Interview with Rebekah Roberts!

Today I welcome fellow 5 Prince Publishing author, Rebekah Roberts! The moment I read the blurb and sample chapter of this book, I fell in love with it and purchased it for my daughter. Not to mention the cover is amazing!

 Welcome, Rebekah!

What inspired you to write?  

 A lack of good books to read.  As a teen I had a hard time finding books that were “my style”  so I decided to write for myself.

What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

 I work as a full-time nanny.  So when the twins are busy, (or napping),  I try to squeeze in some writing time. 

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

 I always start out to write a short story and then it always becomes a novel.  I guess I have a big imagination, or I am just long winded.

MJ: LOL! I know what you mean! For me, writing a short story is more of a challenge than writing a 400 page novel! 

Are you a pantser or plotter?   

A little of both.

Are your stories based on experiences based on someone you know, or are events in your own life reflected in the characters/stories you write? Can you share and example?   

I always throw in humor from real life.  The awkward prayer scene in Petals, where the heroine closes her eyes and waits for someone to say grace, then opens her eyes to see that they are all waiting on her to take their hands.  That actually happened to me.  My characters have seasoning from myself and people I know, it’s hard not to put yourself and people you love or even people you can’t stand into a novel. 

Do you have any suggestions to help new authors become a better writer? If so, what are they?  They always say, “Write what you know.”  But the best advice I was ever given was “Write what you dream.”  If you write what you are passionate about, then it will come out deeper and more meaningful.  Look at the Bronte sisters or Edger Rice Burroughs, they were recluses who wrote about fantastic romance and adventures.  If they only wrote what they knew, Tarzan would be set in an ordinary living room.    

MJ: Great advice!

Are you self-pubbed, indie pubbed, or traditionally pubbed? 

Indie.  I felt like it was the right way to get started and I have been pretty happy with it.

What are your current projects?

I am working on a sequel to Petals, called, Sheltering Snow. It’s a modern take on the Snow White tale but in my mind that translates into a teen runaway with a secret.  I am also looking into a woman’s fiction project.  Not sure all the details yet but it will deal with some quirky roommates who are all VERY single. 

Blurb: 

“Beauty might just be the beast.”

Calla Williams is not like other girls.  Most girls spend their whole lives trying to be beautiful, Calla already is…and she hates it.

When she is shipped off one summer to live with family friends in their dilapidated Mississippi plantation, Calla is faced with the prospect of living with strangers and their teenage son.  This is annoying because, like any other boy, he is sure to fall in love with her on sight. However, Griffin Davenport is not your typical teenage guy. With his hot temper and half of his face severely scarred, “hate at first sight” is closer to what she finds.

Though the two teens try to stay out of each other’s way, an odd attraction to each other makes staying away anything but easy.

Now, Calla must deal with growing feelings, her own prejudices, and finding the secret to Griffin’s past. As hate turns to friendship and friendship becomes something more, Calla learns a startling truth: God uses even how we look in His plan for our lives.

Excerpt: 

When I made it to the kitchen, I found it dark with all the curtains pulled.  I flicked on the switch and, just

as the night before, the room flooded with light.

            A man was standing to the side, leaning against the stove. I let out a little shriek, startled to find someone

in the dark room.

             The first thing I noticed was his face. It was horribly scarred. Half of it was normal while the other half

looked mangled. He was tall and huge, completely dwarfing me. The room felt suddenly too small for comfort.

            “Need something?” he asked. He sounded angry but I didn’t know why.

            “Just…um, the cream.” I moved to the counter where I could see it sitting, but my eyes stayed on Griffin. I

knew it was Griffin, I mean, who else could it be?

             “What are you staring at?” he said, anger rising in his throat. He spat out he words in tone that sounded

automatic.

            “Um… sorry… I.”

            “Wanna see freaks? Go to a circus.”  He stepped forward and got right in my face. His breath was hot,

making goose bumps fill out all over my arms and back.  I could see every twisted, graphic line of his face; it

looked like something out of a horror movie. The closeness of his massive body felt almost like an attack.

            He stared into my eyes for a moment, then he moved past me, his nose almost grazed mine.  He stomped

through the door; it wobbled back and forth on its hinge  

About the Author: 

Rebekah Roberts’ obsession with fairytales, romance, and Jesus came at an early age. She knew as a young teen that she wanted to write books for girls that were both fun to read and good for them.

While working as a nanny and volunteering in her church’s youth group, Rebekah continues her mission to write wholesome romances and uses fiction as a platform for The Unfolding Rose Ministries; where she helps to promote true beauty and self confidence in girls.

