FIERCE GRACE - an interview with Jess B Moore

My blog guest today, all the way from the USA, is the lovely Jess B Moore.

Welcome, Jess.  Please tell us about your new book Fierce Grace.  What was the inspiration for this book?

            Fierce Grace came from a place of fear – of a young woman who had lived a life of pain and sworn off opening herself up to more pain.  A young man swamped with family responsibility, loyal to a fault, and with a poor view of himself as a respectable partner.  These were themes I could relate to, and felt others could as well.  Annabelle is a music teacher, which ties perfectly with my musical life, as well as the music culture in Fox River (the small North Carolina town setting of both my books).  Asher is a steel worker, motorcycle rider, and the mostly “manly” character I’ve written.  It was fun to show how he’s more than his image.  For me it’s about the characters, and I write people who I want to know, or I have know, or I could be.

What does a typical writing day involve for you?

            I write when I can, between homeschooling two children, as well as helping manage their gigging band.  I’ve never had a set time or place, instead fitting in a few minutes here and there.  Now that I’m published and have specific deadlines, I have carved out more time for writing, but it’s still something that shifts day to day.

How do you decide on the names for your characters?

            Names are one of my favorite parts!  I have a running list of names I like/love/loathe to choose from, but also rely on “Name Berry” (baby name website) quite a bit.  For my first book, I wanted the names to feel southern, which meant names like Magnolia and Cotton.  With my new book, though it’s set in the same small southern town, I wanted her name to be timeless and his to be more modern, and went with Annabelle and Asher. 

Do you plot your novels in advance, or allow them to develop as you write?

            I usually start out with the characters, and follow their story as I write.  I’ll have waypoints along the way, and a general idea of where the story is going, but for the most part it happens while I’m writing. 

Which writers have influenced your own writing?

            My favorite romance authors are Penny Reid, Susannah Nix, and Sally Thorne.  They’ve played a big part in inspiration.  I’m also a huge Maggie Stiefvater fan, and love her way with words, and her incomparable connections between her characters.  John Green as well serves to remind me that it’s okay to write nerdy smart quirky people. 

What has been the best part of the writing process…and the worst?

            I love crafting stories.  Love seeing where the characters take their stories and watching them grow.  I enjoy the process of writing.  What I don’t love, now that I’m a published author, is the “work” side of it all.  Marketing, promotion, website, social media – it’s all been an uphill learning experience for me.  After about 11 months, I finally feel as if I’m getting into my stride with it all, and continue to learn along the way.  My favorites so far are my newsletter and Instagram. 

Now the book is published and ‘out there’ how do you feel?

            Thrilled, terrified, raw, and in awe.  It’s a roller coaster of emotions to put your work out into the world!  Reading reviews can be validating in the best of ways, or devastating, confirming all your greatest fears and doubts. 

What can we expect from you in the future?

            My third book, The Worth of a Penny, will be out in 2019.  I’ve already started the sequel to Fierce Grace as well, and hope to have it ready for the world later in 2019.  Overall I have six Fox River Romance books planned, and hope to get them all released over the next couple of years.  After that?  Unsure, but it’s likely to include romance, family, and music. 

You can find more about Jess, and her books, on these links:

jessbmoore.com

instagram.com/authorjessb

facebook.com/authorjessb

twitter.com/authorjessb

The Guilt of a Sparrow: mybook.to/guiltsparrow

Fierce Grace: mybook.to/fiercegrace

A NEW HOME FOR THE GHOSTLY FATHER

The Ghostly Father was first published in 2014 by Crooked Cat Books.  Now, after a few revisions to the original text, it has been reissued under a new imprint.  Find out more by clicking here.

Ocelot Press is a new publishing venture and I'm really thrilled to be part of it.  To find out more, take a look our website.

REDNECK'S REVENGE - a guest post by Joan Livingston

Isabel Long is in a funk months after solving her first case. The cops say she must work for a licensed P.I. before working solo.

