Margery Scott's Blog, page 16

Jill Hughey – Redeemed

I’m delighted to welcome historical romance author, Jill Hughey, to my blog today. I’m a huge fan of historical romance but I stick to western USA. I admire anyone with the patience to research early medieval Europe, which Jill has done for her latest novel, Redeemed.

Jill, thanks for taking the time to visit with me today. Please tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Jill Hughey and I am an author of historical romance which I fit it in among motherhood, marriage, and part-time work in my husband’s MacIntosh consulting business.

Sounds like you’re busy, yet you still find time to write. What genre(s) do you write?

I write historical romance in which the emotions are raw and the romance takes awhile to develop. I use a reasonably modern voice. No thithers or thines.

Complete this sentence: When I want to kick back and relax…

I watch a Jane Austen movie, such as Sense and Sensibility, or one of my two versions of Persuasion or Pride and Prejudice. My family makes fun of me. They hear the familiar music start and yell “Again?”

Other than writing, do you have other talents?

My other talent is as a soprano. I started taking voice lessons five years ago. I sing classical solos and Broadway tunes. I was involved in instrumental music in my school years, but being a good singer was a real discovery for me. It is invigorating to challenge yourself to learn something new during middle age!

Yes, it is invigorating, but frustrating too, especially when you get past middle age

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where I had a direct view of the Tetons and good heat for the long winters! I would choose Jackson Hole because I could look at those mountains all day and write.

What do you like best about being a writer?

I love writing the first draft, pulling ideas and words from the thin air to create a story that did not exist before.

On the other end, what’s your least favorite part of the writing process?

Formatting. Being self-published, I do my formatting myself. That is sheer frustrating drudgery to me. Some people enjoy making each page look just so, but to me formatting feels like childbirth. I just want the book OUT!!!

Tell us about your latest release.

Redeemed is the second book in my Evolution Series. The Evolution Series is set in the 830s in what is now France and Germany. This is after Charlemagen’s death when his son is starting to wreck the empire. Redeemed features an emotionally and physically scarred hero who was the villain in the first book of the series. Doeg wants a wife for only one reason: free housekeeper. Our stern hero soon finds that the quiet yet determined Philantha may renew more than his home. I chose the title Redeemed because it really is a story of redemption for both of them. The heroine has her own history to overcome and both characters need what the other brings to the relationship, even though at the beginning neither appears to have much to offer. Though part of a series, Redeemed stands alone, so you do not have to read the first book, Unbidden, to understand or enjoy the second. My books are available on most eBook vendors, and in print on Amazon and CreateSpace. Here are two links for Redeemed – Amazon and Barnes&Noble

What are you working on now?

I am working on Vain, the third book in my Evolution Series. This one is about the best friend of my hero from the first book. Theo is a bit of a snob who will discover that happiness may not be found in marriage to a socialite, but rather to the daughter of a lowly tailor.

I look forward to any comments or questions. If anyone would like to keep current on what I’m up to, I am on Facebook and I tweet @jillhughey. I also have a badly neglected blog where you can read a funny story about a porcupine eating my patio doors at 1AM on a Saturday night. Do you know how loud a porcupine gnawing on wood is?

Thank you so much for letting me visit with you today, Margery!

Six-sentence Sunday – Would a man’s profession scare you off?

With a major construction project going on in my house, I completely forgot about Six Sentence Sunday the last two weeks. I almost forgot this week, too, because I was busy getting my latest medical romance ready for publication. But I’m back, and I’m taking my six sentences from my new release, The Firefighter and the Lady Doc. In this scene, the hero has been in the heroine’s ER for treatment. He’s gone now and she’s alone.

         Yet curiosity forced her to open the chart she’d brought into the lounge with her. She scanned the first page, listing his personal information – name, address, age, next of kin, etc.

         The box marked “Employer – Occupation” caught her eye. When she read the words, her stomach clenched. Three years, and she still couldn’t control the sick feeling of dread in her heart whenever one specific word registered in her brain.

         Firefighter.

Thanks so much for dropping by. I’d love to hear your comments, so don’t be shy. And don’t forget to check out the other snippets here. Hope to see you again next week.

