Today on ye old blog I’m so happy to have my friend, the super talented and all around amazing person, Piper Huguley here to talk about writing, her process and her much anticipated full length inspirational debut, THE PREACHER’S PROMISE (book 1 in her Home to Milford College series).

Hello Piper it’s so wonderful to have you here on ye old blog today! 

First off can you tell us a bit about THE PREACHER’S PROMISE?

1866 – Oberlin, Ohio

Devastated by her father’s death days after her triumphant graduation from Oberlin College, Amanda Stewart is all alone in the world. Sorting through her father’s papers, she discovers he had carried on a mysterious correspondence with a plantation in Milford, Georgia. To fulfill a promise she made to her father, she resolves to start a school there to educate and uplift their race.  However, when she arrives, the mayor tells her to leave.  There’s no where for her to go.

Virgil Smithson, Milford’s mayor, blacksmith and sometimes preacher man with a gift for fiery oratory, doesn’t want anything to do with a snobby schoolteacher from up North. On top of everything else, the schoolteacher lady has a will hard enough to match the iron he forges. He must organize his fellow formerly enslaved citizens into a new town and raise his young daughter alone. Still, his troubled past haunts him. He cannot forget the promise he made to his daughter’s mother as she died—that their child would learn to read and write.  If only he didn’t have secrets that the new schoolteacher seems determined to uncover.

Now here is a short excerpt from The Preacher’s Promise:   

If he had shot March with an arrow, he couldn’t have wounded his daughter more, judging from the screwed-up look on her brown face. And made him all the more determined for this pretty lady to get on about her business. This woman with her fancy bonnet and her big trailing dress with the smallest possible waist put big ideas into March’s head. What would he do with that once this lady was gone on about her rich life? Best to put all of that to an end. Now. Today. Well, at least tomorrow.

            He moved off the platform, and March dragged her feet in her dusty shoes. But the rustle of the lady’s skirts did not follow them.

            Virgil turned. She was still up there on the platform, a dark bell against the afternoon sky.

            “Got to walk. Town’s up this way, Miss. Can’t wait out here all night.” If she stayed all night on the platform, he really would be responsible for her then. The thought of what could happen to her in the night made his dry throat catch.

            “I’m staying right here, Mr. Smithson.”

            A stubborn female. An even worse sight for March to see.

            He started again. “Nightfall come, Miss, and the night riders could come and do you great harm. Wouldn’t want it to come to that.”

            Couldn’t she see her safety was at stake? And he couldn’t touch her to bring her on. He looked at March to see if she were concerned about this lady’s safety, but his daughter, his own child, looked away from him.

            Miss Amanda embodied danger itself. She had to go.

            “I mean to say, I can’t go anywhere else, Mr. Smithson. If you’ll just take me to the teacher house, I’ll be comfortable.”

            “I’m telling you, Pauline will put you up. What else you need to know?”

            “I’m homeless, sir. I have no home or family or anywhere else to go.”

            He dropped her case to the dust, clean out of options and responses. No matter that he was a freeman who bought himself out of slavery way before the war come. A man who used fire to make iron bend to his will had just met his match.

The Lawyer’s Luck is a prequel story about Amanda’s parents in 1844 Ohio.  It is a short novella. What inspired you to write this story?

The Reconstruction-era is not a time period that is often written about. So, I was looking for the history that was not written about, rather than gravitating to the often-told history. As it often happens, once I investigated the events of the time, the story grew out of those events in an organic way.  A bunch of teachers going in to tell native people that they were ignorant and needed to learn a new way of doing things?  Natural conflict.

 Do you feel your works are more character or plot driven?

I have always thought they were more character driven, but having answered the above question, I would have to say maybe they are more plot driven. The history does provide certain answers when I am stuck.

What made you choose this genre to write in?

We see enough about the historical struggles of our ancestors.  I thought about this idea, and the idea for my 20^th century series when I came to know, through the classroom, how younger people don’t know this history.  I thought of the fiction approach as a “fun” way to convey it.  Others on Facebook always proclaimed a desire for more African American Historical Romance.  It seemed to be a ready made market.

Tell us a bit about your writing schedule. I know you have a busy schedule also being a professor. How do you fit your writing into this world?  

I tend to write in the evenings.  I will settle down to the computer for an hour or two and fast draft.  Then I will go back and revise.  I love accountability groups. It helps me to get a kick in the butt and to watch the words pile up.  I’m always looking for new accountability groups to join!

What advice would you give other aspiring writers?

