Author Speed Dating – Rachel Brimble

I love discovering new authors, so I wanted my blog to be a place where readers and my author pals could come together. Only we like to do this Speed-Dating style. Check out a new author and her work here every Wednesday, and if the spark is there, you’ll have a match. 

This week’s guest: Rachel Brimble

 

 

 

 

 

15 Questions

1. Picture yourself inside an airplane with the door open and a parachute on your back. Would you shout “whoo-hoo” and leap out or hold on for dear life and beg the pilot to land? Or is this question moot because you would be waving up at the plane from solid ground? 

Good lord, I’d hold on for dear life and beg the pilot to land! I only fly in the name of vacation, spending the entire flight thinking about my destination rather than the fact I’m thousands of feet in the air. *shiver* 

2. Name a character from one of your novels that is most like you. Now name one least like you. Explain why?

I’d say Kate from ETHAN’S DAUGHTER is most like me – she tries to care for everyone, worries for everyone and more often than not feels overwhelmed and unsure of her own abilities…but nothing stops her from forging forward!

Least like me is Sasha Todd from WHAT BELONGS TO HER – she is one woman who won’t be messed with! She’s gutsy and strong and takes no prisoners. She’s least like me, but I would LOVE to be more like her. Love that woman!

3. What is your favorite writer’s “uniform,” and how much do you love that you get to pick it out?

My uniform is jeans, T-shirts or vests and flip-flops – I love that I can wear what I want, when I want, without having to dress up for work. I know some writers who stay in their pajamas all day. Wish I could do this, but I have to get dressed to get my head in ‘work mode’.

4. Would you consider yourself an exercise fanatic, a couch potato or somewhere in the middle? And when you do get out to exercise, what is your favorite way to sweat?

I don’t exercise at all! Having said that, I wouldn’t consider myself a couch potato either. I walk my dog for at least an hour and half a day (split into two walks) and am constantly running around after my two teenagers/the house etc. I have absolutely no idea how many times I run up and down the stairs to my office every day! 

5. How many books have you written and in which genres and sub-genres?

I’ve written twenty-one books (18 currently published), and I have written mainstream romance, romance suspense, Victorian romance, romantic comedy and Edwardian romance. I’d like to try Georgian romance next!

6. In 10 words or less, give your best advice to aspiring authors.

Give yourself permission to write a crappy first draft. 🙂

 7. Name a talent you have that your readers might not know about? (Keep it PG, of course.)

Apart from multi-tasking at an incredible speed?? Um, I can pull an extremely exaggerated Elvis-style lip curl & no, I’m not attaching a pic, lol!

8. What are the steps you take when you start writing a new book? Character sketches? Extensive research? Fly by the seat of your pants and figure it all out later?

I start by browsing the internet for pics of my hero and heroine (and villain, if I have one) and then write character sketches and a 3-4 page synopsis. Then it’s onto a chapter plan where I write a paragraph for each chapter.

The first draft I write from start to finish without looking back – I am definitely a plotter!

9. From the over-30-action-hero-hotties list: Will Smith or Chris Evans?

Ooh, as much as I wouldn’t kick Will Smith out of bed…it has to be Chris Evans for me. I usually like my men clean-shaven, but any man who can carry off a beard like Chris can gets my hottie vote! 

10. If you had it all to do over again, what would you do differently in your writing career?

I would prepare myself for the amount of promo work needed on top of the actual writing. This side of the business never occurred to me! It wasn’t until my fourth book was published that I started actively promoting.

Apart from that, nothing. I’ve loved and learned through every aspect of my journey and hope I get to write for many more years to come.

11. If you could have dinner with one living celebrity or world leader, who would it be, and what would be on the menu?

Oprah Winfrey – I think she’s a great role model, and I find her very inspiring and empowering. As I don’t cook, I’d have my husband prepare either his amazing Thai green curry or fish pie. Yum!

12. Preference for a great evening with your significant other: dinner out and possibly dancing or takeout and your control of the remote for Netflix?

