SHERRY GLOAG SHARES HER CHRISTMAS STORY, NAME THE DAY

By Sherry Gloag

Holidays are always fun. They always make you feel good. They are always something to look forward to.

Right?

Wrong!

There are so many reasons why some people dread upcoming holidays, it would be impossible to list them all here. And Christmas is no different. Many of these reasons stem from bad experiences and, or bad memories. Add in the increasing commercialism of the slightest connection to a holiday, then Christmas often tops the list of those who hate the way a sacred holiday has been hi-jacked.

In NAME THE DAY, Samantha Brown’s dislike of Christmas combines all three. Childhood experiences, a multitude of other memories and a loathing of commercialism, even though she works flat out to complete commissions for her clients in time for the holiday.

Chuck an arrogant hero into the mix and sparks are going to fly, and Samantha’s temper, already on a short fuse, it doesn’t take much to light the touch paper this year.

Successful Rafael Santini believes in family and will do anything to ensure members of his family are always provided for, supported in times of grief, stress and betrayal, so when he meets Samantha Brown all his protective instincts go into overdrive.

As does his heart.

For many people there is no happy ever after when the holidays are over. For most the ghosts of their past haunts them until the memories die away for another year and life settles down again. While for other those memories become props, companions to hold on to because it seems there is no other way to survive. And sometimes life simply throws an ugly curve ball which appears to have no solution.

Samantha Brown appeared out of the blue when I sat down to write NAME THE DAY, and we went many rounds together as her story unfolded. Her bottom line?

While for most holidays are a time for joy, families and celebration, there are those who grin and bear it because they don’t want to spoil the fun for others. This generosity of spirit is a lonely place. And in Samantha’s case it took courage to step out of her familiar attitude toward Christmas and move on. To grow, and find happiness.

I’d like to thank Caroline for inviting me to exchange blog visits today, and to wish everyone a holiday they can enjoy. Fine Caroline at my blog, The Heart of Romance, at this link

http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/2013/12/carolyn-clemmons-interviews-storm.html

NAME THE DAY Blurb:

Renowned portrait artist, Samantha Brown is through with men. After dealing with an overbearing father and cheating ex-fiance, Samantha is not in the market for romance, of any kind. Give her a blank canvas, some paints and brushes and she’s in charge of her life. There was no room in her life for love, so why did she find herself giving in to Rafael Santini’s outrageous demand that she paint his portrait?

Satisfied with his upcoming marriage of convenience Rafael Santini isn’t in the market for love. So, how come he finds the pint-sized artist stirring up emotions he didn’t have time for?

An accident forces Rafael to re-evaluate his life and wonder whether he can teach Samantha the art of love.

NAME THE DAY Excerpt:

Why couldn’t the stubborn man get it? She wasn’t giving him any favours at the expense of her other clients. In his case, money would not talk. Almost all her clients were well-heeled, but most understood the time restraints. After all, as she told each person, including Rafael Santini, who contracted a commission they wouldn’t want her to rush their painting and offer them a sub-standard product, would they?

“Give me the names of your clients and I will arrange to exchange places in your queue.” His unequivocal belief pulsed across the airwaves. Did the stupid man expect her to break the confidences of her clients?

“Tell me, Mr. Santini,” she asked in her most dulcet tone, “if I asked for a list of your clients would you hand them over, simply because I wanted something?”

“Don’t be stupid woman. It’s not the same thing at all. I’m a businessman.”

Would someone please save me from stupid arrogant men, Samantha offered in silent plea to the ether without expecting any response.

“I may not deal in electronics and communications systems, or equipment for the world of espionage, secret agents, and private investigators, Mr. Santini, but I do maintain a strict code of integrity and honour and customer confidentiality.”

“Why would you need confidentiality to daub a few colours on a piece of paper?”

Is this guy for real? Does he think insults and condemnation will get him what he wants?

