Alexander Dumas penned my most beloved titles.  I also love L.M. Montgomery--Anne of Green Gables is perhaps my most adored book character.  

3. What inspired the idea for Simply Tradition: 70 Fun & Easy Holiday Ideas for Families?
Traditions are a big part of our family life, and celebrating the holidays together through tradition has always been something that has brought us closer together.  Making memories, experiencing simple & fun activities, working together to help others--it's something that we love, and I wanted to share that with other families. 

4. What are some of your favorite activities from Simply Tradition: 70 Fun & Easy Holiday Ideas for Families?
It's so hard to choose!  The Kindness Countdown Chain, Christmas Tree & Sugar Cookie Day, Family Book Exchange, Haunted Gingerbread Houses, Love Buckets, Mailing Easter Eggs, Cereal Night at the Park...they're all favorites!
5. What hobbies do you enjoy?
Anything outdoors, any kind of sport, long distance running, reading, baking, photography, and home design

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1. What is one of your favorite Christmas traditions?
On Christmas Eve my family and I always end up sitting in our living room with the lights off and only the Christmas tree lit. It's a moment for us to sit, be calm, and enjoy the beauty of the tree. During that time we will often read the Christmas story from Luke as well. I love this because it symbolizes what I want my Christmas to be - not cluttered with busyness but peaceful and focused on the true Reason for the season.

2. When did you first decide you wanted to become an author?
Probably when I first picked up my Barbie and Ken dolls and thought...how does their love story begin? I would spend time figuring out their "back story" before I would being playing (because that's important to a 5 year old apparently hehe). The love grew as I started to enjoy reading more thanks to my mom and dad. I can't remember a time when I haven't loved creating stories. 

3. In One Christmas in Winter, what character was the easiest to write? the hardest?
I think that Reba was easies to write for the fact that she's a Type A personality like me. She likes things "just so" and over prepares for everything...just like me! There's a lot of her that's not like me too, but that part was easy to create. 

The hardest was probably Beau, oddly enough (even though he's a secondary character in this book). As I work on his story now (for book 2) I find that he's a very complex guy. He's likable, but there are parts of him that are tough to get past, and it's been a challenge getting to know him. And yet, as I do, I like him more and more. 

4. What inspired the idea for One Christmas in Winter?  What do you want readers to take away from reading One Christmas in Winter?
My family and I watch a lot of Hallmark movies during this season and I've always loved them. I remember last year I was daydreaming about the people who go to these towns to film the Hallmark movies. Then I thought, "what if they fell in love"? And One Christmas in Winter was born. 

As for my readers, I want nothing more than for them to take away the feeling of Christmas! It's a tall order, but I love a happy ending and I love Christmas, so combing the two just made sense for me. I also hope that my readers will be able to share this story with their friends and family too. I believe in creating and cultivating community and if my book can help with that, then that's huge bonus for me!

5. What is something readers would find surprising or interesting about you?
I actually created the town of Winter with influences from my own home town growing up. Even a few of the characters are born from people I know (though drastically changed of course!). And it's my not-so-secret desire to fall in love just like Reba and Hoyt did ;-)

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1. When you are not writing, what other “hats” do you wear?
I am the happy (exhausted) mother of two, Elijah (6) and Arianna (3) and the wife of the most wonderful Navy chaplain in the military (not biased at all).

2. What does your writing process look like?
I never really know how to answer this question because I don’t feel like I have much of a process. It starts with a small idea that germinates, takes root, and won’t go away until I write down the story the characters tell me. Usually I may have a vague idea of where the story is going to go, but I’m often surprised by it myself. Mostly, I just sit down and write and let the story come out organically. Is that a process?

3. What inspired the idea for The Esther Paradigm?
Is it okay to say I didn’t really have a direct inspiration? I’m not even sure where the idea came from except from God. One day the idea for a modern day story inspired by Esther entered my head and the need to write it was so strong, the character’s voices so loud, that I had to write it then even though I was in the middle of writing another series. This story…it was more like it wrote me than the other way around. Like I was but a tool to get it down, it flowed so freely. No other story has been like that before.

4. What do you want readers to take away from reading The Esther Paradigm?
Love. I want readers to take away love. Love for those who are different, whether they believe differently, live differently, or look differently. I want 1 Corinthians 16:14 to take root in everyone’s hearts. “Let all that you do be done in love.”
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5. What is your current WIP?  What can you tell us about this project?
Shhh…It’s a super secret project at this point, but I CAN tell you it’s also a super fun novella story that will be in a collection with some super awesome authors. You can expect some info to start leaking about the project come the new year.

