Takeover Tuesday with Marguerite Martin Gray

Happy Tuesday, friends!

Today’s takeover Tuesday author is Marguerite Martin Gray. She’s stopped by to talk about her latest book, Promise of Purity. Please grab a cup of tea (or coffee) and chat with her!

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Inspiration for Life (and Writing)

I’m sure that inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes for all of us. Sometimes it depends on a stage in life. Or perhaps circumstances. Dreams. Goals. Maybe the people who come in and out of one’s life. Yet, always there is God and His Word.

Making an overall assumption, I believe that most, if not all here today, are readers. That is one place I find inspiration daily, hourly. I’d read for hours a day if I didn’t have a full-time teaching position. What I read (mostly Christian Fiction) gives me comfort and encouragement. Sometimes I write down quotes and vocabulary words. I meet new friends in the characters and authors. Problems are solved or lessened as I journey through the pages. 

Everyday I take my big dog Tully for at least two walks through wooded trails or roads skirting the woods. The tall pines draw my gaze upwards toward the blue, the clouds, the vastness of God’s creation. This inspiration is cleansing and wholesome full of deep breaths and lifting of spirits. Nature grounds me in its intricate design yet simple acceptance. As I walk or hike on vacation in the mountains or valleys or pastures, my mind expands with creative ideas and scenarios. I have time to plot, dream, solve life’s concerns, pray, and breath. 

I love to travel—a world waiting to tickle my senses. Many of my novels begin as I walk through a castle or a manor house or a quaint village. As a young girl, I fell in love with Florence, using it as the setting for my Labor of Love. The history and beauty of Hampton Court Palace in England inspired my new release Promise of Purity. I walk in the steps of my characters surrounded by the same air as my characters.

One more place I soak up inspiration is in a garden. I have my own attempts at gardening—vegetables, flowers, herbs. I live in a field of daffodils in the spring and zinnias in the summer. Four awesome, unique gardens in Europe serve as the background for my Gardens in Time series. Many times, it is more about the gardens than the attached house or palace. Paths, walls, fountains, wild or cultivated fields. Gardens beg me to stop, rest, stay awhile. A bench, a chair. Another view into natural beauty. No one but God could sprinkle color and design, making such masterpieces.

What inspires you? Meditating on God’s Word directs and challenges me. It is enough, yet He adds books, woods, unique places, and gardens.

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Giveaway

Marguerite is having a giveaway. Click here for more info.

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About the Book

When their opposing beliefs collide, Kate and Peter witness a true test of faith in the ability of mankind to shed the past in order to preserve the future… and perhaps learn that the “greatest of these” truly is love.

Is true purity found in the laws of religion or in the hearts of the faithful?

Amazon | Goodreads

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About the Author

Marguerite Martin Gray is the author of Hold Me Close, Surround Me, Bring Me Near, Draw Me to Your Side, and Wait for Me– Revolutionary Faith Series, Labor of Love, and Promise of Purity– Gardens in Time Series. Besides researching her historical novels, she enjoys studying history and writing fiction. An avid traveler and reader, she has degrees in French, Spanish, and Journalism and a MA in English. Currently, Marguerite teaches French and Spanish online. She lives in North Louisiana with her husband and rescue cats and dog.  

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