Teryl Cartwright is a relatively new author having written one other romance novel and two plays along with news articles and childrens curriculum.  Teryl states on her website that it is important for her to write about what she knows—relationships, family and faith.  This way even though the story and characters were fictional, many of the emotions and thoughts were not.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book from the author and will be giving it away here on my blog.  I also asked Teryl if she would answer a few questions and she was glad to oblige.

SBR:  When and Why did you begin writing?

TC: I’ve been writing on and off since third grade, but only got serious about writing novels in 2002.  A friend had convinced me to try the online National Novel Writing in a Month Contest and that book was the first completed novel I had ever done.  (It also turned out to be my first published novel, A Sensible Match, after many, many edits!)

I had written short stories, articles, plays and such before that, but there is such a difference to hold a complete book, imperfect as it was.   Over the years I had so many half done books sitting around and I found out that I needed to actually finish a book in order to go to the next steps of editing and sending it out.

I began writing to have some control over my life.  I mean, I always think of the perfect thing to say or do in real life after the fact, so for me, it’s great that in a story, the characters can do and say what I want, when I want.  It is such a wonderful outlet for my imagination too.  I get paid for daydreaming or making movies in my head.  Ironically when I write, sometimes the words and story come out so differently than when I started that I am the one surprised as if I’m the reader.  So the reason I started to write, to have more control, is actually not the end result.

SBR:  If you had to choose, what writer would you consider a mentor?

TC: I haven’t met too many other writers yet, so my mentoring has come through the words in other authors’ books.  I should also explain that mentors to me are the cheerleaders of our lives.  They don’t criticize, coach or edit, they just get you excited to keep working on your stuff.  If I had to choose, my mentor then is a nonfiction writer named Roger Von Oech.  He writes about how to be creative.  If I need to get a different perspective on my writing, if I have writer’s block or if I have a sudden lack of confidence, I dive into his books, A Whack on the Side of the Head and A Kick in the Seat of the Pants.  The titles say more than I can!  Don’t get me wrong, I need critics, coaches and editors too, but I get inspired by those writers and their books after I have a first draft done, not before.

SBR: What book(s) are on your nightstand?

TC: M.C. Beaton’s Death of A Witch, Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion and Talisman Ring and Scottish Customs by Margaret Bennett are all currently stacked on the nightstand.

SBR: Do you have a favorite author?

TC: Georgette Heyer and Louis L’Amour are my favorite historical fiction writers.  They pay attention to the time period and make it a character of the story without overshadowing it.  I just can’t read authors that put every single research detail into their books because I want to get to the story. And these two also really know story and pacing–and have a sense of humor.

I’ll just share an inside joke in Courting Constance—two characters’ names are tributes to my favorite authors—Harriet Guyer (the quiet girl) is named after the more wordy Georgette Heyer while man hungry Marianne Beaton is a fun accolade to M.C. Beaton, who always has several of those desperate women chasing after her hero, Hamish MacBeth, in her books.

SBR:  If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in Courting Constance?

TC: I wish I could have also added another “flashback” to the beginning of the courtship and I might have added a scene with Edwin (Abby’s husband) and Geoffrey talking about the sisters they love, Abby and Constance respectively.  I also think it would have been fun to have Constance try one or two more things—but I felt it would be padding the story and bog it down.  I call Courting Constance my “kitchen sink” book because I threw in about everything but the kitchen sink.  You might not think that a writer can read a story she’s written and feel surprised, but I can still leaf through pages and have something jump out at me that I forgot I put in or find something new to laugh at.  Basically, I’m pretty happy with the book though and even the small changes the editor wanted are starting to grow on me.

SBR:  What are you working on for your next novel?

TC:  I would love to do a Scottish novel set in the same time frame (early 1800s) as Courting Constance and A Sensible Match.  There was so much happening in Scotland then in terms of advancements (culturally and technologically) and in light of events such as the Highland Clearances.  The problem is that research resources seem much more limited than those for Regency England.  I understand now why Highland romances are generally set in Medieval times, because it’s so much harder to find references for the time I want to research. Until I can find what I need, I am working on books in other genres such as western and sci-fi.  But I will write a Scottish romance soon–even if the first one can’t be the one I want to do right now.

Thank you so much for letting me share some thoughts and time together with you!  Teryl Cartwright

Book Synopsis & Review:

Courting Constance is a historical romance novel.  Constance was engaged to Geoffrey but he called off the engagement after seeing her flirt with another man just weeks before the wedding.  Constance decides that she wants him back and follows him to Bath in order to court him secretly.  She isn’t going to do it with flowers and candy as most men would do to court women, instead she decides to use music and food.  What follows can be described as a comedy of errors or as the author shared the tagline with me – If you had to win a guy in 10 days in Regency England, how would you do it?