Rebekah was homeschooled through high school.  She continued her education at Moore Norman Technology, where she studied creative writing. She uses her education to instill a love of the craft in the next generation through teaching writing classes.

Growing up in small town Oklahoma, she loves the old south and history, which finds its way into her writing and everyday conversation with dreams of plantation houses, WWII dances, and Victorian trivia. She has a passion for taking an old story and making it new.

When she is not writing or working with youth, she loves to watch sci-fi movies with family or enjoy a pot of tea with good friends.

Petals is her first novel. www.RebekahRoberts.net

5 Prince Publishing Launch Day for Bernadette Marie!

Today marks the official launch of FIRST KISS, the first novel in the Aspen Creek Series by Amazon and iTunes Bestseller, Bernadette Marie! Check it out! 

First Kiss

Promises made as children have a funny way of working themselves into reality when fate is orchestrated for them as adults.

Olivia Baker wants the best life for her young son, and that meant raising him in the small town she grew up in, but where her past still haunts her and rumors drip from the tongues of the local gossips.

Cade Carter moved away from Aspen Creek the moment they handed him his high school diploma. Now a washed up ex-professional football player he’s headed back after his father’s death to settle the estate of the man he’d left and forgotten about.

The friendship Cade and Olivia shared so many years ago is just now a haunting memory. People changed and moved on. Secrets were kept and loved ones around them buried with them. But when they are thrown back together to face the reasons their friendship faltered, and forces greater than them are in charge, anything can happen with the person whom they shared their First Kiss with.

Excerpt from First Kiss:

There was a chill in the air, even in June. Cade Carter rolled the windows up on his Porsche as he began his decent into the valley. The mountains of Colorado could deliver any unprepared traveler an array of weather to cope with, and it could change without warning in a matter of moments.

Though the higher peaks still boasted snow, he’d found the entire, long and boring trip from Green Bay, Wisconsin, to be fairly dry. Cade had considered driving his Bronco to Aspen Creek, but he’d needed the speed of the sports car and Ashley had needed it to move. 

He glanced at his Rolex for the sixth time in the past half hour. He was going to be late.

Who was he kidding.  He’d had no intentions of getting to his own father’s funeral on time.  Had it not been for Ashley, he’d have blown it off all together.  But no.  The words still rang in his ears.  “You have to go.  He was your father.  He loved you.  You owe him…”

Cade gripped the steering wheel tighter.  He did owe him the decency to be at his funeral, because Cade Carter had been the worst son, and he knew it.

The first sign that would alert drivers to the small town of Aspen Creek was coming up on his right.  A left would take him over the next hill to the elite ski resort town of Aspen Hills.  The road he veered down would drop him into small town hell.

As the deep groves of Aspen trees thinned he could see the small town at the bottom of the valley.  Each street was visible, the cars looked small, and the town stood there as if someone had taken a picture of it fifty years earlier, not one thing had changed.  He did see a 7-11 sign peeking above the buildings.  Corporate America had moved in. That was new. At least he’d know what the coffee tasted like.

He could see City Park in the center of town.  The grass was green.  Green’s Market had the most cars in the parking lot and Sloan’s Diner must have just finished with their lunch crowd.

Aspen Creek rolled along the sides of town and under the Rose Bridge. It was fast, unforgiving, and cold all year long.  He’d had his share of dunks in that water, some on purpose, some not. Beyond the bridge and the white rapids of the river that rushed through town with its new melt off he could see the street where he’d grown up, where his father had lived, and where he’d fallen in love as a young boy.

Cade pulled the car to the shoulder of the narrow road and slammed it into park.  He lifted his sunglasses from his eyes and rubbed them.  He hadn’t been back to Aspen Creek in twelve years.  Long had been forgotten the sentiments of home, like people knowing your name, and not because you were some famous football player, but because you were Austin Carter’s son. High school football games, swimming in Aspen Creek, and the girl next door were things a man forgot about when he was an M.V.P.

He blew out a long, ragged breath. The comforts of a sports car were limited to the power of the engine on a man Cade’s size.  He tried to stretch his legs, but to no avail.  If he didn’t get out and walk around soon he’d be paralyzed in the car seat.  Just another thing he deserved he supposed.  Career killing injuries were just another daily reminder that he was lucky to be alive, even if he now stood on the sidelines and basked in the glory of what used to be.

It was easy for the team to cut him loose when he was no longer able to perform. The position needed to be filled by someone younger and able to play. He was just a washed up has-been now who’d collected his payout.

Adjusting his sunglasses back on his face, he put the car back into drive.  He had demons to face and he’d better just get it over with.  Ashley was housesitting in Green Bay and Cade was expected back in three days.  He couldn’t imagine closing out his father’s life could take longer than that.

