FOREVER MUSIC - Hope Toler Dougherty - One Free Book

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

I hope I see more books in my future. I love the process of having an idea float into my mind, developing the idea, polishing it, and then sharing it with others.

Tell us a little about your family.

My husband and I live in North Carolina and have four grown children. Our oldest daughter lives in NYC and worked in fashion until Covid-19 hit. Now she’s sewing masks and looking for another job. Our second daughter taught elementary school, but now she’s set to study law in the fall. She wants to affect change in education policy. Our twin sons are First Lieutenants in the Army. One is stationed at Ft. Hood, and the other serves at the Texas/Mexico Border through October.

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

I read more romance now than I ever have, and I try to read with a discerning/questioning eye. (How did she do that? Why did she use that scene?) I’m reading to learn instead of for entertainment only.

What are you working on right now?

Josie Daniels’ from Forever Music has three brothers. I have a few chapters written about one of them, but the words have stopped. I’m hoping to get back to the story this summer.

What outside interests do you have?

I love traveling, listening to live music, crocheting, cooking, playing the piano, and reading, and I serve on several church and community groups.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

For me, the setting comes from the plot. The characters usually come first, then the plot, then the setting. My last two books have been set in Charlotte, North Carolina, where my husband and I met. I suppose I get a lot of material from thinking about that time and place when we were young and dating.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

I would love to spend an evening with Corrie Ten Boom. What an inspiring person! She endured incredible hardships in the concentration camps during WWII, but she overcame all bitterness, anger, disappointment, and grief and was able to forgive the people who imprisoned her. Even in the midst of hard-to-imagine cruelty, she looked to God to strengthen her and grow her faith. She’d be fascinating.

I’ve also been fascinated by her. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

I wish I had known about the marketing and promotion involved and the business side to writing. I wish I would have paid more attention then and created a business plan.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

He’s teaching me He is sovereign.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

Write every day. Read in your genre, in other genres, and writing craft books. Attend writing conferences for classes and to meet other writers. Bonus: PRAY.

Tell us about the featured book.

Forever Music highlights the current topic of emotional affairs. With the prevalence of social media, finding lost loves is sometimes a matter of clicking through a few websites. Hello emails can lead to flirty emails which can escalate to relationships.

The Josie Daniels and Ches Windham story uses quirky family support and humor to contrast a topic that can sometimes result in dark consequences even for Christians who seek God’s guidance but may not employ it.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Anticipation for the evening revved Josie Daniels’ heart rate as much as discovering original sales tags on a thrift store find. She surveyed the ballroom glittering with lights and flowers and people in sparkly dresses and suits. Three musicians played James Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind” on a piano, guitar, and cello. Nice. In a couple of hours, the wait would be over, and she’d have a promise, if not a check, for thousands of dollars in her hand.

How many thousand remained a mystery.

Instead of a little black dress, she wore a little navy dress with a boat neck and a scoop back. Her ears featured dangly diamond earrings borrowed from her mom’s jewelry box, a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary gift from her dad.

 A tennis bracelet, graduate school graduation present from her grandmother, encircled her wrist. The ends of her hair curled exactly the way it did on a good hair day thanks to a quick shower after teaching her last class, so she left it down, framing her face.

Yep. She felt confident. She could hold her own in this room full of downtown Charlotte lawyers and bankers and business people. So, what if she found her dress on the clearance rack?

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I would love for readers to connect with me! I’m easy to find on social media through the links on my website   www.hopetolerdougherty.com .

Thank you, Hope, for sharing this new book with us. I can hardly wait to read it. I haven’t read one on that topic.

Readers, here’s a link to the book. It's on pre-order right now and will release on May 19.

Forever Music

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (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, 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

MARS ... WITH VENUS RISING - Hope Toler Dougherty - One Free Book

Bio:  Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master's degree in English and taught at East Carolina University as well as York Technical College. A member of ACFW, RWA and SinC, she writes for Almost an Author. Before writing novels, she published non-fiction articles on topics ranging from gardening with children to writing apprehension. She cheers for the Pittsburgh Steelers, ACC basketball, and Army West Point Football. Hope and her husband, Kevin, live in North Carolina and chat with their two daughters and twin sons through ooVoo.

