When a new book is finally released, readers can hold the finished product of hours and days or more of hard work. But more than that, they hold the passion and drive of an author.

With Mr. Mark Love, he not only created one book with Jamie Richmond as the lead. This feisty young woman doesn't want to get in the way of her detective boyfriend but she is naturally curious and has a knack for solving crime!

Bet you are ready to see what the book is all about....

A discovery of priceless artwork leads Jamie on a collision course with danger.

Jamie Richmond used to live a nice, quiet life. But last fall she witnessed the shooting of a police officer and figured out who did it. Then this winter saw her best friend targeted by a stalker and kidnapped. Yep, Jamie solved that one and came to the rescue. Now it’s summertime and the living is supposed to be easy. All she wants to do is write her novels and spend free time with Malone, the guy who has been by her side since all this craziness began. But that’s not likely to happen.

Jamie’s father was a very successful sculptor who tragically died more than twenty years ago when she was just a child. What she remembers about him is little more than bits and pieces. A storeroom filled with crates of his work is discovered in an old converted factory. This potential fortune in artwork has been waiting all these years.

Jamie recruits Malone and a few close friends to help her unpack the crates and bring her father’s gifts out to the light of day. News of this discovery leads to a robbery. Now Jamie is determined to figure out who is behind the crime. 

EXCERPT:
This sculpture was titled “Fleeing Beauty”.

It was a woman caught in the act of running. Tendrils of slender marble in various lengths and thicknesses extended from her head, as if they were locks of hair billowing out behind her. Part of her face was obscured, turned against her shoulder as if attempting to hide her features from whoever was chasing her. The woman’s body was voluptuous, full of dangerous curves. There was something haunting about this piece. The guys became quiet, which was unusual. Linda slowly moved around it, taking pictures.

“Holy shit,” Ian muttered.

“Watch your language,” Malone said, cuffing him lightly on the back on the head.
“How did he do that?” Ian said, taking a step away. “She looks real.”

“She looks alive,” Malone said.

“Check the file,” I suggested.

None of us could take our eyes off the sculpture.

We spread the file out on the worktable. There were pictures of a woman standing in front of a drop cloth. She was blonde, with an impish smile on her face. She could have been in her early to middle twenties. It was impossible to tell how tall she was. Her figure was eye catching, with a tiny waist and round hips. Most of the pictures showed her in a one piece bathing suit. There was one where she wore a sheer negligee. There were shots of her standing on a pedestal, others with her arms outstretched, and still others where she was looking over her shoulder. In a couple of photos he must have used a fan to blow her hair back.

“She’s a doll,” Ian said.

“Jamie, I think this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Linda said softly.

“You’ll get no argument from me.” 

BUY LINKS: 
AMAZON       B&N      ITUNES      ALLROMANCEEBOOKS      KOBO

From Award Winning Author Stephanie Keyes, the Star Child Novellas are complete in one set. Travel with Kellen and Calienta as they plan their wedding in After Faerie. Get to meet Kellen’s best friend, Gabe in The Last Protector, and find out what happens when Gabe learns the truth about his life in Faerie Wedding. Each story is a small part of the Star Child world and give readers another look inside these brave friends and their lives.

BUY LINKS: AMAZON    KOBO    B&N    ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS    ITUNES

​Stephanie Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which includes The Star Child, After Faerie, The Fallen Stars, The Star Catcher, and The Last Protector. The Boy In The Trees, part of the Blood In The Shadows anthology, released in November 2015.
 
The Star Catcher won first place in the 2014 Dante Rossetti Young Adult Novel Awards—Mythological Category. The Star Child was a finalist in the 2015 BTS Magazine Reader's Choice Awards. Keyes was also selected as a 2015 Rutgers University One-On-One Plus Conference mentee. She's an active member of SCBWI.
 
Steph lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with Mr. Keyes, her boys, Hip-Hop and Bam-Bam, and dogs Duncan MacLeod and Princess Riley. Steph is a hopeless romantic and Whovian who's shamelessly addicted to Nutella and spontaneous singing.

