I’m happy to welcome author Hannah Jordan. Today, Hannah shares her creative journey and debut novel, For You I’d Break, Book 1 in the Peace Falls Small Town Romance Series.

Here’s Hannah!

What is the best part of being an author? The worst?

The best part of being an author is the job’s flexibility with time, place, and wardrobe. I can work anytime, anywhere in the world in my PJs. While editing For You I’d Break, I’d sit in my car with my laptop and work during my youngest daughter’s lacrosse practice.

The worst part of being an author, for me, has always been the rejection. I have a lot of experience as a nonfiction writer, so I’ve grown a pretty thick skin. As a parenting blogger, I had internet trolls comment on my actual life, but that’s the price you pay for putting your words into the world. I want to continue to improve as a writer, so I read the comments and reviews. Still, a bad review hurts.

Describe your writing space.

I have two main writing spaces. The first is my home office, which is a hot mess. I manage the HR, marketing, and accounting for my husband’s dental practice. My high schooler also likes to do her homework at the desk beside mine. So, there’s a lot going on. I only use the space to write when everyone is home and living loud.

When I have the house to myself, I go into the living room, where I have oversized, super comfy chairs and an ottoman. I switch chairs each week, so there isn’t a Hannah-sized butt imprint in only one (and for a slightly different view.) The room is usually tidy (not so much my office), which for some reason makes me feel more relaxed, and there are large windows where I can see both the front and back yards. My house has an open floor plan, which I love, but it means I can hear everyone when I’m in the living room, and people wander in and out asking what’s for dinner.

Which authors have inspired you?

I love Jane Austen. It should have been my first clue during my literary fiction phase that I might be in the wrong genre. Austen’s writing is masterful and I will die on that hill, but when it comes right down to it, she wrote romances. Exceptional romances, but romances.

The list of current authors I admire (and have learned from) is long, but includes writers in different subgenres. I’ll read an LJ Shen novel one week, a Pippa Grant another, and an Amy Harmon the following. One writes fairly dark romance, one writes romantic comedies, and one writes historical romance. I love it all!

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

I love seeing new places and hiking. I’m not a hardcore hiker. I enjoy the outdoors for a few hours and then return to the luxuries of running water and air conditioning. I try to balance my travels between nature-focused trips, like St John, and cosmopolitan settings like London. My favorite trips combine both.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Rejection is an inherent part of a writer’s life, so embrace failure. There’s a point where the dreamers stop and the gritty keep going. Learn from your mistakes, especially the ones that gut you, and move on.

What are you working on next?

I’m very excited about the rest of the Peace Falls series. The second book, For You I’d Mend, launched earlier this month. It focuses on Rowan’s sister, Poppy, and Cal’s best friend, Theo. Poppy and Theo feature heavily in For You I’d Break as friends who are attracted to each other but haven’t yet left the friend zone. Poppy is my favorite character in the entire series, and I loved writing her story.

The third book, For You I’d Bloom, will come out in January. It’s my favorite book of the series because I fell a bit in love with the lead, Aiden. I’m currently working on edits of this book.

I know I’ll be staying in Peace Falls for at least three more books, but I’m still debating which story to write next.

Blurb

When Rowan’s two-year marriage ends with a crash, she returns home to Peace Falls, VA, riding shotgun in her sister’s 1990 Cadillac hearse. Everything about her is damaged: her heart, her pride, her bank account, and her spine—thanks to a tourist, a Segway, and finding her husband getting busy with her boss. But Rowan is determined to reclaim her career and city life as soon as she recuperates and lands a new job.

Caleb “Cal” Cardoso didn’t notice wallflower Rowan in high school, but the former football star, and Peace Falls’s newest physical therapist, can’t take his eyes off the stunning redhead now. Too bad he’s sworn off relationships. After his last hookup purposely tanked his online reputation, Cal stands to lose his job if a single patient leaves his care. Which is why he can’t let Rowan switch to another practitioner, despite the friction between them, and why he definitely can’t act on his growing attraction.

Rowan agrees to remain Cal’s patient if he helps her younger brother train for football tryouts. Though Cal hasn’t touched a football since the accident that killed his best friend, he agrees, and as Cal helps heal Rowan’s body, she begins to heal his heart.

For You I’d Break is a small-town romance with a hefty dash of spice, a HEA ending, and a cast of memorable characters, including a goth sculptor who secretly loves to decorate cakes, a fearsome-looking felon with a heart of gold, a hothead with a sweet side, a karma-devoted barista who collects damaged pets and first dates, and a lovable dog with more emotional sense than everyone put together.

