Marian P. Merritt - Lagniappe

Where the Bayous Meet the Mountains

Monday, April 06, 2015

Karla Akins - The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots

Good Monday Morning Readers!

Today, Karla Akins visits Lagniappe where she answers a few questions and we discuss her book, The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots. 

Welcome, Karla!

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing? Hobbies, etc?

I have my own motorcycle and I like riding and taking pictures of nature. I also enjoy hunting for treasure. My husband bought me a metal detector and I’m just sure there’s a horde of Viking treasure out there somewhere just waiting for me to discover.

Where is one place you want to visit that you haven't been before and is it a place you'd set a story?

Italy, Greece, Venice. Definitely story-worthy.

Where did your love of books/storytelling/reading/writing come from?

I was extremely blessed to grow up in a house full of books. My parents were always reading and so was I. I was read to before I knew how to read. And later I read a lot of the classics before I was in high school. My parents encouraged me to write and supported my time at the typewriter in those days. It was just something that I was driven to do.


Where do you write? Can you describe your favorite writing place?

My life is very complicated, because I have adult twin sons with autism who live with me and my mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s. I don’t always get to write in a favorite place. The most used place at this point is on the recliner couch with all my fur babies surrounding me. I have an office, but because of my recent back issues, it’s difficult for me to write very long at the desk.


LIGHTNING ROUND  

Steel Magnolias or Fried Green Tomatoes?
Fried Green Tomatoes but I love both those movies. Fried Green Tomatoes is actually my favorite movie!

Dogs or Cats?
I have both and there’s no way I could decide which one I prefer. How does a mom choose?

Sweet Tea or Unsweetened Tea?
Sweet. I’m a Kansas girl! (Live in Indiana now.)

Plotter, Pantser, or Planser?
I’m a bit of all three. But the more experience I gain in writing, the more I am planning and plotting. I started out as a complete panster.



Tell us a little about The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots. 

Pastor’s wife, Kirstie Donovan, lives life in a fishbowl, so when she hops on the back of a bright pink motorcycle, tongues start to wag at the conservative, century-old First Independent Christian Community Church of Eel Falls.
Kirstie loves roaring down a road less traveled by most women over forty, but she’s not just riding her bike for the fun of it. Kirstie has a ministry. However, certain church members have secrets to hide, and when God uses Kirstie’s ministry to fill the pews with leather-clad, tattooed bikers, those secrets could be exposed…and some will stop at nothing to hide the truth.
Readers will join Kirstie and her motorcycle “gang”—two church matrons and a mouthy, gum-smacking non-church member—as they discover that road-toughened bikers are quite capable of ministering to others, and faith is fortified in the most unexpected ways.

Buy links:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Pastors-Wife-Wears-Biker-Boots/dp/1611162823/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426576297&sr=8-1&keywords=the+pastor%27s+wife+wears+biker+boots

B & N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-pastors-wife-wears-biker-boots-karla-akins/1115954100?ean=9781611162820

Christianbook:  http://www.christianbook.com/the-pastors-wife-wears-biker-boots/karla-akins/9781611162820/pd/1162820?product_redirect=1&Ntt=1162820&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP



Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon.
Besides writing biographies and history books for middle grades, she also writes fiction. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in four Splickety Magazine editions. She is an online columnist for Examiner.com acting as the National History Examiner, National Special Needs Kids Examiner, National Homeschool Examiner, Fort Wayne Homeschool Examiner and Fort Wayne Preppers Examiner. She blogs at her website and on her History Scroll blog that interacts with the history books she writes for middle grades. Karla also engages her readers regularly via her website, and social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, tumblr and google+.
She is a classically trained musician on piano, violin and voice as well as a bible scholar. She earned her seminary degrees at Kingsway Theological Seminary including a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Theology, and a master’s and doctorate in Christian Education.
Karla is also a pastor’s wife, mother of five, and grandma to seven beautiful little girls. She lives in Northeast Indiana with her husband, twin teenage boys with autism, mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s, three rambunctious dogs and two cats. When she’s not writing she’s riding her motorcycle, taking pictures, and looking for ancient treasure. 

Connect with her:

Facebook: facebook.com/karlakakins

Pinterest: pinterest.com/karlaakins

Website: KarlaAkins.com

Twitter: twitter.com/karlaakins


What question would you like readers to answer?

What do you enjoy reading more? Historical romance or contemporary fiction?



Karla, thanks so much for sharing!

Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe.



I pray you find 
"a little something extra" 
in each of your days.

Marian


4 comments:

Ann Ellison said...

I really enjoyed the interview with Karla. I loved her book The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Books and I have enjoyed getting to know her on FB.

Unknown said...

Ann, thanks for stopping by and supporting Karla!

Karla Akins said...

Thanks so much for this great interview. What fun to visit your awesome blog!

Unknown said...

Karla, I was a pleasure to have you here on Lagniappe!