When Hollywood-critic Andie Foxglove and rising star Guy Wilder become entangled in a torrid romance, they quickly find themselves caught in the spotlight – and it’s none too welcoming.

Andie doesn’t believe happily-ever-afters exist in the real world, and when she finds herself caught between two opposing forces – her integrity and the entertainment industry – she doesn’t she has a choice but to do the right thing: end their romance before she ruins his career, and hers.

Determined to beat the odds, Hollywood’s favorite preternatural lady killer will have to beat his own demons – and the odds – to convince her that, contrary to her academic opinion, sometimes stars can be untangled.
​
Even a bad romance can have a happy ending.

Today I have Georgia Lyn Hunter on the hot seat. She's agreed to stop by and share a little more about herself and her latest release.

1) What’s your favorite thing to do to relax?
Read.  Or catch up on favorite missed shows like Mike and Molly, Downton Abbey or Vikings.
 
2) If you could go back in time to when you were seven years old, what wisdom or advice would you pass on to yourself?
Start writing early. That’s one thing I regret starting so late.
 
3) For what are you grateful?
My hubby and my kids.
 
4) What is the number one lie you tell yourself? How is that working out?
I will defnitely start tomorrow…my diet, I mean. I catch glimpses of it, but the darn thing is still so elsuive—LOL.
 
Now about you as an author…
Q: What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult?
A: Grimm Brothers  Loved fairytales as a child, and as an adult, Betty Neels—but I used to long for them to kiss. She never gave us that until the very end. J
 
Q: Did anyone in your life influence you or encouraged you to be a writer?
A: Yes, absolutely. My daughter. She came across my scribbles a few years ago, and long story short, that got her into reading and me back to wrting seriously.
 
Q: What is your favorite aspect of writing? Your least favorite?  
A: Working on the draft and seeing where my characters take me. Least favorite: Proofreading, by then I know everything in the book, and hate when I miss errors.
 
Q: Do you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing?
A: Yes, jellybeans, water, and my earphones
 
Q: Do you have a common theme or item that appears in each of your books?
A: Yes, my chartacters usually have a fetish for certain foods or candies…most times.
 
Q: What have you learned the most from being in the writing business?
A: It’s bloody hard work, yet I wouldn’t change it for anything else in the world.

Tell us about your latest release: (blurb, excerpt, cover)

BLURB:
A fading realm, a warrior bound, and the woman who will save them both…
Bound to a vengeful goddess, immortal warrior, Reynner, has little time for the fairer sex. The last thing he wants is to be aligned with another female, even if she is the key to finding an artifact and saving his realm. But his stone-cold resistance is tested, his attraction undeniable for the feisty mortal, until she demands the one thing he cannot give her…his trust.
Eve Leighton avoids intimacy of any sort after an accident in her teens left her with a painful ability to see into another’s mind through physical contact. When an ice-cold warrior claims she is his world’s savior, she’s intrigued, until she dares a look into his soul and sees a man who’s been cruelly betrayed. She agrees to help him and loses her heart. But the man is an unassailable fortress. With quiet determination, she chips away his barriers and a passion darker than night pulls them under.
As his enemies close in on the hunt for the artifact, Reynner must overcome his own personal demons as battles are fought to claim the woman he loves or lose her forever. And Eve has to face her own mortality and fight for a love of a lifetime.

​Available: AMAZON | iBOOKS | KOBO | SMASH | NOOK
 
Excerpt 
The sudden hush in the busy little café should have been his first clue shit was about to fly.

Wrapped in his thoughts, Reynner savored his dark roasted coffee hot enough to scrape a layer off his throat, when he became aware of the unnatural quiet. Looking up, he got an eyeful of a tall female sashaying toward him, not in the least surprised she’d found him. Again.

Lustrous black hair framed a face of sheer perfection, one that made gods and men whimper for her favor. A long, fitted white dress with a slit up to her thigh hugged her body and fell to her ankles.

