Love's New Beginnings

     Charlene Walker's life as a concert pianist is in shambles. First, her grandfather died, a mugging left her with a broken arm, her boyfriend manager ran off with her savings, and now, she's learned she's inherited an apple orchard business and a partner she doesn't want or trusts.

     The last thing Logan Taylor wants is a new partner, especially a woman. He doesn't trust easily. He believes, once her arm has healed, she'll leave him and the business just like his wife did after the birth of their son.

     Over time, Charlene learns everything isn't as it appears. Forced to work together, they come to an understanding, which grows into friendship. Is it possible that they both can obtain their goals and find love, too? And then, because of another accident, news she never wanted to hear forces her to make different decisions, sending her into a new beginning.

Wild Women Authors is pleased to welcome back author Diana Stout and concert pianist turned reluctant orchard owner Charlene Walker from Diana's recently released contemporary romance: Love's New Beginnings. Charlene is up first.

Where are you from? New York City, but for the next six months, I'm living in Willow Junction, Michigan.

Tell us a bit about Love's New Beginnings. I'm a concert pianist and had to cancel a tour because I'd been mugged, ending up with a concussion and a broken arm. While in the hospital, my grandfather who lives in Willow Junction, Michigan died. I wasn't able to attend his funeral, which saddened me. Because I was inheriting his estate, I flew to Willow Junction in a private plane—all arranged by my mentor, who is also my conductor and manager for the tour I was on—my first. As a result, I brought my two talking parrots. I never liked leaving them home alone when I traveled and having just come back from a long tour where I did have to leave them, I brought them to keep me company.

     In Willow Junction, I learn I have inherited all of Gramps' personal belongings, house, business and a partner. Gramps left the business to both of us and I have to stay in Willow Junction or I will lose everything. I need the money I can get from selling the house and the business, so I don't dare leave. Since I can't play with a broken arm, it isn't that much of a hardship to stay.

     What I didn't expect was the day-to-day close proximity to Logan and that he is fighting me on selling the business. We're being forced to work together.

What did you think the first time you saw Logan Taylor? I met him at the lawyer's office that first time. He had the bluest eyes I've ever seen and that he was as tall, strong, and sturdy as a Sequoia tree. At least, that was my first impression as I sat in the chair looking up at him. Even Paul Newman would have been jealous of his blue eyes. His deep voice surprised me, and when he was nearby, he smelled of chocolate covered cherries. One wickedly handsome package.

What was your second thought? That I had met him before, but at that first meeting, I couldn't remember from where. I will remember later.

Was it love at first sight? No. Not at all. We were adversaries from that first meeting. We both want different things for the business. It's been a struggle from the very beginning.

What do you like most about him? That he doesn't give up and that every layer of him is a surprise.

How would you describe him? At first, I thought he was cold and withdrawn. Now, I find him to be sensitive and caring.

How would he describe you? Stubborn, yet helpful. A pain in his ass probably. The last thing he expected to land on his business doorstep.

What made you choose becoming a concert pianist as a career? I loved music. I grew up with a piano. I love playing as often as I can. Practicing is play. I never tire of it. And then, when I met the Maestro who became my mentor, he said I was a natural. He was the one who enticed me to do the tours.

What is your biggest fear? That I'll never get to play again. The break in my arm was a nasty break. The doctors have warned me that I might never be able to play again, but I don't believe them.

How do you relax? Normally, it would be at the piano. Here in Willow Creek, I'm going through Gramps' house, cleaning out cupboards and closets, getting rid of the things I don't want. With only one good arm, everything takes me twice as long as I'd like. Plus, I've noticed that I tire easily. No doubt because of the accident and having come off a long tour.

Who is your favorite fictional character? Anna Karenina. I like her grit.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? That gifts come in strange packages and that we shouldn't question why we receive them. It's all about what we do with them. Gramps used to tell me that all the time the summer I stayed with him. He would have said my broken arm was a gift. It was also the summer when I first met Logan.

We thank you for taking time away from the orchard, Charlene. Now, we'd like to chat with Diana.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? Growing up, I read a lot of books and watched a lot of old movies. One of my favorites, a black and white movie, was The Uninvited, a Gothic-like ghost story, starring Ray Milland. I had read the book by Dorothy Macardle. My mother, seeing me reading it, told me about the movie. I love ghost stories like The Univited and time travel stories and movies, as well. Somewhere in Time is probably my all-time favorite time-travel movie, and it was filmed here in Michigan on Mackinac Island, which I enjoy visiting. It's famous for having no automobiles, only horse and buggies in the summer and snowmobiles in winter.

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? This novel is set in Willow Creek, a fictitious community in Calhoun County, Michigan. I was raised in Marshall, a nearby community setting for this novel, along with a couple of its restaurants—namely The Stagecoach Inn and Cornwell's Turkeyville. At forty, I moved to Florida, then South Georgia, but would return ten years later, first to Battle Creek, then Kalamazoo.

