DECOY VALENTINE - Shannon Kent - One Free Book

Welcome, Shannon. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters. I think I insert a different piece of myself into each heroine, even when I don’t mean to. With my latest novel, Decoy Valentine, my main character struggles with saying “no” to people. A friend asked if I shared that problem, and my immediate response was denial … until I thought about it. When was the last time I’d denied someone asking for a favor? It was a light-bulb moment and helped me understand myself better.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done? I once climbed out on the roof of my London hotel to get a good Chim-Chim-Cheree picture.

When did you first discover that you were a writer? Since I grew up loving books, being an author didn’t even occur to me. I was close to finishing a four-year degree studying music when I started considering the possibility. One thing I discovered is that many people have the desire to write. I believe everyone has a story to tell.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading. Romances, of course. Grace Livingston Hill was my introduction to the genre as a young girl. I’m drawn to Regency period settings, the beautiful word painting of L.M. Montgomery, and stories with a happy ending.

I read many of the Grace Livingston Hill books. I had a large collection of them which I gave to a friend who was a reader after her house burned and her books were destroyed. How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world? Making sure God is my center keeps me sane. It must be so depressing for people who don’t believe there’s a loving Father orchestrating their future. I also make time for things that feed my happiness meter: Frank Sinatra music, Korean dramas, and traveling.

How do you choose your characters’ names? I’m terrible at this and tend to change my mind before the story is done. I like a name to sound pretty to my ears. In Decoy Valentine, the hero was originally called Derek, but it didn’t seem right for such a swoony character to have the sound “ick” in his name. (No offense to anyone who has a husband, child, or friend with this name! There are some awesome Dereks in this world.) I ended up changing it to Daniel.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of? Rather than from my entire life, I’ll pick one from this year. My day job is teaching music to Kindergarten and First Grade. I decided my kiddos needed to learn the national anthem, even though words like “ramparts” and “perilous” are pretty tough for children that young. I’m proud to say they are not only memorizing it, but enjoying the process. One student told me he sang it in the shower.

I love that. Too many people don’t know the words or what they mean. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why? It’s way too much fun being human, but if I had to choose one it might be the macaroni penguin. I read they tend to mate for life and do an adorable little dance for their significant others. How romantic!

What is your favorite food? Sugar. So many tasty things are made from this delicious substance: Dr. Pepper, Doughnuts, Cupcakes.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it? My biggest struggle is writing when I don’t feel like it. Jane Austen had the answer. I believe it was in a letter she said, “I am not at all in a humour for writing: I must write on till I am.” I found that setting a word-count goal for myself works best. When I tried to write for a certain amount of time, it left me checking the clock instead of being productive. This way, it takes as long or short a time as needed to make my goal.

Tell us about the featured book. When Susanna Kelly returns to her hometown of Sweetheart, Texas, and its quirky, lovable citizens, her peace of mind is shattered by heart-shaped notes with sinister messages. Daniel Sheppard, Asian American bestselling author and her childhood friend, offers to play the role of her boyfriend to discourage the stalker, but Susanna resists. Pretending to be a couple? Who would buy it?
The note writer's mind games force her to reconsider. Susanna accepts Daniel's crazy plan, but her heart acts up whenever she's near her decoy valentine. Comfortable, uncomplicated Daniel has turned into a full-grown man who makes her senses spin. As she tries to sort out her feelings, the make-believe romance has the opposite effect intended. Harmless notes turn into life-threatening accidents, and Daniel and Susanna must find out who's behind the attacks before they can decide if their temporary relationship is a heaven-sent gift meant to last forever.

Please give us the first page of the book. (The amount changes depending on which version I use. I wasn’t sure how much to put, but I assumed you didn’t want a long excerpt since you just said the first page. Let me know if you want more.)

“Move to the window. I’d rather shoot you there.”

Susanna Kelly backed through the empty café. Plates and cups and half-eaten pastries covered the cherry red tops of the retro linoleum tables. But no people. Except for the man in front of her. Her heel bumped into a chair leg. She stumbled.

Keeping a shaky smile on her face, she righted herself and moved to the front of the dining room. “Should I sit down?”

“No.” The figure in all-black pushed his dark cap up his forehead. “We want this to look as natural as possible. Try cleaning off one of the tables. Act like I’m not here.”

Susanna’s lips twitched. He was trying so hard.

Bless his heart.

“The lighting’s perfect!” The young man held the video camera at his waist and tweaked the side screen.

Interesting. How can readers find you on the Internet? I’m setting up a website under my real name—Shannon Sue Dunlap, but they can find me on Facebook under my pen name. I also have a monthly newsletter where I share funny stories, meaningful things that happen, and items I hope will bring a smile to the reader’s face. Anyone who signs up will receive an e-copy of my romance novella Flower Boy Tour Guide as a gift.

FB link: www.facebook.com/shannonkentauthor

Newsletter sign-up link: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/6cpwi2gaih

Thank you, Shannon, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me. I look forward to reading it.

Readers, here are links to the book.

https://amzn.to/3rKCLeh

https://amzn.to/39UsWo7

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