About the Book
Book: Muldoon’s Minnesota Darling, a Novella
Author: E.V. Sparrow
Genre: Historical fiction
Release Date: May 10, 2023
A heartsore widower with hidden fears and little faith…
The naïve daughter of a farmer guarding a repulsive secret…
A township unaware of the hidden menace amongst them…
Heartbroken from losing his family and his farm, Mick Muldoon is hopeful as he emigrates to America with his siblings. All he finds is despair and no work. Were America’s rumored promises of plenty all lies? Would God ever hear and answer his prayers?
Seventeen-year-old Shauna McGann is determined to marry Mick Muldoon despite her mother’s objections. His past and his limp might repulse others, but not her. What burdens Shauna is her terrible secret – a secret she promised her friends she would keep. Now Shauna needs help and protection. Could she trust Mick, or will she lose everything by telling him?
Will Mick finally be free of loss and find success in America? Will Shauna overcome her fears and finally feel safe?
In this Muldoon’s Misfortunes prelude novella, author E.V. Sparrow creates a provoking tale of flickering faith and enduring hope through an emigrant’s efforts to adapt, and a young woman’s unprejudiced love.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
E.V. Sparrow is a short story writer turned novelist. Her readers encounter God’s unexpected presence through her character’s escapades. Her own adventures she wrote about involved traveling in over twenty countries. Sparrow lived on an Israeli kibbutz, worked for the U.S. Army in Bavaria, and hopped a freight train for a weekend.
A highlight for Sparrow is when Guideposts and Bethany House Publishers accepted four of her anthologized stories before she signed a 3-book historical fiction series contract with Celebrate Lit Publishing.
Her father’s family’s immigration from Ireland, their letters and documents, and some family stories inspired her current historical fiction novels.
In E.V.’s personal and church life, she ministered through prayer, worship, mission teams, and in Divorce Care and Singles. California native relocated to North Carolina, E.V. Sparrow and her husband enjoy family time with their grandchildren and exploring their new state.
More from E.V.
I’m writing books inspired by my father’s family because they believed in God but wrestled with their faith. Faith doesn’t come easy for every believer. We grapple with intimacy with God, but does God battle with us?
My oldest brother shared some stories of our great-grandfather, who emigrated here after losing his wives and children in Ireland. Yes, at least two families. I wondered, how could a suffering heart and soul survive those losses? Our great-grandfather’s inner turmoil didn’t change once he resettled in America. I read letters he wrote to his son—our grandfather and sifted through family photos. Certain aspects from the timeline of great-grandfather’s life fashioned my main character, Mick Muldoon. Mick encountered God’s unexpected presence several times without recognizing it.
Thinking through a Scripture verse, 1 Corinthians 13:13, (NIV) “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love,” reveals what remains when all else we are accustomed to is gone. I assume hope is as powerful as faith and love. It’s a triangle of strength for us until it goes wobbly. What happens when one or two of the three stabilizers are weaker than the others? Wounded, confused, and resilient characters named Mick, Orla, and Liam Muldoon.
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 23
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, January 24 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, January 25
Bizwings Book Blog, January 26
Sylvan Musings, January 27 (Author Interview)
An Author’s Take, January 27
Locks, Hooks and Books, January 28
A Reader’s Brain, January 29 (Author Interview)
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, January 30
Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, January 31 (Author Interview)
Life on Chickadee Lane, February 1
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 2
By The Book, February 3 (Author Interview)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 3
For Him and My Family, February 4
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, February 5 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, E.V. is giving away the grand prize package of an eBook copy of Muldoon’s Minnesota Darling and an Amazon $50 gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/299bb/muldoon-s-minnesot-darling-celebration-tour-giveaway
Interview
Do you have a favorite scene in your newest release? It was so fun to write scenes and dialogue for this story, but I’ll choose when Mick and Shauna meet. It’s a “meet cute” and completely unexpected by Mick.
What is one thing you hope readers will take away from your story? That although we may struggle with our understanding, faith, or hope, in God, He doesn’t struggle with us! He’s long-suffering and patient while we learn and grow.
What qualities do you look for in a hero and heroine? The ones who are realistic, living in a world which opposes them with circumstances beyond their control, yet having victories over fear, loss, misunderstandings, betrayals, and other hurtful challenges.
If you could vacation anywhere, where would you go? I just returned from my third trip to Ireland, or I’d chose that country. I’d say return to Switzerland. I’ve traveled abroad and gone on short-term mission trips to many countries and wrote those stories in anthologies. Ireland, Switzerland, Israel, and Greece are my top four.
Where can readers connect with you? Every day I visit Facebook, and Instagram and I check my other platforms regularly. I have a private group readers can request to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/645009377108035
A monthly newsletter sent on the 15th https://mailchi.mp/475597e34cd3/sparrowworld
Here are all my links in Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/ev.sparrow
Thank you for connecting with me and for the enjoyable interview, Jodie!
So glad you stopped by today! Hope you’ll visit again.
I would love to with my next book!
A historical “meet cute” sounds entertaining. Muldoon’s Minnesota Darling sounds like a wonderful story.
Hi Roxanne. Hope you enjoy the book.
I enjoyed writing their “meet cute.” That’s when Shauna’s personality came to life for me. 🙂
How do you develop your characters and decide their traits?
I often use a character worksheet. I look for photos online that represent the character I have in mind. Sometimes I use the character traits from someone I know to help develop a deeper character.
Those are good tools to create characters, Jodie. 🙂 Also, tell me if you’d like to be featured in my newsletter in the future.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Hi Tracie, sorry I couldn’t respond on another blog when you asked a similar question. For myself: characters appear in a scene and a conversation begins revealing their personalities. I develop them from there.
This looks really good. Thanks for hosting this giveaway.
Great to have you here!
Glad you think so!
Nice cover
I love it as well! The cover artist used images and ideas I sent her. After she created it, I wrote a scene about the hat Shauna is wearing. It was so fun to include it! 🙂
Great to have you stop by and chat with the author, Terri.