AUTHOR JILL HUGHEY INTERVIEW

On March 18, I hosted a Book Blast for Jill Hughey's book, VAIN.  Today, please welcome Jill Hughey, author of VAIN, for a personal inteview. I’m eager to learn more about Jill, so I’ll go right to our interview.

Jill Hughey, Author

Caroline: Readers enjoy getting better acquainted with authors. Where did you grow up?

Jill: I grew up in St. Thomas, PA on an apple and peach orchard. My two sisters and I started working summers on the farm when we were eleven or twelve, so we all learned how to work hard. Nothing like being coated with sweat and peach fuzz on an August afternoon! It is a great place to raise a family. The orchards have been sold, but my husband and I live just a few miles away. My two sons are in the same school district I graduated from, and it is still a very rural lifestyle.

I am a bookworm. I have always been more mental than physical. I like to be fit but athletic activities do not come naturally.

Caroline: Or with me. Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Jill: I enjoy fiction, and find that I really want to go somewhere different when I read, which makes American contemporary fiction a hard sell to me. My favorite genre is historical romance. My favorite current authors in that genre are Madeline Hunter and Mary Balogh. I especially like Mary Balogh because she writes characters who aren’t perfect.

On a whole different plane of writing, I admire Isak Dinesen (Out of Africa) and Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain) for the way they craft words.

Caroline: Great choices, Jill. What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?

Jill: Singing. I take lessons in classical soprano. Learning a song gives me a great sense of fulfillment and requires total concentration – gets me out of my own head for a while. Right now I am working on Lascia ch’io pianga by Handel. Most fun piece I’ve learned recently is Glitter and be Gay.

Caroline: I so admire you. I’ve always wished I could sing, but when I try, the family come running to see if I’m hurt. ☺ Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

Jill:  “No matter where you go, there you are.” None of us can escape our internal challenges or tendencies, though many of us expend most of our energy trying to do just that.

Caroline: Very prophetic. How long have you been writing?

Jill: I started to really compose novels about ten years ago. I did not publish anything until 2011, and I had three manuscripts fleshed out by then so I put them out pretty quickly.

Caroline: Where do you prefer to write?  

Jill: I write on a MacBook Pro, usually at my kitchen table, though sometimes on the weekends, when it might be ok to sneak in a 15-minute nap, I let myself go to a comfy chair. I use a program called StoryMill for the first few drafts, then pull it into Word. I need quiet and I prefer solitude. I love my family, but a dream vacation for me would be to go off by myself and write for days on end. I can write for twelve hours without getting tired of it, and can be rather productive when I have no interruptions. I do not listen to music because I can’t let music stay in the background.

Caroline: I guess you can’t with your music background, but I listen to classical music when I write. Are you a plotter or a panzer?

Jill: I am a converted plotter. In my most recent release, VAIN, I forced myself to rough out the story and then write it chronologically. This makes the whole process much more efficient. It took me a long time to discipline myself, and I don’t know why!

Caroline: I found once I learned to plot that writing the story I dreamed became easier. Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Jill: I use the real historical events of the time period in my books. My historical romance series is set in the 830s in Charlemagne’s empire. The empire endured three civil wars in that decade, and that upheaval provides some background, motivation, and conflict for my characters. The only real people I use are the royals who caused all this trouble.

Caroline: I imagine you did a lot of research for VAIN. Do you set writing goals?

Jill: I work part-time as an administrative assistant in my husband’s company, so my writing hours are sort of hit and miss. I try to set aside Tuesday and Thursday for writing tasks. Even those days gets interrupted by phone calls from my “real” job. I don’t set goals because my personality is such that I already put too much pressure on myself to produce. I do not need another layer of guilt in my life. So, Tuesday, Thursday, and as much of each weekend as possible are carved out, and when the book is done, it’s done.

Caroline: No, pressure threatens creativity for many of us. What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Jill: Total immersion. We have all finished a book with the feeling of having been in another world. If I write well enough to take a reader on that trip, I am thrilled.

Caroline: Me, too. What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Jill: I want to keep writing. I see myself continuing it as part of my retirement in twenty years or so, and my dream is that my books might help support me in that stage of life, too!  I may try some contemporary fiction, not romance.

Caroline: Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

Jill: I am writing two short stories or novellas that augment my Evolution Series. These will tell the stories of two servants from the series who also deserve their happily-ever-after.

Caroline: What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Jill: Keep writing and trust your gut, though I am hardly a poster-child for how to be an independent author.

Caroline: What’s a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you?

Jill: I was the Franklin County Apple Queen in 1984 or 1985. I had a tiara and a sash. My job was to go to public events and represent the apple industry. It sounds kind of hokey but it was great fun and good experience for a high school kid.

Caroline: I believe it would have been an invaluable experience. What’s something about you that would surprise or shock readers?

Jill: Oh lord. My weakness seems to be beverages. I love coffee and require a cup of decaf in the morning and a cup of caffeinated in the afternoon. I love wine, too. White wine is like heroin to me. I don’t even bring it in the house anymore. I can sip a single glass of red with utter enjoyment, but white? Look out.

Caroline: The opposite is true with me. I can handle white wine, but not red. Is your book a series? If so, how long? Family saga, other?

Jill: Yes, the Evolution Series has three books, all set in the 830s. You don’t have to read them in order because each stands on its own. The titles describe a characteristic of the hero. They are UNBIDDEN, REDEEMED, and VAIN. The hero of UNBIDDEN is the common denominator in the books. He is brother to the hero of REDEEMED and best friend of the hero of VAIN. None of them are perfect. In fact, the villain in the first book is the hero in the second. He was fun to write.

Caroline: I used to be fascinated by Charlemagne. Can you give readers a blurb about your book?

Jill: I’d love to!

Lily had her life planned, neat and tidy as thread on a spindle, until her mother died and her father snipped at the seams of her future by abandoning Lily in their shop. A nobleman unexpectedly gives her hope when he brings fabric for a special garment. Lily survives on his first payment, and immerses herself in sewing and embroidering an incomparable tunic for him, as her tidy plan continues to unravel.

Theophilus, Lord of Ribeauville, takes his responsibility to his townspeople seriously and, therefore, does not dally with local women. Desire wars with duty when Lily glances up at him while adjusting the hem on his Easter tunic. As her deteriorating circumstances push them together, Theo and Lily learn that the path to his heart just might be through his wardrobe, though the exquisite outfit she creates is the only part of her that fits in his precarious aristocratic world.

Caroline: That was intriguing. How about an excerpt?

Jill: This scene is during the first fitting for a tunic Lily is making for Theo. He experienced an unsettling attraction to her and has abruptly ended her work.

