Interview Jana Richards Author of Child of Mine
Give a warm welcome of Jana Richards, author of Child of Mine The Masonville Series, Book One.
I think the secret is to keep writing. If you’re stalled writing your novel, write something shorter, like a novella or short story. Or if that’s too much, a blog post, or even a journal entry. Maybe try writing in a different genre, not necessarily for publication, but simply for fun. I believe the secret is to not quit writing entirely because that breaks the habit and makes it much harder to pick it up again. And do whatever you can to bring back the fun and excitement of writing again.
Who is your favorite character of all of the books you’ve written and Why?
That’s a little like asking who’s my favorite child! I love all my characters; when you spend so much time with them, they become dear to you. I admire both Lauren and Cole from CHILD OF MINE for their perseverance in never giving up on love. But I do have some favorites from other books as well. I don’t write Alpha heroes often, but oddly, two of my all-time favorite heroes are take-charge, stubborn Alphas. Cameron Hainstock in SECRETS AND SOLACE, book 2 in my Love at Solace Lake series, is a man who’s had his share of set-backs and heartaches. He’s been let down by love before and he’s wary. He can be gruff and blunt and distrusting. But he also has a huge capacity to love. He adores his five-year-old daughter Tessa and is a wonderful, loving father to her. He’s a loyal, protective (some would say over protective) brother to his siblings. And he’s stronger than he believes. Even though he’s struggled with alcohol in the past, and he’s worried he’ll fail again, love will give him strength.
My other favorite hero (also an Alpha) is Zane Martin in A LONG WAY FROM EDEN. Zane is also one of those (over) protective types. He’s been a single father for years, and when his eighteen-year-old daughter Erin becomes pregnant, he insists that she and her twenty-year-old boyfriend marry. He never knew his father and he doesn’t want that for his grandchild. But despite being stubborn and proud, he’s a tender father and grandfather, and a wonderful son. Zane looks after the people he loves, sometimes even when they don’t want him to. But even when he makes mistakes, he does it out of love.
What inspired you to write? and How long have you been writing?
I’ll answer these two questions together. I was inspired to write by reading romance novels and thinking “I could do that.” Ha! Little did I know! I’ve been attempting to write since the early 1990s. I say ‘attempting’ because those first efforts weren’t ready for publication. I discovered I had a lot to learn. I got really serious about learning my craft and writing for publication in the mid 2000s, and my first novel, HER BEST MAN, was published in 2007. Apparently, I needed a long apprenticeship!
Did you tell friends and family that you were writing a book? Or did it take a while to come out and tell friends and family you were a writer?
I didn’t tell anyone I was writing for a long time, not even my husband. For a while I only wrote when he was at work. I think I felt like everyone would say “Who do you think you are, thinking you can write a book?” When I finally did tell my husband, he was like “Great.” It wasn’t the big deal I’d made it out in my head! I talk more about my writing now, but usually only if someone else brings it up first. My fondest wish is to make enough money with my writing to treat my husband to a few luxuries. As he says, he would love to be a “kept man”. And I would dearly love to keep him! He’s been patient and supportive for a very long time and deserves to be treated.
A sneak peek inside the pages of Child of Mine.
We asked you to come here this evening because we have something we want to tell all of you. Lauren and I are getting married.”
The room went deathly quiet. Lauren tightened her grip on his hand. Her face turned pale as she stared at her family’s stunned expressions. Cole put his arm around her waist, afraid she might faint.
He needn’t have worried. She lifted her chin at a defiant angle and turned to face the others.
“Cole and I have decided this child needs the best possible start in life and that means having a mother and a father. We’ve always been friends, so what better way to start a marriage then with friendship?”
Garrett pushed himself to his feet and came forward. “I think it’s a hell of an idea. You two will make wonderful parents.”
He enfolded Lauren in an embrace. Cole heard her murmur her thanks to her brother. “I think you’ll make a wonderful uncle.”
