Face-Off with Amy Clipston!!

Now, this is awesome!!! I am facing-off with AMY FLIPPIN’-CLIPSTON!!! (I am pretty sure her name is hyphenated). This girl has authored over 20 bestselling books. Insane!!!

Although she is known for being a fiction writer, Amy, also, wrote a memoir about her kidney donation that saved her husband’s life. You can check it out by clicking on the pic ——>

Besides writing bestselling books, she has won multiple awards. Check out some of them:

2015 Holt Medallion Award Nominee (novel: A Dream of Home)
2014 Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award Nominee (novel: A Mother’s Secret)
2014 Holt Medallion Award (novel: A Hopeful Heart)
2012 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence Finalist in Young Adult Category (novel: Roadside Assistance)
2012 Winter Rose Contest for Published Authors 2nd Place (novel: Roadside Assistance)
2012 Gold Quill Contest Finalist (novel: Roadside Assistance)
2012 Laurel Wreath Contest 3rd Place (novel: Roadside Assistance)
2011 National Readers’ Choice Awards Young Adult Category (novel: Roadside Assistance)
2011 Selah Award for Fiction (novel: A Promsie of Hope)

Amy is well known for her Amish fiction. Here are a handful from different series that she wrote:

Ok, I think I bragged on her enough. Let’s see if she can bring anything to the table where it really counts!

The rules are simple. I ask Amy some random questions. She replies and then I give my answers. Each winning answer is worth one point and I get to decide whose answer is better.

It’s my blog.

Here we go!

1. What’s the worst outfit you wore as a teenager? Pics????

Amy – You can’t hear me, but I’m sitting here chuckling to myself. I suppose it was when I went through my Madonna stage and I had her jacket from the movie “Desperately Seeking Susan.” I wore the jacket along with lace gloves and big, sparkly sunglasses. I thought I was so cool. Ha ha! And, no, no pics!

Charity – OMGOSH!! I wish I could have seen that!!! Hahaha. I love it. I remember thinking I was the coolest thing with these shorts that had suspenders. I would drop the suspenders, OBVIOUSLY, and then wear a shirt that was signed by all these guys from the different Busch Gardens shows. I stalked them all summer long and always wore the same outfit so all their signatures were on it. Oh. My. Gosh. Embarrassing.

— I think the Madonna outfit might have won that round…

Charity 0 / Amy 1

2. When did you know you were going to marry your husband? What did you do that sealed the deal for you?

Amy – Trust and mutual respect sealed the deal for me after being hurt more than once. It only took a couple of months before I realized Joe was the real deal; he was thoughtful, trustworthy, and my soulmate. Yeah, I know—completely corny, but it’s true.

Charity – Not corny. I was a single mom, so I had no time for losers. Haha. I went out with him one night because he moved here and didn’t know anyone. I was just being friendly (for reelz!!) (even thought he was a fine slab of meat!). Anyway, we went to downtown Norfolk and talked for 4 straight hours about everything God had done in our lives (we had just recently gotten saved). I had never met a man so passionately in love with Jesus just like I was. I came home and told my sister I was going to marry him. I did.

The B&W was when we were still babies!!! That was taken about 11 years ago. The second one was taken last year ❤

— Tie!!

Charity 1 / Amy 2

3. Have you ever been on a unicycle?

Amy – Uh, no!

Charity – Girl. You would not even want to see that go down.

— haha! Tie

Charity 2 / Amy 3

4. When you lived in VA, which of the historic triangle destinations was your favorite? Williamsburg, Jamestown or Yorktown? Why?

Amy – Do the Outer Banks count? I’m not a big history buff, but I went to the Outer Banks frequently. Please don’t unfriend me now.

Charity – Haha. Um, NO! Those are not in the historic triangle!! But, I do love the Outer Banks. We go to Duck every year for our family vacation. Love, love, love the boardwalk there. The ocean and the sound are about 4 blocks from each other, so it’s the smallest, little, cute town!

