If you have read a Laura Frantz novel, you catch a glimpse of the woman herself ~ elegant, classic, passionate, and full of faith! I’ve had the honour of reading and loving each of her nine novels and getting to know her a little over the years while featuring her lovely stories here at Relz Reviewz. Meeting her in person in 2016 was an absolute joy and while the aforesaid descriptors proved accurate, and I also discovered her sharp sense of humour, vibrant love of life, and warm nature. Hope you all enjoy getting to know the lovely Laura a little better as she shares some of her favourite things! Be sure to enter the giveaway below for your chance to win a copy of The Lacemaker.
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Laura’s Fast Favourites
Animal
Baby donkey. We lived near one once and it was so friendly and followed us everywhere. Unbelievably cute and so much personality! Could do without the braying though!
Artist
David Wright or any frontier American artist. He captured my hero for A Moonbow Night so beautifully I could almost hear him breathe! Please see my Pinterest board for a peek… https://www.pinterest.com/laurafrantz/a-moonbow-night/
Board Game
Cribbage. I used to play all-night marathons in college. Now I can hardly remember how to keep score!
Book
Follow the River by James Alexander Thom about an escape from Indian captivity, based on a true-life story. I’ve never read a book that captured frontier America so beautifully and authentically.
Colour
Blue is a such a serene, lovely color and one I lean toward lately as life becomes more hectic!
Flower
Wildflowers will always be my favorite with pink tea roses a close second.
Ice-cream
Peanut butter chocolate! I worked at the second leading selling Baskin Robbins in the US/Kentucky during high school. On hot nights, the line out the door would run down the street! Oddly enough, ice cream is my least favorite dessert now.
Movie
A tie between the BBC’s North and South and The Last of the Mohicans. I’m an odd mix of civility and the wild😉.
Rel: Our mutual love of North and South, not to mention the gorgeous Richard Crispin Armitage, will bond us forever, Laura 😉
Non-writing activity
Love long walks, just being out in the natural world. Endlessly inspiring!
Reading genre
Historical fiction all the way! I confess to being in a reading rut with them but quite happily so!
Season
Absolutely love Thanksgiving as it kicks off the holiday season and there’s so much to look forward to. Also, the focus on thankfulness means a lot to me personally.
Snack
My writing break each afternoon consists of Coke Life (60 calories per small bottle and made with stevia) and if I’m really hungry, popcorn!
Sport (watch or play)
Not a fan of anything – bores me to tears! But if ice skating qualifies, I do love that!
TV show
No tv at our house. Though I do watch Poldark and BBC historicals online sometimes.
When colonial Williamsburg explodes like a powder keg on the eve of the American Revolution, Lady Elisabeth “Liberty” Lawson is abandoned by her fiancé and suspected of being a spy for the hated British. No one comes to her aid save the Patriot Noble Rynallt, a man with formidable enemies of his own. Liberty is left with a terrible choice. Will the Virginia belle turned lacemaker side with the radical revolutionaries, or stay true to her English roots? And at what cost?
Historical romance favorite Laura Frantz is back with a suspenseful story of love, betrayal, and new beginnings. With her meticulous eye for detail and her knack for creating living, breathing characters, Frantz continues to enchant historical fiction readers who long to feel they are a part of the story.
Share a favourite scene from your current novel
Oh my! I think it’s the scene in which Lady Elisabeth hears her hero calling her a Welsh name that means ‘beloved’ when he thinks she’s asleep, long before he’s declared his heart toward her. She doesn’t understand Welsh so wonders for a long time just what he said. I believe The Lacemaker may be my most romantic book yet. Quite so after the very historical A Moonbow Night!
I’ve always had a heart for Rel and her beautiful site. I’ll never forget when she contacted me months ahead of my debut novel and invited me over. I felt so honoured as a new author! And here we are 9 books later and I’m just as honoured. Thank you, faithful Rel!