Encouraged by her Watson — her 92-year-old mother  — Isabel snaps out of it by hooking up with a P.I. and finding a new case.

The official ruling is that Chet Waters, an ornery so-and-so, was unconscious when his house caught fire. His daughter, who inherited the junkyard, believes he was murdered. Topping the list of suspects are dangerous drug-dealing brothers, a rival junkyard owner, and an ex-husband.

Could the man’s death simply be a case of redneck’s revenge? Isabel is about to find out...

When I decided to write a mystery series, I wanted strong women characters. They wouldn’t be damsels in distress but women who knew what they wanted and went after it. Topping the list, of course, is Isabel Long, the protagonist of the series, which began with Chasing the Case. Redneck’s Revenge, its sequel and my newest mystery, was released on Sept. 26.

Isabel is a former journalist who turned amateur sleuth when she lost her job as managing editor of a newspaper. Isabel is not a sweet young thing. She’s got some miles on her. She’s smart, sassy and doesn’t take crap from anyone. She’s also a good listener with a big heart, which makes it easy to connect with people, especially since she encounters a rather rough crowd in Redneck’s Revenge.

A recent widow, Isabel is also done with grieving, and ready for a relationship with a man.

Then there’s her 92-year-old mother, Maria Ferreira, who lives with her. Ma is a big reader. Mysteries and spicy romance novels are her big thing. She’s also a great ‘Watson’ for Isabel, giving her ideas to ponder and even going on interviews.

Redneck’s Revenge has two other characters who don’t take crap from anybody. Isabel hits it off with them despite their different backgrounds.

Marsha, whom Isabel and her mother nicknamed The Floozy, is a character in the first book. She was an alibi for one of the suspects. In the second book, she introduces Isabel to her cousin, Annette, who hires her.

Annette, aka The Tough Cookie, runs a garage and junkyard that used to belong to her SOB of a father. She wants Isabel to find out how her father died. The cops say he was passed-out drunk when his house burned down. Annette says he was murdered.

Other women in Redneck’s Revenge: a woman police chief and the co-owner of a gas station, who eventually finds her inner strength.

Here’s an excerpt. Isabel goes to Baxter’s (a biker bar) with the cousins, for her case. By the way, the Rooster is the bar in Isabel’s town where the band played the previous night.

As we head toward the front entrance, I hear music, something by the group Alabama, bouncing through the walls. Beer signs flash through the windows. Ahead of me, Marsha marches inside as if she owns the damn place. She stops short of the dance floor, nods, and then points toward the far end. Annette already has a table. Some guy is talking in her ear while he stares at the cleavage rising about her low-cut sweater. She paws at him as she laughs.

Marsha turns toward me.

“My cousin’s a slut, what can I tell ya?”

“She looks like she’s just having a good time.”

“Same difference.” Marsha slaps my arm and points at the band. “Well, well, look who’s playin’. It’s the Country Plowboys. You didn’t miss ’em after all.”

When the song ends, Marsha and I make our way across the thinning dance floor. Annette, aka the Tough Cookie, gives the guy she’s with a friendly push and says, “You gotta get lost now. Maybe later.”

The guy, in the usual country attire of flannel, canvas, and denim, checks us out, but he clearly isn’t interested. We take our seats. Marsha whistles sharply through her teeth to get the waitress’s attention.

I lean forward.

“I’ll get this round,” I say.

“All right,” the Floozy says.

I glance around the barroom. It’s three times the size of the Rooster, with a long bar on one side and an actual stage. Tables border the dance floor on three sides. It’s dark inside except for the wide-screen TVs lit over the three shelves of booze behind the bar. The clientele is on the rustic side, which I expect and enjoy. Frankly, as a reporter and a denizen of the hilltowns, I found the natives often more interesting than the white-collar folks who commuted to the city.

That’s when I notice the beer cans. Everybody who doesn’t have a mixed drink has a can of Bud or whatever. The woman who took our order is carrying a tray of them.