Oh, he understood the awed silence all too well since he’d once succumbed to that same sensual spell. Easing his grip on the mug, he set it aside, wishing he’d taken his coffee to go. A chair scraped on the linoleum opposite him. A moment later, her stiletto heel rode up his leather-clad leg to caress his inner thigh beneath the tablecloth.

He shoved her foot off him. In a measured move, he picked up a coin from the change on the table and spun it so he wouldn’t be tempted to reach across and strangle her.

“Get lost, Inanna. I'm busy.”

“Reynner…” She held out a hand in appeal, her topaz eyes luminescent with tears. “Don’t do this...”

Ignoring the Sumerian Goddess of Love and War hadn’t worked in the past, and certainly not now.

He cut her an implacable stare. “Don’t do what? Ignore you? Or prefer other females?”

Her face darkened at his mention of the women. “Why would you want these weak, pathetic creatures?” Her tears vanished as fast as they appeared. “I'm powerful. I’ll make it wonderful between us again.”

Reynner leaned back in the wooden chair and ran a cool, dismissive gaze over her stunning face and lush body. More flighty promises, but no hint of an apology for what she’d done to him. The thought would never have entered her narcissistic mind.

“I enjoy other women.”

“You lie.”

Reynner shrugged. Picking up the fallen coin, he worked it between his fingers. He just wanted coffee and a few minutes of quiet before he went back on the streets. Instead, he got her.

It should have felt good torturing Inanna, but he got no enjoyment, just a prolonged headache that had started over two millennia ago.

How could he have known then that stopping at the Sumerian pantheon would so irrevocably change his life?

“You’ve become cold and unfeeling. One little mistake and you're still making me pay.” Her sulky voice drew him back.

“One little mistake?” His tone made glaciers seem warm.

“It was just a teeny-tiny year—”

“A year?” His hands crashed on the table. The coin flew and disappeared beneath a chair. “It was a fucking century in Hell!”

Inanna jerked back and blinked. Several humans turned their way in curiosity.

“Your deception caught me unaware, never forget what I am,” he said, his warning clear.

Her eyes flickered. Not from fear, Inanna didn’t believe there was anyone more powerful than her, but with a gleam of sexual promise. She knew all too well what he was, and why she hounded him.

Empyreans were a race of beings as old as the celestial angels and just as powerful, but far more carnal.

She leaned forward and rested her arms on the table, her low neckline displaying an eyeful of cleavage. “I’ll make it up to you…” Her voice lowered to a smoky promise. “I’ll make you my consort.”

He’d rather be imprisoned in Hell again.

“You have a mate.”

“I am a goddess. I can do whatever I want. Come on, lover,” she wheedled. “It will be good between us again…then I’ll help you find what you seek.”

Reynner stilled, his instincts on alert. Did she know where the missing Stone was? But meeting her watchful gaze, he dismissed the thought. No immortal would know for sure. The damn thing hid from them all. Even if she could aid him, he would never accept her help. It always came with a price.

Reining in his irritation, he ignored her baiting and turned to take in the busy café.
The brunette waitress at the table farther down watched him from beneath her lashes while she served a customer. She’d been sending him all sorts of signals from the moment she’d set his coffee down. Ones he didn’t encourage since he had no interest in females as a whole. Besides, he knew what a jealous bitch Inanna could be.

A virulent hiss erupted from opposite him when she spotted the waitress. As if to prove his point, with a flick of her hand, the waitress flew backward, crashing into a table. Chaos erupted, drowning the female’s frightened cry. Two human males rushed to help her.

A cat-like smile curved Inanna’s mouth. But her eyes flared with ire as she played with the deep blue lapis lazuli stone set in intricate silver filigree around her neck. “Look at another human tart again, and I will hurt her.”
​
Of that, he had little doubt.

