Susette Williams Never Meets a Stranger

Welcome Miners. You most likely don't recognize my name as I'm new to the Diamond Mine and this is my first official post. I'm thrilled to join the team and introduce you to some great reads.

So, without, further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Susette Williams.

As a fellow hopeless romantic, I have to ask how you met your husband?

My husband and I actually met in a donut shop and actually went on to start our own. We were only twenty years old! I can’t imagine many twenty year olds doing the things we did at that age.

My husband likes to tell people about when he first asked me out. He said, “If I wasn’t so shy, I’d ask you out.” My response, “Huh?” Yep, I didn’t hear exactly what he said so he had to repeat himself. We still laugh about that to this day.

With six children to care for, how do you find time to write?

If anyone tells you it gets easier when your children get older—they’re lying! I started writing when our twins were ten months old—they turned nineteen this year and it has not gotten any easier trying to find time (or peace and quiet) to write. Stress is probably a bigger inhibitor of writing, and we’ve been under a lot of stress. (Two family members in the house in walking boots, one recovering from a broken bone, the other still recovering from surgery he had in January; and my second grandchild is due shortly. There’s more stress than this, but you get the picture, it all adds up and can be mentally taxing!)


[Side note, Susette and her family could use prayers while they've got so much happening right now]

In the beginning of your Mail Order Brides collection, you mention you and your husband ran a bakery in House Springs, MO (the setting for the books) for more than eighteen years. As a fan of sweets, I have to ask, have you shared recipes in any of your books? 

The recipes I have shared in my Amish books were not from the bakery, except for maybe the crumb topping I use for apple pies. We have experienced some odd things over the years in the bakery. We had a person come through the drive thru on a horse, a plane land on the highway and taxi into our parking lot (they came in and got a cup of coffee), and we had a car drive into the building (nobody got hurt thankfully).

You’ve written several different genres—historical, Amish, cozy mysteries, contemporary, and children. In addition to writing, what is your research process? And do have a preference or favorite genre?

I have a wide interest, which is evident by the various genres I write… and have yet to write, but will get around to one day! Some of the things my children went through, did, or said, inspired story ideas for children’s books.

Historical was actually a genre I thought I would never write, but researching information about the city I grew up in (St. Louis) and hearing the locals talking about the area I moved to after marriage, intrigued me.

I struggle with the fact that I want to write so many different things, but unfortunately, I can’t write it all fast enough!

Your mother, husband, and children say you’ve never met a stranger. What’s one of the more unique initial meetings you’ve had? I won’t even ask which book it ended up in. 

My husband and I went out to eat yesterday and he said the server needed a good tip because we didn’t know his life story. He then told me I was going to eventually give up writing and become an interrogator if I kept getting detailed information about people’s lives.

I can’t think of anything specific that is unique. Although, my husband had a wrong number phone call from someone whose house was on fire. He got them away from their home on the phone and drove to find their house to make sure they were safe. The police and fireman weren’t too sure about how or why he ended up there. Sometimes God puts us in situations to be there or to pray for a person. I had a wrong number this past week in which I was able to pray for a situation the person and their loved one was going through. I’m trying to be better at asking God to show me what I am supposed to do or learn in different situations. Sometimes it is harder to focus on others when we are going through storms in our own life, but often that is when God has something for us to learn or do, which may just be being available to meet someone else’s needs. When you’re giving and doing, the weight of your own burdens is lifted it seems.

I enjoy books that make me smile at parts because my dad has a healthy sense of humor. There were several scenes in your Mail Order Brides collection that made me laugh. My favorite was how Caleb obtained his bride. I’m sure there is a lot of laughter in your home, but have you used some of those experiences in your books?

My sense of humor has come back to bite me, because my children can be just as ornery. I love making people laugh, even if it is at me. I told hubby,  my next profession will be a stand-up comedian. LOL

Since you didn’t mention Maid for Murder, I’ll assume you haven’t read that book yet. That was probably the most fun book I have written because I got to let loose on my humor. I read a book one day that I loved, but it had a couple questionable scenes, that I threw the book away and couldn’t recommend it to anybody. I told myself that one day I wanted to write a book that would have readers feeling so embarrassed for the character that they would have a hard time reading. Bailey was my attempt, and to be honest, I still didn’t make it as zany as I had hoped.

