#bookdescription – Page 60 – Avonna Loves Genres

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: When She Dreams by Amanda Quick

Book Description

Maggie Lodge, assistant to the reclusive advice columnist known only as Dear Aunt Cornelia to her readers, hires down-but-not-quite-out private eye Sam Sage to help track down the person who is blackmailing her employer. Maggie and Sam are a mismatched pair. As far as Sam is concerned, Maggie is reckless and in over her head. She is not what he had in mind for a client but he can’t afford to be choosy. Maggie, on the other hand, is convinced that Sam is badly in need of guidance and good advice. She does not hesitate to give him both.

In spite of the verbal fireworks between them, they are fiercely attracted to each other, but each is convinced it would be a mistake to let passion take over. They are, after all, keeping secrets from each other. Sam is haunted by his past, which includes a marriage shattered by betrayal and violence. Maggie is troubled by intense and vivid dreams–dreams that she can sometimes control. There are those who want to run experiments on her and use her for their own purposes, while others think she should be committed to an asylum.

When the pair discovers someone is impersonating Aunt Cornelia at a conference on psychic dreaming and a woman dies at the conference, the door is opened to a dangerous web of blackmail and murder. Secrets from the past are revealed, leaving Maggie and Sam in the path of a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to exact vengeance.

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Elise’s Thoughts

When She Dreams by Amanda Quick, is a story with lies, murder, blackmail, and drugs. This series takes place during the 1930’s in the small town of Burning Cove, California with some recurring characters.

The opening scene sets the atmosphere for the rest of the plot. Maggie Lodge enters the office of Dr. Oxlade for a session about her lucid dreams. Unbeknownst to her, he gives her a drug called the enhancer. He is hoping to control her dreams, actions, and mind. As Maggie is fighting the effects of the drug, she barely escapes from the office.

Lucid dreams become almost a character in the story. People dreaming are aware that they are dreaming. During the dream someone may gain some amount of control over it to try to become aware of their consciousness.

Maggie must also deal with the fact that someone is blackmailing her employer, Dear Aunt Cornelia, an advice columnist. She hires private eye and former policeman Sam Sage to help find the blackmailer. The investigation leads them to a conference on psychic dreaming where Maggie realizes Dr. Oxlade is also attending. It seems some women who were lucid dreamers are being killed. As tensions rise and the murders increase, Maggie and Sam realize they are in the path of a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to exact vengeance. They enlist the help of the series recurring characters Raina Kirk, a private detective and investigator, plus Luther Pell, to find information that will help to connect all the murdered women.

The relationship between Maggie and Sam is a delight. Their snarky, intimate, verbal fireworks conversations are enjoyable. But they also realize there is a passionate chemistry between them. What they must overcome are the secrets kept from each other. Both are haunted by their pasts.

Once again readers will not be disappointed with this 1930s mystery. This intriguing and suspenseful story is full of twists. A bonus is how Quick intertwined the information about lucid dreaming into the story.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?

Amanda Quick: The story idea comes from the fact that I am personally intrigued with dreaming. One of the most interesting types is lucid dreaming where someone knows they are dreaming. The goal is to control the dream and solve problems that someone could not solve while awake. For example, rewrite nightmares or sad dreams to find peace. This was a hot topic in the thirties. Now on online there are many people looking it up. It is like waking up before falling off a cliff or in my case learning to fly.

EC: There are all types of dreams in the book, what are the differences?

AQ: Lucid dreaming is real. Astral projection is junk science, pure fantasy. It is when someone thinks they can travel in their dreams as their soul moves to another location. Latent psychic senses have someone believing they have a psychic vibe yet are not aware of it. This is also a scam.

EC: How would you describe Maggie?

AQ: Maggie is a lucid dreamer who can control her dreams, which allows her to see things in a different light. She is adventurous, outgoing, and a modern woman. She is very smart, independent, bold, a little reckless, unpredictable, and confident. Maggie wants to do the right thing and wants to find answers.

