Angela Breidenbach is a captivating speaker, coach, and the author of A Healing Heart (Abingdon Press), Gems of Wisdom: For A Treasure-Filled Life, Creative Cooking for Colitis, and Creative Cooking for Simple Elegance.
New books for 2014 are: Snowflake Tiara (Sep 2014), Tiara Talk for Teens (Aug 2014), Tiara Talk for Women (Nov 2014), and Tiara Talk for Girls (Nov 2014). Other works include compilation books and devotionals from Guideposts, David C Cook’s The Quiet Hour,
Group Pubishing, and articles in magazines, ezines, and newspapers.
Angela’s literary career is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the
Steve Laube Agency.
Angela also teaches online classes and coaches one-on-one in writing, pageant competition, media presentation, and weight loss/physical fitness. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, she makes her home in Montana.
The following is a March 2014 interview with Angela.
Angela also teaches online classes and coaches one-on-one in writing, pageant competition, media presentation, and weight loss/physical fitness. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, she makes her home in Montana.
The following is a March 2014 interview with Angela.
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW
Be in to win a copy of
A Healing Heart
by Angela Breidenbach
One copy to be won
Contest open to entrants with USA addresses only.
Contest runs from 14-28 March NZDT
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW
Be in to win a copy of
A Healing Heart
by Angela Breidenbach
One copy to be won
Contest open to entrants with USA addresses only.
Contest runs from 14-28 March NZDT
Tell us a little about yourself.
Though I grew up between Las Vegas and Denver, after 21 years here, I’m a Montana girl. My husband and I raised a combined family of six kids and now enjoy being Grammy and Papi (pah-pē) together. I started in freelance and added writing books. I love to sing, write, and speak. You know, all the “creative communications” type of activities. I love learning and often take online classes or attend workshops. I also love to teach/coach and get intense satisfaction from my clients’ accomplishments. It can be pretty comical around here when I get a call from a client that something wonderful happened for them. I’m glad there isn’t a hidden camera catching my antics! I believe we pass on legacies with our children and with those we interact with daily.
What inspired you to become a novelist, and did you always want to write?
I’ve always wanted to write, but not only as a novelist. I enjoy writing Bible studies, freelance, short stories, and novels. My dad taught me to read at four. Enthralled, I’ve spent my life loving the written word. When I read, and now when I write, I see the book unfold in my mind like a movie.
What do you think is significant about Christian fiction?
I love Christian fiction because it allows for the holistic reader and writer. As a novelist, this portion of the literary world allows us to explore how our faith is experienced and influences every aspect of our lives. When the faith element is left out of a book, I think it takes out a sense of realistic dimension. Everyone has a belief system. We operate in all our decisions based on those beliefs, whether Christian or not. Without acknowledging those faith elements in our characters’ lives, the story is flat because a crucial part of developing the whole person is missing. So whether my characters are in church or not, my fictional worlds will always come from the Christian worldview because it’s who I am.
How do you hope your readers react to the stories you write?
I hope readers will laugh and cry when reading my stories because I hope to reach their hearts. Then I hope they connect with me and tell me what mattered to them. One, because I really want to know if what I wrote mattered and touched a life. Two, because when I learn what touches a heart, I’ll continue growing as an author.
Though I grew up between Las Vegas and Denver, after 21 years here, I’m a Montana girl. My husband and I raised a combined family of six kids and now enjoy being Grammy and Papi (pah-pē) together. I started in freelance and added writing books. I love to sing, write, and speak. You know, all the “creative communications” type of activities. I love learning and often take online classes or attend workshops. I also love to teach/coach and get intense satisfaction from my clients’ accomplishments. It can be pretty comical around here when I get a call from a client that something wonderful happened for them. I’m glad there isn’t a hidden camera catching my antics! I believe we pass on legacies with our children and with those we interact with daily.
What inspired you to become a novelist, and did you always want to write?
