SATURDAY BOOK REVIEW!!

Today I'm featuring Debbie Kaufman's debut novel, The Doctor's Mission.  It's a Love Inspired Historical by Harlequin and it's located in Liberia, a setting that I've never seen used before, but one I found fasinating since Debbie brought some of the tribal customs into her book for...flavor.  Oh, did I mention that there are cannibals in this jungle?

Maybe you've never thought of a missionary as an alpha male...well, Debbie stepped outside the sterotype and  gave us (Pastor) William Mayweather.
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In the story, Mary O'Hara is a red-haired doctor and she's in a caravan through the jungle to the outpost hospital.  A shot has been fired, so she rushed to the front of the procession, even though William has told her to stay to the back and remain out of sight.
            

      Looking down the hill to the spot where the path widdened at the village edge, Mary saw William.  Hanabo was on one side and another porter, Jabo maybe, stood on the other.  She stopped were she was to take in the scene.  No one lay on the ground or clutched a wound.  Who or what had been shot?
      All of her dramatic worries and it was just a serious discussion with a group of natives.  No one was at war here.
      All of them were deferring to the one native in a worn black bowler hat and bright red loincloth standing with his arms folded across his chest, a chest hung with some type of decorative necklace.  Must be the chief.
      Whoever he was, she knew the moment he became aware of her.  He put out a bony finger and pointed.  Was he ponting at her?  All conversation ceased.
     William turned to see what Bowler Hat was pointing to, and if there had been any doubt in her mind she was the object of attention, the glare from William removed it.
     Bowler Hat began to speak.  Mary wasn't close enough to hear anything.  By the frequency of gestures, there was a debate or perhaps a trade.  She knew that trading was one way a missionary made inroads into a tribe's favor.
     The conversation ended abruptly.  Bowler Hat's arms were back in place across his chest.  William and Hannabo turned and headed toward the caravan.  Hannabo looked on stolidly, but William's face morphed from blank and emotionless to raw fury.
     When he drew near, his voice came out in a low hiss.  "I told you to stay put.  Turn around and follow behind me."
     "I beg your pardon.  I..."
     "If you don't want to be that old man's newest wife, you'll do as I say and you'll do it right now."
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Then there's the moments when Mary is wondering what's in the stew and, quite frankly, that's where I would have made the decision to run for home.

Debbie has proven to be an engaging writer, one who weaves facts into her story and leaves the reader wanting more about William and Mary when the story ends.  I can only hope that there will be more stories set in Liberia because the first book is a very interesting trip through the jungle.

Welcome Inspirational Author, DEBBIE KAUFMAN!!

    I'm pleased today to have as my special guest                   Debbie Kaufman,  
                 author of Harlequin’s latest 
                    Love Inspired Historical, 

                    The Doctor’s Mission

      I took a few minutes and sat down with Debbie to ask her some questions that I thought might interest her readers, but if I miss something that you want to know, be sure to leave your question for Debbie.  This will also give you a chance to win your own, autographed copy of Doctor's Mission.

So, without wasting another moment, let's get to the interview.

1)      Debbie, where did the idea for your missionary book come from and why did you set the story in Libera? 

I was knee-deep in revising a suspense story when my daughter and son-in-law brought me a book about a missionary relative of his.  The book was co-written with H. B. Garlock. a pioneering missionary in 1918 Liberia, Africa.  Garlock like others before him, came face-to-face with the cannibal tribes of that place and survived.  I finished reading it one evening while lying in bed, turned to my husband and told him about all the cool things that God had done for this missionary family.  The next words out of my mouth were “I wonder if I could set a romance there.”  And, so I did!  

2) Since this is your debut book, tell us the most difficult part of the process.  

The book was easy, it’s everything else that is difficult.  For example, action items like getting my website up and running, creating and updating Facebook and Twitter accounts, deciding on promotional events, designing bookmarks, and even keeping up with the blog tour while trying to write book two all kept me just a little behind schedule.  

3) Since your book is set in early 1900’s, how much research did you have to do?

A lot!  I spent countless hours researching the place through reading missionary accounts, explorer’s journals, online sites dedicated to the country.  For the period clothing, I got together with a local costumer who is a close friend and discussed wardrobes.  I spent even more time trying to find detailed maps with places and locations.  Liberia itself wasn’t thoroughly mapped at the time.  Exploration was still going on and different groups, like the 1920’s Harvard Expedition were still creating their own maps.  On this first book, it was the mapping that I found most difficult and time consuming.

Just to give you a better idea, on my current book-in-progress, I spent more than 30 hours researching when the capital city first got electricity.  You would think that was an easy fact to check, but it wasn’t.  First, Google searches, no matter how you worded them, brought up the restoration of some electrical power five years after the seven-year civil war (1989-2003) which destroyed most of the country’s infrastructure.  Second, communication within Liberia is still difficult and emails to universities and museums largely went unanswered. 