Is there one of your characters you relate to more than the others? One that has some of your characteristics or likes and dislikes?

Bailey [from Maid to Murder: Deadly Business]! I used to be bad with the sarcastic comments and one-line zingers. I’ve actually mellowed over the years. While I do have plans to write some more serious books, I think you will usually see a hint of humor somewhere. In one book I still have to finish, the humor comes from a secondary character. While things in life may be serious or solemn at times, not ‘all’ the people around you are in the same mindset, so I don’t think it should be that way in books either. Humor has helped us to get through some really rough times in life.

Thank you for spending time with us today, Susette. I enjoyed reading your Mail Order Brides collection and look forward to delving into some of your other books. It's been a pleasure getting to know you.

Author Bio: 

Susette Williams is the mother of six, and has been married to her husband for 32 years in September. She loves writing various genres; anything from romance, mystery, and suspense to name a few. She usually can't resist the urge to let her ornery sense of humor shine through in one of her characters and has always believed that laughter helps you deal with the obstacles life puts in your way.

Connect with Susette:

www.susettewilliams.com

AuthorSusette Williams

@SusetteWilliams

AmazonAuthor Page

Don't miss out on the Kindle Countdown Deal (Aug 26-27) and get the Mail Order Brides Collection for only $0.99. Four brides for four brothers in four novellettes. 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UPVHTSA

Here's a peek at the first story in the collection:

Jessie’s Bride ~ Book 1 

Jessie Kincaid doesn’t plan to follow in his three older brothers’ footsteps, which seems to include being bachelors. There might be twice as many men as women in their town, but there are still other ways to go about finding, or competing, for a wife. 

Jessie begins writing Sarah Engle in hopes that she will become his mail order bride. Even though there are miles between them, he feels connected to her. He sends her money, along with a stage coach ticket, to come see him so that they can be married. 

Not everyone is happy with their decision to wed. When the preacher said, till death do you part, did he mean literally? Or can a mail order bride and her groom truly have a happily ever after ending? 

Living the Dream: Brooke Williams on the Diamond Mine with Giveaway!

Hey everyone, guess who’s on the Diamond Mine? None other than Brooke Williams! We’re talking about her new release, Mamarazzi and writing and…well, read on…

She’s awesome and so is her new book. Brooke’s even decided to give away a copy of EITHER Mamarazzi or Accept this Dandelion to one lucky winner. Enter the drawing at the end of the interview!

Mamarazzi

R: Hi, Brooke, I’m glad you’re here. I’m so excited about your new book. I hear it’s terrific. Tell us about it…please!

B: Mamarazzi is a light-hearted romance that deals with one of life’s big questions…is the grass really greener on the other side? In the novel, the female lead is a paparazzo and she’s really good at what she does. She stumbles into a small part on a TV show and ends up on the OTHER side of the camera lens. Add to this that no one knows what she used to do for a living and she’s got a boatload of secrets to cover as well.

R: Whoa. That sounds like quite the story. I can’t wait to read it. With a title like Mamarazzi, it makes one think Italian. As a writer, I have to wonder…how do you pick your character names, especially for a book such as this?

B: I have to admit, I loathe choosing character names. I’m just really bad at it! For a while, I chose names I liked. Then I started grabbing random names from people I went to school with and knew growing up. Once I reached Mamarazzi, I was out! I wanted the names to really fit the characters so I had a name game through Facebook and my website. I outlined what the characters would be like and let friends, followers, and fans name them FOR me. I compiled a list of names for each character, narrowed it down to two or three per character, and then had everyone vote. And THAT’S how the names in Mamarazzi were settled! I especially like Vesper, the main character’s seedy cousin, who is really named Veronica Roy, but changed it to Vesper for Hollywood purposes.