EC: Why does she have an aversion to marriage?

AQ: She had a very close call when her fiancé wanted to marry her for her money and then he was going to send her off to an asylum. In those days it was not hard to get a woman committed against her will. This is why she is wary of marriage.

EC: Sam Sage versus Sam Spade?

AQ: I did not even try to hide it and had fun playing off the character. I was going for the iconic 1930s hardboiled private eye. My character Sam Sage is much nicer and a lot more honorable. Sam Spade is from The Maltese Falcon, an American icon. I put this quote in the book, Sam Spade is “arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic ass, with the moral code of an alley cat…he isn’t interested in justice…and a lousy detective.” His goal is to prove he is the smartest guy in the room. I wanted my character to be in the same occupation but with better personality traits.

EC: How would you describe Sam Sage?

AQ: He is really interested in justice and doing the right thing. Sam is the classic good guy, very protective. Some people see him as world weary and wise cracking.

EC: What about the relationship between Maggie and Sam?

AQ: They play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses. She is reckless and he is a ‘by the books guy’. They are very passionate about each other. Each sees the underlying strength of the other and trusts each other.

EC: Next books?

AQ: It will be another Jayne Castle Dust Bunny book, a futuristic romantic suspense novel, titled, Sweet Water and the Witch, coming out September 30^th. The next Amanda Quick book is out a year from now, titled The Bride Wore White. A woman wakes up in the honeymoon suite with a dead body next to her. Raina Kirk and Luther Pell have become the anchor characters for the series and will be in every book as cameo players.

Thank you!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Mini Book Review: In Bloom: Three Delightful Love Stories by Fern Michaels, Lori Foster and Carolyn Brown

Book Description

AMAZING GRACIE by Fern Michaels

After years spent traveling the world as a flight attendant, Gracie Walden is ready to stay a little closer to her roots, starting with two weeks at home in Amarillo, Texas. But there’s unexpected turbulence between her mother, Ella, and her older sister, Hope—and it will lead to a revelation that changes Gracie’s life in amazing ways.

MEANT TO BE by Lori Foster

When Cory Creed was just a little girl, she knew she’d grow up to marry Austin Winston—and she made the mistake of telling him so. Tired of watching him avoid her ever since, Cory has decided it’s time to leave Visitation, North Carolina, and Austin, behind. But Austin has finally realized what Cory was once so sure of, and now it’s his turn to prove they belong together . . . with a little help from their mothers.

THE MOTHER’S DAY CROWN by Carolyn Brown

Monica Allen still hasn’t forgiven Tyler Magee for breaking her heart when they were teenagers. Ten years on, they’re back in Luella, Texas, visiting their respective grandmothers. and there’s just a white picket fence and a whole lot of awkwardness between them. Will two weeks be long enough for Monica to learn to stop holding a grudge—and hold on to love?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58843689-in-bloom?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=DL4Y5Dmkq9&rank=1

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My Mini Book Review

OVERALL RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

IN BLOOM: Three Delightful Love Stories by Fern Michaels, Lori Foster, and Carolyn Brown is a trio of charming short stories. All the novellas are easily read as standalones even with a few characters from other books.

All three authors are long time favorites of mine and have very distinctive voices. I could have told you who the author was for each, even if they were not marked. This is a good collection that gives you a chance to test out a new author or settle in for a quick read with one you know and love.

Sometimes you only have time for a short read and this anthology meets my expectations in a short amount of time. The only downside is that the characters may not be as developed as you like as they would be in a longer novel. While these are not my favorite stories by these authors, they are all heartwarming stories with satisfying endings.

***

About the Authors

Fern Michaels is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of the Sisterhood, Lost and Found, Men of the Sisterhood, the Godmothers series, and dozens of other novels and novellas. There are over ninety-five million copies of her books in print. Fern Michaels has built and funded several large day-care centers in her hometown, and is a passionate animal lover who has outfitted police dogs across the country with special bulletproof vests. She shares her home in South Carolina with her four dogs and a resident ghost named Mary Margaret. Visit her Website at FernMichaels.com.

