Interview with Jana Richards, author of CHILD OF MINE (The Masonville Series, #1) #contemporary #romance #familylife
Thanks for visiting with me on The Daisy, Jana! Let’s learn a little more about you and Child of Mine, book one in The Masonville Series.
How did the idea for this book occur to you?I love small town romances. I envisioned a scandal that would cause a sensation in a small town, something that my heroine would want to conceal. And what could be a bigger scandal than a baby fathered not by Lauren’s husband, but her husband’s brother. Fight your way out of that one, Lauren!
Is this book part of a series? If so, what can we expect in the future?
Yes, CHILD OF MINE is book one of my Masonville series. I envision four books in the series set in the small fictional town of Masonville, North Dakota. In each book, the characters have a trauma or deep hurt they must overcome in order to accept and give love. There’s a lot of stuff going on under the surface in small towns!
What’s your favorite scene in the book and why?
I have a lot of favorite scenes in this book, but my most favorite favorite is the scene where Lauren stands up and tells the truth about her baby, and about her feelings for Cole. I want to cheer for her for being so brave!
What’s your favorite quote about writing or by an author? Why is it your favorite?
I love the quote (attributed to several famous writers) that says writing is easy; all you have to do is open a vein and bleed all over the page. I’m paraphrasing, but man, some days writing feels exactly like that!
What drives you to write?
At this point, I can’t not write. A few years ago, I serious considered giving writing up, but I couldn’t do it. I guess it’s something that’s totally wired inside me now. I have to tell stories.
Who is your favorite character in this book?
That’s a tough one. I guess I’d have to say Cole is my favorite character because he’s such a good person. I don’t mean he’s perfect, because he’s not, but he’s a decent man with a lot of integrity and honesty. He treats his mother with respect, even though she’s never made any secret of the fact that Cole’s brother was her favorite. And he’s steadfast in the love he shows to Lauren. Even when she was married to his brother and he couldn’t be more than her friend. And even now when she’s carrying his baby but wants the world to believe it’s his brother’s child. The man has the patience of a saint! But only to a point. He eventually reaches his breaking point, with spectacular results.
How did you choose your characters’ names?
It probably sounds ridiculous, but these characters’ names just came to me. Lauren and Cole felt like the perfect names for them from the moment I first conceived this story.
It doesn’t always happen that way. I often have to dig hard for the perfect name. Sometimes a name needs to match the time period in which they were born. A character born in 1920 likely wouldn’t have a modern sounding name like Devon or Ryan. Sometimes I’ll want a character’s name to reflect their ethnic background. I knew I wanted Renata in CHILL OUT to have a Portuguese heritage and when I researched female Portuguese names, Renata was the one I liked best. When I was writing HOME FIRES, Erik’s family were second generation Swedish immigrants to Canada, so I wanted the Gustafsons to have first names appropriate to that culture. But for the life of me, I couldn’t come up with a name I liked for Erik’s brother. Finally, my editor came up with Anders and a light bulb went off in my head. It was perfect!
Sometimes I have to keep trying different names until I have that Goldilocks moment and everything feels just right. My female character in FIRST AND AGAIN went through at least three name changes until Bridget finally won me over!
What is the single best piece of WRITING advice you have ever received?
Finish what you start. Once I finally managed to get to The End, things started to happen for my writing. I learned that no matter how messy a first draft might be, I could eventually clean it up to make a coherent, readable story. And once I finished one book, then two, and more, I grew in confidence. I know now that when I get to the inevitable point in writing a book when everything seems hopeless and I’m never going to finish, I don’t need to panic. I can do it. I’ve finished before and I can do it again.
Readers’ experiences and intake with a book vary. If you could ensure that a reader took away a certain element, be that a theme or moral or something else from your book, what would it be?
First and foremost, I want readers to be entertained. I want them to have a good time reading any of my books. Secondly, I want them to feel something. I want their emotions to be engaged when they read this book. I want them to feel Lauren’s worry about her reputation and Cole’s fear that she’ll never feel the same way about him that he feels about her. And with this book in particular, and the Masonville series as a whole, I want readers to come away believing that second chances in love and life are always possible.
What can we expect from you in the future?
Thanks for joining me today, Jana. Best of luck with Child of Mine !A little more about Jana Richards…I am currently hard at work on book two in the series, which I’ve tentatively titled “A Better Man”. This is Garrett’s story. Garrett is Lauren’s brother, and I’ve partnered him with Blair, who moves to Masonville to work at the veterinary clinic. She’s also purchased her grandfather’s farm just outside of town, which happens to be down the road from Garrett’s parents’ farm, where he’s currently living. Garrett and Blair have a history that goes back to their teenage years when Blair spent summers on her grandparents’ farm. But a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. Both of them bear scars from their past, both physical and emotional. Somehow they have to get past those scars to find each other.
When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.
In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada with an elderly Pug/Terrier named cross Lou. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com
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Child of Mine (The Masonville Series #1)by Jana Richards-available now-
Is Lauren’s love for Cole stronger than her fear of scandal in her hometown?
Lauren didn't intend to sleep with her brother-in-law Cole on the day of her husband's funeral. But now that she is pregnant, she's not sorry. Cole's given her a baby, a long-wished-for miracle. He's been her friend forever, though she never told him or anyone else how unhappy her marriage to his cheating brother was. And she's afraid to tell the small town that considered her husband a hero that the baby isn't his.
Cole's been in love with Lauren since he was sixteen. It kills him that everyone believes the baby is his dead brother's. All he wants is to claim the baby, and Lauren, as his own. Though she marries him, will Lauren's heart ever be his?
Lauren must tell the truth or risk losing Cole. Is her newly-discovered love for him greater than her fear of scandal in her hometown?
Child of Mine Excerpt:
“Merry Christmas, Cole.”
He tugged on her wrist, bringing her closer. “Come here. You can help me open it.”
She sat on his lap once more, and he put his arms around her, holding her securely. Lauren removed the ribbon and tore open the paper to reveal the back of a picture frame. She held it against her pregnant belly for a minute, not turning it over.
“Remember about a week ago I had an ultrasound at the hospital in Bismarck?”
“Yeah, of course. I wanted to be there, but I had an emergency. You told me everything was progressing normally.”
“That’s right, it is. But the ultrasound was also able to determine the sex of the baby. Do you want to know? Or would you rather be surprised?”
Cole’s heart nearly stopped, and for a moment he was too choked with emotion to speak. He stared at the picture frame in her hands.
“I want to know.”
“Okay.”
She turned the frame over. It was a black-and white ultrasound picture, the baby lying suspended inside Lauren’s womb. It wasn’t clear to him from this picture whether he was looking at a boy or a girl.
Lauren removed her hand, revealing the part of the picture frame she’d been covering. ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ was stenciled into the pewter.
“A girl,” he breathed. Tears stung his eyes. “We’re having a girl.”
“Yes. Are you happy it’s a girl?”
“Lauren.” He tightened his hold on her, burying his face against her sweet-smelling neck. “I couldn’t be happier. We’re having a girl!”
She laughed and wound her arm around his neck. They held each other, and Cole savored the moment. He and Lauren were having a baby girl. It was a wonderful miracle.
Daddy’s little girl.
Was that the reason she’d wanted to tell him the news in private? Because she didn’t want anyone else to see the picture frame and realize he was the baby’s father?
He hated himself for having doubts and ruining this moment of joy. But no matter how much he loved Lauren, he’d always second guess her motives, always wonder about her feelings.
A feeling of loneliness settled on his heart. Maybe he’d always feel alone in this marriage.
Child of Mine (The Masonville Series Book 1)
By Jana Richards
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