Guest Post: Author Lynnette Bonner

Today, I have a special guest post from author Lynnette Bonner talking about creative madness. Without further adieu I turn the post over to Lynnette's thoughts.

She's been living in a desert all her life. Suddenly she's come upon an oasis. But is it just a mirage? Idaho Territory, 1885. Brooke Marie Baker, eighteen, has been sent west as a mail-order bride. As the stage nears Greer's Ferry, where she is to meet the man she's pledged to marry, she tries to swallow the lump of nervousness in her throat. Can it be any worse than living with Uncle Jackson...or Hank? she wonders. All men are the same, aren't they? But with her parents and sister dead, she has no choice. Sky Jordan, a rancher, holds a single, yellow daisy in his hand as he watches the ferry cross the river. Ever since he'd found out his surly cousin, Jason, had sent for a mail-order bride, his mind and heart had been ill at ease. No woman deserves to be left with the likes of Jason. But now he questions his own plans to claim the bride for himself. Why am I drawn to this woman I don't even know? A wounded heart. Desperate choices. Unfathomable love. Set in the adventure and danger of the Wild West. Book One, The Shepherd's Heart series.

First I’d like to say thanks to Margaret for having me here today. I guess if you need an example of creative madness my life is a pretty good benchmark.

My first foray into the realm of creativity was through rubber stamping. At my wedding shower my sister had all the guests create me a stamped and embossed card with marriage advice hand-written on the inside. I liked stamping so much that I eventually started a small business making greeting cards. I sold them at craft fairs. Somewhere during that time I decided that the world just didn’t have enough rubber stamp companies, so I started my own company called Stampsational Stamps with my own drawings (and some from my friends) created into rubber stamps. I still own that business but haven’t done anything with it for a long time.

Early on, I was also introduced to quilting and fell in love with that, too. Along with my hand made cards I would take small sampler quilts that I made to the craft fairs to sell. One fun way to combine both quilting and stamping together was to emboss an image from a stamp into velvet and then use that in a quilt or pillow.

In my lifetime I’ve done floral arranging, card making, tole painting, quilting, scrap-booking and writing. If that’s not creative madness, I don’t know what is. :)

Out of all those creative outlets, though, writing is the one thing that has stayed at the top of the list through my various seasons of crafty passions.

Currently, I’m not doing too many crafts as my time with my husband, four kids, job, and church responsibilities is pretty well taken up. But writing is something I always seem to be able to make time for. I think I will always love writing. There is just something thrilling about creating a story, watching my characters come to life under my fingertips, and seeing all the threads come together in the end.

Recently my first book, a Christian historical romance, was published. And I thank God for allowing me the privilege of seeing that dream come true. If you like historical romance, I’d welcome you to stop by my website to find out more about the book. http://www.lynnettebonner.com. I’m also giving away a free e-copy of the book to one commenter on today’s post. So if you are interested in winning the book, leave a comment and I’ll add you to the drawing.

Thanks again, Margaret, for having me here today.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rocky-Mountain-Oasis-Lynnette-Bonner/dp/1602902143/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250809188&sr=8-1

Christian Book: http://www.christianbook.com/1-rocky-mountain-oasis/lynnette-bonner/9781602902145/pd/902145?item_code=WW&netp_id=648328&event=ESRCN&view=covers