Oh, my! Laura, you are the sweetest. The honour was (and is) supremely mutual!
Relz Reviewz Extras
All Things Frantz @ Relz Reviewz
Visit Laura’s website and blog
Buy at Amazon: The Lacemaker or Koorong
January 12, 2018 at 12:31 pm
Hands down, you do THE BEST interviews, Rel. So honored and blessed many times over and am thrilled we’re still on this book adventure together almost ten years later! Thanks to readers, too, for their hearts for edifying books. 2018 is off to a blessed start with a line-up of incredible fiction and non-fiction to come:)
January 12, 2018 at 2:48 pm
A total joy to share your books with my readers, Laura xo
January 12, 2018 at 4:47 pm
Hey Laura! I so enjoyed the interview. We have so many things in common, no wonder I love your books! The Pinterest page was so interesting. I love all of the John Buxton art especially. “Friendship: A Common Ground” hangs in a place of honor in my house. I love the story behind the picture. Anyway, have a blessed day, my friend!
January 12, 2018 at 1:05 pm
Share fast favorites of color blue, wildflowers and pink roses, and walks ~ and, fo course, her historical stories! Precious. Thanks, Rel, always fun.
January 12, 2018 at 2:48 pm
Glad you enjoyed it, Mary!
January 12, 2018 at 1:16 pm
Ah. Historical fiction is one of my favorites too!
January 12, 2018 at 1:19 pm
OHHH!! The Last of the Mohicans!!! I saw Magua at the Toronto airport in September, definitely not scared. THAT time.
I can hardly wait to read The Lacemaker!
SO lovely to see Saint Laura of Kentucke here, dear Rel!
January 12, 2018 at 2:48 pm
Agreed, my friend xo
January 12, 2018 at 1:21 pm
Ooh, I love chocolate peanut butter ice cream, too!
January 12, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Sounds divine – we don’t have chocolate peanut butter ice cream here. It’s a travesty, Stephanie!!
January 12, 2018 at 1:27 pm
Most definitely the color blue – it’s always been my favorite. And that cover…sigh. It’s simply gorgeous! Thank you for awesome interview and giveaway opportunity.
January 12, 2018 at 2:50 pm
Pleasure, Perrianne. The giveaway is courtesy of the wonderful folk at Revell Books.
January 12, 2018 at 1:36 pm
Don’t enter me in the draw, since I recently won a copy, but need to comment on some of Laura’s bests.
Blue rules! I’ve loved it ever since I drew breath.
Yes to North and South. Own the dvd (no TV channels at our house either) and love, love it. Well, and most BBC dramas – Pride and Prejudice, Cranford, and then let’s not forget all the crime dramas – Shetland, Return to Paradise, Vera, Endeavour, Scott and Bailey. Oh, bring it on!
We play games at work on our breaks. It’s either Pinochle, Wizard or Crib – depending on how many people want to play. The best part of work. Oops, did I say that out loud?
Ice skating is the best, especially pairs and dance.
Is Coke Life better than Coke Zero? How does the taste compare?
I think I’d like to go for long walks too (Why does no one say I’m a good walker? I am too a good walker. To quote from Persuasion.) if only we had something to look at while walking. Gravel roads that stretch on for miles and miles, not a hill or valley or curve anywhere in sight, makes for some pretty boring walks. The only thing exciting is coming upon skunks, which happens every year!
Thanks for this glimpse into your life.
January 12, 2018 at 2:50 pm
Love your detailed response, Arletta 🙂 Looks like you and Laura have a lot in common.
January 12, 2018 at 1:53 pm
This is a delightful interview! I enjoyed the peek at Laura’s preferences. I, too, will forever love North and South.
I’m excited to read The Lacemaker soon (if I could just hurry up and read the few books ahead of it, that would be better!). I picked up a copy at a real book store on Tuesday.