Lori Foster is a New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author and a dominant force in the arena of sexy contemporary romance whose books have sold over 10 million copies. Visit her online at LoriFoster.com.

Carolyn Brown is an award‑winning New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling
author with more than one hundred published books to her name and over 4 million copies sold. With a career spanning more
than two decades and her books translated into nineteen foreign languages, she’s known for writing heartwarming women’s fiction, contemporary cowboy, and country music romances. She’s a recipient of the Bookseller’s Best Award, the prestigious Montlake Diamond Award, a three‑time recipient of the National Reader’s Choice Award, and a RITA Award finalist. Born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, she and her husband live in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma, where everyone knows everyone else, including what they are doing and when‑and they read the local newspaper on Wednesdays to see who got caught. They have three grown children and enough grandchildren and great‑grandchildren to keep them young. For more information, visit CarolynBrownBooks.com –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Speakeasy: A Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for this first book in a new series – SPEAKEASY: A Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas on this Virtual Author Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section, the author’s social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!

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Book Description

In 2019, A West Village Nightclub Singer, Roxie Raines, stumbles through a basement doorway into the past and finds herself in Roaring Twenties New York, with all its dangers, secrets, excitement, and romance.

Roxie Raines lurches through a secret basement doorway in 2019, and time-slips back to New York’s raucous Roaring Twenties. While she dazzles the speakeasy crowds with her “modern sound,” she gets trapped in the dangerous web of Frankie Shay, an evil club owner. She struggles to escape his control and return to the basement doorway that sent her to 1925.

When she meets the handsome detective, Jake Kane, it’s love at first sight, but Jake has a secret past, and her own time travel secret makes him suspicious.

Roaring Twenties New York comes alive with flappers, gangsters, romance and speakeasies and Roxie’s stunning rise to stardom could come with the price of losing both the man she loves and her own life.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60592112-speakeasy?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=bpKHMinHIf&rank=1

SPEAKEASY: A Time Travel Novel

by Elyse Douglas

Publisher: Broadback (April 5, 2022)
Category: Time Travel, Historical Fiction Romance
Tour Dates May 3-June 30
ISBN: 979-8423229016
Available in Print and ebook, 375 pages

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

SPEAKEASY: A Time Travel Novel (Book #1) by Elyse Douglas is an entertaining and smart time travel romance set in New York City in 1925. I have read other time travel romances by this author and always enjoy them. While this is the first book in a new series, it does have a complete plot without a cliffhanger.

In August of 2019, Roxie Raines is a struggling singer/pianist who loves performing the old classics. After her performance in Speakeasy, a New York club in Greenwich Village, she follows a local street person who has broken in to the basement and watches him vanish through a blue lit whole in the wall. When she is startled by the bar cat, Roxie falls through, too.

Roxie wakes in the alley behind The Black Cat in New York City in 1925. Roxie finds herself held by a mob boss who discovers her talent. Roxie loves the praise she gets for her performances, but she wants her freedom. She has no connection to the outside world excerpt for the postcards she drops from her hotel room window asking for rescue. She is discovered and rescued by a handsome personal detective and his assistant, but Roxie still does not who to trust with her past. It is 1925 and mob bosses, bootleggers, bribed politicians, and dirty cops are all fighting for their piece of the action.

Can Roxie find her way back to 2019 and does she even want to?

This is a fun romp through New York City in 1925. Roxie is a talented heroine who is capable in the present world, but much more suited to the 1920’s. Jakes’s story just keeps becoming more complicated as more of his personal life secrets are revealed and his dilemma between what he considers the honorable solution versus what he personally wants. The romance progresses at a believable pace and is appropriate to the time-period. The description of clothes, locations, laws, and personal rights was well researched and interesting. The only thing that slightly bothered me was the main antagonist, Frankie Shay, at times seems more of a caricature than a fully fleshed character, but he still fit with the overall suspense plot.

