ABOUT THE COLLECTION
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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Johnnie Alexander creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won’t forget. Her award-winning debut novel, Where Treasure Hides (Tyndale), is a CBA bestseller. She writes contemporaries, historicals, and cozy mysteries, serves on the executive boards of Serious Writer, Inc. and the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference, co-hosts an online show called Writers Chat, and interviews inspirational authors for Novelists Unwind. She also teaches at writers conferences and for Serious Writer Academy. Johnnie lives in Oklahoma with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon.
Cornerstone message from the collection:
One of the first verses I ever claimed as my own was Proverbs 31:25. The translation I love most reads: Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.
The first part of the verse is almost a mantra, a phrase I repeat to myself when I need courage. Maybe I’m faced with something as simple as a phone call I don’t want to make. Or maybe the situation is much more serious. An ectopic pregnancy. Family tensions. Divorce. A dying parent.
Life takes courage. And at the heart of courage--true courage--is trust. We can smile at the future, no matter what difficult, frightening, horrible situations we face because of God’s steadfast love and His promise of eternal life with Him.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
1) What’s a local-favorite activity to do during the summer in the area where you live?
I’ve only lived in Oklahoma a little over a year. Last summer is a bit of a blur--except I remember it was very hot--and this summer I’ve been visiting with family in Missouri and Tennessee.
However!
My stay with my daughter, son-in-law, and two adorable granddaughters at their home in rural northeastern Missouri coincided with Clarence Homecoming Days, an annual event for their small town (population about 800).
Homecoming, Clarence-style, has nothing to do with football but everything to do with community and tradition. My son-in-law emceed the Queen Contest, my daughter was the parade announcer, and my granddaughters passed out candy as they followed their church’s float. We attended a live concert by Fairground Saints, an up-and-coming pop-country group who were recently featured on the Today Show.
We had such a great time.
2) Do you have a scripture that really speaks to you around the latest book you wrote? Did that influence your writing at all?
God gave me three verses this year to guide my writing. Each one appears prominently on my Projects Log (an Excel worksheet).
• "Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge." (Proverbs 23:12 TLV)
• "Plans of the diligent surely lead to gain." (Proverbs 21:5a TLV)
• "You keep in perfect peace one whose mind is stayed on You, because [s]he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3 TLV)
Even though these Scriptures aren’t for a specific book, they’re definitely important to my writing career. I have several writing deadlines in the months ahead, and these verses keep me focused. They provide a God-given formula for achieving my goals: Discipline + Diligence = Perfect Peace.
3) If you could have any creature as a pet (real or fantasy) what would it be? Do any characters in your book have a pet or allergy to a type of animal?
I’ll stick with the two dogs I have--Griff, my happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, my grumpy-old-man papillon. We’re already comfortable with each other’s quirks.
The hero in my Mosaic Collection novel, One Sun-Kissed Summer, is a cowboy who is crazy about Candy, his chestnut quarter horse. The heroine is a wildlife rehabilitation specialist who was adopted by a gray cat with white stockings named Caspian.
Most of my life, I’ve almost always had at least one dog so it’s fun for my characters to have dogs, too. But I’ve never thought to have a character with an allergy.
4) How many books have you written? Which one is most dear to you and why?
So far, I’ve written seven books, three novellas, and a short story. Happily, there are more to come!
Most dear to my heart is my debut novel Where Treasure Hides. It’s a complex story with multiple themes set during World War II. The characters experience extremely difficult situations and, because it’s war, tragic events occur. Though I love my other novels, too, this one has a depth that resonates with me. I hope it resonates with readers, too.
5) What is a go-to dish you take with you to social gatherings (picnic, dinner with friends, holiday, ect)?
I sure wish I had one. Sometimes my sister makes something for me--she loves to cook. Unless I make brownies, I grab something from the grocery store.
6) One of your favorite lines you’ve written (character saying, quote, scene, etc.)?
I’ve had moments when a line or a bit of dialogue seemed to come from such a deep place inside that I was astounded I’d written it. I wish I could remember one of those moments right now!
Here’s an excerpt from the opening pages of Where Treasure Hides. The boy is part of the Kindertransport, children sent from Germany and Austria to England before WWII. Alison is a Dutch-American artist and the story’s heroine.
A dark-haired boy, no more than seven or eight, held the violin close to his anemic frame. His jacket, made of a finely woven cloth, hung loosely on his thin shoulders. The matching trousers would have slipped down his hips if not for his hand-tooled leather belt. . . . Alison stared at the cardboard square, secured by a thick length of twine, that the boy wore as a cheap necklace. The penciled writing on the square numbered the boy as 127.
….
Alison mentally sketched the tableau before her, pinning the details into her memory. The officer’s hand resting on the boy’s shoulder; the official restlessly tapping his clipboard with his pencil; the dread and hope in the boy’s eyes as he clutched his prized instrument. The jagged square that tagged his identity.
The scene is loosely based on an actual event. A station official wanted to confiscate a young boy’s violin. But the boy played England’s national anthem and fellow travelers made sure he got to keep his instrument.
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(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.
See tour landing page for a complete list of authors & book release dates.
*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.
Title: Underestimating Miss Cecilia 
