Friday, March 29, 2013

Welcome, Pam Hillman, author of Claiming Mariah!


Pam Hillman was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn’t afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove the Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn’t mind raking. Raking hay doesn’t take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that’s the kind of life every girl should dream of! Claiming Mariah is her second novel. www.pamhillman.com


 
In light of her father’s death, Mariah Malone sends a letter that will forever alter the lives of her family. When Slade Donovan, strong willed and eager for vengeance, shows up on her front porch, Mariah is not ready to hear his truths: her father’s farm, the only home she’s ever known, was bought with stolen gold. With Slade ready to collect his father’s rightful claim and force Mariah and her family out on the streets, Mariah must turn to God for guidance. Though Mr. Fredrick Cooper, a local landowner, promises to answer her financial woes if she agrees to be his bride, Mariah finds herself drawn instead to the angry young man demanding her home.

With the ranch now under Slade’s careful eye, he will unearth more than he ever imagined as a devious plot of thievery, betrayal and murder threatens more than the well-being of the ranch, endangering the lives of those who hold it dear. With days dwindling until the rest of the Donovan clan arrive to the Lazy M ranch, Mariah and Slade must rise above the resentment of their fathers and see their true feelings before greed alters their futures forever.

What inspired you to write your novel, Pam?
Several years ago, I read a novel where a bank robber tosses a sack of stolen money in the back seat of a hand-to-mouth college student’s car. She kept the money and eventually started a very successful business. She justified her actions because she anonymously created a charity to help destitute young women get back on their fee. But, as the old saying goes, two wrongs don’t make a right, and that wasn’t quite right from a Christian’s perspective, was it? I based Claiming Mariah on the following question: “What would a Christian do if they found out their whole livelihood had been based on a lie?” Mariah does the right thing by writing to Slade’s father asking for forgiveness, but the consequences of her actions end up being way more than she bargained for.
Wow, sounds like an interesting story line and a practical question to answer that many readers can identify with.  
What is one fun thing my readers might not know about you but would like to?
Hmmm, this wasn't fun, but it is definitely interesting! I got caught in a stampede of 100 Holsteins once. In the dark, in a cutover cornfield. I didn’t know which direction they were coming from, but I could hear their pounding hooves, and I could feel the ground shaking. When I realized I couldn’t outrun them on the uneven ground, I turned to face them and started jumping up and down, waving my arms, and screaming my head off. They parted like the red sea, and I sank to the ground, shaking like a leaf, and scared out my wits.

Not funny at the time, I'm sure, but after the fact, brings a chuckle. :)

Thanks for joining me and my readers today, Pam!

For more information about Pam and her books, visit the following locations:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PamHillman or @PamHillman



Claiming Mariah Amazon link: http://tinyurl.com/apnzl5n
            Claiming Mariah B&N link: http://tinyurl.com/ays6fq7
            Claiming Mariah CBD link: http://tinyurl.com/bvjx3m7
Claiming Mariah Goodreads link: http://tinyurl.com/d9u2k6j
Claiming Mariah 1st Chapter: http://tinyurl.com/ageh54r






   



6 comments:

Pam Hillman said...

Eileen, thank you so much for letting me visit your blog today.

A very GOOD Friday to you and a Happy Easter!

Eileen Rife said...

The same to you, Pam!

Take heart with the post. I typically get over 1000 visits a month, even though readers don't often leave comments.

chappydebbie said...

Hey Pam! My jaw dropped when I read about that stampede incident. How frightened you must have been. Sort of reminds me of the time I was at the beach, at night. I couldn't see the ocean or the waves. The sound was so powerful that I thought that a huge wave was going to crash over me at any minute. Of course, my situation was completely safe. Any danger was just in my mind. You could have been trampled to death. Thank God for parting that sea of Holsteins for you.
Nice getting to know you. God bless.

Pam Hillman said...

Debbie, I haven't swam in the ocean enough to be comfortable, so I can definitely understand your fear!

The ocean? In the dark? Nope...

lol

Pam Hillman said...

Eileen, no worries! :)

It's a pleasure to be here. Sometimes writing is a lot like being a deejay.

I watched an apocalyptic movie a long time ago. There were just a handful of survivors. One guy found an old radio. He fiddled with it, and all he could get was static. Seems like he worked on that radio the entire movie.

Then, at the very end, he heard a deejay saying, "Anybody out there? This is XYZ coming live to you from Chicago."

Now that's faith that there's someone out there...listening and reading.

Have faith. :)

chappydebbie said...

Well, I can tell you that if I do not comment on a post, it's usually because I missed it.
And the reason I was near the ocean at night was because my sister and I were sitting around our campfire and the ocean waves were so loud, we thought that the tide was coming too close to us. So, we ventured out with our little flashlights to see. The flashlights were NO help. LOL
Have a wonderful Easter/Resurrection Day and God bless.

Aging Gratefully

Waiting for the sun to rise while watching from the deck of our beach house.  Thick, hovering, dark abundant clouds with pale pink and yello...