Takeout and Netflix – as much as I love dinner and dancing, I am happiest in my pjs with my husband beside me, preferably watching something that makes us laugh. 🙂

13. Do you have a book that you been dreaming of writing for years, and what has kept you from writing it?

I would love to write a book about the slave trade that happened in my home city of Bristol during the 19th century. Bristol was one of the main harbors for importing slaves, and I am passionately against this atrocity and would love to create a story from a slave’s point of view and a reluctant slave owner’s wife. Philippa Gregory has already written a book along these lines. A RESPECTABLE TRADE is a phenomenal if, at times, a hard read.

14. Were there other authors who helped you along the way on your writer’s journey, and how did they make a difference for you?

Far too many to name them all! They have helped me by supporting me through the times I thought I’d never write a book, hated the one I was writing or thought I wouldn’t be published again. They have also helped with their ups and down, experiences and passing on what works and what doesn’t. 

15. If we imagine that a reader has lived on a desert island and missed the opportunity to read one of your books, which title do you recommend that she order as soon as she returns to civilization?

HER HOMETOWN REDEMPTION for contemporary and WHAT A WOMAN DESIRES for Victorian – feisty, go-getting heroines and swoon-worthy heroes. What’s not to like? 

***

 

 

Ethan’s Daughter

By Rachel Brimble

 

 

On the other side of the front door, the kitchen/dining room stretched from the front to the back of the house. Even though it was in semi-darkness, Leah could see straight through to some French doors at the back, the only illumination coming from the overhead light of the stove as it glinted on steel toward the center of the room.

Snapping her gaze to Daisy, Leah’s opinions on personal tastes flew to the wayside. The little girl’s eyes were wide as she chewed her bottom lip. Leah frowned. “Are you all right, sweetheart? Do you want me to knock?”

Daisy nodded and raised her arms toward Leah as though asking to be picked up. “Yes, please. Daddy might be mad.”

“Oh, Daddy won’t be mad.” Leah bent down and picked her up, hitching her onto her hip as Daisy’s arms wound around her shoulders. “If Daddy’s mad, I’ll show him how to calm himself down real quick. Don’t you worry about that.” Leah lifted the brass knocker and let it fall a little harder than necessary.

No answer.

Narrowing her eyes, she knocked again.

She was readying to knock a third time when the door swung open.

“I told you to get the hell out of here and not come back.” The man’s dark hair sprouted from every angle, his raging eyes bulging and his right hand swathed in a blue and white­­––and bloodied––dishtowel. His gaze held Leah’s for a split-second before he snapped his attention to Daisy. “My God, Daisy. What are you…” He cupped Daisy under her armpits, wincing slightly as he pulled her from Leah’s arms to hold her close. He pressed a lingering kiss to her temple, his raging eyes hidden behind his closed lids.

Leah stared, completely stunned by this flannel-shirted, blue jeaned, incredibly good-looking man…despite the bulging eyes. She coughed in a bid to find her voice. “Mr. James?” She planted her hands on her hips. “You’re Daisy’s father, I presume?”

He opened his eyes and Leah stepped back.

Apparently when his eyes had softened and were filled with regret rather than rage, they looked good. Really good.

She stilled. Oh, good Lord. Be damned if those weren’t the eyes of Templeton’s reclusive novelist, Ethan James.

***

ETHAN’S DAUGHTER, an August 1, 2107, release from Harlequin Superromance and a part of the  Templeton Cove Stories miniseries, may be pre-ordered through these retailers: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Harlequin and Kobo.

 

***

About Rachel

Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. Since 2013, she has had seven books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and an eighth coming in Feb. 2018. She also has four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical Press.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.

She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Connect with her through her website, www.rachelbrimble.com, and her blog. Find her on these social media channels:   TwitterFacebook, her Facebook Street Team, her Amazon Author Page and Goodreads.

 

 

 

 

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Author Speed Dating – Terri Reed

I love discovering new authors, so I wanted my blog to be a place where readers and my author pals could come together. Only we like to do this Speed-Dating style. Check out a new author and her work here every Wednesday, and if the spark is there, you’ll have a match. 

 

This week’s guest: Terri Reed

15 Questions

1. Picture yourself inside an airplane with the door open and a parachute on your back. Would you shout “whoo-hoo” and leap out or hold on for dear life and beg the pilot to land? Or is this question moot because you would be waving up at the plane from solid ground?

If I knew the parachute would really open, I’d be jumping with my eyes closed.