Olivia Baker sat in the cemetery alone, next to the new grave and sobbed.  The funeral had been small, but Austin had kept to himself for the past two years.  She wasn’t sure everyone had even heard he’d passed.  She wiped her eyes.  No, they all knew he’d died.  He’d died right in her arms and that had gotten the attention of the local gossips.

The casket had been lowered, the chairs had been collected, and now the only man she’d ever cherished lay beneath the mound of red Colorado soil with a spray of wilting flowers atop it.  It didn’t seem dignified enough.

Her jaw clenched when she looked at the few bouquets and sprays that still lingered near the grave.  Not one of them had Cade’s name on it.

Damn him anyway.

What kind of son didn’t even make it to the funeral of the man who raised him?  The kind like Cade Carter. 

The arrogant, self-centered bastard probably had some pressing football engagement and couldn’t be bothered with his father’s passing.  Some dry-cleaners probably needed him to cut their big obnoxious grand-opening ribbon with an oversized pair of scissors, and to Cade that would have always been more important than respecting his father.

Olivia noticed she’d twisted the head off a carnation at her fingertips.  She unclasped her hands and looked beyond the new grave to the one next to it.

CONNER CARTER.

Looking at the name written in stone sent chills up her spine.  She looked away.  She wondered if anyone at all had come to that funeral.  She hadn’t.  She’d been tucked away safely in Grand Junction, again, when Conner had died.  She was sure Austin had paid to bury him and had splurged for the headstone too.  And she couldn’t help but wonder if guilt over Conner’s death had in some way contributed to Austin’s death.

Just beyond the gate to the cemetery she could hear the sound of tires on the gravel.  It didn’t phase her.  Neither did her responsibilities at the bank.  Her boss Parker Woods had told her to take her time and that was what she was doing.  She was in no condition to head back to town and act professional.

Tears streaked down her face from under her dark sunglasses, and she let them fall.

The hole in her heart from Austin’s absence ached and she wondered if she’d get over her loss.  Her son Gabe would never remember the man she adored and loved.  He’d never know how much Austin Carter cherished him and loved him.

Olivia squeezed her eyes shut tight.  Would she miss Austin everyday when she looked into Gabe’s eyes and saw the resemblance?

She wiped away the tears and then noticed that the driver of the car, which had parked in the lot had walked across the gravel and stood only a few feet from her.  She did what she could to compose herself.  After all, she owed it to Austin to be gracious and welcoming to his mourners. 

Olivia pushed herself up from the ground, brushed off her black skirt, and turned toward the person standing behind her.

There was an uneasiness that settled in Cade’s gut when he saw the mound of dirt before him.  Could guilt kill a man of his stature? 

The woman who had been sitting at his father’s grave stood before him, her elegant black dress covered in dust, but she didn’t seem to mind.

He swallowed hard. “Is this Austin Carter’s grave?”

The woman shook her head more in an effort to convey disgust than to signal that he was in the wrong place.  

“Why did you even bother?”

“I beg your pardon.”

“Why show up now, Cade?  You couldn’t even give him the decency of being here on time?”

“I…” he had no answers.  Besides who was she to be criticizing him? 

Cade examined the lean, yet curvy woman in the well-worn dress who stood before him. Her hair was pulled back and dark glasses covered her eyes.  Little gold bands adorned each of her ring fingers, so she could have been someone’s wife.  Hell, he’d grown up in the town, maybe he did know her.  But still, what he did to get the funeral on time, or not, was not her concern.

“I guess you know me.  Who might you be?”

The woman opened her mouth, and then shut it again.  Instead of answering she picked her purse up off the ground and searched inside.  She pulled out a business card and handed it to him.  “I’m the one in charge of closing out your father’s estate.”

With that, she started off to the parking lot and he watched.  Back in town five minutes and he was already pissing off the women there. 

He ran his hand over the back of his neck and looked at the card as the woman sped away down the hill toward town.

Olivia Baker, Vice President Aspen Creek Bank.

His head shot back up and the air in his lungs escaped him. 

A man could drive into town, and the girl next door, whom he’d fallen in love with as a child, could hand him a card with her name on it and he didn’t even recognize her.

Suddenly the aches and pains in his leg, from his brush with death, didn’t hurt as bad when he was faced with a woman scorned and a week in small town hell.

####

BUY your copy today! www.5princebooks.com/buy.htm

Bio for Bernadette Marie:

Bernadette Marie has been an avid writer since the early age of 13, when she’d fill notebook after notebook with stories that she’d share with her friends.  Her journey into novel writing started the summer before eighth grade when her father gave her an old typewriter.  At all times of the day and night you would find her on the back porch penning her first work, which she would continue to write for the next 22 years. 

