Introducing Multi-genre, Multi-published Christian Author Anne Perreault
Anne's Biography:
Anne Perreault was born and raised in Germany. By the time she was 14 years old, her family moved to Dubai, UAE. While living in this exotic place, she traveled extensively to various countries around the world. After graduating from an American boarding school in Austria, she attended college in England, where she met her husband. She graduated from New England College with a degree in biology and settled down in Connecticut. Anne became a horseback riding instructor as well as a certified therapeutic riding instructor. She and a group of friends started a therapeutic riding center in Bristol, CT. During that time, Anne also received a master’s degree in secondary education and began to homeschool her three children. While raising their three children, she began to write an inspirational story primarily for her daughter.
Anne, her husband, and two of their grown children now reside in Southern Vermont, where they are building their home. Besides writing, Anne enjoys reading, spending time with her husband, grown children, and grand-dogger.
Cady McClintoch’s sheltered existence was thrown into glorious disarray when she met Grant.
Now married to him, she moves to Montana to start a new life. Settling into the role as wife, Cady soon learns that not everything goes the way she has planned. Grant's past has a way of making things difficult. She questions his love for her and struggles to overcome her own insecurities.
Grant McClintoch is a man of God with his share of demons to conquer. Overcoming the loss of his first wife and daughter, he works hard to reassure Cady that she is more than enough for him. Wanting her to spread her wings, yet being overly protective of her, is a real dilemma.
When unspeakable tragedy strikes, changing their lives forever, their commitment is tested.
Can God teach them a deeper love for each other?
Is their love strong enough to survive for better or for worse?
Maria: 1. Why did you decide to become a writer?
Anne: I actually didn't decide to become a writer. I was very happy being a mom and homeschooling my last child. But I have always been a bit of a storyteller and comedian. I have also loved books my whole life. I never imagined I would have the privilege of writing them myself.
When my middle child, my daughter, was about 10 years old, I took a good look around the library and found that there were not a lot of books out there I would be comfortable with having her read. Most of the teen stories have sensual context and I wasn't really keen on allowing my daughter reading this. So, since I always have a story in my head, I started to write it down. It took me a long time to finish it. It was excruciating and difficult, but when I hit The End, I just thought, Now what, God?
The answer was immediate and very firm. I was supposed to write. It took me a lot of struggling and a lot of trying to wiggle out of this but in the end, God made it clear that I wasn't alone that He would walk with me in this. It took me about 3 months to write my first series (5 books) and from then on, I was writing every second I had. After about 2 years, I dared to give the first book, Skating for Grace, to a friend of mine to read. She passed it to a publisher, who contacted me immediately to publish it. What followed was some huge anxiety and anguish, but in the end God moved me to self-publish. He found my editors for me, found me a cover designer.
I have written about 40 books, which need to be published. One of the commands God gave me was to share my stories with the world. Thus, I have a very exhausting publishing schedule. These days, I've slowed down writing since most of my time is spent in re-writes and editing and marketing.
Maria: Writing is not for everyone. It's very time consuming and does cause a lot of anxiety and anguish, in particular during publishing time at least for me anyway. With that said, writing is definitely a calling, especially for us Christian writers.
Maria: 2. Which book are you the proudest of?
Anne: That is like asking me which of my children I'm the proudest of. Each of my published books has something that is special about them and that has made me proud to have written it. I love the theme of the Royal Skater Chronicles, which is redemption and forgiveness. We all need that. The Cooper Series is such a powerful series, because I was able to address things like abuse in the home, sex trafficking and alcohol, and deployment. Some of those are very near to my heart. Journey to Joywas fun to write because I love history. Together with An Unusual Adventure, it was so exciting to go back in time. I am very proud of this Yellowstone series. The theme is really healing and I hope that it helps people to look for God after a tragedy occurs.
Maria: It sounds like all of your books are very special and have wonderful themes that can help people.
This story picks up where we left off in the first book, Desire of the Heart. The main characters, Grant and Cady, are married and are on their way to Montana. Of course, life happens to all of us. Grant's past is still lingering and that throws a huge wrench into the plans Cady is making for the two of them. She adores her husband, who is very much in love with her also. But her idea of a marriage is to have children as quickly as possible. When things don't quite go her way, she's confused and also a bit... upset. Throw in a huge bombshell that causes their lives to derail, Grant and Cady have a very stressful first year of marriage. They both have to learn that love may not be the fuzzy feelings we get when we see the other person. They need to commit to each other, for better or for worse.
That night, as another storm dumped more snow around them, and just the two of them were nestled in front of the cozy fire, Cady turned to face him.
“Grant?”
Grant's eyes were closed and he hovered near sleep. As her voice reached him, his eyes popped open and he stared bleary-eyed at her.
“Yeah, Cady-girl?”
How she loved it when he called her that. He was now fully awake, and brushed a strand of hair over her ear. She adored him and would do anything to keep him happy.
“I...” She swallowed and almost didn't go through with her question. Grant seemed to wait for her to speak, so- “I was wondering about something kinda important.”
He grinned roguishly. “Ask away.” And gave a bow with his head.
Giggling, she dared. “I was wondering when you wanted to start working on that large family you wanted?”
His smile faded and he sat up. Light from the fire bounced off his face, cast some of it into wild shadows. He wrapped his arms around his knees and peered, apparently lost in thought.
“Grant?” she whispered.
He turned to her. “I like this, you and me. Why can't we enjoy this time we have together? A baby... a baby complicates things. I'm not sure...” His voice died.
Cady blinked back tears of disappointment and lowered her face. “I don't understand. What's changed? You said you wanted a large family.”
His brows knitted. “I like us. I like coming home and having you all to myself. It works for me. I don't know if I'm ready for a child yet. I thought I was. Now I'm not so sure.”
She swallowed hard. “I see. It's just, everyone is having a baby. And I feel left out. And I feel this pressure. When I talk to my mother, it's like she's waiting for me to announce we're expecting. Besides, I don't have another assignment for the park until February. I can only arrange the furniture so much, bake goodies for the rangers, and help Ash with her wedding. I... I'm restless.”
“That's not really a valid reason to have a baby, Cady.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Are you ever going to be ready to be pregnant?”
He cupped her neck tenderly, his eyes sparkling mischievously. “I think that might be slightly impossible.”
“Huh?” She cocked her head.
“I will wait until you get pregnant.”
Her jaw dropped and she swatted his chest. Grant snickered, then leaned close. “But don't wish for something when it isn’t time yet. Please. I'm not ready.”
“Okay. I understand. But let's not wait too long.”
Grant curled his arms around her and sleep came eventually. For the first time since she had married Grant, Cady felt that they weren't on the same page. A part of her was disappointed that he didn't want a child yet, even though she understood his reasoning.
Maria: Thank you for that insightful excerpt! I can't wait to dive in!
Maria: 4. What do you hope your readers will walk away with when they read this book?
Anne: I feel that there is a lot about healing from past wounds in this book. It seems to be a theme for this whole series. I would hope that the reader would come to see that love doesn't come only skin-deep. There is a sacrifice that comes along with love and we have to decide on whether it's worth it to stick it out.
Maria: That's a great message. It takes a lot of effort to make a marriage work.
Maria,You're welcome!
Lori, thank you for your wonderful compliment! 💜
This is a great interview!