2. Name a character from one of your novels that is most like you. Now name one least like you. Explain why?

Claire from my second book, A SHELTERING LOVE, is most like me. She is earnest and a bit naïve. My heroine from the book THE COWBOY TARGET, Jackie, is tough and brave and bold. I’m not.

3. What is your favorite writer’s “uniform”, and how much do you love that you get to pick it out?

Most days I wear loose fitting yoga pants and a short-sleeve loose fitting top. I can’t stand anything binding.

4. Would you consider yourself an exercise fanatic, a couch potato or somewhere in the middle? And when you do get out to exercise, what is your favorite way to sweat?

I love to exercise, but I don’t make enough time for it. When I do exercise, I love to dance, go for hikes, and do Pilates and Barre3.

5. How many books have you written and in which genres and sub-genres?

I’ve written 40+ books. Christian romance and romantic suspense novels and few sweet romances.

6. In 10 words or less, give your best advice to aspiring authors.

Keep learning your craft, never take criticism personally and be persistent.

7. Name a talent you have that your readers might not know about?

Not sure I have any.

8. What are the steps you take when you start writing a new book? Character sketches? Extensive research? Fly by the seat of your pants and figure it all out later?

I’m a heavy plotter, and forms are my BFF’s.

9. From the over-30-action-hero-hotties list: Will Smith or Chris Evans?

That’s a hard decision, they are both hotties. I will watch any movie with either actor and would love to meet them.

10. If you had it all to do over again, what would you do differently in your writing career?

I would listen to my college professor who encouraged me to pursue writing.

 11. If you could have dinner with one living celebrity or world leader, who would it be, and what would be on the menu?

Queen Elizabeth—salad, fish and veggies and cake.

 12. Preference for a great evening with your significant other: dinner out and possibly dancing or takeout and your control of the remote for Netflix?

My preference would be dinner out and dancing. I love to dance.

13. Do you have a book that you been dreaming of writing for years, and what has kept you from writing it?

I have several but deadlines keep me from writing for myself.

14.Were there other authors who helped you along the way on your writer’s journey, and how did they make a difference for you?

There are so many author friends who’ve made a huge impact with their support and encouragement.

15. If we imagine that a reader has lived on a desert island and missed the opportunity to read one of your books, which title do you recommend that she order as soon as she returns to civilization?

 A SHELTERING LOVE.

 ***

 

 

 

Guardian

By Terri Reed

 

 

When they were within shouting distance of the rocks, Leo noticed fishing poles and a tackle box. This must have been where Alicia and her son had been when they’d seen the killer.

Alicia pointed upstream and yelled, “He came from that direction and stopped about three hundred and sixty feet straight out from here.” She gestured to the rocks beneath her feet.

“That’s helpful and gives us a place to start.” Leo stared, admiring the pretty lady. Her hair lifted slightly in the wind that had kicked up. Sunlight reflected in her piercing blue eyes. “You and the officers can head back to the station.” He didn’t want her here to see the body when they found the victim.

Alicia shook her head. “I want to make sure she’s found. Someone has to stand up for her.”

Respecting her decision, he saluted her then turned to Craig. “You heard the lady.”

Craig slowly turned the boat toward the middle of the river. True stood on the bow, his head up, gaze alert. Leo tuned into the dog’s nuances the farther away from shore they traveled. He documented the time and distance from land on the notepad he carried. They circled the area where Alicia had pointed. True showed no signs of alerting.

“Head downstream,” Leo instructed Craig.

Since the body hadn’t been weighted down, it most likely had been swept along by the river’s current.  Craig zigzagged the boat from one shore to the other, moving farther and farther away from the spot. Leo wondered if maybe the suspect had come back and removed the woman’s body. Frustration curled in his stomach.

Then True shifted. He licked his lips and shuffled his paws, clear signs he was picking up a scent. Leo’s pulse jumped. The dog’s tail went down as he craned his neck, dipping his nose toward the water. He pivoted, and then leaned over the starboard side. Keeping his snout at the surface of the water, True walked the length of the boat and stepped easily over the bench seat.

Anticipation revving through him, Leo gestured for Craig to make a slow turn. True retraced his steps, barking an alert. He scratched and nipped at the water. Knowing the animal had scent glands in the roof of his mouth, Leo interpreted these actions as the sign this was the spot.

