Redemption Lake by Monique Miller

During a weeklong exclusive marriage retreat, three couples seek spiritual intervention and guidance. Secrets have been exposed, and all has hit the fan. Journey with these couples as they travel on the road to mending and rebuilding their torn relationships. Lives will forever be changed, and some souls will be redeemed. But can these couples really forgive and forget?

Available wherever books are sold and at Amazon.com by clicking here and Barnes and Nobles by clicking here.

Visit the author at www.authormoniquemiller.com

Interview with author, Monique Miller

Introduce yourself to my readers.

Hi!  My name is Monique Miller and I am a Christian Fiction author.  I’ve been writing for seven years.  Many people have different hobbies or things they like to do to relax.  For me writing is my outlet.  I love to write and really love creating characters that can give people hope and inspiration.

Tell us about your novel, Redemption Lake.

During an exclusive seven day marriage retreat, secluded in the mountains of North Carolina, three couples gather in last ditch attempts to save their troubled marriages.  Can these couples pick up the pieces and move on?  Will all be forgiven and forgotten?  See what happens when marital secrets are exposed and all hits the fan.

The excerpt on your website is great.  I’m really looking forward to getting to know these characters. (Especially Charlotte, LOL). How difficult was it to write about three couples?

The story actually ends with the reader getting to know four couples—the three couples who attend the retreat and Phillip and Shelby Tomlinson from my first two novels.  It wasn’t hard creating my characters and giving them their own distinct voice and characteristics, what was hard was trying to make sure the reader wouldn’t get lost as to who’s point of view I was writing about.  I ended up doing as Ernest J. Gaines did in A Gathering of Old Men. For the most part I told the story from each person's point of view without jumping back and forth between characters. 

I like the idea that the pastor’s marriage is in trouble. Tell us why you decided to “go there” with a pastor having marital trouble.

I think many times people think that the grass is greener on the other side, especially when it comes to people of the cloth and or people who may be well-to-do.  The fact is that trouble can knock on anyone’s door, even a pastor’s.  The devil is out to steal, kill and destroy.  And who more does the devil want to attack than a pastor with people who look towards him (the pastor) for spiritual guidance.  If the pastor falls, then so may the faith of his flock.

Do you have a favorite couple in the group?

Okay, I love Phillip and Shelby.  But out of the three new couples I’ve introduced, Xavier and Charlotte are my favorite couple in this particular novel.  Now my favorite person to write about in this novel was Travis.  Travis is as trifling as they come.  We always want to see the good in people, but sometimes there isn’t any good to be found.  

What is the spiritual takeaway for the novel?

As always I hope my novels provide hope and inspiration.  And in addition to that, from this novel, I want to encourage people to seek God’s guidance as they struggle through the problems in their lives. 

On a personal note you’ve had some changes in your life.  Tell us about that.

Oh my goodness.  Can I say that God is good?  Let me tell you about mustard seed faith.  And let me also tell you to be careful about what you pray to God for because you just might get it.  About six months ago I was thinking about going to graduate school.  I researched graduate schools that were local and schools online.  There were many obstacles to trying to go to school locally, because I work full time and have a child.  Then I looked at some online schools, but they cost a great deal and I didn’t want to take out more student loans.  So after days of trying to figure out how I could make it work, I finally prayed to God and said, “Lord, I want to go to school and I know you can make a way.  You said if I asked You, You would make a way.  I am believing in You to make it possible.”  And I left it at that. 

Two nights later I was online checking my email and saw an advertisement for moms to go to school on a full paid scholarship.  I had to write an essay telling why I wanted to go to school.  In that essay I said I’d just prayed about going to school.  I also said that I believed it was God’s way of making a way for me.  I entered the contest and left it at that. 

A month later a university called me and told me I had a full paid scholarship to their school!  I had to pinch myself.  I knew God would make a way without a shadow of doubt.  But when I got the phone call, I thought I was dreaming.  Now I am in my second quarter of graduate school.   God is good!

What are your upcoming promotion plans?  

I am in the process of setting up book signings.  I am also trying to become as innovative as possible in my promotional plans.   Just today alone I sent out over 250 text messages to the people in my phone asking them to assist me in getting the word out.  I am trying to think outside of the box and use my time and the reader’s time wisely.  I am trying to get a grasp on how the blog tours work and I am sure Rhonda can give me a Blog Tour 101 class.

How can readers contact you?

