Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Sharlene MacLaren: Dreams That Come True



Sharlene "Shar" MacLaren was a teacher, a wife of a banker, a mother (she became a grandmother in 2008) and a long-time Christian when she started having dreams, literal dreams, of being a novelist eight years ago. (Today is her 60th birthday--happy birthday, Shar!) While talented in music, she was thinking so much about what God would have her to do at this point in her life, she was working it out in her dreams.


She didn't need a dream interpreter to figure out what came next--she started writing novels--and continues today. While she brushed off her friends who clamored for her handwritten romances in high school, she could no longer brush off God's call.

Let's see what the birthday girl's life was back then that makes her into the superb romance writer she is today:

Childhood Ambition:


I always wanted to be a rancher’s wife! Must’ve been all those silly romances I read in junior high and high school! ‘Course, like most young girls, I wanted a horse, too, so I figured ropin’ me a handsome rancher would get me the horse. Hahaha. Today a horse sounds like way too much work, and the rancher—no thanks. I got me a handsome banker instead.





Once the whole rancher notion blew over, I started playing “teacher” by lining up chairs in my living room for my pretend students and writing on a big chalkboard my parents had bought me for a gift. That was the dream that took hold, as I wound up teaching second and fourth grades for 31 years. Oh, I almost forgot— in high school I wanted to be a nurse for about two weeks when I found out the future nurses’ club was taking an excursion and I could get out of school for an entire day. I joined the group then quickly dropped out after the field trip. Nursing was NOT for me. We visited a state mental institution, and it was 1964. Need I say more?.

Fondest Memory (then):


It’s very hard to come up with just one, but when I think of my childhood I can’t help but think about my dad, who was such a jokester and simply loved life! He and I spent time fishing together on foggy summer mornings when the sun was just peeking over the horizon and the lake shone like glass. We were supposed to sit quietly and wait for the fish to bite, but Dad loved making me laugh, so he’d do silly things like pretend he was falling out of the boat, or make believe he had a fish, or make a weird face at me, anything to get a giggle. Those memories stand out to me like diamonds on black velvet.

Proudest Moment (then):

One of the earliest recollections I have of feeling proud was when my second grade teacher singled me out to the rest of the class and showed them my beautiful penmanship. I remember glowing inside and out. (Oh, what an opportunity teachers have to make positive impacts on their students.)

Biggest Challenge as a Child or Teen:


I grew up in the 50s and 60s, graduating from high school in 1966. The biggest challenges I faced were plain silly compared to what kids face today. I probably worried that I didn’t have very nice clothes, but then most families were poor back then, especially in the town in which I grew up. My mom was a wonderful seamstress, so she sewed me all the latest fashions, but back then, girls didn’t care that much about name brands. We lived much simpler lifestyles. Perhaps one challenge that stands out was that I didn’t feel very “smart” compared to my classmates. I always had a low self-image when it came to learning subjects and studying for tests. I couldn’t remember facts worth beans—and I still can’t. Math was awful for me, as was chemistry, biology—all the sciences. Actually, history was no cup-of-tea, either, now that I think about it. ENGLISH, now that was where I learned to shine.

My First Job:

Most girls didn’t get jobs at young ages back then like they do today, so my first “real” job didn’t come till I graduated from high school. After graduation, I decided to delay college a year, so I did secretarial work in the office of a manufacturing company. A bunch of old women worked there (haha-they were probably in their 30s and 40s), I missed my high school friends, and I felt like a fish out of water, so after one year I applied for college and off I went to Spring Arbor University the following fall!

Childhood Indulgence:

I always volunteered to bake the cakes and cookies in my family, which my mom loved, so that I could snitch the batter and dough when no one was looking. Oh, yummmmmm…..

Favorite Outfit as a Child:

I still remember these summer shirts my mom made me that had these cool necklines. They were called “boatnecks”. When I was about 13, and just starting to think I was “cool”, one of the neighbor boys, who was about 16 or 17, told me I looked very nice in my new ‘hot pink’ shirt. Since I had a terrible crush on him…Larry Duram…I continued wearing it everytime I saw him!

Favorite Childhood Movie and/or TV Show:

Easy-peasy…favorite TV shows were: My Friend, Flicka, Howdy Doody Show, Mickey Mouse, Fury, Sky King, Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, The Red Skelton Hour, Lassie, and Candid Camera to name a few.