“Good boy.” Leo grasped True’s life vest to keep the dog from jumping in.

Leo nodded at Craig, who shut off the motor, then strapped on a buoyance compensator, his mask and oxygen tank. The man sat on the side of the boat and fell backward into the water. True barked and lunged for the water. Leo continued to hold him back.

“No, boy,” Leo said adjusting his grip on True. “We’re staying here.”

Leo and True both watched the surface of the river. Leo pulled on latex gloves in anticipation of handling the body and prepared the large, waterproof plastic body bag. His gaze darted back to the shore, where Alicia stood sentinel on the rocks, flanked by the two officers.

She held her head up and her shoulders back like a fierce warrior. She was tall and so very appealing. He admired her commitment to being a voice for the victim. Most people would want to bail the second they could. Not Alicia. He liked that about her.

 

***

GUARDIAN, an April 2017 released from Harlequin Love Inspired and Book 1 in the Classified K-9 Unit continuity series, may be purchased from these retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Harlequin.

 

***

 

About Terri

Terri Reed’s romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publisher’s Weekly top 25, Nielsen’s Bookscan top 100 and featured in USA Today, Christian Fiction Magazine and Romantic Times Magazine and finaled in RWA’s RITA contest, National Reader’s Choice Award contest, ACFW’s The Carol Award contest. Contact Terri at www.terrireed.com or P.O. Box 19555 Portland, OR 97224, and find her on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Author Speed Dating – Heather Novak

I love discovering new authors, so I wanted my blog to be a place where readers and my author pals could come together. Only we like to do this Speed-Dating style. Check out a new author and her work here every Wednesday, and if the spark is there, you’ll have a match. 

This week’s guest: Heather Novak

 

 

15 Questions

1. Picture yourself inside an airplane with the door open and a parachute on your back. Would you shout “whoo-hoo” and leap out or hold on for dear life and beg the pilot to land? Or is this question moot because you would be waving up at the plane from solid ground?

Someone explain to me WHY I would be jumping out of a perfectly good plane?! I need more information. Is the plane on fire? Will I get $12 billion dollars if I jump? Saying as how I broke my arm on a kitchen cabinet last Thanksgiving, I’m going to opt to stay firmly on SOLID GROUND. (If my insurance company is reading this, I expect a thank you letter in the mail.)

 2. Name a character from one of your novels that is most like you. Now name one least like you. Explain why?

I’m most like my character Charlie in the book I’m releasing later this year, called SORRY CHARLIE. It’s an #ownvoices Contemporary Romance about a passionate heroine who has big dreams in the music world, but the diagnosis of a rare disease changes her life. I’m least like Romi from HUNTING WITCH HAZEL. She’s calm, collected, and trusts herself. She’s also a ghost, so…

 3. What is your favorite writer’s “uniform,” and how much do you love that you get to pick it out?

When I’m at home, no bra, baggy dress or shirt. Leggings if it’s cold. Fun slippers are required. I will write in just about anything on just about everything if you turn me loose. I even have a waterproof pad in the shower for when I want to write while shaving my legs. I’m gifted like that.

 4. Would you consider yourself an exercise fanatic, a couch potato or somewhere in the middle? And when you do get out to exercise, what is your favorite way to sweat?

I have a physical limitation that prevents regular exercise, but I do love to dance. Mostly, I just take walks with my Prince Charming. You know, the PG stuff anyway 😉

5. How many books have you written and in which genres and sub-genres?

Around ten screenplays and fifteen books. Some of those will NEVER see the light of day, but I’m prepping five for release over the next several months. They range from New Adult Contemporary Romance to Adult Paranormal Romance.

6. In 10 words or less, give your best advice to aspiring authors.

Make many friends and listen to their stories.

7. Name a talent you have that your readers might not know about? (Keep it PG, of course.)

I used to be an international competing theatre organist! In 1999, I took first place nationally and third place worldwide.

8. What are the steps you take when you start writing a new book? Character sketches? Extensive research? Fly by the seat of your pants and figure it all out later?

My therapist says it’s not crazy to talk to my characters…so I interview them. Then I brainstorm the story’s high points with a buddy, fill a bulletin board with pictures, and make a cheat sheet (places/people/pets). Finally, I open the computer, buckle up, and let the characters drive.