BEGINNING OF EXCERPT

Lily did not know what had changed. For just a moment, her lord had appeared angry, and now he jerked at the tunic like it did not fit properly when, in fact, she had done admirably well. “Please, my lord,” she interjected when the pins and threads tacking the tops of the shoulder became visible between the pieces of fabric. “You do not have to decide now. You also do not have to destroy it. I will fix whatever has displeased you.”

He froze. His hazel eyes, heated instead of droopy with kindness, flicked onto her. “Will you?”

She retreated another step, unsure of his meaning. The distrust on his face oddly combined with sudden, intense interest. This fitting had become very strange. Her insides had sparkled when she touched him. Could he have sensed that? “My lord, if you are satisfied with the general fit, I will have plenty of work to do. You can decide about the sleeves and hem another day.”

He straightened, finally letting the hem drop, but kept his narrowed eyes on her. “I like the sleeve where you have it. I am undecided on the hem,” he finally intoned with careful enunciation.

She lifted her hand to indicate his arm. “Can I just mark it, sir? The roll will come undone when you take the tunic off.” His eyes narrowed even further. He nodded curtly. She scurried to find her chalk and made one quick streak of white on the sleeve. “Should I help you?” she asked, trying to recover their professional manner of dealing with one another.

“No. Wait outside while I change,” he ordered.

Oh, dear. She rushed out the door, flustered. What had happened? Everything had been fine until she’d begun making adjustments to his hem. That had felt horribly awkward to her. Had it bothered him too? She had been trying to do her job briskly, just as her father had always done. Maybe a man did not mind another man touching his hem but very much minded a woman doing so. Lily sighed, pressing her back against the wall, then resting her head there, as well. Even though she occupied the same world she always had, every day brought unforeseen and unfamiliar questions and challenges. She did her best to guess and fool her way through it all. In truth, the only time she felt comfortable in her own skin was when she worked on the lord’s tunic. Or at least she felt comfortable when her lord was not in the tunic as she worked on it.

She sighed. If only her father had returned. He would have that hem rolled and marked in a thrice. He would explain Riculf. He would talk to Cluny and set her life on the right course again.

Her lord emerged, once again smartly attired in the green tunic and mantle she had sewn last spring about this time. He did not know she had sewn it. Her father had done the fitting. She had made every cut and stitch. “Father is never coming back, is he?” she blurted.

The question did not surprise him. He stood straight and proud and confident in his own comfortable life. “Not soon enough,” he said.

At first she did not understand the answer. Then it clicked. Not soon enough to help you. Not soon enough to manage Riculf or Cluny. Not soon enough to return you to normalcy or even respectability. 

“He lives with a woman?” she asked, eager to familiarize herself with all the ugliness at once.

Her lord cursed softly under his breath. “Yes. He misses your mother desperately.”

Her hand flew up, and she pressed the back of it to her mouth, stifling an unwanted sob of distress. She turned away to compose herself. “It must be very difficult for him,” she observed with the feeling of seeing things from a great distance.

“I did try, Lily. I reminded him of his duty to you. I reminded him of your mother. I tried every argument.”

Unwarranted resentment boiled up in her. Who was this Theophilus to involve himself in her life? Why should she feel gratitude when he stood so calmly to tell her how bad things were? Why should he be allowed to make her uncomfortable in her own shop? How dare he? She bit the inside of her cheek against the angry, unfair slander she wished to shout at him. 

“Thank you, my lord,” she gritted as meekly as she could manage. “I appreciate your efforts today. I am sure you have pleasanter plans for tomorrow. Now, I must continue my work.”

She forced herself stiffly through the door. She did not close it until she heard her lord’s retreating footsteps. 

The tunic waited, lovingly spread on the worktable. Her strange, quick anger receded, replaced with the more sane and familiar despair. Her fingertip traced across the slightly overlarge shoulder to the clever neckline. This neckline was the only perfect thing left in the entire world, as near as she could tell. Tonight, she would rework the shoulders. Tomorrow, she would sew the pleats and join the body pieces and sleeves. 

Soon, she promised herself, she would make tiny invisible stitches around this neckline, and that would be one right thing. And she must consider the embroidery. She must devote some time to the pattern.

Blessedly immersed in her work, she did not let herself think about Father anymore.

END OF EXCERPT

Caroline: Oh, poor Lily. Now we have to learn more about her. ☺Where can readers find your books?

Jill: All my books are available on Amazon, and most are on Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iTunes, and other eBook vendors.  Print versions are available from CreateSpace and Amazon. The following links will take you to Vain at a few of those vendors. Amazon      Barnes and Noble     Kobo

Caroline: How can readers learn more about you?

Jill: I maintain a blog, am on Facebook, and Twitter @jillhughey.

Caroline: Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about you?

Jill: If you like my books, I’d really appreciate your reviews, either where you purchased or on reader’s sites like Shelfari or Goodreads.

Thank you so much for having me to visit today!

Readers, I hope you enjoyed meeting Jill as much as I did. Thanks for stopping by!

P. M. TERRELL AND DYLAN'S SONG

Award winning author p m Terrell is our guest today for a nice interview, then she’ll share a bit about her latest release, DYLAN’S SONG. She’s an author who is new to me, but I can tell she will be one of my new favorites. And not only does pm have a new release to share with us, she has a fabulous giveaway for one lucky person who comments on her blog tour with Goddess Fish. In keeping with the Irish theme of DYLAN’S SONG, p m’s giveaway is a lovely Celtic Knot necklace shown below.

Now, on to our interview with pm:

Caroline: Please share something about growing up.

Pm: I was born in Washington, DC when my father was working as a cryptographer with the FBI. I’m the third child of five, right in the middle—I have an older brother and sister and a younger brother and sister. Though we traveled a bit when I was younger, I returned to Washington, DC as a teenager so I’ve spent most of my life in the DC suburbs as well as the city itself.

I was definitely the bookworm. I was never one to be physically active (much to my chagrin as my body ages!) but I could lose myself in a book every moment of every day.

Caroline: So could I—and I still can when I have the opportunity. Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Pm: With so many authors writing in such diverse genres today, I find that I have favorite authors when they write certain books that speak to me. I love Erin Quinn’s Haunting series, Anne Rice’s The Mummy, and I love romantic suspense. I just finished reading Haunting Jasmine by Anjali Banerjee and loved it. I also thoroughly enjoy true adventure, among them Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm. I like reading about ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances.

Caroline: I have to tell you that P. M. were my dad’s initials and what most people called him, so it seems odd to be interviewing someone who uses those same initials. What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?

Pm: I raise freshwater angelfish and I find that doing anything related to my aquariums is extremely relaxing, from cleaning them to watching the fish. In the Black Swamp Mysteries series, I wrote that Dylan and Vicki were raising freshwater angels as their CIA front; much to my astonishment, every time their fish bred, my own did!

And I love being around water, whether it’s a lake or an ocean. There’s something about it that is very relaxing.