I will admit that I’m not usually a huge historical romance fan but Courting Constance had me chuckling from the first chapter.  Between her antics in trying to court Geoffrey and Geoffrey trying to get revenge on Constance for the flirting had me in stitches.  Constance is definitely a “modern” woman for her time and isn’t afraid to go for what she wants in life.  And what makes the story more comical is when society thinks that she is courting Geoffrey’s best friend (and next door neighbor) Lord Robert Fenway…who wants to help Geoffrey but has also taken a liking to Harriet.

Oh what a tangled web Constance weaves in the name of love!   But along the way she realizes that sometimes you have to let love go so that others can be happy.  However, even this realization causes problems for headstrong Constance.  In the end she learns to open her ears and close her mouth and listen.

I definitely recommend this book and give it 4 stars.  Next time you are in the mood for a little historical romance, pick up this book, you won’t be disappointed.

Giveaway:

I am giving away the copy of this book that Teryl sent me.  The contest is open to all US and Canadian residents.  Just leave a comment and I will draw a name on September 11th.

Congrats to the two winners

Jules
Amy

look for an email from me so I can get your mailing address and get the books sent to you.

Enjoy the book, I loved it!

Joyce Magnin Moccero is the author of Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise which is the second in a series about Bright’s Pond which is somewhere in the Pennsylvania area since Charlotte moves to Paradise from a suburb of Pittsburg.  But you don’t have to read the first to appreciate the second novel.

Charlotte’s husband has recently died and she received (by  mistake) an ad for a trailer for sale in Paradise.  She puts it aside but once the activity surrounding the funeral has passed, she decides to purchase the trailer sight unseen.  Well as well all know, that isn’t necessarily a wise move, but this was about 40 years ago and things were a little different.  She arrives in Paradise and discovers the trailer is not what was pictured and is infested by raccoons and smells horrible.  Charlotte is discouraged but with the help of a few neighbors it becomes a habitable.

The trailer park has a wide variety of occupants including a wife-beating manager, the one armed maintenance man and a heavily tattooed woman with a large sculpture of a hand in her yard…large enough to climb up and sit in the palm.  Charlotte reaches out to befriend all of these people plus the remaining residents of the area and starts an all women’s softball team which she manages.

This story is about people banding together to right wrongs and to support each other in good times and in bad.  It is also about Charlotte finding her independence, becoming her own woman and not staying in the shadows.

I really enjoyed this book.  I will say that I wasn’t sure with the first chapter or two but am glad that I continued reading because I was inspired by Charlotte for leaving what she was comfortable with and starting over in a small town.  She even resists giving in to her overbearing mother who would love nothing more than for Charlotte to move to Florida with her.  It would have been very easy to give in, but that isn’t where God wanted Charlotte to be at that time in life.  He wanted her in Paradise to bring together this community.

Charlotte isn’t the only one that blossoms with the new friendships that are created.  Others become stronger with the various situations that they are faced with at the time.

I give this book 4 stars.

Sandra D. Bricker worked on her writing skills while working as a personal assistant and publicist to daytime television stars.  What I like about her is that she is an animal rights activist and is very involved in fundraising for Lost Angels Animal Rescue. 

Sandra says she is a Christian Woman and that clearly comes through in this novel without it being over the top.

Always the Baker Never the Bride is the story of Emma Rae (a good Southern name) who is a baker in Atlanta who has won the prestigious Passionate Palate Award for her crème brulee wedding cake (and it does sound yummy when she describes making it for a client).  The twist is that she is diabetic and cannot sample her creations without making sure she has eaten and then she can only sample a bite or two.   Emma is working at a bakery when she is lured away to work for the new Tanglewood Inn that is to become The Place to have a party or wedding.  She had met Jackson, the CEO, when he stopped in her shop but didn’t realize who he was when she accepted an interview at the inn and she certainly doesn’t expect to fall in love with him either after their first encounter in the shop.

There are also some other fun and quirky characters including Emma’s parents, Jackson’s sisters and most of all, Emma’s assistant Fiona.  All of these characters round out this story to make it fun and witty but still give the reader a message.

I really enjoyed this novel especially since it revolved around food and even more importantly, sweets!  Emma’s no nonsense attitude makes Jackson think twice in several situations and to make him realize that he can’t tip toe around his feelings.  I also like how Fiona appears to be the total opposite of Emma, at least in dress, but deep down they are really very similar.  There is a Christian theme running through the novel to put your trust and faith in God and what is meant to be will be.  This is laid out in several scenes in the book and fit in nicely considering the events that had just occurred.

