Welcome, everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving are having a not-so-crazy Black Friday. My blog is even having a Black Friday deal! A giveaway from my guest! I have fellow Clean Reads author Jannette Spann with me today, talking about her novel, Right time for Love. (You’ll find the details for the giveaway below.) So, without further ado, let’s jump in with Jannette.
Welcome, Jannette! It’s always a pleasure to have a fellow Clean Reads author. First, can you tell us a little about your novel?
Brandy Wyne’s future includes an old house with plumbing problems, a new job, and caring for her mother who has suffered a stroke. Gavin Wilkin has increased his Grandpa’s plumbing business to twice its original worth, but the old man’s got a hot lady friend with greedy hands. How can he convince his grandpa of what she’s after without hurting him? Added to his problems is the responsibility of caring for his seven-year-old niece for the summer. Brandy can’t afford the plumbing repairs she needs, and Gavin can’t find a sitter for his niece. Ever heard of the barter system?
Interesting. What was the inspiration for Right Time for Love?
We’ve all heard about the proverbial crack that a lot of plumbers show when they’re down on their knees working under a kitchen sink. Well…my adult son was in that position fixing my drain when I noticed his shirt remained neatly tucked in at the back of his waist. That was my ‘what if’ moment. ‘What if’ my heroine calls the plumber (of course he’s got to be young and hot) and gets caught trying to see the proverbial crack? Throw in a precocious seven-year-old, plus the humorous side of some serious medical problems, and I was off and running. As you can see, it doesn’t take much to inspire me with a plot line.
I know that’s true. Give a writer a kernel of inspiration and we’re cooking up a whole novel. Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what did you want to be when you were a child?
Not always, there was a time when I wanted to be a beach bum. Come to think of it, that ideal still appeals to me.
Isn’t that the truth! When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
That didn’t occur until fourth-grade. A student reader came to our classroom each afternoon and read from, “The Adventures of the Camp Fire Girls”. The stories were so real to me that I could almost smell the forest. That’s when I decided that I’d someday writes stories like those.
I love it! And I know we all love making magic like that happen. But it’s not all magic. There are parts of the process we don’t like so much. What part of the writing process do you dread?
Conflict. Just look around and there’s problems everywhere, but it’s hard for me to pinpoint one that I can sustain throughout the entire story and then bring to a happy conclusion. In my own life, I’ve never been a drama queen. I’m a peaceful person and avoid conflict whenever possible.
I agree. I dread conflict in real life…and bringing it to the page can be challenging. Can you tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.
There’s an entire neighborhood of unique people introduced, one of which will be the heroine in a manuscript I’m in the process of plotting.
One last question before we dive into Right Time for Love. Do you have any current projects your working on? Care to share?
I had a full manuscript request from a publisher for the first book in my new ‘Home to the River’ series, and I’m currently working on the 2nd book in the series.
Wonderful! Best of luck with that! Thank you so much for being on my blog today and for talking with us!
Right Time for Love
Enjoy an Excerpt
He eased into Brandy’s drive, looking forward to spending time alone with her. An hour in her company never failed to relieve his stressful day, but when she came off the porch and headed his way, the frown was less than welcoming.
“I’ve got a problem,” she said, the moment his door opened.
“Join the rest of us.”
“I’m serious.” Brandy remained hot on his heels, following him around the truck.
He shoved his cap back. It didn’t matter if he was fed up and bone weary, she wasn’t relenting. “Okay, Brandy. What did she do?”
“Lily said she wants me to be her mother.”
He stopped, glancing back over his shoulder. “What brought that on?”
“I’m not sure. We were playing dress up, and I’d done her makeup and hair. Then out of the blue, she threw her arms around my neck and said she wanted me for a Mama!”
“What did you say?”
“That she has a mother.”
Gavin picked up the shovel and pickaxe, and headed toward the house. Ordinarily he’d use the backhoe and be done in a day, but he needed this job to last as long as possible, or at least until Paul and Clarice got back. Spending time with Brandy was icing on the cake—sometimes.
She grabbed his arm. “What am I supposed to do?”
“How should I know?”
“Well, you’re her uncle. They made you the guardian.”
He walked on. “They gave me guardianship, but they didn’t leave instructions on how to raise her. Besides, you’re the school teacher, you should know this stuff.”
“Well, I don’t!”
“Sounds like you need to get busy then.”
“Gavin!”
He pivoted, finding her right behind him, fists balled on her hips and fire in her expression. “Oh, all right, but it’s going to cost you.”
A suspicious gleam entered her eyes. “Just what’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’ll make a deal with you.”
She kicked at the grass. “That’s how I got into this mess in the first place.”
He laughed for the first time since he’d kissed her that morning. “I’ll straighten this out with Lily, if you’ll go to the zoo with us on Sunday.”
“Nothing else?” Her stance relaxed, and the cheeky grin went straight to his heart. “The zoo sounds like fun. But I’m not sure, it’s according to how Mom’s feeling.”
“Can you get Mrs. McGuire to stay with her?”
“I guess.” She hesitated. “Why don’t you and Lily go to church with us? We’ll come back here to eat lunch, and I’ll talk to Mrs. McGuire.”
He planned to attend church anyway, so if going with Brandy would guarantee him her company for the entire day… plus lunch… How could he go wrong?
Buy Links
More About the Author
Jannette lives in northwest Alabama and writes Sweet Southern Romance with a Sense of Humor. Her books are about small towns and regular folks (you may find someone you think you know) with problems everyone can relate too. Depending on the season, whenever she writes, there’s always a cup of hot coffee or an ice-cold glass of sweet tea sitting beside her computer.
Connect with Jannette and Her Books
https://www.facebook.com/jannettespannauthor
https://twitter.com/jannettespann
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7300239.jannettespann
http://sweetsouthernromancewithasenseofhumor.weebly.com
The Giveaway
Jannette will be giving away one e-book or PDF copy of Right Time for Love (winner’s choice) to one selected winner chosen from those who comment on this blog post between Friday, November 25th and Monday, November 28th (by 11:59pm CST). Please feel free to ask questions, comment, or answer this question:
What did you want to be when you were young? Are you living that dream?