Caroline: How funny about your angelfish breeding. Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

Pm: I first read this in Oprah Magazine: After the final ‘no’ there comes a ‘yes’ and on that ‘yes’ the future depends.

Caroline: How long have you been writing?

Pm: I began writing in 1973. That dates me, doesn’t it? My first book, a non-fiction, was published in 1984 but my first suspense wouldn’t be published until 2002. I now write full-time.

Caroline: Don’t we have the best job in the world? Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude?

Pm: I do prefer quiet, as I find that verses of a song or snatches of TV will make their way into my writing. My favorite place to write is in my living room with my laptop, because I am surrounded by aquariums. However, I often must write in my office in a separate building on my property in order to ensure solitude and focus.

Caroline: I prefer my office, which I call my pink cave. Are you a plotter or a panzer?

Pm: I plot the crime before I begin the book. Since I am under contract and tight deadlines, I must know where my characters are headed. However, I do find some surprises as I write that have me veering off course in a much more dramatic direction that I believe make the books even more exciting. So I guess you could say I’m somewhat in the middle.

Caroline: Plotting helps me stay on course, but I welcome those surprises. Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Pm: I do use real events but I often change them. For example, I peruse the declassified documents of the CIA and will often find a snippet of information from World War II or the Cold War that I can update to happen in this day and time. In my Black Swamp Mysteries series, which is set in the real town of Lumberton, North Carolina, I will often place real people in scenes—but only with their permission.

Caroline: Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?

Pm: I write full-time so I approach my writing the same way I would approach any job. Even if I don’t feel “in the mood” I have to write every day. Getting everything down on paper is the first step. The second, third, fourth and fifth will be editing and refining the story. I know when my deadlines are and how much I should write to stay on target but if I am headed in the right direction, the story simply flows. When I find myself struggling to meet a word count, I know I am going in the wrong direction and I have to stop to rethink what I’m doing.

Caroline: Good advice, pm. What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Pm: I want to take them to another world with exciting characters that will remain with them long after they’ve finished the last page.

Caroline: Don’t we all? What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Pm: I will continue to write for as long as I am able. I’ve been fortunate to have remained a full-time author for more than ten years now. Last year I was under contract to complete three novels in twelve months. This year it’s more manageable with two novels. I hope to continue the Black Swamp Mysteries series and also a new Ryan O’Clery series, writing at least one book in each series each year.

Caroline: I’m so happy to discover your books, pm. Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

Pm: I am currently writing After the Tempest, the sequel to The Tempest Murders, the first in the Ryan O’Clery series. Ryan is an Irishman who is working as a homicide detective in Lumberton, North Carolina. In the first book, he finds that a serial killer he’s been tracking has targeted the woman Ryan is falling in love with. In After the Tempest, the killer is back—and more dangerous than ever.

That book is due on my agent’s desk this spring. Then I’ll turn to the fifth book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, The Pendulum Files. Dylan and Vicki reunite to find out who is behind a string of bombings and attacks on foreign ships loaded with goods bound for America.

Caroline: I see a lot of reading in my future. What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Pm: Three pieces of advice:

1. Take your ego out of your writing;

2. Hone your craft and always seek to improve;

3. And before you sign that first contract, learn as much as you can about the publishing industry.

Caroline: Those are all sound. What’s a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you?

Pm: I once flew in a helicopter from Kansas City to Virginia. My husband was piloting the helicopter and I had never flown in one before. It was a fantastic trip, the most fun I’ve ever had. ATC even gave us clearance to circle the St Louis Arch.

Caroline: I’ve always wanted to ride in a small helicopter. What’s something about you that would surprise or shock readers?

Pm: Like Ryan O’Clery in The Tempest Murders, I do believe in reincarnation. And I’ve seen dead people all my life.

Caroline: I’m with you there. Tell us about your series.

The Black Swamp Mysteries series has several main characters who are forever tied together through blood or circumstance: Vicki Boyd, a CIA psychic spy; Dylan Maguire, a CIA ground operative; Brenda Carnegie, a computer hacker who prefers the wrong side of the law; and Chris Sandige, a political strategist. Depending on the plot, one or more of these characters move to the forefront. I have to say my favorite thus far is Dylan’s Song because I loved going to Dylan Maguire’s native Ireland for the story. I have no plans to end the series but will keep it going as long as my readers continue to want them.

Caroline: My husband and I love Ireland. We also love reading about it—another reason to read your series.  

Caroline: Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about you?

Yes—I am the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, whose slogan is Buy a Book and Stop a Crook. I founded Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event that brings more than 75 authors, publishers and literary agents together in Lumberton, North Carolina. The event is free but when attendees purchase a book, the author or publisher has agreed to donate a minimum of 40% of the sale to raising literacy efforts. For more information, visit www.bookemnc.org.

BLURB FROM DYLAN'S SONG

Dylan Maguire returns to his native Ireland with psychic spy Vicki Boyd. Their mission: to locate and extract a CIA Agent who disappeared in Dublin while on the trail of a known terrorist. But when Dylan receives word that his grandmother is dying, he is plunged into a past he thought he’d left behind forever. His mission and the dark secrets he’d sought to keep hidden begin to merge into an underworld that could cost him his life. He must now confront his past demons and the real reason he left Ireland—while Vicki harbors a secret of her own.

SUSPENSE MAGAZINE REVIEW

Suspense Magazine says, “p.m.terrell’s writing is powerfully written and masterfully suspenseful; you have to hang on for the ride of your life.” Midwest Book Review says the Black Swamp Mysteries series is “page-turning action, unforgettable characters, breathtaking descriptions and unexpected plot twists.” And syndicated reviewer Marcia Freespirit says the series is “riveting, spell-binding, sexy and intense!”

EXCERPT FROM DYLAN'S SONG

The bogs were no place to be during the witching hour.

Dylan had grown up with stories of the bogs at night. The ground percolated; it lived and it breathed. There had been many a time when he was harvesting peat in broad daylight that he’d heard a whisper at his ear or felt hot breath on his neck, only to find there was no one near. Now as he rode his horse in silence, he felt that presence tenfold; there were eyes watching them. The intermittent tuffs of heather swayed in the growing storm and he found himself watching them with narrowed eyes, waiting for the plants to morph into sinister creatures that claimed this land after the sun went down.

He knew there was a simple reason why animals were required in lieu of an all-terrain vehicle and he was glad Sam had taken this unique land into consideration when planning the mission. He could feel the hooves beneath him sinking into the spongy earth; a wheeled vehicle wouldn’t have stood a chance, especially as they ventured from the area farmed for its peat to one far less stable.

A mist began; a slow, fine spray that he knew well. One moment the air was still and dry and the next, as though they’d passed through a curtain, the air swirled around them, the moist haze further inhibiting their ability to see. It was said many a man lost his internal compass in the Irish mist; it taunted as it grew into monstrous shapes, turning the landscape into something foreign and active.