Pick up this book when it comes out in September from Abingdon Press, you won’t be sorry!

Jennifer (aka Jenny) Crusie has been writing books since the early 90′s and has co-authored several books over the last 6 years.  This newest book, Maybe This Time! is her version of The Turn of the Screw a short novel written in 1898 by Henry James.

I was lucky enough to be ask Jennifer a few questions about the book and her writing:

SBR: Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

 They just show up.  Ideas are never a problem.  Writing them is the problem.

 SBR: When and why did you begin writing?

 I was researching my dissertation on the differences in the way men and women tell stories, and I read 100 romance novels to study women’s narrative.  I fell in love with the genre, dropped my dissertation, and began to write romance.

 SBR: Are there any new authors that you predict will be successful?

 Lucy March has a paranormal romance coming out next year called A Little Night Magic.  Otherwise, I’m really out of the loop on new authors, although I’m sure there are many.  I must start reading up on that.

 SBR: Who are some of your favorite authors and what book are you reading now?

 Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Lani Diane Rich (soon to be Lucy March), Anne Stuart, Patricia Gaffney, Barbara Samuel, Terry Pratchett, Georgette Heyer, Michael Gilbert, Margery Allingham, Rex Stout, Dorothy Parker, P.G.Wodehouse . . . lots and lots of faves.

The book I’m reading now is mine because it’s three months past its due date so I am peddle to the metal 24/7.   

 SBR: Maybe This Time touches on the paranormal, did you go this direction because of the fascination with this genre?

 Maybe This Time is my version of The Turn of the Screw, so the paranormal came packaged with that, but yes, I love paranormal stories.   Ghost stories not as much as magic, but if you’re paying homage to one of the greatest ghost stories of all time, you better have ghosts. 

 SBR: Is there a message in your novel that you want the readers to grasp?

 I feel strong that if you want to send a message, you should use e-mail.  Fiction has themes, but I don’t think it should have morals.  This book is about second chances, about letting go of what’s past and moving on, but it doesn’t say you should move on, it just says that these characters are faced with the choice of moving on, and how they make that choice determines their fates.  Your mileage may differ.

My Review:
I will say that I really enjoyed this book.  It grabbed me from the first chapter all the way to the end….and even with a twist at the end that I know I wasn’t expecting!  It starts with Andie visiting her ex-husband North at his law office to try and put him out of her life once and for all by returning the alimony checks that she has not cashed over the last 10 years.  Once there she notices that she still feels drawn to her ex and him to her…there is something to be said for chemistry!  North decides that he has nothing to lose and asks her for a favor, to watch over his wards until he could get them moved to his home.  Surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly) Andie agrees to do it for a month.

When Andie arrives it isn’t quite what she expected and she is appalled at the condition of the home and the state of the children and this makes her more determined than ever to make things right at whatever cost for the children.

This book has many funny sections that had me laughing out loud because I could picture the events as they were described.  And then of course you have the ghosts, who are never predictable, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers who thinks she runs the property because she has been there since she was a teenager.  Of course there is the jealous boyfriend, her kooky mother and a crazy news reporter that wants to expose more than just the story of the ghosts in the home.

Definitely pick up this book when it comes out 8/31, you won’t regret it!

Giveaway:

Leave a comment on my blog to win a chance for your own copy of Maybe This Time! 

I will give away 2 copies, one from the publisher and the ARC that they sent me to review.

Contest ends August 28th and is open to US and Canadian residents

Before Elise Warner started her writing career you could find her on Broadway, working with National Companies and in clubs as an actress, singer and stage manager.  She has even written a play which won Theatre Guinevere’s “Guinny Award”.  After that she started writing for various magazines but this is her first novel.

Scene Stealer features Miss Augusta Weidenmaier, a retired school teacher who is caught up on the case of a kidnapped child, an actor in fact, and feels that she must help the police solve this crime.  She does this putting her self in harms way a time or two, and as expected of a school teacher, a rap or two on the knuckles of some not some helpful characters.

When I first started reading this book I wasn’t sure what to expect, in fact, I wasn’t even aware that this was the author’s first novel.  The story started off with Augusta noticing a child on the bus and as a former schoolteacher knew that something wasn’t quite right.  The child looked scared and the man he was with was a bit scary himself.  She departs the bus to try and follow the pair to see if she can help the child.  In the back of her mind she recognizes the child but does not realize he is an actor for a local fast food chain until his disappearance is publicized in the media.  Then she realizes what she saw could help find Kevin and bring him back to his mother.  She doesn’t realize the danger that she ends up putting herself in to until it is too late. 