9. From the over-30-action-hero-hotties list: Will Smith or Chris Evans?

Both. They can rotate weekends and holidays. Well, wait, who does dishes? I’ll take that one.

10. If you had it all to do over again, what would you do differently in your writing career?

I think the journey is important so I wouldn’t change much. I wish I got over the stigma of reading romance younger than I did.

 11. If you could have dinner with one living celebrity or world leader, who would it be, and what would be on the menu?

Why do you do this to me, Dana?! I thought we were friends. ONE PERSON?!

Um…probably Ellen DeGeneres, but Josh Groban would have to be in attendance. Ellen’s life amazes me, and she is such a strong woman and role model. And Josh because he’s my future husband (wait…is my actual husband reading this?). Tacos would be on the menu. Because tacos are the best food that humans have ever created.

12. Preference for a great evening with your significant other: dinner out and possibly dancing or takeout and your control of the remote for Netflix?

This question implies that we don’t usually have take out and then I pick a show on Netflix (giggles). I’m all for dinner out and dancing. But like a concert or ballroom dancing.

 13. Do you have a book that you been dreaming of writing for years, and what has kept you from writing it?

I’ve been trying to write a fairy tale for years now. One day, I will get there.

 14. Were there other authors who helped you along the way on your writer’s journey, and how did they make a difference for you?

Oh my goodness, this is a question that would need a page-long answer. Patti Shenberger, our late GDRWA president, took me under her wing when I joined. She introduced me to Shelly Bell, Aliza Mann, Sage Spelling, M.K Schiller, and Elizabeth Heiter, and for that, I will always be thankful. In addition to my wonderful GDRWA friends (you too, Dana!), I’d have to say Penny Reid, although it’d be too much to explain how in a short answer. So many, many others I just don’t have room to mention.

 15. If we imagine that a reader has lived on a desert island and missed the opportunity to read one of your books, which title do you recommend that she order as soon as she returns to civilization?

I always like to start at the beginning, so let’s say HUNTING WITCH HAZEL! However, as soon as SORRY CHARLIE hits the shelves, I’d highly recommend that one as well ;).

***

 

 

Hunting Witch Hazel

By Heather Novak

 

Only my twin would want a happiness enchantment placed on Hayvenwood University’s scariest bridge for her birthday. I set the vials down on the stone wall of the Pont d’Amour and turned toward my sister, Romi. “I can’t believe that this is what you want. You sure you’re okay with getting your present two months early?”

Between the possibility of destroying the bridge and overly nosy neighbors returning from summer vacation, it was just too risky to do the spell once school started. Luckily, classes didn’t begin until next week and this place was practically a ghost town. Romi swung her legs over the edge of the bridge and stared at the completely black sky.

Magic during a full moon was too dangerous, despite the stories. I preferred to use a new moon. Especially for spells I barely had enough power to cast.

“Definitely. Don’t you think it’s romantic to make the legend true? ‘Que les âmes perdues contemplant ce pont fassent leur vœu, à ce moment là seulement le chemin vers l’amour véritable s’ouvrira à eux.’ All of the feels!”

I raised my eyebrow at her. “Romi. Do I look like I speak French? I barely speak Spanish after taking it all four years of high school.”

She huffed on an exaggerated eye roll. “‘When lost souls look upon the bridge and make a wish, they will find their true path to love.’”

I made a gagging sound. “Barf. That’s so gross.”

“How do you not know the legend?”

“How do you think I’m a romantic person?”

“Live a little, Zee! I can’t do magic anymore. It’s fun to watch you! All I’ve got left is haunting French classes.” She waved her hand at me and sighed. She was remarkably solid tonight for being a ghost. “Vicarious living and all that.”

I set my battery powered lantern on the cobblestone wall and pulled a copper bowl from my bag. It took all my effort not to roll my eyes.

The chances of this spell working at all were the same as me winning a car on The Price is Right, but I was happy to go through the motions for my sister. After all, it was our twenty-first birthday this year; and tragically, she couldn’t drink. “Well, happy early birthday,” I smiled.

Her smile practically split her face in half as she kicked her feet. “Stop stalling, Zee!”

“You’re sure?” I triple checked as I opened my journal to the spell.

