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Friday, February 19, 2016

Miralee Ferrell: Impacting the Lives of Young Adults

Greetings Readers! Today I have the blessing of hosting my friend Miralee Ferrell on Everything Writerly. 

Miralee and I go back a ways. Both of us wrote for the now-defunct fiction line called Summerside Press and its Love Finds You imprint. She began her writing career at Kregel Publications and I am presently under contract with Kregel. It's fun to see our career parallels.

Here's a little about Miralee:

Miralee Ferrell’s debut novel released in the fall of 2007, and eighteen more have followed since. Her historical western romance, Love Finds You in Sundance, WY, won the Will Rogers Excellence in Western Fiction award in 2012, and her first book in the four-book Love Blossoms in Oregon series, Blowing on Dandelions, hit the ECPA Best Seller list, along with The 12 Brides of Christmas. Since then, she’s ventured into writing horse novels for middle-grade kids, and opened her own publishing company, publishing Christian novels. Miralee and her husband have been married over 40 years and live in the beautiful Columbia Gorge in WA State, where she loves to ride horses, garden, take walks, play with her dogs, and minister to women.
   
So how did an author of Christian romance begin writing books for young adults (YA)? Let's find out.

Miralee:  "An editor-friend read one of my historical romances set on a horse ranch and loved all the horse references and scenes. She suggested I consider writing a book or series of books for girls who are horse crazy, as so many young girls wish they could own or ride a horse.
"I didn’t think much of it, as I’d never considered writing middle-school or even YA fiction. But while praying about what I should be working on next, I felt the Lord nudging to remember my conversation with my friend. Ideas started flowing, and I started writing.
 "About a year later, my publisher at David C. Cook heard I was working up a proposal to shop to various houses, and asked to see it. The rest, as they say, is history, as they contracted a set of four books. 
"I’ve had a ball writing fun stories for kids, but most of all, investing life lessons and morals into the stories, as well as a faith thread and showing how my characters have grown in their own maturity and faith as the series has progressed."

The book sounds great! Thank you, Miralee.

Readers, you can connect with Miralee via her website: http://miraleeferrell.com/
Miralee's book is available online or at your local bookstore. If it's not on the shelf, ask for it.

6 comments:

Miralee Ferrell said...

I'm so tickled to be here, Andrea! Not only our careers paralleling, but the fun time we spent together at ACFW a few years ago. I'm blessed to know you and get to spend time visiting with your readers. Thank you!

Jennifer said...

Hi Miralee, That's great that you are giving this age group something positive to read. There's so much garbage out there for young girls and guys and some have language, graphic sex scenes in them, and some form of witch/ zombies. You're giving these young girls a healthy option. Keep up the good work! Jenny

Miralee Ferrell said...

Thanks so much, Jenny! I'm truly enjoying writing them...there will be two more to complete the 6 book series, and each one will have strong life lessons and morals in them.

Jennifer said...

That's so important and needed in this anti-moral world.

Unknown said...

So glad to host you Miralee. Congratulations on the new book!!

Unknown said...

So glad to host you Miralee. Congratulations on the new book!!