Now back to the questions:
Q: How did you decide on your story plot?
A: I was reading about various pantheons and the one about the Sumerian patheon caught my attention about a goddess who sent her consort to Hell, and wondered what would stop her from sending a spurned lover there? And the villian for Darkness undone was born.

Q: How did you choose your characters names and location for your story?
A: For the location, I’d been to the Museum of Natural History and loved it. So it was only natural I set the first book in the Warlords series in New York.
Names: since the male characters are immortal, it had to be different, unique. While my mortal chardters stayed with more familiar names. Hoerver my heroine’s name must click with my hero’s, for me to write. So that does take some time.
​
Q. Do you have a favorite scene? Why?
A. Yep. When Eve find out they have to break into the musuem to “retrive” an artifact, her reaction is priceless.

Q. Do you have a character that you identify with? Who and why?
A. My heroines, usually. They fights for what they believe in.
 
Author: Georgia Lyn Hunter
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Warlords of Empyrea
Title: Darkness Undone (book1)
About the Author:
I’ve been creating stories from the moment I could string two words together. No matter the tale, it always has romance woven through them. Yes, I'm a hopeless romantic.
When I’m not writing or plotting new books, I like to read, travel, painting, or troll flea markets where I usually buy things I might never actually use because they're so pretty.
After working in a few jobs all art related, a chosen career as a fashion designer, then an art teacher, I finally found my passion four years ago: writing. There really is no other job I’d rather do.
Oh, and I live in the beautiful country of South Africa.
 
Author’s follow links: 
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Goodreads
Instagram
​

Drama student Hannah Evans isn't kissing any frogs on her path to find Prince Charming. She's determined to share the perfect first kiss -- with the perfect boy -- in the perfect place -- or she's not kissing at all. When Hannah meets a cute ginger-haired boy in first class lounge in the London airport, she knows he's 'The One.'

Pop star Theo Callahan is on the road to get as far away as possible from his back-stabbing best friend, and his supermodel girlfriend who broke his heart. Until one shy smile from Hannah has him rethinking all of his travel plans.
​
Theo is smitten, but he's worried she's just a groupie in search of the ultimate selfie. Can Theo learn to trust Hannah in time to share one perfect first kiss, or will Hannah be forced to kiss a frog?

PREORDER:     AMAZON       KOBO

According to Iowa DNR (no, that doesn’t stand for Do Not Resuscitate.  It stands for Dept. of Natural Resources.) there are NO BEARs in Iowa. Okay, there may be two at any time who have wandered in from other states. But that doesn’t make them Iowan bears.  So if you shoot one, you are shooting something that doesn’t exist, so there is no harm no foul. Something that does not exist does not get protected.

But if you see one our non-existent bears, it will be a lone male who has wandered in from another state looking for food and an obliging female. Since there are no females here, he will leave in a few days.

Unless you shoot said non-existent bear. Which you may.

Actual sightings of Non-existent bears in Iowa:
IOWA BEARS: https://youtu.be/DPLbNZ8vQBs

A 100-200 pound bear was spotted in Dubuque.

Another bear was sighted in Mt. Carmel, Iowa
 (BTW, there are no mountains in Iowa either)
​
A Black bear with two cubs was seen in Wadena Iowa.
(Remember there is no evidence of females or breeding going on in Iowa.)

Picture taken of non-existent mother & cubs in Iowa

Bear killed on highway near Jesup Iowa. 150 lbs.      
 
A very boring video (by a cop) catches 1-2 yr old cub crossing the road. The poor cub almost gets hit which is pretty hard to do given there are only two vehicles on the road. Seriously, pay attention to how empty this road is and how close the little bear came to being hit.
https://youtu.be/MRRacm41Ji4

In my story, there’s a 600 pound black bear named Grumpy who lives in the Iowa forest that Meg just bought. And yes, black bears can live for 30 years and weigh up to 600 pounds. My dog, Jess, and I have met a giant old black bear on three different occasions. He was benign on two occasions, but once he stood up when I inadvertently woke him up from his nap on a boulder, and while he seemed mostly confused, he was less than eight feet away and considerably taller than me, so I apologized and slowly walked backwards. And for once, Jess did not bark at him. We just quietly eased away.