I really enjoy Ms. Douglas’ time travel romances and I am looking forward to seeing where the next novel in this series takes me.

***

Excerpt

SPEAKEASY

Elyse Douglas

Twenty-six-year-old Roxie Raines took the subway down to Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village and hurried off in a warm, August rain. It was nearly dark, and the shimmer of streetlights on the wet streets made it seem later than it was. She glanced up to see a tall construction crane, quiet now but surely swinging about during work hours. Another high rise? Did New York City really need another luxury high rise? There was an “old” part of Roxie, a part that longed for the old New York she’d seen online and in old black-and-white movies, before the glass towers, the needle-pointed, multimillion-dollar condos, and the encroaching chain stores took over.

Cars splashed water, taxis honked, and a thin, dripping pan handler shook his chipped cup for loose change, little mumbles moving his lips.

Roxie glanced at him and thought it odd that he wore retro clothes, scuffed wing-tipped shoes, slacks with no crease, a matching suit coat, and an open collar white shirt. His old-fashioned, gray fedora was tilted right, low over his brow, and a large mole on the left side of his nose helped give him a menacing look. Still, she felt compassion for him. He seemed strangely out of place under the yellow smudge of light from an overhead streetlamp, and he seemed utterly lost in the lonely, silver rain.

Fumbling with her umbrella, Roxie stopped, dug into the pocket of her yellow rain jacket, found three quarters, and dropped them into the panhandler’s cup. He nodded, his vacant eyes staring ahead.

“Isn’t there a shelter nearby you can go to?” Roxie asked.

He didn’t look at her, and his response was incomprehensible.

“Can I help you go somewhere and get out of this rain?” Roxie asked, seeing he was soaked, water dripping from the brim of his tattered hat.

He slowly turned to her, his eyes glassy and wide. “Do you know where you come from, girlie?” he asked, in a low, gravelly voice that sounded like a threat. “Do you know how you got here, doll? Are you stranded, too?”

Roxie felt a shiver ripple up her spine and she didn’t answer.

He flashed her a crooked gash of a grin. “No… I see it in you. You don’t know where you are or how you got here. You’re lost. Just like me, doll, you’re lost.”

And then he laughed, a sinister laugh.

Spooked, Roxie whirled around, thrust her umbrella toward the rain and charging wind, and headed off toward Charles Street, her sneakers soaked, her capri jeans damp, and her chin-length, blonde hair gone wild and frizzy.

“What the hell was that all about?” she mumbled to herself, quickening her steps, and not looking back at the man. And then she thought, How do people get so lost and so crazy?

Roxie had a gig that weekend in a Greenwich Village bar called Speakeasy.

***

About the Author

Elyse Douglas is the pen name for the married writing team Elyse Parmentier and Douglas Pennington.

She and her husband, Douglas Pennington, have completed many novels, including The Other Side of Summer, The Summer Letters, The Christmas Eve Series, Time Visitor, Time Change, The Summer Diary, and The Christmas Diary Series.

Social Media Links

Website: www.elysedouglas.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/douglaselyse
Facebook: www.facebook.com/elyse.authorsdouglas

Purchase Link

Amazon

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Rafflecopter Giveaway

“http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e23ee71d1542/”

Friday Feature Author Interview by Elise Cooper: The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Book Description

Dawn Dixon can hardly believe she’s on a groomless honeymoon on beautiful Cape Cod . . . with her mother. Sure, Marnie Dixon is good company, but Dawn was supposed to be here with Kevin, the love of her life (or so she thought).

Marnie Dixon needs some time away from the absolute realness of life as much as her jilted daughter does, and she’s not about to let her only child suffer alone–even if Marnie herself had been doing precisely that for the past month.

Given the circumstances, maybe it was inevitable that Marnie would do something as rash as buy a run-down ice-cream shop in the town’s tightly regulated historic district. After all, everything’s better with ice cream.

Her exasperated daughter knows that she’s the one who will have to clean up this mess. Even when her mother’s impulsive real estate purchase brings Kevin back into her life, Dawn doesn’t get her hopes up. Everyone knows that broken romances stay broken . . . don’t they?

