1/31/2014

4 Time RITA Winner Cheryl Reavis

THE FIRST BOY I LOVED

Bell Bridge Books

Vietnam took her first love away from her.Now it may take her next love, too.After her husband dies Gillian Warner realizes how many sorrows she carries inside her, including her unresolved grief over her first love, who died in Vietnam decades earlier. Haunted by his death in combat as well as by a tangled web of guilty secrets, she books a guided trip to the battle site.The tours are led by cynical Vietnam War vet A.J. Donegan, who makes his living taking naïve Americans on what he calls “Guilt Trips, Inc.” If they’re looking for peace of mind, they can forget it.A prickly attraction sparks between Gillian and Donegan, with neither able to let go of the past without the other’s provocative challenge. In a test of willpower and desire, they’ll have to share much more than a journey to a place and a memory; they’ll have to travel deep inside the walls they’ve built around their hearts.


AN UNEXPECTED WIFE
Love Inspired Historical

THE SOLDIER'S WIFE
Love Inspired Historical


4 time RITA WINNER & 4 time FINALIST
MORE ABOUT CHERYL
 ANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?
CHERYL: As a writer, I used to get "lost" all the time, completely, totally lost. I got to the point where I needed to make sure the season of the year in my story matched the actual season, because it was such a jolt coming out of my make-believe summer and finding it was really the dead of winter, and vice versa. Now, however, I'm a card-carrying member of the "T'ween" Generation, and my writing time is so fractured, it's very difficult to get to the level of "lost-ness" that I once did. Interruptions are the order of the day, so much so that I refer to my cell phone fondly as "The Bat Phone."

As a reader, I'm sorry to say that it's not often that I get lost in the story. I think it just that writers read with a different "eye." I'm apt to stop cold to admire some turn of phrase I think is very well done or to wonder why something was done the way it was, or what something means--those "Wait--what?" moments. It's wonderful when a story is so strong I forget to pay attention to technique. Sometimes--when a book is really good--I can get lost AND do my assessments. I'm currently reading the Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series by Louise Penny. I really like these books, the characters, the complexity of the murder mystery, and especially the texture, i.e., the subtle inclusion of details about things I don't know. I love to learn and be entertained at the same time.

THE SOLDIER'S WIFE CABIN
ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading? 
CHERYL: The first book I remember reading all the way through was a "Dick and Jane." (The reading series for first graders WAY back in the day.) The reason I remember is that my teacher allowed me to take the book home--but ONLY if I didn't read past the reading assignment. As it was, I stayed in trouble a lot of the time in the "reading circle" because I could already read, and as a result preferred a "talking circle." Unfortunately, the teacher didn't. ANYWAY, I was absolutely thrilled to be able to take the book home. I got it out of my blue and green plaid book satchel (they were "satchels" in those days, not bags), hopped on my bed with a handful of vanilla wafers and began to read. Now if any of you have ever seen/read a Dick and Jane reader, you know they're not exactly riveting, but I got lost in the story anyway. I kept reading and turning pages and reading--and suddenly there was the glossary. Scared me to death. I had done exactly what my teacher  told me not to do--several times. Having gotten in so much trouble for my reading circle infractions already, I wasn't sure she wouldn't kill me for this one. In fact, I think I'm still traumatized.

ANGI: What’s your favorite “love” word?
CHERYL: Not sure what this means, Angi. Do you mean an endearment? If so, I prefer my actual name.

ANGI: Can you tell us about a real-life hero you’ve met?
CHERYL: Fortunately, I've met several. My husband is a real-life hero, as is my son and grandson, and a young teacher whom I worked with when I was a school nurse. My husband (then boyfriend) made a friend for life when I was in nursing school. I had an instructor who taught out of one book, but tested out of another, one we students had no access to. The books differed in content, so that one test question might have two different answers, depending on which textbook you were looking at. But she absolutely would NOT accept any answer from our textbook. It had to be what HER book said. Needless to say this was really upsetting--apparently, I have a low tolerance for academic bullying, which I considered this to be. I intended to buy my own copy, but the book cost a fortune--there was no way I could afford it. But one day, my husband showed up at the dorm, and he gave me the book. Did I say he made a friend for life?