Once I retired, I returned to Marshall for a multitude of reasons and thoroughly enjoy being back home. For such a small community, it's a happening community with a historic downtown and the second largest historical district in the United States, with over 850 architectural buildings from the 19^th and 20^th century. Marshall's annual Historical Home Tour is mentioned in the book, along with a few other area events. Basically, I brought home into this novel.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? This book was first published by Avalon Books, with whom I had already published. Today, I'm an indie publisher. Having the rights back, I changed the book's title, the cover, updated the story, corrected all the errors that the publisher missed, and have republished it through my own company Sharpened Pencils Productions LLC.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? Another pile of genre books on my TBR pile are history novels, especially those about Great Britain's royalty, anything Arthurian, and that of the Medici family. Five books that I want to read are The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell, (both being favorite authors), The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick, The Queen's Conjurer by Benjamin Woolley, and My Just Desire by Anna Beer.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? Currently, I'm still writing and editing my Laurel Ridge novella series of seven romances. After publishing the first one, and while writing the third one, thinking the second was ready for publication, I discovered I was writing myself into a corner. Not good news for the remaining stories; so, I decided to write all seven first drafts before publishing the second one—which I hope will be this fall—to ensure I wasn't making plot, setting, or time line mistakes that readers would no doubt catch.

     After that I have several projects to choose from: a historical drama based on a mid-1800 event, a mystery, a horror, or a time-travel. All four projects are screaming me first, me, me, me!

FOLLOW DIANA AT:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/writerDianaStout

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScreenWryter13

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/drdianastout

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/user/show/43124185-diana-stout

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authordianastout/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/diana-stout

Diana brought an excerpt from Love's New Beginnings:

Out on the sidewalk, Logan waited for her.

Once she spotted him, he saw her hesitate. Charlene Walker, world-renown pianist, looked just like her publicity photos. Picture perfect. The forest green silk suit hugged her lush curves, the breeze ruffling the smooth material tight against those curves, the skirt hugging her thighs. Earlier, it'd been difficult keeping his gaze on Norton when he'd rather watch her skirt creep up her thigh. He was both relieved and crushed when she had jumped up, those legs no longer tantalizing him. Now a strand of brown hair had escaped the confines of the bun at the nape of her neck that was her signature hairdo. Every picture Charlie had ever shown him and those he saw on the covers of magazines, she always had that bun.

He wondered what her hair looked like down.

Coming out of the door and coming down the steps, she looked frail, her hand clasping the handrail in a death grip. For just an instant, he considered stepping forward and helping her.

Then he saw her lift her chin and straighten her spine, a purposeful look in her brown eyes.

He didn't want to care one hoot about this woman even if she was his partner. The first chance he had, he was buying her out. Yet, there was something about her that attracted him. He couldn't stop watching her. He felt like an over-stretched rubber band, the tension he felt inside so taut, he thought he'd snap.

With precision and grace unlike anything he'd seen before, she walked toward him, then stopped. She had to. He blocked the sidewalk.

He looked down at her. No bigger than a child, he thought, slight and obviously tired, but she looked ready to do battle. "We have to talk," he said.

"I agree," she replied. "I want to know your intentions, your plans, and what kind of influence you had over Gramps."

Logan squinted his eyes. Of all the raw, rotten—

"Right now isn't a good time. I've got to be out of the motel by noon, and it's—," Charlene glanced at her watch. "—nearly that already. The boys are going to chew me out for leaving them alone that long. Can you meet me at Gramps' house, say in two hours? It's the best I can offer."

"Fine. I've got some repairs to finish anyway." He knew he sounded waspish, but at this moment, he didn't care. He could be just as short but polite with her as she was with him.

"Good. I'll see you then." She started to move forward, but couldn't. "Excuse me."

Forced to step aside, he stared after her. Darn, if she wasn't great to look at as she walked away. He should be riled at the high-handed way she had accused him of manipulating Charlie. Fortunately, he'd had lots of practice thanks to Charlie—and Beth—on how to control his temper and how to bide his time. Charlene didn't know it yet, but she was just like the old man. Logan knew how to handle her. There was plenty of time to straighten things out. Straighten her out, too, if he had anything to say about it.

Hunting the Devil by Suanne Schafer

Wild Women Authors is thrilled to introduce author Suanne Schafer, Dr. Jessica Hemings, and Hunting the Devil, “. . .part global-thriller and part justice-seeking novel, [it] is the gut-wrenching story of an American physician caught up in one of the most grotesque moments in world history, the Rwandan genocide. . .” First up is Jessica.

Where are you from? Like Katherine Hepburn, I was born in Hartford, Connecticut, but my family moved to Gladwyn, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. Hepburn went to college at Bryn Mawr while I attended Swarthmore, a campus fourteen miles to the east. People tell me I sound like her, but I don’t hear it myself.

Tell us a bit about Hunting the Devil. My long-time live-in lover, Tom Powell, was unfaithful just before we were to get married. Devastated, I volunteered for a medical mission in Rwanda. Unfortunately, I am biracial, and my Tutsi-like features plunged me into the worst of Rwandan Genocide. I became trapped in the enmity between Hutus and Tutsis. Dr. Cyprien Gatera, my superior, took an instant dislike to me. I never knew if it was because I was female or because I looked Tutsi. A Hutu radical, he eventually commandeered my clinic, slaughtered my patients and murdered my two adopted sons, then forced me to treat his wounded.

