Inspy Romance

Inspy Romance—Fall in Love With a Good Book

Meet Shelia Stovall! #Giveaway

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I’m excited to introduce y’all to Shelia Stovall, the debut author of Every Window Filled With Light!

Welcome, Shelia! I enjoyed reading your first published novel! Congrats! Tell us about yourself and how you started writing!

Thank you for inviting me to be your guest. As a child, I fell in love with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books and started writing little stories. However, I didn’t take my writing seriously until after my children left home for college. I attended my first writers’ conference in 2012, where I met award-winning author Judy Christie. She encouraged me to finish the first draft of my novel and send a sample chapter to her editor, Jamie Clarke Chavez. I didn’t know Jamie Chavez was an award-winning editor. I’ll be forever grateful she agreed to work with me.

I loved meeting you at writing conferences as well!! Christian fiction authors are generally very kind to each other.  I know you are a librarian, and I love that! Did your position in the library help you write Every Window Filled with Light?

Of course. My heroine, Emma Baker, is a librarian. All authors are told to “write what you know.” I pictured my library and routines as I wrote the library scenes in the book. Also, authors are encouraged to read well-written books. As a librarian, I purchase hundreds of books every year. It’s part of my job to read reviews, back-cover-copy, and sample chapters before buying books for the library. This aspect of my career helped me become a better writer, and of course, I’m an avid reader.

Me too! And I used to be a high school librarian, so I read quite a bit. Still do :) I love your title! How does it tie into the story?

The title, Every Window Filled with Light, came to me one evening as I was reading the book aloud. There’s a correlation in the story between the condition of Emma’s healing and the number of light or dark windows of her large Victorian home. Emma, a young childless widow, struggles with grief and anger because her school-teacher husband was murdered by a student. Emma believes her dream to fill her beautiful home with children is impossible. In the opening chapter, Emma returns home from the library to her home—every window dark. Then she finds Harley, a twelve-year-old girl, hiding in the library. When Emma becomes Harley’s foster parent, Emma’s heart begins to mend, and the windows of Emma’s home start to shine brightly.

Now the fun part, tell us about your hero!

Luke Davis is not your typical pastor. It’s been two years since the death of Emma’s husband when Luke seeks out Emma. He’s counseling the boy who killed her husband. Emma doesn’t know Luke is a pastor when she first notices him in the library.

A tall man wearing a fitted black T-shirt leaned against the back wall and crossed his arms, exposing a tattoo of barbed wire encircling his muscled bicep. He swiped a dark curl behind his ear and seemed oblivious to the interested glances from several moms in the crowd. If not for the trimmed box beard, he could pass for Da Vinci’s David come to life.

Luke has much in common with Harley, Emma’s ward. Luke was abandoned by his mom and grew up under the care of his alcoholic grandmother. He was a lost boy of twelve, at a crossroads, when he met Emma’s Pastor, Bob Johnson. Violence and abuse stained Luke’s childhood, yet he escaped, thanks to Pastor Bob’s intervention. Luke believes Emma can fill that role for Harley.

He sounds awesome! My son is named Luke, so I love that name :) Thank you so much for visiting with us today! We wish you many blessings with your novel.

 

ABOUT Shelia

Shelia Stovall is the director of a small-town library in southern Kentucky, where only strangers mention her last name, and the children call her Miss Shelia.

It tickles her to see shocked expressions when folks learn she’s traveling to Africa—again. She’s the worst missionary ever, but God continues to send her to the ends of the earth as He attempts to mold her into something useful.

Shelia is a country girl who relishes eating a bologna sandwich at a country store just as much as savoring an elegant meal in a posh restaurant.

Shelia and her husband Michael live on a farm, and she enjoys taking daily rambles to the creek with their three dogs. Spending time with family, especially her grandchildren, is her all-time favorite thing. The only hobby Shelia loves more than reading uplifting stories of hope is writing them.

CONNECT WITH Shelia

About the book:

Librarian Emma Baker, a young and childless widow, believes her dream to build a family is over. It’s been two years since a student accidentally stabbed Emma’s husband to death, and her grief has stifled any interest in romance—until she meets Pastor Luke Davis. But when Emma learns Luke is counseling her husband’s killer fresh out of jail, her temper gets in the way.

Meanwhile, Emma discovers twelve-year-old Harley, abandoned by her drug-addict mother, hiding in the library, and takes the girl in as her foster mom. Then a young mother is made homeless by an apartment fire, and Emma opens her home again. One person and one prayer at a time, Emma begins to discover hope.

Get your copy here!

Shelia is offering an Amazon gift card for $25 to one person who leaves a comment by June 6, 2021! (Void where prohibited)

Thank you Shelia!

Janet W Ferguson (66 Posts)

Janet W. Ferguson is a Christy Award finalist and the FHL Readers Choice Award winning author of realistic inspirational fiction. An avid reader, she loved books so much she found a job as a librarian so she could be around them all day. Then she turned that love of story into writing faith-filled novels with characters who feel like best friends. You’ll laugh and cry as the quirky heroes and heroines chase their happily ever after. ​Janet and her husband live in Mississippi where they say y’all a lot, and she forces him to visit the beach as often as possible. They have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space. Connect with her at http://www.janetfergusonauthor.com/


Welcome to the community at Inspy Romance! The authors are delighted to see you. Jump in with comments, and let’s get to know each other!