In 2007 – after marriage, filling her chronic entrepreneurial needs, and having five children – Bernadette began to write seriously with the goal of being published.  That year she wrote 12 books.  In 2009  she was contracted for her first trilogy and the published author was born.  In 2011 she (being the entrepreneur that she is) opened her own publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing, and has released contemporary titles and began the process of taking on other authors in other genres. 

In 2012 Bernadette Marie found herself on the bestsellers lists of iTunes and Amazon to name a few.  Her office wall is lined with colorful PostIt notes with the titles of books she will be releasing in the very near future, with hope that they too will grace the bestsellers lists.

Bernadette spends most of her free time driving her kids to their many events.  She is also an accomplished martial artist who will earn her conditional second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do in October 2012.  An avid reader, she enjoys most, the works of Nora Roberts, Karen White, Megan Hart, to name a few. She loves to meet readers who enjoy reading contemporary romances and she always promises Happily Ever After.

Author Contact Info:

www.bernadettemarie.com

www.facebook.com/authorbernadettemarie

www.authorbernadettemarie.blogspot.com

@writesromance on Twitter

info@bernadettemarie.com

A HEART NOT EASILY BROKEN: The Blog Tour is over, but the contest lives on...for the next few days!

That's right! The tour is over, but the contest still has a few more days. In order to win an AUTOGRAPHED COPY of A HEART NOT EASILY BROKEN, you must follow the guidelines and live within the United States. Visit this post for the contest details. The contest ends on October 3rd. The winner will be announced on my blog and contacted via email on October 5th. Good luck everyone!

And now  I must shout out all of the wonderful authors and bloggers who helped me put together my first blog tour....without you guys, my first release would not have seen the success it has!

Much love and thank you goes to:
Carolyn Arnold
Donna McBroom-Theroit
Debbie Brown
Candace Shaw
Delaney Diamond
Sharon C. Cooper
Manuscript Proofing
Carmen DeSousa
Chicki Brown

Thanks also goes to these wonderful bloggers/blog sites:
sjreisner.com
Warrior Princess Romance Writer
My Writing Journey
Chicks Who Love to Read
onevintageheart.com

Now for the tour highlights!

September 20th saw the release of my debut novel. Within hours it broke into the Amazon Multicultural Romance Bestseller list and has been moving up and down the chart ever since. It feels good being in the top 100 as an unknown! At last check, it had broke onto the first page at #19! (The numbers change hourly, but who cares! It's the fact that it got that far that counts!)

On September 28th, it broke into the Literature & Fiction>United States>African American Bestseller list and at last check, topped out at #48! (again, the numbers change hourly)

I also earned the Celebrating Authors All-Star status from CelebratingAuthors.blogspot.ca for the having one of the most read author features! My book cover and the link to the post are listed on the side bar of the site. That is so cool!

Within three days of it's release, I received my first official review from an enthusiastic reader who messaged me on Facebook and told me she'd be staying up until midnight to purchase the book, and let me know the next day that she was reading. By Sunday she was through and shouting our her praises in my first ever book review. It received a whopping 5 Stars! My favorite part:

“Chapter one till the end you will find this novel a captivating excellent read. How this author was able to do this was simply a work of art.”-Goodreads Review

My eyes water every time I read that. Suddenly, four years to reach this point doesn't feel like it was that long!

(I will be posting a new page with snippets of reviews soon. Look for the page at the top of the screen.)

In the last couple of days I have received emails and direct messages from authors wanting to know what I did to reach bestseller on day one. Honestly, I don't know. I've worked, planned, asked for and received help from authors with more experience than I have and followed the advice and direction of my team. And work, lots of hard work, tears, many pots of coffee, lots of candy bars, and untold hours of missed sleep.

Sounds like a lot of fun, right? Oh yeah, but believe me, there were times I seriously wondered (especially when I was crying) why on earth I even attempting to be published in the first place. What was wrong with just reading someone else stories? No stress, no headaches, and the only reason I'd miss sleep would be because I was too wrapped up in their tales. But then one of my characters would hold out a hand, help me back up, and encourage me to keep going. My family continued to tell me they believed in me, and then I knew I would not be able to give up because if I did, I not only would be letting myself down, they would be let down too.

Now every time they look at me, they smile, which means I'm smiling too!

So, what's next?