I’ve always wanted to write, but not only as a novelist. I enjoy writing Bible studies, freelance, short stories, and novels. My dad taught me to read at four. Enthralled, I’ve spent my life loving the written word. When I read, and now when I write, I see the book unfold in my mind like a movie.
What do you think is significant about Christian fiction?
I love Christian fiction because it allows for the holistic reader and writer. As a novelist, this portion of the literary world allows us to explore how our faith is experienced and influences every aspect of our lives. When the faith element is left out of a book, I think it takes out a sense of realistic dimension. Everyone has a belief system. We operate in all our decisions based on those beliefs, whether Christian or not. Without acknowledging those faith elements in our characters’ lives, the story is flat because a crucial part of developing the whole person is missing. So whether my characters are in church or not, my fictional worlds will always come from the Christian worldview because it’s who I am.
How do you hope your readers react to the stories you write?
I hope readers will laugh and cry when reading my stories because I hope to reach their hearts. Then I hope they connect with me and tell me what mattered to them. One, because I really want to know if what I wrote mattered and touched a life. Two, because when I learn what touches a heart, I’ll continue growing as an author.
What has been the most surprising aspect to becoming a published novelist?
I’ve been most surprised by how hard it is to juggle everything from marketing to writing to working. With four books needing to be written by July 1st, I’m giving up my part time fitness coaching. I just can’t do it all. It’s a great lesson for all of us that in order to live in our dream, we must let go of things we like but are not on the same path as that dream.
How has being a novelist impacted your relationship with Christ?
This surprised me too. But I realized as I wrote A Healing Heart, thinking I wrote to other women, that Christ was using that book to teach me and help me grow too. God really took me to task about my workaholism. He asked me through the process, “How many commandments are there?” My answer was nine. I hadn’t been honoring the Sabbath. In writing A Healing Heart, my trust in God grew to encompass all Ten Commandments. I either believed in them or I didn’t.
Other than being a novelist, what other goals do you have for your life?
Funny you should ask because I’ve been working that out the last few months myself. I’m taking a class in the Pauline Letters from EdEx.org to test my desire for a theology degree. In addition, I plan to take a course in screenwriting late summer. I would really like to write movies as well as novels and non-fiction. I’d like to turn my novels into movies so I write them visually from the very beginning. And, I have a long list of countries I’d like to visit for 2-4 weeks at a time.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I really enjoy training Muse, my feline investigative reporter ;) Muse is a pound kitty who wrapped his paws around my heart. He and I write very silly conversations on Facebook and are working on expanding his repertoire of tricks. Right now he can come, sit, sit up and “clap”, do back flips, jump through a hoop, jump higher over a stick, lay down, and he’s successfully rolled over on command once. The rest of the time he lets me roll him over like rolling pin (quite funny). But the trick we’re most proud of is his “shake hands”. He not only shakes, he sits up like a gentleman to do it. He also likes to call other authors’ pets and interview them for his blog.
Here’s a link to a youtube video of Muse doing back flips, but I’m working on one of all his other tricks.
I’ve been most surprised by how hard it is to juggle everything from marketing to writing to working. With four books needing to be written by July 1st, I’m giving up my part time fitness coaching. I just can’t do it all. It’s a great lesson for all of us that in order to live in our dream, we must let go of things we like but are not on the same path as that dream.
How has being a novelist impacted your relationship with Christ?
This surprised me too. But I realized as I wrote A Healing Heart, thinking I wrote to other women, that Christ was using that book to teach me and help me grow too. God really took me to task about my workaholism. He asked me through the process, “How many commandments are there?” My answer was nine. I hadn’t been honoring the Sabbath. In writing A Healing Heart, my trust in God grew to encompass all Ten Commandments. I either believed in them or I didn’t.
Other than being a novelist, what other goals do you have for your life?