Excerpt

Being a wallflower makes you thirsty, so parched for attention your heart feels brittle. Then after years—or in my case a lifetime—someone finally sees you. The exquisite feeling seeps deep, the attention saturating your life. So, you jump, headfirst. The red flags go unnoticed. Declarations of love tossed as lightly as petals. Maybe you marry him, like I did. Maybe you bloom in domestic bliss with a house in the suburbs and two adorable kids. Maybe a dog. Bare minimum a pet turtle.

I wasn’t so lucky.

After two years of marriage, instead of house hunting in the outskirts of DC, I was riding shotgun in my sister’s 1990 Cadillac hearse, headed back to Peace Falls, VA, with everything I owned stuffed where a coffin ought to be.

I’d cried so much in the past three hours, I could barely make out the foothills rising in the distance. My throat was raw. Crumpled tissues littered the floorboard, and lint covered my leggings.

The tears surprised me. Apart from a couple of late-night phone calls to my mother after I left the hospital, I’d held it together pretty well. I was too busy tying up the loose ends of my life in DC to feel anything but stressed. The moment Poppy arrived to drive me home, the tears started and built with every box, bag, and lamp we slid into the hearse.

Author Bio and Links

Hannah Jordan grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia but wound up in South Jersey after falling in love with her complete opposite. She’s got all the degrees of a “serious” fiction writer but only smiles when she’s writing romance.

She lives with her husband and two daughters in a picturesque town outside of Philadelphia where she enjoys reading in all genres, especially the spicy ones, and confusing people with her half-Southern, half-Northern accent.

The first book in her Peace Falls Small Town Romance Series, For You I’d Break, launched July 17, 2024.

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Giveaway

Hannah Jordan will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

I’m happy to welcome author Bobbie Candas. Today, Bobbie shares her new release, Falling from the Nest.

Blurb

Spring 1946–Following four years of war on the heels of the decade-long Great Depression, Americans are finally feeling a sense of hope that begins sweeping the nation…

Jo-Jo Anderson feels that optimism too. Slipping the reins of her Iowa farming town, Jo leaves to make her mark on the entertainment scene in Manhattan. Audiences are clamoring for new musicals on Broadway, nightclubs are flourishing, and NYC is the beating heart of the radio networks. After arriving, Jo-Jo quickly realizes that thousands of would-be stars are following her same ambitions, making opportunities scarce, but her luck begins to turn when she hears about Talent Jackpot.

Her twin, Sarah, finds success with her studies as a scholarship student at the University of Iowa. But Sarah is adrift socially, finding it difficult to forge friendships. Her perfectly planned life is upended when her hometown boyfriend announces he’s suddenly joined the navy. Sarah’s top grades draw the attention of a crusty biology professor and after accepting his offer of a lab position, her rigid lifestyle gets a lot more complicated.

This novel tells a story of unexpected change. The twins make their way through multiple challenges with humor, ambition, and heartbreak but remain tied together by the bonds of sisterhood, winding their way through the seedier backdoors of the entertainment business, and into college dorm life and love nest apartments.

With the historical backdrop of the post WW2 era, Falling From The Nest, reads as a stand-alone story but also serves as a sequel to author Bobbie Candas’ previous novel, The Lost and Found of Green Tree.

Excerpt

The last of the audition line moved forward and I was suddenly thrust up on the stage of the Imperial Theater. There were three lines of ten on stage, filled with nervous male and female hopefuls auditioning for chorus line spots for a new Irving Berlin musical, Annie Get Your Gun. I could smell my fear as it branched out within me in tingling connections from my frozen face down to my feet. Feet that now felt like dead weights attached to heeled dance shoes whose soles were glued to the floor. I’d arrived late and was in the last group of an open-call audition and purposely nudged myself into the center of the middle line, hoping for a hiding spot. But hiding is hard when you’re a leggy, five-foot-nine, pale blonde female in a string of short, muscular dancers. Kinda like a spotted giraffe among the lions.

After lining up, our executioner and choreographer took about sixty seconds to show us a dozen linking steps to an opening dance sequence. His arrogant face, slim body, and searching eyes leaned back appraising the lines. “OK, boys and girls, this one’s simple. Think you got it?” Everyone around me anxiously nodded yes.

No, I wanted to shout. Repeat please!

