Welcome back,
Valerie. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on
the horizon?
I'm also writing and releasing five Riverbend Romance
novellas this year. The first, Secretly
Yours, is already out, and Pinky
Promise is in final edits for an April release. I'm nearly finished writing
the third one. Yes, I'm keeping busy!
Tell us a little
about your family.
My husband and I live on a small farm in Western
Canada , and we have two adult kids. Our son, daughter-in-law, and
their two-year-old daughter live in a modular home on our farm. We love seeing
them nearly every day. Our daughter, son-in-law, and their two daughters (ages
five and three) live about 90 miles away, and we see them about twice a month.
My daughter is also my cover designer and illustrator. It's
a delight to me to see her follow her artistic passions and grow a
home-based-business of her own. It's also fun to have someone to talk shop with
in a closely related, but not exactly the same, industry.
Has your writing
changed your reading habits? If so, how?
It took years to level out my reading after I started
writing. Now I set aside time for fiction every night before bed. Good thing I
prefer Christian contemporary romance, because that’s a genre that doesn't tend
to keep me awake as suspense would do! I love reading what my peers are
writing—and what readers are gobbling up.
What are you working
on right now?
I'm "this" close to having completed the first
draft of the third Riverbend Romance novella. I'd hoped to have it finished in
February, but life got away… and it wasn't just that February was a short
month! I've also gotten a good start on the fifth Farm Fresh Romance, Plum Upside Down, and that will fill my
writing hours for most of the next three months. I'll also be editing and
releasing two novellas during that time.
What outside
interests do you have?
In 2015, my writing career is my major focus. My husband and
I always plant a vegetable garden, but we'll be scaling back this spring. We're
looking forward to a three-week vacation on Vancouver
Island in June, where I'll be doing research for my next series
while we comb the beaches, fill up on seafood, and relax to the sound of the
surf.
This spring I'm co-leading an Alpha group in my church and
finding it challenging and exhilarating to watch people grapple with the big
questions of Christianity. It's a wow experience for me as well as them.
How do you choose
your settings for each book?
The Farm Fresh series all takes place on (fictional) Green
Acres Farm in (fictional) northern Idaho ,
so that setting chose me several years ago. But to be a viable setting for one
of my stories, a place (fictional or real) needs to have interesting things
going on in local foods and sustainability. This has been a major part of my
stories since the first Farm Fresh Romance, Raspberries
and Vinegar (now free in e-book everywhere), and I don't see my focus
shifting away. These are the unique aspects of my life that God has prompted me
to share in story form, and I'm enjoying the process of looking at the assorted
related topics from many angles.
What is the one thing
you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
How much a part of me it would become. Sometimes I regret
not starting to follow this dream earlier. Now I can't imagine life without my
fictional characters and worlds. They've brought me so much joy and creative
satisfaction.
What new lessons is
the Lord teaching you right now?
To take nothing for granted. I've had a few health issues in
the last few months that counter-balance the success I'm seeing as an author.
My health—my very life—is a gift from God. Each day, I thank Him for the new
readers He's brought my way and ask Him to use the words He's given me to bless
and/or challenge. Each day, I thank Him for imagination and the power of story.
I'm awed to be in this position. Every day is an adventure.
It most certainly is.
What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be
successful?
Being an indie author/publisher is more rewarding than I
ever imagined it could be. Don't be afraid to dip your toes into indie waters.
You may find yourself happily swimming like a dolphin!
Write in series. I'm seeing strong sell-through from book to
book. Once readers get to know a group of characters and a setting, they want
to follow them around for a while. I changed my plans mid-stream from a
three-book series to six. Dandelions for Dinner is the fourth
Farm Fresh Romance novel, and readers are definitely picking up steam.
Grow your newsletter list. This is the best way to maintain
your readership. I wrote a short story last fall and offered it to my email
list. The story stands as 2.5 in my series. I figure that if someone has read
the first two books in the Farm Fresh Romance series and is looking for more,
they're ripe for my email list. My list has grown by over one hundred readers
per month since adding the short story as bait for my list at the end of every
book. Sure, some get the free story then unsubscribe. That's okay. The vast
majority stick around and eagerly await news of the next release.
Tell us about the
featured book?
Dandelions for Dinner
She hates him. He loves her not.
Men are weeds. Allison Hart doesn't need them in her carefully tended life, though her friends at Green Acres seem happy with their guys. Why can't Allison open her heart to anyone but her young nephew? Then again, he'll be a man one day, too. If only the irritating contractor in charge of building her home and farm school wasn't the boy's favorite person.
Fireworks with Brent Callahan's newest client shift from antagonism to the rocky possibility of a relationship. When he comes face to face with a history he'd much rather forget, he realizes hiding his failures isn't the best option for finding forgiveness, let alone love.
Can a little boy help weed out the past before it chokes their future together?
Men are weeds. Allison Hart doesn't need them in her carefully tended life, though her friends at Green Acres seem happy with their guys. Why can't Allison open her heart to anyone but her young nephew? Then again, he'll be a man one day, too. If only the irritating contractor in charge of building her home and farm school wasn't the boy's favorite person.
Fireworks with Brent Callahan's newest client shift from antagonism to the rocky possibility of a relationship. When he comes face to face with a history he'd much rather forget, he realizes hiding his failures isn't the best option for finding forgiveness, let alone love.