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
CHERYL: I would have to say Cinderella. I never got to see the Disney movie when I was a child, and my son, who knew that was one of my Little-Cheryl-Growing-Up regrets, bought me the video one Christmas when he was a teenager. (I said he was a hero, too.) I was thrilled. Finally got to see Cinderella and have since watched it many times with my granddaughter.
 
THE UNEXPECTED WIFE'S KITCHEN
ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?
CHERYL: I like the Porky Pig/Sylvester the Cat duo, especially when they're in a haunted house. And the Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck/Elmer Fudd hunting adventures. I like the Powder Puff Girls, too. And Sponge Bob. He's such a lovable birdbrain.

ANGI: What do you like about the hero of your book?
CHERYL: I like that he's a decent man, despite his flaws, and that he is kind to children. It also didn't hurt that, in my head, he looks something like Mark Harmon.

ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
CHERYL: THE theme song for this book is Patty Griffin's "You'll Remember." Here's the YouTube link if you'd like to hear it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aughmxD1n1A

The minute I heard this song, the character of "Gillian Warner" formed in my head, the fact that she'd had a good life, but suddenly, after so many years, her heart and her mind were filled with the first boy she had loved and the sorrow and the guilt she'd never addressed. The words of the song seemed to me to be something he would have wished for her, that someday she would think of him and she'd smile.

Other playlist songs are just about anything from the Vietnam war era, especially "Last Train To Clarksville."

ANGI: Where do you read and how often?
THE UNEXPECTED WIFE's HOUSE
CHERYL: First, let me say that the Kindle has been a godsend to me. I have vision "issues," i.e., I'm legally blind in one eye and I have glaucoma. Besides that, my eyes aren't as young as they used to be in general. But, with the Kindle Fire, I can widen the margins so that the sentence lines are short enough that I can keep them in the part of my lens I use to read without having to constantly turn my head and crane my neck (which must have looked really weird). I also use the white font on a black background and set it larger than most print books, but not as big as the Large Print books. (Don't quite need that yet.) As a result, it is so much easier to read now, so I'm reading a lot more than I did. My usual reading time is whenever I'm waiting somewhere, which as a T'ween Generation person, tends to be a lot--doctor's appointments, car-rider lines at my granddaughter's school, etc. This works out well because even with the Kindle I can't read with the prolonged intensity I used to. The time I have to read in these situations is about what my eyes will tolerate.

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?
CHERYL: Rain. And wind in the pines. I grew up in a house surrounded by pine trees--not the really tall, spindly ones. The ones that were about the size of a maple tree, but had a large trunk and low enough branches so that you could climb them fairly easily--if you didn't mind getting pine sap all over you. As a child, the trunks were so big I couldn't reach around one. Anyway, the sound of a whispering pine was always a part of my environment then, especially at night as I was falling asleep.

ANGI: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?
CHERYL: Fairy Tale

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
CHERYL: THE DOG WITHOUT A TALE. Complete with illustrations. I believe I was in the second grade.

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
CHERYL: I don't know that I have an absolute favorite. I tried to like SOUND OF MUSIC in the way most people do, but I couldn't get past the rigid father even if he was reformed by the love of a good woman by the end. I liked GWTW a lot, despite Clark Gable. He always seemed so OLD to me. And I liked THE WIZARD OF OZ. And THE HELP. And ON THE BEACH (Ava Gardner and Gregory Peck). And a very obscure movie called THE PURPLE PLAIN (also Gregory Peck). THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING (Burt Reynolds in his hunky hey-day and Sarah Miles.)