     I escaped his clutches and survived three weeks in hiding before finding refuge at Benaco refugee camp in Tanzania. There, I fed on dreams of revenge. With the help of Michel Fournier, a French lawyer-turned-war-correspondent, and Dr. Tom Powell, my long-time ex-lover, I searched for that bastard, Gatera. When an unknown informant passed information to me about my nemesis, I returned to Rwanda—against my better judgment and despite warnings from the Belgian Secret Service that Gatera planned to assassinate me. In our final showdown, I had to decide if revenge was best served cold—or not at all.

What did you think the first time you saw Michel Fournier? He had a long, hooked nose and looked like he could be a Saracen riding across the desert. 

Excellent description. What was your second thought? I was too vulnerable from being betrayed by Tom, that I didn’t want to get involved.

So it wasn't love at first sight? Not at all.

What do you like most about him? He seemed to care about me in a kind way. I knew he was a reporter, but he never seemed to be reporting on me. I was attracted to him, not in a sexual sense, but as a comrade-in-arms. Though later, we had sex, not so much because we were attracted to each other, but we survived such horrible things in the genocide that we need to feel something that wasn’t war-related, something intimate. After that I wasn’t sure if I was in love with him or not, but it didn’t matter—he was married and had a baby on the way.

How would you describe him? Michel Fournier was an international war correspondent. Silver strands ran through his temples and the scruff on his face. He was tall, at least six-three, with a looseness of limb that was somehow elegant. Perhaps being French gave him the sartorial grace to pull off the slouch hat and lumpy safari-type vest filled with camera lenses and filters. His long narrow nose appeared to have been broken. He had such an exotic look, I immediately envisioned him in a burnoose, waving a scimitar, and riding a horse across the desert.

How would he describe you? We first met when I was working at the Benaco Refugee Camp. First, he’d have seen a petite woman examining a pregnant patient’s abdomen. He’d think I appeared competent and reassuring as I handled the mother-to-be. He’d also say I wasn’t just thin, but maigre, that under-nourished kind of skinny, with hollows beneath my cheekbones, no flesh to soften my collarbones, wrists of pure bone, all covered with too-big clothing topped wild uncontrollable curls and the most phenomenal eyes he’d ever seen, eyes the blue-green of the Mediterranean Sea in Cannes, his childhood home.

What made you choose medicine as a career? I read Albert Schweitzer’s Out of My Life and Thought when I was a teenager. I decided I wanted to be him when I grew up and be a doctor in service of humanity.

What is your biggest fear? Failing to fight injustice.

How do you relax? What’s relaxation? I’m a doctor with a horrible schedule, no time off. I’m also more than a bit obsessive-compulsive, so relaxation is rare. When I do have down-time I read medical journals and nonfiction on almost any subject. I also run.

Who is your favorite fictional character? Dr. Zhivago. I loved the book and loved the movie even more. Omar Sharif is yummy.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? To not go back to Rwanda. But I didn’t listen—and paid the price.

Jessica, thank you for spending time with us. We wish you all the best for the future. Now, we'd like to chat with Suanne.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? Camelot. I read T.H. White’s book The Once and Future King about a million times and have seen the movie at least fifteen times. I love the scope of pictures in the 1960s like David Lean’s Dr. Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia. Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zeffirelli. And, of course, Star Wars and the Jurassic Park series!

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? The mother of a Black son, I have a vested interested in racism and its long-term effects on people. I fulfilled a bucket list item by going on a three-week safari in Tanzania and took along my fifteen-year-old biracial son. He had some vague notion of connecting with his African roots. After the trip, he seemed to wrestle more with his dual identity. A self-confessed Oreo who’d never been in a place where Blacks were a majority, he struggled internally with his racial identity. I wrote about his discomfort in a personal essay that was published by Brain Child Magazine. Soon, I realized there was a book waiting to be written. I took his discomfort and amplified it. Thus the seed of Hunting the Devil was planted.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? I am so far behind on my ARCS and TBRs that I finally sat down and made a list of them by publication date. I’m trying to make a point to read a current one, a middle-aged one, and an ancient one every week. This week’s list: Master Class by Dalcher, The Crescent Stone by Mikalatos, The Half-Drowned King by Hartsuyker.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? I’ve just gotten the rights back to A Different Kind of Fire, my first novel, so I’m reading it with an eye to revising and putting out a second edition. I’m also revising Thunder, Rain and Ashes, my third novel, and will hopefully release it this fall. I’m also writing book #4, a southern Gothic novel about a teenager confined to an insane asylum in the 1890s.

To learn more about Suanne Schafer and the stories she creates go to:

https://suanneschaferauthor.com

https://www.facebook.com/SuanneSchaferAuthor

https://twitter.com/SuanneSchafer

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7703847.Suanne_Schafer

https://www.pinterest.com/suanneschaferauthor/

https://its-suanneschafer-author.tumblr.com/

https://www.instagram.com/suanneschafer/

We have an excerpt from Hunting the Devil:

Kirehe, Rwanda, April 11, 1994

Powered by a potent mixture of hatred and fear, Jess raced up one hill, down the next in the pitch-black night. She couldn’t stop. Branches sliced her arms and legs. Stones bruised her soles. With every gasp, a side stitch lanced through her right ribs.