Welcome back, Hope. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I believe writing fiction is my calling right now. It’s funny because when I taught English on the college level, I taught American literature. Reading love stories was a guilty pleasure I kept secret. Now God has me writing love stories!

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

Of course, my wedding because almost everyone we loved and who loved us came together in one place. Then the birth days of all of our children, especially our last, the twin sons, because I felt our family was complete. Thanksgiving week of 2014 stands out because all four children were home. We were introducing our holiday to a British friend. Another college friend of our second daughter’s stayed with us. Extended family members and high school friends kept dropping by. It seemed like I was cooking from dawn till dusk, and I loved it. With two sons marching toward the military life, I know we won’t always be able to celebrate together. I kept stopping myself in the middle of stirring something or shoving another dish in the oven and repeating, “Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you, God.”

I have a grandson who served in the military for over ten year, and holidays with him were always iffy. He’s out now, and the last three major holidays, we were all together. I loved it. How has being published changed your life?

I have business cards and a website now. Besides that, my faith is much more open now. When people read my books, they know exactly where I stand.

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading Carol Award entries now. I’m also reading The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. It’s the story of the 1936 Olympic rowing team. Fascinating story.

What is your current work in progress?

My agent, Jim Hart, is trying to find a home for my third manuscript, Rescued Hearts, a romantic suspense. I’m about 40,000 words into my fourth, a romance set in Charlotte, North Carolina. The main male character is struggling to let go of people’s expectations of him and to understand and embrace God’s plans for him.

What would be your dream vacation?

An international trip would be Italy and Greece. For a stateside trip, I’d love to experience a Mississippi River cruise and a bicycle tour of Vermont.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

My settings sort of choose themselves. I started daydreaming about Galway, Ireland, and that daydream became a scene in my first novel, Irish Encounter. For Mars…With Venus Rising, I had some ideas for a quirky story, and I thought about Mars, Pennsylvania. It’s a cool little town outside Pittsburgh with a flying saucer on the town square. The residents call themselves Martians. The football team is named the Planets. I thought it’d be fun to set a story there.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

For writers, I choose Anne Tyler and Liane Moriarty. I love the way they write. Charlie Rose, Nora O’Donnell, and Gail King are smart and funny on CBS This Morning. Bobby Bones, a radio personality, has an interesting life story and seems like a fun person.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I love to cook, crochet, and send real mail.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Fear. Fear of writing stupid sentences. Fear that no one will like the story. Fear that I’ll get halfway into a story and not be able to finish it. I have to pray it away and remember all those Bible verses about being strong and courageous, that God is with me and my constant help, that He gave me a spirit of power, not fear.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Write. Write. Write. Pray. Read in the genre you write in. Read good writing. Pray. Connect with other writers. Expect rejection. Listen to constructive criticism. Pray. Write.

All very good advice. Tell us about the featured book.

This is the back cover copy:

A meddling horse, paper bag floors, and a flying saucer on the town square. The little town of Mars has it all—including a brand new resident who might spell heartache for one of its own.

Twenty-something Penn Davenport yearns for an exciting life in the big city and wants to shed the label of orphan that she's worn for years. To achieve that dream, she must pass the CPA exam then move away from the two aunts who reared her after her parents died in a plane crash.

When John Townsend—full of life and the joy of living—moves to town, he rattles Penn's view of herself, her life, and her dreams...which isn't such a bad thing until she falls for him…and discovers he’s a pilot.

Please give us the first page of the book.

“Come on, Peri. You’re making me late. Again.”

           

Penn Davenport wiggled the carrot in front of the escape artist horse and squeezed the halter she’d hidden behind her back.