Favorite Childhood Book:

Elves and the Shoemakers, The Yearling, Black Beauty, Lassie, and later, anything by Victoria Holt and other fiction authors

Favorite Childhood Activity/Pastime:

Jumping rope, playing baseball, shooting baskets with my brothers, playing ‘house’ with all my dolls, jacks, fishing, swimming, exploring the woods across the road, climbing trees, catching turtles and frogs (I grew up on a lake—and with all boys!)

Childhood Hero:

It sounds cliché-ish, but I would have to say my daddy. What an amazing man of God—who had a way of showing his faith but in a completely unpretentious way. My mother, too—absolutely wonderful woman who served her Lord with fervency and sweetness. My parents lived consistent lives that mirrored Christ so powerfully that I never would have dreamt of going the other direction. I praise the Lord for such a fabulous heritage, one that rubbed off so thoroughly that now our children and their spouses have strong faiths too.

Shar's Mother and Shar's New Grandson


Where to find Shar:
Contact

http://www.sharlenemaclaren.com
http://www.sharlenemaclaren.blogspot.com
http://www.shoutlife.com/sharlenemaclaren


Anything else you would like to share with readers about your childhood which affected the writer you have become?




When I was a child, I never would have believed I’d wind up an author with several PUBLISHED books. I had always enjoyed dabbling in writing, and in high school, I used to write ‘silly’ teenage romances that circulated amongst my friends. I had a wildly vivid imagination, and they always told me I had a talent for writing, but I laughed and brushed off their compliments.

Most of my life, music held my focus, as I sang in ensembles, choirs, duets and performed lots of solos. But after raising my children and winding down my lifelong career in education I began to pray about what to do with the last half of my life, still loving music, but no longer seeing it as my main ministry. I wanted whatever I did to count for Christ!

Writing was something that had fallen into a deep sea of forgetfulness for me, but in the summer of 2000, after turning 52, I started dreaming I’d written a novel. A novel?! It was a strange recurring dream, but one cloudless day, I took it to heart and sat down at my computer to try carving out a story. Let me tell you I could barely believe it when the “fire” started rolling through my veins, pouring out of me like hot lava. It was an experience I shall never forget—that day my writing passion grew wings and took flight! Even today, it remains somewhat of a phenomenon to me, but I’ve learned to accept it as my calling.

Since then, I’ve written countless manuscripts, many of which have found their publishing home in Whitaker House, and I have no one to praise for this but the Lord Jesus. He plants the passion in our hearts—but it’s our job to run with it!
And something else…God is simply not done with a willing heart until He says so, no matter the “age or stage” we may be in. And for that, I Give Him Glory!

More About Shar:

Her favorite Bible Verse: Romans 8:28, which says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Born and raised in west Michigan, Sharlene MacLaren attended Spring Arbor University. Upon graduating with an education degree way back in 1971, she traveled internationally for a year with a small singing ensemble, then came home and married one of her childhood friends. Together they raised two lovely daughters, both of which are happily married. Recently retired after teaching elementary school for 31 years, ‘Shar’ enjoys reading, writing, singing in the church choir and worship teams, traveling, and spending time with her family, which now includes her very wonderful, adorable, precious grandson, and in 2008 -- two additional grandchildren.

A Christian for over forty years, and a lover of the English language, Shar has always enjoyed dabbling in writing—poetry, fiction, various essays, and freelancing for periodicals and newspapers. Her favored genre, however, has always been romance. She remembers well the short stories she wrote in high school and watching them circulate from girl to girl during government and civics classes. “Psst,” someone would whisper from two rows over, and always with the teacher’s back to the class, “Pass me the next page.”

Shar is a an occasional speaker for her local MOPS organization, is involved in KIDS’ HOPE USA, a mentoring program for at-risk children, counsels young women in the Apples of Gold program, and is active in two weekly Bible studies. She and her husband, Cecil, live in Spring Lake, Michigan with their lovable collie, Dakota, and Mocha, their lazy, fat cat.

Sharlene MacLaren's Awards:
IRCC finalist 2008
Reviewer's Choice Award 2007 and 2008 - "Road to Romance"
ACFW Finalist for Book-of-the-Year 2007


***WINNER OF SHARLENE MACLAREN'S THROUGH EVERY STORM--Doreen!
_____________________________________
Leave a Birthday Wish for Shar in the comments and win Through Every Storm, an ACFW Book of the Year finalist! (Yes, August 26th is Shar's 60th birthday!)___________________________________




