Thursday, March 8, 2018

Talkshow Thursday: Meet Tamera Kraft


Talkshow Thursday: Meet Tamera Kraft


Linda:  Thanks for joining me today. You’ve got a new book which is always exciting! This one is the first in a series called The Ladies of Oberlin. What made you choose this time period and location, and where did you find your inspiration for this story?

Tamera: I was researching women ministers and Christian women who made a difference in the 1800s for some blog posts. Oberlin College kept coming up. It was the first college that allowed women to get a college degree and one of the first that allowed blacks to attend before the Civil War. It also had Second Great Awakening Evangelist Charles Finney as its president for a number of years. I found out most to the women involved in the abolitionist movement, missionary movement, women's suffrage, and prohibition were connected to Oberlin in some way. I knew then I wanted to write a series of novels about women students at Oberlin.

LM: In addition to your work in children’s ministry, you also help other authors by running monthly group Facebook Parties. How did you get started in that?

Tamera: I was involved in a few FB parties, and I really enjoyed them. I also found that the parties that were more successful were the ones where multiple authors joined together around a theme. I decided to start having these parties to help other authors and also effectively promote my own books. I charge a small fee to go toward the grand prize and advertising. It's a win-win situation. For any authors interested, they can find out more at this link. 

LM: Lots of research goes into writing a book. Do you have an unusual research story to share…something you did or found?

Tamera: Every time I research a book, I find lots of research that surprises me in some way. Many times, critique partners and editors tag me for being too unbelievable when I include those historical facts. One such incident happened in Red Sky Over America. I was reading a journal written by an abolitionist preacher who went to the home of a slave owner pastor. The pastor introduced his slave mistress and slave family without any shame at all. He felt, as a slave owner, he had the right to commit adultery with his slave. He even used the Bible to justify it. I had to tone down the story to include it in my novel because nobody who critiqued it believed this could really happen. Truth is much stranger than fiction.

LM: What is the quirkiest thing you’ve ever done?

Tamera: I've done some pretty quirky things. I don't want to reveal all of them in a public forum though. LOL. One thing my husband thought was quirky was when I told him I couldn't stop writing now because I wanted to see what happened next. He looked at me in bewilderment and said, "But you're writing it." Another quirky and somewhat dangerous thing I did in the early days of children's ministry was to go door to door in the worst neighborhood in Akron inviting children to church. I didn't think about how dangerous it was until later. What I didn't know was the reason everybody was so nice to me was because one family put out the word I was under their protection. I believe God urged them to do that.

LM: Wow! God is good. Okay, here are some quickies:

Tamera:
Favorite color: Red
Favorite food: Yellow cake with chocolate buttercream icing.
Favorite time of year: Early summer before it gets too hot.

LM: What is your next project?

Tamera: My next project is Book 2 in the Ladies of Oberlin Series, Lost in the Storm, due to be release in November, 2018. Here's a blurb about it: 

During the Civil War, Lavena challenges a profession ruled by men to become a war correspondent, but will she keep her job by destroying the man she loves?

LM: Sounds intriguing! Where can folks find you on the web?

Tamera:
Word Sharpeners Blog: http://tameralynnkraft.com


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