ANGI: Who’s your favorite villain?
CHERYL: I don't think I have one. How about my favorite hero, aside from the Reavis men? Roy Rogers, that would be. I fell in love with the King of the Cowboys when I was three, and I'm still not over him. I think I tell everybody that--even people I've known for five minutes--which may be why I get Roy Rogers birthday cards and family will give me Roy Rogers memorabilia for Christmas. What can I say? Whenever he sings "My Little Buckeroo," I'm in love all over again. You remember I said I call my cell phone "The Bat Phone." Well, Roy singing "Hold On, Partner" is my text message ringtone. I feel like I can face anything if Roy is the one bringing the news. LOL.

ANGI: What is your biggest vice?
CHERYL: My biggest vice, my biggest vice…. Well, I don't smoke, drink, gamble or run wild. I think it must be housework. Or more accurately, not doing it. I love a clean orderly house--but I don't want to be the cleaner. In my part of the country, when I was growing up, a woman who kept a spotless house was considered "smart," a real compliment, especially if a man said it. But I decided a long time ago not to be "smart" in that way--and I still feel guilty.

ANGI: Is there a “Blooper” in your story (it may have been changed before printing)?
CHERYL: Can't think of one offhand, and I hope I haven't missed one. It's easy for me to do when it's my own writing, because I see what I meant regardless of what I said. I'm great at finding bloopers in somebody else's writing, though.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: There's a picture on your website of you in the Painted Desert when you were six. It inspired the Silhouette Special Edition™ "Family Blessings" series.  Is there another location that you inspired another book?  (Cheryl, if you have a picture that would be awesome.)
CHERYL'S GOTTA ANSWER:  I often use photographs, staring at them as I write--while listening to the playlist. Sometimes a photo will have inspired an idea. More often than not they are ones that I see later and think "That's it."

FIND CHERYL:
Contact            Website                  Facebook          Twitter  @sCRibblercheryl   
Goodreads              Blogs                    Previous GLIAS interviews

ALL ABOUT CHERYL REAVIS
The former public health nurse, now award-winning romance novelist describes herself as a "late bloomer." Her Silhouette Special Edition™A CRIME OF THE HEART, reached millions of readers inGood Housekeeping magazine and won the Romance Writers of America's coveted RITA award the year it was published. She has also won the RITA award for her Harlequin-Silhouette novels, PATRICK GALLAGHER'S WIDOW, THE PRISONER, and THE BRIDE FAIR. BLACKBERRY WINTER, THE BARTERED BRIDE and aBerkley novel, PROMISE ME A RAINBOW, as well as THE SOLDIER'S WIFE have been RITA award finalists. She has received numerous awards from Romantic Times magazine. 

Her award-winning literary short stories have appeared in The Crescent Review, The Bad Apple, The Mosaic, The Sanskrit, Laurels, The Emrys Journal and Writer's Choice

Publishers Weekly described her Berkley single-title novel, PROMISE ME A RAINBOW, as "...an example of delicately crafted, eminently satisfying romantic fiction."

CHERYL is giving away THE FIRST BOY I LOVE
 Note: COMMENTERS are encouraged to leave a contact email address to speed the prize notification process. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

CHERYL WANTS TO KNOW: HOW MANY CHANCES WILL YOU GIVE A WRITER IF YOU HAPPEN NOT TO LIKE THE FIRST BOOK YOU'VE READ OF THEIRS ALL THAT MUCH?


1/30/2014

Get Lost in a Mystery and Judy Alter

Get Lost in a Story Readers, Judy Alter is a member of Sisters in Crime and a subgroup of SINC called Guppies.  I'm delighted to have her on the blog today to introduce her mysteries.  Please welcome Judy Alter.
 

A Blue Plate Café Mystery, (Book One)
When twin sisters Kate and Donna inherit their grandmother’s restaurant, the Blue Plate Café in Wheeler, Texas, there’s immediate conflict. Donna wants to sell and use her money to establish a B & B; Kate wants to keep the Café. Thirty-two-year-old Kate leaves a Dallas career as a paralegal and a married lover to move back to Wheeler and run the café, while Donna plans her B & B and complicates her life by having an affair with her sole investor.

