FLORA'S WISH - Kathleen Y'Barbo - One Free Book

Readers, Kathleen Y'Barbo is a long-time friend of mine, one of the writers who has cheered me on in my writing career and shared my sorrows and my joys.  Welcome back, Kathleen. Since you’re being published regularly, what new avenues will your future books take? My future books will be taking a decidedly Southern turn. Flora’s Wish is the first in a Southern historical romance series that I’m very excited about. All three books in the series feature Southern settings –Natchez, Memphis, and New Orleans, for example—and Southern characters. Being a Southern girl myself, I’m thrilled to be able to bring a slice of my homeland to the rest of the world.

 What conferences will you be attending this year? Will you be a speaker at any of them? On May 1, I’ll be part of an Inspirational Writing panel at the Romantic Times Convention in Kansas City. August 3, I will be teaching two workshops at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in Houston, Texas. I am also teaching a Continuing Education Track called Reaching THE END and Pressing SEND at the ACFW National Conference in September in Indianapolis (September 12-16).

That's a busy schedule. Wish I could attend all of them to hear you. If you were in charge of planning the panel discussion at a writing conference, what topic would the panel cover, and who would you ask to be on the panel, and why? I would love to have a panel of authors who have been published for at least ten years—as many as we could fit in the room. From them, I would love to listen to a round-table discussion on what they did right, did wrong, and what they wish they’d done. Wouldn’t that be interesting? As to who would attend, there are FAR too many names to be listed, but I think Lena ought to be there, don’t you?

 That would be a fun, and a very valuable panel discussion for beginning authors to hear. I'd love to be a part of it. How important is it to you to be active in writing organizations? VERY! I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be doing this writing life with like-minded individuals.

Where in the community or your church do you volunteer? I currently serve as the president of Writers of Inspirational Novels (WIN), the Tulsa chapter of ACFW.

Who are the five people who have made the most impact on your life, and how? Though you’ve asked for five, I’m going to name a total of six. The obvious first answer is Jesus my Lord and savior. The other five are my husband Robert Turner and my children Joshua, Andrew, Jacob, and Hannah Y’Barbo who love me unconditionally.

 If you could write the inscription on your tombstone, what would it be? She loved

That would really fit. You're one of the most loving friends I have. Tell us about the featured book. Flora’s Wish is the first in The Secret Lives of Will Tucker series. When Flora Brimm finds herself with yet another missing fiancé, she begins to wonder if she will manage to fulfill the terms of her grandfather’s will in time to save Brimmfield from her awful cousin Winny who has vowed to sell it should he inherit. Determined to prove the aggravating Pinkerton who believes she’s in on the scam wrong, Flora soon realizes her agreement to cooperate with finding the crook Will Tucker just might land her an unexpected husband.

I know I'm going to love this series. Please share the first page of this book with us. 
May 1887
The Crescent Hotel, Eureka Springs 

The last thing Flora Brimm needed was to lose yet another fiancé. While there was no evidence to prove Will Tucker had met the same unfortunate demise as the other four, there was also no prospective groom in residence at the Crescent Hotel again this evening.

Instead, Flora stepped off the elevator toward the ballroom to make her entrance late and alone. She paused at the entrance to the room to take in the grand sweep of glittering chandeliers and the wide expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows that reflected the electric light back into the room. Oversized potted palms that climbed almost high enough to touch the ceiling hid the four corners of the space.

Though the ballroom was crowded with guests, she glanced around in hopes of finding the man she’d come to Eureka Springs to wed. The search was futile, of course, as tonight’s celebration of the Crescent’s first anniversary was a masked ball. Those who dared ignore the requirement were given a generic mask, white for the ladies and black for the gentlemen. And yet she hoped that somehow she might recognize him.
Or, perhaps, he would recognize her.

Flora waved off the liveried butler with the tray of white masks. At her grandmother’s insistence, a disguise of pale blue silk dotted with seed pearls had been created to match her gown. She tied the mask in place, and then touched Grandmama’s diamond choker with its half-dollar-sized aquamarine set into a butterfly shape. The heirloom weighed heavy against her throat, but it was lovely and so she would endure it for the evening. Tiny drop earrings with perfectly set pearls dangling among sparkles of diamonds, aquamarines, and sapphires completed the ensemble and caused Flora to smile. The earrings had been Mama’s favorite.

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

My website is www.kathleenybarbo.com . Readers can also find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kathleenybarbo or Facebook at www.facebook.com/kathleen.ybarbo

Thank you, Kathleen, for another interesting interview. I can hardly wait to read the book.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Flora's Wish (The Secret Lives of Will Tucker) - paperback
Flora's Wish (The Secret Lives of Will Tucker) - Kindle


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