The orchestra in the pit began cranking out a tune, as the choreographer yelled out…”And a one, and a two–knee up, kick left, circle back, hop, hop, knee up, kick right…” Then he motioned for the music to stop.

An exasperated expression covered his face. “Ladies and gentlemen, these are the basics, the easy connections. Let’s start again on three. And a one, and a two–knee up, kick left, circle back, hop, hop…” He stuck his arm out, motioning again for the music to stop.

“Alright, first cuts.” His long arm and dismissive finger pointed to the guilty dancers. “Tall blonde, center middle row, thank you. You…guy on the end, first row, that will be all. Back row, green sweater, left side, you may leave.”

He sighed deeply, clapped his hands, and said. “Let’s go again, cue music…repeat.”

Author Bio and Links

I’m a Texas girl: grew up in San Antonio, went to school at UT in Austin where I earned my degree in journalism, and settled in Dallas where I raised a husband, two kids and a few cats. My husband, Mehmet, and the cats will probably disagree on who raised who, but I’m a sucker for a robust discussion.

For years I was involved in retail management, but in 2014 I refocused on my writing, taking deep dives into the lives of my characters. When you can pry my fingers off the keyboard, I enjoy entertaining, sharing food and drink with friends and family. I enjoy shopping, usually on the hunt for apparel, with a special weakness for shoes, and will frequently jump at the opportunity of an unexpected trip to a far-away place.

And I always make time for reading. I keep a stack of novels ready and waiting on my night stand, with a few tapping their toe in my Kindle. I bounce around genres, and I’m always ready for a good recommendation.

Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon Author Central | Website | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Bobbie Candas will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Bobbie on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome author April Farlow. Today, April shares her creative journey and new release, Pieces of You.

Here’s April!

What was your inspiration for this book?

10 years ago, I started working with young adults who aged out of foster care through an organization I founded called Lydia’s Place (www.lydias-place.com). I saw the pain they experienced from the broken relationship with their parents and how much it impacted their faith. Repeatedly, I shared advice from my parents with them and decided it would be helpful to put it in a book. My dad was a businessman from Mississippi and shared these one-line truths that are sprinkled throughout the book.

As a corporate trainer for twenty years, I have used truths from my dad in classes and speeches repeatedly. We had an hour commute to get to school each morning and my dad used that time intentionally to talk to me about important life topics. He ended each conversation as I would get out of the car the exact same way, “remember who you are and remember whose you are.” Since our relationship with our Earthly Father impacts the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father, I use these stories to help the reader discover who they are and whose they are and hope it will feel a lot like we are riding in the car together as I tell the “pieces” of my story.

What is the best part of being an author? The worst?

The best part of being an author is seeing my stories in print because I know they are captured for my kids and family. The hardest part is that I share some of the intimate parts of my life and so it feels vulnerable when I know people know some of the “pieces” of my life that have been hard.

Describe your writing space.

My writing space would be funny for anyone else to walk into. I write at my dining room and usually have papers spread out all over the place with ideas and lists. It is messy – and even when I clean it up, I tend to mess it back up because that is when I feel most creative! I also record myself saying a lot of my stories in the car, so you could say my writing space includes my drive time which usually happens on the way to/from speaking engagements or driving my kids to their activities.

Which authors have inspired you?

I spent a few days at a writers retreat with Bob Goff (Everybody, Always; Undistracted; Dream Big) and Kimberly Stuart (Stars for Jesus and Other Jobs I Quit; Balancing Act; Bottom Line; Better Together). I am always inspired by their words, but also by their passion for helping other people write!

What is your favorite quote?

I have two:
“Be the Change you wish to see in the world.” Ghandi
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them fee.” Maya Angelou

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

Whether it is a superpower or not is to be determined, but I am pretty good at awkward conversations. I have taught communications as a corporate trainer for years and I find I use so much of what I teach in my personal life as well. This means that when there has to be a hard conversation, I am often the one who says what needs to be said. This can be both a gift and a challenge at times.

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

I have 4 girls and so their activities become my activities as well. My youngest girls love dance and theater, so I spend a lot of time in their world. I also have a mini farm with horses, chickens, rabbits and hope to have some mini-cows soon!

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Yes! Two things helped me tremendously:

1. Get a writing coach. It helped me be accountable to a timeline and get my ideas collected with the help of someone else sharing what made the most impact, rather than the story I wanted to say the most.