AUTHOR INFORMATION

p.m.terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 16 books. VICKI'S KEY, one of the first books in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, was one of five finalists in the 2012 International Book Awards (Mystery/Suspense) and 2012 USA Best Book Awards (Mystery/Suspense.) RIVER PASSAGE, an historical work based on her ancestor's migration to Fort Nashborough in 1779-1780, won the 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Award. The Nashville (TN) Metropolitan Government Archives determined it to be so historically accurate that they entered the original manuscript into their Archives for future researchers and historians.

Prior to becoming a full-time author in 2002, terrell founded and operated two computer companies in the Washington, DC area. Her clients included the United States Secret Service, CIA, Department of Defense and federal and local law enforcement. Her specialty is in the areas of computer crime and computer intelligence. Her experience in these areas have greatly influenced her books' plots.

She is the co-founder of The Book 'Em Foundation, whose slogan is "Buy a Book and Stop a Crook" and whose mission is to raise awareness of the link between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She founded Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, an annual event to raise money to increase literacy and reduce crime.

For more information on Book 'Em North Carolina, visit www.bookemnc.org and www.bookemnc.blogspot.com.

p.m.terrell's website is www.pmterrell.com and her blog is www.pmterrell.blogspot.com.

She can be found on Twitter @pmterrell

On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/author.p.m.terrell and https://www.facebook.com/pages/pmterrell/129318810431554.

Thanks for stopping by!

AUTHOR JOAN REEVES VISITS AND HOW TO BE HAPPY

Joan Reeves' log line is "It's never too late to live happily ever after!" She writes those fairy tale endings in romantic comedies with a dose of cheeky attitude. Her San Antone Two-Step series is a duet of romantic comedies set in San Antonio, Texas titled NOBODY'S CINDERELLA and CINDERELLA BLUE. Her latest book is SCENTS AND SENSUALITY, and I'm giving away an e-book copy to one person who comments here. Now here's Joan's insightful post:

LIFE RULES TO HELP YOU BE HAPPY 

by Joan Reeves 

I create characters in romance novels that have been popular with readers. By the end of each book, my characters have learned how to be happy.

That means that I spend a lot of time thinking about human nature. One thing that's true for fiction and real life is that most of us seem to make the same mistakes as we bumble our way along the road of life.

Want to be happier? Here are some "rules" I came up with that might help. See what you think of them.

1. Don't take advice from anyone who's more screwed up than you.

Everyone likes to give advice, but always ask yourself if the person dishing out the advice is living life more effectively with less hiccups than you. If not, smile and nod and feel free to ignore what they say. Unless what they tell you is based upon what they learned from their own bad experience of doing the opposite.

2. Do learn from others who have been where you want to go.

Model their behavior. Find out how they did it and adapt their method to your efforts.Unless the way they achieved it was dishonest and goes against your own beliefs and integrity. You can't model negative behavior without far-reaching consequences.

3. Do stop working so hard; learn how to work more effectively.

Unless you assess your efforts and realize you really aren't working hard - you're just giving lip service to the idea of working hard.

4. Do enjoy yourself more.

Unless you're already spending way too much time in the pursuit of pleasure. You have to have a good balance between hard, effective work and play.

5. Do change your attitude about work. 

Sometimes when we describe an activity as work -- even though it's something we truly adore doing -- the activity, in our mind, becomes linked to work equals unpleasantness. The more you enjoy something; the less it should seem like work. Unless you already view your work as play so much so that you have a slipshod attitude about what you do. Never forget you want to achieve something with the investment of your time, energy, and brain power.

Post Script

To feel like a success, figure out what success means to you.

JOAN'S LATEST BOOK, SCENTS AND SENSUALITY

This book took me longer to write than any book ever due to so many interruptions: planning and putting on a wedding, producing 7 audiobooks, remodeling a house, coping with several sinus infections, and just generally feeling exhausted all the time. At long last, it's published.

SCENTS AND SENSUALITY is on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iTunes -- in fact, just about anywhere e-books are sold. 

In the meantime, let me tell you about my book in a little movie. I've gone completely nuts over making video book trailers. They're great fun to do and even more fun to watch. I've done 3 so far. You can see them all on YouTube. I hope you'll take a peek and click LIKE. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joan Reeeves

Joan Reeves writes funny, sexy Contemporary Romance like SCENTS AND SENSUALITY, her new book. Her books are available at all major e-book sellers with audio editions available at Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Joan publishes Writing Hacks, a free subscription newsletter for writers, and Wordplay, a free subscription newsletter for readers. Please visit http://www.JoanReeves.com or her blog http://SlingWords.blogspot.com for information. 

Here are Joan's words about herself:

I write funny romance novels. At the risk of sounding corny, I confess that I find joy in the written word – reading and writing them. Sharing the stories that spin around inside my head is my ultimate triumph.

I've been print published by the big dogs in New York. Been there; done that; got the tee shirt. That's about all I got. Now I've become an independent self-publishing author, or Indie Author as it's commonly called. 

I'm publishing my backlist and original fiction as ebooks. My books have all been on various bestseller lists. They're available at All Romance Ebooks, Amazon for Kindle, Barnes&Noble for Nook, Diesel Ebooks, iTunes Apple Bookstore, Kobo, OmniLit, Smashwords, Sony, and XinXii, the European Digital Publishing Platform.

Most of my books are romance. I love writing romance, especially romances that make you smile and sometimes laugh out loud. I love to tell the story of a man and a woman who were made for each other, but they just don't know it. Yet. Why? Because I think the the world needs more stories about the power of love to change people, and I like to tell those stories with passion and humor because the world can be a pretty grim place too much of the time. Love and laughter gets us through the hard times.

Indeed they do, Joan. Thank you for sharing with readers today. Best wishes for your continued success.

Thanks for stopping by!

INTERVIEW WITH JOSI S KILPACK AND GIVEAWAY

Readers, ever have one of those weeks when everything goes wrong? I made a big goof earlier this month. I was supposed to have posted an interview with author Josi Kilpack for her BAKED ALASKA blog tour. Unfortunately, cyberspace ate the interview. At least, it disappeared.  To attempt to make up this misfortune, I have the interview here today.

Trumpets, please! Since I can’t be certain whether cyberspace or my computer was to blame, I’m offering an e-copy of Josi’s book, BAKED ALASKA, to one person who comments on this blog.  

Now, here’s the interview:

Josi S Kilpack, Author

Caroline:  Readers love knowing more about authors whose books they read. Tell us something about your growing up.

