“One Little Secret” Blog Tour

Thank you, Allison for stopping by today and chatting with me and my readers…

• Iris: What do you do when you aren’t writing?
• Allison: Oh gosh, a ga-zillion things! Currently, I’m doing a lot of packing as we are moving at the end of this month from Minnesota to Texas! However, I love to garden in the warm season (very short here in MN) and reading and going to the movies are BIG favorite pastimes of mine. I could take off for the nearby Cineplex and watch 3 movies, back-to-back with no trouble at all! I’m a movie-holic!
• Iris: What other creative outlets do you have?
• Allison: When I have time (make time) I love to scrapbook. I’m also somewhat of a teacher at heart, I love to encourage other writers, and to that end I’ve begun to produce a series of Teleseminars for writers, with bestselling author Randy Ingermanson. Your readers can find out more about these online MP3 workshops here: Boomer Babes Rock“.
• Iris: When did you realize there was a need for baby boomer fiction?
• Allison: I read a lot. Especially what is known as “chick-lit.” But the typical “chick-lit” is written for a 20-30 year old target market. The protagonist is usually single, and struggling with her faith, career, family, love-life and things young women often struggle with. In my books, I wanted to approach the issues that baby boomers are dealing with, things like the empty nest syndrome, aging parents, a change in career, retirement, menopause, and other health issues. I wanted to look at women in the prime of their life who were suddenly stepping out in faith to achieve the dreams of their heart. Women who weren’t afraid to take risks—who had the chutzpah to dare to dream big. That’s how “Boomer-Lit” was born.
• Iris: One Little Secret is your second novel. Your first novel, A Stitch in Time, is about a woman who goes through major life change, inside and out. You have another series in the works. Could you tell us about it and about your new website, Boomer Babes Rock?
• Allison: Sure! As the Founder of the God Allows U-Turns outreach, I spent the first years of my publishing career focused on editing the stories of other people. Our compilation series has been very successful and I’ve been so very blessed with the doors this series has opened. However, when I turned 50 a couple years ago, I began to find myself more and more drawn to the life experiences of my fellow baby boomer sisters. Specifically those women who, for the first time in their life, are stepping out in faith to reach for the dreams of their heart. My first two novels were written for “boomer babes,” and feature boomers as the lead characters. I launched my new web site in January of 2007, and today, Boomer Babes Rock.com is reaching women all over the world with our message of empowerment. The God Allows U-Turns outreach is still going strong, and I enjoy traveling around the country to share my u-turn journey with others, but I’m finding that I have more passion in creating fairy-tale stories that just might help a sister rekindle a dream that has been buried for a long time.
• Iris: Tell me about your favorite character in One Little Secret.
• Allison: Well, I imagine most folks will think it’s Ursula—and while I do love her—I’d have to say that I have a special place in my heart for Nik. Having spent 35 years as a non-believer, I know what it’s like to have that empty place in your heart that you try to fill with things, accomplishments, and everything but God. I never had the kind of money Nik has, but spiritual emptiness is emptiness just the same—no matter what your socio-economic level. I love that Nik was able to open his heart to friendship with a woman, and to developing a friendship with Pastor Doyle as his journey of faith began to expand.
• Iris: Are you leaving God Allows U Turns behind to write fiction?
• Allison: Not at all! I have a passion for sharing the true stories of how God turns people around. In fact, we are currently accepting true short stories for three new volumes in the acclaimed series. Your readers can check out the Writer’s Guidelines. My co-editor, Cheryll Hutchings, is collecting the stories and our submission deadline is December 30th.
• Iris: You’ve written a lot of books and you’re so young! When did you start writing? How long does it take you to write a book start to finish?
• Allison: Young? God bless you! (Where do I send your check? Ha-Ha) I’m 52 years old! I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil—it’s how I best communicate. However, I was 45 years old when my first book was published—volume one in the God Allows U-Turns series. It takes us about 9 months to compile and edit a volume in the compilation series. It takes me about a year to write a novel. Alas, I’m not very fast.
• Iris: When you look back at your twenties what do you wish you would have known then that you know now?
• Allison: I’ve heard it before but it rings very true now…I should never have spent so much time sweating the small stuff! I should have chosen my battles better…and not made mountains out of molehills.
• Iris: What are your favorite three Christian music artists?
• Allison: Without a doubt I am a huge fan of Bonnie Keen (from the band First Call.) Bonnie helped me to get all the musical info correct in One Little Secret. I also love Sandy Patti – what a vocal range! And Mark Schultz is amazing, his gift for story telling is amazing.
• Iris: What blog or website do you try and visit every day?
• Allison: FOX News and Glen Beck.
• Iris: Allison, is there anything you’d like to share with readers before you go?
• Allison: I encourage your readers to tell me what they think about One Little Secret. I really do want to hear reader feedback. I’m working on my next novel to release in summer of 2009 and I take to heart reader comments. They can reach me here: AB@AllisonBottke.com and please, I’d love to invite everyone to participate in the Hollywood Casting Call Contest where a lucky winner can win an all expense paid trip to Hollywood! Visit my web site and select the actors and actresses you think would make the best lead characters in One Little Secret! Check it out at Boomer Babes Rock.

  And …we have a monthly newsletter that we call a “Dream-Zine,” I’d love to invite your readers to subscribe to the Dreamzine.

  And one final thing, we have a co-authored blog with six best selling authors blogging each and every day – Boomer Babes with Brilliant Dreams. I think that’s it – thanks for having me!

Thank you Allison for stopping by and sharing with my readers. Be blessed today and as always…