This Blog Tour is going so well - it's the first I've ever done and I hope it's not the last.
Today, I'm so pleased to welcome Jana Richards, such a great writer. Here's her acclaimed "Till September" book on the Awe-Struck site.
Sue: Welcome Jana. Tell us five things about yourself that most people on the internet don't know about
you.
There are probably more than five things that
people on the Internet don’t know about me! But I’ll try to keep it down to
just five.
#1. I was born and raised on a farm in Western
Canada . They call Saskatchewan
“The Land of Living Skies” and nothing could be more true. The sky goes on
forever on the prairies, capable of changing from a startling, cloudless blue
to an angry, tumultuous grey in the blink of an eye. The land is so flat that,
as the old joke says, you can watch your dog run away for three days. Our farm
was fourteen miles from the small town where I went to school, so I spent many
hours riding the school bus. It could be very isolating living so far from town
with no close neighbors, and I left for the city as soon as I finished high
school. I still have a love/hate relationship with rural life.
#2. I love horse racing! I know virtually
nothing about the sport aside from the thrill I get when I see thoroughbreds
thundering toward the finish line. What a rush! I’ve only had the opportunity
to see live horse racing a couple of times, but even the Kentucky Derby on TV
gets my heart pumping. I even like all the buildup before the race, and the
talk of jockeys and trainers. In fact, sometimes hearing the horses’ histories
is the best part. I have no interest in gambling on the ponies; I’m far too
frugal (a.k.a cheap) for betting. There’s just something about the beauty of
the horses and their athleticism that calls to me.
#3. I enjoy yoga. I will I never claim to be
an athlete in any shape or form, but I can do a decent Downward Facing Dog, and
my Warrior poses are pretty good, if I do say so myself. Some of the poses are
challenging, but I do them to the best of my ability, and that’s good enough. Yoga
that helps me to get in touch with my physical self as well as my spiritual
self.
#4. I’ve been married to the same wonderful man
for 33 years. And they said it wouldn’t last!
#5. I’ve had four full length novels and two
novella lengths books published, with another novella coming out on November
30. Okay, that’s something anyone with an Internet connection could get from my
website at http://www.janarichards.net
But I’ll bet you didn’t know I almost gave up hope of ever being published, to
the point that I nearly quit writing entirely. However, the desire to tell
stories is very strong, and persists even when it seems that no one wants to
hear them. I carried on and now I can tell you that writing is my life’s work.
My goal is that each book I write is better than the one that came before.
Sue: Choose two characters from any of your books and tell us five things about them that might not be apparent from the books.
Hannah Kramer and Quinn Anderson
appear in my Awe-Struck
novel “Till September”. Here are five things about them that may not be
apparent from the books:
#1. Hannah married her high school
sweetheart at eighteen, and settled into the life of a farm wife. Although she
and Peter had been close, she always felt a lack of passion in their marriage.
Their marriage had also been missing a level of trust. Peter insisted on
handling all the business of the farm, refusing to hear her ideas or even
informing her when debt threatened to put them out of business. After Peter
died, Hannah felt disloyal for even thinking of the faults in her marriage and
in her husband. She pushed them to the back of her mind. Until Quinn came into
her life and made her feel the passion she’d been missing all her life.
#2. The scene in the excerpt of “Till
September” was inspired by own fear of heights. My husband was reshingling
the roof of our house and I climbed up the ladder to bring him something. And
then I found I couldn’t get down! This surprised me because I never used to be
afraid of heights. As a kid I’d climb on the roof of the barn and up the
haystacks without fear. Hannah eventually overcomes her fear, but I have to
confess that I never have!
#3. Since he grew up without a
father, Quinn fears that he would be a poor father-figure for Hannah’s son
Ryan. But he loves the kid, and when it’s time for him to go, the pain of
leaving Ryan hurts almost as much as the pain of losing Hannah.
#4. Quinn has a phobia about
flying. He doesn’t know how it happened; he was never involved in any
near-misses or accidents in a plane. His fear grew until one day when he was
supposed to catch a flight, he couldn’t make himself get on the plane. So he now
finds himself driving across the country.
#5. Hannah has a secret yearning to
see more of the world than just her farm and her small community. But she feels
disloyal for thinking about leaving, even temporarily. Quinn has seen much of
the country, but longs for roots. Together, they can complete each other’s desires.
Sue, thank you for having me on
your blog today and for all the thought-provoking questions!
***
Check out the blurb for "Till September":
For the first time since her
husband’s death, Hannah Kramer can imagine herself with another man. But then she discovers the truth about Quinn
Anderson’s reason for staying at the bed and breakfast at her farm. He’s there to buy farmland from her cash-strapped
friends and neighbors and resell it to foreign buyers. How can she love a man bent on destroying the
way of life she loves? Will Quinn
convince her that he wants to build her community, not destroy it? Can he make her believe he loves her before time
runs out in September?
***
Here's Jana's biography:
Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing
projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to full-length
paranormal suspense and romantic comedy.
She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious
side. She believes there’s nothing more
interesting then peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them
tick.
When not writing up a storm, working at her day job
as an Office Administrator, or dealing with ever present mountains of laundry,
Jana can be found on the local golf course pursuing her newest hobby.
Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren , along with two university aged daughters and a
highly spoiled Pug/Terrier cross named Lou. You can reach her through her
website at http://www.janarichards.net
***
It's been great having Jana on Lauracea today. If you'd like to contact her, here are her links:
Buy link for "Till September" at Awe-Struck: http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=Awe-Struck&cart_id=52781.13527&product=Till+September&return_page=&user-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact
Jana's blog: http://janarichards.blogspot.com
Jana's website: http://www.janarichards.net
The excerpt page on her website for “Till September”: http://www.janarichards.net/ExcerptsreviewTill.html
Hi Sue,
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me this week. I think we'll have a lot of fun talking to people and just hanging out!
See ya!
Jana
It's been a pleasure Jana :)
ReplyDeleteJANA, TILL SEPTEMBER SOUNDS GREAT! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO READ YOUR BOOKS SINCE DIRT WAS CREATED!! LOL TOO BAD I MARRIED SCROOGE THE SECOND!
ReplyDeletelindarb49@hotmail.com
Hi Jana, I enjoyed learning more about you and reading your blurb. I share a fera of heights with you.
ReplyDeleteHi Jana, you are a new atuhor for me and always looking for new books and authors to read. This book looks awesome. The blurb looks great also.
ReplyDeleteGFC & blog follower: Chris Bails
christinebails@yahoo.com
Hi Hotcha12,
ReplyDeleteGood luck with my contest. Maybe you'll win a copy of "Till September" for free and your husband can rest easy!
For anyone else interested, I've got a contest running in conjunction with this blog tour. I'm giving away two CD copies of "Till September" by random draw to two commenters. Please go to my website at www.janarichards.net for details.
Jana
Hi Mona,
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know I had a fear of heights until it whacked me in the head. Good thing I don't fix roofs for a living!
Thanks for reading the blog and stopping by!
Jana
Christine, thank you for stopping by, and thank you for the kind words. All the best in the contest!
ReplyDeleteJana
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