Josi: I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am the third of nine kids, my dad was a teacher and my mom stayed home. We had a huge garden, which I hated, and canned everything, which I also hated. Our family was five girls at the top and then four boys, so I had two sisters just older and two more just younger. It was . . . intense. There was always something to do, someone to play with and someone to pick on. We were a wild crazy bunch and I thought books were about the worst thing in the world. I avoided them like the plague until 7th grade when the switch was flipped and I became a reader. That is a day that changed my life.

I grew up, graduated from high-school, went to college for a year and then married my cute husband. We have gone on to have four kids, ages 18-11 and after many years of counting the days until they were gone, I’m not panicking at the realization that they really are leaving. I’m trying to soak up everything I can in hopes of having as few regrets as possible.

Caroline: I loved having my children at home with us, but they do need to go out on their own eventually, don’t they? Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Josi: This is a hard one for me because it’s changed so much over the years. There was a time when I loved Romance and it was all I would read, now I am very selective of Romance. I love suspense but find a lot of Thrillers to be too gory or crass for me, so I am selective about that too. I’m not a big fan of Fantasy, yet I loved Harry Potter and Fablehaven. I tend to read a little bit of everything when I find an author I like, I read everything they’ve written. My current favorites are Lief Enger, Sue Grafton, and Kate Morton.

Caroline: I like those types of mysteries, too. What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge? Hobbies?

Josi: I relax by taking a nap, or crocheting, or playing a hand held Tetris game. At least, that’s what I’m doing this month. Next month I might be cleaning out closets or running or maybe fixing up my chicken coop. I am a busy person, I like having things to do and love the sense of accomplishment when a task is finished. I write to escape basic chores and then to basic chores to escape writing. I like a clean house, lunch with friends, and watching movies.

Caroline: Taking a nap sounds great right now. Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

Josi: “Use your talents, for use is why they were made. What is a Sundial in the Shade?” by Benjamin Franklin.

Caroline: That’s one of his I hadn’t heard, but I love it.

Joai: It took me awhile to believe I had any talents, and then even longer to really embrace it and see what it could do for my life. Since then I have become passionate about the topic of growing our gifts into talents and really getting the most out of them. This quote sums that up for me because if we insist in not exploring our talents, they will not be of use to us just as a sundial is nothing more than a statue if it isn’t brought into the sunlight.

Caroline: How long have you been writing?

Josi: I started my first book when I was on bed rest with my son. He just turned 14, so I’ve been writing for nearly fifteen years. My first book was published in 2000.

Caroline: Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude?  

Josi: I need quiet and I need clean, which is why I don’t get much writing done at home. It’s too easy for me to abandon the writing when it gets hard in favor or some chore that will make me feel better. I do most of my writing at an office my husband and I own and run a business out of. I am good to write alone, but I often write with friends. We get together a couple of times a week at my office and work on our projects. It’s wonderful! We can brainstorm with each other, take a break to talk about life, but we all understand that we need the time to be effective and we get a lot of things done.

Caroline: That sounds like a great arrangement. Are you a plotter or a panzer?

Josi: Panzer. Oh how I hate it! I have tried and tried to plot, and I do a great deal of it through the course of writing when I get stuck, but I have not yet figured out how to plot out the story before I begin writing it. I guess I shouldn’t complain, since it works for me, but it stresses me out a great deal. I’m always certain that plotters have it easier than I do.

Caroline: I firmly believe writing is never easy, but plotting makes it easier for me. Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Josi: All the time. It’s amazing the character I can grow out of a woman I see at the mall, or the conflict I can create from overhearing someone’s cell phone conversation. It inevitably morphs into something very different than the original inspiration, but I feel like I am sucking up ideas everywhere I go.

Caroline: Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?

Josi: I don’t get to write every day and I currently have no daily goals. I just write when I can and hope and pray that I’m being diligent enough that I don’t end up in panic mode. That said, the last three books I’ve written have all being on hyper-panic mode. The one I’m working on now is actually going well so I’m hoping to avoid the worst of it.

Caroline: What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Josi: I hope my readers have a really good time reading my books. If they get a fresh perspective on a specific element of the book, it’s even better, but I consider myself an entertainer, not a motivational speaker, or educator. I’m here to tell a good story that takes them away for a little while and, hopefully, inspires a yummy meal or two J

Caroline: What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Josi: I haven’t put much thought into that. I am writing with such tight deadlines that I haven’t had much time to develop what comes next. We are planning 12 books in the Sadie series, and then a cumulative cookbook after the series is done. I’m excited to see how the rest of the series turns out. After that, I’m just not sure. I guess we’ll all see.

Caroline: Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

Josi: I am working on “Rocky Road,” book 10 in the Sadie Hoffmiller series. It takes place in St. George, Utah and involves a missing person case. It’s been fun to write about a place I’m somewhat familiar with and it’s coming together nicely. I also just finished edits on “Shannon” which is my second volume in the Newport Ladies Bookclub Series I’ve written with Julie Wright, Annette Lyon, and Heather Moore. Both projects have been really fun.

Caroline: What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Josi: Learn your craft. Attend conferences. Learn your craft. Find a critique group. Learn your craft. Meet other writers. Learn your craft. Write. Learn your craft. Read. Learn your craft. Revise. Learn your craft. Don’t give up. Learn your craft. Don’t get cocky. Learn your craft.

Caroline: Very good advice. What’s a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you?

Josi: I was a really lousy cook when I got married. I thought I was good and that I knew how to cook, but quickly learned that though I made a mean chocolate chip cookie, my actually cooking skills were abysmal. Luckily, my husband was easy to please and I was stubborn. I look back and shake my head at the amount of Hamburger Helper I cooked up . . . every single night. I’ve come a long way.

Caroline: What is something about you that would surprise or shock readers?

Josi: I don’t read culinary mysteries. I’ve tried a few, but they were either boring, dumb, or talked about gourmet food that made ME feel dumb. I didn’t write Lemon Tart with the expectation of including recipes, that came later, and I have yet to find a culinary mystery I liked enough to read to the end.

Caroline: I’ve read a few I like. Is your book a series? If so, how long? Family saga, other?

Josi: It is a series but it’s considered a stand alone series which means you can read the books out of order without being confused or having the plots of the other books given away. That said, if you can start at the beginning, you’ll get the full benefit of the character growth that takes place along the course of the series, but it isn’t essential.

Caroline: I try to write my series books that way too. Can you give readers a blurb about your book?

Josi: Here’s the blurb for BAKED ALASKA:

An Alaskan cruise is the setting for amateur detective Sadie Hoffmillers latest adventure. Sadie plans to spend time relaxing with her two grown children, Breanna and Shawn, and her boyfriend, Pete, while enjoying the luxury and cuisine of an elegant cruise ship and helping to plan her daughters upcoming wedding. But even as the crew prepares to leave port, Sadie has suspicions about the voyage ahead and the relationship between her normally easygoing son and a mysterious female passenger he obviously knows but refuses to discuss. When the woman is discovered unconscious during the second night at sea, Sadies apprehension escalates. Over the last few years, Sadie has developed an extreme dislike for secrets and it would seem her son is keeping one from her. *Includes eight new mouthwatering recipes, tested and approved by the official bakers of Sadies Virtual Test Kitchen. *Josi’s culinary mysteries have become favorites with members of Goodreads and other book networking sites. *Readers guide available online.

