Let’s begin today with a little information about you; then we’ll merge into thoughts about your book. Tell us about Jo Huddleston.
Jo: I like to laugh with people but not at people. The beach is my favorite vacation spot. I don’t like to see or hear about people or animals being abused. I’m a spectator fan of several sports, my favorite being tennis. I don’t like being in the dark and am fearful of snakes!
I’m is a multi-published author of books, articles, and short stories. My debut novels in the Caney Creek Series are sweet Southern historical romances. My forthcoming novel, Wait for Me, is another sweet Southern historical romance and is book 1 in the West Virginia Mountains Series. I’m a member of ACFW, the Literary Hall of Fame at Lincoln Memorial University (TN), and hold a M.Ed. degree from Mississippi State University. I live in the U.S. Southeast with my husband and close to our two grown children and four grandchildren. Visit me at www.johuddleston.com where you can sign up for my newsletter and read my blogs.
Ann: Jo, you are not the only one who is afraid of snakes. And I switch the channel when those ads come on about abused animals. Love my dog!
What would you do with your life if you didn't write?
Jo: I’d have more time to read!
Ann: If you were a style of music, what style would you be?
Jo: Soft instrumental jazz.
Ann: Who or what inspired in you a love for books? What are some of your favorites from the classics?
Jo: My seventh grade homeroom teacher. She arranged for me to work in the school library where my exposure to all those books took root as a love to read.
Ann: What was your favorite book as a child?
Jo: As a child, our house didn’t have books to read. The only books I had were coloring books. In college I minored in English. When I took the course, Children’s Literature, I first met Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh.
Ann: How many books have you published? Do you also write other things—articles? short stories? Etc.
Jo: I’ve traditionally published 3 nonfiction books and 3 novels. I’ve self-published 2 nonfiction books, one coauthored with Vickie Phelps. Yes, I write devotions, short stories, magazine articles, and wrote a regular inspirational newspaper column for seven years.
Ann: We all know that publishing is an arduous process and often takes many rejections before we get published. How many rejections did you get before you published a book?
Jo: Oh, my! I didn’t record a count of my rejections. I’ve had plenty.
Ann: Which character in your present release, Wait for Me, do you find most interesting?
Jo: The heroine, Julie. She’s spunky, determined, and won’t stop at anything to reach her goal.
Ann: Tell us a little about your book.
Jo: I’ll share the book’s back blurb here:
Can Julie, an only child raised with privilege and groomed for high society, and Robby, a coal miner’s son, escape the binds of their socioeconomic backgrounds? Set in a coal mining community in West Virginia in the 1950s, can their love survive their cultural boundaries?
This is a tragically beautiful love story of a simple yet deep love between two soul mates, Robby and Julie. The American South’s rigid caste system and her mother demand that Julie chooses to marry an ambitious young man from a prominent and suitable family. Julie counters her mother’s stringent social rules with deception and secrets in order to keep Robby in her life. Can the couple break the shackles of polite society and spend their lives together? Will Julie’s mother ever accept Robby?
Ann: Wait for Me sounds like my kind of book. You know I loved you Caney Creek series. I look forward to reading this book.
Would you share a favorite Scripture verse or passage of Scripture that means a lot to you?
Jo: Philippians 4:8. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Ann: Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Jo: Ann, thank you so much for having me visit with you and your readers. One of the commenters will win an eBook copy for Kindle of Wait for Me. Good luck to all in the book drawing.
Ann: Where can we find you online, Jo?
Jo: You can find me at:
Website www.johuddleston.com
Blog http://www.johuddleston.com
Blog http://lifelinesnow.blogspot.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/joshuddleston
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1615694.Jo_Huddleston
You can purchase eBook for Kindle and print copies of Wait for Me at: http://tiny.cc/xndfwx
Ann: Thanks again, Jo, for sharing with us about yourself and your book. I look forward to the new series.
You're going to love Jo's Sweet Southern Historical Romance. Leave a comment for a chance to win an eBook of Wait for Me to read on your Kindle. Be sure to note if you are a follower of this blog and your name will be included three times in the drawing. Leave your email address written like this: ann (at) yahoo (dot) com . The contest will end June 14 at midnight EST. Good luck!