“No beer in bottles here?” I ask my companions.

“Nah, it’s safer with cans,” the Floozy says. “Even the glasses are plastic. I’d say that was being real smart with this crowd.”

I hand the bills to the waitress.

“Keep the change,” I say, remembering the buck-a-round-rule at the Rooster.

The cousins are gabbing about the men, which ones are decent looking and who’s available for a roll in the sack. They appear to like men with hair and a steady job, which is a sound idea, or as Annette puts it, “I don’t want some guy spongin’ off of me. Did that. Won’t do it again.” They also don’t like guys with big beer bellies or steady girlfriends and wives. No sloppy seconds, the Tough Cookie says.

"What about you?” Annette asks with a grin. “See anybody here you might be interested in?”

Joan Livingston is the author of novels for adult and young readers. Redneck’s Revenge, published by Crooked Cat Books, is the second in the mystery series featuring Isabel Long, a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur P.I. The first is Chasing the Case.

An award-winning journalist, she started as a reporter covering the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. She was an editor, columnist, and most recently the managing editor of The Taos News, which won numerous state and national awards during her tenure.

After eleven years in Northern New Mexico, she returned to rural Western Massachusetts, which is the setting of much of her adult fiction, including the Isabel Long series.

Joan Livingston on social media:

Website: www.joanlivingston.net. 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoanLivingstonAuthor/

Twitter: @joanlivingston 

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/JoanLivingston_Author

Goodreads: www.Goodreads.com/Joan_Livingston

Book links to Chasing the Case and Redneck’s Revenge:

http://mybook.to/chasingthecase

http://mybook.to/rednecksrevenge

POETRY RELEASE: VARIATIONS ON AN APOLOGY

As some of you may know, this blog originally started out as a poetry blog for National Poetry Writing Month.  But in the five or so years that it’s been in existence, although quite a few of my poems have appeared in anthologies and on websites, I’ve never actually released a poetry anthology of my own.

Thanks to my dear friend Karen Little (a highly talented artist, author, poet, and all-round lovely person), that has now changed.

Karen is producing a series of nine poetry pamphlets, for which she has drawn some incredible cover artwork.  Each pamphlet is lovingly produced by hand and printed on high-quality cartridge paper, and all proceeds are donated to an animal shelter which Karen supports. 

My own pamphlet is called VARIATIONS ON AN APOLOGY.  Here is a brief teaser of what you can find inside it:

HAIKU: THE MUSE’S DAY OFF

Inspiration fail.

Today is not going well.

I can’t think of a

Five of these beautiful pamphlets (including mine) are available now, with the rest to follow soon.  

They cost £7 each, including postage within the UK.  Prices to other countries are available on request.  To order, or for more details, please contact Karen directly on kazvina AT yahoo DOT es (remove the spaces, and replace the shouty bits with appropriate punctuation).

Go on – what are you waiting for?

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY - a guest post by Jennifer C Wilson

Today I have the great pleasure to welcome back my dear friend and fellow-scribe Jennifer C Wilson, who has news of a fantastic new release and how it came into being.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough, but I will let Jen herself tell you about it...

THE LAST PLANTAGENET?

The fireplace hadn't looked like a time-portal.

All Kate had wanted was a fun, relaxing day out, watching the knights jousting at Nottingham Castle. What she ended up with was something quite different.

Transported in a heartbeat from 2011 to 1485, how will Kate handle life at the Ricardian court? Even more importantly, how will she cope when she catches the eye of the king himself?

Find out in this 'giddily romantic' romp, set just prior to the Battle of Bosworth.

A couple of years ago, before Kindred Spirits: Tower of London had come into being, I saw an article about a Mills & Boon imprint, Historical Undone, which accepted stories of 10-12,000 words, and were open to elements of the supernatural and paranormal. It sounded interesting, and achievable at that length, so I started brainstorming ideas. After a while, the idea of time-travel came to the fore, the notion of a girl slipping back in time to the court of Richard III, and a possible romance to follow.