Kate soon learns that Wheeler is not the idyllic small town she thought it was fourteen years ago. The mayor, a woman, is power-mad and listens to no one, and the chief of the police department, newly come from Dallas, doesn’t understand small-town ways. Worst of all, blunt, outspoken Donna is not well liked by some town folk. The mayor of Wheeler becomes seriously ill after eating food from the café, delivered by Donna’s husband, and the death of another patron makes Kate even more suspicious of her grandmother’s sudden death.

When Donna’s investor is shot, all signs point to Donna, and she is arrested. Kate must defend her sister and solve the murders to keep her business open, but even Kate begins to wonder about the sister with whom she has a love-hate relationship. Gram guides Kate through it all, though Kate’s never quite sure she’s hearing Gram—and sometimes Gram’s guidance is really off the wall.

 And now to learn more about Judy Alter:

DONNELL:  Welcome to Get Lost in a Story, Judy!  Wow, what a blurb.  I’m hooked.  First off, is there really a Wheeler, Texas, and would you classify this as cozy, hard-boiled… other?

JUDY: Donnell, I hate to admit it but there is no Wheeler, nor is there a Blue Plate Café. But Wheeler is an amalgamation of the towns of Ben Wheeler and Edom, both located about an hour east of Dallas, on the edge of East Texas. And there is a café that I modeled this on in the town of Edom—it’s The Shed, and my family and I enjoyed many happy meals there. I don’t suppose the food is much different than that of a lot of other small-town cafés, but we went there for fun and for sentimental reasons.

I’d definitely call this a cozy—amateur female sleuth, murders offstage (except for one shooting scene). Very little violence, some discreet romance. Like many cozy heroines, Kate Chambers can’t seem to straighten out her love life. And the book does include recipes—I can’t think of a thriller with recipes!

DONNELL:  I love the idea of twin protagonists for a series.  Do you have experience with twins?  Are they identical or fraternal?

JUDY: Donna and Kate are fraternal—there’s a huge difference in their dispositions, and Kate always sees a difference in their appearance, seeing herself as less attractive and polished than Donna. But Kate is the one who went to the big city and had a career, so she’s no slouch.

DONNELL:  What is the best thing about writing a series?  Then turn this, the worst?

JUDY: The best thing, to me, is that you really get to know the characters, how they’ll react, even the way they speak. You become part of their world. The worst thing is what we all call the Jessica Fletcher syndrome—how many murders can there have been in Cabot Cove? Similarly, how many in Wheeler, Texas? I’d like to say most cozies run dry after four or five books, but there are some with much longer lists.

DONNELL:  When you’re not writing, where will we find you?

JUDY: Cooking, reading, caring for one of my grandsons—I pick him up from school every day and we do second-grade homework. I eat out with friends, I entertain—I was never so busy until I retired.

DONNELL:  (now the telling questions).  What’s the most unusual thing you have in your closet?

JUDY: Maybe the dress I wore to three of my children’s weddings. It’s sixteen years old, I haven’t worn it for fourteen years, and it probably doesn’t fit. But it was the most beautiful dress I think I ever had and I refuse to part with it.

DONNELL:  What’s in your refrigerator right now?

 
JUDY: White wine, cottage cheese, Paul Newman’s vinaigrette salad dressing. My youngest daughter used to put the dressing on cottage cheese, and when she still lived at home she said our house could run with those three items.

DONNELL:  If you could meet anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?

JUDY: Oh, gosh, that’s hard. There are authors I’d like to meet, particularly some who wrote about the American West—as I did for years—and Julia Child would be high on my list. So would Eleanor Roosevelt. But I think if I had to pick one I’d pick one of my female ancestors from Scotland—say 18th-century Scotland at the time of the Clearances. I’m fascinated by that history and want to know more about the MacBain Clan.

Judy, now it's your turn. Time to ask readers a question.

 Judy Alter:  I’d like to direct a question to cozy fans: what’s most important to you? Characters you like and identify with or a complicated plot that keeps you guessing.

