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Author Interview,  Giveaway,  Hope-filled Fiction

Author Interview with Deborah Raney & a Giveaway

October 9, 2024 / 42 Comments

I first met Deborah Raney in 2019 at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, and I’m thrilled to finally have her on my blog! Deborah is a multi-award-winning Women’s Fiction author, and this week she’s promoting her recent release, Playing for Keeps.

Comment below by October 15 for a chance to win a copy of her book! (Winner’s choice of a paperback or ebook. US only)

Welcome, Deborah! I’m so happy to have you here. Please tell us a little about yourself and your family.

My family is my biggest blessing! Ken and I have two sons and two daughters who’ve given us thirteen precious grandkids (with another little boy on the way!) We love our sons- and daughters-in-law as if they were our own, and they are all raising amazing kids who are our greatest delight in life. Ken and I both work from home and love that our work lives have intersected now that he’s doing graphic design, book covers, and illustration.

I’ve seen photos of your precious family, and they’re all beautiful! Do you have any hobbies? Have you incorporated any of them into your books?

One of my favorite hobbies is thrifting and garage sale-ing items to furnish and decorate our home. And I love entertaining and having overnight guests. I’ve incorporated some elements of this hobby by putting my characters in cute houses that are charmingly decorated. A good percentage of my novels include inns and Airbnbs, and this is an extension of my love for interior decorating and hospitality as well.

I always love seeing your social media posts about your garage sale finds, and your decorating style is wonderful. I need you at my house! As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I had asthma as a child and my mom made the boring times when I was confined to the house (or bed) so much fun because she introduced me to books! I’ve always been a voracious reader and knew from the time I was eleven or twelve that I wanted to someday write a book. But my mom also made being a stay-at-home mom of five look like such a dream that my first desire was to be a stay-at-home mom of 12 children.

After Ken and I had three kids, I came to my senses. Ha! But the Lord blessed us with one more and because of her, when I should have been going back to work to help pay for our kids’ college, I was desperate to stay home a few more years with our “oops” baby. That led me to start writing, and my first contract (for two books with Bethany House Publishers) paid our oldest son’s entire college bill! (A small state college, and tuition was much cheaper back in the 1990s. Still, a huge answer to prayer for our family!)

You have such a beautiful God-story. Love it! How do you incorporate Christ and hope into your writing?

How strong the faith message is in each book kind of depends on that story. Some of my books are very clear with a message of salvation through Christ. Others are simply wholesome stories that are written from a Judeo-Christian worldview. Often, my characters are going through a similar struggle to the one I’m going through. But I hope all of my books contain hope and encouragement for Christians and unbelievers alike.

I’ve read many of your books, and they’re all spiritually uplifting in some way, which I appreciate. Is Playing for Keeps inspired by true events or personal history?

There is definitely some of my own life sprinkled into this book. The setting is a bed and breakfast in Kansas where I wrote daily for several weeks one summer when I was on deadline for a different book. The cat on the cover was inspired by a real cat named Alex who “ran” the inn. My character’s trip to Paris was inspired by our trip there last September, and Art and Maddie stay in the same hotel where Ken and I stayed. But of course, everything else is from my imagination.

My husband and I visited Paris in 2008, so I always enjoy stories featuring that city. Do you have any pets? Do they find their way into any of your stories?

Our late, great Tuxedo cat, Melvin, stars in my Chandler Sisters Novels series. He was a darling, one-of-a-kind cat and I’d love to find another one like him someday after we aren’t traveling so much.

If you could only publish one book in your lifetime, which of your novels would you choose?

That’s a fun—but difficult!—question. I would probably choose A Nest of Sparrows. It’s my favorite novel I’ve ever written, and since it won or finaled for ten different awards, including being a RITA Award finalist, I feel it’s probably a reader favorite too.

That’s one of my favorites of yours too! Such a great story. Please share with readers what your beautiful writing space looks like.

After writing my first few novels at our kitchen table (and having to clear it off every evening to serve supper!) I moved to a desk in the corner of our living room. When I turned 50 and our nest was down to one little birdie, I got my first dedicated office. I’ve had four lovely offices since then, but my current office is my favorite. We added a window to a guest room that overlooks our wooded side yard, and I have lovely views year-round both inside and out. 

