Book Club Talk with Jamie Carie

About the Author 

JAMIE CARIE'S BIO:Jamie writes novels about fierce, passionate women; their dreams; their  fears; their triumphs. Her deepest desire is to see her readers find that same  passion as they follow their destiny and discover deeper intimacy with  Jesus.

She lives in Indianapolis with her husband and three sons.

What have been the benefits to you in having relationships with reading groups?

Reading groups are awesome because I can get feedback (very honest feedback :o) ) on the story which helps me grow as an author. I love hearing what parts of the book people were touched by or if something confused or annoyed them. And the best part is when they gush about one of the characters. That’s fun!

Where would you like to see your relationship with reading groups grow? How do you think your goals can be met?

I would like to participate in more of them. There are so many great books to choose from out there that it is a challenge to get chosen. I need to be more proactive in contacting reading groups and asking that they consider my books.

Do you have a set size a reading group has to be before you'll talk to them on the phone or in person? What do you feel most comfortable doing?

No size limit! I’ll talk to one person and have if they are interested. I love visiting personally but that isn’t always possible so phone calls are fine too. I’m very flexible.

Which type of book club meeting do you prefer? Why?

I love the ones where the members have known each other for a while and are friends. It really feels like a privilege to be included in those tightknit groups.

What have you learned about your book and yourself from book club meetings?

I guess the most important lesson is the vast differences in perspective that people bring to a book. What one person “gets” and loves another wasn’t impacted at all or saw something entirely different. That’s where being led by the Holy Spirit comes in for me as an author. I pray God will speak through the story to each reader exactly where she is at.

Did you learn more about your characters than what you had originally intended? If so what?

Since this was my first continuous series I was able to explore my characters at greater depth (over three books instead of one). I feel like I really know Gabriel, the Duke of St. Easton. His struggles came from a place deep within me and I hope ring true and inspiring.

Have you been surprised by readers’ reactions to one of your books? One of your characters? If so, which ones or what surprised you?

I have been blown away many times when receiving an email or letter telling me how my characters have made a difference in a reader’s life. Elizabeth from Snow Angel really connected with many readers. She had so many obstacles to overcome before she could love and accept love. A lot of women wrote me about her and how they could relate. (God gets all the glory for that!)

Has your book club experience - getting feed back from reading groups - helped you in writing future books? If so, how has it helped you?

I think it has helped me keep the reader in mind more while I’m writing. I appreciate all the different perspectives and try to craft a story that has themes most people can relate to.

What would you like to experience in reading groups that you haven’t experienced so far?

Just do more of them! :o)

What was your most memorable reading group experience? What made it so special?

Attending a library group meeting where the ladies were so kind and fun, smart and curious about what being an author was like. The food was great too!

Can you give us a sneak peek at what you are working on now? Do tell!!

I am currently working on my memoirs (it’s a slow process) and beginning some research on another three book series. It will be historical but with a fairytale feel. Three sisters who each has a special gift. I’m excited to get started on it!

FUN QUESTIONS I JUST HAD TO ASK . . . 

Name three books you adored as a child?

Heidi, Little House on the Prairie and Jane Eyre.

A movie that most affected you when you were young. If you didn't watch movies what book affected you most in your youth?

The Star Wars movies! My dad, brother and I were crazy about them and saw them at the theatre three times each.

A friend of yours has a time travel machine and will let you have it for a couple of days. What would you do with it? Any events you’d like to experience? If so which ones?

I would love to see many of the Biblical events in person! Can you imagine seeing David slay Goliath? Or Jesus’ birth? It would be difficult to narrow down the choices.

You find yourself shipwrecked on an uninhabited tropical island with a group of Christians - all friends and relatives of yours. You all have to work as a team to survive. Many roles have to be filled. Which role do you think you'd play?

 (Examples: Care for those with physical pain, comfort the frightened, start developing a plan to get off the island, lead the group in song, Organize the group to make best use of resources, Praise God for the beauty of the surroundings, Pray diligently for rescue, Stand guard, watch for a plan or boat - or a role I haven't mentioned) Do Tell!! Grin!

I’m an organizer and encourager. I’m also the eldest of five kids so I’m good at being bossy! :o)

I would be appointing tasks to the appropriate people, helping plan the rescue attempts and best use of the resources – hopefully without stepping on too many toes.
Jamie

Thanks for stopping by Jamie and talking to us about book clubs. It was exciting to work with you at The Book Club Network www.bookfun.org 


















I love the two questions you've picked for readers to answer. We are going to have fun!! I'm also looking forward to talking to you at our book club meeting.