Charlotte was next in line. She kissed Lauren’s cheek. “I’m so happy for you, sweetie. When’s the big day?”
“In a couple of weeks,” Cole said. “As soon as we can arrange everything.”
Lauren’s parents, Robert and Grace, also extended their congratulations. If they had reservations, they kept them to themselves.
Only his mother remained in her seat, staring at them in disbelief. Cole sat next to her. “What do you want to say, Ma?”
“You can’t replace Billy.” She choked out the words.
“I know that.” He’d known he was second best in her eyes all his life. “I wouldn’t even try.”
“But to marry his wife, to raise his child? It’s wrong. They don’t belong to you. You always wanted what belonged to your brother.”
He wanted to shout at her that the baby was his, that it had nothing to do with Billy. And Lauren was his, too. He’d loved her first. His brother had never appreciated what a gem he’d had in her. He’d squandered his marriage the way he’d squandered the love that had been lavished on him all his life, from his parents, from Lauren, and even from him.
Instead he pressed his lips together and said nothing. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw that Lauren stood beside him.
“I know this is difficult for you, Ella. I know you’re grieving. But I have to raise my child in the best way I know how. Aside from my brother and sister, Cole is my best friend in the world. He’s a good man, and I know he’ll be a wonderful father. You should be very proud of him.”
His mother stared at Lauren as if she couldn’t believe what she was saying. Her face twisted. “Don’t you miss Billy at all? Don’t you grieve for him? Nobody understands. Nobody.”
“Ma.”
He said the word a little sharper then he’d intended, but at least it got her attention. She looked up at him in surprise.
“I’m sorry if it hurts you, but Lauren and I are getting married. We care about one another and we care about the baby. The three of us are going to be a family. I wish you could be happy for us.”
Ella dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. Finally, with a shuddering breath, she turned to look at him.
“For Billy’s baby’s sake, I’ll try.”
Billy’s baby.
The pain was swift and unexpected. If she’d stabbed him through the heart with a dagger it wouldn’t have hurt as much.
About the Author:
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Child of Mine, Contemporary Romance, Jana Richards, Small town romance, The Masonville Series by Tena Stetler with 9 comments.
Smoking Sale on Truth and Solace by Jana Richards
Give a warm welcome to Jana Richards, author of Truth and Solace, the final book of her My Love at Solace Lake Series.
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 Mary and her smoking hot deal on Truth and Solace.
Five things you need to know about Truth and Solace
- TRUTH AND SOLACE is the third and final book in my Love at Solace Lake Series. Each book in the series is a stand-alone romance, but for the best reading experience, and to uncover the mystery of Solace Lake, the series is best read in order.
- Maggie Lindquist and Luke Carlsson have a history. They were each other’s first loves, but at fourteen Maggie was far too young for a relationship with an eighteen-year-old boy. Her grandparents disapproved of their relationship, and made sure they didn’t have a future together.
- Luke is facing some major changes in his life. He learns some truths about his parents that change everything he believed about them.
- Maggie also learns some life-changing truths. Her new knowledge tests her capacity for forgiveness. If Maggie can’t forgive and understand, she and Luke have no future together.
- TRUTH AND SOLACE has a countdown deal going on right now. June 4/5 the book is on sale for .99 cents. June 6/7 the price rises to the still great price of $1.99. On June 8/9, you can get the book for $2.99 before it goes back to the regular price of $3.99.
Click on the cover to read more or purchase!
Tell us a little about My Love at Solace Lake Series, including Truth and Solace.
Well, the series is all about love is worth the risk….
When their grandfather dies, the Lindquist sisters, Harper, Scarlet and Maggie, inherit the northern Minnesota fishing lodge that had been in their family for three generations. The inheritance is bittersweet. They were raised at the lodge by their grandparents. The natural beauty of the place hasn’t changed, but the building itself is crumbling and desperately in need of repair. The lodge also reminds them of what they lost. Twenty-two years previously, their parents died there in what was ruled a murder/suicide.
