KNOX - Susan May Warren - One Free Book

Dear Readers, when I first met Susan May Warren, her family was missionaries in Russia. That was many years, and many books, ago. And what wonderful books they have been. I’ve loved reading her unique stories. Her characters are fully developed with flaws and endearing qualities. They meet and overcome obstacles, and there is always a happily-ever-after ending. What’s not to love? She really knows how to write a satisfying romance.

Welcome back, Susan. What genre do you write and why?

I write the genre I love to read—epic romantic adventure! Give me a great story about a hero and heroine trying to survive trouble (and the occasional bad guy!)

If you were to choose one superpower, what would it be?

FLYING. For sure.

Do you ever get stuck when you’re writing a book? What do you do to get unstuck?

Yes, of course. It’s usually because I don’t know what the immediate problem of my character is or what the stakes are in the scene. In order to get unstuck, I call my writing partner, Rachel Hauck, and we talk through what the character wants now, and why, what happens if they don’t get it, and what obstacles can we throw in the way! That usually sparks my imagination.

What is your least favorite part of writing?

PROOFING. I am the worlds worst proofer. And, by that time, I’ve read the book so many times, I’m tired of it!

I know what you mean. I’m good at proofing, but by the time I reached the fourth, and last, book in my first series, I was sick of the setting. If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?

Fajitas. Or maybe my homemade pizza.

Yum. They both sound good. What is your typical day like?

I’m up around 6:30 and if it’s summer, I take a walk. If not then I do some stretching, then I make coffee and have my quiet time. Then I look at my schedule for the day using my writing planner (shameless plug! http://www.mybrilliantwritingplanner.com). I budget my time in time blocks, so my first time block is from 9am-noon, and usually I do business work – marketing, newsletters, emails, finances, etc. My next block is 1-3, and usually that is my first writing block. My last time block is 3:30-5:30 and often write at that time, also.  (I try for about 2500 words per writing block).  We eat dinner at 6ish, then the rest of the evening I hang out with hubs. I usually go to bed around 9pm and read for an hour.  Not a super exciting day, but I like it.

Maybe I need to order one of those planners. What is most difficult for you to write? Characters, conflict, or emotions? Why?

I think emotions are always the most difficult. It’s hard to dig deep and find exactly the right emotion for your character, so usually that takes a couple passes. I will often lay down the foundation and structure for the scene, then go back and add in storyworld, mood and finally nail the emotion of the character.

How likely are the people you meet going to end up in your next book?

Somewhat. Strangers, tho—I don’t put friends in my books. I often will put people I meet on airplanes, or while travelling. I enjoy hearing their stories, and since I don’t know them, I can use pieces of them if I were to have a story idea.

Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.

My hero is my husband. He is kind, patient, a listener, deeply cares for others, an amazingly hard worker, knows how to have fun and laugh and loves the Lord. I’m so blessed to be married to him.

Please give us the text on the first page of your first chapter.

Oh goody, now Knox got to watch his troublemaking little brother break his ornery neck.

“Tate, this is a bad idea.” Knox said it in his big-brother voice, but Tate hadn’t a hope of hearing him over the cheers as he walked into the straw-padded arena under the hanging lights of the beer tent toward the mechanical bull.

His renegade brother nailed the rough-edged charm of a cowboy, complete with his faded jeans, a black Stetson over his dark brown hair, a scrape of off-duty dark whiskers, dusty boots, and a swagger that suggested he’d been born on a bull.

Tate always did know how to put on the game to charm the ladies.

The organizers of the after-hours entertainment of NBR-X, the professional bull-riding tour, knew their crowd—beer-gesturing, cowboy-hatted rowdies who spent the evening watching young men pit their lives against angry, thousand-pound animals hoping to crush their rider into the dirt or against the rodeo boards.

The scent of blood spilled today turned wannabe cowboys into daredevils.

The crowd knotted around the circle, shouting smack and laying bets for or against Tate’s success. The ruddy rodeo aroma—horsehide, dust, hay, and plenty of craft beer—only added to the trouble brewing in Knox’s gut.

Probably Tate would survive. Knox had seen Tate ride—had taught him how to stay on the back of a real bull, and frankly, a smart man would ante up a Ben Franklin to the bookmaker collecting cash in an oversized boot.

But Knox worked too hard for his cash, and to his knowledge, Tate hadn’t been on a bull in years.

“C’mon, Tate, let’s go,” Knox said, a last-ditch effort to put a halt to the crazy. But when Tate got something in his head, he practically turned into one of those bulls in the nearby barn. Red-eyed, focused, and lethal.

The crowd exploded with fervor when Tate handed his red Solo cup to a blonde wearing a hot-pink Bull Riders Know How to Hang On T-shirt. When she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him to herself for a quick good luck kiss, Knox just wanted to shake his head.

He should probably hightail it out of the Tent-o’-Trouble and back to his room at the Hyatt where he could take a shower and whisk off the grime that seemed to hover in the air.

Tell us about your next book and when is it being published?

The next book out is TATE, book 2 in the Montana Marshall series, out in July! I can’t wait for people to meet this amazing hero, a bodyguard who must save the woman he loves.

I will want to feature it on my blog too.

Where can my readers find you online.

www.susanmaywarren.com or on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SusanMayWarrenFiction

Thank you, Susie, for sharing this new book with me and my blog readers. I’m eager for my copy to arrive.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Knox  - Christianbook.com
KNOX: The Montana Marshalls - an inspirational romantic suspense family series - Amazon.com

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