Okay so it looks like I fell off the planet. Promise - I'm still here. The last four years have been ... hard. There's no other word for it. Everything is fine. I'm fine, but I've been the caregiver of my mom who has Dementia. Between her needs, work, etc I seem to have lost control of my time. I am still writing and am trying hard to get back to my blog.

In case you weren't aware Phaze and HSWF which where under the Mundania Umbrella have closed. I was smart enough to get my titles back before all this happened. I'm happy to say the three books I sold to HSWF have been picked up by Melange Books and are available through their Satin Books imprint. I have even sold a new title to them called Magical Quest due out in 2022

I have also been lucky enough to find a publisher for my Vespian Way series. I'm now with Blushing Books under the name of Bethany Drake. I have five titles out with them right now and am close to submitting two more. There's Desire's Destiny, Desire's Duty and Desire's Promise. Then there is two in my werewolf series, Tears of the Queen and Legend of the Tears. I have just finished the rough draft of the third book in the series and have plans for a fourth one the moment I submit it.

I'll probably still be sporadic here on the blog. Unless I win the lottery and can hire someone to help me I can't avoid it, but know I'm still here still working hard in the background and am hoping to do better at keeping my blog alive.

Barb:)



Saturday, January 23, 2016

Welcome My Latest Guest Jessie Clever! @jessieclever #amreading

I want to welcome Jessie Clever.  First I’d love you to introduce yourself.

Thank you for having me today!  I’m a storyteller at heart and love to give readers a moment of escape from the day to day.  I’ve been writing since I was a little girl, and it’s my absolute dream to share my stories with readers.

Tell us about your latest release.

When She Knows came about when I said goodbye to my 20s and reflected on what I had learned.  There’s a lot of me in this book, and I don’t often get a chance to write about things I’ve encountered personally.  I hope some of the aspects of the heroine’s character will help other women in similar situations and going through a similar time in their life.  I believe there is a lot of pressure on young women to do it all, and I hope they find in this book that they only need to do those things that are worthy of them.

Now I have a few questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us writers.

1.) Who is your favorite villain – it can be from a book (even one of yours), movie or TV show. And why?

My favorite villains are always the one that makes you wonder whether or not they are really a villain.  I love the show The Good Wife for this.  Sometimes you think they’re good, and then they turn around and stab their friends in the back.  That shows real human characteristics and not just black and white characters that fit nicely into a plot.

2.) Who is your favorite character out of your books? Why?

I don’t play favorites.  No, I really do.  Jane, the Duchess of Lofton from my Spy Series, is my absolute favorite, because she simply popped into my head one day fully formed.  Now she feels like an old friend.

3.) What genre do you write? What made you pick that one?

I read voraciously as a child, and only when I began to understand how much books costs did I realize the predicament I put my parents in.  I grew up in the sticks without a handy public library, so my dad’s solution was to buy boxes of books at auctions for $1. The boxes were always filled with romance novels, historical and contemporary.  I fell in love with the books that I had available to me, and that was what determined what genres I’d write in.

4.) What are you working on now?

I’m working on the next book in the Franconia Notch Trilogy, When She Falls.

5.) What got you to start writing?

I always say writers are born, not made, and at the very ripe age of 7, I knew I was going to be a writer.  I had just received a picture book based on my current movie obsession, Dick Tracy. It was the first picture book I read all on my own.  That was the beginning of the end for me.

6.) Where do you get your ideas from?

Everywhere!  I warn people to be careful around me, because what they say could end up in a book.

7.) What would people who read your work be surprised to find out about you?

I’m afraid of stairs and swamps.  Stairs because I don’t have depth perception, so I can’t see them at all.  I can only imagine myself tumbling right down them.  Swamps because seriously.  Swamps are freaking scary!

8.) Do you have any special talents?

I’m a classically trained pianist.  (Against my will and at the directive of my mother!)

9.) What was the one piece of advice you received when you were an aspiring author that has stuck with you? Why?

