This week, we welcome Nancy Lavo to the Diamond Mine. Nancy writes contemporary romances. Keep reading to find out how you can enter to win a copy of her newest release.
About Nancy
A lifelong love affair with romance novels and a fiction writing course at the community college started Nancy on the road to publication. She’s published in sweet and inspirational fiction. After a decade-long hiatus to care for her family, Nancy decided to answer the tug of her heart and rejoin the ranks of writers.
When she’s not writing, which happens more often than it should, she can be found taking long walks or lunching with friends. She is married to her college sweetheart and they have three children.
Connect with Nancy: Website | Facebook | Instagram
Suzie: Welcome to the Diamond Mine, Nancy. It’s a pleasure to have you join us this week. I always like to start with a couple would you rather questions.
Would you rather live without internet for a year or without air conditioning and heating for a year?
Nancy: Easy one! Goodbye, internet. I might survive without heat, but Texas air conditioning is a must.
Suzie: Same in Tennessee. Summers tend to get unbearable.
Would you rather give up social media or eat the same dinner for the rest of your life?
Nancy: Tough call. I could cheerfully eat a diet of tacos the rest of my life, but if I wasn’t on social media I might get more writing done. I frequently gripe about social media, but the truth is I have a wonderful community there who I would miss terribly.
Suzie: I have a love-hate relationship with social media. Alright, that’s enough of those. Tell us a little about you—family, hobbies, day job, or whatever you’d like to share that’s not in your bio.
Nancy: I love a good road trip. I love to hop in the car, gps at the ready, and head to someplace new. And I’m a bit of a tea snob. My husband and I travel with an iced tea maker and tea bags to insure a decent glass or cup along the way.
Suzie: I enjoy a good road trip too. What are three books on your current tbr?
Nancy: The Do-Over by Bethany Turner; Finding the Road Home by Tina Radcliffe; and The Right
Kind of Strong by Mary A Kassian
Suzie: And I just The Right Kind of Strong to my tbr. :)
What does your writing space look like?
Nancy: Chaos.
Nancy: I write out my manuscripts in longhand—I use pretty Vera Bradley notebooks, then I type it into the computer and print a hard copy. I make changes on the hardcopy and type them into the computer and print a new hard copy. And on and on. By midway through the book, I’ve created a mountain of papers. Chaos!
Suzie: I can imagine!
Would you share with us a little about your road to publication?
Nancy: I started writing back in the nineties. I published six books over the next ten years then quit writing completely. It felt like that season of my life was over. After that, I worked in a library, surrounded by books, and in time, felt the pull to come back to writing. I joined a critique group in 2015 and have been writing ever since.
Suzie: What are some of your favorite things about writing romance?
Nancy: I love watching the character’s relationship and attraction develop. The first time their eyes meet… the first time they kiss… I just love it. Funny that even though I’m writing the story, they sometimes surprise me. And I love happy endings.
Suzie: As a reader of romance, I love everything you just said (especially the happy endings).
Tell us more about your latest release.
Nancy: A Slice of Paradise is a sweet, light-hearted romance—enemies to lovers. I had so much fun writing it. Some books are a battle to get down on paper and others just flow. A Slice of Paradise just flowed.
Suzie: In A Slice of Paradise, Eden is a baker. Would you share a favorite recipe from your kitchen (or Eden’s) with us?
Nancy: Eden first wowed her new friends with blueberry muffins, so here goes:
6 TBSP butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for greasing the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP baking powder
Pinch of salt
Heaping ½ cup light brown sugar
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 TSP vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Grease a 12-hole muffin pan. (Or line pan with muffin papers)
Sift together flower, baking powder, and salt into large bowl. Stir in sugar and blueberries.
Beat two eggs lightly in a large bowl, then beat in the milk, butter, vanilla extract.
Suzie: Yum! And it's berry season. The perfect time to try these out.
Thank you for spending some time with us and sharing more about yourself.
About the Book
Can a taste of love cure the scars of yesterday?
Single mother and baker Eden Lambert arrives in quaint Village Green looking for a home for herself and her 18-month-old son, Jake. Her warm welcome by her elderly hostess, Mary Jo Piermont, is offset by the cold disdain of Mary Jo’s self-appointed protector, Joe Wolfe.
At first, the long-legged blonde and her kid look like trouble to Joe. Mary Jo saved the builder’s life years ago, and he will do no less for the woman he considers a surrogate mother. But as he keeps an eye on the unwanted guests, Joe’s suspicions soon become replaced by admiration and respect for Eden’s resolve and dedication to her son. With his background of abuse and abandonment, Joe is aware of the dangers facing the vulnerable and wants better for Eden and Jake. He offers her a business arrangement—he’ll build her a bakery, and she can run it.
As they join forces to start the bakery, can they overcome the scars of the past to find a recipe for love?