Margery

New release – The Firefighter and the Lady Doc

It’s live! My third medical romance, The Firefighter and the Lady Doc, is now available on Amazon and Smashwords.

Many times, aspiring authors are told to “write what you know.” I decided to do just that. I know hospitals, having spent practically my whole working life in hospitals in one capacity or another. I know firefighters – married to one, mother of one. The Firefighter and the Lady Doc is the result. Like The Surgeon’s Homecoming and Stranded with the Surgeon, the story takes place in Canada, although they aren’t connected.

Blurb:

Heading up the Emergency Department of a busy hospital is all that Dr. Kate MacNaughton has time for. She certainly doesn’t have the time or the need for any other commitments, especially not for Mike Lawrence, the firefighter who is a painful reminder of her late husband’s tragic death. For Mike, winning Kate’s heart, although difficult, is not impossible, but convincing her to take a chance on another firefighter just might be.

Check it out on Amazon and Smashwords.

Have a great day,

Margery

Tempting Evil with Keira Kohl

I’m thrilled to welcome my good friend/critique partner/writing buddy, Keira Kohl, to my blog today. I’ve known Keira for almost twenty years, and even though we rarely see each other in person these days, thanks to modern technology, ie. the internet, we’re in touch all the time.

Welcome, Keira. I’m so glad you could visit today. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

It’s always so hard to talk about yourself. I grew up in Ontario, Canada and still live an hour away from where I was born. I work in IT for my day job. All that means is I get to play with software all day and try to break it. When it comes to genres I love the weird and unusual so I guess it’s no surprise that the erotica I write is paranormal. I’ve been writing for what feels like forever and I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t write. I live in Ontario, Canada with my honey and three cats.

I am a member of RWA and a graduate of Hal Croasmun’s screenwriting ProSeries. My interviews with writers of CSI and Flashpoint appeared in The Rewrit, the Scriptscene newsletter, the screenwriting Chapter of RWA. I write screenplays, thrillers, and paranormals, occasionally exploring an erotic twist. My characters have never complained.

So even though you grew up in Canada, I know you’ve travelled a bit. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?

So many places to choose from. But I would pick Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It’s quiet, the people are friendly. It’s gorgeous there. I’ve loved Cape Breton forever as long as I can remember. My family is from there and I’ve been going there since I was a child. It just feels like home.

I’ve never been down east, but it is on my bucket list. What about other talents you have? Or are there talents you don’t have that you wish you did?

I paint landscapes in oil. I wish I had a talent for drawing. I know that sounds contradictory but the landscapes I paint are free style and don’t require any artistic talent at all.

As you know, I have no artistic talent whatsoever, so even freestyle painting is amazing to me. Now let’s get to the writing part of this interview. Where do your best ideas come from?

I get ideas from everywhere. Sometimes it’s a problem. I have so many ideas floating around there’s never going to be enough time to write them all. I do my best thinking in the shower. I have no idea why and I’m not the only author who gets ideas in the shower.

You know how jealous I am of your ability to come up with ideas all day every day. But when you’ve settled on an initial premise, which comes first, the plot or the characters?

For me, plot comes first. I learn about my characters as I write the story. I usually have a very definite plot in mind and then think of characters to put in that situation. Then the characters grow as the story progresses. Most of the time it works out for me. Sometimes it doesn’t and I get stuck because I have to learn more about the character before I can move forward.

Yes, that happens to me all the time, too. Having so many ideas is a good thing when you’re writing short stories Tell us about your new release.

My release is due out the end of this month. It’s Tempting Evil, a short story collection of three paranormal erotica stories.

In Satisfaction Guaranteed, a wannabe succubus meets her match for her last assignment: The college boyfriend who broke her heart.

In Scale Deep, a reporter learns more than she bargained for when she discovers that dragons are real… and they walk among us.

In School Bites, a woman bumps into her high school crush at a reunion. Curiously he hasn’t aged a day in 15 years. When the bodies start turning up she finds out why.

Sounds like very interesting stories. What are you working on now?

