The Mosaic Collection Spotlight – Interview With Stacy Monson!

Posted by abakersp in Spotlights / 7 Comments

Welcome to the Blog Blitz for The Mosaic Collection, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! Everyday, for the next several days, I’ll be interviewing each author in the collection. So be sure to come back and see what they have to say!!

For His glory…
The Mosaic Collection is an international community of women authors who use faith-based fiction to touch hearts with the good news that Christ’s finished work on the cross has made us one family, and to nurture affection for the people God has placed within our circles of influence, so that the grace and glory of God may become visible and personal to everyone we meet.

…and our good
We are sisters, a beautiful mosaic united by the love of God through the blood of Christ. We have experienced the redemptive, restorative power of God’s grace in our marriages and families, and we believe our God is able to heal, restore and redeem our brokenness. His love fills us with the courage to persevere, and to offer others a Christ-like compassion that is full of His wisdom and grace.

Visit the Mosaic Collection Website to stay posted on each new release & follow the collection blog for meaningful posts from the authors!

Stacy Monson is the award-winning author of The Chain of Lakes series, including Shattered Image, Dance of Grace, and The Color of Truth, as well as her newest release, Open Circle. Her stories reveal an extraordinary God at work in ordinary life. Residing in the Twin Cities, she is the wife of a juggling, unicycling physical education teacher, a proud mom, and doting grandma.

CONNECT WITH STACY: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Cornerstone message from the collection: Our identity is found first and foremost in God. Made in His image, we bear His DNA. We are fully, unconditionally loved by our Creator. While society tells us we don’t measure up, we aren’t good enough, we need to conform, God tells us we are loved exactly where we are being who we are. He invites us daily to walk with Him, look to Him for whatever needs we have, and to trust Him no matter what happens to or around us because He is always there for and with us. Despite the negative messages that rain over us, His message shines through – you are loved.

Hi Stacy!! Thank you for joining me today. Let’s start with my favorite questions. What’s in your current TBR pile?

Michelle Griep’s newest release, The Noble Guardian, and Laura Franz’s A Bound Heart. There are so many more but I’ve had to be so focused on finishing up When Mountains Sing, I’ve tried not to look at my TBR pile!!

I try not to look at my TBR pile too – it scares me!!

Tell us about any research trips you took while working on this book.

While I love, love, love the mountains and going on day hikes, trail rides, etc., I’m not at all like Mikayla. I’ve always enjoyed fishing – or, to clarify, the casting/reeling part, but haven’t fileted anything in my life! So there was definitely research involved in When Mountains Sing. However, the actual trip part was done earlier, through several visits to the Winter Park area. My extended family and I did the actual trail Mikayla goes on when she meets Dawson, although none of us came back injured! The Winter Park resort is absolutely lovely and offers far more amenities than I could include in the book. (SECRET:  In my story that will be part of the Mosaic Collection Christmas Anthology, readers will get a follow-up to Mikayla’s story, as well as some fun details about book 2 of the series (her sister’s story) that comes out next summer!)

I’ve also visited Tabernash and Grand Lake, and hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park. Have I mentioned I love the mountains? There’s something about being there, amidst such beauty and grandeur, that makes one feel small and insignificant, yet also part of something so big and amazing only God could have created it. I hope readers get a sense of that in When Mountains Sing.

I’ve done a lot of online research as well—what certain equipment is called and what it’s used for, how wilderness camps are run, skills necessary for wilderness hiking/camping, fishing regulations in Colorado, what a Cheon is (the dog in the story). I’ve studied maps, looked at how certain towns are set up, where hiking trails are, and what are the rules and guidelines for hiking/camping in specific places. So, so interesting!

I’m thinking maybe I need to go on a research trip sometime soon. How about researching to make sure the books I’m reading are written accurately? 😉

If you could have dinner with any character, who would you pick? What would you eat? What would you talk about?

If you’d asked that question a year ago, I’d have had a different answer, but now I’ll pick Dawson Dunne from When Mountains Sing. His outdoor expertise combined with his cooking skills would make for a yummy, cooked-over-an-open-fire meal. We’d talk faith, and mountain life, and wilderness experiences. It would be the best!

That sounds like fun. Maybe you’d let this reader join you!?

What’s your favorite dessert?

Chocolate something.  ? I love brownies, chocolate chip cookies, dirt cake (a frozen dessert of chocolate and ice cream and Oreos), cheesecake with a lovely chocolate drizzle, etc. etc. I don’t have just one favorite, but chocolate will get me excited every time!

I also love chocolate. And I like to have it with something salty!

If you weren’t an author right now, what would you be doing?

Writing. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, so even if I weren’t published, I’d still be writing stories. Characters and storylines continue to pop into my head and I have to explore them, so I’d still be at my computer writing something!

Favorite bible verse?

One of them is a verse that I’ve relied heavily on through my professional writing journey: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14. Writing professionally requires a lot of focus and determination, but also a huge amount of patience. It’s not a fast-moving process, and impatience will only muddy things. I continue to learn to lean on God, to let Him steer my course, but it’s not an easy lesson.

What a great verse! Waiting is not a strength of mine, so I find myself using that verse a lot.

What do you want readers to gain from reading this story?

All of my books are based on the premise of “who are you, and who gets to decide?” Society tells us through a constant barrage of messages that we aren’t enough, we should look/feel/act/eat/drink this way to have a good life. But at the core of us, who were we created to be? God has given us His DNA and created a one-of-a-kind person with a purpose (perhaps more than one) that is meant to impact the world in big and/or small ways. When we let ever-changing societal opinions shape our self-image and our life choices, we bury who we truly are—and, I believe, spend our life wondering why we feel so empty as we search for something more. To live our best life, we have to understand who God created us to be, and spend our life living that out. It’s what God wants for us—a truly abundant life—and it’s the best and only way to live.

I love this message. Thank you for sharing that.

Finally, what every reader wants to know. What are you working on next?

Book 2 of the My Father’s House series, which will release August 2020. In When Mountains Sing, the reader meets the Gordon family – Mikayla and her twin sister Lindy, and their older sister, Maggie. Book 2 will follow the newly-pregnant Lindy (who was married at the end of book 1) as she goes on her own journey of self-discovery. Where Mikayla has an adventurer’s spirit, Lindy is a fashion designer who loves glamour, bling, and everything feminine. What she discovers on her search for answers will challenge how she views not only herself, but those around her she’s unconsciously judged.

Can’t wait to read this! Thank you for chatting with me today!!

Giveaway_MosaicBlitz_JRnew

(1) winner will receive a $50 Amazon eGift Card & an ebook prize pack*!

Winner will receive an ebook of:

  • Where She Belongs
  • Pieces of Granite
  • Lifelines
  • Christmas on a Mission
  • Vigilant
  • Other Side of the River
  • The Third Grace
  • Carolina Grace
  • The Benefit Package (a devotional)
  • Dance of Grace
  • When Love Calls

Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight July 10, 2019 and last through 11:59 PM EST on July 24, 2019. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Open internationally, but international winner will receive a gift card only *(may be substituted for a Book Depository gift card if winner cannot accept from US Amazon)

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

See tour landing page for a complete list of authors & book release dates.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

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*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

7 responses to “The Mosaic Collection Spotlight – Interview With Stacy Monson!

  1. Thanks for the chat, Jessica! I think we’d enjoy our salty/sweet chocolate treat with Dawson up on a mountain beside a campfire. We’ll have to get that scheduled!