Funny you should ask because I’ve been working that out the last few months myself. I’m taking a class in the Pauline Letters from EdEx.org to test my desire for a theology degree. In addition, I plan to take a course in screenwriting late summer. I would really like to write movies as well as novels and non-fiction. I’d like to turn my novels into movies so I write them visually from the very beginning. And, I have a long list of countries I’d like to visit for 2-4 weeks at a time.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I really enjoy training Muse, my feline investigative reporter ;) Muse is a pound kitty who wrapped his paws around my heart. He and I write very silly conversations on Facebook and are working on expanding his repertoire of tricks. Right now he can come, sit, sit up and “clap”, do back flips, jump through a hoop, jump higher over a stick, lay down, and he’s successfully rolled over on command once. The rest of the time he lets me roll him over like rolling pin (quite funny). But the trick we’re most proud of is his “shake hands”. He not only shakes, he sits up like a gentleman to do it. He also likes to call other authors’ pets and interview them for his blog.
Here’s a link to a youtube video of Muse doing back flips, but I’m working on one of all his other tricks.
What can you tell us about your debut novel?
A Healing Heart is about a workaholic woman who has a heart attack and must trust the one man who tried to steal her company. It’s set in beautiful Bozeman, MT during the winter. One of the important elements to me in writing this novel was incorporating actual locations. So fan-friends can actually plan a visit to Bozeman and go to the places Mara, Joel, and the kids in the novel frequent. It’s something I enjoy, visiting settings of novels. I thought people reading mine would too.
Recently I was interviewed for Heritage of Truth TV. Here’s the fifteen-minute interview.
What stories can your fans expect from you in the days ahead?
There’ll for sure be four books in 2014. Currently I’m writing an historical novella, The Debutante Queen, to be included in the Christmas anthology, Snowflake Tiara Sep 2014. Again, it’s set in Montana, but in 1889 Helena (our capitol) when we became a state. My co-author, Valerie Comer, and I made a very silly three-minute video to tell about our stories and signing the contract.
Beyond that, there’ll be a Bible study series releasing Aug-Nov 2014 called Tiara Talk. One book for teens, one for girls 8-12, and another for women. The topic is recapturing our feminine graces.
Another book in the works for 2014 or 2015 is being co-written with Muse. We’ll see how he and I do, but we’re hard at work in the brainstorming phase for this humorous tome. I’m just sure he’ll claim all the credit though…
What would you like to say to your upcoming fans in New Zealand and around the world?
Wow, to think I’d have fans in New Zealand and around the world is an awesome thought! But should folks enjoy my writing, I like connecting with people. I’m one of those rare “extroverted” authors and can be a ham sometimes. If book clubs, stores, churches, or groups like to use Skype, Facetime, or any myriad of the web platforms out there I love that possibility. Being a night owl helps with international time zones, lol.
Do you have any parting words?
Here’s some irony for you (and something to consider in your own life). Remember I told you I love studying theology, teaching, traveling, music, training my pet, and coaching? I realized all the things I love and do are passed down through our kids. Two of my kids are teachers, one is a coach, one is studying theology to become a pastor, one is studying international business (travel), and one manages a dude ranch and trains animals. Of those teachers…one is a music teacher and one will be graduating as a history teacher. Your turn. What do you love to do and how do you see that play out in your children’s’ lives? What kind of legacy are you leaving?
I also am very accessible on Facebook, Twitter, my website, and blogs. If you’d like to connect with my online, here are a few spots: My website (and Muse’s blog), Facebook, and Twitter. My Pinterest/Twitter handle: @AngBreidenbach
A Healing Heart is about a workaholic woman who has a heart attack and must trust the one man who tried to steal her company. It’s set in beautiful Bozeman, MT during the winter. One of the important elements to me in writing this novel was incorporating actual locations. So fan-friends can actually plan a visit to Bozeman and go to the places Mara, Joel, and the kids in the novel frequent. It’s something I enjoy, visiting settings of novels. I thought people reading mine would too.