R: What a great idea! I may borrow that one if you don’t mind. Sometimes I’m at a complete loss with character names. I have a book of names but it doesn’t always help. In addition to things such as this, do you have any other advice for a new writer?

B: Yes, I do. Write because you love to write and for no other reason. Never force it. You can always tell when something isn’t coming out right. And if writing is what you want to do, never give up. It is extremely hard to find an agent, the right publisher, or an audience. But if you stop looking, you’ll NEVER find him/it/them, right? Believe in what you do. Not everyone will love every word you lay out there, but if you love it, others will too. You just have to find them! It may feel like a needle in a haystack at times, but I guarantee you’ll never run across the needle if you stop looking. Write, write, write and love it, and you’ve already won!

R: You know, Brooke, I think that’s good advice for the “veteran” writer as well. Or even those authors who are on their way and still figuring out the ropes…so to speak. By the way, how long have you been writing and why did you start?

B: Oh, just since birth. Haha. Okay, I’m not THAT talented! But practically! When I was a kid, I used to cut pictures out of the newspaper (much to my dad’s chagrin when he hadn’t read it yet) paste the pictures onto blank paper, and then write a story about the picture. I’d then sell my “magazines” to my parents for a nickel. I should have known then what I was meant to do. I didn’t try my hand at novel writing until about a year after I graduated college. I was working in radio full time, but I was so compelled by a scene that formed and stuck in my mind that I couldn’t NOT write it. Once I had that scene out, I felt I owed it to the characters to see what happened. So I wrote Someone Always Loved You.

Someone Always Loved You

I searched for an agent and publisher for months without any luck and became highly discouraged. I didn’t write anything other than radio scripts for a full decade. And I’m sad by all the time I lost. Eventually, I put that book out on my own for fun, and it’s been a bestseller in its category on a number of occasions. I got back into writing two years after my oldest daughter was born. I was still in radio, though on a VERY part time basis. I wanted to leave radio and do something from home and writing seemed the natural fit. I started gathering writing jobs and clients and creating a freelance writing business at home. This only fueled my love of writing, and I segued back into novel writing again.

R: What an amazing story. You are a true testament to God’s provision if I’ve ever seen one. As well as a woman of grit and determination to put out your first book, Someone Always Loved You, on your own. Speaking of that, you chose that title. If you do that usually, how do your pick your titles?

Accept this Dandelion

B: That part is usually very easy for me. I generally have an idea for the title before I begin writing the book. Once I have a basic book idea, the title seems obvious. The Mamarazzi idea actually goes back to my college days or possibly even beyond. I was supposed to write a snippet of an original screenplay for a class and I called it Paparazzi. It was about a male paparazzo who stumbles onto a TV set, ends up on the show, and then the paparazzi are taking HIS picture. It was a small portion of a script, but it was an idea I’d always had in the back of my head. Once I went into more romantic comedy type writing, I decided to flush that idea out, make the main character a woman, and call it MAmarazzi instead. The title came naturally.

For my last romantic comedy release, Accept this Dandelion, the title was also easy. Have you ever seen the TV show The Bachelor? In that show, they have rose ceremonies and the man will say, “so and so, will you accept this rose?” It means that he wants the woman to continue to date him and if she accepts the rose, it signifies that she agrees to move on. The book was going to be a similar dating show, only on a local level and in a comedic fashion. So Accept this Dandelion seemed like a natural title! My first novel, Someone Always Loved You, was much more of a struggle. I had NO idea what to call it. My mom helped my come up with a fitting title and I love it now. But it took a while to get there! I much prefer having the title in mind when I start.

R: I know you write romantic comedy and I love your books. I couldn’t put Accept this Dandelion down! It makes it hard for me to imagine writing them could be a struggle, but alas, I know as a writer that’s not true. We all have issues which make writing difficult either with the process or at home. What did you struggle with the most to get Mamarazzi on the page?

