Promotion in Motion: Maureen Lang's Bees In The Butterfly Garden

About the Book:

Raised in an exclusive boarding school among Fifth Avenue’s finest, Meg Davenport has all she’s ever needed . . . but none of the things she’s wanted most, like family, or dreams of a future that includes anything other than finding a suitable match. So when her distant father dies, she seizes the chance to throw etiquette aside and do as she pleases. Especially when she learns that John Davenport wasn’t the wealthy businessman she thought, but one of the Gilded Age’s most talented thieves.

Poised to lead those loyal to Meg’s father, Ian Maguire knows the last thing his mentor would have wanted is for his beloved daughter to follow in his footsteps. Yet Meg is determined, and her connections to one of New York’s wealthiest families could help Ian pull off his biggest heist yet. But are they both in over their heads? And in trying to gain everything, will they end up losing it all?

 

Maureen, can you share what do you love about this book?

I love the pure fun associated with this book. I’ve enjoyed the romantic aspects in all of my previous novels, but most of them have had either a war or some other serious element included (such as a child with a disability—important, but more serious). This book, while it does have a message of God’s love and forgiveness included, was more lighthearted and romantic in its theme. It’s not comedic, but Bees In The Butterfly Garden was a delight to write from beginning to end, and I think it shows.

 

What’s the main thing you learned during the process of writing and publishing this book?

 I’ve always suspected that the more fun an author has with a story, the more readers will enjoy it. I’ve found that to be true with this one. It’s a story that leaves a smile on a reader’s face, just as it did with me when I wrote it.

As with every book I write, I loved the revision stage. When I turn in a book, it’s the best I can do. Some gradually shrinking side of my brain still wants to hope that my wonderful editors won’t find much for me to revise—but then we have a detailed discussion and I come away with all kinds of ways to improve the story. This time through, my hero needed to be taught a tough lesson, one I hadn’t been willing to put him through during my first draft. It was funny when my editor mentioned what she thought needed to be done, because I was already saying the same thing in my head. Having some time away from the project, the time between turning it in and having the revision discussion, gave me the fresh eye to see some of the needs.

Maureen, what should your readers discover and want to share with their family and friends after reading this book? 

Readers will be reminded that even though we make mistakes, God loves us. His grace is always there for us, if only we want to receive it. I want someone to hand this book to another reader and say something like: “This story reminded me that God knows me and loves me anyway.” That’s what I felt while writing it.

 

About why I write my books…

All of my books were inspired by something specific. My war books go back to my childhood, hearing my dad and uncles “discuss” the war (although that was World War Two and I wrote about the First World War). I was too young to follow most of that, but I knew all that war-talk came with great emotion. With my “disability” books—i.e., a book that includes a child with a disability—those came from my everyday life, being the mom and an aunt to handicapped children. Bees in the Butterfly Garden is the first book that came out of a title. Usually I’m title-challenged, but one day I was looking out at my garden, one I’d planted with the hope of attracting butterflies. All I saw were two huge bees. Feeling sorry for myself, I said “I don’t get butterflies; all I get are bees. Bees in the butterfly garden.” But hey! I stopped what I was doing immediately (writing another book, actually) and wrote that down, because I recognized that it would make a great title. All I needed to do was write a book to go with it. And I did.

 

About the Author:

Maureen Lang is a reader who figured out at a very young age how to write what she wants to read. She penned her first novel at age ten, and has been writing ever since. In fact, she’d rather be writing or reading than doing just about anything else—but with a family and a dog depending on her for breakfast, lunch and dinner, she feels like she’s in the kitchen more often than at her desk or in her favorite chair with a book. Maureen is the author of a dozen books and has been nominated for a Christy, Rita and Carol. She’s won a Holt Medallion and the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, but none of that compare to the day her daughter told her she was a good writer. Ah, recognition at home is rare indeed. Visit Maureen on the web at www.maureenlang.com

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