“Let me get this straight. You want my agreement to let you queue jump the rest of my clients, who, incidentally have all signed contracts to be here on specified dates at specific times, and then you will be quite happy for me to go around publicising the fact you are not only having your portrait done, but that you bullied, harassed and threatened me into agreeing to your terms? I don’t think so. Not to mention that in many cases the commission is usually a gift for someone special and total secrecy is not only expected it is essential.”

The silence at the other end of the phone was almost deafening.

Buy Links for NAME THE DAY:

http://www.amazon.com/Name-the-Day-ebook/dp/B00G9QZZ68/ref=sr_1_7_title_0_main/187-4374845-0997611?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383056022&sr=1-7&keywords=Sherry+Gloag

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Name-the-Day-ebook/dp/B00G9QZZ68/ref=sr_1_8/275-6621827-9727018?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383056212&sr=1-8&keywords=sherry+gloag

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/name-the-day-sherry-gloag/1117258882?ean=2940148604822

http://www.astraeapress.com/#!/~/product/category=662245&id=29273565

http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/372423/1/name-the-day

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/name-the-day/id734895072?mt=11

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/name-the-day

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Best-selling author, Sherry Gloag is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England.  She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs "thinking time" and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel.  While out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.

Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, and reading. She cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office.  She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic.  Sherry loves to hear from her readers.  sherrygloag@gmail.com

Website: http://authorsherrygloagtheheartofroman.weebly.com/

Blog: http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/SherryGloagAuthor  

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/SherryGloag

Amazon author page: http://tinyurl.com/buj6zj8

Goodreads: https://www.facebook.com/SherryGloagAuthor/app_2415071772

Waterston’s http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/simpleSearch.do?simpleSearchString=sherry+gloag&typeAheadFormSubmit=

Thanks to Sherry for sharing with us today, and thanks to readers for stopping by!

SHERRY GLOAG WISHES AND DREAMS

     WISHES AND DREAMS TO REALITY

What is the difference between a dream and a wish? To paraphrase Harry Nilsson lyrics in his “The Puppy Song”...


“But dreams are nothing more than wishes

And a wish's just a dream you wish to come true

Dreams are nothing more than wishes you wish will come true...”

So how do you "make your dreams and wishes happen?" Do you shout out about them to everyone you know in order to spur you forward in achieving those dreams and making those wishes come true?



Do you, perhaps simply "put your *wish/dream* out there" and then let it gestate on its own and hope it will come to fruition?



Or do you, like me, go silent, afraid that if you verbalize it, it will vanish into thin air, or be tainted in some inexplicable way? Do you fear that the very verbalization of your dream is enough to put the cob-wash on it? I mean who else, but me, would be such a wimp? ;-)



And yet...



For many years I have had this dream. This goal, this *wish*, this *dream* to have one of my stories published and 'out there' before a certain birthday.



When it happened, and THE BRAT, published by The Wild Rose Press in October 2010, and I quit "happy dancing" all over the place, I reset my goal/dream/wish and vowed to have another one published, no not before that same birthday, by now it was so close I didn't believe it could be achieved - Oh me of little faith! Because it happened; and DUTY CALLS, was published by Black Opal Books, in February 2011. Not only did my second novel come out before my next birthday, but my first Valentine novella, THE WRONG TARGET, published by eTreasures came out days before my second book and so also released before my birthday. Three books published before my next birthday!


And then, for the first time, I discovered I had a "twelve-month plan" in front of me. That said; you have to understand, plans and I do not normally make good bed-fellows! Those plans usually take a hike when they discover who made them!



Not this time!



So could I wish, dream upon another dream and make it five within the coming twelve months?


Yes.



Those wishes and dreams just kept on coming. And all the while I maintained my policy of silence. :-)

The British royal wedding in 2011 inspired my next story, FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER, published by Astraea Press in December 2011. I assumed this would be a stand-alone story when I wrote it, and until after publication had no reason to believe otherwise; and then a secondary character demanded his own story and FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER became the first in a four book series. Henri's Valentine story, HIS CHOSEN BRIDE, released on the 14th February 2012, also by Astraea Press, completed my first attempt at long-term 'dreaming/wishes'. I have five stories published before this fast approaching, and significant, birthday number.