2. The advice that Sara Shelton, my writing coach, shared with me is something I would share with anyone. Get a box of index cards and write down every idea you have about the topic for two months. Then, use those cards to organize an outline. This one activity was a game changer for me!

What are you working on next?

Two things: I plan to host women’s events for the book so that other women can share their stories. For writing, next, I would like to share the story of how my oldest daughter joined our family from Legos, Nigeria. Maria grew up in extreme poverty. We met at a camp when I was speaking in Orlando and she had gotten a scholarship to learn and take back information to her school. Maria came to live with us eight years ago and is currently getting her PhD at the University of Houston. I am inspired by Maria and we have learned a lot along the way as we have merged two very different worlds.

Blurb

Knowing who you are has always been challenging, and in today’s world, more and more voices are coming from more and more places telling us who we should be. The result? A broken sense of identity that we’re struggling to put back together.

In Pieces of You, April Farlow shares how she discovered her identity is formed by the God who made her. Along the way, she’s learned that if we want to put the pieces of who we are together in a real, lasting way, we have to look to Whose we are for help.

It’s time to take a look at the unique pieces that make up who you are …

The pieces you compare …
The pieces informed by the father figure in your life …
The painful pieces …
The pieces of your relationships …
The pieces on which you’ve built your beliefs …
The pieces that give you rules and boundaries …
The pieces that show what you value …
The pieces that give you purpose …
The pieces that help you build a vision for what’s to come.

As we work to put those pieces together, we’ll look to the God who made us, knows us, and loves us to guide us. Because when you take all your pieces—the good, the bad, the broken, and the beautiful—and place them in your Heavenly Father’s hands, there, you’ll find peace. There, you’ll find security. There, you’ll find a real sense of who you are and Whose you are.

Excerpt

Over just a few hours, my Kaleidoscopes began to lean into each other’s stories. Things got real fast. And I think that’s because we took a break from measuring ourselves against each other. Instead of comparing, we chose to share.

And that’s a great place to start.

To stand confidently in both who you are and Whose you are, you must first learn to avoid the temptation to compare. Staying out of the comparison trap is an essential piece of the puzzle that is discovering and embracing our identity.

After our meeting, my friend Angela went home and looked in her daughter’s school folder. There, she found a worksheet her seven-year-old, Elle, had filled out. “Color yourself and then write words to describe yourself in the circles,” the instructions said across the top. That’s precisely what Elle did. She colored her hair and eyes to match hers and wrote six words to describe herself.

Funny
Artistic
Pretty
Love
Kind
Smart

For Angela, her daughter’s list was not only accurate, but it was also a stark contrast to the list she and the other women had made. Angela told me about it later: “I wonder at what age we stop believing the good? I wonder what happens to cause us to begin seeing the negative before the positive?”

I wonder the same for all of us.

Author Bio and Links

April Farlow has spent the last 20 years motivating audiences to get out of their comfort zone, speak up, and represent their values. In corporate environments, one piece is missed—the ability to talk about forming your identity in God. Today, as a speaker, author, coach, and non-profit leader, April is changing this by sharing her faith journey and helping others do the same with clarity and conviction.

In 2017, after speaking to a group of foster youth, April founded Lydia’s Place, a ministry serving young adults who have experienced foster care or homelessness. April and her husband have four girls and live on a mini-farm outside of Athens, Georgia.

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Giveaway

April Farlow will be awarding a $15 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow April on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome author Claudia Riess. Today, Claudia shares her new release, Dying for Monet.

Blurb

Dying for Monet, book 5 of Riess’s art history mystery series, opens on a gala evening auction at Laszlo’s, an upstart auction house in New York City. After a much sought-after Impressionist still life painting is without notice withdrawn from the auction block, its broker is found dead at the foot of an imposing statue in Laszlo’s courtyard. Amateur sleuths Erika Shawn and Harrison Wheatley are once again drawn into an investigation involving an art-related homicide, this time with one sharing an unnerving coincidence with violent crimes occurring abroad.

Excerpt

For a short while they ate in a silence broken only by the soft clatter of utensils and restrained exclamations of praise, the meal more than living up to its aromatic overture. Yet, beneath the silence there was an insensate hum of anticipation, like an underlying spice that defines a dish, but can’t quite be identified.