I’ll give away two e-books of the second Blue Plate Café mystery, Murder at the Tremont House, to randomly chosen readers who comment.

Thanks, Donnell. It’s been fun. I’m still puzzling over my answers to the closet and fridge questions and who I really want to meet. One choice is so hard.

Donnell ~ You did great, Judy!  Thanks for being our guest today!

Contact Links.

Social media:




Twitter: @judyalter, though I’m not good about checking it

Buy Links:






 

 

1/29/2014

Nicki Salcedo and . . .

ALL BEAUTIFUL THINGS
Bell Bridge Books

THE TRUTH MAY DESTROY THEM BOTH

Seven years ago, a knife-wielding stranger left socialite Ava Camden for dead. She survived, but her face was brutally scarred. Now Graham Sapphire is determined to clear his brother’s name and win her trust in a desperate search for the truth.

Read a little, Buy the book


 Graham and Ava went outside, where the alley was quiet and the sky faded to purple. He retrieved a bottle of water from the front seat and took a swig. He wore a white t-shirt that clung to his triceps, down his hard chest and flat stomach. The shirt became slightly translucent with his perspiration. Through the shirt, she saw the outline of the bandage where he’d been cut.

His jeans sat low on his hips, only being loose at the waist. Her eyes fell to his thighs and down to his work boots. She suddenly felt thirsty. In her mind, she kept apologizing for his wound, but sorry wasn’t the right word for how she was feeling.

When their eyes met, he looked embarrassed as though she’d been judging him. Graham took another swig of water from the bottle he carried and gently held it out to her.

“You need some water?”

She wanted to say no. She wanted to say she didn’t need a drink. She wanted to explain that she had not been judging him for his clothes or his work boots. He wouldn’t believe her if she said the dirt on his boots made her trust him.

“Sure.” She accepted the bottle against her better judgment and took a small sip.

MEET NICKI
Nicki Salcedo is a graduate of Stanford University with a degree in English and Creative Writing. She was born in Jamaica and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a member of Romance Writers of America© and a Past President of Georgia Romance Writers. Nicki is a two-time recipient of the Maggie Award of Excellence and a Golden Heart Finalist.
She lives in Atlanta with her four children, husband, and a cat. Nicki thinks everyone should write and loves connecting with readers. For more information go to: www.nickisalcedo.com.

"I love this woman!" 
I met Nicki too many years ago to admit to while we were volunteering. She's amazing and caring, a great writer, a loving mom and wife. And man am I glad she calls me friend. ~Angi

GET TO KNOW NICKI
ANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?
NICKI: Not often enough. My kids are at those ages where none of them sit still. They are 9, 8, 6, and 3. I used to get lost in a book a week. Now I’m lucky if I get lost in a book once a month. For an avid reader, a book a month is terrible! I have a book with me at all time just in case a have a few minutes to get lost in one.

ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading? 
NICKI: A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan Smith. I read it in second grade. I remembered crying and crying. I didn’t know that books could make feel such intense emotions before that book. I didn’t know a book could make you cry. It was a wonderful feeling, but also frightening, to become someone else and feel their joy and pain.

ANGI: What’s your favorite “love” word?
NICKI: Embraced. I don’t mind the word hug. Hug is wrapping your arms around someone. Embraced is better. It is my favorite love word. Embraced is both a physical and mental action. Embraced is touching and accepting. It’s a word that shows up in my novel in both English and Spanish.

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
NICKI: My novel is based on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. I like scarred heroes. In ALL BEAUTIFUL THINGS, the heroine has the scars. She is the beast. The hero is the beauty. I always liked the variations of the beauty and the beast story, because they two people looking for something other than love. The beast needs redemption. The beauty longs for freedom. It also helps that in the Disney version Belle gets a library as a gift. Readers and writers took a collective gasp at that scene and shouted, “Yes!”

ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?
NICKI: Snoopy. More specifically Snoopy dancing. Peanuts was always a favorite cartoon when I was growing up. I love Charlie Brown and the gang, but Snoopy is my favorite. He is happiness and silliness and joy. Charlie is introspection. I like that too. Woodstock is exuberance. You can tell I’ve thought about all these characters at length.