B: I was super eager to write Mamarazzi. I don’t usually start a book until I have a basic premise and the very first line or scene formed in my mind. The line for Mamarazzi came to me, and I was itching to write it. But the holidays were upon me. It wasn’t good timing to just sit down and flush it out. To stall, I held the character naming contests and let the ideas stew. That was in November. I spend December preparing clients and flushing out blocks of time so I could write it in January. So waiting to write it was the first and biggest struggle. Second, I wrote a scene in the book that definitely looked like it meant one particular thing. I didn’t know what it actually meant, but I didn't want it to be what was assumed. I had to sit on that a while, and I remember when we were taking our Christmas tree down late in January (finally, I know!) the resolution just came to me. It’s a big tree and my husband was at the top of the stairs trying to take it apart and I’m at the bottom going, oh my gosh, I have it! I know what to do! HE’s like what, what?! Then he realized I meant the book, not the big heavy tree…  For the most part, when I’m writing I just write. I don't think too much about it. I let the characters have free reign!

R: I can see it. Especially his face. Did you have a camera? Those are the moments you really need to keep in a book. LOL Or he does!

Sorry, back to the interview…Okay, where was I? If you weren’t a writer, what do you think you’d be?

B: Being a writer is my dream job. I had NO idea doing this was even a slight possibility or I would have given it a shot a LOOOONG time ago. But if I couldn’t write, I’d love to be an audio book reader. You know, the voice that reads the book to you? Actually, once my daughters are in school and I have more time to work, I’d like to go into that as well. Or I’d like to be in Radio Theater. There are a few radio shows (especially those for kids) that still exist. They’re like TV shows, only it’s audio and not visual. I would love to use my radio skills and either voice characters or produce. I loved the creative aspects of producing when I was in the biz.

R: If you have the voice for it, do it! I sound like a bullfrog. Actually I have no clue what I sound like on the radio. I’ve never been on it before except maybe as a child when we lived in West Monroe, LA. I don’t remember those days though. It’d be cool to try it though!

I picture you working with a radio blaring next to you. Is that how it is? What’s your writing spot look like?

B: Oh, it’s all glamour and spice. Okay, so it’s a tiny desk in the middle of the kitchen. There are piles of random scrap paper on one side of the desk, which is weird because I write really small and can use one scrap of paper for like a year, no joke. Behind the computer screen is the Netflix DVD for the week and any outgoing mail there might be. Above the desk are cubbies jammed with important papers we never get out, stamps, and other odds and ends. Banking stuff, bills, and various whatnot. There’s just enough room on the desk for the keyboard and sometimes I stuff a drink nearby.

The Classic Writer's Workspace

R: I think all writers cram as much as they can into the smallest space possible. I have an office and choose to work out of my chair. Most of my junk stays on my little table next to me. Why? I haven’t figured that out yet…

Thanks for the interview, Brooke. You’re the best!

ENTER GIVEAWAY NOW!

YOUR CHOICE OF MAMARAZZI OR ACCEPT THIS DANDELION...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One e-book of Mamarazzi (upon release) or Accept this Dandelion will be awarded to one winner via random draw (via Rafflecopter widget).

Featured Book (Giveaway), “Mamarazzi”: Release Date: September 11, 2015

Danica Bennett isn't sure what she hates more...her job or the fact that she's good at it.  As one of the many Hollywood paparazzi, she lives her life incognito and sneaks around trying to get the best shot of the latest star.  When she is mistaken for an extra on a new, up and coming TV show, her own star rises and she becomes the one in the photographs.  Add that to the fact that she's falling for her co-star, Eliot Lane, and Danica is in a whole heap of trouble.

About the 2nd prize, “Accept this Dandelion”:

Renee Lockhart has her eye on a lofty goal…to fill the open position of morning radio show host at the station where she works. When her co-workers sign her up for a local TV version of The Bachelor, Renee goes along with it in order to raise her profile. 
Upon seeing her bumbling audition, Ben McConnell, one of the most eligible bachelors in town, insists that Renee be placed on the show. But Ben gets much more than he expected in Renee… he gets a girl who can’t seem to do anything right…and a girl he can’t seem to resist.