“Hazel Evanora. When have I ever been unsure about what I want? What else can you possibly give me? While I’d love jewelry…” she shrugged one shoulder, “can’t really wear it.”

My breath caught as I remembered what we both tried to forget. She was more solid than usual tonight, and I was comforted by that thought. We still weren’t sure what made her more solid some nights than others. I’m sure it was just something simple like weather or the moon cycle. But whenever she was too translucent, I panicked she’d just disappear and never come back.

 

***

HUNTING WITCH HAZEL, Book 1 in the Lynch Brothers Series and a May 2016 release through CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, may be purchased from Amazon.

 

***

About Heather

Romance writer Heather Novak is in an open relationship…with the love of her life and the fictional characters in her head. After deciding her expensive film/screenwriting degree from Wayne State University should be used to make the world smile, she started writing Happily Ever Afters with a preternatural twist! (Don’t worry, she had to look up that word, too). Focusing on powerful imagery and emotional storytelling – you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll laugh so hard you’ll cry.

Heather resides in Metro Detroit with the love of her life and several imaginary (and hypoallergenic) pets. She is Vice President of Communications for her Romance Writers of America Greater Detroit chapter, coordinator for the Booksellers’ Best Awards, and the Thursday blogger for Nights of Passion blog. She strongly supports the use of sarcasm and the Oxford Comma.

Connect with Heather through her website, www.heathernovak.net; on social-media  – Twitter, Instagram and Facebook; and through her weekly romance blog, Nights of Passion. She is also a regular contributor to the Faces of Preexisting Conditions Authors Blog.

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Author Speed Dating – Beverly Jenkins

I love discovering new authors, so I wanted my blog to be a place where readers and my author pals could come together. Only we like to do this Speed-Dating style. Check out a new author and her work here every Wednesday, and if the spark is there, you’ll have a match. 

This week’s guest: Beverly Jenkins

 

 

 

15 Questions

1. Picture yourself inside an airplane with the door open and a parachute on your back. Would you shout “whoo-hoo” and leap out or hold on for dear life and beg the pilot to land? Or is this question moot because you would be waving up at the plane from solid ground?

Although I have never parachute jumped, I love to fly, so I’m going to tell myself I’d leap out and shout “Whoo-hoo!” Reality is probably something else entirely.

 2. Name a character from one of your novels who is most like you. Now name one least like you. Explain why?

Most like me – before the GPS app WAZE – is Dr. Lancaster in my second novel VIVID. She and her mule, Michigan, are forever getting lost. Least like me, Portia from BREATHLESS. She’s organized. My office resembles a landfill.

 3. What is your favorite writer’s “uniform,” and how much do you love that you get to pick it out?

Pajamas. One of my neighbors didn’t recognize me in “real” clothes.

  4. Would you consider yourself an exercise fanatic, a couch potato or somewhere in the middle? And when you do get out to exercise, what is your favorite way to sweat?

Favorite way to sweat – When I realize deadline is a day-and-a-half away.

 5. How many books have you written and in which genres and sub-genres?

Thirty-seven. Historical, romantic suspense, YA, contemporary, and erotic romance.

 6. In 10 words or less, give your best advice to aspiring authors.

Someone else’s success doesn’t make you less. Keep writing.

 7. Name a talent you have that your readers might not know about? (Keep it PG, of course.)

The ability to trash my entire house with every book I write.

 8. What are the steps you take when you start writing a new book? Character sketches? Extensive research? Fly by the seat of your pants and figure it all out later?

I fly by the seat of my pants and wander around like Moses in the wilderness.

9. From the over-30-action-hero-hotties list: Will Smith or Chris Evans?

John Snow.

10. If you had it all to do over again, what would you do differently in your writing career?

I wouldn’t change a thing. This journey got me here. Any changes and I might have to put on real clothes and leave home every day to make a living.

11. If you could have dinner with one living celebrity or world leader, who would it be, and what would be on the menu?

Michelle Obama. Menu- Ribs, coleslaw and baked beans – because those things are all healthy.

12. Preference for a great evening with your significant other: dinner out and possibly dancing or takeout and your control of the remote for Netflix?

He only visits me in my dreams these days.

13. Do you have a book that you been dreaming of writing for years, and what has kept you from writing it?

Yes – a few in fact. Real life and real deadlines keep screwing up my plans.

