Happy Monday!
Each Monday I would like to take some time to get to know some of our favorite authors. My hope is that this will help readers connect with the authors.
Today I would like to introduce you to: Denise Weimer!
I’ve only read a handful of Denise’s books, but I have really enjoyed them! She writes both contemporary and historical fiction. They are worth checking out!
Author bio:
Represented by Hartline Literary Agency, Denise Weimer holds a journalism degree with a minor in history from Asbury University. She’s a managing editor for the historical imprints of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and the author of a dozen published novels and a number of novellas. A wife and mother of two daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses!
To help us get to know her, I have given her some questions and here are her responses:
Q: How long have you been writing?
A: I began writing around age eleven, when my parents would take me to historical sites and I’d spin yarns about what type of people lived in the old houses and towns we visited. I published my first short novel in my late twenties. After that, it took a while to research, write, and find a publisher for my sweeping, mid-1800s Georgia Gold Series. Over the past seven years, a dozen of my titles have been released, as well as several novellas in collections.
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: I just finished polishing Bent Tree Bride, to release in April 2021 with Smitten Historical Romance. The hero, Sam Hicks, was a boy at the mission school in The Witness Tree (Smitten, September 2019, https://www.amazon.com/Witness-Tree-Denise-Weimerebook/dp/B07V1JTQS1/). The Witness Tree is about a Moravian (a lesser-known sect of plain people) marriage of convenience that leads to a dangerous assignment in 1805 Cherokee Territory.
Past betrayal has turned John Kliest’s passion to his work as a builder and surveyor in the Moravian town of Salem, North Carolina. Now, to satisfy the elders’ edict and fulfill his mission in Cherokee Territory, he needs a bride. But the one woman qualified to record the Cherokee language longs for a future with his younger brother.
Clarissa Vogler’s dream of a life with Daniel Kliest is shattered when she is chosen by lot to marry his older brother and venture into the uncharted frontier. Can she learn to love this stoic man who is now her husband? Her survival hinges on being able to trust him—but they both harbor secrets.
In Bent Tree Bride, Sam has grown up and joined the Cherokee Regiment, which fights under Andrew Jackson’s troops against the Red Stick Creeks as part of the War of 1812. As a lieutenant in a spy and scout company, Sam is tasked with protecting his colonel’s daughter. The last thing he intends is to fall in love with her. He thinks she’s Cherokee. She thinks he’s white. They’re both wrong.
The story just brims with action and romance. Comparable titles include Cumberland Bride and Between Two Shores.
Q: What are some of your writing must haves? (Drink, snack, supplies, etc.)
A: I’m so excited that the last time we moved, I got my own office! Gone are the days of writing from my kitchen island. Apart from my laptop and research materials, I’m always ready to pause for a cup of tea and a snack each afternoon. I keep a plethora of flavors handy!
Also, Lucy, my cockapoo—my writing and editing mascot—has her bed in my office, right by the window.
Q: What is your favorite time period to write about? Or read about?
A: As you might have guessed from my description of Bent Tree Bride, my current favorite time period for both reading and writing would be Early American. Specifically, Eastern frontier romances. All the fodder for heart stirring drama comes inherent within that time period and location.
I have saved my favorite question for last!
Q: What would you like readers to take away from your books?
A: Most of my novels have a specific theme rooted in the main character’s struggle. Insecurity. Perfectionism. Past failure. The story follows an arc of development where he or she learns to overcome that weakness with God’s help. Overall, I’d say a prevailing message in all my books has to do with God’s faithfulness in whatever life throws at us, His ability to make beauty from ashes when we let Him.
To connect with Denise, please click on any of the following links: her newsletter, website, Facebook, Twitter, and BookBub.
I’m also featuring her book, The Witness Tree. It released last September. Its perfect for a fall! Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf!
About the book:
To gain his wife, he must break her heart.
Past betrayal has turned John Kliest’s passion to his work as a builder and surveyor in the Moravian town of Salem, North Carolina. Now, to satisfy the elders’ edict and fulfill his mission in Cherokee Territory, he needs a bride. But the one woman qualified to record the Cherokee language longs for a future with his younger brother.
Clarissa Vogler’s dream of a life with Daniel Kliest is shattered when she is chosen by lot to marry his older brother and venture into the uncharted frontier. Can she learn to love this stoic man who is now her husband? Her survival hinges on being able to trust him—but they both harbor secrets.
I’m also happy to share the cover for her new book, Bent Tree Bride:
All The Bookish Adventures 