Welcome to a summer of sweet surprises on Cape Cod–a place where dreams just might come true.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher is a feel-good book. It has a story of self-reflection, healing, love, and faith although there are some difficult issues covered regarding loss, hardship, and fear.

The plot has Dawn Dixon’s life turned upside down when her fiancé, Kevin, backs out of their wedding. She then finds out her mother had breast cancer and treatment. In addition, both mother and daughter are still recovering from the sudden death of their husband/father.

After Kevin insists Dawn goes on vacation, using the honeymoon reservations, she decides to take her mom, Marnie. Both need a relaxing get away. But the trip turns into a longer then planned event after Marnie decides to buy a historical run-down ice cream shop. She is fulfilling a dream that Dawn and her father had. While trying to fix the shop, Marnie meets a townsperson, Lincoln, who is willing to help. Not to mention she calls Kevin for his advice. Marnie enlists Dawn’s help to carry out her dream because Dawn is the person to oversee operations and has wonderful ice cream making skills.

There is a potent emphasis on healing and self-reflection in relationships. Dawn is practical, focused, and a planner, while Marnie is spontaneous, a risk-taker, and creative. As they work together both start to understand and accept the differences of the other person.

This story is uplifting and inspirational emphasizing what is important in life. The small-town setting, humorous banter, colorful characters, and healing make for a wonderful story.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Suzanne Woods Fisher: This is book one in the series, “Cape Cod Creamery.” About six years ago for a Christmas present I sent my husband and daughter to Penn State’s short term ice cream school. Ever since, ice cream has been a big part of our life. My editor wanted me to write a series about ice cream.

EC: Role of ice cream in the story?

SWF: It is a character. Ice cream has been a part of the family’s life, including a dream to have an ice cream shop. The mother buys this run-down ice cream shop and needs the daughter’s help. Ice cream has kept the family together and has continued to bring them together.

EC: Each chapter has ice cream quotes-why?

SWF: Little quotations about ice cream. These quotes relate to what is going on in the chapter. It gives the reader a visual appeal. There is one quote that relates to the theme, “life is like ice cream, and we should enjoy it before it melts.”

EC: Your favorite flavor?

SWF: Vanilla is my favorite. A funny story is related to that question. The most popular flavor in the world is vanilla, but the hardest to make. It cannot be masked. My husband did something that I wrote into the series. He made vanilla 59 times to make it right. The vanilla base is the main one for all other flavors.

EC: How would you describe Dawn?

SWF: She is an only child. She is more like her late father, than her mother. She is not spontaneous, or a free spirit, as is her mom. Dawn has very self-awareness and is a planner. She grows throughout the story. She is diligent, a perfectionist, and a rule follower. She was able to have some father-daughter time where ice cream between the two of them was their togetherness. After she lost her father and fiancé healing became important.

EC: How would you describe Marnie?

SWF: She is more creative. She is a breast cancer survivor. She is a child of the sixties, cooky. Marnie relies on her intuition. She is a lot of grey. She balances out Dawn.

EC: What was the role of cancer?

SWF: This is my story. On Christmas Eve I got the phone call I had it. I had surgery, healing, and then radiation. Cancer is right in front of you, but as time passes it gets farther away. The scenes where Marnie did not want to go to cancer survivor meetings was me. I wanted to be very private about it. I wrote this book during that whole process. This book was a gift to me, as an escape from that experience. Whoever is reading this, please get your annual mammogram because that is how my cancer was caught.

EC: How would you describe the relationship between Kevin and Dawn?

SWF: Kevin was struggling as the wedding got closer. He felt they were not in a place they should be to get married. He stopped and slowed things down. He kept checking in to make sure Dawn is OK. They become open where things went wrong. They are sensitive to each other.

EC: How would you describe Lincoln and Marnie?