Erika was slicing into a tender fragment of chicken; Harrison, scooping up a forkful of buttered noodles; Greg, wiping his lips with his napkin—when Robin, staring down at her plate, suddenly blurted, “Ivan and I—we were having a squabble.” She looked up. “It wasn’t much of anything at the start, but it escalated. We were having dinner. Right where we are now, at this table.” She seemed to marvel at the coincidence. “I complained, not very adamantly, that he was spending a lot of time in Manhattan—too much time. He said he was ‘learning the ropes.’ I remember thinking, how odd, I’ve never heard him use that phrase.” She studied her plate again. “I told him he didn’t share things with me. What was he doing at Laszlo’s? Who were his colleagues? I became agitated. I asked him if he was having an affair.” She sucked in her breath, as if someone other than herself had surprised her with that statement.

“He was stunned by my accusation. At a loss. For a minute he was silent, and then he said, ‘An affair? You want to know what I haven’t shared with you? Something personal? All right, I’ll let you in on my secret, my only secret, but you have to swear you’ll keep it to yourself. It concerns the contract between me and one of my clients. I’m going against my word, here, you understand. I gave Mr. Keller my word I’d keep it between us.’ It was essential, Ivan said. Essential.”

Robin picked up her fork and began pushing a morsel of chicken around on her plate, poking at it, as if to get a response out of it. “What was I thinking?” She let the fork drop onto the plate and looked up. “I can’t talk about this. I swore not to. There was a reason not to tell. A danger in telling.” She shook her head. “Greg, Greg, I was drunk with grief when I shared this with you. I know you’ll keep your word. Erika, Harrison, I’m sorry. I’ll give you anything else but this. Not this.”

Erika was sitting next to Robin. She laid her hand on hers. Robin placed her free hand on Erika’s and kept it there. Erika nodded her understanding, inwardly begging Robin to recant. The plea went unanswered.

A short time later, after acceding to Robin’s remorseful insistence they partake of her apple pie à la mode and coffee, the sated visitors were back on the road, heading toward Manhattan.

All three were seated in the back of the car, Erika between the men. Bill had taken it upon himself to shut the partition separating him and his passengers so that they could converse in private.

For a while silence ruled. Then, not quite breaking it, Erika turned to Greg, on her left, and, cocking her head ever-so-slightly, fixed him with an imploring look.

“No,” Greg said.

“Just thought I’d ask,” she answered. “I understand.” She rested her head on Harrison’s shoulder and tried to distance herself from the double-edged guilt for having pressed Greg to break his oath and disappointment for not having succeeded at it.

Author Bio and Links

Claudia Riess has worked in the editorial departments of The New Yorker and Holt, Rinehart and Winston, and has edited several art history monographs. Stolen Light, the first book in her art history mystery series, was chosen by Vassar’s Latin American history professor for distribution to the college’s people-to-people trips to Cuba. To Kingdom Come, the fourth, will be added to the syllabus of a survey course on West and Central African Art at a prominent Midwestern university. Claudia has written a number of articles for Mystery Readers Journal, Women’s National Book Association, Sisters in Crime Bloodletter, and Mystery Scene magazine. To read more about Claudia and her work, visit the author’s website.

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Giveaway

Claudia Riess will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Claudia on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome author Randy Dean Noble. Today, Randy shares his new release, Spiral.

Blurb

They’re in the number one watched game in the world… or so they were told. But they have no memory of who or where they are. Something beyond their wildest imaginations awaits to mercilessly strike them down. And looming in the darkness is something worse… much worse.

Green—named after the color of car he’s driving—awakens on the side of a dark highway surrounded by dense forest. And he’s in an old muscle car with no way to tell time, no cell phone, and the radio doesn’t work. When he encounters others like himself, they have to join forces to unravel the mystery surrounding them. Yet, trust doesn’t come easily—someone amongst them is a saboteur.

With their lives at stake, they are compelled to engage in a race where being last means certain death. They must disentangle the truth that threatens to consume them, before they spiral out of control.

Spiral is a gripping tale of survival, coalition, and the terrifying secrets that lie hidden in the shadows.

Prepare for a rip-roaring, adrenaline-fueled ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

If you enjoy books by authors like Dean Koontz and Blake Crouch that involve supernatural thrills laced with fast-paced action, then check out Randy Dean Noble’s exciting horror thriller, Spiral, today.

Excerpt

Have you ever had an instinct so strong that you had to comply? It’s all I had. An overwhelming feeling to run.

I woke up in a car I didn’t recognize, seated behind the wheel, with no memory of how I got there, no idea what day it was or what time other than I could clearly see it was night. I had no watch and no cell phone. The engine idled with a deep rumble, the gear shifter in neutral, and the emergency brake had been depressed. It was a standard transmission. Did I know how to drive a standard? I couldn’t remember.