Blurb
Megan Clarke had a good life until she wins the Mega Times Lottery and discovers the prize comes with a curse. Worse than the many money-hungry suitors, a serial killer has her in his sight. She changes her name and moves to Iowa with plans to buy their last major forest of white oaks and turn it into a State Park. Unfortunately, the Lottery Curse doesn't stop at state lines and someone there wants her dead, as well. Good thing a disturbingly handsome law officer is just as determined to keep her alive.

 Excerpt
The cries of a large variety of birds filled the air in the meadow. “What types of animals live here?”
Tess tilted her head. “We’ve got the usual suspects—raccoon, deer, otters, and mink. Up in the hills, I’ve seen the prints of a mountain lion. It may have been passing through, or it may have decided to make this home. I always look for signs of it when I hike, but mountain lions are extremely cautious of humans and normally keep their distance.
“How about bears?” Meg asked.
“According to Wildlife officials, there are no bears in Iowa.”
“None?” she challenged, remembering Andy telling her about a bear.
Helen snorted. “We’ve got one giant bear in my woods. Must have come down from Minnesota.”
Helen picked up a stick and threw it off the path. “Bears and mountain lions aren’t legally recognized in Iowa, so they have no protection from hunters. I’ve plastered these woods with no hunting warnings, but they show up here anyway. Not much I can do to stop them.”

BUY LINK
A Fortune to Die For
The White Oak-Mafia Series
AMAZON
 
Free with Kindle Unlimited
~~~~~~~
About Liza
Liza O’Connor was raised badly by feral cats, left the South/Midwest and wandered off to find nicer people on the east coast. There she worked for the meanest man on Wall Street, while her psychotic husband tried to kill her three times. (So much for finding nicer people.) Then one day she declared enough, got a better job, divorced her husband, and fell in love with her new life where people behaved nicely. But all those bad behaviors has given her lots of fodder for her humorous books. Please buy these books, because otherwise, she’ll become grumpy and write troubled novels instead. They will likely traumatize you.
You have been warned.
~~~~~~
Mostly humorous books by Liza:
Ghost Lover--Two British brothers fall in love with the same young woman. Ancestral ghost is called in to fix the situation. And there’s a ghost cat that roams about the book as well. (Humorous Contemporary Romance)
Saving Casey— Cass wakes up in the body of a troubled teen who has burned every bridge imaginable. Her only choice is to turn this life around, but that’s much harder than she ever imagined.
Untamed & Unabashed--The youngest of the Bennet sisters, Lydia, tells her story. A faithful spinoff from Pride & Prejudice.

A Long Road to Love Series: (Humorous Contemporary odd Romance)
Worst Week Ever — Laugh out loud week of disasters of Epic proportions.
Oh Stupid Heart — The heart wants what it wants, even if it’s impossible.
Coming to Reason — There is a breaking point when even a saint comes to reason.
Climbing out of Hell — The reconstruction of a terrible man into a great one.
The Hardest Love — Is to love oneself. Sam’s story.

The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Sleuth series: (Late Victorian/Mystery/Romance)
The Troublesome Apprentice — The greatest sleuth in Victorian England hires a young man who turns out to be a young woman.
The Missing Partner — Opps! The greatest sleuth in Victorian England goes missing, leaving Vic to rescue him, a suffragette, and about 100 servants. Not to mention an eviscerating cat. Yes, let’s not mention the cat.
A Right to Love — A romantic detour for Jacko. Want to see how amply rewarded Jacko was when he & Vic save an old woman from Bedlam?
The Mesmerist — The Mesmerist can control people from afar and make them murder for her. Worse yet, Xavier Thorn has fallen under her spell.
Well Kept Secrets — The problems with secrets is that they always come to light, no matter how you wish to silence them.
Pack of Trouble — Changes are a part of life, but these changes almost kill Vic.
The Darkest Days — Muddled cases make Vic very grumpy.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
LIZA O'CONNOR
Investigate these sites:
Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter
​

Snowboarding means everything to Charlise, but she hasn’t met Sam Miller yet.