January 12, 2018 at 2:51 pm
North and South is the BEST! No surprise you love it too, Courtney 🙂
January 13, 2018 at 12:52 pm
Thank you, Courtney, for getting the book! My author heart is smiling ear to ear. So hope you enjoy this particular story as much as I enjoyed writing it:) And love how you say ‘real book store.’ Thanks for that, too.
January 12, 2018 at 1:55 pm
I love long walks. There is something about being out in nature that calms my spirit and remind me of God and who I am in Hom.
January 12, 2018 at 2:51 pm
So agree, Sonnetta.
January 12, 2018 at 2:02 pm
I love wildflowers and Thanksgiving is my favorite family holiday. Thank you for this giveaway.
January 12, 2018 at 2:52 pm
Welcome, Carol.
January 12, 2018 at 2:27 pm
I love Poldark and BBC shows, too!
We had a Baskin Robbins in our KY town, I wonder if she is from around there?
January 13, 2018 at 12:39 pm
Hi Dianna, So glad to meet a fellow Kentuckian 🙂 I worked at the Lexington B&R which back then was said to be the 2nd leading selling in the nation! The lines for ice cream were out the door in the summertime. Good times. 🙂
January 12, 2018 at 2:46 pm
It’s a non-thing alike! I don’t watch tv either.
January 13, 2018 at 12:44 pm
More time for reading, dear Joan! 🙂
January 12, 2018 at 3:17 pm
Our “in common” favorite is probably historical fiction. Blue is one of my favorite colors so it comes in at a close second 🙂 Thanks so much for the chance to win The Lacemaker!
January 12, 2018 at 3:41 pm
North and South was the BEST show I watched!! John Thronton is so dreamy…lol! And historical is my favorite genre to read. 🙂
Thanks for the giveaway of this most anticipated book, The Lacemaker!
January 12, 2018 at 4:06 pm
I have a few favorites in common with Laura: the color blue! The lLast of the Mohicans just WOW! Historical Christian Fiction. Does Moose Tracks Ice cream count the same as your flavor? I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since I saw it pop up on these blogs! Thanks for the chanc3 to win!
January 12, 2018 at 4:31 pm
Totally with Laura on historical fiction! And chocolate peanut butter ice cream (almost any kind of chocolate ice cream is fine by me!). And the color blue (second-favorite after purple). And BBC historicals – “Downton Abbey” or “Victoria”, anyone? 🙂
P.S. I like Richard Armitage, too, in the “Hobbit” movies! 🙂
January 12, 2018 at 11:54 pm
So happy to see so many comments here! Loved reading every one! Thank you for your support for this novel, one I particularly love and that ministered to me as I wrote it. Only the Lord can do that so creatively! I hope you find the same hope in those pages. Headed to Nashville today but will check back in here when I get home tonight. Happy Friday, friends!
January 13, 2018 at 12:10 am
I love long walks too.
January 13, 2018 at 12:10 am
Loved North and South! I’m also enjoying Poldark although behind on the series.
January 13, 2018 at 1:14 am
Enjoyed the interview so much! It is no wonder I love Laura’s books since we have such similar taste. I love North and South as well as James Alexander Thom’s novel. He has written some excellent historicals. Thanks for the interview, Laura and Rel. Always enjoyable!
Mary
January 13, 2018 at 2:18 am
what a great interview. some similarities: artist David Wright, color Blue, Historical Fiction, Ice Skating
January 13, 2018 at 2:51 am
Laura’s favorite that is also mine is the non-writing activity! Although I prefer running 😉 I love the outdoors and being in the mountains.
January 13, 2018 at 3:01 am
Same favorite as Laura’s – ICE CREAM!! 🙂 I love chocolate peanut butter, almost anything with those is a hit for me, but especially ice cream. (too bad it’s not ice cream time here yet–now I’m hungry/craving some c&pb ice cream!!)
I can’t wait to read The Lacemaker, and I’d love to win this!
January 13, 2018 at 3:14 am
I also love the color blue, alwayscoming back to its calming hues. And nature walks! It’s rainy in Northern California now, though, so I don’t go on many now. The book sounds lovely 🙂 it’s on my to-read list!