And when I woke, every part of my being screamed at me to go, to just drive. The longer I contemplated, the sweatier my hands got, sliding on the hard, cracked green steering wheel. My heart palpitated faster and faster.

It was dark out, like really dark. A moonless night. Initially, disorientation didn’t register where I was, but it didn’t take long to see I was pulled over on the side of a highway.

My heartbeat thumped in my chest like it was trying to escape. Wide eyes greeted me in the rearview mirror, eyes I didn’t recognize, nor the sweat-beading bald head reflecting back.

Who was I?

A flicker of movement caught my attention—in the ditch, near the line of pine trees. The headlights were on the high setting.

When I turned my head to look, nothing was there, but I swear I saw… something.

Author Bio and Links

Randy Dean Noble is a supernatural thriller kind of guy. He grew up in Canada on a slew of movies and books (action/adventure, horror, sci-fi, and fantasy), all of which have inspired his writing interests. Working a plethora of minimum wage jobs took Randy into computer science and a career in I.T. (because he didn’t want to eat PB&J for the rest of his life). But his passion has always been writing, and his dream is to be a full-time fiction author. He writes stories he wants to read, which end up as fast-paced thrilling escape stories meant for one thing: to entertain the reader from beginning to end. His most recent work, Spiral, is a horror thriller wild ride you won’t soon forget.

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Giveaway

The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow the author on the rest of his Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome author Petie McCarty. Today, Petie shares her creative journey and the novels in The Cinderella Series.

Here’s Petie!

What was your inspiration for this book?

First, allow me to thank you, Joanne, for your kindness in showcasing my Cinderella series today on the Goddess Fish Promo Tour. Ahh, this is an easy question. Disney Princesses are beloved by children and adults worldwide, and the all-time favorite princess is Cinderella. I keep up to date from my years working at the Most Magical Place on Earth. When you drive by Cinderella’s Castle every day on your way to work, the inspiration sort of falls into place.

What is the best part of being an author? The worst?

Telling stories is the best part. When you write, you can get so wrapped up in your plot, that your characters end up actually directing you. That’s the coolest surprise of all. The worst is all the typing and formatting.

Describe your writing space.

Would it be more fun to have a picture?

Which authors have inspired you?

Too many to count! Like the bacteria in a petri dish (*I once worked in a micro lab. 😊)

Suzanne Brockmann
Jayne Ann Krentz
Linda Howard
Jennifer Crusie
Rachel Gibson
Sarah MacLean
So many many more . . .

What is your favorite quote?

My favorite quote is: “The only difference between published writers and unpublished writers is the published ones never gave up.” I think Stephen King said that in his book, “On Writing”—my favorite writing text of all time.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

A magic wand to pop in and stop bad guys in their tracks, all kinds.

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

Golf and bike riding. I LOVE my electric bike. I do about 10 miles a day when I ride. And I hate rainy days now because I can’t go.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

See #5 first. Don’t ever give up. Each book you write makes you better. READ a lot, every day! I’ve learned more from reading good and especially bad books (so I know what not to do) than I ever did from my twenty or so writing texts (most written by folks who have never written a novel.)

What are you working on next?

Cinderella on the Rocks, Book 4 in my Cinderella series.
A beautiful Yank is hired by the wicked stepmother of a hunky Highlander whisky distiller in Scotland to steal his proprietary recipe for single malt. The sexy Highlander, Ian MacVicar, appeared in Par for Cinderella.

Blurbs

The Cinderella Romances…Fall in love with the fairy tale all over again.

Modern-day Cinderella stories that provide unlimited opportunities to retell the classic fairy tale, happily with returning characters to share in these adventures.

Cinderella Busted

Once upon a time, in Jupiter Island, Florida . . .

Billionaire developer, Rhett Buchanan, is forced to inspect a shipment of priceless trees and meets the girl of his dreams instead. A bit jaded where women are concerned—since most are gold diggers—Rhett falls head over heels for the Jupiter Island socialite who only wants him, not his money. Except she isn’t the glamorous socialite she appears to be.

She’s the gardener . . .

Betting on Cinderella

Once upon a time in Biloxi, Mississippi . . .

Garrett Tucker inherits his grandfather’s casino empire and steps into the reclusive billionaire’s shoes as the new “Prince of Vegas.” Discovering embezzlement in his newly purchased casino in Biloxi, Garrett goes in undercover. His prime suspect? The new finance supervisor . . . a feisty brunette who stole his heart at first sight.