Charlise is a snowboarder with a promising career ahead of her. Despite the fact that her father hates her risking her life on the slopes that had taken the life of Charlise’s mother she is determined not to give up her career the way her mother did when she fell pregnant. Charlise wants to win medals, lots of them.

The last distraction Charlise needs is the American freestyle champion, Sam Miller, who utterly enthralls her with his wit and friendliness. Refusing to risk her career for a relationship, Charlise returns home for Christmas, determined to sort things out with her father. But the holidays culminate in an epic fight, and with a repeat of the painful breakup with Sam. However, new discoveries from her family’s past might change Charlise’s mind about Sam …

Gabe Stewart has everything he ever wanted. Mortal Earth is safe. He’s a super-hero Protector whose best friend is within telepathic shouting distance. And then there’s his soul-mate, Singer. He knew right away she was the one he’d been waiting for.
 
But Gabe’s world shatters when Singer professes she doesn’t love him. On top of that, his mother admits she’s been messing with his memory making him doubt everything he’s ever known. And just when it seems things can’t get any worse, his best friend in the whole freaking world, Kellen St. James, wants Gabe to stop being his Protector. Being a Protector is who Gabe is. What will happen if he’s not standing between the prince and danger?
 
When the man who’s sacrificed his freedom is faced with life alone, which path will he choose? Will he remain the last Protector? Or will he finally get the happy ending he deserves?
 
*A Faerie Wedding is a companion novella--intended to be read after the other books in the series. It is a New Adult novel and features adult language and situations.

EXCERPT:
My feet touched the frozen ground. Singer slid off my back and hopped onto the grass beside me. I shifted back in an instant.

With a quick glance down, I straightened my tie. At least I never lost my clothes when I shifted. I had no friggin' clue where they went during the process, but I’d learned not to ask a lot of questions about Faerie-related things.

"At least your landings have gotten better." Singer smoothed out her hair. "I would have been pissed if you'd bucked me off, again."

Singer had done a header the first time I'd flown her. To be fair, I kind of didn't try for a good landing. Things were different now.

Taking her hand, I pulled her to me. "I won't let you fall again. Promise." She started to say something, but I didn't give her a chance. I opened my mouth against hers, tasting her, savoring the feel of her tongue against mine.

"Gabe." The way she whispered my name sent shivers crawling over my skin.
She bit my bottom lip and I groaned out loud. "You can't start doing stuff like this, Sing. Otherwise, we'll never make it inside." Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing? At least, I wouldn't have to meet her father.
​
Yet.

Stephanie Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which includes The Star Child, After Faerie, The Fallen Stars, The Star Catcher, and The Last Protector. The Boy In The Trees, part of the Blood In The Shadows anthology, released in November 2015.
 
The Star Catcher won first place in the 2014 Dante Rossetti Young Adult Novel Awards—Mythological Category. The Star Child was a finalist in the 2015 BTS Magazine Reader's Choice Awards. Keyes was also selected as a 2015 Rutgers University One-On-One Plus Conference mentee. She's an active member of SCBWI.
 
Steph lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with Mr. Keyes, her boys, Hip-Hop and Bam-Bam, and dogs Duncan MacLeod and Princess Riley. Steph is a hopeless romantic and Whovian who's shamelessly addicted to Nutella and spontaneous singing.

*Author photos courtesy of Kristina Serafini Photo
​
Website: http://www.stephaniekeyes.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Keyes-Author/150860604966160?ref_type=bookmark
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/StephanieKeyes
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/stephaniekeyes/
Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/stephkeyes
Google+: https://plus.google.com/101104903861657395788/posts

What happens when the beautiful swan becomes the ugly duckling?

