HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! DID YOU KNOW
THE FRONTIERSMAN'S DAUGHTER HAD A DIFFERENT NAME AT FIRST?
The hint is in the birthday cake, above!!!
Laura Frantz
is the author of
The Frontiersman’s Daughter
Courting Morrow Little
, and the upcoming
The Colonel’s Lady
I met Laura Frantz a couple of years ago when
Rachel Hauck was teaching an online writers’ class and asked us to find comparables for the books we were writing. I found out that
The Frontiersman’s Daughter was ready to release in a few months and got in contact with the very gracious Laura. Was I thrilled to get to write the very first review on Amazon for this wonderful book, still my favorite! I am so glad to have this lovely lady on my blog this week and want to wish her a
VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON TUESDAY APRIL 19!!!
Laura, welcome to Overcoming Through Time. Would you share either the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help, or the most tragic situation or circumstance one of your character’s has had to get past?
Now that I’ve reached the mid-century mark and can look back at my life, I can see that the loss of my father as a young girl impacted me deeply, though I spent years denying it. Even as an adult I struggle with trusting my Heavenly Father because of that loss. But I will say that God is ever faithful and has been a father to me when my earthly father was absent. In terms of my writing, God healed me in such amazing ways during the writing of The Frontiersman’s Daughter. Growing up in Kentucky and being steeped in the lore of those early settlers, I used to imagine what it would have been like being the daughter of Daniel Boone who was, and still is, my hero. The book took 10 years to write as I put it away for 5 years when my boys were small, but throughout the writing I can see God’s healing hand on every page. I don’t know that I would have become a writer had my father not left our family. Writing became my escape and solace at a young age and continues to be. Not only that, God has given me a husband who is so faithful and steadfast and we are, truly, more in love now than the day we married 17 years ago. This has also brought healing. It’s so moving to see how God redeems difficult situations for those of us who are His.
What is your favorite bible verse and why?
Oh, I will forever love Isaiah 40:11:
He tends His flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in His arms and gently leads those who have young.
The Lord gave this verse to me during a very trying time. We were living in tiny garage with a colicky newborn while Randy was building our house between working full time and completing a 5 year apprenticeship. That winter it had rained 93 days straight and my family was 2500 miles away. That verse became my anchor as I trusted God’s care of me and my baby and my hardworking husband during those long, lonely days.
Are any of your books available in audio format? Are any available as e-books with audio capability? Large print? (Thank you – we offer this information to our readers with difficulty reading books in regular print format.)
The Frontiersman’s Daughter is available in large print through Thorndike. Also, Kentucky’s Talking Books Program was planning to include it on audio in their library. (Not yet listed on their site, however.) Both The Frontiersman’s Daughter and Courting Morrow Little are available as e-books with audio capability.
What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?
Since the Lord gifts us with writing, He seems to have an agenda for every book. Often I don’t know what that is until I’m finished and write that final page. Sometimes readers tell me what they feel is the message or important truth within, at least for them individually. It’s a bit of a mystery to me. I always pray as I write, asking Him to guide me and keep Him at the fore. My characters often do and say very unexpected things – surprising me but not Him, surely!
As you researched your books, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?
In my upcoming release The Colonel’s Lady, I was overwhelmed and awed by the sacrifices men and women made during the American Revolution as I researched. Many of them lost their lives, families, and fortunes and died debtors because of their sacrifices. You only have to read a bit about Valley Forge when men had no shoes and rages for clothes and walked about bloody in the snow, or those who died aboard British prison ships to get a small glimpse of the overwhelmingly painful circumstances. We owe so much to those colonials who risked everything to make our country what it is. God has truly blessed our nation throughout our history and I hope we never lose sight of that.
Thank you Laura Frantz for agreeing to answer these questions. Have a blessed day and keep on writing!!
Love the interview, Carrie! I can tell these questions come from a gifted Christian psychologist;) Thanks so much for hosting me here. You’re a blessing!
In celebration of Laura’s birthday, I will have my first giveaway today. One of my regular blog followers, through Blogger, will be entered to win a copy of The Frontiersman’s Daughter. Do stop by and leave a comment even if you are not a follower as I have different drawings every day! Let the party begin!!!
