Feature Friday Author Peggy Blann Phifer and Her Sweetwater River Series

I'm excited to have as my guest, my friend, Author Peggy Blann Phifer. To begin, let's get an idea of what her Vol. 1 Ripples is all about.

BLURB for Sweetwater River Series Vol.1 Ripples:

Rozene and Mike Carson have legally adopted four foster care teenage daughters, giving them a forever family they’d never known before. But after only a year with the Carson’s, one by one, Veronica, Shira, Melanie, and Misty reach adulthood, venturing out to start new lives of their own, leaving the house along the banks of the Sweetwater River in Sweetland. Rozene is proud of the adults they are becoming, but also heartbroken as she and Mike face an empty nest. She soon will see just how deep the girls' roots are to their riverside home. In the Sweetwater River series, these six lives continue to connect in some unexpected ways. 

Please leave a comment with your Kindle email address to enter the drawing for a chance to win Peg's Vol. 1 Ripples. 

About Peg Phifer~

Multi-published author Peggy Blann Phifer writes a mixture of contemporary women’s fiction with three parts suspense, three parts mystery, and four parts romance, stirred up with a sprinkling of humor. Peg believes God has a sense of humor and He intended to place laughter into our lives no matter our circumstances. Her Tag-line is Heart ~ Hope ~ and Humor. Peg lives in NW Wisconsin’s Indianhead Country. Read more on her website.

Here's where you may find Peg online~

FB: www.facebook.com/pegphifer

TWITTER: www.twitter.com/pegphifer @pegphifer

PINTEREST: www.pinterest.com/pegphifer

LINKEDIN: www.linkedin.com/in/peggyblannphifer

GOOGLE+: https://plus.google.com/+AuthorPeggyBlannPhifer/posts

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/pbphifer  

BLOG/WEBSITE: www.whispersinpurple.com

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile

E-MAIL: peg@peggyblannphifer.com

Peg, where can readers purchase the Sweetwater River Series?

Sweetwater River Series, Vol.1, Ripples: http://amzn.to/1MeTb54

Sweetwater River Series, Vol.2, Undercurrents: http://amzn.to/1ikifNX

Sweetwater River Series, Vol.3, Moorings: http://amzn.to/1KM1uZw

Tell us a few things about yourself some folks may not know.

There are some who may know these, since I’ve answered this fun question before. I once shot and killed a marauding fox at about 100/150 yards. It had been raiding our chickens, and had hauled off a few of our barn cats, but when our pet duck disappeared…that was the last straw. Got it with one, clean shot with a 30.06 rifle…with a scope.

Then there was the time I was doing laundry in our big ol’ farmhouse basement. I had an old, green Philco double-tub wringer-washer down there, and when I had wrung the last load into the basket, I reached to pick it up and encountered a six-foot Pine Snake stretched out in the concrete-lined drain gutter. Now I hate snakes. And Pine snakes in NW. Wisconsin look exactly like rattlesnakes. In mindless panic–I was home alone–I grabbed my husband’s double-headed axe (he’d been chopping wood down there) and hacked that forked-tongue-darting reptile into a bazillion pieces, grabbed my laundry and ran screaming up the stairs and outside to hang it up to dry. I never went down to the basement again without checking that gutter before stepping over it. Same with going back up. I guess I didn’t damage that axe much since he’s still using it today, nearly forty years later.

Well, Peg, you are a true wilderness lady! What keeps you the most humble as a writer?

Other writers’ successes. Really. Just when I get all smug and sassy over something I’ve just written, or had published–thinking ‘Hey, am I good or what! I see or hear about author So-and-So—a writer I highly admire–winning a contest, or a highly sought-after award, or scoring high in the Amazon rankings, and I think “good for her!” and go back to my feeble efforts and learn from that author, and then I think ‘Um, well, smarty-pants, maybe you’re not so good after all.’ That’s humbling. But I’ll get there, someday, just you wait and see! LOL

Ah, Peg, really you are there! And folks will see this when they read your wonderful stories. So, what motivates you to get out of bed and head to your keyboard?  

Truth? Nothing. Not even a deadline. I’m not a morning person and I’m 99% more likely to head for the coffeemaker. My writing sessions usually don’t begin until afternoon and I’ll write far into the night.

Ha! We're different this way for I'm a morning person. What gives you the most satisfaction in your writing—besides "The End," that is?

Hearing from someone who has read something of mine saying how much they enjoyed it and enjoyed it enough to leave a review, and ask when the next Peggy Blann Phifer book is coming out.

Oh, this is great, Peg! What sparks your creativity when feeling drained?

I read. Books written in my writing genre as well as others as far away from it as east is from west. No matter what, reading inspires me…and I learn a LOT.

What types of books do you like to read?

Romantic Suspense, Political Thrillers, Cozy Mysteries, Women’s fiction.

How did your writing career begin and how long did it take to publish your first book?

Ha. I’m not even sure my writing career HAS taken off. I didn’t start taking my writing seriously until after I turned 50. But since then I’ve never looked back and have had some small success.

Sure you have, Peg. What other writing have you done?

My first published work was a prayer I submitted to Guidepost’s Books-and was accepted in a two-volume set called Prayers for Every Need. That was in 2000. Next I indie-published my debut novel, To See the Sun, a Romantic Suspense, in 2012, available in both print and e-Book on Amazon. See my Amazon Author Page link above.

After that, I was contracted with Helping Hands Press to write four short stories in three anthologies. They can also be found on my AMZN Author Page. In 2014, I signed a contract with Elk Lake Publishing, and another with Hartline Literary Agency. I was now an agented author! The book Somehow, Christmas Will Come was released in November 2014. Lastly, I signed again with Helping Hands Press, This time for a series of short stories of my own, Sweetwater River, which we are discussing here today.

Wow, I'm very impressed, Peg. What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

That God is a God of second chances, regardless of past mistakes, some through no fault of our own. And the message of Hope.

Is this book’s setting based on a real place?

The only thing real about the small city of Sweetland, is that it’s set in Arkansas :’)

Is the book completely fictional?

It is a work of fiction, but filled with truth and fact regarding adoption and foster care, information gleaned from a fellow writer, an expert in the field.

How would you rate this book: G, PG, or PG 13? And tell us why.

It would be ‘G,’ for sure. It’s about family–or forever families, as they’re called in foster care, and deals with the fallout some long-term kids in the ‘system’ inevitably deal with.

This is so great you have clean books for families to read. What was your inspiration for Sweetwater River series?

During my first contracts with Helping Hands Press, the original series’ were set in a fictional town called Sweetland and no geographical location specified. The Sweetwater River ran through my heroine’s property.

What do you have in store for the year of 2016?

I’m hoping to complete the sequel to my debut novel, To See the Sun…working title: To Hear the Wind, and seek publication through traditional means. If not, I’ll go indie again. And, of course, I’ll continue to work on new stories for Sweetwater River. There’s also been talk of a sequel to my Christmas story. That would be exciting.

This would indeed be wonderful to have a sequal to your Christmas story! I know I sure enjoyed reading it, Peg. What parting wisdom do you wish to give those of us not book published?

Hang in there! Persevere! In the immortal words of Sir Winston Churchill: ‘NEVAH, NEVAH, NEVAH, GIVE UP!

Seriously. If God has called you to be a writer, and has given you a story to write, then He will give you the means to WRITE THAT STORY.

True words for sure, Peg. Thank you for being my host on Feature Friday. I'll have you back in a few years and see what other books you've published. :))

Until next time . . . let's all read!