I love Yorktown because I spent so much of my childhood there in the Fife and Drum Corp. woot woot!

— I so get that one!

Charity 3 / Amy 3

5. If you could be on any reality show, which one would you choose?

Amy – “Dancing with the Stars,” and I want to dance with Derek Hough. Swoon!

Charity – EW! Ha. Any guy that can move like that…something isn’t right!! I don’t know. I am a major Survivor fan. I would love that, if I was healthier!! So fun. I would say all of Jeff Probst’s phrases along with him and he would be super annoyed.

“If any of you gave the hidden immunity idol and want to play it, now would be the time to do so. I’ll read the votes”

— Tie

Charity 4 / Amy 4

6. Best concert you have been to?

Amy – That’s a tossup between Weird Al Yankovic and Brad Paisley. They both put on the most fun and entertaining family-friendly shows I’ve ever seen.

Charity – OMGosh. You are my hero if you went to a Weird Al concert. Did he do White and Nerdy??

— Definitely…Amy!

Charity 4 / Amy 5

7. Where would your dream home be? Pics?

Amy – I suppose my dream home would be on the Outer Banks.

Charity – Greece. White and beautiful.

— Another tie!

Charity 5 / Amy 6

8. How do you strive to bring God the most glory in your life?

Amy – I strive to glorify God through my Christian fiction novels. I pray frequently while I’m writing, and I include scripture verses that truly speak to me in an effort to touch the hearts of my readers.

Charity – Love it!

— God wins!

Charity 5 / Amy 6

9. What’s your biggest phobia?

Amy – I have two—wasps and spiders! You’ll hear me scream and run like an idiot when I spot one!

Charity – Dentists make me want to die. Hands down. And then snakes.

— You get this because the readers have seen my answer a bajillion times!

Charity 5 / Amy 7

10. Worst thing you have ever eaten?

Amy – I’m not a steak eater, so steak doesn’t appeal to me. I also don’t care for scallops or oysters.

Charity – Hmm weird. My answer isn’t too cool because I think it would be liver and beets. Barf.

— I am taking it!

Final:

Charity 6 / Amy 7

I just love this gif. HAHA!! I lost. That’s my losing dance!

Thanks, Amy!! This has been so fun! I love hearing about your crazy, fun life!

Ok, you guys. This is INSANE! Amy is giving away a HUGE PRIZE PACK!!! This is truly the best giveaway we’ve ever done!!!

Want a couple books and some serious swag? (ie… tote bag, bookmarks, and pens???) Just head on over to a Rafflecopter giveaway and start entering!!!

Good Luck!!!

*US Rez Only (we do love the rest of you too!!)
*Entries will be checked, so make sure you follow the instructions!

August 20, 2015 29

Face-Off with Billy Coffey!!

It’s always fun to have a new author on my blog!! Today, I’ll be facing-off with the author of 4 novels, father of two kiddos and husband to ONE lovely lady! All of his books have incredible reviews and there is so much buzz about this author, I couldn’t wait to have him as a guest!! He’s a country boy at heart, so let’s see if I can get him off his porch long enough to answer my questions…

Oh, guess what?? My awesome assistant, Sam, has found a book by Billy Coffey FOR FREE! Isn’t she the best? Just click on the first link and you can pick up the audiobook for a total of zero dollars! So cool!!! The second link is for the free kindle version. Woot Woot!

Billy’s new release, The Curse of Crow Hollow, is available now!! It was released on August 4th and already has 4 and a half stars. Make sure to head over and pick up a copy. It looks super spooky…

Let’s play this game, shall we?

The rules are simple. I ask Billy some random questions. He replies and then I give my answers. Each winning answer is worth one point and I get to decide whose answer is better.

It’s my blog.

Here we go!

1. Best part about living in Virginia?

Billy – Oh wow. The history? The people? The natural beauty? Let’s go with all three. Let’s also go with the fact that there are half a dozen major universities within fifty miles of my house, yet the lead story in our Sunday paper last week was about a group of people looking for Bigfoot in our woods. The dichotomy is fun, but it can sometimes make your head hurt.