I love that my office contains bookcases that were my parents’, the table I wrote those first books on (that my in-laws refinished for us), and many other heirloom items that remind me how blessed I am. I still like writing in different locations throughout the day, with our screened porch being a favorite spot, but my office is very special to me, and I love the time I spend there.

Photo of Deborah Raney's home office

I might struggle to get any writing done in your gorgeous space or on your peaceful porch. LOL. Do you have a favorite drink or snack you indulge in while writing?

I’m a coffee lover and bought an espresso machine with Christmas money from my dad. This summer I’ve been loving iced lattes with fresh-ground coffee beans. I try not to snack while I write, but sometimes if I’m on deadline, I’ll reward myself with a few M&Ms or Reese’s Pieces for every thousand words I write.

Sounds like a reasonable reward. How many unpublished and unfinished manuscripts do you have? Any plans to pursue publication for any of them?

I have one finished manuscript that was the second novel I wrote. And I have a few chapters of another story I started from the viewpoint of a ten-year-old boy (and written in first person). Someday I might see if I can get the words off the floppy disc where they live and decide whether that book is worth resurrecting. But the topic of the other book is no longer in the news, so I doubt that one will ever see the light of day. Right now, I’m considering those to be “practice novels” and I have a series of four new books I want to finish before I go back to old ones. 

Ooh, new novels … I can’t wait! Who is your favorite fiction author? Favorite novel?

A newer author I’ve really been loving is Katie Powner. I think my favorite novel of hers so far is The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass, which features a lovable potbellied pig named Pearl as a significant character. 🙂 

I love Katie’s work, and her as a person. She’s amazing! What’s next from you?

In November the first book in my new The God Who series will release. Each book title comes from a Scripture that speaks to the attributes of God. The first book, Who Touches The Mountains, is set in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I’ve come to love those glorious mountains after many years of traveling to the Ridgecrest Conference Center for various conferences and writers retreats. And I love writing with themes about our awesome God who touches the mountains, measures the oceans, stirs up the seas, names the stars, and so much more.

Those sound like wonderful books. I’m looking forward to reading them. I also love the Ridgecrest location in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I’d be remiss if I neglected to mention the horrific devastation Hurricane Helene brought to the area. I know all of our hearts go out to those who’ve lost loved ones, homes, businesses, and other possessions. Many prayers are still going up on their behalf. May God have mercy and provide every need.

Comment on #HopeFilledFiction’s author interview with Deborah Raney by 10/15 for a chance to win a copy of her #WomensFiction novel, Playing for Keeps. #giveaway

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Join the conversation. Have you read any of Deborah Raney’s novels? Which is your favorite? Would you like to read Playing for Keeps? What questions do you have for Deborah?

Be sure to comment below for a chance to win Deb’s book! Winner’s choice of a paperback or ebook. (US only)

Playing for Keeps book cover

Playing for Keeps by Deborah Raney

Click the book cover for purchase link

Art and Maddy’s fledgling marriage faces challenges when expectations collide. As they struggle to find their way together, Maddie is offered a chance to take a research trip to Paris. It appears a short separation might help them both figure out what happily-ever-after looks like for them. Yet even the beautiful City of Lights is lonely without the man she loves with all her heart, and with five thousand miles separating them, how can they ever work things out when different time zones and frenzied schedules conspire to keep them incommunicado?

DEBORAH RANEY’s first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Thirty years, forty-plus books, and numerous awards later, she’s still creating stories that touch hearts and lives.

A RITA® Award winner and three-time Christy Award finalist, Deb was recently honored with the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She is represented by Steve Laube of the Steve Laube Agency.

A Missouri transplant, she moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas. They love road trips, Friday garage sale dates, time with their family, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.

Connect with Deborah: Website / Facebook Readers Group / Instagram

Deborah Raney head shot

Please share Deborah’s interview on social media to help spread the word about her books!

If you missed my exciting news last week, find it here.

As a Jesus girl for more than thirty years, Deena Adams understands how important hope is to daily life, which fuels her passion to inspire others through hope-filled fiction based on true to life stories. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency and is a multi-award-winning writer, an active ACFW member, and ACFW Virginia president. Connect with Deena through her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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