Questions Need Answers

Friday I had the fun of doing a zoom interview for Relatable Voice Podcast. Lucia. the podcast hostess, did her homework before we talked by sending me a whole list of questions to help her get to know me before the podcast interview.  However the Q&A was just for her information. So, I thought maybe some of you would enjoy getting to know me better too. That way maybe you can come up with questions for us to have fun with here on my blog.

Beside, I’m up against another writing deadline. Got to do some edits this week on next year’s book. Also that fun Scavenger Hunt is coming up on Thursday. You’ll want to check back for that to see if you can win some of the prizes. Should be all kinds of winning chances along the hunt trail.

My interview isn’t up yet on the Relatable Voice podcast but should be in a week or so. Still you can click on the link above and hear other authors sharing about their books and life. I do have an article about showboats in the Relatable Voice Magazine which is a free downloadable online magazine that has s-great articles if you want to check it out.

But on to the answers to four of Lucia’s questions. There were more that I can share later if you all think you would be interested or I need to come up with a post. 🙂

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Ann H. Gabhart. I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I sold my first novel in 1978 and have thirty-eight books published. I’m a country girl. I grew up on a farm where my two sisters and I helped our father in the field sometimes. We didn’t have any brothers. I still live on a farm about a mile from where I grew up, but my husband has retired from farming. So, no more farm work for me. I’ve got three children and nine grandchildren. I walk everyday on my farm with my dogs. I’ve had a dog of my own since I was eight years old. Now I have two dogs, Frankie, a rescue that might be a lab/Australian shepherd mix, and Marley, an English spaniel, whose owners had to give him up and so needed a new forever home. I attend a small country church where we all feel like family. I married very young, but my husband and I defied the odds of teenage marriage and are still together all these years later. We still love country living and each other.

I have done secretarial work, but my focus has always been on writing the next story.

Where are you from and where do you live?

I have always lived in Kentucky out in the country but not far from a small town.  My roots go deep here in this area where four generations of my family have lived and farmed.

Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey?

I loved reading Hardy Boy mysteries when I was a kid. So, I decided to write my own mystery as a Hardy girl starring a cuter, smarter and must less shy me. Once I picked up pen and began scribbling words in that wire bound notebook, I just kept on. I married young and had a couple of kids by the time I was nineteen, but I never gave up on my dream to write. Eventually, I had a few short pieces accepted by church magazines. Then I took the plunge and wrote a book. With that book, I found an agent but the book was never published. Neither was the second book I wrote, but the third one, a story about the settling of Kentucky, titled A Forbidden Yearning, was published by Warner Books in 1978. I published another book with Warner and then eleven books for young adults and middle readers with various publishers. I walked through rejection valley for a few years before I wrote Scent of Lilacs, a book about a preacher and his family. That story brought me into the world of Christian publishing. I’ve loved writing stories with a faith thread and a Christian worldview. Most have been historical novels, but I also wrote a series of three cozy mysteries. In the Shadow of the River is my thirty-eight published book.

If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

Friendly. Determined. Optimistic.

That last question was fun but hard. I struggled to come up with three words I thought described me. Hope I picked true ones. What about you?

What three words would you choose to describe yourself? 

Winner Updates:

I did pick my newsletter prize winners. Jean H was the 1st place winner. She won a box of yummy treats to enjoy while she’s reading or watching a movie along with her choice of one of my books. Kristy H and Lora R were the two 2nd place winners who won their choice of one of my books. I’ve already heard from Lori from Ohio. She picked Love Comes Home for her prize.

I still haven’t heard from Carol , one of the winners in my Mystery Photo Game drawing. I’ll send her another email and if I don’t get a response, I’ll draw a new name.