Comments

  2. Hi Janet and Welcome Sheila! As a retired high school teacher, this avid reader can relate to this story. In my creative writing class, since many were seniors I had students write a memoir – each chapter reflecting a stage of their lives. WOW! One year their stories brought me to tears. So many young people hurting.

    Congrats on your book. The title is so fitting. I love old victorian houses. Our community is blessed with 2 libraries. Our county has 17. Love hiding in the stacks – exploring new authors. Sheila I have been married to a Michael for 48 years. Kentucky is a beautiful state. Love driving the dales and vales, as our missionary friends describe the area. Happy writing and enjoy those grandkids. I have four.

    • Yes, so many young people are hurting. This is such a sweet story of healing.

    • I Renate, Thank you for stopping by. Your county must have a huge population to have 17 libraries. I love checking out the stacks too. I’m not very efficient when it comes to shelving books. I’ll soon have four grandchildren too. My daughter-in-law is expecting a baby boy in August. Thank you for the sweet comments, and enjoy your grandchildren too.

  3. Welcome, sounds great! Love libraries, ever since I used to hide there to read, so much more fun than classes :)

      • Too funny. Unfortunately, I can’t get away with hiding in the stacks at work. I’m not very efficient at shelving books either. I can never resist reading the back cover copy. Thanks for stopping by.

  4. Congratulations on such an ambitious and beautiful debut, Shelia! And thank you, Janet, for the introduction. My brother, who in his younger years was a semi-pro football defensive lineman, went on to be a public librarian. We kidded him about being Conan The Librarian. :-) Needless to say, he was not the one who handled Children’s Story Time.

  6. This book sounds really interesting and it’s always fun to find a new author.

    • Hi Lori, I hope you’ll give my book a try. My favorite character is Minnie, who is so kind and sweet. The local diner is the Triple D, and Mrs. Dot serves a different flavor of fried-fruit-pie each week. If you like small town stories with colorful characters, I think you’ll enjoy Every Window Filled with Ligh.

  7. Oh, wow, this sounds like a great book!! I like meeting new-to-me authors!! I’ll be following on FaceBook and will subscribe to the blog.

  9. Sounds like a good read. I’ve put it on a list to remember, as right now I’ve got several books I need to finish before I get more :-)

  11. Hi, very nice to meet you! Your book sounds very intriguing and the book cover is Beautiful! I will be adding your book to my TBR list. Have a Great rest of the week and stay safe. God Bless you and your family.

  12. The story sounds wonderful! I am definitely adding it to my TBR…I love Victorian homes and librarys!!

      • Hi Paula,

        I hope you find the time to read it. I love the idea of filling up a large beautiful home with family. If you like uplifting small town stories with colorful characters, I think you’ll enjoy Every Window Filled with Light.

    • Hi Abigail,

      Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy my little make-believe town of Weldon, KY. If you like small town stories with colorful local characters and a side of romance, I think you’ll enjoy it.

      Have a great summer.

  17. Enjoyed the post today, I’ve always wanted to be a librarian. I think my TBR pile would be never ending! Always looking for new authors to read and yours sounds good! Continued success to you!

  19. This story sounds so interesting, one I definitely want to read! I see it’s available on KU so it’s going on my Kindle to read. :-)

    I really like stories of less-than-perfect lives because it’s an opportunity to see God’s grace shine. Watching the characters grow & change in a story like this is one of the highlights for me, it always encourages me as a reader.

    Thanks for the fun author interview! Sheila, I’m almost envious of your librarian job, how fun to see new books come in. I love that you “write what you know”, may God bless your writing endeavors!

    • Hi Trixi,

      I hope you enjoy the book. I have the best job in the world. Although I don’t spend a lot of time at my desk reading books, I spend time reading book reviews and samples when making book orders. I also love working in the stacks. I’m not very productive when it comes time to shelve books because I can’t resist reading the back covers.

      Thank you for the kind comments.

  21. I love your cover. Welcome to Inspy. Congratulations on your new book. Thank you for sharing your time and talent. God bless you,

  22. Enjoyed the Q&A.

    Love how the house on the cover is illuminated like it’s glowing from within.

  23. Loved your Q & A,. I use to watch the TV show with Laura Ingalls Wilder & read her books & still read books from her. Your book looks great

  25. I love the cover. The glow in the windows of the house really caught my eye.

  27. Hi Janet, and welcome Sheila! Thanks for sharing about your book, I love discovering new to me authors. I think that’s so cool your a librarian. I love libraries, such wonderful places. Thank you for the chance to win!

    • Hi Megan,

      I love being a librarian and it’s fun that I’ve had the chance to meet so many fantastic authors like Janet since starting the writing journey.

      Have a great summer and good luck in the drawing.

  28. What a lovely book Sheila! Thank you so much for posting this, Janet (and Sheila of course).

  29. I love this cover! I also like the plot summary and can’t wait to read this!

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