I’m delighted to share some highlights of my conversation with author Regina Rudd Merrick. She is a multi-published author, church musician, wife, mother, former librarian, lover of all things fun, beachy, and chocolate, and grateful follower of Jesus Christ. Married to her husband of nearly 40 years, she is the mother of two grown daughters, and lives in the small town of Marion, KY.
Her latest book, Window of Peace, Book two in the Stained Glass Legacy, will release April 18 on Amazon in paperack and digital formats. Today she shares some fun tibits about her writing and her writing process.
What are you working on right now?
I’m currently waiting for edits for my new release, Window of Peace, Book 2 in the Stained Glass Legacy. It’s my first foray into historical fiction, taking place in 1970! This series is actually a four-author series that follows the Dunne family and a certain Irish stained glass window, taking place from the 1920s to a dystopian future, with each author focusing on one time period. It’s been so much fun collaborating (can you say FAMILY TREE?) and celebrating each win! Book 1, Heather Greer’s Window of Opportunity, set in the 1920s, was released in January. Mine is book 2 releasing April 18. Amy Anguish has book 3, set in the present (August 2023), and Erin Howard is working on book 4, set in a dystopian future (December 2023)! I think you’ll all love the Dunne family!
What are you most thankful for?
I’m most thankful for my husband, Todd. He’s stuck with me for 40 years (in August), and he has put up with a lot. Dealing with a creative who is also an overthinking oldest-child-people-pleaser is no small task, but he’s taken it on with much, much grace!
What is your next writing project?
I’ve started some pre-writing research for what I hope will be my next series. It springs from my first series, Southern Breeze, and takes place in South Carolina, my happy vacation place! I’m revisiting old characters and creating new ones, as well as re-familiarizing myself with the places in the story. Learning about different lines of work and personalities has been fun! For instance, pairing an outdoorsy marine biologist heroine fascinated by pirates with a hero who is a historian and more comfortable behind a computer screen or in a library! Or, an ex-convict working through his issues and a hotel manager who’s always been “the good girl.” People and their potential are fascinating.
What is your superpower?
I have what people in my family (and people who have been subjected to it) call “The Regina Glare.” The term was first used by a minister of music for which I was accompanying on the piano! LOL!!! Fortunately, he was, and still is, a good friend . . . I also often used it on my girls in church while sitting on the organ bench! It would be great to say it was effective, but many times it worked better on their friends sitting nearby than on my children! I guess it achieved the same goal! 😉
How do you relax and recharge when you step away from writing?
I’d like to say I travel to South Carolina and walk on the beach, but you’ll more likely find me watching Hallmark movies and making brownies! LOL! We’ve moved and remodeled a house in the last year, so enjoying the comfort of my own home is still a novelty! 🙂
What book or book series have you recently enjoyed reading?
Lately, I’ve revisited Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swenson mysteries and then read a ton of Christmas rom-coms, but the most recent book I’ve been in love with was Laura Frantz’s most recent historical romance, The Rose and the Thistle. I generally gravitate toward contemporary or rom-com, as you’ll see on my Goodreads list, but I read ALL of Laura’s books as soon as they come out! I can’t pick my favorite books, but when I come across books by Carla Laureano, Becky Wade, Denise Hunter, Melissa Tagg, and many more, I’m happy! I have lots of author friends that I read immediately, too! Amy Anguish, Heather Greer, and Kathy Cretsinger, to name a few!
What’s your best advice for other writers?
The best advice? WRITE. Find something to write, and find other writers with whom to commiserate! I found fanfiction and wrote SO MUCH that will never see publication, but it gave me those thousands of words to write and have other people read and critique. Maybe it’s keeping a journal or creating stories for your children. Whatever it is, there’s a story there, and you can write about it. Sometimes God wants you to write a particular story just for Him, and that time is not wasted. Find writing prompts – they’re everywhere. I remember attending a writing workshop at my local library, and one of the writing exercises became a scene in one of my books!
Regina’s Social Media Connections:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Regina-R-Merrick-512257938964888/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reginamerrick/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rmerrick/
Website: https://www.reginaruddmerrick.com
Scrivenings Press, LLC Author Page: https://scriveningspress.com/regina-rudd-merrick/
Amazon Author Page: https://tinyurl.com/AmReginaRuddMerrick
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16660730.Regina_Rudd_Merrick
Description of Window of Peace:
Before being drafted, U.S. Army Lieutenant K9 Handler Michael Connor (MC) Dunne led charmed life. He had a plan. He would finish veterinary school, get married, and take over the local animal clinic. Enter the Vietnam War.
When MC arrives, injured, back in Park Haven, Tennessee, there’s a new vet in town, Nancy Jean Baker, hired when the local veterinarian suffered a heart attack. So much for his plan.
Violent flashbacks and nightmares pull him away from his faith and turn him into a hermit, fearing that he will hurt those he loves. His safe place is the family farm, working on the old cabin and chapel that his great-uncle built in the early 1900s. He assists his grandfather in repairs to the buildings and the stained-glass window that is a family treasure from Ireland.
When one of those closest to him is put in harm’s way, he has to act. If he does, will he, in a fit of rage, slide into the violence of war and become a threat instead of a solution?
Maybe.
But if he doesn’t, he may as well have not come back at all.
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