Can a little boy help weed out the past before it chokes their future together?
Please give us the
first page of the book.
Allison Hart
had perfected the art of staring out the window and checking her watch
simultaneously. The contractor said he’d be here by ten, and it was now quarter
after. If guys could be on time driving in Portland
city traffic, how hard could it be on northern Idaho ’s rural roads?
Waiting. Who
had time for it? She tapped her foot and crossed her arms, not that there was
anyone to see her. No one who lived at Green Acres was home today except her,
which suited Allison just fine. She’d arrived at the communal farm three days
earlier, and she’d already experienced about all the togetherness she could
handle.
The rumble of a
vehicle grew louder, and a white pickup with the emblem of Timber Framing Plus
emblazoned on the side turned into the driveway.
Finally.
Allison strode for the door, buttoning her cardigan against the cold March day
as she went.
The contractor
slammed the truck door and turned toward her, hard hat in hand.
Wait a minute. This wasn’t Patrick at all. This guy
had a shock of black hair — unlike Patrick’s thinning salt-and-pepper — to say
nothing of those dark brown eyes, slightly angled. Skin that on anyone else
might look tanned but combined with the rest definitely tagged him of Asian
descent.
Japanese? Thai?
Didn’t matter. He could be Martian for all the difference it made. The biggest
problem was, he wasn’t Patrick.
The guy tucked
his hard hat under his arm and stretched out his hand. “Hi, I’m Brent Callahan
from Timber Framing Plus.”
An Irish name? Unexpected.
“Allison Hart.”
He had a strong
grip, like he knew what he was doing, even though he didn’t have the other
man’s years of experience.
“Where’s
Patrick?”
“Back in the
office. He sent me out to check the footings.”
The wind had
built up speed crossing the Galena
Valley to get to her.
Would it slam straight into the mountain beside the farm and come to an abrupt
halt or find some other direction in which to continue? Either way, she
should’ve worn something without the big holes in her bulky cardigan. She
wrapped both arms around herself in an attempt to stay warm. “I was under the
impression he was coming himself. I have a list of questions for him.”
Brent grinned.
“Nothing I can’t answer, I’m sure. I’ve worked for him since high school.”
Her eyebrows
shot up. When was that, last week?
“Ten years,
ma’am.” He winked, set the hard hat on his head, and turned toward the
construction site, where the perimeter of the new farm school lay outlined in
concrete.
Ten years? That
made the guy something like twenty-eight. He sure didn’t look it. Allison hurried
after him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to doubt your experience. I just expected
Patrick. It’s his business, after all.”
Brent turned to
face her, dark eyes unreadable. “Timber Framing Plus is a large company. We
work on more than one project at a time. Patrick oversees them all, but that
doesn’t mean he and his two best friends put into place every piece of wood
that makes each structure.”
“But he said…”
Allison’s words trailed away as she tried to recall the exact words in their
discussion.
“What did he
say, ma’am?”
Her temper
flared. “My name is Allison, not ma’am.” It was a temptation to make him call
her Ms. Hart so he’d remember which of them was the real boss on this site.
Ma’am made her think of someone old with an unsavory reputation.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
The best place to find me is at my website,http://valeriecomer.com. I have links there to various social media sites.
Interested readers are invited to join my email list and receive “Peppermint
Kisses,” a free Farm Fresh Romance short story.
Thank you, Valerie, for sharing this new book with us. I want to schedule the other 2015 books on my blog. I've saved you dates for books 4 and 5 in the Farm Fresh Romance series, but I don't have the novellas on my schedule.
Readers, here is a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Dandelions for Dinner (A Farm Fresh Romance Book 4)
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
14 comments:
Thanks so much for inviting me back, Lena! I love sharing my stories with your readers. Dandelions for Dinner releases tomorrow. My early readers have been sharing their reviews with me, and I'm excited to see the love for the series increasing as the books release.
Nice interview. :) I'm currently reading your book Secretly Yours. Congratulations on another new release. Since we were asked to share, I'm in Oregon.
I hope you're enjoying Secretly Yours, Kimberly!
Sounds good. I'd like to read more of it.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
Thanks, Linda! :)
I really enjoyed the first page and I'm anxious to get started on the series. Thank you for offering a copy of Dandelions for Dinner.
Tennessee
The first book in the series, Raspberries and Vinegar, is free on all ebook platforms, Kay. You can get started while you wait to see if you won. :)
Can't wait to read!
J.C. -Indiana-
I loved meeting the characters in the first page thank you.
I love to read a series! Following a set of characters through several books is much more satisfying to me -- it's an investment in their lives, and in the life of the author. I'm always sad to see a series end.
Your Farm Fresh Romance series is delightful so far. I would very much like to read Dandelions for Dinner.
Anne, rural NC
This Farm Fresh Romance series sounds fun! Thanks for the interview and chance to win.
Patty in SC
Thank you, JC, Mary, Anne, and Patty. I appreciate your interest in Dandelions for Dinner. :)
Valrie Comer is a new author to me, but I will certainly be looking for her first novel in this series. Thank you for her interview. Judy Cooper, Louisiana.
Thanks, Judy! I hope you enjoy Raspberries and Vinegar!
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