 “But dreams are nothing more than wishes

And a wish's just a dream you wish to come true”


This time my dreams and my wishes melded and became one in their reality. I no longer have to wish for those dreams to come true. They already have and I still have time to anticipate my next birthday.


So, I've achieved my dream, what next?



Now I have plenty more and new dreams. I have two more Gasquet Princes' stories to tell to complete the series, and an experimental Regency to finalize to mention just a few of my newest dreams that I wish to become reality.


Dreams that are nothing more than wishes I wish will come true.

Blurb for FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER:


For Prince Liam, families meant bad news, unwanted commitments, and the loss of his personal freedom. Love spawned white picket fences, slippers at the hearth with a wife and kids making demands, so why did those images disappear when he met Melanie Babcot?


Melanie Babcot fought hard to escape the horrors of her youth and vowed to remain single and free, so when paid to protect Prince Liam from insurgents why did her personal pledge fly out the window?



FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER Excerpt:


Liam Fitzwilliam Gasquet stared in amazement at the blooming patch of red milliseconds before the pain exploded in his arm. Some trigger-happy idiot had fired in his direction. Indignation didn’t have time to take root before another bullet kicked the dust at his feet. Not ‘trigger-happy’. Intentional. The rebels had found the fourth and youngest son of Jean-Phillipe Gasquet, ruler of the tiny kingdom adjacent to the Swiss border. When had they discovered his whereabouts? With a reluctant sigh, he faced the truth of it. They hadn’t ‘found’ him at all. They’d followed him.
Astracea Press
http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=7105194
Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/From-Now-Until-Forever-ebook/dp/B006GYAV44/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322854797&sr=1-1-spell
Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Now-Until-Forever-ebook/dp/B006GYAV44/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322854884&sr=8-1-spell
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/sherry-gloag-from-now-until-forever?keyword=sherry+gloag+from+now+until+forever&store=book
Nook:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/sherry-gloag-from-now-until-forever?keyword=sherry+gloag+from+now+until+forever&store=ebook

Blurb for HIS CHOSEN BRIDE:

Prince Henri Gasquet is happy to let his father, the king, choose his bride for him until he meets Monica Latimer.



Monica Latimer is not prepared to risk letting any man close enough to learn about her Gift. A gift that normally has men running for the hills when they find out about it.



HIS CHOSEN BRIDE Excerpt:



She lost track of time until the flames caught her attention once more. They flickered from orange to gold, to silver, to white.



A flurry of snowflakes masked the flames and for a second Monica watched the most beautiful, pristine snow-scene she’d ever seen. Her lips curved in longing. How she’d love to get a toboggan and slide down that slope. She knew where it was, and had done just that many times in her childhood, first with her parents and then, in clandestine manner, with her brother. Sneaking an old tin tray from the back of her mother’s walk-in pantry, she’d then grabbed Billy’s hand and they’d rushed out the back gate, heading for the lakeside track that led up into the hills.



Darkness, dense and thick with grief dropped over the scene. Startled and disconcerted by the strength of emotion emanating from the vision Monica shifted to her knees, ready to stand, when a voice, a deep male voice, sharp with fear called out her name. “Monica!”



She knew she’d never heard the voice before, and yet—it was as familiar to her as the image she saw in her mirror each morning.



“Help me, Monica.”



Desperate for more clues, she searched the darkness within the flames until it sputtered and faded. With a curse she jumped up and ran for the phone. With her outstretched hand hovering over it she halted and let her hand drop to her side once more. What could she say? What would the police or rescue team think of her if she called them and told them she’d seen a vision of a man in distress?



They’d laugh in her face and classify her as a lunatic. Well, maybe not. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d contacted them with positive information but something—an instinctive gut reaction told her what she’d seen this time hadn’t happened yet.



http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=1651593&mode=product&product=9472803


http://www.amazon.com/His-Chosen-Bride-ebook/dp/B0079A7V9W/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_6/190-6871302-0103505

http://www.amazon.co.uk/His-Chosen-Bride-ebook/dp/B0079A7V9W

Multi-published author, Sherry Gloag is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England. She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs "thinking time" and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel. While out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.

Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office. She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic. You can find Sherry on the web at these places:


Website: http://www.sherrygloag.com
Blog: http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/
FB: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/sherry.gloag
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SherryGloag

 

Sherry, thank you so much for sharing your wishes and dreams with us today. Here's wishing you continued success with your writing.

Thanks for stopping by! And while you're here, why not surf over to our team blog, Sweethearts of the West at
http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com Normally, I post there on the 26th of each month, but due to my earlier goof, my friend Elysa Hendricks is posting in my place this month. Please stop by if you can.

Welcome Author Sherry Gloag Chatting About Writing and THE BRAT!



Sherry Gloag
















Readers, please help me welcome author and reviewer, Sherry Gloag. Sherry lives in the United Kingdom (see her waving from across the pond?) but is here today through the wonders of cyberspace.

Caroline: Sherry, how did you get into writing as a career?
 Sherry: It is more a case of the other way round. Writing got into me. It’s been there in the background for a long time. The odd excursion during my school years. Sadly my teacher did not see anything to applaud in my writing and whenever she caught me, she confiscated everything I wrote! Life got in the way for a while. Then in the ‘90’s I tried my hand at some more novels. I received kind rejections but didn’t have the nerve to follow them up. (Shades of schooldays, perhaps? I don’t know.)


Caroline: Hard to believe we didn't have the same English teacher. Are you sure you didn't have Mrs. Willhite? No, of course you wouldn't have, lucky you. What do you hope your writing brings to readers?


Sherry: When I pick up a book I want to be transported to the author’s world of romance. I need to empathize with the characters, and most of all I feel cheated if I’m not given a HEA. So when I write, I hope my readers experience the same intensity I look for in a story, and the same satisfaction and ‘feel-good-factor’.


Caroline: Worthy goals. In what genres do you write? 


Sherry: I claim to write in the contemporary genre, but reviewers have described my debut novel, THE BRAT, as ‘suspenseful’ and a ‘mystery’.  Two of my current WsIP are experiments, one in a genre I love reading, which is Regency. And the other is a mystery/detective romance.


Caroline: I write in more than one genre, too. We can't help ourselves, can we? Who are your favorite authors?


Sherry: That’s a hard question to answer because I have so many. But Nora Roberts, Georgette Heyer, Sherryl Woods for her humor, Brenda Jackson, PD James, Ruth Rendell and Agatha Christie, to name a few.


Caroline: Several of those are faves of mine. Describe yourself in three words.


Sherry: Loyal, dependable, and (hopefully) loveable.


Caroline: Tell us about your writing process. Are you a plotter or a panzer?


Sherry: I’m a panzer. Having said that, I do find that by the end of the chapter I’m writing, I know approximately where I’m going in the next. I just have no idea how I’m going to get there! LOL


Caroline: Do you have a writing schedule?


Sherry:  Like the road to Hades, my writing schedule is full of good intentions. But I tend to write more at night [wrapped in the cuddles of darkness – less distractions going on outside :-)]


Caroline: So I'm not alone there! LOL Are you attending any conferences this year or scheduled as a speaker? Blog tours or other promotions?


Sherry:  So far I’ve not attended any book fairs or conferences here in the UK. But perhaps next year?


Caroline:  Any guilty pleasures or vices you’d care to share?

Sherry: I am a ‘need-to-know’ person, which irritates me almost as much as everyone else around me.


Caroline: When you’re not writing, what do you do to relax?


Sherry:  Read! I read to relax. I also enjoy the garden. I redesigned it last year, so this year has been full of surprises as the bulbs and plants bloomed through the seasons this year.


Caroline: What advice would you give to pre-published authors?


Sherry: Believe in yourself, because if you don’t why should anyone else? Use this belief to carry you forward, to meet your targets, to reach your goals. Get your name ‘out there’. But most importantly, get the butt on the chair and the fingers on the keyboard and write. :-)


Caroline: Definitely sound advice! Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself?