About the Author, Brooke Williams:

Brooke Williams is a sleep-deprived mother of two young girls who finds the best way to laugh is to create fictional characters and put them in strange situations. Brooke has a background in radio, but now spends her one free hour a day writing on a freelance basis for clients all over the world. Her previous novels include “Someone Always Loved You,” a family drama as well as the romantic comedies “Wrong Place, Right Time,” and “Accept this Dandelion.” Brooke and her husband Sean married in 2002 and have two daughters, Kaelyn and Sadie.

Website Link: http://www.authorbrookewilliams.com/

Blog Link: http://www.authorbrookewilliams.com/blog

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/authorbrookewilliams

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/151184.Brooke_Williams   

Cheryl's Farm Fresh Wisdom~Knee Deep in Hay!

Hope you wore yer long-sleeved shirts! We're marching out to the back-forty hay field. Cheryl's out there with a touch a humor and a load of fresh straw. Go fetch yer Bible too, cause she's bringing home another of God's truths! In case haven't met her yet, here's Cheryl!

     Here at our farm, we depend on a huge stockpile of straw and hay from summer to sustain all of our many animals during the winter months. We normally cut hay three to four times throughout the spring and summer. However, after an unusually wet and cool spring, our hay fields were ready for harvest. Over-ready would be a more appropriate description really. The hay had just grown and grown, higher and thicker.

     In order to harvest our hay crop, we use a haybine that cuts the hay off at the ground level and then rolls it through a set of rollers that also crimp the stems so the moisture can escape more quickly.  Then it must lay on the ground for one to two days to dry.  After it is dry, then we use a tractor and rake to combine two rows into one large windrow. Then we bale the hay into very large sixty-six inch bales. Each bale weighs around twelve hundred pounds.

     This is a very tedious process which is all dependent upon the weather.  The equipment we use is precise, and the baler is attached to a computer.  For this reason my husband, Darrel, and I are the only ones to operate this equipment. We both have been raised driving tractors and are accustomed to the uneven fields that may result from such a wet spring. With all this unusual rainfall, the local farmers have been forced to delay the wheat harvest as well.  Darrel was cutting hay and the farmers were cutting wheat.  Everything was ripe for harvest all at once.

Luke 10:2 "He told them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the worker are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" (NIV)

     With all of the crops ready at once, the Lord gave me this scripture. He showed me that so many people are willing and ready to follow Him, but the leaders (workers) are few. We must step up and be the example of Christ to this crazy and lost world.

     Since Darrel was cutting the hay and the farmers were harvesting the wheat all at the same time, then it became my job to bale the straw.  We bale the wheat straw right behind the farmer’s combines.  It was nothing but, go, go, go!

     For many who do  not know me, I am quite short.  I will not mention that I am pretty stocky as well.  Okay, I am sort-of sort and plump!  Anyway, at barely 5’2” tall, it is a stretch for me to operate our baling tractor.  Our tractors are older and designed for taller men, not short-legged women.

To bale the straw or hay, the machine is pulled over the windrow with a tractor.  Each bale is accumulated until it reaches the proper size. Then the operator must depress the tractor’s clutch while the baler wraps the bale with net wrap.  Next, the operator must eject the bale out of the baler.  This is where I have to twist to my right and look backwards in the seat while holding the clutch in with my left foot.  I have to watch that the bale is ejected properly then pull another lever to close the baler and start this process all over again.This is a very difficult position to hold for someone so short.  So as I am baling, praying, and stretching, Prov. 4:27 pops into my head.

“Do not turn from the right or the left:  Keep your foot from evil.” (NIV)

I was barely keeping my foot on the clutch, how, I wondered, could I possibly step on evil? Obviously God has a sense of humor while trying to teach me to follow directly behind Him, step for step. Okay. Lesson learned!

