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Have you ever read a romance set in an antique shop? I've read a few, and I loved them all. But especially this new story by my friend Heather Greer, part of our Pets Amore collection. The shop in her story comes from personal experience, but not from actually owning a shop herself. See what I mean.  It doesn’t matter how different a character’s personality is from mine, there is usually a little bit of me in every story I write. Usually, that means someone bakes at some point in the story. Doesn’t matter if it’s cupcakes or cookies or a pie. Treats will be baked.
For Pegboards, Parrots, and Pickup Lines, my story in the Pets Amore novella collection, I decided to go a different direction. I do have more I enjoy doing than baking, and I thought it was time to work some of those things into my stories too.
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Do you ever wonder how much of an author's real life actually ends up in her stories? Well, Beth Westcott, one of my fellow authors from the Pets Amore collection, is here to chat about just that today. Her story is delightful and I can't wait for you to learn more about it (and her).  At one time, I thought I’d become a schoolteacher but didn’t. Perhaps, if I lived my life over, I’d earn my teaching degree. I taught one year in a Christian school, homeschooled for twelve years, and substituted as a teacher’s aide for a couple of years in public school. I also taught Sunday school classes and Bible clubs.
Brianna Kinney loves teaching her third-grade students. However, when her school downsizes, she loses her job. Twenty-seven years old, a widow, and now without employment, Brianna desires change. She moves to Juniper Falls and becomes a bookstore clerk. Although she enjoys her new job, she misses her students. Maybe one day she’ll teach again.
 How is your 2025 going so far? Mine is off to a fairly good start.
Over Christmas break, I was able to add about 20,000 words to my story, Fairest Inn All. It's my Snow White retelling and my goal is to finish it by April so I can get it on the calendar for early 2026. Between now and then, though, I have a fun novella collection releasing in a month. Wow! February isn't very far away, is it? Where did the rest of January go? Pets Amore is four rom-coms and each has their own pet involved in the romance. My story is "Out-of-the-box Valentine's." It has a hamster named Houdini, a kindergarten teacher, and a firefighter. So much fun!  Another year draws to a close. Are you like me, looking back and wondering how everything didn't get done? Or wondering how you got so many things done?
I've got to admit, this year went a bit different than planned, not always in a bad way. I had two books release, which is the personal goal I have set myself for now (after almost killing myself doing four a few years ago). And I have contracts for two more to release next year. But ...  If you've been following me, you know I've been aiming to write my novella due to release next February. Well, I got it written! It definitely needs a polish, but it feels so good to have those 20k words down on "paper." Since you all helped me name my hamster in this story, I thought you might like a sneak peek at how it starts. See what you think.
 A few weeks ago I asked for help coming up with names for my hamster. Not a real hamster, mind you. I haven't had one of those since high school (and that's just fine with my husband). This name was for a hamster who will appear (star?) in my novella releasing next Valentine's season in the collection called Pet's Amore!
My story is set in a kindergarten class on Valentine's day. The hamster is brought by a student who was sick the day of show-and-tell, so he decides it's okay to bring him the first day he's back instead. The kindergarten teacher isn't so sure it's okay, but the animal is already there. Let the chaos ensue! |
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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