Three Little Things Blog Tour: Author Interview + Giveaway

 

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour & Giveaway for Three Little Things by Patti Stockdale, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Title: Three Little Things
Author: Patti Stockdale
Publisher: Smitten Historical Romance
Release Date: February 4, 2020
Genre: Historical Romance

One forbidden love. Two broken hearts. Three Little Things.

Hattie Waltz should forget the troubled neighbor leaving for boot camp in 1917. He forgot about her ages ago. It had always been the Waltzes verses the Kregers, his family pitted against hers. When she hands him a farewell gift, a chemistry lesson unfolds. The good kind.

Arno Kreger can't leave Iowa or his old man fast enough. He's eager to prove his worth on the battlefield and stop blaming himself for his brother's death. Before entering the train, he bumps into Hattie. He's loved her forever, always from the sidelines, because nobody crosses Hattie's pa.

One innocent letter soon morphs into many. Arno and Hattie share three little secrets in each letter and grow closer together. But he's on his way to war across the ocean, and she's still in her father's house. Their newfound love will need to survive dangers on both fronts.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

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Patti Stockdale loves hope, history, and a good happily ever after. She can’t remember numbers, so she married a statistician. Thanks to him, she’s lived all sorts of places and worked all sorts of jobs. While employed by an NFL team, she once answered the phone by the wrong team name. She doesn’t work there anymore. For 11 years, she directed the programming at a nonprofit senior center and hosted an annual talent show, rocking a Dolly Parton wig, Annie Oakley boots, and a sweet—although snug—Batman costume. She no longer works there either. These days, Patti writes books and occasionally educational assessments and magazine articles.

CONNECT WITH PATTI: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Hi Patti! Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions and giving my readers the chance to get to know you and your newest book- Three Little Things- a little bit better. I always like to begin these interviews the same way with something fun… tell us 5 random facts about yourself that we WON’T find in your bio!

Hi! I love the name of your blog!

1.    I married my high school sweetheart, also known as our paperboy.

2.    I’m double-jointed.

3.    I almost dropped my first creative writing class after the instructor posted a portion of my first submission on the chalkboard. The lesson: write what you know. Somehow, I’d missed that detail.

4.    Although I hate math, I married a statistician.

5.    My dad passed away during my senior year of high school. I wish I could hand him my book.

Before writing, it sounds like you had some rather unique job experiences! Can you share a few favorites?

For eleven years, I worked as a director at a nonprofit senior center. I rank the experience one of the biggest blessings in my life. Some of the highlights include escorting trips, hosting an annual talent show, starting a creative writing class, overseeing an annual StrawberryFest, and building wonderful relationships with our older adults. I’d still be there today if not for my husband’s job transfer. 

I also was a temporary employee for the Washington Redskins for a few weeks during their pre-game season. Once, I answered the phone by saying, “Washington Indians.” The star quarterback asked if packages had arrived for him. I said, “Maybe, what’s your name?” When I sorted mail the first day, I shot the breeze with a co-worker, chatting about our busy weekends. Back at my desk, I read through the employee roster to learn his role. Gulp. I’d met the head coach. 

In the midst of those, was writing something that was always in the back of your mind that you wanted to do? How did that come about?

I’m a lifelong reader, but I never dreamt about writing a book during my youth. In my thirties, I enrolled in evening classes to complete my BA. That’s when I wrote the first draft of Three Little Things. After graduation, I boxed the manuscript and accepted a busy job. Then, I resurrected the book a few years ago, dove into more research, and rewrote it twice. 

Three Little Things is your debut novel, congrats! What has this experience been like? What was your reaction to seeing your words in print for the first time? 

Thank you. I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I don’t take a second of this experience for granted. I’ve freelanced for years, so I’ve seen my words in print. But, a book takes persistence, hard work, and love. Seeing my book in print is surreal and gratifying. 

Can you tell us a little bit about Three Little Things? What do you hope readers will take away from this book? 

Love letters my grandparents exchanged inspired Three Little Things. Initially, I tried to tell their story from mid-1917 to mid-1918. But there were too many gaps between letters, I couldn’t flaw my grandparents, and it lacked tension and appeal. So, I started over with fictional characters.

The book opens at the train station with the hero preparing to leave for the war. The heroine hands him a knitted sock with a proverb tucked inside. That exchange sparks a letter-writing campaign. In many of the letters, Arno and Hattie share three little secrets about themselves.

Although the book no longer features my maternal grandparents, I couldn’t love the characters more. I hope readers fall in love with them too. 

What type of research goes into creating a historical romance? Do you try to keep everything as accurate as possible with the times, or allow a little room for creative liberty?

Researching WW I intimidated, but an instructor reminded me I only needed to tell Arno’s sliver of the war. That helped. I read approximately twenty-five books, fiction and nonfiction, on the war, the home front, epistolary writing, the Spanish flu, and anti-German American sentiments. I also visited or corresponded with several museums, boot camps, and archivists.

My son has a history degree, so he caught inaccuracies during his critique. I tried my best to keep everything true to the times, but Arno and Hattie’s hometown is fictional, allowing for a few creative liberties.

This sounds like a fantastic read, and I cannot wait to read it myself. I have found that writers are so often some of the best readers too. If we were to take a look at your TBR, what might we find there? 

Thank you! The following books, some for research and some for fun, top my list:

Mist O’er the Voyageur, Naomi Musch

All of You, Sarah Monzon

The Doughnut Sweethearts, Alice McAllister

Mother Keeper, Paula Scott

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions. Before we go, can you give us an idea on what we can look forward to next? Any projects you are currently working on that you can share? 

Soon, I’ll send my next manuscript and proposal to my agent. It’s set in the same era and features a woman searching for her sisters and a man ready for a fresh start after the war. Together, they find love, mystery, and mayhem.

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(1) winner will receive a prize package including a signed book with a bookmark, a pair of socks with a proverb tucked inside, a $10 Amazon gift card, and a vintage bookmark!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule shown below. Giveaway will begin at midnight February 3, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on February 10, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN mailing addresses only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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