If you have an idea that is unique, don’t give up on it.  There is an audience. The beauty of self-publishing is that there’s a better chance of reaching a  smaller audience.  Traditional publishers feel that because the audience is small, reaching those readers is not worth the risk.  I understand their point of view, because they have to make money to pay for their overhead and expenses, but in self-publishing, that doesn’t exist.  Save your money to self-publish to ensure that your voice and idea can be heard in the best most professional way.

 Lastly what can readers expect next from you?

If it appears that people like my interpretation of this history, I’ll put out the next story in the series, The Mayor’s Mission.

I’m already loving the title! Can’t wait for that one to come out too.Thanks so much for being here today. It’s been a real pleasure.

Thank you for having me!

You all can find Piper in these spots around the web. Please look her up. You won’t be disappointed!

Blog: http://piperhuguley.com

Facebook: Piper Huguley, Home to Milford College

Twitter:  @writerpiper

You can pick up The Preacher’s Promise at these e-tailers:

Amazon 

Nook 

Kobo

All the best,

KMJ

I’m so happy to welcome for the first time to ye old blog, author Rebekah Weatherspoon here to discuss her recently self-published release FIT.  

Hi Rebekah, thanks so much for being here on ye old blog today. It’s a real treat.  

First off can you tell us a bit about your current work?

Hi everyone, and thanks for having me, Kwana! My latest release, FIT (#1 in the Fit Trilogy) hit digital shelves June 3rd. Here’s a little bit about the story.

Violet Ryan loves the delicious food she gets to eat on the reality shows she produces for The Food Channel. What she hates is her expanding waistline. Determined to drop the pounds, Violet hatches a plan to kick start a fitness regimen. But when her determination isn’t enough to get her through even one intense group class without breaking down into tears, she knows she needs a new approach and possibly a new trainer—one with a lighter touch. 

Grant Gibson has always managed to mix business with pleasure, but now this trainer by day, and Dominant by night, is bored. Bored and lonely. Even though he owns one of L.A.’s hottest private gyms, his personal life is sorely lacking. After his last submissive tried to kidnap his dog and the contents of his bank account, he’s in no hurry to take a new lover under his wing. Not until the voluptuous Violet falls into his lap. 

She may be wary of his unorthodox approach of using sexual gratification as a reward, but even before her initial weigh-in Violet can’t seem to stay away from the sexy fitness god. She may have to let Grant show her there’s more than one way to get in shape…

 What inspired you to write this story?

I initially drafted this story for a specific publisher. Their rejection ended up being a blessing in disguise. I did a massive rewrite, changed Violet’s character completely and gave Grant a different backstory. I suppose I could have submitted it again, or to a different publisher, but when I came up with two follow-up stories I decided that I wanted to self-publish a trilogy. I had been planning to self-publish a trilogy of full length novels for a long time, but this cluster of stories was aching to get out. I have a great working relationship with my LGBT publisher, but I figure I would strike out on my own for a bit with my hetero titles.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

No. I wanted to be singer/actor/dancer. Pretty much I wanted to be Janet Jackson.

LOL. So did I. Now can you tell us a bit about your writing schedule. Are you a Plotter or a Pantser?

I am most certainly a plotter. I work quickly, when I actually sit down, to write, but I usually think about a story for months. The book I’m working on next, By Her Side, a spin off to my erotic romance, At Her Feet, I’ve been thinking about that for over a year. My plan is to write it in 4-6 weeks. That’s my schedule. Marinate on something for ages and then write like the dickens.

What advice would you give other aspiring writers?

Read, write, read, write and then read some more. Read outside of your genre. Check out stories you normally wouldn’t. Reread your favorite stories and think about why those stories are your favorite. Reread stories you absolutely hated and narrow down what ruined the story for you. Think about what YOU want to write and focus on that.

Lastly, what can readers expect next from you?

I have four releases hitting shelves before the end of the year.

Burn – a lesbian short to be featured in an anthology titled, All You Can Eat, will be out in August.

TAMED (#2 in the Fit Trilogy), the follow-up to FIT will be out in September.

Treasure, a lesbian New Adult romance will be out from Bold Strokes Books in October.

SATED (#3 in the Fit Trilogy) will be out in December.

Perhaps I’ll pause to take a nap in November some time.

In the meantime, here’s an excerpt from FIT:

Grant took the other seat and offered Violet an easy smile. He was dangerous, this one. “So tell me about yourself,” he said.

“Well. I’ve been wanting to get in shape. Actually, I have a goal weight I want to reach. I know it’ll take a long time. I can be patient, but I need to get started. I’m sick of looking this way and I’m sure, in some way I’m not seeing, these extra pounds can’t be good for my health.”