Jess glanced back. With that distraction, her feet tangled. She stumbled down an embankment. Her feet fought for purchase on the water-slicked slope. Rocks rolled beneath her, their rumble audible above the rain. While sliding down the gully on her belly, she grabbed a tree trunk to break her fall. She pulled herself semi-up-right and clutched her aching sides. As she caught her breath, she glanced around. The thick brush surrounding her provided good cover. She could rest a moment.

After making so much racket, she held her breath and listened. No sounds of pursuit. She wasn’t sure when she’d last heard the baying of the dogs tracking her. May- be her pursuers had given up and returned to her clinic. For the moment, she was safe.

She let her racing heart slow. Only then did she realize her right hand was empty. She’d lost the photograph of her children during her plunge. Darkness masked the surrounding landscape. She’d never find it now. Her search would have to wait ’til first light. She closed her hand, now as empty as her heart.

Two years ago, when Dr. Jessica Hemings had volunteered for a medical mission, she never dreamed she’d be fleeing for her life among the mille collines, the thousand hills of Rwanda. Now, to survive, she had to get as far as possible from her clinic in Kirehe. The Interahamwe, the Rwandan paramilitary group, lay behind her. To the east, the Rusumo Falls Bridge that spanned the Kagera River led to Tanzania—and safety.

To purchase Suanne's books, go to:

https://amazon.com/Different-Kind-Fire-Novel/dp/1641368659/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZDK985K/

Hunting the Devil video trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF1rjKomAJU

A Different Kind of Fire video trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpuI1yCGpe0

New Banker In Town by Susan Payne

     Wild Women Authors welcomes back Susan Payne with New Banker in Town, the latest offering in her popular Welcome to Sweetwater series, released by the Wild Rose Press. Accompanying Susan is Colette Dubois, photographer.

Where are you from, Colette? A plantation outside of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Tell us a bit about New Banker in Town. I have recently found the lovely little town of Sweetwater, Kansas, where I set-up a photography studio.  I was searching for a prosperous town needing my services and I packed up everything in Chicago and went west.  I was settling in very well when I found the new banker everyone was expecting was, in fact, a man I thought lost to me.  I had been told he had died on a battlefield.   

What did you think the first time you saw Paul Weaver? Well, I was a girl when I first met him. His older brother, Phillip, and Paul rode over one day.  It was a young girl’s crush that grew to a young woman’s love.

What was your second thought? That he was perfect.  For me, that is.  But when it came to his brother, Paul couldn’t see the truth. Phillip joined the Confederates right away.  Paul thought the war could be prevented if men went to the negotiating table.  WhenPhillip was killed, Paul felt guilty and joined the same regiment.  I never saw him again.  Later, news came of Paul’s death and I fell apart. 

Did you feel it was love at first sight? Yes, for me.  I believe it was the same for Paul although he didn’t love me enough to keep from going to war.

What do you like most about him? He is very steadfast.  In his beliefs, in his loyalty, in his love.

How would you describe him? He is intelligent, diligent, trustworthy.  Those qualities saved him during the war.  Now they make him an excellent businessman.

How would he describe you? I’m sure head-strong would come in there somewhere.  Strong willed.  He had trouble believing in my loyalty, but he has come around to believing so now.

What made you choose photography as a career? I wanted to capture history.  I took photographs of what the south was when I left, as I left.  Later, I took photographs of Chicago first growing and then recovering from the Great Fire.  It was another sad time in my life.  One reason for me searching for a smaller town.

What is your biggest fear? That I won’t be able to complete my tasks.  The reason I came west with my cameras and equipment.  Everything is changing and I want to capture that.  Both the old and the new.

How do you relax? Drinking a little wine and paging through my photograph albums.  Remembering where I was at the time.  How things smelled or felt while I took them.

Who is your favorite fictional character? I prefer real life heroines.  Mary Todd Lincoln would be my choice although as a one-time southern slave owner it may seem strange. 

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? A voodoo priestess told me I was stronger than I realized and if I were to succeed to look no further than a mirror for help.

Thank you, Colette. We wish you many good wishes in your new life with Paul in Sweetwater. Now, we’d like to chat with Susan.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? I read books about Lincoln and began to get a feel for the people involved.  Common people as well as officers on both sides.  I often bring the War Between the States into my stories because it was a divisive point in history. Our Now hinges on what happened then.  It could have gone so many other ways, but that is another story.

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? I incorporate many things from my life into my writings.  I enjoy history and historical items so I add them in when I feel it is appropriate. In this story, it was the newer photography methods rather than the tintype used during the Civil War.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? The Wild Rose Press was suggested because they did both independent publishing as well as regular.  They have been wonderful to work with and sincerely want to help all their authors prosper.  A great group with lots of ideas to help a writer succeed.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile?  Letters and Lies by Colleen L. Donnelly through Wild Rose Press is newest on my list.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? I have an exciting 2020.  A Regency called The Persistent Marquess is out on July 15^th.  Forever Kind of Woman, a story of a woman dedicated to helping others through new medical procedures will be released this summer as well. To accomplish her plans, she moves to Forever, Texas to marry a man who has since fallen in love with another woman.  Also, around September, a Regency Christmas anthology will be released with three short stories.