Blessings to you and on your writing! Love the cover for the next book in your new series! If you are an author with book club experience and would like to be featured here please contact me norafindinghope@yahoo.com

Nora :o)
The Book Club Network
www.bookfun.org

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BOOK CLUB TALK WITH THE BOOK CLUB LADY

I usually interview authors in this spot about their book club experience. I thought today I’d let you get to know the woman behind those interviews, she's called The Book Club Lady. I work at a Christian book store (and have for 11 years). When customers are stuck about a title, author or latest release my co-workers call me for help. I’m known as The Book Club Lady (at my job and other places) because I run two face to face book clubs. I used to run them both in the Christian book store I work at until we down sized last year and lost the huge space we had for meetings. The church I attend was grateful to supply a space for the larger book club to meet.

My husband and I co-founded The Book Club Network were many book clubs, members and authors meet to talk about their latest great find in the Christian Fiction genre. TBCN is celebrating our 2nd Birthday Party starting from August 1st until the end of the month. Thanks to our sponsors Bethany House and Revell Publishers for this opportunity for so much book fun and also to Jeane with Wynn and Wynn Media for allowing us to giveaway 10 books a day all month long; we will be announcing winners once a week until the end of August. 


Thanks also goes to the authors that have given of their time and book giveaways to make this a very special time for everyone. BIG THANKS to all the BLOGGERS and AUTHORS who BLOGGED about this event. I'm very grateful for your help in spreading the word about our birthday party and all the fun we are having. You are precious to me~ 

I thought it would be appropriate that you get to know The Book Club Lady and The Book Club Network, on TBCN's Birthday Month. I'll also tell you how you can join the network and the party celebration(it’s free), win free books each month, promote your book and book club meetings and so much more!

Nora St.Laurent is The Book Club Lady – Nora’s Bio: Nora is the CEO of The Book Club Network Incorporated. Nora and her husband run The Book Club Network www.bookfun.org She runs two book clubs near Atlanta, Ga., Former ACFW On-Line Book Club. Nora currently writes a Book Club column for the Christian Fiction OnLine Magazine and is a Book Club Talk Columnist for Novel Rocket. You can read author interviews on her Finding Hope Through Fiction blog, located at http://www.psalm516.blogspot.com, and reviews around the web at The Christian Pulse Mag, Title Trakk, Novel Reviews, and Suspense Zone.

What inspired you start TBCN?

The Book Club Network was born out of a desire to share Christian Fiction authors with other book clubs, share book club ideas with other leaders and to encourage the authors who are writing such amazing books. The economy has been really tough for a few years and people are not parting with money like they used to. Through TBCN they can take their time and find the right book or win it. We have give away opportunities each month. ALL of our contests are from the 19th – 21st of the month.

I run two face to face book clubs one at the Christian Book Store I work at and the other at the church I attend. It’s a position I never imagined I’d be in since I didn’t read for pleasure much before I started working in a Christian book store 11 years ago.

But since I love talking with people and the main thing to talk about in a book store is books I started reading Christian Fiction (publishers sent ARC copies to our store and I started checking them out) The first book that rocked my world and got me hooked in Christian Fiction was a book by Linda Nichols called Not a Sparrow Falls her next book did me in and I couldn’t stop talking about it, At the Scent of Water was her next book that prompted me to contact the author and let her know how much her book touched my spirit.

After reading these two books and telling customers about these reads I had a reason to read.  These books spoke to me because I wasn’t expecting it. It reminded me of the stories in the bible. Jesus is the greatest story teller and He knew a story could change a life or prick our spirit and move us in a direction we never thought we’d be in.

I tell you all that to say I’m dyslexic and I have not been a fan of reading. Movies were more my thing. I could watch a movie of a book and have a lot more fun. Reading Christian Fiction changed my life in more ways than one.  I wanted to tell everyone about the greatest book I read, and I’d do that at the book store.  It was possible to talk about the new book I read and loved for about a month or more but when At the Scent of Water and Not a Sparrow Falls were not on the shelf anymore, I had to find some other books to talk about at work.  I’m not a very fast reader so; discovering the next new book was a challenge. Would I get the book read before it disappeared from the shelf?  How long do books live on a book shelf? The shelf life of a book was a mystery to me and still is.

I was whining to my husband Fred about my problem. How can I get the word out about great books for a very long period of time??? Being a man who likes to face challenges head we began to talk about how we could do this and the fact that I can’t read books fast enough to keep up with it’s shelf life at the store.
I also told him as a book club leader I wanted to promote great books and share them with other groups. Not everyone has the advantage of working at a book store and see what new books hit the shelves each week. Another struggle I had was if I had an author speaking at my book club I wanted to share them with other book clubs in the area. How could I do that? Where are book clubs meeting?

