Janet Bly and Free Books!
What secret lies down Squash Blossom Road?
Before we meet today's featured author, I want to announce that the winner of the free e-copy of The Flaming Sword, by Heather Fitzgerald, is:
centraleast2@...
Congratulations! We'll get your e-book right out to you.
I encourage readers to keep commenting and/or subscribe at right (above my list of books) in order to participate in future book give-aways! Subscribers are entered a second time when they comment.
And now let's visit with novelist Janet Bly, author of contemporary western mystery romance ("cowgirl lit") novel, Down Squash Blossom Road (CreateSpace, September 2016).
Janet Chester Bly is a city girl with a country heart. She doesn’t corral horses or mow her own lawn. She’s no womba woman. But she followed her writer husband, Christy Award winning western author Stephen Bly, to a small country town on top a mountain in north-central Idaho. When she lost him, she stayed to rake lots of pine needles and cones and survive the long winters, one snowstorm at a time. Janet and Stephen together—his, hers, and theirs--published 120 fiction and nonfiction books for adults and kids. Janet and their three sons finished Stephen’s last novel, Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot, a Selah Award Finalist. Down Squash Blossom Road is Book 2 in the Trails of Reba Cahill Series. Book 1 is Wind in the Wires.
Please tell us three random things we might not know about you.
-- I love Matt Damon and the Jason Bourne movies … and anything starring Tom Selleck.
-- I don’t drink coffee at all … except if I go down the mountain to the big city of Lewiston to shop, then it’s a latte or frappuccino or an ice cream flavor.
-- I rode horses only because my late hubby, Stephen, enjoyed that activity, to spend time with him. However, I never felt real comfortable around them on my own, even though I do think they’re beautiful animals, and love to watch them run.
Yes, I'm with you there, Janet. I think they're gorgeous animals, but they're big and heavy, and I've never been a comfortable rider.
Please tell us a bit more about the plot of Down Squash Blossom Road.
Cowgirl Reba Cahill’s schedule is full. Save the family ranch. Free her mom from a mental institute. Solve a murder and kidnapping. Evade a stalker. Can she also squeeze in romance? Reba tried to focus on ranch duties, to help out her widowed grandmother. But a crippled Champ Runcie returns to Road’s End, Idaho in a wheelchair and seeks revenge for the accident that put him there. He blames Reba’s horse. Meanwhile, a letter from her estranged mom forces her and Grandma Pearl back on the road: I can leave now. Come get me. Love, Mom
When they arrive in Reno, her mother issues a demand and refuses to return to Idaho. They head west instead. In California, Reba’s friend Ginny’s marriage is on the rocks. The family business is threatened. And squabbles turn deadly.
Reba digs deep for stamina to forge a relationship with her mom and escape a crazed man’s obsession. She also faces an uncertain future as a trainer offers her another horse … and maybe more.
Wow, chock full of conflict!
What is it about Reba that will make your readers care about her?
Reba was abandoned by her mother on the doorstep of her grandparents ranch home when she was three years old. Then she eventually discovers lies in her search for family and betrayal stunts her attempts at love. In the pursuit of justice, she struggles to overcome bitterness and choose to trust in God when much in her life and others close to her seems so unfair.
If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your lead roles?
Reba Cahill – an actress similar to a young Reba McEntire, the country singer
Soren Patrick, horse trainer, Reba’s love interest – Luke Perry (Race to Win, Black Beauty)
Jace McKane, friend of Reba and Ginny – Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) 
Ginny George, Reba’s Greek girlfriend - Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding)
90-year-old Seth Stroud – Ian McKellen (Gandolf, Lord of the Rings)Tell us about a scene in your novel and name a piece of music that would make good background music.
Reba has high hopes that she and Soren Patrick, the horse trainer, will make a loving, compatible couple, then she thinks she sees him on a Las Vegas boulevard with another woman. She’s devastated. An old Doris Day song from the 1940s would work well for background (especially since Reba heard her grandmother playing it on an old vinyl record on a phonograph earlier in the story) … “Again, This Couldn’t Happen Again”
What is the last novel you read that you would recommend?
The last three novels I read within two weeks and I really couldn’t pick just one of them. Each was very different but kept my interest throughout and impressed me with the characters, research skills, and writing style. All three authors were new to me, but recommended, so I grabbed the chance to try a sampling of their work when I had a break in writing. I hope to read more by each of them.
From Russia with Love (The Heirs of Anton Book 1) , by Susan May Warren … enjoyed the modern Russian setting, the spunky main character, and the romantic suspense story full of adventure.
A Stillness of Chimes , by Meg Moseley … a well-written southern story of childhood friends, memories, and a haunting mystery
Silenced (Alaskan Courage) (Volume 4) , by Dani Pettrey ... good blend of romance and suspense; loved the uniqueness of the rock climbing skills of the main character.
What are you working on now?
After the book launch of Down Squash Blossom Road, I hope to re-release about nine more of our out-of-print children’s books, including The Crystal Blake Adventure Series (9-12 yrs old). Then I’ll be adapting several former devotional books into a revision entitled Grace Spilling Over/True Stories of God’s Tender Mercies.
As soon as I’ve completed these projects, I’ll begin Book 3 of The Trails of Reba Cahill Series with the working title: Beneath a Camperdown Elm. Most of the research has been done for this conclusion of Reba Cahill’s story and a number of scenes have already been exploding in my mind. In one way, it’s hard to wait to get started with the next book in the series. In another, I truly need the break for my mind and any semblence of a social life by taking on a more relaxed schedule and different pursuits.
Where else can readers find you online?
Website: www.BlyBooks.com
Bly Books Blog
Facebook Personal Page
Bly Books Facebook Page
Goodreads
Follow Bly Books for new releases: Amazon Author Page
EBooks & EStories
Audio Books
Bly Books Blog
The book can be purchased online via the following buttons:
Finally, what question would you like to ask my readers?
What is most important to you in a fiction story to keep you reading to the end and to compel you to choose other novels by that author?
Thanks, Janet, for telling us about your novel. Readers, Janet has offered to give a free e-copy of her book to the winner of our drawing on Monday, September 19. To enter, leave a comment below in answer to Janet's question, above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. The drawing is done by email, so leave your email address, like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com.
Also, I'd love it if you'd connect with me on Facebook. Just click on my name at the right of today's post.
Annoying legal disclaimer: drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer, as well as my Disclosure of Material Connection HERE.
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