To learn more about Susan and the books she creates, go to:

Website:   www.authorsusanpayne.com  

e-mail:     authorspayne@gmail.com

To purchase the Sweetwater series, go to:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Julie Howard's Sea-Salt Lavender for Aphrodite

A case of murder with sweet complications

     Rosella Rivers enjoys the perfect life, loving her new ice cream food truck business featuring exotic flavors. But her beach view parking space is not so lovable when she finds an acquaintance stabbed to death in the boardwalk bathroom.

     Detective Mark Pruitt knows murder is bad for small-town Olympus Bay. He must find the suspect before he strikes again. When he first sets eyes on Rosella, the only witness, he is smitten. However, there's no time for romance when danger lurks. 

     Together he and the lovely ice cream maker must discover the killer before he turns his sight on Rosella.

Excerpt:

     The echo of a drip-drip-drip resonated from within. Rosella glanced around, wishing a man would pass by, someone she could send inside on her behalf. On this side of the structure, though, the beachfront was hidden from view and the building backed by sand dunes. Unless someone needed to use the facilities, they wouldn’t approach. 


    “Mick?” 


     A distant chime from the town clock made her heart sink. Ten a.m. Opening time. She had to get back to her truck. A fresh round of anxious yips sounded. She 
scooted to the corner of the building and peeked toward 
her truck. Aphrodite stood at attention, straining at the 
leash. The dog barked twice at spotting her and renewed efforts to break free of the tether.

     She returned to the doorway. “Mick, I’m just going 
to step inside since I’m a little bit worried, just to make sure you’re okay. Let me know if I shouldn’t come in.” No response sounded. “All right, coming in.”

     The odor hit her first. Heavy, sweet, sickening. Then her eyes registered the scene. Mick lay face down in the middle of the tile floor, a steady stream of deep red blood winding its way toward a drain. 


A Bit About our Focus Author:

     Julie Howard is the author of the best-selling Wild Crime and Spirited Quest series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. Now she edits an online anthology, Potato Soup Journal, and spends many delightful hours writing her books.

Author Links:

Website: http://juliemhoward.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/juliemhowardauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18116047.Julie_Howard

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07D6CS4NQ

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/julie-howard?list=author_books

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_JulieMHoward

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xdqkl3

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/sea-salt-lavender-for-aphrodite/id1508636065?ls=1 

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sea-salt-lavender-for-aphrodite-julie-howard/1136868422?ean=2940162717829

There's Always Hope

     Hope St. Michaels knew she would never be anyone’s wife, anyone’s mother with her disfigured face so she dedicated herself to teaching the children of others.

     Coyote Wilder knew he would always be an outcast and shunned by many. He grew up fighting and thought his life would probably end in a gunfight.

     Fate brought these two unlikely people together and love swept them both away. Now would either of their prophesies prove true or would fate step in and offer another alternative?

Wild Women Authors is pleased to welcome back Susan Payne and Hope St. Michaels from There's Always Hope, a novella length historical romance released by the Wild Rose Press. First up is Hope.

Where are you from? New York, or there abouts. I was raised in the St. Michaels Foundling Home and my friends urged me to come to Sweetwater and take the position of teacher for the new school.

Tell us a bit about There’s Always Hope. I think the play of words, using my name, was done so others would know that no matter how difficult or fearful something is, there’s always hope. Something to believe in that is bigger than all of us. It’s like Faith and Charity, my two best friends. With those three things anything can be accomplished. Can be over-come. Like my birth-defect. The discoloration covers the right side of my face, yet I no longer think about it. I know it's there, but it doesn’t define me. Having faith and believing in other people’s charity put the mark into perspective.

What did you think the first time you saw Coyote Wilder? That he was dark and sinister and dangerous – but not to me. Only to law-breakers who thought they could prey on others without protection. Wilder became a bounty hunter to help local lawmen keep their towns safe. He’s now the deputy and I know we all feel protected with him around.

What was your second thought? That I liked this man very much although I never thought I would marry him. I was a teacher. There are rules about being married, but it wasn’t just that. I thought with my defect covering half my face, no man would ever want to marry me. Wilder showed me how beauty isn’t skin color or perfection. Beauty is deeper.

Was it love at first sight? No, he frightened me. He was following me around and I finally confronted him. Either he left me alone or I’d get Sheriff Mason to do something about him.

What do you like most about him? Wilder is the most sensitive man you’ll ever find. Something he tries to hide. Something that worked in his favor when hunting outlaws. He ‘reads’ people and it doesn’t take him long before he understands what everyone thinks and wants. Kind of like living with a mind-reader or fortune teller.

How would you describe him? Dark, dangerous, dependable. In a fight he’d be the man you want on your side. He is loyal and ethical. Perhaps that’s what makes him a good lawman for Sweetwater.

How would he describe you? He thinks I’m beautiful even though I tell him he’s prejudiced. He says he can’t believe his good fortune in finding me, in marrying a woman so out of his reach.

What made you choose teaching as a career? I love children and with my disfigurement, I didn’t think I’d ever have any of my own. The nuns were good teachers and I wanted to influence the next generation, as they had. Reading is so important and the world is changing. It’s going to require educated citizens so they can make the right decisions when it comes to voting and making laws.

What is your biggest fear? Of course, I worry about wars and such, but not as much now that I have Wilder. He’s been a consolation merely being nearby.