Recently I was interviewed for Heritage of Truth TV. Here’s the fifteen-minute interview.
What stories can your fans expect from you in the days ahead?
There’ll for sure be four books in 2014. Currently I’m writing an historical novella, The Debutante Queen, to be included in the Christmas anthology, Snowflake Tiara Sep 2014. Again, it’s set in Montana, but in 1889 Helena (our capitol) when we became a state. My co-author, Valerie Comer, and I made a very silly three-minute video to tell about our stories and signing the contract.
Beyond that, there’ll be a Bible study series releasing Aug-Nov 2014 called Tiara Talk. One book for teens, one for girls 8-12, and another for women. The topic is recapturing our feminine graces.
Another book in the works for 2014 or 2015 is being co-written with Muse. We’ll see how he and I do, but we’re hard at work in the brainstorming phase for this humorous tome. I’m just sure he’ll claim all the credit though…
What would you like to say to your upcoming fans in New Zealand and around the world?
Wow, to think I’d have fans in New Zealand and around the world is an awesome thought! But should folks enjoy my writing, I like connecting with people. I’m one of those rare “extroverted” authors and can be a ham sometimes. If book clubs, stores, churches, or groups like to use Skype, Facetime, or any myriad of the web platforms out there I love that possibility. Being a night owl helps with international time zones, lol.
Do you have any parting words?
Here’s some irony for you (and something to consider in your own life). Remember I told you I love studying theology, teaching, traveling, music, training my pet, and coaching? I realized all the things I love and do are passed down through our kids. Two of my kids are teachers, one is a coach, one is studying theology to become a pastor, one is studying international business (travel), and one manages a dude ranch and trains animals. Of those teachers…one is a music teacher and one will be graduating as a history teacher. Your turn. What do you love to do and how do you see that play out in your children’s’ lives? What kind of legacy are you leaving?
I also am very accessible on Facebook, Twitter, my website, and blogs. If you’d like to connect with my online, here are a few spots: My website (and Muse’s blog), Facebook, and Twitter. My Pinterest/Twitter handle: @AngBreidenbach
A Healing Heart
Will Joel help Mara or take everything she has left?
Mara Keegan is an uber-successful mother and a widow of three years. She's been chasing success and all the "good things in life" for her family to make up for the cruel whim God played on them by taking her husband. In an effort to be the perfect mom, she decides to make a photo memory quilt, a graduation present for her daughter, Cadence.
She's not yet finished when she experiences a heart attack. How can Mara trust the one man who nearly destroyed her life and business? While Mara recuperates, she's forced to face her physically and spiritually broken heart. The memory quilt must be finished in time for Cadence's big day, but Mara struggles with her burgeoning feelings for the man who must keep Mara's business going during her recovery, Joel Ryan. Can Joel find his way into Mara's heart and onto Cadence's quilt? Or will he betray a vulnerable woman and her children?
Purchase A Healing Heart:
[Amazon.com | Amazon Kindle | The Book Depository]
Will Joel help Mara or take everything she has left?
Mara Keegan is an uber-successful mother and a widow of three years. She's been chasing success and all the "good things in life" for her family to make up for the cruel whim God played on them by taking her husband. In an effort to be the perfect mom, she decides to make a photo memory quilt, a graduation present for her daughter, Cadence.
She's not yet finished when she experiences a heart attack. How can Mara trust the one man who nearly destroyed her life and business? While Mara recuperates, she's forced to face her physically and spiritually broken heart. The memory quilt must be finished in time for Cadence's big day, but Mara struggles with her burgeoning feelings for the man who must keep Mara's business going during her recovery, Joel Ryan. Can Joel find his way into Mara's heart and onto Cadence's quilt? Or will he betray a vulnerable woman and her children?
