Ready for another author takeover? Today, Heather Greer is here to chat about a character too easy to hate. Do you like Love-Hate relationships?

Have you ever had a love-hate relationship with a character? Maybe you see their potential, but their personality rubs you the wrong way?

Will Forrester was that character for me when I wrote Cake That!. He was rude and abrasive. Arrogance seeped from every pore. Will was a great baker, and he knew it. He also managed to alienate himself from every other competitor in the contest.

But as much as Will wasn’t the nice guy in the competition, just under the surface of what he allowed everyone else to see, I saw something more. Will wasn’t just a jerk. There were reasons he’d adopted those attitudes. And while I gave insight into those reasons in Cake That!, I wanted to give Will a chance at redeeming himself. 

Today, you're in for a treat, because fellow author, Sarah Anne Crouch, is taking over my blog. She's giving you some insight into where she got her characters' names. See what you think.

​I truly love being an author, and it still feels a little surreal after publishing my third book. My favorite parts of the job are when I get in “the zone” and words and ideas just flow out of me, when readers tell me how much they love my stories, or when I get to collaborate and problem-solve with other writers.
 
One of my least favorite aspects of being a writer is coming up with names. I’m so bad at it. My husband and I picked names for our kids years in advance, so we’d have plenty of time to get it right. But I have to name my characters, their hometowns, their favorite musicians, the restaurant they visit on their first date, etc. It’s just part of the job. And if other authors are anything like me, they don’t want to help you come up with ideas. I once saw a popular Christian writer post on Facebook asking for name ideas. My immediate thought was “If I come up with a good name, I’m using it myself!”
 
So here’s how I did it for “Where Love is Planted.”

We're continuing on with our sneak peek behind the scenes of my newest novella, Romance at Register Five. Today, it's Mack's turn.
Mack McDonald is in charge of his family grocery store, McDonald's. The store has been a fixture in the town of Sassafras, Arkansas for decades. His goal in life is to keep it that way. He does so by making sure he knows his customers, giving great service, and making sure everything stays exactly as its always been.

Ready to start meeting the characters for my new novella, Romance at Register Five? This collection of stories releases February 14th, and each story has a fun delivery theme. Today, I'm introducing you to Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn Daniels is supposed to be working her grown-up job--teaching elementary school. But she moved after the beginning of the school year. She couldn't help it. Her mom's MS has flared up enough lately that she needs help. Now, Kaitlyn is living in Sassafras, Arkansas, subbing, and back to working for the Grocerease app.

Every family begins somewhere, right? All the way back to Adam and Eve. Stories are no different. Characters all need a back story, a beginning, a place to come from.
Well, when Heather Greer, Regina Merrick, Erin Howard, and I all started planning out our stories, we realized this. Heather discovered a neat website where you can actually plug in names and dates and make a family tree. Since all of our stories are based on the same family, this was perfect. We could add and update as we wrote, and each could see the other's changes. Some of us even added pictures of our inspiration. Erin's the only one still needing to plug in her people, but hers are way in the future, so this could look interesting. ;)

Do you love history? I have a fondness for it, though maybe not as much as my history teacher husband. ;) And now, my friend Heather Greer has dabbled in it too. She's taking over my blog today to tell you a bit about her newest book.

​Did you know that even though potato chips were first invented in 1853, it wasn’t until 1926 that someone had the brilliant idea to package them in wax sealed paper bags so they could be marketed to the masses?
Did you know that in 1926 what is considered the first aerial bombing on US soil took place outside Marion, Illinois at the site of Shady Rest, a known gangster’s establishment?
Did you know that Harper’s Bazaar was Harper’s Bazar in the 1920s?
Neither did I. Not until I began writing Window of Opportunity.
Being a contemporary romance writer, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began developing Evangeline and Brendan’s story. I’d read a lot of historical fiction. Not being a fan of history class, fiction was where I learned the most about the past. But I’d never attempted to write a historical story. Too much research was involved for my liking. At least, that’s what I believed. 

You've met the main characters of Roadtrip for Two, but how about some side characters? I mean, you've already met Katie and Skye in Destination: Romance, and they don't play a huge role in this story. Though Bree talks to Katie a few times. But there are a couple other characters you see. Some fun church people in Dallas. And then, Nathan's brother Josh, and Mama Hart.