Andi Ryan moves to Biloxi to care for her godmother. Taking a job as finance supervisor for the renovated Bayou Princess casino, she discovers someone is skimming from the till. Andi starts her own investigation, worried she will be blamed for the theft when the handsome new owner discovers her godmother likes to gamble.

Industrial espionage is afoot at the Bayou Princess, and Garrett and Andi are soon forced to work as a team to prove her innocence and save the casino before it’s too late.

\This swoonworthy modern-day fairy tale joins the other stories in the Cinderella Romances series. Each provides a new opportunity to retell the classic fairy tale, happily with returning characters to share in these adventures.

Par for Cinderella

Once upon a time in Cedar Key, Florida . . .

Golf resort developer Aidan Cross is at loose ends. Something feels missing from his life, but that something isn’t women. He has too many women chasing him now. To confuse things even more, his yacht breaks down off-shore of his next project site in Florida, and Aidan falls for his only competition in the small town—a woman who wants nothing to do with him or his rakish charm.

Casey Stuart is stuck living in Cypress Key, unwilling to abandon her uncle or the golf course they manage together. She doesn’t quite trust the stranger Aidan who shows up in town looking for work, and she vows to steer clear of him and the danger their intense chemistry provokes. Aidan’s stay is temporary, and falling for him promises only heartbreak.

But Casey needs Aidan’s help when she discovers Cypress Key’s mayor is making underhanded business deals, and she ends up on the wrong side of the powerful crook. Aidan steps in to rescue her, but secrets from his past threaten to bogey their new-found affair.

This swoonworthy modern-day fairy tale joins the other Cinderella stories in the series. Each provides a new opportunity to retell the classic fairy tale, happily with returning characters to share in these adventures.

Excerpt

From Book Three Par For Cinderella

Silhouetted in the outside light, Aidan looked big . . . and dangerous. Over six feet of pure sin. Too much for her to handle, and Casey officially changed her mind. Turned chicken.

Aidan must have sensed her decision to flee like a timber wolf senses his prey. “What are you doing down here?”

The deep sensual timbre of his voice vibrated along her spine and created tiny pinpoints of desire along its length. Her mouth had that dry feeling she got at the end of her tour spiel—dry and raspy.

“I-I was just going up to bed.”

“No, you weren’t.”

“I-I was too.”

His sexy chuckle rumbled in the darkness, and her skin prickled with anticipation. She couldn’t fool Aidan or herself.

Her brain taunted, Flight or fight, make up your mind.

She suddenly recalled her earlier decision following Janie’s call—to grant herself the month with Aidan. Better for her to have him than let Deedee steal him away. Casey had fully intended to enjoy every single minute of that month with Aidan before she’d chickened out just now. Instead of running away, she could enjoy the feel of those broad shoulders and muscled arms presently filling up the doorway. She could also allow herself a good long stare at that perfect butt when he turned, and maybe even enjoy that kissable mouth with those please-never-take-them-off-me lips.

“Stop looking at my mouth,” Aidan growled, “or you’ll be sorry.”

Her heart ended her dilemma. Go for it.

She could feel his unseen eyes track the movement of her chest, rising and falling with each hard-won breath. Time to force the issue for them both.

“K-Kiss me,” she whispered. Frozen in place, she left the outcome up to Aidan.

He didn’t move a muscle for three lifetime-lasting heartbeats.

One . . . he doesn’t want me.

Two . . . he’s still angry.

Three . . . my own fault.

She turned for the stairs, and he had her in two strides. His arms snaked around her waist and yanked her tight to his chest as his mouth took hers. This was no tender, make-up kiss. This was all need and desire and maybe a little punishment too.

She didn’t care. Her fingertips had gotten their Christmas wish, and Casey buried them in the silky hair at his collar, luxuriating in the soft texture and wanting to keep him close. Even that didn’t stop the tingling in her fingertips.

Aidan’s tongue teased at her lips, then swept inside and tangled against hers. She grew lightheaded as she reacquainted herself with the moist sweetness of his mouth, tinged with a hint of beer. A joyful reunion after the fear of separation, and she intended to savor every sexy nuance of flavor.

He growled low in his throat and turned his head to deepen the kiss. Casey just prayed he wouldn’t stop kissing her. Aidan had to care about her. He didn’t, couldn’t kiss another woman like this. Could he? An image of Deedee flashed behind her eyelids.