4) If it took 30 hours just to find out about the electric lights, how long, in hours, days or weeks, did it take you to complete all the research needed to complete the book?

If I had to guess, I’d say I easily put in 200+ hours on research, and the number is low because I am a very, very, fast reader. 

5) Now a quick question for our author friends.  If you were giving advice to an aspiring historical author, what advice would you give? 

Don’t skimp on the research, but learn when to use it and when to keep it to yourself.  Your book isn’t meant to be a history lesson.  The fruits of your research should show up naturally in your story, and what does will probably only about be about 10% or less of all you now know on the subject.

6) Okay, I have to say at this point that I've read The Doctor’s Mission and I loved it.  Give us a quick glimpse of the next one.   

My next book is also set in the Liberian jungle, this time in 1920.  It involves a female missionary, a hunky mining engineer, and, of course, cannibals. 

7)  Let's steer away from your writing for a moment so I can ask a few personal questions so your readers can get to know you better.  What is your favorite pastime when you’re not researching or writing?

     Reading.  There can never be too much reading, LOL! 

8) What is your dream vacation location?

     The Continent and the British Isles.  I’d love to do the whole tour, starting with Italy.    

9) Let’s assume you’re at a Reader’s Luncheon.  Other than your name, give us five things you’d tell a complete stranger about yourself within the first ten minutes of meeting him or her.

Hmm.  I think there are a lot of things we consider baseline information.  For example, I’ve been married to the same wonderful man for 34 years now.  I have four children and three grandchildren.  My fourth child is from China, a product of the international adoption program I helped start back in the 1990’s.  And let’s not forget that I totally love to read almost anything: suspense, urban fantasy, paranormal, historical, futuristic, contemporary, and the occasional comedy.  

Below is an excerpt from The Doctor's Mission that I'm sure you'll not only enjoy, but will intrigue you enough that you'll want to hop right over to Amazon and order her book.

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    Privately, Mary doubted this healing tale.  She’d bet the story traveled and grew with each telling.  Prayers of dying men assaulted her ears at Argonne and no heavenly relief came.  Her own were uttered in vain.  

     She concealed her thoughts, so as not to destroy Hannabo’s fervor.  Instead she only asked for clarification.  “How did this lead to their deaths?  You say Nana Mala wanted their medicine?  Who is Nana Mala?”

     “Nana Mala is an evil man who does not know the true God.  When he heard of the healing, he sent for Nana Pastor Joseph and Mammy Ruth.  They went to preach, but Nana Mala just wanted the secret of their magic.  When he did not like their answers, he killed them and took their magic for himself.  This is my fault.”  Hannabo’s eyes looked downward in shame.

     Oh my.  This explained a lot about Pastor Mayweather’s calling.   But Hannabo shouldn’t carry the guilt for what another tribesman had done.  She sought to reassure him.  “This is not your fault, Hannabo.  You are not to blame for the actions of others.”

     “But Mammy Doctor.  It was my fault.  I was that man.”

     “Which man are you talking about?

     “The one Nana Joseph healed.  I bragged to many people, especially Nana Mala.” 

     “Oh, I see.”  Mary masked her surprise.  Hannabo believed he’d experienced a miracle first hand.  She couldn’t tear apart his faith, but she could set him straight on his guilt. 

     “Hannabo, it was fine to tell others.  The Bible often tells of people who were healed and told many others.  It’s natural.  What’s strange is Nana Mala believing he could get magic from Pastor Mayweather’s aunt and uncle.” 

     “No, no.  Not strange.  Every bush man knows how to take magic.”

     “Okay, so how did he think he could take their magic?”

     Hannabo cocked his head to one side and looked at her like she was a simpleton.  Even his tone seemed one of patient explanation to a lesser mind.  “By eating them, of course.” 

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Thank you so much for visiting with us today and if you leave a comment and/or ask Debbie a question, you'll be in the drawing to win a free print copy of her novel.  Good luck and happy reading!

The Doctor's Mission   To buy a copy of her book, just click on the link provided.

 If you'd like to find out more about Debbie Kaufman or if you'd like  to follow her on Facebook or Twitter
                            

For more about Debbie, visit her website: www.debbiekaufman.com

To read an excerpt of The Doctor’s Mission: www.debbiekaufman.com

You can also find Debbie at: www.facebook.com/debbiekaufmanfanpage and on Twitter: www.twitter.com/debbie_kaufman                                 

Debbie Kaufman will be in the House Nov 15th

If you've stopped by today, I want to tell you about my special guest tomorrow, Wednesday, November 15th.  Tomorrow, Debbie Kaufman will tell us about her debut Inspirational novel, released by Harlequin's Love Inspired Line.

Do you think Inspirational stories are preachy or boring?  Think again!  The Doctor's Mission doesn't "preach" and it's chocked full of surprises....like what's in the stew they're eating.  

So, drop by and read about Debbie's interesting journey to publication and have a chance to win a signed copy of her new release, The Doctor's Mission.