My Interview of Author Shanna Hatfield

Shanna Hatfield is the USA Today bestselling author of several clean western romances including The Christmas Cowboy and Crumpets and Cowpies. Shanna has two new Christmas stories releasing this year, Capturing Christmas and The Christmas Vow. She's graciously stopped by my blog for an interview during her tour.

Thanks for joining, Shanna! I know you've been an author for a long time. Tell us about your favorite reader encounter or piece of fan mail/email/FB message. 

I’ll start by saying I love (LOVE) hearing from readers. The message that has meant the most to me came from a young woman who’d been suffering from postpartum depression and had been contemplating suicide. She read my book Heart of Clay and said it gave her such a message of hope, that she sought help and turned her life around. We’ve stayed in touch, and it’s been wonderful to see the direction her life is now headed. Whenever I need a reminder of why I write, I read her powerful message again.

It's good to hear how your writing touches lives. While writing your new stories, how did God meet you on the page? 

I have two new books releasing this week. Capturing Christmas is about hope and opening your heart. The Christmas Vow is about forgiveness and redemption. Those underlying themes all make me feel like our Father is there in the writing process. 

Where is your favorite place to people watch for inspiration? 
I don’t have a single favorite place, but I do tend to be a people watcher wherever I go. It’s amazing the conversations you overhear at the grocery store or the ideas that spark when you’re at the mall. 

If you wrote a letter to your younger self at whatever age you first dream of writing a book, what would the opening line say? 
(To my 16-year-old self) No matter what anyone says, what anyone tries to tell you can’t do — never stop believing in yourself.

Now to really stretch your creative writing muscles, please give us the summary of your new books in Haiku.

For Capturing Christmas:

Captured images
Pale shades bloom in full color
Life altered by love

For The Christmas Vow:

Frosty glares of pain
Melt in the warmth of kindness
Sweet love rekindled

Wow, beautifully done! Thanks again for joining us, Shanna, and we wish you the best with your new releases.

Be sure to check out Shanna's new Christmas books Capturing Christmas and The Christmas Vow.