Getting to Know you Thursdays with Daphne Webb with giveaway

Please join me in welcoming Daphne Webb to my blog today.  Its been good getting to know Daphne better.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I live in the southern part of the USA in the state of Mississippi, where it's hot and steamy in the summer and once-in-a-blue-moon snowy in winter. Although I live in the south, I adore the northern areas and love to travel. I am fast becoming the crazy cat lady, well, maybe not crazy yet...but definitely way too many cats. Thought about getting a parakeet, but then my tom named Somebody would have an apoplectic fit trying to "rescue" it from the cage, so I stick with the fish that he likes to stare at. I'm a right brain/left brain thinker, in other words, I'm logical and analytical, plus, creative and free-spirited. I can be bribed with Sudoku books and Scrabble games. On a more personal note about me, I'm a widow (but not old and gray, well, not old...) and I home school two sons, 17 and 10.  

2. When you were a child did you have a favourite book or books?

Just about anything sci-fi or Star Wars I would read, plus Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. Then I was introduced to Anne of Green Gables and Louis L'Amour. I really had no favorite book. It seems as though all the books I read became my favorite and I would read them over and over again.

3. Do you have a favourite Genre to both read and right write?

When it came to reading, I had for a while stuck with science fiction and fantasy. When I started writing, it was children's stories and then contemporary novels (not romance...can't write kissy-kissy romance). I do have a few science fiction novels that deal with quantum mechanics and string theory on hold. Have to get past the three I am working on now before I can venture into that realm.

4. Did you have favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?

Wow. There were so many: Stephen King, Louis L'Amour, Colin Forbes, Anne McCaffrey, Lois McMaster Bujold, Timothy Zahn, Lillian Jackson Braun, Simon Lang, L.M. Montgomery, Daphne du Maurier...just to name a few.

5. When did you know you wanted to be an author?

When I was six I wrote my first poem, a poem about cats. From that day forward I always wanted to write.

6. How did you go about becoming an author?

I wrote and wrote and wrote, and then that dream was lost in life until recently. I wrote a children's book titled I Lost My Hat. That brought my buried dream to life. I attended my first ACFW conference in 2010. Through online friendships made in ACFW, I learned about the Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference. There I met my publishers who accepted my book Mississippi Nights. It wasn't just writing; I learned the craft, learned to polish and edit. Trends were changing and I wanted to be right there in the forefront in the new style of writing--deep POV.

7. If you were not a writer what would you like to be?

Believe it or not, I wanted to be an astronaut. When I learned that I was fearful of heights, I decided that astronomy was the route. I still study astronomy, but my love of writing was greater.

8. Outside reading and writing what do you like to do?

I love to go on road trips. When I'm not on the road, I paint, I fish or go hiking. Just recently took up fencing, which I absolutely love! And I listen to music. There's a lot that I like to do, play board games, play Halo. 

9. Do you have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?

I'm planning on visiting South Dakota soon, but a place that is foremost in my mind to visit is Scotland. My ancestors came from there and I want to visit the area where they had their lands before becoming outlawed.

10. If you could have a meal with 3 living people who would you choose and why?

Franklin Graham: he is a man with a wonderful heart and has done so many wonderful things for the world.

George W. Bush: I don't care if most people don't like him, to me he was a wonderful President and a man who was placed in the right place at the right time. He is definitely a man of integrity.

Condoleezza Rice: I love how she remains steadfast in her faith and beliefs. I admire her greatly.

Finally can you tell us about your current books and/or any that will

be coming out soon. Also where we can find you on the web.

My current book is Mississippi Nights, available online and in bookstores (if they don't have it, then tell them to order it. lol).

Here's a short blurb for the book:

Two brothers, one death--the bond of brotherhood faces its greatest challenge against resentment and guilt.

Can the love between two brothers eventually win against pain and guilt? When firefighter David Boyette's fiancee perishes in a car fire, he blames his brother, Sgt. Jeremy Boyette, for her death.

Three years later, David returns home with a dark and devastating secret. With the help of family, a woman's love, and a small child's devotion, can David overcome insurmountable odds as he and Jeremy face the bitterness that enslaves him? Together the brothers must decide if the bond of brotherhood is stronger than resentment and hate.

To keep up with me, you can visit www.dmwebb.com (and buy a personalized and autographed copy there, too). Also at the following: https://www.facebook.com/WebbDM, https://www.facebook.com/MississippiNightsNovel, shoutlife.com/dmwebb, and on Twitter as @DaphMichele.

At present I am working on my second novel, Alabama Days. And plotting the next two.


Giveaway
Daphne is giving away an copy of her book Mississippi Nights to one lucky reader. To enter please leave a way to be contacted and a comment from the interview. Entries just saying looks good enter me or looks like a book I would like to read enter me without a comment on the interview or a question for Daphne will be disregarded. Entries end 5 April 6 pm Australian time.