           

The gray roan stretched his long neck toward the orange prize and sniffed. As tame as an old lap dog, Peri had a mind of his own. When he decided to visit the neighboring houses, he worried the lock on his corral gate until it popped and he trotted into freedom.

           

Fortunately, most of her neighbors on Oakland Street loved Peri, welcomed his visits and his nosey poking under their shelters or garages. Unfortunately, they encouraged his visits with sugar cubes and hugs.

           

If he didn’t want to return home yet, she’d never be able to slide the halter over his head. She glanced at her watch. Twelve minutes until the planning meeting for the Mars Area Apple Fest began. If this crazy horse cooperated, she might have a chance to settle into a chair before the minutes were read.

           

“Here we go, darling. Take a bite of this delicious carrot. Come on. I know you want it.” Please, God, help me get Peri back home. You know how I hate being late.

           

Peri backed up a step, and Penn’s hope for an easy capture melted like chocolate on the floorboard of a locked-up car in mid-July. She gritted her teeth.

An interesting and humorous opening. 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 book with us. That snippet made me want to read it. I'm sure it did my readers as well.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Mars...With Venus Rising - Christianbook.com
Mars...with Venus Rising - Amazon
Mars...with Venus Rising - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. 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

IRISH ENCOUNTER - Hope Toler Dougherty - One Free Book

Dear Readers, I am one-fourth Irish, so I like reading novels set in Ireland. I read Irish Encounter and really enjoyed it. It’s a contemporary novel, and I felt as if I were in Ireland myself, meeting these interesting characters. They stole my heart.

Bio: Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master's degree in English and taught at East Carolina University as well as York Technical College. A member of ACFW, RWA and SinC, she writes for AlmostAnAuthor. Before writing novels, she published non-fiction articles on topics ranging from gardening with children to writing apprehension. She cheers for the Pittsburgh Steelers, ACC basketball, and Army West Point Football. Hope and her husband, Kevin, live in North Carolina and chat with their two daughters and twin sons through ooVoo. Her second novel, Mars...With Venus Rising, released with Pelican Book Group in August.

Welcome, Hope. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I write something of myself into a lot of my characters. I don’t always consciously include myself, but people say they can hear my voice when they’re reading. That’s why for my second novel, Mars…With Venus Rising, I specifically chose a character who loves math—my antithesis, but I had her crochet in one scene because I love to crochet.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I’m not sure if it’s quirky or crazy, but my husband and I took our four children on a home exchange when they were five, five, seven, and nine. We spent one week in France with former exchange students and their families, and we spent three weeks in Galway plus three weeks in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. The two families stayed in our house while we lived in theirs. That exchange trip plus another in 2007 planted the seed for Irish Encounter.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

When I was in second or third grade, we had to write the copy for a picture book. I still remember the paragraph I turned in for the first page of the book. When my teacher graded it, she wrote excellent on the top of the right hand side of the page, angled toward the corner in red ink. I loved writing that page and knew I wanted to write more. I’ve had great encouragement from peers, teachers, and professors since then.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I love reading all kinds of books. I read romance and romantic suspense because who doesn’t love that first time you notice someone, that heady time of falling for someone special. As a former English instructor and as a book club facilitator, I love reading the classics like Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice and literary fiction from Anne Tyler, Kaye Gibbons, and Elizabeth Berg. I also read non-fiction like Unbroken, and children’s and young adult fiction from Sarah Dessen, Markus Zusak, and Richard Peck, and travel stories like Under the Tuscan Sun. Did I say I love reading?