She pulled back, but her fingers refused to relinquish their hold on his soft curls.

“What was that for?” he asked, his voice rough with desire. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”

“I don’t want to be just friends,” she whispered.

“Thank God.”

Author Bio and Links

Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—”The Most Magical Place on Earth”—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her “day” job to write her stories full-time. These days Petie spends her time writing sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and her cozy-mystery-with-romantic-suspense series, the Mystery Angel Romances.

Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in No Angels for Christmas.

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Giveaway

Petie McCarty will be awarding a $10 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Petie on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

Cinderella Busted

A natural storyteller, Ms. McCarty skillfully drew me into the narrative and held my attention until the very last page. I felt an immediate connection with the protagonists—Lily and Rhett—and was eager to discover their fate in this well-crafted, character-driven novel. While reading, I found myself shaking my head in amazement at the many unexpected twists and turns in this modern-day fairy tale.

Highly recommended!

I’m happy to welcome author Gail Koger. Today, Gail shares her new release, Stilettos and Gunpowder.

Blurb

My name is Gemma Stone. I’m a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy and not only must I deal with the sweat-soaked misery of the Arizona desert, I get to respond to a bunch of crazy 9-1-1 calls all day long. Like a parakeet up a tree, or a car accident where a tractor trailer full of fireworks is hit and the 4th of July comes a bit early.

But some days crime takes a deadly turn. Police cars are suddenly blowing up. Detective Sergeant Dante Delgado, the love of my life, was assigned to track down and stop the bomber. Am I worried? You betcha. There’s a madman on the loose and he is very, very good at making bombs.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, the Feds think I’m in cahoots with an Iraqi warlord who deals in stolen antiquities, Ichabod, my murderous ex-dance partner, escapes from prison and I’m suddenly in everyone’s crosshairs.

Excerpt

“Damn!” Frank spat and slammed on the brakes.

The seatbelt abruptly clamped around my chest. “Holy crap!” The skinny, white male with the feathered headdress and loincloth was doing his war dance in the middle of the road. I keyed my mic, “Charlie-23 show us out at 85th Avenue and Bell Road with a male dancing in the middle of the street.”

“Copy, Charlie-23,” the dispatcher responded.

A truck narrowly missed the demented dancer. Did he notice? Nope. With his loin cloth flapping in the wind, he shook his hips in what looked like a weird belly-dance. Then he switched to the Texas two-step.

“Ugh. I really don’t want to make another arrest today,” I grumbled.

Frank nodded. “Me, either.”

“Stay with our prisoner. I’ll handle the boogie man.” I got out of the car before Frank could protest and approached the moron. “Sir, if you feel the need to dance, could you do it on the sidewalk?”

He took one look at me, shrieked and bolted down the roadway, yelling, “It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.” Horns honking, cars swerved around him.

“Aw, c’mon! It’s too dang hot to be running.” Did he listen? Hell, no. I trotted after him. It wasn’t like he could run very fast in flip-flops. “Stop! Now! You’re gonna get hit!”

The overhead lights flashing on the patrol car, Frank followed behind us.

The fool lost his flip-flops and did a crazy hippity-hoppity dance over to a circle of grass on the highway median.

I picked up his flip-flops. The pavement was about 180 degrees, and he wasn’t going anywhere without his shoes. “Why are you running?”

“I don’t want to go to jail,” he wheezed.

“And I don’t want to arrest you.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope. What’s your name?”

“Tim White.”

“Okay, Tim, what’s up with the dancing?”

He shrugged. “I’m just trying to spread a little joy.”

“Un-huh. Does it look like it’s working?”

Author Bio and Links

I was a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Glendale Police Department and to keep from going totally bonkers – I mean people have no idea what a real emergency is. Take this for example: I answered, “9-1-1 emergency, what’s your emergency?” And this hysterical woman yelled, “My bird is in a tree.” Sometimes I really couldn’t help myself, so I said, “Birds have a tendency to do that, ma’am.” The woman screeched, “No! You don’t understand. My pet parakeet is in the tree. I’ve just got to get him down.” Like I said, not a clue. “I’m sorry ma’am but we don’t get birds out of trees.” The woman then cried, “But… What about my husband? He’s up there, too.” See what I had to deal with? To keep from hitting myself repeatedly in the head with my phone I took up writing.

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Amazon Author Page | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Gail Koger will be awarding a $15 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Find out more here.

Follow Gail on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.