Caroline: How about an excerpt?

Josi: Here’s one from Chapter 5:

Sadie ate another crepe and turned her worry from Pete’s opinions of her actions, to Breanna’s conflicts with the wedding. She couldn’t believe that Liam’s mother would take things over this extent. Carriages? Eight thousand dollars in flowers? Did the woman not know Breanna at all? Had she no respect for Sadie’s position as mother of the bride?

When those thoughts got too heavy, she ate yet another crepe and worried about Shawn again. Finally, about the time she felt ready to explode from both crepes and worry, the three of them made their way out of the dining room and Shawn said he was going to check out one of the clubs. Sadie stiffened. “You go to clubs?”

“Mom, I’m twenty-three.”

“What does being twenty-three have to do with going to clubs? I was twenty-three once and I never went to clubs. Breanna didn’t go to clubs when she was twenty-three.” Shawn had been away at college for four years—he had walked with his graduating class just last month, but had two online classes he needed to finish up this summer in order to complete his degree in criminal justice. During these years that he’d been so many states away, she always pictured him studying when she worried where he was or what he might be doing at any given time. Could he be one of those college kids that went to frat parties and locked their friends in the trunk of their car as a joke? Oh, she certainly hoped not. She’d been locked in the trunk of a car before and it was horrid.

 “Pete, maybe you can explain it to her,” Shawn said as they exited the dining room.

Pete draped his arm over Sadie’s shoulder and gave Shawn a nod. “I’ve got your back.” They both made a fist they then tapped them together. What on earth was that all about?

Sadie turned her head to look at Pete. “You’re supporting this kind of behavior?”

Pete steered her toward the open deck, away from Shawn. “We talked about this,” he reminded her as the doors whooshed open. He guided her across the open deck toward the stairs leading to Deck Thirteen Forward; where they’d gone last night. The ever-determined hot-tubbers were there again, basking in the steaming water and occasionally running across the deck to jump into the swimming pool. She’d worn better pants tonight and didn’t feel so chilled by the dropping temperatures, but could not imagine wearing a swim suit, let alone getting wet. On the port side of the hot tubs, someone seemed to be asleep on a deck chair and Sadie shook her head. Weren’t they cold? It had to be close to forty degrees tonight.

“I can’t believe he goes to clubs,” Sadie said when they reached the top of the stairs. They had the deck to themselves again. She waited until Pete looked at her and narrowed her eyes. “And I can’t believe you’re supporting him in that.”

“You’re going to let Shawn be a grown-up, remember?”

Caroline: That made me smile. How can readers learn more about you?

Josi: Find me at www.josiskilpack.com

Find BAKED ALASKA on Amazon here

On Barnes and Noble here

Thanks, Josi, and continued success with your books.

Readers, don’t forget to include your email with your comment to be entered for a free e-copy of Josi’s book, BAKED ALASKA.

Thanks for stopping by!

VICTORIANS IN THE AMERICAN WEST

Today, I’m so pleased to welcome author Velda Brotherton to A Writer’s Life. To welcome Velda and readers and as a part of the Fairy Tale Giveaway Hop, I’ll be giving away an e-book of Velda’s latest release, WILDA’S OUTLAW. Talk about a great series, Velda has come up with one that appeals to me. And I suspect the series contains many fairy tales redone with an Old West Victorian flare. Here's Velda to tell us about the background for her first book in the Victorians series, WILDA'S OUTLAW.

The Victorians' Long Road to the American West

By Velda Brotherton

What Englishman George Grant expected to find in Western Kansas when he arrived in Hays City in 1872 was health-giving air. That's what he'd been told. Luckily for the land salesman, it had rained that spring and the endless prairie grasses were tall and green. What Grant breathed when he stepped from the train he later described as champagne air, dry, rarified and invigorating. Since I was raised in Kansas, I'd say he was lucky it wasn't a hot wind swirling dust.

The atmosphere in Kansas may have been pure, dry and exhilarating, but what Grant didn't expect was one of the wildest towns in the West. Its lawbreakers had thoroughly defeated the great Wild Bill Hickok, who as marshal of Hays City had shot up a bunch of soldiers from the Seventh Cavalry stationed at nearby Fort Hays. As a result Hickok was run out of town, leaving it pretty much lawless. Street shootings were a daily event. Calamity Jane was a regular visitor. She could swear, shoot and hold her liquor with the best of men. She was genial and immoral and well liked, and never failed to start trouble the minute she showed up. She enjoyed hurrahing, firing off wild shots and tearing up any saloon unfortunate enough to catch her attention. The infamous Buffalo Bill Cody killed buffalo and peddled the meat from door to door.

Into this atmosphere the ambitious George Grant and his companion and private secretary, a young man by the name of Mr. Edwards, arrived with high hopes of building a new town along the Southern Pacific Railroad. And he had something in mind for making himself a tidy sum of money in the process. The government had given the railroad 20 miles of land along its right-of-way, and the land was for sale. In theory the more towns the railroad served, the more money there was to make.

Grant immediately saw the potential. Though 50 years of age, he was a dignified and vigorous man who carried his six-foot frame gracefully. His head of white hair and full, neatly trimmed beard gave him the appearance of someone of great importance. It was easy for him to sell anything to anyone.

His intent? To form a colony of Englishmen for those young men in England who could not make a living in their own country. Because England was overcrowded with no land available, young men had little future there. Also there were those second and third sons of royalty who could not inherit the family fortune because it all went to the first born son. Their allowances, as we'd call them today, gave them only enough to exist in England. In America they would be able to buy land and to live well. Here they became known as remittance men.

Grant decided to name the colony the Victoria Colony, for the queen. And those who bought land there would continue to keep their English traditions. There would be no going West for these young men. In theory, the families would carry their country to America with them.

The first emigrants set sail aboard the steamship Alabama on April 1, 1873, from the harbor at Glasgow. Mr. Grant and his first colony of Scots and English settlers arrived at Victoria in 1874. In the group were 38 men, women and children and several head of Black and Red Aberdeen Angus Bulls, some sheep, and all supplies that would be needed upon their arrival. The Bulls were later placed on Grant's ranch and used to cross breed the long horn cattle from the area. Victoria became the birth place of the Aberdeen Breed in America, and Grant was credited with creating the breed.