Shar's Latest Book:
Long Journey Home — IN STORES NOW

Book Description:
After divorcing her abusive husband, single mother, Callie May, is still nursing the scars of a painful past. The last thing she needs in her life is another man, so she’s less than thrilled when a handsome but brooding stranger moves into the apartment across the hall. Dan Mattson may be attractive, but his circumstances certainly aren’t; a former pastor, he abandoned his flock in Michigan and fled to the Chicago suburbs after the death of his beloved wife and baby daughter in a tragic automobile accident. Embittered by his loss, Dan turns his back on God. Callie mistrusts men, and the angry Dan often gives her good reason. Both are weighed down by the scars and disappointment in their pasts. When Callie’s ex-husband shows up to wreak more havoc in her life, Dan finds himself coming to her defense—and facing his own demons in the process. Will Dan and Callie be able to get past their baggage and give love another chance? Can they come to see life’s tragedies as part of God’s perfect plan? And most important, will they allow the power of God to change their hearts and mend their hurts


"Little Hickman Creek" Series — IN STORES NOW

Loving Liza Jane

Book Description:
The story follows 21-year-old Eliza Jane Meriwether from Boston to Little Hickman, Kentucky in the year 1895. Naïve, but full of confidence and zeal, Eliza will assume the job as Little Hickman’s schoolteacher. But when she first rides into town on a ramshackle buckboard, her initial thought is, “Oh, Lord, what have I done?” Kentucky is nothing like her native Boston. Will she ever grow accustomed to its rolling hills and wide open spaces, not to mention the lack of modern conveniences? Although filled with doubts, she is convinced God has led her to this point, and soon the new schoolteacher is beloved by all, including Benjamin Broughton, a handsome widower with two young children. Trouble is her contract implicitly states, “marriage or any other unseemly behavior by women teachers is improper and will thereby result in immediate dismissal”. Liza has a lot to learn about God’s perfect plan for her life.

Sarah, My Beloved

Book Description:
Sarah Woodward has come to Kentucky as a mail-order bride, contracting with the services of the Marriage-Made-In-Heaven Agency. However, when she steps off the stagecoach to meet her betrothed, he kindly informs her he has fallen in love with another woman. Sarah is disappointed, yes, but she feels strongly God has led her to this rickety place for a reason. If not to marry Benjamin Broughton, then to fulfill some other duty and, thus, she will stay firmly planted in Little Hickman until she discovers that plan.
Rocky Callahan’s sister has died, leaving him to care for her two young children. When he meets up with the fiery Sarah Woodward, he proposes the answer to both their problems—a marriage in name only. Sarah soon comes to love the children, but Rocky is afraid that she’ll never survive as a farmer’s wife with her privileged upbringing. Can he let go of the pain of his past and trust God’s plan for his life? Will she leave him or will they actually find a marriage made in heaven?

Courting Emma

Book Description:
Twenty-eight-year old Emma Browning has experienced a good deal of life in her young age. Sole owner and operator of Emma’s Boardinghouse, she is “mother” to an array of beefy, unkempt, often rowdy characters. Though many men would like to get to know the steely, hard-edged, yet surprisingly lovely, proprietress, none has ever succeeded. That is, not until the town’s new pastor, Jonathan Atkins, takes up residence in the boardinghouse, affecting not only her with his devout faith and strong convictions, but her clientele as well. Emma clings desperately to her stubborn ways, refusing to acknowledge God’s love—until all of Little Hickman witnesses a miracle—the conversion of her abusive and alcoholic father, Ezra Browning! Only then will Emma begin to experience God’s transforming power at work.

Through Every Storm (ACFW finalist for Book of The Year 2007!)

Book Description:
When tragedy strikes, can love survive? Struggling through the tragic loss of a child, Jeff and Maddie Bowman experience the immense pain and grief brought about by a broken heart and a marriage severely strained and headed toward divorce. Feeling completely hopeless, Maddie questions whether life will ever be normal again. Then, when faced with having to care for a precocious little boy, Maddie slowly realizes how to let God be in control even when life is crashing down around her. The love she finds will give her hope and strength to make it through every storm

To LOOK FOR IN 2009

The Daughters of Jacob Kane - (2009)

Other book by Sharlene
Spring's Promise

Book Description:
Michigan-born twin brothers launch a ski trip to the Rockies in mid-January. But elation turns to despair when one of the twin brothers is tragically killed on the slopes. In an attempt to appease his guilt and grief, Jake Evans, the living twin, sets out to make amends with his sister-in-law, Raychel, by offering his help with her two small children, doing odd jobs around her house, and generally easing her heavy load. Left to raise her three-year-old daughter and newborn son on her own, Raychel is anything but willing to be coddled by her brother-in-law, particularly since there is some ‘history’ between them. Determined to make it on her own, she is shocked to discover that God has other plans for her, and those plans just may land her in the arms of her husband's brother.

