A couple of months ago I got an email from Lynne Bowen Walker, an author who has written a delightful book called Queen of the Castle. It’s such a fun book to read; it’s interactive and inspirational and practical and chatty and everything good…perfect reading for a mama on the go.

Well, today Lynne is starting a blog book tour, and I asked her if I could be the first stop on her tour, primarily because it was way easier for me to remember May 1st than any other date in May.

PRACTICAL AS ALWAYS, I AM.

Not to mention:

WINNING OVER THE AUTHORS OF AMERICA, ONE BLOG POST AT A TIME.

Ahem.

So I asked Lynne a few questions about her book, and she was kind enough to participate in my amateurish interviewing efforts, oh bless her heart:

What in the world made you decide to write a book? And once you decided to write one, how in the world did you find time to tackle it?

It was kind of accidental, really. I kept finding myself writing magazine articles, all on the topic of The Importance of Being a Homemaker. After about 20 or so, it finally dawned on me that homemaking was my passion, and that even though I’m not exactly gifted at it, maybe I should write a book encouraging other women who love their homes and families but could use a little help.

And the joy of being forgetful is that every time I pick up the book and read a little, I think, “Oh! What a good idea!” I clearly really really need to read this book myself.

As for finding time, I wrote it in short bits, while waiting for my kids to be done with Little League practice, while I was in the auditorium waiting for the band concert to start, that kind of thing. I ran into one of my son’s football coaches recently, and after learning that I wrote a book, he said, “Oh yeah, I always did see you waiting in the car reading or writing something!”

Where did you get all the great “words of the week” that you feature? And how did you decide what would go into each chapter?

I love to read, and a lot of the authors I read use really big words. So as I came across words I didn’t know, I looked them up, then put my favorites in Queen of the Castle along with the definitions. Now we can all use really big words. :)

Deciding on what to include in each chapter came about because I love magazines, so I looked at each chapter as three short magazine essays plus some practical sidebars. When I came across great quotes or recipes that seemed too good not to share, I threw those in, too.

At the end of each chapter I included a Bible verse and a prayer, because any wisdom I have on how to live life as a homemaker comes from the Bible, and any strength I have to carry out what I know comes from asking God for help.

I also included a “Chocolate Break” at the end of every month because a girl’s just gotta have her chocolate. Otherwise we get cranky.

What audience did you have in mind when you wrote this book?

I figured moms of little ones would be interested in reading books about how to get their kids to stop biting, and moms of older ones would be interested in reading about how to get their kids into a good college, so it was that middle stage of motherhood that I pictured as I wrote – the moms who were heavy into chauffeuring kids to soccer practice, and who spent most of their spare time in the laundry room trying to determine if that was blood on the shirt and how exactly it might have gotten there.

But I’ve been gratified to hear that women of all ages have enjoyed the book, especially those who are grandmas and even great-grandmas. I think Queen of the Castle kind of celebrates the job we do in raising our families, and women who’ve already done that job appreciate being recognized.

Would if offend you to know that I kept my copy in the, um, bathroom, and that’s where I would read it, a few pages at the time, because it’s QUIET IN THERE?

Not at all, I think it’s a perfect bathroom book! And many moms would be envious that you actually get some quiet time in there.

I’ve also heard that it’s a good right-before-bed book, when you can barely keep your eyes open but want just a few minutes of reading time before dropping off to sleep.

There are so many great quotes and great recipes in your book – as I read, I thought that you must have been collecting both for years. Did you? Or did you accumulate them all as you wrote?

I did collect them for years. And I wrote the book over a period of years, too. So while it was at times frustrating to make such slow progress on writing the book, I think in the end it made it richer than it would have been had I been able to knock it out quickly.

What’s the best way for someone to order a copy of your book – and to make sure that they have it in time for Mother’s Day? (It’s a perfect Mother’s Day gift, you know.)

Thank you for the blatant plug, Boomama! Christianbook.com and Amazon.com both carry it, and I think they can ship pretty fast. Also, some Christian bookstores and Borders and Barnes and Noble stores carry it, so if you need a copy right away you might give your local bookstore a call to see if they have it.

Just for the record, I don’t believe I’ve ever been referred to as The Queen Of The Castle.

But The Queen of Fried Chicken? You betcha.

It’s a title I wear with pride.

And I’ll never relinquish my throne.