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1. What did you want to be when you grew up?  Did becoming an author ever cross your mind?
I always wanted to be an author and/or create my own TV show. I was obsessed with books and liked creating my own stories.

2. Who are some of your favorite authors?  Do they inspire your own writing?
I love F. Scott Fitzgerald, May Sarton, Judy Blume, Kim Wright, Cathy Hopkins, Sylvia Plath, and Francine Pascal. Reading Judy Blume and Francine Pascal’s Victoria books as a kid made me want to be a YA writer.

3. How did you become involved with writing for Clean Reads?
I was in a group for freelance writers (I got my start as a journalist) and I became familiar with the publisher through the group.

4. What inspired the idea for Dating the It Guy?
I was watching a TV show about JFK Jr. on TV when I started wondering what it’d be like to date someone like that back in high school. From there I started getting ideas about what the Brendon character would be like and what we might not know about the challenges of being that guy. Then I started thinking about the situation from the girlfriend/main character’s point of view. I filled a journal up with notes and ideas for dialogue that first week.

5. What do you want readers to take away from reading Dating the It Guy?
I saw this comment in a review from YA and Wine that said, “…I felt like this book had a great underlying message about the importance of self love.” And that’s exactly what I wanted readers to come away with from reading Dating the It Guy. All my work is about learning to love who you are and appreciating your own uniqueness.

6. What is your current WIP?  What can you tell us about this project?
I am working on a series now called The Cecily Taylor Series about a teen who ends up getting cast in her favorite singer’s music video and they find they really have a deep connection. Book one, Can Dreams Come True? Book one will be out early 2018 and I’m working on book two right now.
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7. When you are not writing, what other “hats” do you wear?
I was a journalist, but now I just do creative non-fiction and humor essays along with my novel writing.

I’ve always had voices—er, stories in my head. I once said I should write them all down so someone could write them someday. I had no idea at the time that someone was me!
I have been writing since 1995, and began working in earnest on my debut novel, Tessa in 2013.  Meanwhile, I cranked out a few dozen poems, made countless notes for story ideas, and earned my BFA in Interior Design.  I lived with depression for many years, and the inherent feelings of worthlessness and invisibility; I didn’t want to be who I was and struggled with my own identity for many years.  My characters face many of these same demons.
I write stories of identity conflict. My characters encounter situations that force the question, “Who am I really?” For all who have ever wondered who you are or why you’re here, my stories will touch you in a very real—maybe too real—and a very deep way. I know, I write from experience.

1. Why did you decide to self-publish rather than go with a traditional publishing house?
I started writing without considering how to publish. As my first novel was nearing completion, I told a friend I had found a publisher. Turned out to be a vanity house and my friend directed me to KDP on Amazon, and then when I needed print copies I chose CreateSpace. I’d not be averse to traditional publishing although I’ve been told it’s “not my sandbox.” LOL
2. If you could go to lunch with one of the characters from The Tilting Leaves of Autumn, who would you pick and why? (great question!)
How to pick just one!! I’m gonna say Tierney. She’s got a story (more might show up in The Whispering Winds of Spring) but she speaks French and I want to learn!
3. Who was the hardest character to write in The Tilting Leaves of Autumn? The easiest?
Hardest probably was Fontaine. He’s such a complex character, two sides—before and after—the vile and hateful side was painful and heartbreaking to write.
Easiest was Scarlett because I feel her pain and struggle. I was never physically abused as she was, but the fight to break away from my dysfunctional past.
4. What inspired the idea for The Tilting Leaves of Autumn?
It’s a part of the whole of Seasons. I really met the four main characters as I wrote The Long Shadows of Summer. Scarlett’s story was made evident and took on its own life in the second book.
5. What do you want readers to take away from reading The Tilting Leaves of Autumn?
I want readers to see that God is always with us, no matter our circumstance, that He pursues us in ways that we may not realize, ways that only have meaning to us as He seeks us.

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1. What is your favorite dessert?
I love dessert!   I don't understand why people want to wait a while after Thanksgiving dinner before diving into dessert.  The whole point of eating the other stuff is so that you can get to dessert.  And my favorite desserts include, but are not limited to, brownies with ice cream, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, super good wedding cake, lava cake, and peach cobbler.  I think I gained five pounds just answering this question.

2. What is your favorite beverage?
My favorite beverage is homemade lemonade, especially when it's made with carbonated water and served in a frosted mug.

3. What is your favorite movie and/or TV show?
One of my favorite movies is Hunt For The Wilder People.  It's an off-beat comedy out of New Zealand.  As far as TV goes, I'm a fan of Flea Market Flip.  I was glued to Married at First Sight, but some of the marriages were such train wrecks it became hard to watch.  Still, the concept intrigued me--people putting their trust in the love experts to find them the right spouse.