Had the Victorians chosen to homestead, too many rules would apply. Leaving America and going abroad for long visits wouldn't have been allowed and they would have been required to become American citizens. And then there was that British pride. It went against the grain to aggrandize the Yankees. The young men were encouraged to go out and make money, then return to England to spend it. It was believed they would all become rich men at the expense of the Americans.

In this rugged western wilderness, trains ran irregularly and rarely at night for fear of Indian attack. Beyond Hays City the prairies stretched flat and smooth, and empty of human habitation, becoming one with the distant blue sky. On the creek banks, tall crimson grasses waved. Sunflowers grew along the railroad tracks. Antelope and buffalo grazed on the short green grass. Prairie dog towns churned up the earth. Only an occasional barely-livable dugout could be found in a hillside or in the creek banks, rusted stovepipes sticking out of the earth, the only sign they were there.

Lady Godey's Victorian Fashions for 1874
Imagine being kidnapped dressed like this!
Put her on a horse? Well, for a while.

In the first of the series WILDA’S OUTLAW, The Victorians, Wilda and Rowena Duncan and their cousin Tyra arrive a year later. Lured to America by Lord Blair Prescott, who chose Wilda for his bride and promised to care for the other two girls, all orphans. He promised to build a castle for his bride. After a year-long trip by ship, boat, stagecoach and train, the young ladies disembark in Victoria. They are weary, hot and frightened of what might come next, for their train had been robbed by outlaws only a short time before their arrival. This is Wilda's first encounter with the handsome, green-eyed outlaw, Calder Raines. A man she will soon cajole into kidnapping her to save her from the unkind and embittered Lord Prescott.

About the author

Velda Brotherton, Author

Velda Brotherton writes of romance in the old west with an authenticity that makes her many historical characters ring true. A knowledge of the rich history of our country comes through in both her fiction and nonfiction books, as well as in her writing workshops and speaking engagements.  She just as easily steps out of the past into contemporary settings to create novels about women with the ability  to conquer life’s difficult challenges. Tough heroines, strong and gentle heroes, villains to die for, all live in the pages of her novels and books.

  

Website: http://www.veldabrotherton.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vebrotherton

Author Page FB: http://www.facebook.com/authorveldabrotherton

Blog: http://www.veldabrotherton.wordpress.com

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009Y89PXW 

Thanks to Velda for sharing her story with us today. I love the idea of a series of books in which the main characters are Victorians from the UK who've come to the Wild West. WILDA'S OUTLAW sounds like a book I have to read as soon as possible, so I’ll be toddling off to load it onto my kindle now. I hope you’ll do the same.

Thanks for stopping by!

A MODERN CINDERELLA STORY AND A PRIZE

Most of us grew up hearing fairy tales, and many romance books are those same tales retold. HOME SWEET TEXAS HOME is a modern day Cinderella story with a happily-ever-after ending that (I hope) will leave you sighing and wishing for the next in the Sweet Springs series. Those next two books in the series will be released in 2014

Welcome to the Fairy Tale Giveaway Hop sponsored by IAmAReaderNotAWriter, The Book Rat, and A Backwards Story. To celebrate the blog hop, I'm giving away two print copies US or e-books International of HOME SWEET TEXAS HOME, a sweet modern Cinderella with the requisite fairy tale ending that come after problems even a fairy godmother never dreamed. 

HOME, SWEET TEXAS HOME is a sweet contemporary set in West Texas near where I grew up. My uncle and cousins were farmers who also sometimes raised cattle. Can’t keep all your eggs in one basket, right? My husband had several uncles who were ranchers and farmers, and some of his cousins still farm.  Although we live in a rural area now, both Hero and I grew up in the “big city” of Lubbock.

Cowboy in a fall roundup on a West Texas ranch

To raise money to build their new house, my father-in-law raised cotton on a field at the edge of town and my husband had to help. Hero remembers clearing hundreds of tumbleweeds from the land and burning them. Needless to say, he hates tumbleweeds! After several years, the family had saved enough cash to buy a lot and build on it, with my father-in-law as contractor and doing some of the work himself. Once they’d saved enough to build, that was the end of their cotton farming. My husband was truly grateful. When he came in dirty and tired from working in the field, his mom would tell him that if he didn’t go to college, he’d be doing work like that forever. He didn’t know what his degree would be in, but he knew then that he was going to college so he’d never have to farm again. He did, and now years later, here we are living on a small acreage so he can raise fruit trees and a vegetables in a large garden. Life certainly plays tricks on us, doesn’t it?

Tumbleweed rolling with the wind

Here’s a video about tumbleweeds even my husband can’t hate.

About the time my future husband was burning tumbleweeds and “chopping cotton” (as hoeing weeds is called), my family moved to Lubbock so Dad could buy cotton. My dad picked out our house at the same edge of town as where my future husband lived. (Thank you, Dad!) We were so pleased to have our own new home. Dad had built houses when we lived in California when I was small, but the house he was building for us always ended up sold because he and mother couldn’t turn down a tidy profit. Anyway, we were happy to finally own one similar--though not nearly as well built--to those he had built in California. Our first year in Lubbock, cotton plants came up in our flowerbeds because the housing development was carved from a cotton farm. 

West Texas cotton field ready to harvest

You can see that a book about that area might be close to my heart. I hope you'll let me share the story with you.

HOME SWEET TEXAS HOME Blurb

Courtney Madison has battled poverty her entire twenty-five years but is determined to make a safe and happy home for her teen-aged brother after the recent death of their mom. Her mom’s illness left Courtney with a mountain of hospital bills, her formerly sweet brother Jimmy is now cutting class and hanging with a rough crowd, and she’s just learned she’s being downsized in two weeks. Hanging on by the threads of a fraying rope, she learns she’s inherited two million dollars from a kind elderly man she befriended when he was in the hospital across the hall from her mom. She thinks her inheritance in West Texas is the answer to all her prayers--but Courtney learns that while money improves her life, it doesn’t guarantee happiness. This modern Cinderella encounters problems even a fairy godmother couldn’t imagine.

Rancher/entrepreneur Derek Corrigan has incredible instincts for flourishing in the business world. With women, not so much. In fact, his friends bemoan he’s King Midas where money is concerned, but his judgment of women is pathetic--evidenced by his late wife and now the flamboyant woman he’s been escorting of late. As far as Derek is concerned, all he wants is to be a good dad to his children Warren, aged 8, and Meg, aged 5. Derek suspects the worst of his new neighbor and vows to fight his attraction for her. The only way he can protect his children and himself is to keep his private life very private. Besides, he knows what women do to him--they always leave and take chunks of his heart with them. He's been there, done that, had the vaccination and is cured. Isn't he?

Here’s an excerpt from this modern day Cinderella story. The set up is that hero Derek Corrigan arranged for his best friend Rusty to be heroine Courtney Madison’s date for a neighborhood potluck the previous Friday. Derek would have asked Courtney himself, but he’d already made a date with an old friend, Janelle, before he learned of the party. Things didn’t go well at the social event, and now it’s Monday morning.

