Welcome to my Second Acts Series!
Today, we have award-winning Soul Mate author Nancy Lee Badger sharing her inspiring journey and latest release, Heaven-Sent Highlander.
Here’s Nancy!
Since Heaven-sent Highlander is the second book in my Warriors in Bronze series, I would like to talk about second acts as it pertains to my life. I am a multi-published and award-winning author, but that profession did not start until I was in my 50’s. About 20 years ago, I started writing. I am a huge reader of romance novels and thought I could do better. At the time, I was an EMT and volunteer firefighter in a small New Hampshire town. Heartache, emergencies, deaths, and other calls would leave me despondent. Reading a romance novel always brought me back to happiness.
I needed to escape my paid daytime job, and landed a spot as a 911 Emergency Medical Dispatcher for the State of New Hampshire. Reading between calls was rewarding, and kept the adrenaline at a healthy level. Changing jobs was good for the ego and pocketbook, but the pace was grueling and I yearned for something different AND to move somewhere warmer. Snow was no longer pretty to me.
So, I ‘retired’, we sold our house, and moved closer to family in Raleigh, North Carolina. About 9 years ago, I sold my first book. What a high! I kept writing while dear hubby kept working full time to pay the bills. He also loves to read and edit my manuscripts. My mother helps in that regard as well. After 26 books, three publishers, and a lot of self-published books, I am enjoying every day as a full-time author.
As I grow older, I am always surprised that ideas for stories pop-up seemingly out of nowhere. I am feeling my age more each day, but I keep going. My eyes have gotten worse, which might be why my hero in Heaven-sent Highlander is blind for a good part of the book. Writing has drawbacks, of course, but if the words are itching to get typed onto a computer, do it. You cannot improve an empty page! I recall Nora Roberts speaking at a Romance Writers of America conference saying something like ‘get your butt in the chair and just write.’
Writing novels, poetry, or even magazine articles can be a lonely profession. Just you and your laptop, most times. The best advice I can give is to seek out others. Writing groups are everywhere, from simple book clubs, to meet-up groups, to organizations like the ones I have been a member of for years. Misery loves company. Other writers will understand all that you are going through and are the first to congratulate you.
Blurb
At an American museum, surrounded by Auguste Rodin’s bronze statues, a Scottish Fae beauty is at a crossroads. Now that Gwendolyn’s friends are engaged, and the demon they fought vanquished, should she return home? After committing a terrible act, she could not explain to her cousin why she had appeared on his doorstep.
Alexander awoke in darkness inside a bronze statue, remembering how the green of Scotland’s Culloden field had turned red with blood that day in 1746. Had he died before awakening nude and sightless in front of strangers in present-day Raleigh, North Carolina? The mystery of how was overshadowed by why. Told that another warrior awoke when a demon threatened to take over the world, had a second demon escaped Hell? When the demon appears and demands Gwen join him, Alex must use all his new skills, weapons, and Heaven-sent powers to keep her and the world safe.
Excerpt
“I placed some clothes in the bathing room. ‘Tis just next door,” Gwendolyn said.
“A bathing room? Inside the house? Show me.” Alex figured he could find it on his own by touch, but he did not know who besides Gwendolyn was near. Keeping his blindness a secret seemed childish, but his pride screamed at him to hold back and see what happened.
“I brought food for ye—”
“I am hungry, yet can it wait? Clothing myself seems prudent, first.”
“Fine. Follow me.”
As she set something down, the lilt in her voice made him smile, and her scent stirred his loins. The urge to grab her, turn her into his chest, and kiss her senseless was strong. The problem? How would he find her?
In the hallway, his hazy vision sensed light and Gwen’s outline ahead of him. His feet closed the space between them. Moments before he could wrap his fingers around her, heavy footsteps grew closer.
“Gwen, what are you and Alex doing? Alex, you are looking well. Clothing might improve your visage. Aye?”
Sam had interrupted his plans. Had he read his thoughts? Gwendolyn had warned him, but why would he care what Gwendolyn and he did?
Alex nodded. “Gwendolyn left some items in the bathing room. I wish to hurry and dress. I smell meat cooking.”
“Oh! I left the chili in your bedchamber!” Gwen’s blurry outline ran past him, and Alex was left alone with Sam.
“Gwen is very attentive, considering we still do not know your intentions.”
What could Sam be hinting at? “I doona know why I am still alive. I swear to you, sir. I assumed I had died on that bloody battlefield. I am thankful to breathe air and feel pain. Truly, as it proves I am alive.”
He sensed Sam staring at him, but he kept his features calm and without fear.
“Well, then we shall commence your training at sun-up. Rest, eat, and find clothing appropriate for combat.”
“Combat?”
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Author Bio
Nancy Lee Badger grew up in Huntington on New York’s Long Island, where school field trips to lofty museums were the norm. After attending Plymouth State, in New Hampshire, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education and met and married her college sweetheart. They raised two handsome sons in Rumney, New Hampshire, where Nancy volunteered as an EMT and firefighter while working full-time. When the children had left the nest, and shoveling show became a chore, she retired from her satisfying job as a 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Dispatcher and moved with her husband to North Carolina, where she writes full-time.
Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Triangle Association of Freelancers. She loves to travel and attend Scottish Highland Games and is never far from her laptop. She finds story ideas in the most unusual places. Connect with her here:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads
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