I’m so thrilled to introduce Romancing History readers to my friend, fellow historical romance author, and critique partner, Tammy Kirby. Tammy writes edgy historical romance set in Victorian England. And ya’all, I love her books! She has a knack for infusing historical details into her stories that just bring the settings to life.
Tammy’s latest release, Hunt for Grace, the third book in the Haven House series, released earlier this week. You can see my review here.
Before the interview, let’s learn a little more about Tammy and Hunt for Grace. And be sure to see the giveaway section below. Tammy has graciously offered a $15 Amazon gift card to one lucky Romancing History reader.
About Tammy
Tammy Kirby is an internationally published author. In 2018 she released her debut novel, His Grace Forgiven. This is the first book in the Victorian Inspirational Romance series, Haven House, which placed second in the 2016 Great Beginnings Contest. Since then, she has completed three consecutive books in the Haven House series and is working on the fifth and last book at present.
In between working as an ER nurse and writing Victorian Romance, she has authored two Scottish Time travel short stories and co-authored a third. Because she believes God has a sense of humor, and laughter really is good for the soul, you will always find humor in her works.
Most of the crazy things her characters go through already happened to her or someone in her family, occasionally a friend, and perhaps a villain or two might have taken on characteristics of someone who treated her with less than brotherly love. (wink, wink).
Tammy makes her home in NE Louisiana with her husband. In her free time, she drinks tea, eats orange slices, swears she’s going to get on the treadmill, and writes beneath the surface about broken people finding hope, happiness, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
You can connect with Tammy on her website, Facebook, Smashwords, GoodReads, BookBub, and Pinterest.
About the Book
Hunt for Grace, Book Four Haven House Series
Unworthy
Duncan Connor, English viscount and newly appointed Earl of Huntington, is unworthy. Past indiscretions keep him in turmoil. His only peace is found in the bottom of a bottle of spirits where he can forget what he did—for a time.
Now, not only is he saddled with a Scottish earldom complete with castle in the highlands, he has become sole guardian to a precocious five-year-old female. In a matter of minutes, he finds his new ward has an uncomfortable way of cutting to the truth with her honest observations. On top of this, the governess his sister hired to train the child just happens to be the one woman his demons will never let him forget.
Marisa Douglas has found freedom at Haven House, though she longs for a true home. But that’s a pipe dream her past will never allow because she is unworthy. When she is offered a job in Scotland as governess to an earl’s ward, she is ecstatic. She will be able to leave her past behind in England and make a life where no one knows what she has been.
Her dreams of anonymity disperse like the highland mists under bright sunshine when she meets her new employer. Duncan Connor is the very man who aided her despicable uncle in her downward spiral into the dregs of society.
Can two people find peace in the present when faced daily with their pasts?
Hunt for Grace is available for purchase on Amazon.
Other Books by Tammy Kirby, His Grace Forgiven, Joy to the Earl, Vengence is Mine Saith Mi’Lord, and Saving the McKinnon.
Author Q&A
Fast Five
- Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy? Matthew MacFadyen
- Sound of Music or Hello Dolly? Sound of Music
- Night Owl or Early Bird? Early Bird
- Oldies or Country? Oldies
- Dogs or Cats? Cats
Interview Questions
RH: Tell us a little bit about yourself. How long you’ve been writing? How many books you have published and what era(s) do you write in?
TK: I’ve been writing since my early twenties-serious since about 2000. It took a few years before I got my confidence up to publish. I have 4 Inspirational Victorian Romance out there in the Haven House series. It is about forgiving the unforgivable. I asked God why He asked me to write this series and He told me: “Because I knew you would.” I also have a couple of Scottish Time Travel short stories published and a new anthology, I co-wrote with my friend, Carole Lehr Johnson, on the horizon that pulls them all together. Their Scottish Destiny will be published in the Spring of 2021.
RH: I love that your books center on forgiveness. Bitterness only hurts the one who fails to forgive. Now tell us something unusual about yourself. Something not in the typical back of the book author bio—something quirky.
TK: Action movies and Celtic music relaxe me. When I walk, I watch my feet instead of where I am going. I can laugh at myself. God talks to me in dreams.