     This baling process goes on and on all day long.  Did I mention that our Indiana weather had turned off hot? And I mean it was hot!  We had three days of 105 degree heat index. I can usually bale ninety to one hundred round bales of straw a day.  So you can imagine how contorted I am after baling four-hundred and fifty bales!  I was stiff in the neck and my back was suffering from muscle spasms.  After ten days straight of baling, except for church on Sunday, I was worn out.  Our tractor’s air conditioner could not keep up either, so I was blowing lukewarm air to boot.  Guess some air was better than none.

     We were, as a team, able to get all of the straw and the hay baled. I am a firm believer that, as Darrel’s wife, I was designed to be his helpmate.  After this harvest I am confident that I have fulfilled this obligation.

     I’m thanking God we are finished for now and all of the hay and straw was harvested with no rain.  We finally go all of the bales out of the field and stacked in rows for winter.  And God said, “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalms 46:10

I can honestly say: 2 Timothy 4:7 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (NIV)

Love and Smiles,

Cheryl

Cozy Up with Canadian Author, Sharon McGregor!

Open the barn door and mosey on in! Here we are on another exciting Wednesday at the Diamond Mine welcoming in another great writer. We’ve got another country girl this week, a sweet Canadian one, and you’ll be charmed by all her adventures. So, plop on down and join us. Welcome in Christian author, Sharon McGregor!

Howdy, there Sharon. How ‘bout you tell us where were you born , and where do you live now?  Be sure to fill in any states or countries in between that you’ve lived in, visited, or made a deep impression on you.

I'm a prairie girl, or as we used to call it, a stubble-jumper. I was raised on a quarter section mixed farm and spent my teen years in a small Manitoba town. While there's no better place in the world to live in the summer and autumn, the winters in Manitoba leave a little to be desired. I finally got tired of -30 temperatures, ten foot snow-banks and ice sheets that could down an elephant. I moved as far west as I could and still keep my feet dry. I now live on Vancouver Island and love it.  I haven't done nearly all the travelling I'd like to, but I've seen most of Canada and the United States except for the easternmost parts, and visited Bermuda, Cuba and Mexico. While I loved my travels, nothing I've seen so far could shift me from my Island home. It will take the earthquake of the century to do that.

Ah! A girl from up north! Brrr. Makes me cold thinking about it. Let’s get to books. What genre do you write in?

I write in two main genres, romance and cozy mystery. My romances are novella length and I have four now published with Prism Books. I also write cozy mysteries and have one out with Whimsical Publications and two more in the works. My first published writing was short humour in small magazines. These articles began as a defense mechanism to overcome my conflict with adolescence angst as it fell on my two children. They gave me plenty of material to work with and they can still get a laugh out of some of the stories. I like to include humour in my books as well and I'm happiest when I can use all three- romance, mystery and humour- in the same work.

Children are definitely an inspiration! In more ways than one. Share some of your experiences of growing up on a farm and how that might have impacted your writing.

Growing up on a farm as an only child, especially in the days before internet, cable television and all the other social contacts we have now, was the perfect recipe to fuel imagination in a youngster. I was also shy and introverted by nature so I lived a lot of my childhood in my own mind, creating stories with imaginary casts and giving my favourite dogs and other farm animals leading roles. I still like to have cats and dogs in nearly all my stories.

You pique my interest. So, I’m interested in some non-writing quirks about you. Tell us 5 quick things about Sharon McGregor that have nothing to do with writing.

1-I'm terrified of heights. Getting me on an airplane today requires a double shot of rum and someone to hold my hand. When I was younger I tried desensitization to get rid of my acrophobia.  I use to hang around with a group of sport parachuters and I actually jumped out of an airplane-twice.  Then when I was first married, my husband had a single engine Alon Air Coupe- a lovely little plane with canopy top and low wings. I got my license on it but that was pretty much the end of my flying career. Strangely enough, in spite of my fear I am fascinated by airplanes and love going to flight museums such as the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum. Also, one of my favourite poems is High Flight. But then, I never claimed to be a rational person.