ANGI: What do you like about the hero of your book?
NICKI: Graham Sapphire is kindness. You don’t see that a lot as the main characteristic of an alpha hero, but Graham takes care of his family and the woman he loves. Ava is brooding and scarred and afraid. Because Graham has survived very traumatic events of his own, his first instinct is to nurture those around him.

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?
NICKI: I love the sound of the train. I could hear the train from my house as a kid. Today the train is a bit further away from where I live, but I can still hear it. The sound of the train whistle and the wheels on the track are very evocative. Sadness. Mystery. Hiding. Running away. I’m probably the only person on earth who loves getting caught at a train crossing, even when I’m late! The whistle is an intermittent sound, but the wheels have the same repetitive quality of waves crashing on a shore. I’m pretty sure the sound of a train is good for the soul.

ANGI: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?
NICKI: I am an avid romance reader. I love a romance novel. I adore fairy tales, but if I’m at the movies or watching TV I choose action adventure. I like superheroes, sci-fi, zombie stuff. If people are running around shooting lasers and avoiding explosions, I’m pretty much going to love it.

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
NICKI: I wrote a story about a young girl with nine brothers when I was in elementary school. It didn’t have a plot, but the kids wandered around town having silly adventures.

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
NICKI: The Terminator. Yes, 1980’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. Time travel, sci-fi, romance. It is my go-to movie when I’m sad. I wish I had something high-brow or a current movie as my favorite. The truth The Terminator is perfect. Ridiculous and perfect.

ANGI: Who’s your favorite villain?
NICKI: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is one of my all-time favorite books. The monster is created by Victor Frankenstein. The monster is the most heart-breaking villain in literature. I guess he is another beast who I love. He questions human nature, love, and survival.

I also watch The Walking Dead and have read the graphic novels. The Governor is a scary villain.  He is insane. His character show what happens when questioning human nature, love, and survival goes horribly wrong.

ANGI: What is your biggest vice?
NICKI: A nice dinner. I have four kids. Food at home is usually macaroni and cheese or broccoli. Nothing fancy. Everything I eat at home is eaten standing up. My day job is pretty busy, so I often miss lunch. My husband knows that I don’t need flowers or jewelry. I like a nice dinner out. We have a favorite restaurant in our town and the name is taken from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: “Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?” Part of my biggest vice is dessert. I plan my meals around the ability to have dessert. Preferably apple or cherry pie. If not that, then anything warm. Cobbler, bread pudding, chocolate cake. Books are a better vice for me. Fewer calories.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: I doubt that you ever have any "down" time, but if you do…what do you do for fun?
NICKI'S GOTTA ANSWER: You are right. I don’t have down time unless you count soccer practice and piano lessons and school projects. Honestly, writing is my down time. Writing is my fun. Writing is the only thing I do that is 100% for me so I consider it my down-time even though it is my second career. I have a certain writing voice that comes naturally to me, and I try writing different genres and different points-of-view in my “down-time.” I like writing to be fun. I play with language.

FIND NICKI:
Twitter @NickiSalcedo   

This is Nicki's debut, but  she writes for 
It’s Only A Novel . And what's UP NEXT for NICKI? I’m working on revisions on two other novels. Southern fiction with romantic elements.

NICKI is giving away a copy of All Beautiful Things. Kindle version or a paperback copy--winner's choice. 

International Kindle book giveaway: ALL BEAUTIFUL THINGS may not be available in all countries due to copyright restrictions. In these cases the recipient will be given the option to request an exchange for gift credit on their Amazon.com account during the redemption process, or they may contact Customer Service for assistance in exchanging the book.