Sherry: I learned to write short stories hitting a dry spell in THE BRAT. One day I opened a blank page and just started writing. My first short story "Precious Treasures" emerged and was accepted by LASR
http://longandshortarchives.blogspot.com/2009/08/precious-treasures-by-sherry-gloag.html They have published four more since then.
I’m lousy at time-management! LOL.
I love chocolate, but this summer it has taken a skunner to me. Boohoo!
I love working with crystals.


Caroline: All very interesting info. Tell us about your latest release.


Sherry: to terms with the consequences of their parents’ actions when they mTHE BRAT is my debut novel, and is published by The Wild Rose Press. I didn’t sit down and decide to write this story. The characters arrived and hassled me until I put aside what I was working on and started their story. From that point on they virtually took over the telling. It all started when Gina, my heroine, asked me how I would write a story about a woman who’d been abused as a child? When I pointed out that it was hardly a unique tale, she then added that the children of two mothers had to come to terms with the consequenses of their parents' actions when they met for the first time twenty-five years later. Now, that caught my attention, and so THE BRAT was born.


Caroline: Wow, Sherry, that is too intriguing. Give us a blurb, please!

Sherry: Here's the blurb:


Gina Williams is a 35-year-old famous children’s author, who also writes detective mysteries under the name of George Williamson. She was robbed of her childhood when aged ten by the late mother of the hero, Ben Kouvaris.


When he was ten-years-old his mother sent him to her ex Theo Kouvaris, multi-millionaire, who lives in Greece. When he returns to her funeral he is haunted by the beautiful woman who organised the funeral. When his father orders him to marry he thinks of Gina Williams.


They have to overcome the horrors of the past and forgive their parents for their betrayals. Will their past destroy their future?


Caroline: Your blurb raised so many questions. Can you share an excerpt?

Sherry: Here's one:
A voice from the grave filled her mind to the exclusion of everything else. “No one cares about a guttersnipe like you. You’re nothing but a snivelling little brat. You have no past and no future. You are no one and never will be. Your place is here, for you have nothing else to aspire to, and nowhere else to go.”



More than two decades later the words still fuelled her ambitions to achieve. They still goaded her into proving to herself and others that she could succeed. Her aspirations and dreams propelled her need to prove herself.


“Watch it, luv!” A hand yanked her back from the curb. “You got a death wish or som’it?” The blast of a car horn jerked her back against her rescuer.


“Oh!” Gina gasped. “I wasn’t paying attention…”


Her voice trailed off. Her memories stole her concentration. “Thank you.” She eased her arm from within his grasp and held out her hand. “Your quick actions saved my life.”


“Think nothing of it.” The man touched his cap, stepped back, and soon disappeared in the crowds. Shaken more than she cared to admit, she looked around and entered a nearby coffee shop.


She fought the ghosts from her past and wrestled them back into that black box in her mind she’d kept locked for almost two decades. With the exception of her agent and best friend, Liz, she’d never shared her secrets, and Liz didn’t know the half of them, just enough for Liz to realize her children’s adventure stories evolved from her childhood fantasies.


Caroline: Thank you, Sherry. You've tantalized us even more with the excerpt. Where can readers find your books?


Sherry: Readers can buy THE BRAT from The Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/sherry-gloag-m-862.html

And Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+brat+sherry+gloag ]


Also Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+brat+sherry+gloag


Caroline: How can readers learn more about you?


Sherry: They can find me - here and here and here…


Buy THE BRAT here = http://bit.ly/d5nVDC


And at Amazon = http://amzn.to/bclDhY


My Website = www. sherrygloag.com/


My blog = http://bit.ly/bnuELA


Book Trailer = http://bit.ly/9O6j6C


Facebook = http://bit.ly/daeGN7


Goodreads = http://bit.ly/bTOzHC


Twitter = http://twitter.com/SherryGloag


Caroline: Sherry, thank you so much for sharing your debut novel and yourself with us.

Sherry: Thanks for having me, Caroline. I've enjoyed myself.

Check with Goddess Fish Promotions to see where Sherry will appear next.

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