At my email address   authormoniquemiller@yahoo.com  and at my website www.authormoniquemiller@yahoo.com  I’m also on various social media sites:  Facebook, Myspace, Twitter (look for - BooksByMonique), Shoutlife, and Shelfari.

Thanks again Rhonda and I look forward to reading more about how things turn out with Faith and Jonah in December when your novel Secrets and Lies comes out!  I wish you the very best that God has to offer!

You are most welcome Monique. it was a pleasure having you today and I can't wait to get my book. Visit Monqiue's home page for the juicy excerpt by clicking here. 

Interview with author, Monique Miller

Today I welcome author, Monique Miller, to UCFT. This is a longgggggg overdue interview. Monique and I are really close writer buddies. We met in 2004 at Jacquelin Thomas' Faith Based Fiction Retreat in North Carolina where Monique lives and have kept in touch eversince. Both of us were unpublished at the time, and now we'll be label-mates.

Welcome Monique! Introduce yourself to my readers.
Hello everyone, I am Monique Miller, Christian Fiction Author. And before I say anything else, I’d like to thank Rhonda McKnight for inviting me to do an interview for Urban Christian Fiction Today.

Tell us about both your novels, Secret Sisterhood and Soul Confessions.
Secret Sisterhood was my debut novel. It is about three African-American women who struggle with the problem of infertility, while learning to rely on God to see them through. My second novel, Soul Confessions, is about a husband who has some skeletons in his closet, skeletons that literally knock on his front door at home and confront his clueless wife.

What was the inspiration behind these stories?
Some one asked me the other day what made me decided to start writing. I told them God. They thought I was joking and asked what I was doing at during the time decided to start writing? I told them that I was praying.

In truth a few years ago I was dealing with some infertility problems. I turned to God for answers. Instead of medical answers or money to finance any medical procedures, God simply told me to, “Write.” So I wrote about three women experiencing problems with infertility and their faith walk with God.

What do you want readers to take away?
I want my readers to have a sense of hope after reading my novels. And I want them to know that with God, ALL things are possible.

Share a little about your journey to publication? Don’t be discouraged if you are trying to get published and are still waiting. Be persistent and stay hopeful. But also use wisdom. My road to publication was long and bumpy. I wrote my first novel, like God told me to and just knew a book deal was around the corner. Well it wasn’t.

I contacted publishers and received rejection after rejection. I also contacted literary agents and received rejections also. I got discouraged and put my novel on the shelf for a while. But something in the back of my mind kept nagging at me. I entered a fiction writing contest with Black Expressions book club and placed 3rd out of over 700 people who entered. That gave me the fuel I needed so I sent my manuscript back out and contacted more agents also. I also networked with other writers and authors during that time.

And after five long years the persistence and networking paid off. An author friend of mine not only mentioned my name to a publisher, she also sent a copy of my manuscript for review. I got a book deal and secured an agent all in the same week!

Advice for aspiring writers?
Re-read what I have written above and continue to write as you try to secure a book deal. Remember writers, write. Writers don’t sit around thinking about writing.

Time to get to know Monique personally. I asked her questions and she shared her answers.

Favorite scripture: Proverbs 18:16 KJV - A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
Favorite dessert: Banana Pudding
If you were a crayon in coloring box, which one would you be? Sapphire Blue – My birthstone.
If you could spend one hour with someone living or deceased, who would it be and why? I think it would be my maternal grandmother, Mable. Lately I’ve been finding myself thinking about her. She died when I was in the 7th grade and I never really got a chance to know her. There are questions about wisdom and insight that I would love to have her advice about.

If you had to go to a solitary place and could only take one novel, that you didn’t write, what would it be and why? The Color Purple. I’ve never actually read the book, but I’ve seen the movie many times. And as I know from first hand, the book is always better than the movie. I’d like to see how Alice Walker originally wrote the book.

What’s next for Monique Miller?
My next novel Redemption Lake will be out in stores November 2009. It is my third novel, and by far my favorite so far. A couple of my characters are pretty edgy. And there is one character in particular, that I’m sure, will have the readers talking to the book.How can my readers find you on the Internet?
Many, many places – My books can be found on http://www.amazon.com/ . My website is http://www.authormoniquemiller.com/ . I can also be found on various social networking sites like: Facebook, MySpace and Shout Life. My email address is: authormoniquemiller@yahoo.com

Thanks for stopping by, Monique. Thanks for having me Rhonda.

Many Blessings to you all!
Monique Miller