Interview with Kristina McMorris and book giveaway

**Giveaway is now closed**

Kristina McMorris lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons. She has garnered more than twenty national literary awards since writing her first novel, "Letters from Home." A graduate of Pepperdine University, she spent twelve years hosting weekly television shows, including an Emmy® Award-winning television show at age nine. Prior to her literary career, she was the owner of a wedding/event planning business and public relations director of an international conglomerate.

For more, visit her website, become her friend on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Inspired by a collection of her grandparents' World War II courtship letters, Kristina penned her first novel, LETTERS FROM HOME. This award-winning book, which celebrated its release just weeks ago, is being hailed as "ambitious and compelling...[a] sweeping debut" by Publishers Weekly. Various book club rights have been sold to Reader's Digest and Doubleday, sales of global rights are on the rise, and the film rights are represented by the prestigious Creative Artists Agency of Los Angeles.

Book summary:
In the midst of World War II, a Midwestern infantryman falls deeply in love through a yearlong letter exchange, unaware that the girl he's writing to isn't the one replying. Woven around this tenuous thread are three female friends whose journeys toward independence take unexpected turns as a result of romance, tragedy, and deception, their repercussions heightened by an era of the unknown. Beautifully rendered and deeply moving, Letters From Home is a a story of hope and connection, of sacrifices made in love and war -- and the chance encounters that change us forever.

A discussion guide and 1940s recipes are featured in the book, making it a great selection for reading groups!

Watch the book trailer:


Kristina stopped by Chick Lit Central to talk more about this fascinating new novel and has also offered to give away one signed copy to a lucky winner in the US or Canada.

MA: Could you tell us how the story came about?

KM: Several years ago, I was creating a Christmas present for the family. It was a self-published cookbook featuring recipes my grandmother had collected and created over decades. While interviewing her for the biographical section, she began to talk about her courtship with my late grandfather. That's when I discovered, much to my amazement, that they had dated only twice before getting married, as their relationship had developed almost entirely through an exchange of letters during World War II. Grandma Jean then retrieved from her closet a gorgeous stack of those very pages, each one full of the love and hope that had helped carry them through.

After leaving her house, I continued to think about their letters. And I wondered how different their relationship might have been if their correspondence had been anything less than truthful. This thought soon became the core idea of LETTERS FROM HOME.


MP: Did you initially face challenges selling your manuscript?

KM: In the beginning, absolutely! Although I've always remained passionate about the premise of my book, my craft had a long way to go. Also, when I first set out to find an agent, WWII was not a "hot" genre for women's fiction, to put it mildly. But eventually the market shifted, thanks to a handful of popular novels set during that era, and they opened a door for books like mine to make it to the shelves.


MA: Is it true that a portion of the proceeds from the book will benefit a specific charity?

KM: That's right. It's called United Through Reading, which is a nonprofit organization that video records deployed U.S. military personnel reading bedtime stories for their children. Not only is it a wonderful cause, but one that promotes literacy and, like my story, brings together loved ones separated by tours of duty. I couldn't ask for a better fit!

MP: I understand you just completed another book. Can you share a little about that?

KM: My next novel is titled BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES. Essentially, it's about a female Caucasian violinist who secretly elopes with her Japanese-American boyfriend—against societal molds and families' wishes—the night before Pearl Harbor is bombed.

I'm very eager to share this one with readers. It features some shocking aspects of history that most people have never heard about, as well as heroes who are too often passed over. Also, being half Japanese, I was able to infuse a unique perspective of living between worlds.

Special thanks to Kristina for giving us more insight about her novel and for giving away a copy of "Letters from Home" through our blog.


How to win "Letters from Home":
Please comment below with your e-mail address.
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US/Canada only. No P.O. Boxes. Giveaway ends Sunday, March 13th at midnight EST