SWF: Lincoln was a workaholic and then realized he lost everything. He had a moment that he had no one to put as an emergency contact. This was a wake-up call. They realize they have a lot in common. At this point they are just good friends and are shying away from a second romance. Both are slow, cautious, and careful. They try not to be judgmental.

EC: The historical association?

SWF: They are like a homeowner’s association. They want to keep the tone of the town. The drama of the book is how they wanted to put the brakes on anything that will be different from what the town was like.

EC: What is the theme?

SWF: Preserving the past while moving forward. Holding on to what is needed yet at the same time is not frozen, to let go and embrace the future.

EC: Next book?

SWF: It will come out in a year. Marnie goes to ice cream school and bumps into her husband’s niece, a chef who lost her job. She stays with Dawn and Marnie where Dawn and she compete. But Dawn’s cousin is clinically depressed and needs help getting back on her feet.

THANK YOU!!

***

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Find Your Way Home by Jackie Ashenden

Book Description

He’s hell-bent on telling her what to do.
She’s determined to make it on her own.
They’re both going to learn a thing or two about first impressions.

Brightwater Valley, New Zealand, is beautiful, rugged, and home to those who love adventure. But it’s also isolated and on the verge of becoming a ghost town.

When the town puts out a call to its sister city of Deep River, Alaska, hoping to entice people to build homes and businesses in Brightwater, ex paratrooper Chase Kelly is all for it. He sees the benefits of building the economy, but only if those who come to Brightwater are ready for its challenges. Former oil executive Isabella Montgomery and her plan to open an art gallery don’t seem up to the test. Now Chase is determined to help her learn the ways of his formidable hometown.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Find Your Way Home by Jackie Ashenden is an adversary to lovers’ story with a lot of adventure. Readers get to imagine the beautiful New Zealand setting with the blueness of the lakes, the white capped mountain peaks, the weather changes, and the small-town atmosphere.

The plot has Isabella Montgomery, Bethany Grant, and Indigo Jameson hoping to open shop to help revitalize a remote town. Brightwater Valley, New Zealand, put out a call to its sister city of Deep River, Alaska, hoping to entice people to build homes and businesses in Brightwater to invigorate this ghost town.

Isabella (Izzy) decided to join the group after losing her job and being ditched by her fiancée. She wants to start over and embrace the adventurous spirit of the town unlike her former town of Houston, Texas. Chase Kelly is the defacto Mayor of the town. He is trying to raise a teenage daughter Gus by himself and make the town economically livable again. But he and Izzy seem to constantly butt heads as they try to find ways to bring in tourists.

Chase is a micro-organizer, managing everything, has a need for control and is very bossy yet is very caring and will do anything for those he loves. He tries to convince himself that he is not attracted to Izzy as he overanalyzes his feelings. Izzy on the other hand is determined to just follow her own lead and try not to please others. Chase and Izzy dance around each other and struggle to deal with ghosts in their past. But when they get together sparks fly as they realize they have more in common, including exes who never really cared about them.

This is a story of love and loss, acceptance, and new beginnings. The character banter is perfect as they snipe at each other until they realize they have a connection and are learning how to trust again.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: What about the setting?

Jackie Ashenden: This the first in a series set in New Zealand. I wanted to do something connected to my Alaska series, :Deep River.” Since New Zealand is ripe with small towns it made it easy to write a small town into the series. There is a small town in the South Island, an ex-mining town that I based the story on. The South Island has a lot of outdoor activities like bungee jumping and hiking, so the heroes must be outdoorsmen. I brought in some of my Deep River characters and connected them up.

EC: How would you describe Izzy?

JA: She is Zeke’s sister from the Deep River series. She is strong-willed, stubborn, does not like to rely on others, and is very protective as well as kind. Because of being a Southern girl, she is a planner and determined with some rage over what happened to her.

EC: How would you describe Chase Kelly?

JA: He is Izzy’s male counterpart with a similar personality. He knows what he wants, an organizer as well as arrogant, rugged, serious, a brooder, very charismatic. He is an ex-SAS paratrooper. Chase will do anything for the people he loves and the town.