How do you relax? I read and knit. I like to cook when I have the time. When school isn’t in session. I love to visit with all my friends here in Sweetwater.

Who is your favorite fictional character? I really have too many to pick out just one. I once tried to count how many books I’ve read for entertainment and it was over two-hundred and still counting. I like, Emma, and a few characters from Pride and Prejudice.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Miss Lily, a very wise woman told me: 'A person’s value is not found on the outside. It’s not how they look or where they were born or raised. It’s what makes up their core. If that’s rotten, there isn’t any saving them.'

Hope brought along an excerpt for us:

     As soon as Jeremy was off the bottom step, Faith turned to Hope and asked frantically, “Where is he? That man. You’ve got to get him out of here before Jeremy gets back or he’ll shoot him - if I don’t.”

     Hope tried collecting her thoughts and protect Wilder at the same time. “Faith, I don’t know….”

     “None of that, Hope. You’ve had a man in here and you need to send him on his way - now!” said Faith keeping herself from looking behind the diaphanous curtains trying to find Wilder. She knew it had to be Wilder. Who else would compromise a sweet kind girl like Hope? Take advantage of her gratefulness for his saving her life. Faith whipped herself mentally for not remaining with Hope as she first intended. She knew deep down Hope was too vulnerable to be left on her own.

     “Faith, wait, you need to understand. I love him, really love him and I am so lucky he feels the same,” admitted Hope trying to make her friend understand.

     Faith gazed at Hope as if she were a kicked kitten. “Look, men say all kinds of things, darling. It’s in their nature to get what they want. But you don’t need to feel you owe him anything. He does what he does to make money and not for any other reason. We’ll all help you through this but he has to go.”

     “If he goes, I go. I won’t let my husband be sent away from me. I belong with him,” Hope said adamantly, not understanding how angry Faith was at Wilder.

     “Wait…your husband? You married that man?” asked Faith incredulously which was almost more insulting than anything else Faith had said

Hope, we thank you for taking time away from the students—and your new husband—Hope. We'd like to chat with Susan.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? All the old- time western movies. I enjoyed watching them as a youngster and continued watching them as they came out on TV: . Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Branded…they caught my attention. I feel at home there – in that time period.

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? I knew of a young girl with a wine-stain birthmark. Her mother dressed her in pretty clothes, ribbons in her hair, and tried to make her daughter appear ‘normal’. But I could see the girl was very self-conscious about the discolored skin. I often think of this girl and hope her life turned out for the best. That she found a man to love her, that her children appreciate who is, that she accepted that the mark did not define her. That people saw her, as well.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? The Wild Rose Press is fantastic to work with. They self-publish as well as contract with authors to publish them.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? Like most authors, I have a great reading list. Too many to list since I have a wide taste of genres. Historical, of course, but also biographies and auto-biographies, mystery, real-life stories.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? The last of the Sweetwater series was released May 6, 2020. The first story is New Banker In Town. An ex-civil war officer comes to Sweetwater and finds his lost love who he thought abandoned him for a rich land-owner. She is fighting her own battles left-over from the war but they do find love. The second story in the book is Happy Endings. As the titles suggests, I tie up loose ends into, what else, but Happy Endings. New loves are found, some old loves reconnected, and the citizens of Sweetwater come together for a bright future.

But there are more in the wings? Yes, a couple of Regency novels. The Persistent Marquess is under contract and A Regency Christmas by the end of the year. Also, a western historical of a female doctor in Texas, Forever Kind of Women.

My books can be found on:

Amazon Book

Nook

To learn more about Susan Payne and the stories she creates, go to:

Website: http://authorsusanpayne.com

e-mail: authorspayne@gmail.com I’d love to hear from my readers or simply people wanting to ‘chat’.

Tomorrow's Wish for Love

An auto accident destroyed Marion's lifelong dream. Now, John Dalton wants to change her neighborhood. Even though they're on opposing sides, the attraction is strong, and then she discovers the one thing he wants, she can never give him.

Wild Women Authors is chatting with Marion Winter, a local business woman who is also the female protagonist of Tomorrow’s Wish for Love.

Where are you from? A small community of Briar, Georgia, about 30 miles north of Tallahassee.

What did you think the first time you saw John Dalton? That he was good looking. And very fit.

What was your second thought? How could someone that good looking be so untidy with his living quarters.

Did you feel it was love at first sight? Not really. Though there was something about him that was attractive.

What do you like most about him? That he likes kids. That he enjoys working with them.

How would you describe him? Determined. Strong in his own sense of self.

How would he describe you? Probably stubborn. Because I'm fighting the location of his proposed baseball field for town's kids. I'm protecting my father whose house is next door.

What made you choose Maid Marion, a cleaning service, as a career? It wasn't that I chose it but rather it chose me. I couldn't go back to teaching because of the emotional pain after my accident. After moving back home, I needed something to do outside of the house. Something to earn an income. Cleaning houses doesn't require thinking. It's busy work and that's what I needed.

What is your biggest fear? That I'll never be loved for who I am, as I am because I'm damaged goods.

How do you relax? Honestly, I'm not sure I do. I'm always busy doing something.

