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This post was originally on InspyRomance in 2023. Now that InspyRomance has shut down, I thought it would be fun to revisit it here.  Hello, and thanks for visiting. Have you been to Sassafras, Arkansas before? Well, it’s not terribly easy to get to. Basically, it’s only found in a few books by Amy R Anguish. But we’re fairly proud of our little town. Where exactly are we located? Well, you know. About an hour north-east-ish of Little Rock. But not too far east, mind you. A bit closer to the foothills of the Ozarks, but not quite. Still in the land of rice and cotton. Anyway, that gives you a pretty good idea. Sassafras isn’t huge. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if they include the livestock when they put the population number on the sign. But we’re big enough to have two grocery stores and a hospital. And just the other day, I heard they’re talking about bringing in a Walmart. Yep. We’re moving up in the world. What can you expect find here? Well, if you visit in An Unexpected Legacy, you’re going to find the church building, of course. And one of our lovely parks. The courthouse down in the center of downtown. And a few little antique shops, as well as a tearoom. Quite nice. Nice enough you want to visit again? Well, No Place Like Home allows you a peek into our hospital (sad situation, that) as well as into the preacher’s house. James Stewart is his name. He’s a great guy, but one of his daughters … well, that book tells her story better than I can. Of course, if quilting is more up your alley, we’ve got a nice little shop down a few blocks from the courthouse. It’s called The Missing Piece. You can visit it along with our annual Watermelon Festival in Love in Any Season. The Nortons run the shop and are sweet ladies, though I think Tommy London is stepping in to take his Mom’s place in the business too. About time he came back home. Those people tend to visit the local deli, run by Dawn Smith. She has some of the yummiest sandwiches around. In case you need groceries while you’re here, we have two options. Foodland is on the North side of town. More of a chain store, but it has pretty much everything you need. I prefer to go to McDonald’s Grocery, though. It’s run by Mack McDonald, the third generation to bless our town with plenty of local produce. He’s a bit stuck in his ways sometimes, but I think Kaitlyn Daniels is loosening him up. She was able to get that new app Grocerease in town, and she scurries all over delivering groceries when she’s not subbing at the elementary school. More about Mack and Kaitlyn in Love Delivered. Of course, there are other amenities around. We’re not too far from some good fishing and hunting spots. And if you need something you can’t find here, Little Rock’s an hour away. All in all, I think Sassafras is about the best place to be. So, y’all come stay awhile, you hear?  So, what do you think? Do you want to visit Sassafras? Do you like revisiting a fictional town in different stories? What are some other spots you’d like to see more of in this little town? I’m sure we’ll visit it again in the future. ;)
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Because author takeovers are fun, and because this month has been so busy for me, so I gladly offered up extra spots to my friends, you're blessed with another guest blogger today. Rachel Herod is one of my dearest friends, and she and I have been celebrating her first release. She's talking about the recognition her characters ... and she ... are both hoping for. Read on.  One of the most exciting aspects of writing is creating characters. Not just the way they look, but other facets of their personalities, too: their beliefs, their tendencies, their nuances. Sometimes characters are born that resemble friends and loved ones, beloved personas in other works of fiction, celebrities, or the author herself. And sometimes we create cast members who exhibit characteristics we wish we had. To write someone you want to emulate can be helpful in your spiritual journey and even cathartic at times.
In the town of Buskerton, there’s an annual awards ceremony. Votes from all the townspeople are tallied, and local businesses are awarded a flowing banner to hang outside and show everyone they are the winners and the very best in their categories. The winners of what, you ask? Well, the winners of the Buskie awards, of course. As everyone knows, a Buskie award banner proves you’re the very best at what you do. Doesn’t it? Everyone wants a Buskie banner outside their front door, right? 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.”  Love Delivered is the third novella collection I will be a part of. It releases tomorrow!
The last few weeks, I've introduced you to some of my characters, given some insight into the setting, and dropped a few other sneak peeks, but how about a few peeks into the other stories in this collection? (If you need a little more of a sneak peek, scroll all the way down for a link to read the first chapter of each story ;) )
 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.
2022 has beena bit of a whirlwind--in writing and in other parts of my life too.
Once again I had three books scheduled to release ... and they all did! Destination: Romance came out in June, starting off my three-book Roadtrip Romance series. In September, I added another novella collection called Love in Any Season. And this month, my second Roadtrip Romance, Roadtrip for Two hit the market. Whew! Even though they were all several months apart, it still added up to be a lot. But in a good way. This gives me a total of NINE releases now. I can hardly believe it. But what else have I done? |
This is a place for me to tell you about what I'm writing, talk about the process or where some of my ideas came from, or even have other authors come in and talk about their books.
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