RESCUED HEARTS - Hope Dougherty - One Free Book

Bio: Hope holds a Master’s degree and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her novels include Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising. A member of ACFW, RWA, SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. Residing in North Carolina, she and her husband enjoy visits with their daughters and twin sons.

Welcome back, Hope. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I’m not sure about specifics in the future, but I’ll share some points from my prayer journal. I’m praying for courage to be the writer God called me to be. I’m also praying to use my knowledge, history, and expertise for His glory and better stories.

Tell us a little about your family.

Thank you! My husband and I just celebrated our twenty-ninth wedding anniversary. We have four children: Anna is pursuing her dream to be a fashion designer in New York City; Hattie just earned a Master’s degree in Elementary Education with a STEM emphasis and teaches fourth grade; our twin sons, Lane and Quinn, just commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army after graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill and West Point.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Because I write romance, I’m reading more in that genre than I have since high school. I’m also trying to read more writing craft books.

What are you working on right now?

I have a rough draft of a sweet romance set in Charlotte, North Carolina. One of the minor characters in Rescued Hearts makes another appearance in the new story.

What outside interests do you have?

I love sending and receiving real mail, traveling, cooking, playing the piano, and crocheting. I volunteer for several community groups and church committees. I love watching the Pittsburgh Steelers win and listening to live music.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

The stories usually choose the setting. Irish Encounter, for example, came from a daydream I had about Ireland, but with Mars…With Venus Rising, I specifically chose Mars, Pennsylvania, a United States setting after the international location in Irish Encounter. I chose Mars then began thinking about quirky vignettes that matched the eccentric little town.

Rescued Hearts came to me during a bike ride near my house. Questions popped into my mind: What would happen if a bike rider saw an abandoned house? What if she noticed a kitten tangled in a vine? What if, while she tried to free it, a man dragged her inside the house? Those questions wouldn’t leave me alone until I began writing the answers.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
Interesting question. I’m a history person, so it’s hard to choose. But wouldn’t a conversation with Corrie Ten Boom be fascinating? She faced horrible tragedy and terror and suffering with such joy. I would love just to soak up her wisdom. 

That would be amazing. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
I wish I’d been more prepared for the marketing side of writing. I’m not a business-minded person.

What new lesson is the Lord teaching you right now?
He’s teaching me to embrace things that might not be my cup of tea. This empty nest chapter is not one to which I’ve been looking forward.  Granted, empty-nesting has perks, but I enjoy my children and love when we’re all together.

Marketing is a dreaded aspect of the writing business for me. I enjoy connecting with readers and speaking about the stories, but I don’t like asking for opportunities or asking for Amazon reviews. In fact, I just shuddered.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?
The most important thing is pray for the Lord’s guidance. Read in the genre in which you’re writing and read writing craft books also. Write every day even if the words end up in the delete basket.

Tell us about the featured book.
Rescued Hearts is a Romantic Suspense book. It’s set in North Carolina and tells the story of Mary Wade Kimball who innocently stumbles into a criminal hideout when she’s riding her bike one afternoon. Brett Daniels is the undercover deputy who jeopardizes his mission to rescue her.

Please give us the first page of the book.

The air changed, rustling a cool breeze that ruffled wisps of hair escaping from under Mary Wade Kimball’s bike helmet. She relished the drop in temperature as she detoured from the paved road onto a sandy path. Enjoying fresh air and nature was the perfect antidote to the four-hour drive from Charlotte in her little Honda.

She smiled to herself. The quick bike ride should smooth any remaining cricks her time in the spa chair had failed to erase. Glancing at the pedals, she wiggled her toes, tipped with a new hot pink color, Feelin’ Cheeky.

Thank you, Agnes, for the pedicure. Just what I needed today.

Clouds formed on the horizon to her right. “I see you, clouds. I’ll be back to Agnes’ in a few minutes. Plenty of time before the storm.”

A hurricane churned several miles off the coast, but forecasters warned that although the projected path fell safely north of the local area, the weather could be affected with wind and rain as soon as tonight or tomorrow morning. The cooler temperatures signaled stormy weather might arrive sooner rather than later.

Pushing the pedals, she slogged the wheels through the sand, feeling a burn in her thighs. A puff of air tainted by a nearby cow pasture assaulted her nose. She pedaled harder to leave the sharp odor behind and noticed an abandoned farmhouse nestled into the edge of trees at the end of an overgrown path.

A movement caught her eye.

Tangled in a honeysuckle vine threading through a hydrangea bush mewed a tuxedo kitten. Prickles on the back of her neck rose, similar to when a stranger had held open the grocery store door for her earlier in the afternoon. She’d smiled and thanked him, but he remained silent, assessing her with the most unusual eyes she’d ever seen.

Although her memory colored them silver, they must have been light blue. Right? A shiver shimmied up her spine at the recollection. Who was he? Agnes had never mentioned a newcomer in town, and if anybody would know, Agnes would.

Someone like that guy sticks in a mind. A few locks of sandy brown hair hooked behind his ears. An elastic captured the rest in a three- or four-inch ponytail. In his worn, wrinkled clothes, he stood well over six feet tall with the girth of a wide receiver. The beginnings of a scruffy beard, overtaking what was once a goatee, covered his face. Formidable. Unyielding. No-nonsense.

Maybe a little scary.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://hopetolerdougherty.com/

Facebook  www.facebook.com/hope.t.dougherty

Twitter Hope Toler Dougherty (@HopeTDougherty) | Twitter 

Pinterest  www.pinterest.com/hopetdougherty/

Goodreads  www.goodreads.com/author/show/13941031.Hope_Dougherty

Thank you, Hope, for sharing this new book with us. I love to read romantic suspense novels.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Rescued Hearts - Paperback
Rescued Hearts - Kindle

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