“That’s cool. So why don’t you tell me about yourself?” Grant repeated. He licked his lips, then smiled even wider. Violet almost kicked him in his stupid shin, but that grin he flashed her melted her reflexes. He was sarcastic. Okay. She could do sarcastic.

Violet leaned forward and mimicked his tone. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself. I’m fat. I want to pay you to make me unfat. Why don’t you tell me how you’re going to make that happen.”

Grant sat back and stretched his long legs out beside her chair. She thought about straddling him and kissing that look of satisfaction right off his face. But as fun as the brief fantasy seemed, it wouldn’t help her achieve her weight-loss goal.

“I’m not going to make anything happen. It’s on you, but here’s how I can help.”

“I’m listening.”

“I believe our outside reflects the way we feel inside, whether that’s good or bad, clean-cut or complicated. For some people, it’s about our weight. For others it’s about the way we dress or the way we sport our hair or the way we accessorize. Buddy of mine won’t leave the house without his gold watch.”

“That makes sense. So you want to know about my insides?”

Grant chuckled as he shifted in his chair. He had dimples under all that scruff. “Yes, Violet. I want to get inside of you.”

“Well, all you had to do was ask. My car is right around the corner.”

—

Rebekah Weatherspoon is from Southern New Hampshire and now lives in Southern California with her favorite human and their two feline children. She writes adult and new adult romance, both contemporary and paranormal. Her work can be found at rebekahweatherspoon.com

You can pick up FIT at these e-tailers:

amazon

kobo

b&n

itunes

And you can find Rebekah here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rebekahwsm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebekah-WeatherspoonAuthor/184372138243421

Website: http://www.rebekahweatherspoon.com/

Happy new week! Today on ye old blog we have author Theresa Paolo here to talk a bit about her writing journey and her latest NA work (Once) Again.

Hi Theresa, thanks so much for being here on ye old blog today. It’s a real treat!

Thank you so much for having me!

Can you tell us a bit about your current work?

(Once) Again is the companion novel to (Never) Again and is about Josh a victim of a school shooting and his struggles.

The official blurb:

Josh will have to reconcile his past…

In order to make Kat his future.

After surviving a real-life nightmare, Josh Wagner is sent home from his dream college on crutches. Bedridden and tormented by flashbacks, he’s just seen his world shattered and his baseball scholarship go up in smoke. Josh’s family hires a health aide to help take care of him, but when he opens the door, the last person he expects to see is his biggest regret…

Katherine Singleton is the only girl Josh has ever loved. Now, even though she’s only taking care of him because it’s her job, Josh is determined to win her back. But Kat had to move on after their breakup two years ago, and despite her feelings for Josh, a lot has happened since he left…

When Kat’s past comes back to haunt her, Josh decides it’s his turn to take care of her. But protecting her—and redeeming himself—will put Josh in the line of fire again. Will he survive this time?

What inspired you to write this story and its predecessor (Never) Again?

Several years ago I was home and a Breaking News story came on TV. It was about a school shooting (Virginia Tech) and I kept thinking about the family and friends who were watching and couldn’t get any information. I decided I wanted to write from that point of view and that’s how (Never) Again came about. Then Josh’s voice was so strong I knew he needed his own story.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 

Pretty much. I wrote my first book when I was six or seven. It was a picture book and I still have it somewhere. I went back and forth though as to what area of writing I wanted to be in.

Do you feel your works are more character or plot driven?

Definitely character driven. It’s what I love to read. The plot could be amazing but if I don’t have a connection with a character I have a hard time getting into the story.

What characteristics are essential in a hero for you? And how about a heroine?

For both a hero and a heroine I like complexity and balance. If they are weak in one area I like to see them strong in another.

This is a favorite of mine. Care to share the story of your “overnight” success with my readers?

Because it’s a favorite of yours I have to answer! As much as I wish I was, I was not an overnight success. I queried for five years, 5 books and over 200 rejections before I finally signed with my agent. I signed with Penguin 3 months later.

Wow! That’s a wonderful story. I’m so proud and happy for your perseverance. Thank you so much for sharing it with my readers.

Lastly, what can readers expect next from you?

I would love to write another book in this series, but we’ll have to see about that. I do have a YA book coming out in July under my penname Tessa Marie that I co-wrote with author Cassie Mae aka Becca Ann. It is called True Love and Magic Tricks and is the prequel to our Beds Series.

Well we can’t wait for that one too. Thanks so much for being here today. It’s been a real pleasure.

Thanks again for having me! It’s been a blast ! See you on Twitter/Facebook!

Theresa can be found in the following places on the web:

Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads:
Pinterest:

And (Once) Again can be picked up here:

Amazon:

Barnes and Noble:

All the best,

KMJ