Right now I’m working on getting my collection ready for publication. Once that’s available I’ll be working on revisions of Silk Secrets, the first book in my Spirit Chasers series. Silk Secrets is a fun, sexy story about neighbours who start to see more in each other than they did before – with the help of a match making ghost.

I’m looking forward to reading it.

Thanks for visiting today, Keira. I’ll keep an eye out for your debut book and post the links here when it’s available.

You can read more about Keira and her books on her website, and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Kristina Knight talks about What a Texas Girl Wants

Twitter

Thanks so much for joining me today, Kristina.

Gemma Murray – Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart

Thanks so much for dropping by. Today, I have the pleasure of chatting with Gemma K. Murray, author of the Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart. This book is one of the Cedar River series of paranormal romances which take place in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Welcome, Gemma. I’m so happy to have you here. Can you tell our readers a little about yourself?

         I was born and raised in a small town in lower Michigan. A farmer’s daughter, my greatest ambitions were to become a large animal vet and to read every book ever written. The veterinarian dream fell by the wayside, but I’m still working on reading every book I can get my hot little hands on.

         But I’m a dreamer…I love to sit and look out the windows, daydreaming about what could be. I love getting tangled in my dreams when I fall asleep at night. That is how Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart came to be. It started with a dream and spun into something beautiful.

That’s quite a goal. You still live in Michigan, but if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?

I think I live in the most perfect spot on this earth. The Upper Peninsula has everything I require to keep me happy: forests and water. There is so much peace to be had here and I honestly can’t imagine living anywhere else. This is my idea of heaven.

I have friends from there but I’ve never visited the UP. I’ll have to put that on my travel list. Now tell us something about yourself that others might find surprising.

I’m a HUGE football fan. It happened only after I married my husband. It was either spend a lot of time apart or learn to love the game. I chose to love the game. We don’t cheer for the same teams, but our fall weekends are filled with lots of fun.

Ah, a little family rivalry isn’t such a bad thing Now let’s get to the writing questions. When did you start writing?

I’ve always been a writer. I started writing at the age of eleven or twelve. I began to take it seriously about ten years ago.

What inspired you?

My husband. He knew I loved to write, but I was clueless on where to start. I sat down with a pen and some paper one night. A love story came pouring out across the paper. It was amazing.

What has been the toughest criticism you’ve ever received?

The toughest criticism was from a publisher who thought Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart should be made into a YA novel and nitpicked every little detail of the 3 chapters she held in her hand. The biggest compliment? My husband (who is not a reader) picked up my book and began to read. He loved the story and began to ask me questions about the characters and the storyline. We’ve been together for 20 years and NEVER have we discussed a book before.

That’s quite a compliment. What are you working on now?

Currently, I’m working on books to continue the Cedar River series. Book 3 will contain an opportunity for a spin off series so I’m working on the stories for that as well.

Can you tell us about your upcoming release(s)?

Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart is out now from Leap of Faith Publishing. It is the story of a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan called Cedar River. The town is home to shifters of every shape and size. The main characters in Keeper are Bowie Golden, a dragon shifter and sheriff to Cedar River, and Anastasia Plum, a puma shifter/witch hybrid. Bowie and Ana have been friends for years, but their feelings are changing. A religiously fanatical group wants to wipe out the shifters and targets Cedar River.

Book 2 doesn’t have a title yet (I’m waiting on edits). It is the story of Adam Thomas, a black puma shifter, and his childhood sweetheart, Luna McIntyre, a wolf shifter/pack shaman. Someone is bound and determined to keep this sheriff’s deputy and the chocolate shop owner apart.

The series sounds intriguing. Tell us about KEEPER OF THE GOLDEN DRAGON’S HEART.

BLURB

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan seems like it is another country. The rawness and beauty of the land draws people from every walk of life. What most people don’t realize is there is a little town nestled on the banks of Lake Superior that an entire group of supernatural beings call home. Shifters of every shape and size live there. They raise their families there. Tourists come from near and far to visit the quaint town of Cedar River, Michigan. The tourists never realize they are walking among some of the most unusual beings on earth.