More work of course!!! Now is time to find a new balance in my life. Along with being a mom and wife, I can officially add published author to my many titles. I am also now an official director of my local writer's group held at, where else, my local library! Then there is learning how to balance promoting my book with editing the next one. Keeping up fresh blog content and continuing to promote and support my fellow authors at 5 Prince Publishing along with the numerous other authors I become friends with along the way. I swear, I have learned so much in the last four years that one day, I am going to write a book about it.......hmm, not a bad idea!

Anyways, stay tuned folks, strap on your seat belt and get ready for the ride! Until the next time! WRITE WELL!!!

MJ

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The Next Big Thing! and my FIRST FIVE STAR REVIEW!!!!!

I woke up this morning to let my dogs outside and checked my phone. There was a message on Facebook from a reader saying that she’d read my book and written a book review….my first review….My finger shaking, I logged on to my Goodreads author account and read….omg….My mouth dropped open and my eyes watered….That type of response was well worth the four years it took for me to see my book from beginning to publication! It’s a rather long review, but here’s the first portion:

"A Heart Not Easily Broken by M.J. Kane was truly a wonderful romantic well written read. This novel is the first of many of Ms. Kane's...'The Butterfly Memoirs' and I enjoyed it...and that being ...'change...the shedding of the old and bringing out the new.' This was definitely a page turner...even though I had read several excerpts... from some of the chapters... but starting with Chapter one till the end you will find this novel a captivating excellent read. How this author was able to do this was simply a work of art. (Read the entire review)

So I guess that means I really have earned the title of “The Next Big Thing!” Thank you to Carmen DeSousa and Deidra Ds Green for considering me for this title! Now… to answer the questions:

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

When Ebony’s attempt at a brief fling turns into more, despite negative reactions from friends and family, she finds juggling love, family, and career are nothing compared to the ultimate betrayal she endures.

What genre does this book fall under?

Interracial Romance, Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

It took 30 days to research and develop my charters and book outline. To write the first draft took another 30 days.

What other books would you compare this story to within the same genre?

I can’t compare my work to anyone else. I’ve strived to create my writing voice and style to bring a fresh voice to the Romance genre.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Life. My personal emotional growth and evolution was the catalyst. My desire to see a heroine the everyday woman can empathize with, who is strong, yet endures a tragic situation and is still able to come through the trial changed for the better is the theme of my Butterfly Memoirs series. I also felt finding men who experience the same type of growth and developments were passed over in the Romance genre. I strive to focus on both character’s development.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

While this book is about an interracial couple, the focus is not on the color of skin. It’s about finding love and support where you least expect it. No matter what the color of our skin, all face the same type of issues. It’s how we deal with those issues that define us.

Now to tag a few authors, both aspiring and published! Keep your eyes open for these talented authors!

Candace Shaw

Sharon C. Cooper

Ann Swann

Sara Barnard

Abby Jones

Erika M. Szabo

Minnie Lahongrias

MJ

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Announcing the Blog Tour for A Heart Not Easily Broken!

Looking for Free Kindle Apps? Click here! 

I am proud to announce the official blog tour to celebrate the release of my debut novel, A Heart Not Easily Broken!!!

Starting the day of the eBook release, September 20, 2012, there will be numerous interviews over various blog sites on the web. The tour will end September 28^th, 2012. Follow the tour to learn about me, how I started writing, why I write, the creation of the characters and the Butterfly Memoirs series! Along the way there will be character interviews, deleted scenes, and sneak peeks into the novel itself!

But wait, there's more!

I will also be holding my FIRST CONTEST!!!  And who doesn’t love a contest!

In appreciation for all of the support I’ve received during my writing journey, I want say thank you for the encouraging comments and feedback! As a bonus for taking the time to visit these blogs - and showing the blog host some love - I will be giving away an AUTOGRAPHED COPY of the paperback version of A Heart Not Easily Broken!

That’s right! For all of you who still love the smell of a paperback book, feeling the weight of it in your hand, and having it displayed on your book shelf, someone is going to win one!

(But if you can't wait until October 4th to get that paper back, download a FREE KINDLE APP and grab your eBook copy today!!!!)

The contest rules and directions will be posted on both this site as well as the home for The Butterfly Memoirs Series. I will be shouting out reminders daily as well has posting all the host links so that if you miss a day you will still be able to catch up!

By the way, if you don’t have an eReader and would like to purchase the book the day it releases in eBook format, don’t fear!!! Did you know that you can download FREE KINDLE APPS for your laptop, iPad, Tablet, and Smartphones? There's even one that allows you to read on your browser! And they are all FREE!! Follow this link and find out how you can get one of these free applications, then got to Amazon and purchase the novel! (On release day, Septmeber 20th!)  I promise you’ll be glad you did!

Until later, Happy Reading!

MJ

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