I was so excited for the interview on today's GSMC Book Review Podcast because that interview is with a good friend of mine, Angela Breidenbach. Ang and I know each from my time in Missoula, MT many years ago. We both attended Atonement Lutheran Church (which is, coincidentally, where I also know Mitchell F. Jones from as well...talented place!) and I got to know her and her family. She is one of the kindest and most positive people I know, so it was wonderful to chat with her again and to have her on the podcast. You can tell we know each other, though, as we might have gotten a tiny bit chatty during the interview, and that doesn't count the 45 minutes we spent before the interview getting caught up!
Moving on to Angela's books. We spoke about her Montana Beginnings series, specifically the first book, The Debutante Queen.
Calista Blythe enters the first Miss Snowflake Pageant celebrating Montana statehood to expose the plight of street urchins left behind by the Orphan Trains. But hiding an indentured orphan could unravel Calista’s reputation, and her budding romance with pageant organizer, Albert Shanahan, if her secret is revealed. Will love or law prevail? (Source)
The book takes place in 1889, the year Montana became a state, so for me especially it was fun to read because I got to learn a few things about my home state that I hadn't known before. For instance, the orphan trains are something that I am familiar with and have read several books on, but for some reason it never really thought about the fact that they would have gone through Montana as well. It was fun to read a story set in a place I am familiar with and then to learn something new about that setting.
It was purely coincidence that our interview was the week before Christmas and that the book takes place around Christmas. It is a very sweet story, but still highlights the plight of orphaned children. In addition to being historical fiction it is also Christian fiction, and the faith of the characters plays a role in how those characters make decisions and live their lives.
The Debutante Queen is the first in the Montana Beginnings series, and there are currently 5 books in that series with more to come. Angela also writes non-fiction, which you can find out more about in the interview and on her website.
Genres:
- Historical Fiction
- Christian Fiction
- Romance
What I enjoyed:
- The Montana setting. Obviously it holds a special place for me, but it's also a great setting for Historical Fiction.
- The relationship between Calista and Lea, the indentured orphan whom Calista rescues and befriends.
- The sweetness of the story.
Who should read The Montana Beginnings Series?
- Fans of Historical Fiction (especially in Montana!)
- Fans of Christian Fiction
- Fans of Romance
- Fans of all of the above that also come in a series.
Quotes:
- "Celebrate your personal success of facing a fear and overcoming it. That's a much bigger success." -Calista's mother
- "For a person who never wanted to speak in public, Calista delivered the longest speech in her entire life - and lived."
Website: http://angelabreidenbach.com/
Blog: http://angelabreidenbach.com/category/a-muse-ings/
Facebook: @angbreidenbach
Twitter: @angbreidenbach
Instagram: @angbreidenbach
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AngBreidenbach/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AngelaBreidenbach
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Angela-Breidenbach/e/B00460W4F4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1513978292&sr=8-1
Author Bio:
Angela Breidenbach is a bestselling Montana author and the host of Lit Up! with Angela Breidenbach, Grace Under Pressure Radio, and Historically Speaking (Along Came a Writer Network on Blogtalk Radio). Angela serves nationally as the Christian Author Network’s (CAN) president. With a volume of appearances online, television, stage, and radio Angela loves to share her knowledge to help others. She’s spoken and trained nationally for organizations and groups such as the Christian Booksellers Association, UNITE, the Christian Authors Network, and a myriad of writing conferences including Mount Hermon, RWA, ACFW, the Munce Group, Colorado Christian Writing Conference, Philadelphia Christian Writing Conference, etc. on platform, marketing, online marketing, social media, creating book club/special events using Google Hangouts, Youtube, Skype, Facebook, as well as the craft of writing, family history as inspiration, and speaking for women’s events on becoming a woman of confidence, courage, and candor. Angela Breidenbach is often asked to speak on her experience as a professional book judge of nearly 1,000 books to help authors understand contests and judging expectations. She has one foot in researching history and genealogy and the other as a 21st Century techie enthusiast. Her passion is researching family genealogy and writing those love stories into novels and now screenplays. (Source)
For the interview with Angela please click here.
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