4. Where is your favorite place to go on holiday?
We love to go to the beach, and one of our favorites is Anna Maria Island.  If you're ever there, be sure to have lunch at the Sand Bar.  It's right on the beach and the food is delicious.  And when you're done with lunch, head over to the Sand Dollar to buy some cute gifts.  Anna Maria is the best!

1. Did becoming an author ever cross your mind?
As a child, I was too absorbed watching Scooby Doo to spend time considering my future. If I dreamed back then of anything it was of becoming a professional candy tester/elephant rider.  As it turns out, jobs in that field are hard to come by, so I got practical.  I asked myself what else do you like doing that you can do while your kids are sleeping, and I came up with writing.  Sometimes in life you gotta compromise.

2a. What authors do you enjoy? 
I enjoy a wide variety of authors.  Right now I'm reading Julie Berry's The Passion of Dolssa and really enjoying it.  She's such a good storyteller.  I'm one who likes a happy ending so I love Jane Austen.  I just shared Jane Eyre with my kids.  They thought Mr. Rochester was too old for Jane, and that it was weird he kept his wacky wife locked up in his mansion.  Sometimes appreciating the classics takes time.

2b. Do these authors inspire your own writing?
Absolutely!  Every time I read I learn something, and when I reread a really good book, I learn even more.

3. When you are not writing, what other 'hats' do you wear?
For some reason the word hat makes me think of The Cat In The Hat, and I wish all of my hats were as fun as his, but having seven kids means some of my hats are boring like the laundry hat.  I wear that nearly every day.  And some of my hats are bossy like the homework and piano hats I regularly put on.  But when I'm not wearing one of my ordinary hats, I like to put on something more colorful,  like my yoga aka namaste hat, and my yard sale hat.  In a perfect world I'd don a beret and fly to Paris, but that hasn't happened in a while. 

1. What in particularly inspired the idea for Brush with Love?
What inspired me to write this story was the story of artist Minerva Teichert, a trained artist who fell in love with a farmer.  Her story and Lana's story are very different, but Minerva was the spark.

2. What do you want readers to take away from reading Brush with Love?
I love this question.  First, I hope that the experience of reading Brush With Love allows you to escape into Lana's world.  If I've done my job right, the characters in the book will seem real to you.  And the message that I hope is conveyed by the book is that we should seek after what matters most, and the thing that matters most is love.

3. What is your current WIP? What can you tell us about this project?
I've got two WIPs under way at the moment, one is a romantic comedy that I'm excited about and the other is a suspense romance. I'm just at the start so it will be interesting to see the twists and turns that these two stories end up taking.

Meghan M. Gorecki is an author of inspirational fiction about what God can make beautiful from the ashes of history, and hearts. A lover and avid studier of people, times gone by, and fiction, she has been writing since childhood and now houses her books under Northern Belle Publishing. Coffee and red lipstick color her days as a redhead from a box, alongside her treasured tribe of family and friends in her beloved hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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1. What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
The day after Thanksgiving, my family decks the house out for Christmas, then we have chicken wings and bacon/cheddar fries and eat in the living room watching White Christmas. It’s the start of the Gorecki holiday season.

2. What inspired the idea for Wrapped in Red?
Short answer? Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas album (incidentally by the same name.) Long answer: In 2015 I began doodling around with a fluffy Christmas romance idea, and I ended up setting it aside that following Valentines Day. Fast forward November, 2016, and I decided to dust it off again and it all snowballed. Thanks to how well my city of Pittsburgh does Christmas, my own family traditions, and last year being quite a hard one—this little Christmas story of my heart was born. I wrote it for fun—but the Lord had me write it to soothe the ache of 2016’s losses and the heartache of deferred hopes.

3. What character was the easiest to write? The most difficult?
The easiest to write was Merry, more or less. I just had to watch as I personally got through some struggles that I didn’t make her too salty. ;) The difficult one to write was Sam—it took him a while to open up to both Merry and me, the author!

4. Are there any scenes/characters in your story based on real-life events or people?
I love this question so much. Merry’s family is mine. With the exception of my closest-in-age sister not actually being married with a baby on the way. The opening scene, where Merry is heart-sore and frustrated that a guy cut their first/only date short claiming he had to do laundry? Totally happened to me last year. After I’d thought it’d been going somewhat well.

​5. What is something readers would find surprising about you?
I get incredibly competitive and snarky in card games. Like Uno—you give me a “draw 4” card and I will carry a grudge for a week.