16 comments:

Terry Whalin said...

Crystal,

With this profile, you've created another masterpiece and insight into the life of a writer. Well-done.

Terry
Author of Book Proposals That Sell

Patty said...

Thank you Crystal for sharing more of Shar's life with us.

Shar you have become very dear to your Shoutlife friends and many others. I know you have become a very dear friend to me in the short time that I have known you. Thank you for being such a beautiful person inside and out and sharing your life with us. Also I am impressed that you learned to link to another page!

Happy Birthday. You are a very special person and I hope you enjoyed a very special day in celebration of YOU.

There is no need to enter me into the contest since I recently won one of Shar's books. I want someone else to have a chance to win.

Thanks again Crystal for this wonderful Interview!

Patty Horn (Indiana)

CatMom said...

Sharlene MacLaren is one of my VERY FAVORITE authors and people!! Although I've never met her "in person," she's become a special "cyber friend"-LOL! (and I can't wait to meet her at the ACFW conference in Sept.!).~ Happy Birthday Shar! LOVED reading your childhood memories and seeing those precious pictures. Hugs, Patti Jo Moore

SHARLENE said...

Thank you for dropping by, Terry, Patty, and Patti! How fun to read your comments.

This is probably the most enjoyable interview I've ever done because it stirred so many precious memories. And doesn't Crystal do a fine job of laying everything out? I'm IMPRESSED! Three cheers for Crystal! And for anyone else who happens to stop by and read this interview all the way to its conclusion!

Hugs and Love to all!
Shar

Crystal Laine said...

I love Shar's historical romances, and I love it that Shar's short stories got passed around, page-by-page in civics and government classes!

I appreciate the kind comments, but I am always honored that a "kid" shares their memories with us. What a privilege to feature such a wonderful person.

If you want to be in the drawing, do leave a contact for me, so I can reach the winner!

Thanks, Shar, and thanks everyone here.

Gina McDonald said...

Crystal

Thank you for a short but wonderful journey on Shar's life.
Shar is the most sincere, honest, simple and amazing person that God sent it in my life. And God bless it her after her wonderful soul.
She is my favorite author and she inspire me a lot in my dream to be one day a good writer.
Love you a lot Shar, my dear freind.
Lot of hugs,
Gina from Romania.

Diana Billings said...

It was great to learn more about you Shar! Reading through the stories made me miss you and Cecil! I hope to see you both soon and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

A GREAT interview!

~Diana~

Mimi N said...

Another wonderful and unique interview. I really love your blog. I've never heard of Sharlene before and to see all the books she has in print! How could I have missed her? I will definitely be looking into her novels.

Blessings,
Mimi B in MN

Doreen said...

What a nice interview!! I haven't heard of Sharlene before but her books sound awesome! I'm intrigued and would love to read them.

purposedrivenlife4you(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the extremely interesting interview. I hope that you have had a wonderfully happy birthday and have enjoyed yourself so much. Please enter me in the drawing for this great book.

Blessings,
Jo
ladijo40(at)aol(dot)com

Patty said...

Happy belated birthday Shar! What wonderful stories about your childhood. I love the pictures of you also. The one in the blue shirt is stunning. I would love to read one of Shar's books. I have been meaning to for a long time, so I would love to win one.

pleblanc_1[at]charter[dot]net

Donna said...

This is one of my favorite sites to read. I love your interviews.

Happy Birthday belatedly Sharlene. I have just discovered your writing and really enjoyed it.

Unknown said...

What a great profile of a great author! Good job!

I am already reading "Through Every Storm" and enjoying it. I look forward to reading more of Shar's work.

Blessings
Shirley
http://apenforyourthoughts.blogspot.com/

SHARLENE said...

I don't know if any of you will check back here, but, oh, thank you so very much for stopping by and reading my interview with Crystal. I tell you, it was so much fun taking a little walk down "Memory Lane". I almost pictured myself walking hand in hand with my dad!

Thanks to all of you who commented--and for the birthday wishes. I had a wonderful day. AND...to further celebrate my "big" birthday, hubby and I are heading to England later this month. Yippee!

God bless us, one and all!

Hugs,
Shar

Rambling On said...

Happy Belated Birthday, Sharlene! Hope the big 6-0 was the best yet.

If it's not too late, I'd love to be a winner of one of Sharlene's books.

Crystal Laine said...

Doreen won the book, Through Every Storm in our drawing!

I very much enjoyed all the comments and having Shar here. I have Shar's Little Hickman Creek series and love them. If you like historical romance, do get them.