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

I try to pray and have a quiet time every morning. A few years ago when my quiet time seemed boring to me, I figured it was boring to God as well. I made note cards with verses that describe God’s character from Isaiah and Psalms. I love meditating over those verses before the day gets frantic.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Naming something or someone is so hard. In our family, it’s taken us two or three weeks to name a pet. We always have some negative connotation attached to a name. For Irish Encounter, I needed a name for a forty-three year old. Names popular today like Brittany or Tiffany wouldn’t work. I needed a name that would have been popular in the early seventies, so I chose Ellen. Payne was easy because it fit his character so well. I Googled ethnic names for the story and checked a baby name book and phone books, too.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I’m happy that I soloed a Cessna 150 years ago, but the accomplishment that I’m most thankful for is the fact that God allowed me to help rear four pretty tremendous human beings. Our children are fun and funny, interesting and interested. They’re solid, contributing citizens who have close, personal walks with Jesus Christ. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

If ostriches really buried their heads in sand when trouble comes, that’s what I’d be because I don’t like confrontation. Since that popular belief is a myth, I’ll choose a dolphin because I like to swim.

What is your favorite food?

I love food, especially Italian, Mexican, and spicy food. I really love my mother’s fried pork tenderloin nestled in one of her homemade biscuits. For dessert, I never turn down a chocolate mousse or ice cream or frozen yogurt …

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

PITCHING. I hate it. I’m horrible at it. I’m so thankful my agent, Jim Hart, can send proposals out for me now. For the writing process, procrastination and fear are pretty strong. Some days I have to make myself sit down and write. Writing is fun, but the blank page or screen can be scary. I have a formidable internal editor. I’ve had to pray and wrestle him out of my office many times to get a rough draft into Scrivener.

Tell us about the featured book.

Irish Encounter is the story with which God wooed me onto the fiction path. It’s the story of my heart and the story of second chances.

Blurb: After almost three years of living under a fog of grief, Ellen Shepherd is ready for the next chapter in her life. Perhaps she’ll find adventure during a visit to Galway. Her idea of excitement consists of exploring Ireland for yarn to feature in her shop back home, but the adventure awaiting her includes an edgy stranger who disrupts her tea time, challenges her belief system, and stirs up feelings she thought she’d buried with her husband.

After years of ignoring God, nursing anger, and stifling his grief, Payne Anderson isn’t ready for the feelings a chance encounter with an enchanting stranger evokes. Though avoiding women and small talk has been his pattern, something about Ellen makes him want to seek her—and God again.

Please give us the first page of the book for my readers.

Ellen Shepherd’s fingers trembled as she fiddled with the zipper on her small backpack. “I can’t wait to see Galway again. It’s been so long since we were here.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, an image of her husband, dead now for three years, smiling and popping a piece of brown bread into his mouth, wavered in her mind.

Was she crazy? She didn’t want to see Galway without Steve.

“Mom, are you sure you’re up to going into town? I should be finished with my exam around noon. Relax this morning, and then I’ll come back here for lunch.” Olivia, a college junior, sipped coffee out of a mug depicting the Cliffs of Moher. Natural light from the cathedral windows behind her brightened the kitchen despite this morning’s low-hanging clouds.

Ellen smiled at her daughter and banished the bittersweet memories that wanted to join forces with the dark clouds overhead. “I appreciate your concern for your poor ol’ mom, but I’m not ready for a rocking chair and a warm blanket yet. At least allow me to celebrate my forty-fourth birthday before you cart me away to a retirement center.” She drank the last of her orange juice.

Olivia rolled her hazel eyes, the exact color of Ellen’s, and bit her toast shimmering with blackberry jam. “Mmm. You should plant some blackberry bushes when you get back home. Then next year make some delicious jam like this.” She wiggled the remaining half of the triangle at her mom.

“Thanks for adding not one but two items to my to-do list. They’ll have to roost at the bottom for now, though.” A pall crept into her chest as she thought about her yarn shop, holding its own but barely and her farm, the fields lying fallow this year because of her uncle’s stroke in March.

What would next year bring?

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://hopetolerdougherty.com/

https://www.facebook.com/hope.t.dougherty

https://twitter.com/HopeTDougherty

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13941031.Hope_Dougherty

https://www.pinterest.com/hopetdougherty/

Thank you, Hope, for sharing this book with us. I know my readers will enjoy it as much as I did.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Irish Encounter - paperback
Irish Encounter - Kindle

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