Charity – HA! Did they find him??? That would be pretty sweet if he has been living in your backyard all of this time?!?!

I would have to agree with you. Virginia is amazing. I live in the Historic Triangle area and absolutely love it!!!! I’m a major history nerd, so….there’s that. But, it’s beautiful. We have all 4 seasons and I love it.

— Tie

Charity 1 / Billy 1

2. Have you ever been in a rodeo?

Billy – In? No. I’ve been to many, though. Rodeos are the best, but I watched a guy get thrown from a bull and trampled during the first one I ever saw. That pretty much cured me from ever participating. My son used to get on a sawhorse and pretend that was a bull. I did do that a few times. It was fun.

Charity – Yikes! That’s so scary!! Why would anyone do that. crazy. I have never been in a rodeo, obviously. I am a princess, in real life. I have only been to a rodeo at the state fair when I was a little kid. I did enjoy it, but not enough to get my princess self on a sawhorse.

— You totally get that one.

Charity 1 / Billy 2

3. Biggest phobia?

Billy – I an handle snakes, spiders, bats, heights, closed spaces, the space under ladders, and the number thirteen, but if I see a clown, I start weeping like a baby.

How could you hate this guy??

Charity – OMGosh. I love that you added “the number thirteen”! haha!!

I am so scared of the dentist, it is ridiculous. Those drills….and scratchy tools! ahhhh!!!!!

— Tie

Charity 2 / Billy 3

4. What’s the best fireworks story you have?

Billy – When I was a kid, there was an old farmer down our road who lived alone. He would go out in his fields every July 4 and let off the most amazing fireworks anyone had ever seen. You know the ones – so illegal it would have landed him in jail if anyone would have cared to arrest him, which they didn’t, because the cops would be with everyone else on the side of the road, watching the sky explode. The farmer died one year on July 2. Everyone was sad for him, for his farm, and for the fact that we’d never see his fireworks again. Come the night of the Fourth, we started hearing these huge booms outside. Everybody around gathered at the edge of the road and watched those fireworks go off. To this day, no one knows who did them.

Charity – Ok, you are a good storyteller. That gave me goosebumps. I’ve got nothing.

Charity 2 / Billy 4

5. What’s the worst thing you have ever eaten?

Billy – A ham casserole. It was the first meal my wife ever cooked for me. I remember trying to get it down (and keep it down) and thinking, Oh my gosh, what am I going to do for the next fifty years? But I asked for seconds, and now she’s the best cook in the world.

Charity – You asked for seconds?? ahh! Now, that was just too nice… And, no you didn’t just throw your wife under the bus!!! At least you added a short little phrase at the end saying she is “the best cook in the world”. Kinda redeemed yourself.

I want to say…Fried Snickers. Maybe not the WORST, technically….but, disgusting, nonetheless. We ordered one at the county fair a couple years back. It sounded like such a train wreck, hubs and I had to try it.

Here is the hubs. He’s just moments away from the big purchase. You like his corn dog ears? Total accident!

— I think that the story of your wife’s first meal just, narrowly, beat out my fried Snickers bar.

Charity 2 / Billy 5

6. Did you ever want to go on the show, Survivor?

Billy – I don’t know that I’d do all that well on Survivor. Too much backstabbing and lying. I’d end up being the guy who just went off by himself and told the others to come visit once they got hungry.

Charity – Well, maybe you would win because they would forget to take you to Tribal Counsel!

I would love to be on it…under certain conditions. 1. I would be allowed to wear a moo moo. America would be scarred for life if I was traipsing around in a bikini. 2. Well, that’s pretty much it.

— I totally get it!

Charity 3 / Billy 5

7. Worst country song you’ve ever heard?

Billy – Here’s what’s so great about the majority of country music: it’s story-driven. Most of the songs you’ll hear on the radio are about people just trying to get by, trying to make sense of things, trying to raise a family and make a life. But of course there are a whole lot of songs that have nothing at all to do with any of that, and the two that come to mind first are “Red Solo Cup” and “Achy Breaky Heart.” Please don’t make me pick one. It’s too painful.