I was beginning to wonder why someone would want to read this book if the kidnapper was going to be revealed so early in the book.  But imagine mysurprise when the obvious wasn’t as obvious as you might think.  It was a nice twist that I wasn’t expecting and pulled me back in to the story wondering how it was going to end.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars and if the author decides to make this a series, I will definitely check out the second installment.

Julie Moffet is a published author and this is her first venture into mystery/suspense and she has the background for this type of novel.  She has a degree in political science and speaks several foreign languages mentioned in this book, so what she writes about she knows and understands.

Lexi Carmichael works for the NSA and is a “Geek Extraordinare” by excelling in math and computer skills.  Lexi is a woman after my own heart with her addiction to chocolate and her favorite stop is Dunkin Donuts.  Helping Lexi out in the book are the Zimmerman twins, Elvis and Xavier, who are even bigger geeks who have taken their computer skills from the NSA to the private sector.  There is also Slash, who no one knows his real name, who works for NSA, the Vatican and who knows what other government body.  The last is Finn, a lawyer and heir apparant to a winery in Ireland.  All of these characters come together to help Basia, Lexi’s best friend, who puts herself in the middle of an international incident simply because of some documents that she translated.

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars.  The book was good but some parts seemed a little longer than necessary.  Plus I would get confused between the two guys named Al-something and who was the Saudi prince and who was the terrorist.  That aside, I enjoyed the storyline and Lexi’s interactions with the twins, Slash and Finn.  For someone who is supposedly “plain” (the character’s words) she has 3 men that are attracted to her so perhaps she did inherit some of her mother’s beauty.  Lexi also gets a taste of what it is like to be a field agent since she decides to do some things her own way, which was probably a good move because the situation could have ended differently had she not involved herself because of Basia.

I believe this book is to become a series and if it is, I will definitely give the 2nd book a chance because it could turn into an interesting series.

Liar, Liar is the first novel for a trio of sisters – Julianne, Kristen and Kari Larsen.

Cat DeLuca, along with her beagle Inga, owns and runs the Pants on Fire Detective Agency…and yes, the name is all that it implies.  She won’t find a long lost relative but she is the one to call if you think your hubby (or wife) is cheating on you.  Cat also has an overpowering family where all of the men are cops (dad, brother Rocco, cousins, etc) and they want her to give up her job and work as a dispatcher.  Then there is mom who is your typical Catholic Italian in Chicago who thinks her daughter is going straight to hell for her career choice.

Everything is going well with her agency until Rita Polansky hires her to follow her “husband” Chance and find out the scoop on what he is going.  Little does she know that she is going to end up in the hospital after being hit by a For Lease sign from an exploding building which also has everyone convinced she has lost her mind when no one else can see Chance except for her.  This throws her into a series of events that she cannot control with out a little help from Uncle Joey (and yes, Uncle Joey will “fix” things for you) and Tino who owns the deli but has other talents up his sleeve.

I read this book almost in one sitting.  It reminded me a lot of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, they are both strong female characters, have overbearing Italian mothers and always seem to find themselves in a bit of danger but luckily have friends and family to help bail them out.

If you like to laugh you will love this book….like I said, I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading it at work (just don’t tell my boss!).  You won’t be disappointed.

Congrats to these 4 lucky winners!

Ashley H
Karen
DKay
Mary

I have sent you an email requesting your mailing address.

And look for another giveaway from this author, he kindly sent me 3 copies of the 2nd book.

A few months ago I gave away a copy of Hush by Kate White.  Kate was able to answer some interview questions and here they are!

SBR: What made you break from your Bailey Weggins series and venture into unknown characters?

KW: I love Bailey, but I thought it would be nice to take a break and come back to the series re-engerzied. I also wanted to try a new genre, one that was darker and scarier.

SBR: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

KW: Writing when I have a day job, which means always writing on weekends. I fantasize about having free Sundays some time in my life

SBR: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

KW: Even a very young girl I wrote stories. Not sure why. My mother told me that at 3 I handed her a picture I’d crayoned—it was all black. She asked what the name was and I said, “The hacienda is dark and the town is sleeping.” Weird kid, right? But I guess I’ve just always loved to weave a story.

SBR: What authors inspire you and your writing?

KW: I just love so many writers. Mysteries: Ruth Rendell, Linda Fairstein, Michel Connelly, Elizabeth George, Scott Turow, and on and on. Literary fiction: Sue Miller, Anita Shrive, Jane Smiley, Ian McEwan and on and on

SBR: What advice would you give aspiring authors?

KW: I would advise inspiring writers to figure out their perfect writing cocktail: what’s the best time, best background noise, best location. I’ve realized that during my twenties I didn’t write much because I hadn’t’ figured those things out yet. Don’t beat yourself up, just experiment and see what works.