Who is your favorite fictional character? Alice of Alice in Wonderland. With my accident, I feel like I went down a rabbit hole and that I'll never find my way out.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Keep your head down and keep walking. I always saw it as don't get bogged down with a problem. Move ahead, leave it behind, and change the scenery. That has me thinking... I've allowed myself to get bogged down with the baseball field problem. As a way to ignore or leave behind my other problem? The problem I don't really want to deal with? I changed the scenery but the problem came with me because the problem is me.

Now, a few questions for Author Diana Stout:

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? Growing up, I read a lot of book and then in tenth grade I started reading big books: Gone With the Wind, Hawaii, and Forever Amber are a few that I remember. I loved the descriptions of settings, feeling I was walking beside the characters. Then later, Kathleen Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rogers were the first big romance writers that had me reading everything they wrote. They wrote big books, too. I love learning about history and geography through their stories.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? This book was first published by Avalon Books, a publisher a critique partner friend of mine was writing for. She encouraged me to submit. Today, I'm an indie publisher. Having the rights back, I changed the book's title and the cover, updated the story, corrected all the errors that the publisher had failed to do, and have republished it through my own company Sharpened Pencils Productions LLC.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? Because my pile is so large, here are just three of many romances I want to read: The Rogue by Katharine Ashe, The Secret Ingredient for a Happy Marriage by Shirley Jump, and the Brides on the Run series by Jami Albright.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? Much hasn't changed since my last interview from April. I'm still working on the Laurel Ridge novella series of seven romance stories. After that project is finished, I'd like to continue work on a historical drama that's based on a true event from the mid-1800s. I did the research years ago where I gathered original census records, court records, transcripts, newspaper clippings, and more. Additionally, I'm working on a non-fiction reference book for writers.

FOLLOW DIANA AT:

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/writerDianaStout

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScreenWryter13

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/drdianastout

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/user/show/43124185-diana-stout

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authordianastout/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/diana-stout

EXCERPT:

Surprised, Marion looked up. Shock ran through her, her skin turned cold with fear, and the air left her lungs. The wall she had run into was a man. About six-three to her five-six. A strand of dark hair lay curled on his forehead. Equally dark brows hooded eyes the color of milk chocolate, and his gaze bore into her. His impressive wide shoulders make the narrow three-foot wide hall even smaller.

"Who in blue blazes are you?" he asked. His voice rumbled loudly against the hall walls.

"Maid Marion," she said.

"Yeah, right. And I'm Robin Hood."

"No, really, I'm Maid Marion," she repeated. "Marion Winter actually." She saw nothing but puzzlement in his eyes. "Maid Marion is the name of my business. John Dalton?" He nodded. "You hired me to clean your house."

"I did no such thing. How did you get in here?"

"You left your keys with my father."

"I've never met your father."

"Yes, you did, Mr. Dalton. Two nights ago."

"And I'm telling you, I didn't."

Marion bit her lip. Nothing made sense. Remembering the contract, she moved forward, intending to go to the small table near the entrance, but he blocked her way.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the contract you signed."

For a long moment he studied her. Without a word, he turned sideways. Marion swung the basket in front of her in an attempt to bring the bulky item in line with her body and in the process, her knuckles rubbed against the front of his powder blue chambray shirt. She felt his stomach muscles contract and heard his short inhalation of air. Heat shot from her knuckles to her whole hand and up her arm.

She darted a quick look at him. He still stared at her, the furrow between his brows deeper than before. She pressed forward determined to get past him without further incident.

Reaching the small oak table near the door, she set the basket on the floor and reached for the canvas bag that acted as her traveling office wherever she went. In it, she carried the records of her clients and other pertinent information she needed from day-to-day. Quickly, she found what she was looking for and extracted two sheets of stapled paper.

She believed in brevity and organization, and her contracts reflected her philosophy. Turning, she found John standing behind her. She held out the papers and he took them.

She watched as he scanned through the material, turning to the second page. His gaze dropped to the bottom of the page to the signature line. His mouth a straight line, he glanced at her, then spun around.

In half a dozen steps, he was at the drafting table. She followed. He reached for a pen and scribbled something at the bottom of the page, dropped the pen, straightened, and turned back to her.

With the papers back in her possession she looked at what he had written. His name was scribbled, almost unreadable, below the first signature.

"They're not the same," she said.

Jeremy's Home

Wild Women Authors welcomes back Susan Payne and  Book 3 in her Sweetwater Series, Jeremy's Home. With her is the title character, Jeremy, third in line of the four Macgregor men. He'll go first.

Where were you born? On the Macgregor Ranch just outside of Sweetwater, Kansas.

Tell us a bit about the book: I have three brothers and we all took time working the ranch before we went off to college. My oldest brother, Mac, kept the ranch going while the rest of us got to do what we wanted. I’m back now to repay him and the town for all they did for me.

What did you think the first time you saw Faith St. Michaels? Hm-m-m, that’s a hard one. I had just broken off an engagement so wasn’t expecting to want another relationship so soon. But Faith was different. I knew right away we were going to be more to one another than friends.

What was your second thought? That I had finally found the woman to be my wife.

Did you feel it was love at first sight? Love? Not sure about that but I was certainly proprietary. Nearly punched out my youngest brother more than once, thinking he’d been taking liberties.