Keep writing.  I read an interview with Lynn Kurland who said while she was submitting her manuscripts she kept writing, so in case an agent/editor came back saying the manuscript wasn’t the right fit, she would be able to say, well I have three more.  No matter what, I keep my hands moving on the next manuscript.

10.) If you could talk to any famous figure (present, past or fictional) who would it be and what would you talk about?

Audrey Hepburn.  There’s so much I would like to ask her about surviving hardships, finding beauty in harshness, and persevering.

11.) What song would you say describes your life?

Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon.  I use dance as of way of stress relief, and there are moments when I throw up my hands and say just dance!

12.) If you could come back as any animal – what would it be?

Dog.  Specifically one of my writing partners, Lady Barks-a-lot or Captain Licky.  They are extremely lazy Basset hounds.





Title:

When She Knows: Franconia Notch Trilogy Book One 
by 
Jessie Clever


Blurb:

His latest problem is her newest assignment.

Shannon Wynter has it all figured it. Abandoned by her mother and left to care for her agoraphobic father, Shannon focuses on building her career as a journalist to the detriment of all else including her love life.

Ian Darke has his own problems. Battling past failures, Ian sets his eyes on launching a new factory for his father’s defense firm. But it’s the very father he failed that will do anything to sabotage Ian’s progress.

And when Shannon follows an anonymous tip that leads her to Ian’s factory door, the last thing she expects to discover is what she already knows.


Goodreads Link:

Purchase links:

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1SWp4R9
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1M6StJw
All Romance eBooks: http://bit.ly/1IHyZsj


 
About the Author:

In the second grade, Jessie began a story about a duck and a lost ring.  Two harrowing pages of wide ruled notebook paper later, the ring was found.  And Jessie has been writing ever since.

Armed with the firm belief that women in the Regency era could be truly awesome heroines, Jessie began telling their stories in her Spy Series, a thrilling ride in historical espionage that showcases human faults and triumphs and most importantly, love.

Jessie makes her home in the great state of New Hampshire where she lives with her husband and two very opinionated Basset Hounds.  For more, visit her website at jessieclever.com.




Social Media Links:



Excerpt:
"But fraud for a defense contractor is serious.  You don't want to defend your reputation as a provider to our armed forces?"
It took him a minute to realize that clicking noise was her following him over the pavement.  He spun around, his arms coming up once more to gesture his acquiescence, only she was standing too close, and instead of gesturing with authority, he ran into her, his arms striking her shoulders and knocking her against him.
He froze, feeling the length of her body collide with his, the scent of her shampoo invade his senses, her breath fall across the exposed skin above his shirt collar.  He felt her hesitation, the hitch in her breath, before she shoved against him, pushing herself away.
"I'm very sorry," he said, his hands moving uselessly in front of him as if to help her regain her balance.
She stood with her pad held against her chest like some sort of shield, and he felt his anger drain into annoyance.
"I'm sorry," he repeated, much more carefully, "I don't have a comment, and I need to get back to work.  Please excuse me."
He turned slowly this time, resuming his walk to the loading dock door.
"What is it that you're using this factory for, Mr. Darke?"
He didn't answer.  No matter how much he wanted to turn around and rail about his stupid brother's stupid decisions, he did not.  He kept walking.
"Fraud, I mean, come on, that's-"
And then he did turn.
"If you want a comment, you can call our PR department."
"Great!" she said, and he almost smiled at her enthusiasm as she pulled up a clean page of her notebook.  "What's the phone number?"
He shook his head at her and let his feet carry him back to where she stood on the pavement, notebook poised for the phone number.
"Shannon, was it?" he said when he was close.
He had felt her breath hitch when she had bumped into him, and now he dared to step a little closer than politeness would have dictated.  He saw it again, the slight hitch in her chest, and he felt a smile spread over his face.  He leaned in, dropping his voice to a soft, rich level.
"Have you heard of the Internet, Shannon?"
"Yes," she whispered softly, her eyes locked on his.
"Use it," he said and walked away, leaving her standing in the parking lot, her pen completely still.

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