January 13, 2018 at 3:41 am
I learned cribbage in college and played many long winter nights away with my now husband. Love this game too.
January 13, 2018 at 4:05 am
I’d have to go with peanut butter chocolate ice cream as a favorite. Yum! Thanks for the chance to win. I’m dying to read this book!
January 13, 2018 at 4:45 am
Laura’s books have been favorites ever since the debut of The Frontiersman’s Daughter. I also adore historical fiction and of course North and South. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen that one.
January 13, 2018 at 5:25 am
I love watching ice skating like Laura. Looking forward to the Olympics!
January 13, 2018 at 6:30 am
I loved the interview with Laura, and like her one of my fav things is a long walk enjoying nature. Her book sounds incredible, and I would love to win a copy. Thanks for the giveaway. Blessings. 😊
January 13, 2018 at 8:34 am
I share some of your favorites. I love wildflowers, the color blue, popcorn, peanut butter chocolate ice cream and reading historical fiction. Looking forward to reading “The Lacemaker”.
January 13, 2018 at 10:12 am
I like the color blue, ice skating on TV and historical fiction. Texas wildflowers are the best. Please enter my name in the drawing.
January 13, 2018 at 12:43 pm
I do have a few things in common with Laura: liking the color blue, wildflowers, pink roses, Poldark, and reading historical fiction (though I also like contemporary fiction just as well). I’m a big fan of Laura’s books though I haven’t yet read all of them. I’m looking forward to reading The Lacemaker. The cover alone would draw me in, even if I didn’t know Laura was a great author. Thanks for this fun interview and the giveaway.
January 13, 2018 at 12:54 pm
Thanks, Pam, and everyone here for your gracious comments. We have a lot in common besides our love for books! After so many summer and fall releases, I’m slowly getting used to books of mine releasing in winter. I think winter reads make wonderful reads. Only I think Rel is thinking SUMMER instead right now! 🙂
January 13, 2018 at 1:19 pm
Several favorites of Laura’s are also mine, especially loving North & South, Poldark, ice skating, long walks, wildflowers, the color blue… Looking forward to reading this book!
January 13, 2018 at 4:19 pm
Great interview, Rel and Laura! I was privileged to meet Laura at CFRR last August. What a beautiful, talented lady! I also love the color blue and historical fiction. I’m looking forward to reading The Lacemaker. It sounds fascinating.
January 13, 2018 at 4:52 pm
Totally agree with Thanksgiving! It’s my favorite by far 😊 Thanks for the fun interview 💜
January 14, 2018 at 2:53 am
My favorite things are: The color blue, pink roses, and purple lilacs , long walks in wooded areas and, books. My favorite genres include historical and mystery/suspense, vanilla ice cream, Thanks
January 14, 2018 at 3:12 am
Hi again, My computer froze up and evidently posted only part of my comment it should have been: My favorite things are: The color blue, pink roses, and purple lilacs, long walks in wooded areas, Lindor chocolate Truffles and, vanilla ice cream. My favorite genres include historical and mystery/suspense. Have a wonderful day!
January 14, 2018 at 4:44 am
I also love the wildflower. There are so many shapes and colors. They are free spirits that come up where and when they want. How could you not love them! Not a big sports person either. Also love to go for walks. We just bought acreage and built our dream home on it in the Ozark Mountains. I love to go exploring in our woods! However, medical problems keep me from going as often or far as I’d like or what I use to would have done. Still not complaining though because retired so I’ve got all the time in the world. 🙂
Thank you for the chance to win a copy of The Lacemaker!
January 14, 2018 at 6:29 am
I love board/table games but have never played Cribbage!
January 14, 2018 at 8:15 am
I love wildflowers, especially forget-me-nots.