Bowie Golden is a dragon shifter who is in charge of Cedar River’s safety. Until now, the biggest threat to anyone’s safety was Anastasia Plum, a witch/puma-shifter. She has been the town hellraiser since she was a teenager. Now someone has discovered the secret the residents of Cedar River keep for one another. These radicals are determined to eradicate the entire town. It’s up to Bowie to keep them all safe.

Ana has always idolized Bowie. She may have stirred up trouble from time to time, but Bowie or one of his brothers would always get her out of the trouble she was in. One day, it happened. The unthinkable, the unimaginable occurred. Anastasia Plum fell for the “golden” boy. What an unlikely duo- the sheriff and the hellraiser!

Just as these two discover their passion for one another, a group of people is determined to keep them apart. It’s up to Ana to prove that she is the only Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart.

EXCERPT:

My name is Anastasia Plum. I’m the only living child of a puma shifter and a witch. I grew up in this incredible community of supernatural beings on the shores of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. From the tall pines that grace our forests to the most amazing body of water I have ever seen, there is no better place on earth. My earliest memory is of laying my head against my father’s chest and hearing him purr. I was three years old. Two years later, hunters killed my father, who was hunting in puma form, leaving my mother to fall into a deep depression. I was twelve when a spell my mother had worked for a human went wrong and the person returned in the night to burn our home to the ground, killing my mother.

Looking back, I think she was ready to meet my father wherever his soul was wandering, especially since she was able to get me out of the burning cabin. At the age of twelve, I was alone in the world except for a family of dragon shifters who had befriended my parents before I was born. Bernard Golden took me to the puma shifters who lived on the edge of our village. The pumas turned me away because I was a half-breed. There were no other witches in the community so the Golden family took me in as one of their own. With four boys, Lorelai Golden welcomed another female presence. To me, she always smelled of sugar cookies and cinnamon. Bowie, the oldest son, was my chief defender. He is seven years older than me and he took my protection very seriously. Brady, the second son was my trainer. He taught me to fight and hunt, which is hard for a dragon to teach a puma, but he did his best. Callum and Colin are the youngest. A set of twins, a rarity in the dragon world, they were allowed to get away with a lot. Being only a year older than I am, we three managed to get into the most trouble. They were, and are, my best friends.

The Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart is available now from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Leap of Faith Publishing and Coffee Time Romance.

I’ve enjoyed talking with you today, Gemma. Please come back and visit any time.

To learn more about Gemma and her books, visit her website or follow her on Facebook or Goodreads

Six sentence Sunday – a mistake?

Thanks for visiting today. After my little detour last week, I’m going back to one of my published books for this week’s sentences. In Out of Time, Josh and Amanda still have feelings for each other, but the bad memories and secrets between them make it impossible to let go of the past.

For what seemed like an eternity, their gazes held, breaths mingling. Thoughts whirled crazily in her head. She wanted him to kiss her, wanted to feel his lips on hers, his arms entwined around her. At the same time, she was well aware it would be a huge mistake. He would be leaving as soon as they caught the person harassing her. It was better – safer emotionally – to keep him at a distance.

I’d love to hear your comments, so don’t be shy. And don’t forget to check out the other authors here. Thanks for dropping by. Please come back again.

PJ Sharon is ON THIN ICE (plus free book + mystery gift)

I’m thrilled to welcome YA author PJ Sharon to my blog today. Not only is she a fabulously talented author, but an accomplished athlete as well. Don’t mess with her – she’s a karate master Now, here’s PJ.

Thanks so much for inviting me today, Margery. I’m happy to be here to answer your fun questions. I hope your readers find my answers equally as entertaining.

Thanks for joining me, PJ. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

         Writing “Extraordinary Stories of an Average Teenage Life”, I take what I’ve learned from my own life experiences and create characters and stories about the difficulties of walking that line between being a kid and becoming an adult. I’ve traveled far to get to this point in life, but I’m a happy, healthy person these days, and want to let teens know that no matter how bad life gets, it can always get better–have hope!

         I live in the Berkshires with a dreamy husband, a faithful lab/husky mix named Zak, and I’ve successfully raised two sons who are on their own hero’s journey. When I’m not writing and publishing my books, I spend my summers kayaking the lakes and ponds in New England, and my winters snow shoeing in the 6000 acres of woods behind my house…aaahhh, bliss!