EC: How about the relationship between Chase and Kelly?

JA: At first, they butted heads, getting under each other’s skin. They are fighting the physical attraction as well as each other. Both realize they must work together so they decide not to antagonize each other. As they slowly get to know each other they allow their feelings to show.

EC: Seems each character has father issues?

JA: The book That Deep River Feeling has Izzy’s brother, Zeke Montgomery, as the hero. Their father is the antagonist. Izzy was the peace maker between her father and brother. Her parents told her she had to be good, or they would disinherit her. Chase’s father went to the pub, after his wife died, and never left it. He has abandonment issues, having to be on his own and raising his little brother.

EC: Their exes are the direct opposite of Izzy and Chase?

JA: Both are weary of having a new relationship. They have certain assumptions and begin to realize those assumptions are wrong. Izzy sees in Chase someone who is protective, giving and caring whereas her ex was selfish, self-centered, and wanted only a trophy wife. Olivia, Chase’s ex always wanted her way and made him always justify himself, while Izzy listened to Chase’s feelings and took them into account. This is why I put in this quote to show how Izzy and Chase realized they accepted each other for who they are. The quote, “Love is acceptance. It doesn’t require you to do anything or be anything. It just requires that you be yourself.” New Zealanders are straight up people.

EC: What about your next book?

JA: The next book in the series, All Roads Lead to You, and comes out in November. Chase’s brother Finn is the hero, and the heroine is Beth. Finn is grumpy and Beth is an optimist, seeing the silver lining everywhere. She is determined to make him her friend and he is determined to not have her befriend him.

THANK YOU!!

***

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: High Meadow by Freya Barker

Book Description

An emergency call to pick up an injured stallion on the side of the road sends Alexandra Hart, the new owner of Hart’s Horse Rescue, into action. A recent addition to the area, she is not impressed when the animal’s taciturn owner shows up. With his less-than-stellar disposition, he’s the kind of man she normally avoids at all costs, unfortunately, he owns the ranch just down the road.

However, when the manhunt for a pair of escaped prisoners gets a little too close for comfort, Jonas turns out to be a better neighbor than she expected.

The Alex who shows up at his ranch to help with his prize stud’s recovery is not exactly who Jonas Harvey expected. This is the same bleeding heart he met on the side of the road. Worried she’s not up for the job, he’d prefer to keep a close eye on her but his High Mountain Trackers team gets called in to track down a group of domestic terrorists.

But the slip of a woman proves him wrong. On all fronts. Alex not only charms his horses but him as well, and when trouble comes calling she proves to be a worthy ally to boot.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

High Meadow by Freya Barker has strong independent women facing off against alpha-males. It is a modern-day western suspense with added doses of romance.

The story is set in Libby Montana where Jonas Harvey has the High Meadow Stud Horse Ranch, which neighbors with Hart’s Horse Rescue. When one of Jonas’ horses goes lame with a leg injury, Alex Hart is asked to help heal him. Jonas did not expect Alex to be a female but finds a woman who is confident in her abilities to heal horses a la the Heartland TV show.

The suspense comes when two escaped convicts begin working with nationalists and homesteaders who are setting bombs. Because Jonas also has a business, the High Mountain Trackers, they are asked to find the domestic terrorists and help to assist the arrogant FBI and DHS agents. After retiring from the Special Forces Jonas had set up the High Mountain Trackers with his ex-military buddies, Fletch, Sully and Bo. This elite team uses all the special talents and knowledge acquired during their military careers to track and rescue, or recover, the lost, or the hiding.

Alex and her friend Lucy have a business that rescues abandoned and abused horses as well as dogs and a donkey. New to the area, they would have to build the rehabilitation reputation of their farm. But everything is put on hold until the convicts are found because they have decided to set up their terrorism operations on Alex’s land.