Our answer to many of these questions and more was the birth of The Book Club Network - TBCN. Connecting authors to book clubs and readers to their books; it’s also a network of book clubs as they post what they’ve read and how the meeting turned out.

It’s a place to find where a book club is located. We have a member map where you can find a book club near you. Message them and see if they are accepting new members. I envision it to be similar to be similar to the Weight Watchers program (don’t laugh Grin) you can go to a meeting anywhere in the country right? All you have to do is look on line and get connected. This is my hope for the future of TBCN.

Have there been any surprises for you @TBCN? What benefits have you seen by bringing readers and authors together?

I’ve been encouraged and fascinated by our growth. I can see there were other people out there like me wanting to connect with other book club members.

I’ll tell you what has surprised me is the author/reader interaction each month. This is something I didn’t foresee as I’ve watch the authors are having a blast interacting with the readers and visa/versa. The beauty of this discussion is it’s there forever for all to read no matter when you join TBCN.

The authors have done a great job coming up with questions for reader to answer that give them a peek into their book – create interest and then the discussion helps book club leaders connect with the author. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the amount of authors that want to be featured @The Book Club Network. It’s been a great thing.

The interaction with the authors is almost like having a book club meeting on line. It’s a huge benefit for both the authors who’ve wanted to ask clubs questions and readers who want to get to know authors. The authors are catching on. Our sponsors have loved the interaction as well. Members have told me that they love the author interaction from the 19th-21st as much as having a chance to win all these books. It’s hard to know if a book will be a fit for your group so these interaction times are helpful for that and so much more. Another thing I love about TBCN members is the fact they are not afraid to share what they think in a good way. I’ve learned so much and laughed out loud in some discussion where the questions lead to sharing funny moments.

My hope is that book club leaders and/or members participate in the discussions and make that book connection with the author and their book. I want TBCN to be a tool for them in picking out their books. Maybe invite the author to speak to their book club on the phone. It’s my hope. The discussion will be there forever. No worries about a books shelf live here @TBCN. So, everyone has time to get to know each other!! It’s a beautiful thing!

How can readers join in the anniversary celebrations?

It’s easy to sign up to be a member of TBCN.  We ask a few questions for you to answer and for other information that helps us keep spammers and other information seekers out of the network. It’s also FREE. You have opportunities to win lots of books. For our BIRTHDAY BASH we are giving away 10 books a day and announcing winners once a week. You’ll have all week to enter the daily featured contests.

Here’s the line up of our sponsored authors Bethany House’s featured author will be Don Hoesel with his new book Serpent of Moses. Revell’s Featured authors are as follows: The Haven by Suzanne Woods fisher, Lethal Legacy by Irene Hannon, Dying to Read by Lorena McCourtney, Perfectly Ridiculous by Kristin Billerbeck, Food Family Style Cook Book by Leigh Oliver Vickery, Story by Steven James and Love’s Reckoning by Laura Frantz. Sound Great!! There are a lot more!  Mark your calendars and Join in the book fun!

Do you have any other comments for my readers?

 If you are avid reader this is the place for you to learn about the latest in Christian Fiction and interact with the author each month.

Are you a book club leader? or a Book Club Leader Wannabe? Well this is the place for you to find your next book club pick. We’d also love for you to set up your Book club page at our site for others to see. It’s a place to share your latest featured book. Post pictures of your club and the field trips you’ve taken. The authors you’ve met and the book fun you’ve had. Learn from other book clubs that have already set up their pages.

Want to start a book club but felt it was too overwhelming? You can learn from other experienced book club leaders, and you can start right away making your book club list!

Do you like to win books? This is the place for you. You’ll have a chance to get to know the authors and their books and read genre’s you normally wouldn’t. We’ve been giving away about 100 books a month and for our birthday bash it’s going to be 10 books every day; starting August first. Winners are picked weekly and announced each weekly.

THANK YOU for your time and helping us highlight Christian Fiction for our members who love to read it, blog about it and have their book selections made easy for book club at The Book Club Network www.bookfun.org  . Looking forward to seeing you at our Birthday Bash!!


Nora :o)
The Book Club Lady @ TBCN

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BOOK CLUB TALK WITH ROBIN CAROLL

ABOUT AUTHOR: Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin’s mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage—two aspects Robin weaves into each of her books. When she isn’t writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty-plus years, her three beautiful daughters, two precious grandsons, and their character-filled pets at home—in the South, where else? She gives back to the writing community by serving as Conference Director for ACFW. 