         Fun facts about me: I have a black belt in karate, sing opera, and can still do a sit spin with the best of them.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?

I had a taste of the Mediterranean last year when I took a cruise with my mother-in-law. There were so many wonderful stops, but the Greek islands were amazing and Palermo, Sicily was breathtaking. I could definitely spend a few years living in Europe and traveling from country to country and island to island. Somehow, I can see myself settling in a villa on a vineyard in Naples or Tuscany. Oh yeah!

Tell us something about yourself that others may find surprising.

I’ll only share this with your readers so they’ll have a better understanding of why I write the books I write. I was a mom at seventeen. When I found out a week after my mother died of cancer that I was pregnant, I had just started my junior year of high school. Talk about growing up fast! My son turned out to be an incredible blessing to me. He helped me remember that life goes on and that there is always a bright spot on the horizon.

How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?

I’ve published three young adult novels this past year, with a fourth coming out at the end of September. I love them all like they are my children, but I think ON THIN ICE resonates with me the most. The main character, Penny Trudeau and I share many experiences in common, including several years of figure skating lessons, a sick mom, and a teen pregnancy. I was really able to share a lot of myself through Penny’s story. Writing it was very cathartic. I’ll be giving a signed copy to one of your readers today. All they have to do is leave a comment and let me know they’re interested in reading the book.

Seventeen year old figure skater Penny Trudeau is a liar. She knows it, hates it, and can’t help herself. The truth is too hard and ugly. Her mother is dying of cancer, her father treats her as if she’s invisible, and she is starving—for food, for love, for acceptance, and mostly for the perfection that is just beyond her reach. When she finds comfort in the arms of Carter McCray, a hockey hunk a few years too old for her, the lies begin a chain of events that have dire consequences, not the least of which are a rape she can’t remember and a pregnancy she can’t ignore. If she reveals her secrets, will the shock and disappointment mean the end for her mother? Or has her mother been keeping the biggest secret of all?

ON THIN ICE is available now (for your http://pinterest.com/pjsharon/

Thanks so much for visiting with me today, PJ. I’ve enjoyed learning more about you and your books.

PJ is graciously offering “mystery swag gift” as well as a free book. Don’t forget to leave a comment for TWO chances to win.

Construction zone ahead

There’s much construction going on in our little corner of the neighbourhood. Sawing, hammering, digging, you name it. And our house is right in the middle of it. We’re doing our own little project, replacing the concrete square front step with a new stone step, garden wall and pathway. We have a really small front yard, so I estimated a couple hundred dollars and a couple days. Uh … wrong. Sooo wrong. With only one worker boy (my middle son) and me changing my mind several times, my estimate is a teensy bit off. Okay, a lot off.

First came the grass removal and the digging out of the shrubs in front of the window. The two little trees were a bit tougher to dig out, but eventually the garden was empty.

Then the digging.

And the creative use of empty pop cans.

Then the sand.

And here we are. We’ve laid the stone three times already, and I’m still not happy with it. I did forget to take into account the fact that the driveway is on an angle, which throws off any pattern.

We’re taking bets how long this is going to take Stay tuned. I’ll post pictures when it’s finally finished.

Six sentence Sunday – an experiment

This week, I’m taking a huge detour from my romance-writing roots. And as the Monty Python movie offers, now for something completely different. This is the beginning of a mystery series I’m thinking about writing. I’d love to hear your comments. Should I go back to writing romance? Should I continue with this? Or should I give up writing altogether? For the record, the last option is not going to happen

         They say family should come first, that blood is thicker than water. But when your blood flows because you tried to be nice, to do a favor for one of the family, it’s hard to remember that. Especially when the cause of that blood spilling doesn’t even appreciate it.

         Family. The reason I’m lying here in a hospital bed, a chest tube sticking out of my side and all my bodily functions being monitored and recorded as if I’m a lab specimen. And the person responsible – albeit unintentionally and indirectly – is out dancing with my ex.

Thanks for visiting today. Please come back again, and be sure to check out the other authors’ sentences here