RH: Being able to laugh at yourself is a wonderful quality. It helps keeps many of life’s challenges in perspective. Fans of romantic fiction love a cute meet. How did you and your significant other meet?
TK: Ok, so keep in mind we met each other before I sold out to Jesus. We went dancing, and he had a bit much to drink. He and his friend showed up at my apartment the next day pretty green around the gills. My dad arrived with tools to fix my toilet that had been on the blink for several days. (My two-year-old had flushed a full tube of toothpaste without my knowledge.) The friend, being a good ole boy, offered to help. In record time, he is on my front porch casting up his accounts and I can hear my dad snickering in the background. So, Roger had to fill in the gap. Dad saves the day, and Roger, who I later learned has the weakest stomach of anyone I’ve ever met, made it through without joining his friend on my porch. Dad told Mom on their way home. “She needs to keep that ole boy.” And I did. We celebrated our 36th anniversary last July.
RH: I love that Roger is a “good ole boy.” They are really keepers in my experience. Which 3 words describe the type of fiction you write?
TK: Christian, Humorous, Historical
RH: I do love the whit and banter in your stories. What does writing success look like to you?
TK: Success to me is that note or review that says, “Your book touched me and changed my life,” or “It made me rethink some things.” I guess I can sum it up with, success is about my readers drawing closer to God because of something I wrote.
RH: Oh Tammy, you really hit the nail on the head with that answer. Hearing from a reader that your book resonated with them makes all the hair pulling we do to get that story into print worth it. What is the most difficult thing about writing characters of the opposite sex?
TK: I guess making sure I get their feelings and emotions correct. Men don’t think like we do.
RH: Boy is that ever the truth. My husband says men think blue and women think pink. What was the inspiration behind Hunt for Grace?
TK: God placed Haven House on my heart to show the world how important forgiveness is in our lives. If we do not forgive how can He forgive us? The first book, His Grace Forgiven, I bled because I had to put my own emotions in the heroine’s character. I had to forgive the unforgivable, and it wasn’t easy. I learned that forgiveness is not a gift, it is a choice. With each book, the characters just sort of evolved. In Hunt for Grace, Marisa has been used and abused by people who should have loved and protected her, and Duncan has done things under the influence of alcohol and pain that hurt others. He can’t forgive himself. These two people are lost souls that find redemption and healing by forgiving.
RH: You’re right, forgiveness is a choice and keeps our heart from growing bitter. When and where is Hunt for Grace set?
TK: 1865 The Scottish Highlands and Victorian England
RH: I’ve always wanted to visit the Scottish Highlands and you bring the area to life so beautifully in Hunt for Grace. If you were to pick a particular Scripture verse as the theme of your novel, what would it be? Why?
TK; Why? Because the scriptures say it plainly. I don’t want anyone to miss heaven because they held onto the bitterness or unforgiveness.
Matthew 6: 14-15 — “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
RH: That is such an excellent verse for this book, for the entire series really. What scene in Hunt for Grace was the hardest to write? Which is your favorite?
TK: I don’t think there is a hardest scene. I usually get to about 50,000 words and that’s when it gets hard. I have the bones of the story laid out and have to flesh it out with 25,000 more words to get to my designated 75,000-word novel. It is always daunting, but God never fails to pull it together. My favorite scene is the toothpaste scene.
RH: I find that initial draft the hardest to write. I like fleshing out the story through edits and layering with deeper POV and more description the fun part. What do you hope readers will take away after reading Hunt for Grace?
TK: I hope they will search within themselves to find any unforgiveness in their hearts and ask God to help them forgive those that hurt them. Not for that other person but for their own healing. Why? Because it is important to our heavenly Father.
RH: Amen! Thank for visiting with my readers today, Tammy!
Giveaway**
Congratulations to our winner, Joan Arning!
This giveaway is now closed
Tammy has graciously offered a $15 Amazon gift card to one lucky Romancing History reader. To enter, tell me if you’ve ever visited Scotland or England? If so, what was your favorite spot? If not, what would you like to see if you get the opportunity to travel there some day?
**Giveaway ends midnight on February, 24, 2021.**
About the Author
