The New Diary Blog Tour: Author Interview

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I am participating in Hanna Kraft’s blog tour, hosted by Kellyn Roth, for her newly published book, The New Diary! A big congratulations to Hanna for publishing this book! It is a fantastic book, and I’m happy to be a part of the tour! Thanks, girls!

I will be posting a book review and an author interview. Read the book review here. Let’s get on to the author interview! I love author interviews, haha.

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The New Diary

One Summer Sunday in 1930, Carol Ayers decides to keep a diary. She records many life changes over the days, weeks, and months. Can Carol and her family accept, and even like the changes, and at the same time continue their traditions?

The New Diary, a fictional account, contains actual excerpts from the real diary of Carol Ayers, the author’s great-grandmother.

Find it on Goodreads

Author Bio:

Hanna Kraft, an introverted Christian Homeschooler, is very grateful to have the opportunity to learn at home, and desires to spread her love of Jesus to others. Every day she sees new ways the Lord has provided, blessed, and cared for her and those she cares for. Hanna enjoys writing much more than any of her five siblings, and has enjoyed it for several years. When she realized her ability to publish The New Diary, she decided to pursue writing as a bit more than a mere hobby.

Besides reading and writing, Hanna lives in the country with her family, and enjoys playing the banjo, swimming, listening to much Southern Gospel music, and watching college basketball.

Find her on Goodreads.

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How long have you been writing?

Oh, wow. I have no idea. I have a very bad story about ducks living in a human’s attic that was very old. I don’t even know why I wrote that… well, suffice it to say, I started writing when I couldn’t spell very well.

**What inspired you to write The New Diary?**

It was a school assignment, (writing a novel) and my mom had this great idea: why don’t I write an historical fiction about my great-grandmother? So, my mom was the who. The diaries were the what.

**How long did it take you to complete The New Diary?**

From research to publication, it was actually about a whole year. I started in the Fall of 2015, finished writing the whole thing in the Spring of 2016, (I believe) edited in the Summer, and published in November.

What does your writing and editing process look like?

Writing the first draft looked like me scribbling in a gigantic notebook, and crossing out half of my words. (I was saving my eraser from extinction) I had fun with that. Then, I typed it in, and rewrote much of it. I printed out the whole draft, and that’s when the real editing began. My mom looked through it, (multiple times) I looked through it, (multiple times) and we changed it quite a bit. I enjoyed editing, too, although it was sometimes frustrating. I liked making my mediocre writing look not so bad.

Do you believe Yahweh gave you the gift of writing?

In short, of course! I don’t see it much of a gift, at this point, since I know I have many more ways to improve than I have natural talent. I know He gave me the enjoyment of writing, and the ability to learn and improve.

**What was it like looking into your own family’s past and heritage while researching for The New Diary?**

It was fun and nostalgic. I enjoyed hearing the many stories, some more than once. I’ll always listen to a good story. Aunt Margaret was a keeper of much family history, and so there were many helpful papers. It was fun, but also sad in many ways. These were real people who were kicked out of their home, and lost their wealthy status.

How did this book change you? What did you learn while writing and researching?

Well, for one, I learned how difficult it is to write an historical fiction book. I also learned one way families in 1930 moved from Illinois to New York, how fairs worked, and a lot more. One thing that struck me, though, was how friendly and honest people were back then. When Margaret lost her purse, no one stole it. There wasn’t a week that went by that a neighbor or friend didn’t stop in at the Ayers’ house just to visit. Stuff happened that never happens today.

**In writing The New Diary, did you stay very close to the diary of your great grandmother, or did you take pieces and leave room to fictionalize the story/characters?**

I tried to stay as close as possible to Carol’s diary. I wanted it to sound like I could have written the book, and then thought of diary entries to go with them. Of course, I still had to be creative. Carol was sometimes very confusing/cryptic in her entries. And of course I had to fictionalize the characters somewhat, since I never knew any of them.

What is something you hope your readers will take away after reading this book?

I want my family members to remember their family; that was my main goal in writing it. I do hope all my readers will see Christ shining through, although it’s not a particularly ‘Christian’ book. I want them to see the value of a close and loving family. I’d also like to show my readers that life, no matter how dull you think it is, is not boring.

When reading Carol’s diary, did you see a reflection of yourself in her?

Maybe not myself in particular, but I did see quirks of my family from time to time.

Have you traveled to any of the places mentioned in the book (New York, etc)?

Yes! I’ve been to Canajoharie, and seen the fairgrounds. My grandmother lives near there, so it’s not difficult to drive a bit out of our way. I definitely want to travel to Athens, Illinois, in the future.

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There we have it! I enjoy author interviews a ton. Thank you so, so much Hanna Kraft, for letting me interview you. 🙂 Nice answers, too. It’s pretty nice to think back on times where it was just… nicer. You didn’t have to worry about so much, like thieves… Or maybe things have just gotten much worse and more noticeable….

Lovely interview, Hanna! Thanks again. I am very excited for the next book in the series, by the way! Keep up the great work. 🙂

I hope you all enjoyed this. Be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour!

The Tour

Wednesday the 1st

-Kellyn Roth @ Reveries Reviews (kick-off/author interview)

Thursday the 2nd

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Friday the 3rd

-Megan @ A Barefoot Gal (author interview)

Saturday the 4th

-Kellyn Roth @ Reveries Reviews (review)

-Anika Joy @ Anika’s Avenue (review/author interview)

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Thanks all so much! God bless.

5 Comments

Pingback:The New Diary Blog Tour: Book Review | The Peculiar Messenger
CutePolarBear
February 4, 2017 @ 12:15 pm · Reply

Thank YOU for interviewing me, Angela! I enjoyed answering your questions. 🙂

CutePolarBear
- Angela R. Watts
  February 4, 2017 @ 3:25 pm · Reply
  
  Awesome! Thank you so much again, it was fun. 🙂
Kellyn Roth
February 4, 2017 @ 11:52 pm · Reply

Once again, thanks for posting this! It’s greatly appreciated, and this kinda thing is also fun to do (and you know how nervous I was, so yep!).
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