As the sisters struggle to breathe new life into the failing lodge, old fears and questions rise to the surface even as new love presents itself. Why did their father murder their mother? What truths did their grandparents keep from them? The sisters must fight to keep the wounds of the past from putting their futures, and their fledgling relationships, in jeopardy.
Truth and Solace brings to bear the truth could destroy them. Or set them Free.
Maggie Lindquist left Solace Lake determined never to return. Circumstances have pulled her back and she’s helping to restore her family’s dilapidated fishing lodge. When she agreed to the plan she didn’t expect to have to work side by side with the man who abandoned her ten years earlier. She didn’t expect to like him, or want him ever again. But can she trust him as she once did?
Luke Carlsson rushes home to tend to his ailing mother. Her lengthy illness means he needs to stay, at least temporarily. And to stay, he needs to work. Solace Lake Lodge offers him a job and an opportunity to work with the woman he’s never stopped loving. But the restoration is unleashing secrets hidden for decades and no one is left unscathed. Especially not Maggie and Luke, whose love needs to be resilient enough to forgive, and strong enough to build a future together.
Truth and Solace Buy Links:
US: http://www.amzn.com/B079WFZXV2
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079WFZXV2
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B079WFZXV2
Au: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B079WFZXV2
A sneak between the pages of Truth and Solace?
The organist began to play Pachelbel’s Canon in D, signaling the bride’s imminent arrival. All eyes turned to the staircase. Cam’s daughter Tessa led the bridal party. She wore a red lace dress and carried a basket of flowers in one hand.
Following Tessa, Maggie began a slow descent down the stairs, one hand on the railing and the other holding a bouquet of white roses. All the air rushed from Luke’s lungs. Her full length, lace dress in dark red fit her perfectly. The low bodice that skimmed the sweet swell of her breasts nearly undid him. Her dark hair shone in the glow from the fireplace, her smile wide and happy.
When her gaze connected with his, his heart squeezed with unexpected longing. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, his heart hammering. Maggie’s smile faltered. She quickly turned her attention to the men standing in front of the fireplace. She walked toward them, taking her place on the bride’s side, opposite Drew, her smile firmly in place once more. Only the slight trembling of the ribbons cascading from her bouquet hinted at any nervousness.
He was aware that Harper and Scarlet had descended the stairs and now stood with the others in front of the fireplace. He was sure they were both lovely, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Maggie. In her chef’s whites, her face pink with the heat of the stove and her hair dampened with perspiration, she was beautiful. Always had been.
But today, she was stunning. He’d never seen her more exquisite.
The ceremony went by in a blur. Scarlet and Cam exchanged vows and wedding rings, and sealed their union with a lingering kiss. They looked at each other as if they were the only two people in the room. The bond between them, the sense they knew without question they belonged together, and would always be together was profound. No matter what life threw at them, they would endure, as long as they stood side by side.
I want that, Luke realized with a start. He wanted to be with a woman who truly understood him, loved him. Someone to share his dreams, his hopes, his fears. His gaze drifted to Maggie once again. They’d had that once, that special bond, but they’d been far too young to appreciate it. Or at least he had.
When such a bond was broken, could it ever be mended? If Maggie knew the truth…
He pushed the guilt away. Tonight, he wanted to forget.
About the Author:
When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.
In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada with their Pug/Terrier cross Lou and several unnamed goldfish. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com.
Want to connect with Jana, check out her social media sites.
Blog: http://janarichards.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/janarichards
Amazon UK Author Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B002DEVWWG
Newsletter Signup: http://janarichards.com/contact.html#newsletter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2892274Jana_Richards
Google+ Profile: https://plus.google.com/100820406211390323245
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jana-richards
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Truth and Solace!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged bit of paranormal, Contemporary Romance, Jana Richards, Mystery, Small town romance, Truth and Solace by Tena Stetler with 7 comments.