Note: COMMENTERS are encouraged to leave a contact email address to speed the prize notification process. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

NEXT UP ON GLIAS: Join us tomorrow for Judy Alter. I'll be back next week with Roxanne St. Claire & Pamela Hearon.  ~Angi Morgan

Get Lost on Facebook    or   @GetLostInAStory  #GetLostStories

NICKI WANTS TO KNOW: ALL BEAUTIFUL THINGS is a story about reversing expectations. The “beast” is the woman, the “beauty” is the man. What are your favorite books where there was an unexpected twist or something that defied stereotypes?

1/27/2014

Get Lost in a Story welcomes Julie Rowe

Get Lost in a Story readers, Julie Rowe was one of my very first critique partners.  She’s still a very dear friend, and way back when I read a version of Molly Gets her Man.  You’re in for a treat!  Please welcome Author Julie Rowe, it's her release week!

About Molly Gets her Man
Trust is earned, not given…

When flaky Las Vegas hairdresser Molly McLaren overhears hears a Russian hit man planning to kill a US congressman and take out Hoover Dam in the process, she becomes a target for murder. Now, on the run from the assassin and a dirty cop, she winds up in an eighteen wheeler with an ex-cop sporting a bum leg, a bad attitude, and a body built for loving.

Grey Wilson just wanted to be left alone. No more Las Vegas. No more casinos. And no more floozy women like the one his best friend sent him to pick up on the side of the road. She talks fast, but her endless curves and sensuous nature make him want to slow down. Which is not in the cards. Grey knows he needs to unload his excess baggage. And quick.

But when someone tries to kill the Vegas beauty, Molly captures his heart with her backbone of steel, and brains to boot. Now in order to grasp the future that had once seemed impossible, Molly and Grey need to keep Hoover Dam, the congressman, and their love from being blown sky-high.


And now, let’s learn about Julie Rowe!

DONNELL:  Julie, I think readers should know just how prolific you are.  How many books have you written in your career?

JULIE: Do you mean written or published? Written would be in the neighborhood of 18 books/novellas. Published would be 10 books/novellas in a little over 2 years.

DONNELL:  You have a special love for a certain part of history.  What is it?

JULIE: World War One holds me in thrall. The war that was supposed to end all wars, but started them all instead. The more research I do into WW1 the more amazing stories I discover. Stories of horrific terror and amazing courage on all sides of the conflict. So many heroes, not enough time.

DONNELL:  You’ve also trained and participated in a grueling sporting event.  Tell us about that?

JULIE: I trained for a triathlon a few years ago. Unfortunately, my lack of swimming skills ended my try at a triathlon race before I could attempt it. Drowning is not how I want to go.

DONNELL:  What’s your favorite room in your house, and when you’re not writing where will we find you?

JULIE: My favorite room is our den/office, which houses my desk as well as my husband’s. It’s also home to our library, a fireplace and some cozy chairs for reading. When I’m not writing or posting to Facebook and Twitter I’m in my dining room making cards (I took over the table *evil laugh*).

DONNELL:  What inspired Molly Gets her Man?

JULIE: Molly is an exaggerated extension of my own flakiness. I can be really silly/dense/look at the world sideways sometimes, and I kept asking myself if I were really smart, and lacked all common sense, what would I do? The story may have also been influenced by the fact that I worked in a hospital for 6 years and saw a lot of people do a lot of stupid stuff, then come to the ER to get it “fixed”.

DONNELL:  What’s the most unusual thing you have in your closet?

JULIE: Good Lord, are you sure you want an honest answer to this question??? Let’s see…valium (left over from the last time I went to the dentist) would probably be the most unusual thing. I think. Really, Donnell, you don’t want to know what else is in there. I haven’t cleaned out my closet in a while.

DONNELL:  Have you ever jaywalked?

JULIE: Yes. Yes, I have. A lot. Then again, I live in a hick-town where no one cares about jaywalking much.

DONNELL:  Julie, now it’s your turn.  Time to ask the reader a question.  And here please list if you’d like to do a give away? 

Readers, what is the silliest thing you’ve ever done?

One commenter will win a free copy of Molly Gets Her Man!

Molly Gets Her Man

Barnes & Noble






Twitter: @julieroweauthor