I snapped up my library’s copy of The Lacemaker as soon as it came in, currently just past a quarter of the way through and loving it. 🙂
January 14, 2018 at 1:55 pm
Blue is my favourite colour, too! Which is probably part of the reason the cover for The Lacemaker caught my eye! 🙂
January 14, 2018 at 5:09 pm
Oh I love her taste in shows to watch. I’m not a fan of sports either, but I AM a HUGE fan of POLDARK. Oh my goodness, such a good show.
I also agree Thanksgiving is a wonderful time which starts the whole Holiday season.
January 14, 2018 at 5:12 pm
I so enjoyed this interview! Laura quickly became my favorite author after I discovered her over the summer! I read the entire Ballentyne Legacy during my summer break from college and continued reading other works of hers throughout the rest of the year. I have absolutely never read an author who puts so much work into researching the time period and location of her novel to ensure historical accuracy or who has such a gift of bringing words to life. The words that flow from pen to page turn the most mundane sentences into poetic verse. I cherish meeting each character and seeing their physical traits and character traits come to life right before my eyes as she crafts them into life through her gift of writing. I’m so thankful to have discovered an author like Laura who is so amazingly gifted in writing and maintains the importance of faith and redemption throughout each storyline.
Laura, if you read this, I hope to meet you someday! Come to Western North Carolina or Eastern Tennessee if you ever get the chance!! 😊
January 15, 2018 at 3:33 am
Love Laura Frantz’s books and can’t wait to read this one. Historical fiction is pretty much the only type of books I read these days:)
January 15, 2018 at 5:20 am
I agree about Thanksgiving as it means so much historically, and it does start the holiday season. Isn’t this book cover beautiful? Appreciate the interview.
January 15, 2018 at 10:45 am
What a lovely interview! So glad I could read this today since I’m starting The Lacemaker tonight after my girls go to sleep!
January 15, 2018 at 12:15 pm
We’d definitely be ice cream buddies! Love me some PB & chocolate!
January 15, 2018 at 3:49 pm
Great interview- loved it and love Laura Frantz- wonderful author. Like her my favorite ice cream is Peanut Butter chocolate as well!!
January 15, 2018 at 4:12 pm
I love peanut butter and chocolate together, inside and outside of ice cream! I also love most shades of blue for their calm and peaceful effect. I have Kentucky roots and went there once for a family reunion. I loved it there! My relatives were so kind and welcoming!
January 15, 2018 at 10:10 pm
Hello Rel and Laura! Love the interview!
I also enjoy Poldark and BBC historicals. Last nights episode of Victoria was incredible!
January 16, 2018 at 7:11 am
I also like the color blue and, of course, historical fiction. 😉 I can’t wait to read this book!
January 17, 2018 at 10:13 am
Wildflowers and historical fiction.
Lara @ #tbcw https://www.facebook.com/TheBletchleyCircleWatchers/
January 17, 2018 at 11:52 am
Historical Fiction, which is why I’m so thrilled to see a new book release from Laura Frantz! 🙂
January 18, 2018 at 4:42 am
Not entering as I have already read (and adored!) this beautiful novel, but I did want to say that I enjoyed these favorites so much! I found a lot of my own favorites as well! I loved North and South – have yet to read the novel, but it’s definitely on my reading priority list. I am in a happy rut with historical fiction as well. 🙂
January 18, 2018 at 3:00 pm
I love historical fiction and non-fiction too!
January 19, 2018 at 12:39 pm
Thanks Rel and Laura. Stunning cover for The Lacemaker. Such a beautiful blue
January 24, 2018 at 10:23 am
Jenni Hunt » You will love it, Jen 🙂 Coming your way soon!
January 19, 2018 at 1:30 pm
Also, no TV at my house; too many great books to read and not enough time!!
January 26, 2018 at 7:02 am
Rel, A bit blown away by all these wonderful comments, many reading friends here new to this release of mine. A HUGE thank you for showcasing The Lacemaker and helping spread the word! 2018 looks like an amazing year for books!