What do you like most about Faith? I think her innocence. Even after being physically attacked, she was more worried about getting her friend, Charity, settled. She helped my brother, Jessie, set up his newspaper while going through some pretty rough things. She always puts others before herself.

How would you describe her? Pretty as a peach – which is my favorite color on her. But she truly is beautiful – inside and out. I can’t tell you enough times how sweet and giving she is after surviving a difficult life.

How would she describe you? Too full of myself…but that didn’t stop her from helping me with my building designs for the school. For believing in my dreams.

What made you choose architecture for a career? I didn’t know until I got into university and was drawn to buildings. They were calling them skyscrapers like the ship’s masts and were said to be the future of cities. I wanted to be part of that bigness. I wasn’t sure how, but I wanted to build something from nothing. Build structures that would mean something to a lot of people. Not monuments, but buildings people lived in or worked in. Buildings to last hundreds of years.

What is your biggest fear? After my marriage, it has to be something happening to Faith. To our children when they come. There are so many dangers out there that I never considered before. Now, I see danger everywhere. Faith says I need to trust, to believe in a higher power. I trust her so I guess I should trust in what she says, too.

How do you relax? I draw buildings. I know that sounds like what I do for work, but putting lines down on paper also relaxes me. Most will never get built, but I enjoy figuring out the how and use of a structure. Faith and I do them together sometimes, our second favorite past time, you could say.

Who is your favorite fictional character? Captain Nemo, for sure. His mind went all over the place. I mean, underwater ship? What I would give to build something like that.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Trust in yourself. If you don’t trust yourself then you’re never going to trust in anyone. Faith, she taught me trust.

Jeremy, thanks for taking time away from drawing buildings to speak with us. Now we'd like to chat with Susan.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? I love to read and began reading early. I would study in depth certain things or people. I read for weeks about President Lincoln and did the same with Napoleon. Then studied Josephine Bonaparte and Mary Todd. I love reading old diaries and journals of everyday people, especially women who often kept them from childhood.

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? Sexual abuse has always been part of a woman’s life, something she was warned about even if not intentionally. This story handled Faith’s attack as I wished all such attacks would be handled. Without blame to the one attacked. Without blame to the possible infant conceived from that attack. With love and understanding by the people around the victim.

Tell us a bit about your publisher. The Wild Rose Press has been wonderful to work with. Can’t give them higher praise for the ease I have been able to get my books published. This is the third book in the Sweetwater series. The fourth, and last, book is being worked on and was released on May 6, 2020.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? It keeps growing, I’m afraid. My friends are very prolific writers and simply trying to keep up with them is difficult. Gina Conkle, Rosanne Bitner, Maris Soule, Lucy Kubash, and so many others.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? I have the final two stories of Sweetwater – New Banker In Town and Happy Endings. The first brings a southern civil war veteran into town who finds the woman he thought would wait for him but didn’t. He isn’t sure if the heat he feels for her is due to anger for abandoning him or passion because he still loves her. The Happy Endings is tying-up relationships of people we’ve met along the way. New babies, new buildings, new people. All finding their way to Sweetwater and the citizens who make it what it is.

We hear there may be more novels being offered by you and Wild Rose Press? Yes, the Sweetwater series is written in a style used by many of the writers of other genres. These next novels are a little different. The first is a Regency, The Persistent Marquess. A western historical, Forever Kind of Woman, about a female doctor in the Texas town of Forever. And possibly a Regency Christmas story by the end of this year.

We are pleased to include an excerpt from Jeremy's Home:

     Jeremy was drawing out some rough plans on one of the brown papered packages.

     Faith was watching his long fingers quickly make sense of the lines and then offered a suggestion. “If you make the building a couple of steps higher, wouldn’t there be enough room in the basement to have a civic center, you know for town meetings and voting and such. It could have half windows at ground level which would appear at normal level from the room side.”

     Jeremy, his tongue touching his lower lip, drew in the higher stairs saying, “That would cover two birds with one stone, saving money and giving the town something, it needs. There will need to be a beam and supports but otherwise a fairly open space.”

     “And then divide the upper room in half this way, placing two doors side by side but with enough space between them,” Faith suggested taking the pencil from his hand drawing what she was thinking of for the entrance to the building at the top of the steps.

     “And we can either put in the central dividing wall or leave it until it’s needed,” Jeremy finished for her.

     “But you need to plan on that. A central chimney will work for both the rear living quarters and the stove to heat the schoolroom. I think a second should go on this side, too, so that when its divided, there will be a heat source on both sides.” She added the little square to reflect the chimney.

     “The basement can be heated by a larger stove sharing this chimney.” And more lines were added to the brown paper.

     “Oh, and there could be either a cellar door or a trap door of some sort so the fire wood or coal can be stored in the back area under the house portion of the building. The rear of the building could be set up with a garden and all the privies going on this side, closer to the front doors of both upstairs rooms. You’ll need a cloak room that can be used for the students during the day and activities in the civic room in the evening with a set of stairs going down to the lower room.” Again, she added the lines as she spoke.

     “I think we have a good plan, Faith. I might hire you for advice when I get stuck,” Jeremy said with admiration.

To find more of Susan Payne's books, go to:

Amazon Books

Nook

To learn more about Susan and the stories she creates, go to:

Website: http://authorsusanpayne.com

e-mail – authorspayne@gmail.com