Charity – Well, thanks so much for getting Achy Breaky Heart stuck in my head. The two that come to mind for me are the Brad Paisley one where he’s talking about picking ticks off of her. In no way, NO WAY, is tick picking romantic. barf. Secondly, Boot Scoot Boogie. You’re welcome for getting it stuck in your head.

— Tick Picking is gross.

Charity 4 / Billy 5

8. How do you strive to bring God the most glory in your life?

Billy – It begins with being the best father and husband I can and goes from there. Whether you call it fair or not, I think a lot of people’s impressions of their heavenly Father are influenced by their impressions of their early ones. I take that as a great responsibility with regard to my children. I try to bring glory to God in my books, too. I write about some tough themes with tough people and tough situations, but that’s what I feel led to do. There are authors who write novels to hopefully help people escape from reality for a bit, and authors who write novels to hopefully help face reality for a bit. I’ll never begrudge a writer who does the former, but I’ll always be a writer who does the latter.

Charity – Love it.

— God Wins!

Charity 4 / Billy 5

9. Most embarrassing thing that you are good at. (ie…juggling, crabwalking, singing opera…)

Billy – I can spit a watermelon seed thirty feet on a straight line. Not the most exemplary of acts, but it ain’t easy, either.

Charity – OMGosh. How did you even come up with that answer??? haha.

— You get it for sure!

Charity 4 / Billy 6

10. Which person in the Bible are you most excited to meet in Heaven someday? (God doesn’t count! That’s a given)

Billy – Wow. In no particular order, I want to: have a catch with Babe Ruth, dinner with C.S. Lewis, go for a walk with Andy Griffith, have a conversation with G.K. Chesterton, and see my grandparents again. There are two dogs waiting up there for me, too.

Charity – I am confused which one of those was in the Bible again? Probably Andy Griffith. 😮

Can’t wait to meet Job and David. I mean, God called Job His “friend”!! Can you even imagine!

Final:

Charity 5 / Billy 6

So close!

Thanks, Billy! That was a blast!! It was fun getting to know you a little better. I had some readers swooning at the thought of you being on the blog! ha!!!

Guess what?? He has agree to do a giveaway! WOO HOO!! All you have to do is head on over to a Rafflecopter giveaway and start entering!

*US Rez Only! (We do love the rest of you too!!)
**Entries will be checked

August 19, 2015 11

Face-Off with Christine Hoover!!

Popular blogger, Christine Hoover, is a pastor’s wife/mom/suburban girl. Author of Five Books, her ministry is everyday women that struggle with everyday things. It’s a BEAUTIFUL thing!! Check out her blog for some encouragement! 🙂

Her book, Partners in Ministry, is on sale for $2.99 right now! Check it out!! Link is in the pic — >

Here is the link to all of her books: Christine Hoover’s Books

The rules are simple. I ask Christine some random questions. She replies and then I give my answers. Each winning answer is worth one point and I get to decide whose answer is better.

It’s my blog.

Here we go!

1. What’s the most fun part of having all boys? (I do too! I have a 16 year old and a 7 year old)

Christine – They’re straightforward and simple. As long as they have food, they’re happy.

Charity – OMGoodness. I would never change it! They are so awesome. You can walk by and knock them over and they think it’s funny. They eat like a horse, but they are rough and tumble. It’s the best!!!!

— Tie! Boys are so fun!

Charity 0 / Christine 0

2. If you had to pick one store to live in for a year, and could use everything in it, what store would you choose? (food not a concern)

Christine – I love stores with kitchen gadgets and dishes and platters and all the things you don’t need but can use for entertaining. I’d stay there for a year, as long as I didn’t have to cook but could just entertain.

Charity – Nice! I would have to choose… Target. (Ikea was a close second…but there are no books or movies there!!)