 

So I began working on it, but I knew fairly soon in that it was going to be a Mills & Boon project. I’ve read plenty of their historical novels, and knowing what they would likely expect, and where my story was going, it was clear the two weren’t going to align. What to do then? Keep going, not knowing where it could end up, or put it to one side and work on another project, one which felt more solid? I opted for the latter, and put the whole thing aside, moving onto other things, and all but forgetting about it.

You know what it’s like, though – just because you say you’ll forget about something, doesn’t mean that you actually will forget about it. The idea kept nagging away at me, but whenever I sat and looked at it, I couldn’t get the story quite right. I managed the initial timeslip moment, and plenty of scenes set in 1485, but when it came to the logistics of the time-travel, and how things might come to an end, I just wasn’t getting anywhere. Back in the drawer then!

Then came the funeral - the re-burial of the king whose remains had recently been discovered under a car park in Leicester.

Sitting in the service of Compline, in Leicester Cathedral, I found myself drifting into my imagination, and later that evening, the final scenes for the story finally slotted into place, and, bit-by-bit, I got more excited about the tale.  So I started working on the story again, on-and-off, during 2015, and it gradually came together. At the same time, though, I had also been working on Kindred Spirits: Tower of London, and was thrilled to bits that Crooked Cat Books had decided to take it on, due to publish in October of the same year. Clearly, that was where my focus had to lie: with the book that was definitely going somewhere, rather than the one which wasn’t even finished.

Fast-forward to January 2017, and once again, that drawer started to rattle at me.

This time though, I decided I wanted to finish it, and when I got into it, yes, it wasn’t a Mills & Boon, but it could still be something, and this time it was a story I was enjoying telling. I really focused on those sections which had caused me problems before, not just giving up this time. Feedback from writing friends really helped, and within a few months, I had my final manuscript, ready to go.

Richard III was my romantic hero, and the ebook was released on 2^nd October 2017. In the year since, it’s been an enjoyable learning curve, and now I’m excited to be bringing The Last Plantagenet? under the umbrella of Ocelot Press - a co-operation of like-minded authors, publishing independently, but working to support each other in our writing and publications. It’s an exciting time, and a lovely group to be part of.  I hope you visit the page, and enjoy browsing the other books we have in store for you!

The Last Plantagenet? is available as an ebook, or on Kindle Unlimited, here.

About Jennifer

Jennifer is a marine biologist by training, who developed an equal passion for history whilst stalking Mary, Queen of Scots of childhood holidays (she has since moved on to Richard III). She completed her BSc and MSc at the University of Hull, and has worked as a marine environmental consultant since graduating.

Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east reignited Jennifer’s pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling notebooks ever since. In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story competition, and also continues to work on developing her poetic voice, reading at a number of events, and with several pieces available online. Her Kindred Spirits novels are published by Crooked Cat Books and available via Amazon, along with her self-published timeslip novella, The Last Plantagenet? She can be found online at her blog, and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

COSTA DEL CHURROS - a guest post by Isabella May

Today I welcome back my dear friend and fellow-author Isabella May.  She's here to talk about her latest novel, Costa del Churros, which will be released one month from today.

Welcome, Isabella!  Please tell us more...

Muchas gracias for hosting me on your blog today to talk about my brand new novel with Crooked Cat Books! COSTA DEL CHURROS will launch on September 19^th and is another romantic comedy which fuses all things foodie, travel and spirituality. I’m keeping my fingers (and paws!) crossed that it’ll have as good a reception as its predecessors…

Why write about Spain?
My first two books, Oh! What a Pavlova and The Cocktail Bar, centred much of their activity around the quirky and mystical town of Glastonbury, UK.  But in actual fact I now live in Spain, and much as I relished the opportunity to write about the place where I spent my childhood through to late twenties, it was high time for a change of scene – as well as to prove to myself that I am not a One Trick Pony. Or should that be Cat?

