Interview with Delia Latham

Today, we’re interviewing a multitalented author who wrote Yesterday’s Promise. Not only is this woman an amazing writer, but I recently learned that back in the 90’s she had a Country Western band where she was invited to Nashville! There she met stars like Reba McEntrie and Garth Brooks. Would you welcome with me, Delia Latham, one of the new authors at White Rose Publishing…

Delia, could you tell us where were you born? Well, technically I was born in a hospital in Bakersfield, California…but my family lived in a tiny agricultural community called Weedpatch at the time. That’s where I grew up.

Ah, a sense of humor. Speaking of which, what is the funniest thing that ever happened to you or you witnessed that made you laugh so hard you couldn’t catch your breath?
I know this has happened to me many times, but my memory is only bringing one such instance vividly to mind (probably because it was the most recent). My family was playing a game of charades, and my daughter-in-law’s mother was trying to communicate "Michael Jackson." Let’s just say her moonwalk was highly amusing…

Name some of your most favorite things.
I’ll name four: Blake, Savannah, Logan and Aidan - my perfect grandchildren.

Questions about your writing:

What or who inspires you to write?
First and foremost, from above. Without God’s prompting and inspiration, His little mental nudges and gentle shoves, I couldn’t write a word. I’m inspired when I witness emotions and the situations that cause them: love, sadness, joy, miracles and tragedies. Given the world that God provided, and the millions of varied persons and personalities He filled it with, ideas really are all around us. But sometimes they’re pretty chameleon-like, and you have to be looking for them to discern their presence.

What was your favorite book growing up that inspired you to try your hand at writing?
I read everything I could get my hands on, from the time I picked up my First Reader. I’m not sure I had any one favorite book-there were too many wonderful stories out there to choose just one! I loved Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew stories; I read Trixie Belden and the Hardy Boys. Probably the most significant author, as far as influencing the direction I took in my own writing, was Grace Livingston Hill, during my teen years. I loved her inspirational romances, and read everything with her name on it. Some I read more than once. Now, I quite often come up with a turn of phrase, or a situation in my storyline that makes me realize how much this gracious lady influenced my writing style.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?
When someone tells me something I’ve written made a difference for them, that they were uplifted spiritually, encouraged in some way, or that they renewed a relationship with Christ. Because I consider my writing a ministry, those are the things that make it "worth it."

Have you experienced writer’s block? And if so, how did you cure it?
(a) YES! Oh, yes! (b) On my knees. :)
I hit a major, devastating block midway through my historical romance, Goldeneyes. It was set in Weedpatch, where I grew up, and I simply did not realize how hard it would be to separate the fictional story from the reality of its setting. I was overcome by memories-good and bad-and I simply could not get past them enough to write anything worth reading. I spent a lot of time in prayer, because I knew that story needed to be written. When God finally gave me the release, He also gave me the inspiration. The second half of the book flowed beautifully. It will always hold a special place in my heart, because it was like birthing a child!

How did you come up with your premise for Yesterdays Promise?
I wish I had a better answer for you, but the truth is, this story was unplanned. It happened during that grueling block while I was writing Goldeneyes. I came across the website for National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) just days before their annual writing marathon was to begin. The idea grabbed me, and since I wasn’t making any headway on Goldeneyes, I simply laid it aside. The morning of November 1, 2005, I opened up a blank page and started writing. I had no idea what I was going to write about, but a dear friend of mine had only recently moved to Oakhurst, which is just down the mountain a ways from Yosemite. I was captivated with the beauty of the area, and so…I had a setting. But the rest truly happened as I wrote-no outline, no plan, no character chart. Just me and God.

So now you have me wondering about Goldeneyes… I’ve always wondered what it would be like to participate in Nanowrimo, but I’m too chicken. I’m so glad you did though! For those who are not familiar with this story, would you please give us the blurb?
A whirlwind romance amidst the natural splendor of Yosemite National Park. A spur-of-the-moment wedding. A young bride who awakens the morning after to find her new husband gone with the mountain wind.
Songbird Hannah Johns supports the child born of that ill-fated union by singing in a dinner lounge. Her dream of someday owning the elite establishment and turning it into a venue more suited to her Christian values is shattered when an unexpected transaction places it in the hands of Brock Ellis, the handsome biker who abandoned her in their honeymoon suite.
Ensuing sparks fly high, revealing buried secrets and forgotten pasts. Seeking to find peace with her painful past, Hannah returns to Yosemite, only to have Brock show up hard on her heels. Back where it all began, she finds herself in danger of losing her heart yet again to the man who shattered it the first time around.

I loved reading your story. Are there any fun tidbits about this story you’d like to share with us?
When my Oakhurst friend found out that I was writing a book set in Yosemite, but I had never been to the Park itself, she absolutely would not let it be. She insisted I come up and spend a week with her-turned her office over to me to write at night, and she was my tour guide during the day. I knew from my research about Yosemite that my heroine, Hannah, would spend a couple of weeks in a cabin in Curry Village. Reta took there. She wanted me familiar with the area, and I must confess to being properly awed by it. One thing I wanted was to see inside one of the cabins, but shyness overcame me. I couldn’t bring myself to ask, but Reta could. She marched up to one of the busy housekeeping staff, explained the situation, and obtained permission for me to go inside and look around. It made describing Hannah’s surrounding in her Yosemite cabin so much easier! And because I wrote this book during a 30-day period (not counting all the editing and rewrites, of course), I was writing many hours every day. I came to know Hannah and Brock so well that I genuinely missed them when I was finished with the story.

Thanks so much for being here with us today, Delia!

Yesterday’s Promise is available in e-format only. You can buy it at White Rose Publishing http://whiterosepublishing.com/ or Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Yesterdays-Promise-ebook/dp/B003CT32HE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1270854571&sr=8-2
The cost is $4.75.

Now, are you ready for some fun? Delia is on a blog tour, and this is one of her stops. If you comment on this blog , or any other stop on her tour (see below) You’ll be entered into a drawing for: Two (2) $10 gift certificates to White Rose Publishing will be awarded after the tour. The winners will be drawn by a random drawing generator on Tuesday, June 1. (Please leave your e-mail address on the comment so she can contact you.)
Every comment generates one entry. So if a reader follows me from blog to blog and leaves comments at several (or all) of them, each comment gets their name in the drawing again. Chances of winning can be increased by touring with me and leaving comments at each blog stop.

Where Delia’s at:
26
Robin Bayne
Between Sundays http://wwwwritingbetweensundays.blogspot.com/
http://wwwwritingbetweensundays.blogspot.com/

27
Carla Stewart
Carla's Writing Café http://www.carlastewart.blogspot.com/
http://www.carlastewart.blogspot.com/

28
Miralee Ferrell
Coming Home http://miraleesdesk.blogspot.com/
http://miraleesdesk.blogspot.com/

28
Susan Holloway
Journeys of Love…Inspired by Faith http://susanhollaway.blogspot.com/
http://susanhollaway.blogspot.com/

Thanks for visiting our White Rose In Bloom Blog~