— ?? Dumb question for a face-off! Who’s supposed to win?!

Charity 0 / Christine 0

3. Do you have any recurring dream/nightmare? Not like, night terrors, just something that is the one thing you go back to?

Christine – I used to have a recurring nightmare that I was in a dark ice skating rink by myself. Scary music would start playing and I was aware that someone was in the rink with me, trying to get to me. Yikes! Scary.

Charity – 😮 That is really scary!!!

I always have ones about snakes or just not being able to get to something I need to. It’s awful.

— Scary, dark skating rink…that one gets a point!

Charity 0 / Christine 1

4. Favorite childhood song?

Christine – I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston

Charity – Nice!! Haha. Good, old Whitney Houston! Her and Kevin Costner. (who happens to be in everything again out of NOWHERE. Weird…)

This is what my sister and I rocked out to until my mom threw it away because she was so sick of it!!!:

— I am SO taking this one!! #ChristyLaneRocks

Charity 1 / Christine 1

5. Favorite musical?

Christine – Wicked!!

Charity – I didn’t specify stage or movie. I am going to go with… Meet Me in St. Louis with Judy Garland!! It’s so cute! haha

— Not sure! This is too hard…

Charity 1 / Christine 1

6. Best part about living in Virginia? (I do too!!)

Christine – Four seasons, as opposed to Texas (where I grew up) which has mild summer, hot summer, really hot summer, and a few days of what some might call winter.

Charity – I love that, but I am a major history geek. I LOVE all the history here! It’s insane and amazing!!!!

— Girl, we are getting NOWHERE!!

Charity 1 / Christine 1

7. How do you strive to bring God the most glory in your life?

Christine – I try to use the gifts He’s given me in my local church and in the greater Church through writing.

Charity – Awesome. I agree! You have a wonderful platform! I guess, for me, it is listening to Him and His direction every moment of the day (well, at least I try!). We get to have a great ministry by listening to the small steps one at a time.

— God wins!!!

Charity 1 / Christine 1

8. Have you ever eaten venison hunted by someone you knew?

Christine – Yes, actually I have. One of my friend’s husband hunts for all their meat. He’s given us some of it, but I have to be honest and say that I don’t like it 🙂

Charity – Ruh Roh! Hope he doesn’t read girly blogs that look like a bubble gum shop!!

I think I did when I was a kiddo, but I didn’t like it. I am not sure if I am making that up or not though. *shrug*

— Christine totally gets it for laying it OUT THERE!

Charity 1 / Christine 2

9. Has anyone ever stolen your car’s license plate?

Christine – Nope.

Charity – OMGosh. Someone totally stole my husbands a couple months ago!!! It was ridiculous! He got pulled over too. (the BAD guy) ha ha. My husband drives a scary old car. It’s GINORMOUS and purple. A big Lincoln he got when he Grandpa passed away. Anyway, it’s atrocious and my hubby totally doesn’t care because it was a free car. I make him park it away from our house, on the side behind our big fence, so I don’t see it because I am scared of it and super shallow. So, it was an easy target! hahaha

— I get it!!!

Charity 2 / Christine 2

10. Funniest pulled over, car breakdown, or run out of gas moment?

Christine – In college I went skiing in Colorado with a large group of friends, one of whom was a guy I’d been dating. We’d broken up right before the trip, and I was really sad about it. One night while on the trip, a group of us were in a borrowed van. My ex-boyfriend was driving everyone back to their respective condos, including me. I was the last one to be dropped off, so it was just him and me in the van. It was already awkward, but then the van broke down. The snow was coming down, it was dark, and I was stuck there with my ex-boyfriend in the middle of nowhere. We ended up getting a ride back into town and, four years later, we ended up married.

Charity – NICE!!!! I have been pulled over many times, but the cop always ends up small talking with me for a long time and then letting me go. I put on my perky, I love cops voice and BOOM! Plus, I’m just so stinkin’ adorable!!!

Who could give this cute thing a ticket???? Look at me?!