Guets Post and Giveaway with author Amy Lichtenhan

First off, I wanted to thank Snowdrop Dreams of Books for inviting me to share with you all today. Wishing you a very happy First Blogoversary!

I’ve had so many people ask me if I’ve always wanted to write, how I got started on Pulled, and what inspired me to do it.

I remember as a high school student dreaming of one day becoming a writer in one form or another, and during my days as a college student I whittled away many hours scribbling in the journals I carried with me writing short stories and poems, most of them in response to whatever was happening around me at the time.

But as life often does, I was led in a different direction than where I’d imagined myself and instead was blessed with a career that allowed me to work from home while I raised my three beautiful children.

As rewarding as it was, the itch to write never faded and lingered in the quiet places of my mind.

So, in secret and completely unsure of myself, I began writing Pulled during the long hours of the night after I’d finished up work from my home office and tucked my children in bed. Finally, I found enough courage to share the first parts of my story with my two closest friends, and with their encouragement I went on to complete Pulled and began the search for a publisher.

And I have to say it feels amazing to have stepped out and done something that I had always wanted to do. For me, the joy was in the creation and just being able to say I did it!

I love stories of reconciliation, and when writing Pulled I wanted to explore the idea of serendipity and destiny, that everything happens for a reason and in the end we eventually end up exactly where we’re supposed to be (if only real life were that easy!) Though I had no particular inspiration for Pulled other than the characters brewing in my mind, I did draw from personal experiences as I wrote the young character of Melanie Winters. Having been a teenage mother myself, I was able to relate to the fear she felt and also the desire to overcome the odds even though fate had a different path for Melanie to follow.

In my upcoming release Take This Regret, unlike Melanie and Daniel who were victims of circumstance, I wanted to explore reconciliation through Christian, a man guilty of abandoning his girlfriend and unborn child who years later fights to win forgiveness that he knows that he doesn’t deserve.

Thank you so much for stopping by Amy. Both of your books sound absolutely amazing and my review for Pulled will be up shortly on the blog. Oh and a great surprise from Amy - she has offered up two giveaways - ebook copies of Pulled and Take This Regret. There will be two random draws done - contest ends August 8th (this contest is running longer since it's at the end of my blogoversary giveaways). To enter all you need to do is leave a comment below (include a way to contact you) and answer this question: Do you believe in serendipity or destiny? Have experienced either?