2.I have never been more than a few weeks without a cat for a room-mate. My first cat on the farm was Gus and I used to wheel him around in a stroller and put my doll's clothing on him.  The dolls I threw in a corner and ignored. There we had barn cats as well as house cats and the barn cats learned how to drink from a stream of milk aimed at them from a milking stool.  All through my single years and my married years I had at least one cat. My present companion is Zoey, now nearly fifteen years old. She keeps my computer keyboard polished and makes sure I never sleep in in the morning.

3.I'm an armchair traveller. I've never had the opportunity to travel much away from the North American continent. There-that's a lie. We always have the opportunity if we just take the time and energy to follow through. I do spend a lot of time reading history of other nations and watching documentaries about places I'd like to see some day. I'm finally, I hope, going to make the one trip that heads my list. Three friends and I are beginning to plan a trip to the UK. We hope to be going next May and I've got page after page of things I want to see.

4. I'm an only child but I always wanted a brother. When I was little I would pester my parents to present me with one. The problem was, I didn't want just any brother, I wanted an older one. I couldn't quite see why that would be an issue. I had to settle for an older male cousin instead who became a close part of my childhood. He taught me all the things big brothers are supposed to, like how to shoot a rifle, make a willow whistle and build a raft.

5.I retire on a regular basis but never seem to be able to stay that way. I retired first from my nine to five job and then discovered I was bored so went back to work part-time in a customer relations position.  Then I moved west and set up two businesses with my daughter. We sold those, moved to the Island and here  I am back in business again. One of these days I'll retire for good, hopefully when I'm about ninety

I just adopted a new kitten, Sharon, so I’m with you. I’m rarely without a cat also! Now, what’s next for you in the writing arena?

My latest romance with Prism is Fiona's Knight of Dreams which was released last month. It's the third in my Timber Dreams series, following Autumn Dreams also set in the 1940s and Acres of Dreams, a homesteading story from 1899. It's a story I loved writing because I could add that element of humour and, I must admit, some of Fiona's klutziness is mine.  I have a Christmas romance novella with Prism scheduled for later this year, All's Fair In Love and Arson.  On the cozy mystery front, I have two books coming out this year with Whimsical-Murder at the Island Spa, which is second in the Island series, and Old Shadows, New Murder, the first in the boarding kennel mysteries.  I'm also trying to get a stand- alone mystery finished called Five Can Keep a Secret. I'm not sure yet what I plan to do with it, but I've never tried to self-pub before so this might be the one I use. I have no idea how to self pub but I'll immerse myself in helpful You Tube videos and give it a crack. If I do horribly at it, at least it will be an experience. I'll try to disprove the maxim about old dogs and new tricks.

That Indie thing sure does call out to an author! Besides, learning new things keeps us all young! We’ll be looking for that Indie, Sharon. In the meanwhile, comment below to be entered to win, Fiona’s Knight of Dreams.

Bio- Sharon McGregor is a west coast transplant from the Canadian prairies, on a mission to escape the cold. Her imagination and story weaving got its start when she was an only child living on a farm. She's moved on from cowgirl dreams to romance and mystery, but hasn't lost her love for horses. She writes humour, romance and cozies, sometimes a combination of all three.

When not writing or reading she is busy working a shave ice concession she owns with her daughter, or walking the dogs along the ocean.

In spite of her attempts to escape winter, she loves watching her grandchildren at figure skating and hockey.

The main item not yet ticked on her bucket list is travel. She wants to set her foot on six continents-she'll give Antarctica a pass, thank you.

You can catch up with Sharon at these links!

Links-

Web page-             www.sharonmcgregor.com

Blog-                     www.sharonmcgregor.com/blog

Twitter-                 @sharonmcgr

Facebook-              https://goo.gl/hUSNUp

Amazon author-    http://goo.gl/0toXu0

Google-                 https://goo.gl/AzvJqZ

Goodreads-           https://goo.gl/NxzAx8

Amazon link for Fiona's Knight of Dreams- http://goo.gl/B7NRDW