Author Highlight: Carrie Daws

To start off the first of Rebel Book Reviews Author Highlight series, I would like to welcome Carrie Daws, author the newly released children's book A New Home for Allie.

Allie loves her home in Kenya. But her dad works for the Animal Jungle Patrol, and he just got orders to move to Somalia. She has many questions, and the journey will be long. Will the new place be like what she knows? Will she find friends in her new home? Will she ever see her best friend again? What awaits her in A New Home for Allie?

A New Home for Allie is a wonderful children's book for those children who experience a lot of uprooting and relocation in their lives, especially those in military families. Carrie has a soft spot for the military families since she has lived the life. She has not only written a children's book, but there are several fiction and nonfiction titles available to her readers. You can view the variety she offers here: Carrie Daws.

Her new book comes with great endorsements by authors many readers may recognize: Carrie Fancett Pagels, Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, Edie Melson, Jocelyn Green, and Patricia Beal.

Q&A

<RBR> If you have to break out of your comfort zone to write a novel, what genre would it be? Why would it be different from your normal style?

<CD> I love to read historical fiction, particularly comedy. But, the amount of research I'd need to do to pull that off scares me! Everything I've written so far is either contemporary fiction or nonfiction, so diving into the historical world would be a huge step out of my comfort zone.

<RBR> Readers enjoy to read about different locales. What would be the one place you would love to have as a setting for one of your novels? What makes that place appealing to you?

<CD> This is an interesting question. I'm not one of those authors who puts a lot of description into my books, even in the fiction about the scenery, because I write primarily novellas for the woman who doesn't think she has any time to read. I've already written about Oregon and North Carolina, and I have a book releasing next year that will include Virginia and possibly Hawaii. Perhaps a town in New England, which I'm looking forward to visiting later this year.

<RBR> Authors are readers, too. Do you have a favorite author or book? What is a quote from that author/book that you like?

<CD> I do love to read! I almost always have at least two (sometimes three!) books going, one fiction and one (or two) nonfiction. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan--have read those books three times now and watched the movies more times than I can remember--but for Christian fiction, I love Kristi Ann Hunter, Joanie Bruce, and Mary Connealy. For nonfiction, I enjoy John Townsend and Henry Cloud, Christin Caine, and many more. One of my favorite quotes is from Max Lucado's book, You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times. He asks a question that I believe every Christian needs to wrestle with: "Is God good only when the outcome is?"

<RBR> What is your favorite parable in the Bible? What is it about that parable that you like?

<CD> I really like the parable of the seeds as told in Luke 8:4-15. I'm challenged by it, occasionally recognizing places in my life that is fertile soil, rocky or thorn-infested soil, or even tough pathway. I also try to see these general principles in people around, understanding that some are not following God for one or more of these reasons. Sometimes, it helps me to give them grace or challenge them to do better. Sometimes, it helps me place greater boundaries on a person who could be a distraction or hindrance to my life.

<RBR> Share a piece of your book, your favorite part, for the reader.

<CD> This is the beginning of The Warrior's Bride, one of my nonfiction published by Ambassador International. 

~~

Introduction

Married to the Supersuit

From Kathy

(A scene from The Incredibles, a Disney Pixar movie released in 2004)

LUCIUS (FROZONE): Honey?

HONEY: What?

LUCIUS (FROZONE): Where is my supersuit?

HONEY: I, uh...put it away.
LUCIUS (FROZONE): Where?

HONEY: Why do you need to know?

LUCIUS (FROZONE): I need it!

HONEY: Uh-uh! Don't you think about running off doing no derrin'-do! We've been planning this dinner for two months!
LUCIUS (FROZONE): The Public is in danger!
HONEY: My evening's in danger!
LUCIUS (FROZONE): You tell me where my suit is, woman! We are talking about the greater good!
HONEY: Greater good? I am your wife! I'm the greatest good you are ever gonna get!

One of the greatest frustrations about being married to a military man is knowing that you cannot plan your own life. Your husband, and thus your marriage, is owned by the United States Government, and you are forced to accept the plans for the greater good over your own.

In the movie scene above, Lucius's wife is freshly reminded of this fact. It had been many years since Frozone's supersuit was put away, and I'm certain that part of her had relaxed into a false perception that the days of the supersuit were over. However, as Frozone later shows up in full regalia to save the world, we can only assume that his wife dealt with her feelings and pulled out the supersuit, allowing him the freedom to do his job to the best of his ability. I can so totally relater to her.

I can't count the number of plans that Hubby and I have had to scrap because an urgent call came down the Chain of Command for him to put on his supersuit and save the world from some imminent threat. Or at least go take a class to learn how to save the world from imminent threat. And sometimes I am less than graceful in my acceptance of the inevitable. But I still do it. I still dig out whatever he needs, sometimes grudgingly and other times squelching my thoughts in the breathless whirlwind of trying to get him out the door in whatever time the government has dictated.

I know now, after many years of being a military spouse, that I married a man who isn't normal. I've learned over the years that I didn't just marry him; I married his supersuit too. And because of his supersuit is so much a part of who he is, I have to love it and all its baggage. That doesn't mean that I run around wearing red, white, and blue, singing the "Star Spangled Banner" twenty-four hours a day.

While I am very proud of my soldier, sometimes I get frustrated and angry. And sometimes I feel a lot of disappointment or despair. Sometimes I just want to go buy my own private island and set up my own tin-pot dictatorship that doesn't involve deployment or TDYs (temporary duty). But I think that even if we had our own country, Hubby would form an alliance with some other country that would require him to put on his supersuit and rush off to save the world. It's just who he is.

And me? I'm the greatest good he is ever going to get.~~

To connect with Carrie use to link below. 

WEBSITE: http://carriedaws.com

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/CarrieDaws

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CarrieDaws

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5394896.Carrie_Daws

Short Bio of Carrie Daws:

Carrie never dreamed of being an author, until five years after she was one. Sometimes, accepting God's call isn't easy. Now, her head is filled with stories--both real and imagined--clamoring to get out onto the printed page. After ten years in the military, Carrie's husband medically retired and they now live in their chosen home, North Carolina. Besides writing, she stays busy home schooling, keeping up with her family and friends, and reading (while sitting with her dogs) wherever she can find a quiet spot.