Starr Valentine has a perfect life in Middleton, Ohio. She was named captain of the cheer squad, her mother finally allowed her to get highlights, and the cutest boy in school asked her to homecoming. But everything comes crashing down when she finds out her parents are actually monarchs in exile from a mysterious planet called Vega. Starr doesn’t want to leave, but loves the idea of being a princess, and decides moving to an alien world might not be so bad. When she gets there, however, she discovers that something is terribly wrong.
​
Starr has always been the winner of the family, but now everyone is fawning over her chubby older sister, Astra. And everyone, even a handsome and annoying young duke named Julian, seems to hate her. That is when she realizes the awful truth. Astra is now the pretty one. Astra has all the friends. Astra gets all of the attention. And Starr Valentine, voted Miss Perfect, is now the ugly duckling. Her biggest fear is…will she be able to turn back into a swan, or is she doomed to be a loser forever?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
​National award winning author Wende Dikec writes Young Adult speculative fiction with romantic and humorous elements. An avid traveler who spent many years abroad, she now lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband, three sons, a puppy named Capone, and a very well used espresso machine.
She can be found on the web at www.wendedikec.com.

I am always excited to share a new to you author. Today I have Marsha stopping by to share a little about herself and her writing process. She has a wonderful new romantic suspense release. 

What’s your favorite thing to do to relax? I love to watch TV. My husband believes I’m addicted to HGTV. Oh how I wish we had this option when I was a young mom. I’d have been a better cook, too. I don’t watch the cooking shows now because they make me want to eat. :)

If you could go back in time to when you were seven years old, what wisdom or advice would you pass on to yourself?  You can’t control everything, and it’s not all your fault.

For what are you grateful? That I have choices. Choices are power. Not everyone has the option to make choices about his/her life. I guess I’d add my education, which is the key to all kinds of options. Of course, my family. I’m really blessed by a wonderful husband who’s increadibly supportive of anything I’ve ever wanted to do. We have great daughters who married neat husbands and the three grands are amazing!

At what age were you the happiest? What triggered such joy? Probably in my early 50s. I was teaching high school theatre and having a ball. There were frustrations, but during rehearsals I’d frequently think, “Wow! They’re paying me to do this.”

What is the number one lie you tell yourself? How is that working out? That I’ve finally gotten a handle on my eating issues. Last year I went on Nutrisystem. Dropped 28 lbs over 6 months. Kept it off for a couple of months then steadily started packing it on again up to 9 pounds. So the lie isn’t working out for me at all! It’s January. Time to start again.

Now about you as an author…What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult? As a kid, I loved Nancy Drew and the Dana Girls’ Mysteries. The first romances I read were my mother’s Emily Loring books. Later I drifted to Victoria Holt, Mary Stuart, and Phyllis Whitney. Loved the touch of susupense these gals added to the romance and I loved the descriptions of romantic locales.

Did anyone in your life influence you or encouraged you to be a writer? (teacher, family member, friend) I don’t think so. I was an only child, so playing make-blieve was just basic to me. I recently reconnected with a friend from 9th grade and she reminded me that I said what I wanted to be when I grew up was a playwrite. I didn’t remember that. I remember writing the play. When I sat down to write my first book it was in play form. Character: Line Character: Line. I looked at that scene and thought, “This doesn’t look much like a novel. I wonder if I can add in the other stuff.” 145 thousand words later, I’d added in the other stuff. LOL I didn’t know anything about craft, but  was fortunate to have kind contest judges who pointed me in the directions of classes on POV & GMC among others.

Do you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing? The TV on in the background. I can’t write in silence.

Do you have a common theme or item that appears in each of your books? All of my books have second chances as a theme. I tell folks I write: Romance, Suspense, Second Chances. Experience Required. My characters are older than the traditional 20 to 30-year- olds. They are in their 40s and 50s. Love can come at any age.