Her books have finaled/placed in such contests as RT Reviewer's Choice, Bookseller's Best, Holt Medallion, Carol Awards, and Book of the Year. An avid reader herself, Robin loves hearing from and chatting with other readers. Although her favorite genre to read is mystery/suspense, of course, she’ll read just about any good story. Except historicals!

Book#2 JUSTICE SERIES Sept 2012

What have been the benefits to you in having relationships with reading groups?

 I LOVE connecting with other readers. For me, the biggest benefit is hearing how readers connected with my characters and the story. Sometimes, their perceptions surprise and truly move me.

Where would you like to see your relationship with reading groups grow? How do you think your goals can be met? 

I would like to encourage groups to understand how accessible I want to be to them. I call in to book clubs, will Skype with them, try to visit them when possible. If I can't, I try to send some bookmarks and items beforehand.

Do you have a set size a reading group has to be before you'll talk to them on the phone or in person? What do you feel most comfortable doing?

I don't have a set size because I like to chat with reader’s period. Sometimes because of my location or schedule, visiting in person is impossible, but I've called in, Skyped, even online chatted.

Which type of book club meeting do you prefer? Why? 

The book club I most enjoy meeting are ones who truly enjoy reading inspirational fiction, although, I've had several fun connections from groups where I was their first inspirational selection.

What have you learned about your book and yourself from book club meetings? If so, what?

I've learned to be more relaxed with book club members as a whole. I much prefer the casual setting where we are literally visiting than a "classroom" style bookclub.

Did you learn more about your characters than what you had originally intended? If so what? 

My characters are constantly surprising me. I do very in-depth interviews prior to writing, but even then, I've been surprised.

Have you been surprised by readers’ reactions to one of your books? Characters? If so, which ones?

 I've actually had a reader tell me that one of my characters who became saved despite the past I'd created, helped her accept God's forgiveness. THAT's the best part of writing to me.

Has your book club experience - getting feed back from reading groups - helped you in writing future books? If so, how has it helped you? 

I've had a lot of suggestions of what they'd like to see in a "sequel" come up. LOL

Nora: It was a blast talking to you at Finding Hope Book Club. You spoke to both groups separately – what different conversations we had about your book Deliver Us From Evil. Grin! I know that a few of the Monday night book club had plans for a whole series you could write! Grin!

It was also great fun learning about your and how you know so much about guns and things. Seems a few ladies in my group like to go shooting with their husbands too! As a book club member having the author speak to the group brings richness to the story and a depth to the writing that always pleasantly surprises me! Grin! Thanks for doing what you do!! 

 What would you like to see in reading groups that you haven’t experienced yet?    

One thing I'm working on implementing in the future are video discussions of my books available for download off my website. We're working to get that in place before the end of 2012.

Nora: Oh, Robin let us know when that is available. I’d love for you to post a few of those at The Book Club Network so the books club members and leaders could tape into how much fun you are at book club and how suspenseful and fun your books are.TBCN www.bookfun.org  Grin!

What was your most memorable reading group experience? What made it so fun?

 One group planned a "theme" meeting for the night I was scheduled. They had finger foods and decorations and all sorts of really cool things of Louisiana, where my story was set. We had a blast!

Why write Christian Fiction? What is the draw for you?

ALL the books in this series were suspenseful

 The hope. I want to write stories that fill people with hope again. Hope that comes with eternal salvation that only comes through Jesus Christ.

Nora: I have enjoyed reading your books for many reasons but one of the main reasons is how you naturally weave a spiritual thread into the stories. It’s not preachy but very natural. I Like that so did the ladies in my book club. We also liked your well timed humor in the middle of suspenseful situations.

What do you hope readers take away from your new book?

 

 I hope they realize that everyone is human and sinners, even the ones we hold in higher esteem.

Can you give us a peek at what you are working on now? When will it be out? 

I just turned in the last book in the Justice Seekers series. It's about Maddie Baxter...and Nick Hagar. The second book in the series, TO WRITE A WRONG, releases in September and STRAND OF DECEPTION releases in February 2013.


Robin

Nora: Oh, Robin. I really enjoyed  INJUSTICE FOR ALL.. It’s suspenseful, fun, I care about your charters from the first paragraph and I like your writing style. It’s not like your others but I like it. I can’t wait until the rest of the books come out in this series. They sound just as good as this one.

THANKS ROBIN for stopping by and letting us know about your new series JUSTICE SEEKERS and about your book club experience!! Thanks for writing Christian Fiction have enjoyed your writing journey! Hope you can stop by again soon!!

This is the FIRST book in this series. Wow, what a start!! I highly recommend Injustice for All!  I do like suspense and Robin keeps you on the edge of your seat and up late reading! Grin!

Until later

Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

http://www.bookfun.org/

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