Please welcome
A. K. Arenz
Her debut novel
Tell us a little about your book?
What author’s books do you enjoy reading?
What one bit of advice would you give to aspiring writers?
What inspired you to write this particular book?
Tell us what we have to look forward to in the future. What new projects are you working on?
What message do you hope readers gain from your novel?
I’m the mother of two grown daughters, grandmother to three (two girls & a boy). I started writing when I was about twelve; began submitting seriously in the mid 1970’s. There has been a lot of ups and downs through the years, more than I could count! It was looking pretty bleak after more than thirty years of effort, but God wasn’t finished with me. Just when I thought my fingers and hands couldn’t take it any more, Sheaf House taught me differently
There was a lot of interest in the Heartsongs Presents Mysteries going around, and after helping proof a friend’s submission, I wondered about trying to write one. I prayed a lot about it, but didn’t feel like I’d gotten a definitive answer. At the time, my former mother-in-law – Gramma – was extremely ill and in and out of hospitals. Each time we’d see her, I’d come away with a vague vision of a story about a grandmother. Then, one day after seeing another comment on the ACFW loop about the cozies, I got this overwhelming feeling I should open a Word document. I opened the manuscript template, said a prayer requesting directing, and before I knew it, the basis of Grandma was in front of me!
What I enjoyed most was finding out that some part of me had a sense of humor that others related to and enjoyed!
The thing I liked the least was going back and trying to seamlessly add to the existing manuscript. What amazed me was that it worked!
When you’re down and depressed about how things are going, instead of chucking everything into the trash, step back, pray, and remember that it’s the very rare individual who attains publication immediately. I’d been writing for 42 years – yes, I was a baby when I started! – and submitting for more than 30. A lot of that time has been spent in LEARNING and RE-LEARNING and then LEARNING SOME MORE! It can be daunting, but when you stop wanting to learn, that’s when you know this is not the career for you.
There are so many! CBA authors: Alton Gansky, Brandt Dodson, Brandilyn Collins, Colleen Coble, Christy Barritt, Jill Elizabeth Nelson, Sharon Dunn…way too many to name. ABA authors today: Dean R. Koontz, Mary Higgins Clark, Iris Johanson, James Patterson, Diana Gabaldon. ABA past: Mary Stewart, Phyllis A. Whitney, Victoria Holt, Jane Aiken Hodge.
The same one that Glory finally realizes – that God remains the same, then as now and in the future, that His love never fails, and He is there to call upon at all times.
I’m currently working on Book 2 of the Bouncing Grandma Mysteries – The Case of the Mystified M.D. I also have a Women’s Fiction about spousal abuse, A Question of Survival, in the works.
Alice, thanks so much for sharing with us!
I wish you the best with your debut novel.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book? Least?
Tell us a little about yourself?
The Case of the Bouncing Grandma is a cozy mystery with a bit of a hen-lit feel. The heroine, Glory Harper, is a fifty-two year old grandmother whose attempts at being a “fun grandma” have gotten her into trouble at times. When the story opens, she’s in a wheelchair with a broken leg and bored to death. But when she sees a foot dangling out the back of a carpet as it’s carried into her new neighbor’s house, she is determined to get to the bottom of things – especially after no one believes what she claims to have seen.
Even though you know from the outset that there will be a lot of time between signing the contract and publication, it doesn’t prepare you for how loooonnngg it actually is. And in the scheme of things, a year really isn’t that long in comparison to what some authors have to wait! Aside from that, I’d say all the edits were really the most challenging. Red’s never been one of my favorite colors.
What has been the most unexpected challenge you've had with becoming a published author?
Tell us a little about your main character and how you developed him/her?
Glory is fun. She has a way of thinking and saying all the things we’d like to – but probably wouldn’t – without making her look obnoxious. She’s not the most graceful of individuals, her “adventures” with her seven-year-old grandson prove that. She’s got an insatiable curiosity and love of life that I think, and hope, everyone will associate with and enjoy.
While a lot of Glory’s characteristics are shared by moi, she is very definitely a gift from God. I seriously cannot take credit for developing her – she just happened!
Visit her at:
The Case of the Bouncing Grandma