Purchase A Healing Heart:
[Amazon.com | Amazon Kindle | The Book Depository]
Snowflake Tiara
Coming Sep 2014 from Choose Now Publishing: A Christmas 2-1 anthology set in Helena, MT. The historical character is the great-great-great grandmother of the contemporary character, just for a little fun tidbit :D |
The Debutante Queen by Angela Breidenbach (historical at Montana statehood)
While other women are marching for women’s voting rights in 1889, Calista Blythe is more interested in helping orphans. She enters the Miss Snowflake Pageant designed to draw winter tourists to Helena, Montana, hoping the prize money will buy one small street urchin’s freedom from cruel servitude. Pageant organizer, Albert Shanahan is delighted his beautiful friend will compete. If only winning wouldn’t mean she must remain single for the full year of her reign. But when Albert discovers what Calista is hiding in his inn’s stable, will he help her or disqualify her from the pageant—and his heart?
The Model Queen by Valerie Comer (contemporary at Montana's 125th anniversary)
Supermodel Marissa Hiller left her glam days far behind to farm in Montana after agency photographer Jase Mackie challenged her motives for drawing attention to hungry children in Africa. When the Miss Snowflake Pageant is resurrected, Marissa’s organic cooperative coerces her into representing them for the sake of the single moms she’s helping…and because her triple-great grandmother competed in the first pageant. Who knew Jase would be out West as the official photographer, ready to mess with her heart once again? There’s more at stake than a tiara this time. Can Jase make amends and convince her his love is pure?
While other women are marching for women’s voting rights in 1889, Calista Blythe is more interested in helping orphans. She enters the Miss Snowflake Pageant designed to draw winter tourists to Helena, Montana, hoping the prize money will buy one small street urchin’s freedom from cruel servitude. Pageant organizer, Albert Shanahan is delighted his beautiful friend will compete. If only winning wouldn’t mean she must remain single for the full year of her reign. But when Albert discovers what Calista is hiding in his inn’s stable, will he help her or disqualify her from the pageant—and his heart?
The Model Queen by Valerie Comer (contemporary at Montana's 125th anniversary)
Supermodel Marissa Hiller left her glam days far behind to farm in Montana after agency photographer Jase Mackie challenged her motives for drawing attention to hungry children in Africa. When the Miss Snowflake Pageant is resurrected, Marissa’s organic cooperative coerces her into representing them for the sake of the single moms she’s helping…and because her triple-great grandmother competed in the first pageant. Who knew Jase would be out West as the official photographer, ready to mess with her heart once again? There’s more at stake than a tiara this time. Can Jase make amends and convince her his love is pure?
Buy Angela's Books at The Book Depository
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY
Be in to win a copy of
A Healing Heart
by Angela Breidenbach
One copy to be won
Contest open to entrants with USA addresses only.
Contest runs from 14-28 March NZDT
Please comment about the interview, leave a message for Angela Breidenbach or answer one of the following 2 questions when making a blog post comment:
What do you love to do and how do you see
that play out in your children’s’ lives?
Whether you have children or not,
what kind of legacy are you leaving?
Simply commenting about entering the draw or wanting to win the books does not qualify for valid entry into the draw.
All entries must be made using the Rafflecopter contest to be eligible for drawing. Winning entries drawn will have their entry options validated before being accepted - if incomplete another entry will be drawn.
A Healing Heart
by Angela Breidenbach
One copy to be won
Contest open to entrants with USA addresses only.
Contest runs from 14-28 March NZDT
Please comment about the interview, leave a message for Angela Breidenbach or answer one of the following 2 questions when making a blog post comment:
What do you love to do and how do you see
that play out in your children’s’ lives?
Whether you have children or not,
what kind of legacy are you leaving?
Simply commenting about entering the draw or wanting to win the books does not qualify for valid entry into the draw.
All entries must be made using the Rafflecopter contest to be eligible for drawing. Winning entries drawn will have their entry options validated before being accepted - if incomplete another entry will be drawn.
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