14. Were there other authors who helped you along the way on your writer’s journey, and how did they make a difference for you?

Yes, there were and I remember them mostly for their kindness and support.

15. If we imagine that a reader has lived on a desert island and missed the opportunity to read one of your books, which title do you recommend that she order as soon as she returns to civilization?

TOPAZ!

***

Chasing Down a Dream

By Beverly Jenkins

Ten-year-old Lucas Herman, riding in the back seat of the SUV with his eight-year-old sister Jasmine, saw her jump with fright in response to the booming claps of lightning outside. She didn’t like storms, never had. But he was the oldest, way too big to be afraid of the violent weather, or at least that’s what he told himself. Hoping his fears couldn’t be heard in his voice, he asked the driver, their Uncle Jake, “Should we stop?”  Rain was coming down in sheets and the SUV’s wipers were swinging back and forth like crazy.

“Where?” his uncle called back, attention glued to the road. “We’re out here in the middle of nowhere.”

And they were. Kansas if Lucas remembered correctly. They’d passed a small town a short while ago. At that time, the sky had been bluer than any he’d ever seen back home in Dayton. A few minutes later it went dark as night.  Then came the wind followed by pouring rain, crackling lightning and ominous growling thunder. He didn’t know how his uncle could see to drive, but the big black SUV crept on through the deluge. Uncle Jake Gleason wasn’t really a relative. He was their dad’s fraternity brother. Two year ago, their parents, Daphne and Elliot died in a car accident. When no family members stepped up to take in Lucas and Jasmine, they became wards of the state of Ohio and placed in separate foster homes. Jake had been trying to adopt them ever since. A few days ago, he finally gained approval and was now driving them across the country to Sacramento California where he lived with his wife Leslie. Lucas didn’t know what the future held but being reunited with Jaz was the most important thing. Little sisters could be a pain in the butt but he loved her and had missed her just as much as he did his parents.

Another boom of thunder filled the car and Jasmine jumped again and put her hands over her ears. Lucas reached out and took her hand. “It’s okay, Jaz. Don’t be scared. It’s just a storm.”

But it seemed to be more than that. The thunder and flashing lightning were increasing in frequency.

Uncle Jake shouted over the din, “We have to stop. I can’t see anymore!”

Lucas peered out into the rain and shouted, “There’s a house!” It was set back from the road. The flashes of lightning made it pop in and out of view like something from a scary movie but he didn’t care. Apparently, Uncle Jake didn’t either. He drove up to the house and stopped. There were no lights on inside.

“You two stay here. I’ll see if anyone’s home.” Before getting out, he turned to them and said in a serious voice. “If anything happens lock the doors and stay in the car. I’m leaving you my phone. Okay?”

Lucas took the phone and tried not to acknowledge the icy sense of foreboding he suddenly felt. He wanted to tell him not to go, but rather than act like a baby, he stayed silent.

“Take care of your sister. I’ll be right back.”

The door opened. Rain and wind screamed in. Uncle Jake bolted out, slamming the door behind him. Lucas saw him climb the stairs before the rain hid him from view. He and Jasmine waited tensely.

“I hope somebody’s home,” Jasmine said.

“Me, too.”  He prayed Uncle Jake returned quickly and wished he could see him but the storm continued to rage. The wind was now so strong the car was rocking. He heard what sounded like a train, and time seemed to slow as the SUV began tumbling end over end.   Windows shattered. Jaz screamed. A terrified Lucas undid his seatbelt and threw his body over hers to protect her from the stinging debris and rain now swirling inside the car. Something struck him in the head and everything went black.

***

CHASING DOWN A DREAM, A Blessings Novel, is a July 4, 2017, release from William Morrow Paperbacks. It may be purchased through these retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

 

***

About Beverly

Beverly Jenkins is the recipient of the 2017 Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for historical romance. She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature and was featured both in the documentary “Love Between the Covers” and on CBS Sunday Morning. Since the publication of NIGHT SONG in 1994, she has been leading the charge for multicultural romance, and has been a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of The Wall Street JournalPeople Magazine, Salon, and NPR.

Stay in touch with Beverly through her website, www.beverlyjenkins.net, or through these social-media channels: Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

 

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