The hero and heroine are respectively in their fifties and forties. While working together both Jonas and Alex realize there is a chemistry between them. Although they did not seek out a romance it seems to have found them. Now Jonas must use his gruff skills to protect her, while she shows him that nobody will push her around and she will not avert danger. Readers will enjoy learning about the characters while getting a riveting mystery/thriller. This first in a four-book series is filled with action and great banter between the characters.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why the setting?

Freya Barker: My daughter lives out in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and she does a lot of camping down into Montana. Most of my writing takes place in the Colorado area, but I thought Montana would be interesting to write about, especially since it is a place I always wanted to go. A photographer friend of mine showed me a picture she had taken of a rancher, that became the cover for High Meadow. I decided to write about Lincoln County in Montana. The homesteader idea came from discussions with my son, an avid hunter.

EC: Why a horse rescue for the female lead, Alex?

FB: I always dreamed of having one when I was younger. As a three-year-old growing up in Holland I saw a functioning farm behind us. At that age I was put on a Belgium horse. I had no fear and loved the experience. I had been around horses my entire young life. I adore horses. My dream growing up was to come to Canada to have enough space to own a horse. I emigrated to Canada when I was twenty-seven with my young children. LOL, I have lived in Canada for over thirty years and still do not have a horse.

EC: How would you describe Alex?

FB: Independent, motivated by idealism, emotional, passionate, strong, determined, big-hearted, and pragmatic. She is a bit of an earth-mother type. She has preconceived ideas which can make her a bit naïve. She relocated herself to a place where she knew nobody so I would say she is also adventurous. The main drives in her life were to raise her son after her husband was killed and to build up a business.

EC: How would you describe Jonas?

FB: He is a traditionalist and old fashioned. He has lived in a male dominated environment, being surrounded by ranchers and having been in Special Forces. He is considerate and can be a charmer when he wants to be. Jonas can also be open-minded.

EC: What about the relationship?

FB: It is a mature relationship. Neither is looking for a partner, yet there was some chemistry both could not ignore. There is not a lot of angst, emotional situations, in the relationship, but more a cerebral approach. I am not a fairy tale writer and want it to be real. I hope I reflected that they could talk about misunderstandings and their feelings. I put in my books how others see the relationship before the hero and heroine and will tease them. Because they are slightly older characters people around them can see what is happening first. In the beginning Alex is guarded but not for long, because she was willing to open to a possibility.

EC: Ama/Jonas relationship versus Lucy/Alex?

FB: They both behave as siblings. With Lucy and Alex there is friendship, a little bit of big sister, and nurturing from Alex to Lucy. With Ama/Jonas she is the nurturer. Both Lucy and Ama are direct and blunt. Lucy has a defense mechanism because of what happened to her that makes her more abrasive. Ama is also loving, and the directness is part of her personality. Both control the household.

EC: Why the military angle?

FB: I have had military angles before. I group of my friends are ex-military. I use the veteran component. Readers get a certain picture of an alpha male. It is a quick way for people to identify with the characters. It is also a way to honor them. A lot of skills learned in the military can be used, for example tracking. Jonas was in Afghanistan, Alex’s late husband fought in Afghanistan, and Alex’s son is fighting in Iraq. It made for a credible source since they step up to the plate and would not sit by the sidelines. I also tried to make it realistic. I asked people who knew and did research to find out information.

EC: The thriller end has a lot of 3-letter agencies?

FB: There are jurisdictional issues. It can be different from state-to-state and county-to-county. In this case I researched the town and county. I found out how the departments worked.

EC: Next books?

FB: The book just out, book two, is High Stakes. The hero is Fletch who is a broody individual and likes to be in the shadows. He has spent some time in Canada and was found there by Jonas when assembling his team. Fletch lives off the grid. Because he is a tracker he was approached by a woman, Nella, whose sister, Fili, is missing. There is a lot of wildernesses involved as with tracking, tracing, adventure, and hiking. Book 3 called High Ground comes out in August. The hero and heroine are Sully and Fili. Book 4 will be released in December. The hero and heroine are Bo and Lucy.

THANK YOU!!

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