HOME, SWEET TEXAS HOME Excerpt

After wrestling with himself all weekend, Derek had come to apologize to Courtney. The two of them

had to keep working together for the better part of year. Somehow she’d found out he’d set her up with

Rusty and misunderstood. She left a message with Rosa that she’d arranged for the repair of his truck

and that Jimmy would be working off the cost of repairs. Didn’t even ask to speak to him.

He figured she was still mad, but he didn’t see why. What was so all-fired wrong with setting her

up with a nice guy like Rusty? He’d just tried to help her get acquainted. Where’s the crime

in that?

At church yesterday, she’d evaded him or looked right through him. That wasn’t even Christian. And just when he was getting used to having her to talk to. Of course, for Rusty she’d been all sugar and cream. Derek smiled in spite of himself. She’d made Janelle spitting mad with that little imitation act. He’d never seen anyone get the best of Janelle, but Courtney had. Everyone got it, and laughed. Except Janelle.

Oh, no. Janelle didn’t laugh at herself. She’d sulked the rest of the evening. He vowed never, but never, to ask Janelle anywhere again.

In Courtney’s house the next day, Derek grabbed a cup of coffee as he passed through the kitchen. Courtney was in the living room consulting with two painters. He stopped dead in his tracks. What the hell did she need with painters? Hadn’t this house been plenty good enough for Maggie and for Sam just as it was? Sure it had, and plenty good enough for him too. Why did Courtney have to go changing things?

When she saw him standing in the kitchen doorway, she paused. “Joe and Juan helped me get our trucks to Buddy’s garage. Buddy will call you when yours is repaired.” She stared, eyebrow lifted. “Did we have an appointment about something else today?"

An appointment? In his own house? He kept forgetting it wasn’t his house anymore. The house wasn’t Sam’s either. A pang of sorrow stabbed his heart and sliced downward. This had been his place with Sam and Maggie—the place they’d built especially for him. That was then; this was now. The whole place was hers and she could make any changes she chose. He had no say in anything she did with the house and farm. Instead, he was now the interloper in her house.

He exhaled. “No, but I’d like a word with you when you have a minute. I’ll just wait in Sam’s, um, your study.”

Ten minutes later she came in and he’d swear the room’s temperature dropped twenty degrees. She closed the door softly behind her. Man, but he had the distinct feeling she’d have preferred to slam it—and hard.

The second the door clicked shut, she launched into him. “Derek Corrigan, I realize you think I’m an incompetent social pariah. However, do not ever, ever take it upon yourself to find dates for me. No matter how nice the man might be. Do I make myself clear?”

Her quick breaths recalled the way she’d looked with only the sheet covering her breasts. Admiring her fire, he wished she wouldn’t direct it at him. Oh, hell. How had she found out about that? Rusty never would have told her.

He threw up his arms. “I thought it would be nice for you to have an escort since you don’t know anyone here yet. Okay? What’s so wrong with that?”

“For your information, I had a date the weekend before the party.”

He froze, and blood drained from his body. Who had she been out with? He’d bet it was that creep Lance Thompson. Damn the man. “I was only trying to help.”

She shook a finger in his face. “You should have asked me first. Do you have any idea how humiliated I was to learn Rusty didn’t ask me on his own? I had to hear from Janelle that I was a charity case.”

Damn, damn, damn. His fingers clenched and he wanted to punch the wall. He should have guessed Janelle was the culprit.

Courtney turned and paced. “And to think I fell for that fake visit to Rusty’s where he just happened to have fresh coffee and a cake from his mother. Oh, brother, I guess you both got a laugh out of that.”

“No, we did not laugh. Hey, you needed to meet him, right? And once he met you he said he would have asked you anyway, so what's the difference?”

When she opened her mouth and stepped toward him, he tried again before she could launch another  attack. “Look, Janelle shouldn’t have told you, but you shouldn’t have made her cry, either.”

“Humph.” Courtney narrowed her eyes. “Puhleeze, me make that woman cry? Give me a break. That woman hasn’t cried since she got her first training bra.” She paced the office as if she were being paid by the step.

Man, Courtney had one smart mouth on her when her anger took over. “She cried because you called her a piranha after she tried so hard to make you feel welcome to the community.”

She stopped pacing again. “Your girlfriend certainly made no effort to welcome me. In fact, she did everything within her power to make me feel unwanted.”

Hell, how had he come to be defending Janelle? “She’s not my anything. We...um, she’s just gone through a rough divorce.” He suddenly remembered that this was Janelle’s third divorce, but Courtney didn’t need to know that. “Neither of us wants to remarry. She likes to have a presentable escort when a twosome is called for—“

“Please spare me.” She held up a hand. “I’m not interested in the sordid details of your sexual liaisons.”

“They’re not sex…” He swallowed hard. “Not liaisons of any kind, just two people going out with no strings attached. Okay?”

Courtney faced him and jammed fists on her hips. “If you believe that woman is not interested in marriage, and to you, then what I heard was right.”

Anger raced through him. How he hated gossip. He’d been hurt too deeply by rumors, first as a child about his parents’ lifestyle and poverty, and later by his wife’s escapades. No, he’d never speak a word of gossip himself. How he’d like to shut Courtney up now by kissing her senseless instead of waging this stupid argument.

“Oh yeah?” He took a deep breath and glared. “What did you hear?”

She stepped toward him and leaned into his face. “That where making money is concerned, you’re King Midas, but where women are concerned, you really are dumb as dirt.”

“Who says?” He clamped his jaw tight. Damned if he’d apologize now. He’d bet Elaine made that wisecrack. She’d been mad at him ever since grade school when he’d called her a chipmunk. “Was it Elaine?”

“Everyone who knows you says it.” She stamped her foot. “Do you hear me? Everyone!”

“Yeah, well at least Janelle is nicer than that creep Lance Thompson. I suppose you plan to keep seeing him?” He didn’t trust that man and couldn’t understand why she didn’t see through Lance’s fake so-called charm.

“As a matter of fact, I am. He’s an interesting date.”

The ring of the telephone forestalled her next comment. She gave him another of her molten glares before she picked up the receiver. “Hello.” She staggered backward to a chair. Her eyes widened as color drained from her face. “I’ll be there right away.”

He stepped forward. “What’s happened? Who’s hurt?”

With shaking hands, she leaped up and grabbed her purse and keys. “Jimmy’s been in a fight at school.”

Purchase Information

HOME, SWEET TEXAS HOME is available in print and e-book from The Wild Rose Press at www.thewildrosepress.com/caroline-clemmons-m-638.html and at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online stores. I hope you’ll give it a read and let me know what you think. 

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