Category Archives: Interview

When did you start writing?
I wrote my first short story when I was seven. It was written on the front and back of a 3 X 5 card.

Talk about Miss Mary Margaret Marries A Yankee.

It is based on a true story of the last Union General at Van Buren, Arkansas who eloped with the daughter of a prominent Confederate family. Their love story is told against the background of the last year of the Civil War in Arkansas. Mary Margaret, known as Maggie to her friends is conflicted between the love for this man, who was considered by most to be an enemy, and her belief in the Confederacy. Maggie tells their story in the first person with humor and insight after forty years of marriage. Book 2 is available now and book 3 will be published later this year.

Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?

I want adults to understand that there is more than one way to learn Arkansas History.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Many people in the South, even today, hold a lot of resentment over the fact that the South lost the Civil War.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Making sure it was historically accurate.

What are your favorite quotation or words you live by?

Fear not, I go before you always. – Christian Hymn

What books have most influenced your life?

The Episcopal Prayer Book

You can purchase Miss Mary Margaret Marries A Yankee through our bookstore. 

When did you start writing and what inspired you to start?

I’m not one of those people who always knew they wanted to write. I was a reader long before I was a writer. I started getting serious around 2005. I spent a lot of 2006 and 2007 learning about writing, writing new fiction, entering contests, etc. As far as what inspired me…my husband! After I retired from a full-time job, he watched me read everything I could get my hands on. I read close to a thousand books and novellas that year. Finally he suggested I try to write a romance since I read so many of them. So I did.

What inspired you to write your first book? 

It wasn’t a “what” but a “who.” That who would be Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I remember finishing one of her books and thinking…I’d love to make someone feel like I do right now. The book was funny and touching and totally romantic. I was also a big Janet Evanovitch (i.e. Stephanie Plum) fan. So my first attempt at writing was a first person cozy mystery…which remain under the bed with my dust bunnies and dogs!

Talk about Texas Tango

Texas Tango is the second book in the Texas Montgomery Mavericks Series. It hits bookstores on Nov. 5, 2013 from Samhain Publishing. (Book one was Texas Two Step which was digitally published in 2012 and print published in 2013.) Texas Tango stars the brother of the heroine from book one. If you remember The Big Valley television show, then you’ll have an idea of the Montgomery family. One daughter, three sons. The exception is that both parents are alive in my series.

In Texas Tango, Travis Montgomery is a widower with one dream left—to build the ranch he and his wife planned before he lost her to cancer. There’s just one thing standing between him and the last bit of acreage he needs—a last living heir who has one traveling foot out the door…and an unusual request that challenges his determination to never again place his heart at risk.

Dr. Caroline Graham is happy with her nomadic lifestyle fulfilling short-term medical contracts. No emotional commitments, no disappointments. She’s always the one to walk away, never the one left behind.

But now her great-uncle is gone and her grandmother is on her deathbed, more concerned about Caroline’s lack of a husband than her own demise. What’s the harm in a little white lie? If a wedding will give her grandmother peace, then a wedding she shall have.

The land he wants in exchange for a faux marriage. Everyone wins. Until things start to snowball…and the hearts they stand to lose are their own.

How did you come up with the title?

The first book in the series was Texas Two Step. I thought it’s be fun to keep dances in the titles, so Texas Tango was born. However, the title fits the story so well as the couple has to do quite the dance to avoid spilling their secret.

Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?

I think the message is all my books is the importance of family…how family is there for you even at times when you aren’t aware of them.

List your favorite quotation or words you live by.

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” By Jane Goodall

What books have most influenced your life?

The Bible; How Win Friends and Influence People; Helter Skelter (I still have nightmares!) In the romance genre, anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips or Jennifer Crusie.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

This is SO hard. By genre, in romance, few hold a candle to Susan Elizabeth Phillips. In Mystery/Suspense, I am a huge Robert Crais and Harlen Cobin fan.

Considering my three author choices, I realize now that each of them has a sense of humor that comes through in their stories, even when the stories themselves are quite serious.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Thank you! Thank you for buying my books, for sending me wonderful notes, for telling your friends and family about my books.

And PLEASE, post a review…on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc. Reviews can do more for helping an author than I can say. And if you loved my books, tell your friends to buy my books.

Very Important…Do not download books from online digital pirate sites. First, this is a form of theft from the author. Second, it is not uncommon for a computer virus to come with these pirated books.

You can purchase Texas Tango  through our bookstore.

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