Is Costa del Churros based on a fictional or real part of Spain?
Yes, Costa del Churros refers to the Costa del Sol, here in the gigantic province of Andalusia, where I live. I have travelled all over the country, but nowhere seems to make, eat or embrace churros (fried doughnut strips, often eaten dipped in a thick, velvety chocolate sauce and/or sprinkled liberally with sugar) with the aplomb of the people in this region. The churros play a central role throughout the book, used as a code word that brings four – very different – women together for flamenco lessons with their highly exuberant teacher, Carmen.

Here’s the blurb:

The rain in Spain doesn't mainly fall on the plain…

Brits abroad Belinda, Julia, Laura and Georgina need more than the sweetness of churros with chocolate dipping sauce to save them from their unsavoury states of affairs.

Cue Carmen Maria Abril de la Fuente Ferrera, the town's flamboyant flamenco teacher! But can she really be the answer to their prayers?

One thing's for sure: the Costa del Sol will never be the same again.

Are these four women based on people you know?
Not per se!
But Belinda, Julia, Laura and Georgina are definitely a beautiful fusion of some of the kaleidoscopically colourful characters I have met here over the past seven years. I wanted to paint a truthful picture of expat life in Spain (and quite possibly this will extend to other areas of The Mediterranean too). It’s all too easy to assume that a life in the sun is all soaking up its rays, sand, sea and sangria, but in actual fact, we take ourselves wherever we go! There’s absolutely no running away from your problems when you are home from home, be they romantic, financial, self-esteem based, or all of the above. Often, as soon as the novelty of the new lifestyle wears off, those issues are only exacerbated…
I thought it would make for an interesting (and comical) read to throw four women from four completely different backgrounds together, to add a little magic (a la Carmen) and to watch the fireworks – from a very safe distance.

Tell us a bit about Carmen Maria Abril de la Fuente Ferrera…
Well, she was a joy to write.
And I think all of us could do with a Carmen in our lives. Not only is she a talented flamenco teacher, but she has watched the way Franco’s repression of the female has gnawed away at her mother, and at the lives of countless women around her. So Carmen’s mission is one of empowerment. And she’s particularly passionate about encouraging women to have their cake and eat it. Truly, I’d love for nothing more than to click my fingers and magic her up every time I witness a female friend or family member declare in a café/restaurant/gelateria ‘Oh! I really shouldn’t indulge… I’ll start the diet again next week!’
For Carmen is the antidote to any and all of that prescribed female behaviour, an advocate for positive body image on beaches and sun-loungers the length of the coast. She’s a breath of fresh air injecting a much-needed confidence boost to all four of the main characters in the story.

If your tummy has started to rumble… here’s that all-important Universal Amazon buying link: http://mybook.to/costadelchurros

You can find out about Isabella May’s other books, and follow her quirky cake and cocktail posts at these places:

www.isabellamayauthor.com

Twitter - @IsabellaMayBks

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaMayAuthor/

Instagram - @isabella_may_author

Isabella May lives in (mostly) sunny Andalucia, Spain with her husband, daughter and son, creatively inspired by the sea and the mountains. Having grown up on Glastonbury’s ley lines however, she’s unable to completely shake off her spiritual inner child, and is a Law of Attraction fanatic.

Cake, cocktail, and travel obsessed, she also loves nothing more than to (quietly) break life’s ‘rules’.

Costa del Churros is her third novel.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HEATHCLIFF?

After hearing his love say him "Nay",

he runs, broken-hearted, away.

Three years later, he's back,

having made quite a stack.

What went on in between?  Who can say?

Have you ever wondered what might have happened to Heathcliff during the three years when he disappears from Wuthering Heights?

My new novel, Heathcliff, speculates how he might have spent his missing years and how he made his fortune.  It was released on 30 July 2018, to coincide with the bicentenary of the birth of Emily Brontë, and is already gaining some lovely reviews.  It's available in paperback and Kindle format, and you can order it by clicking here.