What have you learned the most from being in the writing business? To keep on keeping on. Wherever you are in the business, you have to keep on going. There will be roadblocks, but you find a way around them. Study, learn, improve, and keep on keeping on. You’re the only one who can really stop your progress. 

Tell us about your latest release: (blurb, excerpt, cover)

Blurb for ACT OF TRUST
A widow since 9/11 and a mother of grown daughter, Kate Thompson wants to keep her and her daughter safe, but the inheritance of land in Maine pushes her out of her comfort zone in Texas and into the arms of a Maine lawyer.

Maine lawyer and environmentalist, Jim Donovan wants to protect Aunt Liddy’s land and keep it from falling into the hands of the developers, but first he has to convince Kate Thompson she should hold on to the family land when she doesn’t even want to go look at it. However, he’s unprepared for the attraction each feels for the other, but denies exists.

Will they be able to settle the land deal before anyone else is killed or they break each other’s hearts?

​Excerpt
Mildred stopped and nailed Kate with a beady-eyed stare. “You do plan to turn over the Thompson land to the Conservancy Trust, don’t you?”

“I don’t know yet, Mildred. My daughter’s coming to visit, and then we’ll decide together what we want to do with the land. It’s possible she’ll want to keep it in the family. Be a nice place for her to get away from the hectic-ness of New York City.”

“Liddy would be pleased with either the Trust or you keeping it in the family, but she’ll haunt you if you sell to Holland.”

Kate leaned away. The venom in the woman’s tone made Kate’s heart rate trip up and her hands grow sweaty. Mildred completely believed her statement, enough to cause Kate nightmares.

“She’s giving every option plenty of consideration,” Jim jumped in. Was he afraid Mildred’s hard sell would reverse Kate’s leaning in his direction?

“I’ve had my say. Good night to you both.”

BUY LINKS:
Amazon http://amzn.to/1Qn9v7J
Amazon print http://amzn.to/1KrBwEK
KOBO   http://bit.ly/1SxFweL
Apple iTunes http://apple.co/1QoeJjA
B & N http://bit.ly/1PO4pgb

                                           ~~~~~~
Now back to the questions: How did you decide on your story plot? I always start with the location and then figure out who might live there and what might happen to them. My husband and I spent a week in Maine a couple of years ago at cottage with a gorgeous view. It captured my immagination, and I had to set a book there. It made sense in the series I was working on that the heroine in Book 2 heroine would travel there.

How did you choose your characters names and location for your story? I look through the obits and combine names for the characters. Sometimes I check Baby Namess for the year the character would’ve been born. I have a master list of characters and refer to it so I don’t reuse a name.
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Do you have a favorite scene? Why? It’s probably the scene at the 9/11 Memorial between Kate and her daughter Blair. My heart was touched by this incident. One of my daughters and her husband had just moved to NYC on the Sunday before the horror of that Tuesday. It was 3 in the afternoon before I knew they were both okay. I was lucky. Im donating a portion of each book sale to the 9/11 Memorial.

About the Author:
Marsha R. West, a retired elementary school principal, is also a former school board member and threatre arts teacher. She writes Romance, Suspense, and Second Chances. Experience Required. Marsha lives in Texas with her supportive lawyer husband. Their two daughters presented them with three delightful grandchildren who live nearby. A new dog, Charley, a Chihuahua/Jack Russell Terrier mix recently joined the family.

MuseItUp Publishing released her first book, VERMONT ESCAPE in July 2013; her second book, TRUTH BE TOLD, in May 2014. In the Fall of 2014, Marsha formed MRW Press LLC to provide a print versions of her books. SECOND ACT, Book 1 of the Second Chances Series follows up with a secondary character from VERMONT ESCAPE and begins a four-part series. ACT OF TRUST is Book 2 of the Second Chances Series.

She’s had lots of fun doing book club presentations. If you’re interested, you can contact her at marsha@marsharwest.com or through her web site http://www.marsharwest.com  or at http://sistersofsuspense.com/
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