Lisa Mondell Author of Under A Texas Star!
Give a warm welcome to Lisa Mondello, author of Under A Texas Star, released on March 21, 2017! Book nine of Texas Hearts.
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Lisa and her Texas Hearts. Oh, don’t forget to enter for a chance to win a Kindle FIre, Raflecopter at the end of the post.
Lisa, tell us a little about writing this story. Was it fun or difficult? Do your characters always act as you expect? Are you a plotter, or fly (write) by the seat of your pants?
I am neither plotter or pantser. I’m a puzzle writer. Stories come to me in pieces, like a scene from a film. They’re very clear. But it’s only one scene and it can be any part of the story. So I write all those first and then piece things together.
Under a Texas Star was fun and difficult. It was fun because I used real stories from my husband’s time in the marines. Yes, he really stepped on an alligators head while wading in water to make a rope bridge. I also loved writing Brian’s character. I love writing about kids because they say what’s on their mind and do the unexpected. Even though he has a serious illness, he made for some heartwarming moments that made me smile. The subject matter was difficult all around. Grief is a very difficult thing. Everyone handles it different. But it’s important to know that however you handle it, it’s okay. As long as it doesn’t stay bottled up inside. There are parts of this story where I literally cried through them because when I write about my characters, I feel their pain deeply. I can’t express their emotions correctly if I’m not feeling it myself. So it can sometimes wear me out when I’m writing.
Interesting, I know how you feel. I see you brough Tom and Jenna with you today, lets see what makes them tick.
Hello Tom (Tag) Garrison, mind if I ask a few questions?
Go ahead.
Tells us about the real you— What event in your past has left the most indelible impression on you?
Being capture and imprisoned overseas while in the military. But the most profound thing was coming home to learn that I’d lost my wife and my child.
What do you most value?
My privacy, although that is getting harder to get these days since moving to Texas. Home and family are becoming important to me again.
What is the type of woman you want to spend the rest of your life with?
Someone who loves family, who is strong and who can quiet the demons in my head.
What do you consider most important in life?
Family.
What is your biggest secret?
Well, that would be something I did with my cousin Wolf. The family knows we were gone for a few days when we were in our early teens, but they don’t know that we’d jumped a train and headed north to Washington DC and then jumped another train to head home. I’m not sure Oma would have liked that at all. I think Opa would have wanted to come with us though.
Thank you for being here today and answering my questions.
Now lets turn our attention to Jenna Atkins. Would you answer a few questions for me?
Sure.
Who are you really?
I am a mother, rancher and small business owner who is trying my best to keep my nose above the water line every day while caring for my sick child.
Who were the biggest role models in your life?
My parents. They had a love that people envy. Unfortunately I didn’t have that in my first marriage. But I have hope.
What kind of man do you want to spend the rest of your life with?
Someone who is committed. Not just in words but in deed. Someone who I can lean on and who will be there for me and my son when I fall apart and when I forget that there is more to life than being a mother.
What kind of man would you never choose?
Someone selfish. It takes two to make a life work.
What is most important to you in life?
My son.
What is your biggest fear?
That I will lose my son before he has a kidney transplant.
Ok now I’m going to put you on the spot. Is Tom what you are looking for? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.
Oh, I think I’ll let you read the book and find out!
Lisa, tell us a little about your book Under A Texas Star:
Military hero Tom Garrison is an expert in high intensity emergency situations. But after years of military service, all he wants to do is hide from the world. When single mom Jenna Atkins bangs on his door in the middle of the night begging for his help for her sick young son, Tom can’t ignore it. He flies Jenna and her son to an emergency center that can help the sick child, but can he just walk away?
Despite his efforts, Jenna and Brian capture his heart—just as he captures theirs.
Both Jenna and Tom have battled life’s surprises and been touched by tragedy. Can they overcome the past to open their hearts to love again?
Excerpt:
Reaching back and securing his hands at the nape of his neck, he watched as the millions of stars that had dotted the blue-black sky just a half hour ago blinked out one by one in the morning light.
He didn’t want to be alone for this moment, but it was more than that.
He wanted to be with Jenna. Climbing into his truck, he headed over to the Jenna’s. There was a light on downstairs in the den, which Tag hoped meant someone was awake at the Atkins farm. Jenna had said that she had a lot of sewing to catch up on. Maybe she’d gotten up early to get started before Brian woke up. With any luck, she’d be awake.
Anticipation rolled through him. Within seconds Jenna came bursting out of the front door onto the porch. Despite the porch’s shadows, he could see from the light filtering out from the den window that it was her. A smile immediately hit his face, but then he saw the panic in her eyes when she came down the porch steps.
His stomach clenched as the quiet peace he’d been feeling during the drive over shifted into concern. Had something happened? Was that really why she was up so early?
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New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling Author, Lisa Mondello, has held many jobs in her life but being a published author is the last job she’ll ever have. She’s not retiring! She blames the creation of the personal computer for her leap into writing novels. Otherwise, she’d still be penning stories with paper and pen. Her book The Knight and Maggie’s Baby is a New York Times Bestseller. Her popular series includes TEXAS HEARTS, DAKOTA HEARTS, Fate with a Helping Hand and the new SUMMER HOUSE series. Writing as LA Mondello, her romantic suspense, MATERIAL WITNESS, book 1 of her Heroes of Providence series made the USA TODAY Bestsellers List and was named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2012.
You can find more information about Lisa Mondello at lisamondello.blogspot.com and sign up for her newsletter to receive new release information at http://eepurl.com/xhxO5
Website: http://www.lisamondello.com/
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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lisa-mondello
Tour giveaway
1 Kindle Fire
a Rafflecopter giveaway
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Under a Texas Star!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Contemporary Romance, Lisa Mondello, Sweet Romance, Texas Hearts, Western by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.
Intriguing interview, Lisa. Good luck with your new release.
Thanks for stopping by CB