There Goes the Groom by Jana Richards-Author Interview/Excerpt/Free Book

 

Jana will be awarding a $20 Amazon gift certificate to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  Make sure you leave a comment and your email address.  Easy Peasy.  Also, if you sign up for her newsletter, she will give a pdf copy of “Rescue Me:.  The link to sign up is at the bottom of the post.  Woo hoo!

 

Harlie will be reviewing this on Monday, May 27th, so yall come back.  🙂

 

 

There Goes the Groom

by Jana Richards

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

BLURB:

 

Eight years ago Tony left Olivia at the altar. He was sure she didn’t really want to marry him. Now he’s back, and they’re forced to work together.

 

Coming home isn’t easy for Tony, because his father wanted him to work at a trade instead of going off to college. Their relationship is still unsteady. Even before Tony’s return, Olivia began questioning the depth of her love for her fiancé, a man she chose because he was safe and reliable. Yet the last thing she wants is a loveless, faithless marriage like the one her parents suffered through.

 

When Tony, who never stopped loving her, insists her fiancé is the wrong man for her, Olivia sets out to prove him wrong. But the sexual chemistry between them is still strong, and so are her feelings for him. Even so, how can she break her engagement, hurt her fiancé as she was once hurt? And how can she trust Tony not to abandon her as he did before?

 

If anyone does the jilting this time, she will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Excerpt Three:

 

A black Mercedes pulled into a visitor parking stall beside Liv’s car. Liv’s mother stepped out of the luxury vehicle, appearing as elegant as ever. Tony could tell the instant Mrs. Taylor recognized him. Her expression first registered shocked surprise and then anger.

 

“Tony DiPietro.” Grace Taylor’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “I never thought I’d see you again. What on earth brings you back here?”

 

“Mom, Tony’s helping with an important exhibit for the museum.” She gave her mother the Reader’s Digest version of events. “It’s only for three months.”

 

“I’m just here to do a job, Mrs. Taylor.” Tony slung his backpack over his shoulder and picked up the suitcases. “Thanks for the ride, Liv…Olivia.”

 

“We have a lot of work to do, Olivia,” Grace Taylor said. “A lot of decisions have to be made about your wedding.”

 

Tony stopped cold. Her wedding?

 

Mrs. Taylor glared at him triumphantly. “Haven’t you told Tony about your engagement, Olivia?” She lifted her daughter’s left hand into Tony’s face and for the first time he noticed the engagement ring on her third finger. “Stuart gave Olivia his family heirloom ring. It belonged to his great-grandmother. I’d say that shows how deeply committed he is.”

 

“Mom, please.”

 

“Congratulations Olivia.” A torrent of questions whirled in Tony’s brain. Who was this Stuart guy? Where was he from? Was he good enough for her? “I hope you’ll be very happy.”

 

She lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eye. “We already are.”

 

He lugged his belongings into the rented condo, his gut twisting and his mind reeling. News like this shouldn’t surprise him, nor should it give him the stab in the heart he’d just experienced. But still it did.

 

The worst part was knowing that another man could make Liv happy when he couldn’t.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome Jana Richards! Please start off by telling us a little about yourself.

I’m very happy to be here! I’ve been writing for several years, but I wasn’t published until 2007. I like to read several different romance genres, and I also like to write in several genres, such as contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romances set in World War Two. I’ve been known to add a dash of humor or a sprinkling of the paranormal to some of my books. My new release, “There Goes the Groom” will be my eighth published novel.

 

Is “There Goes the Groom” a single title, or part of a series?

“There Goes the Groom” is the second book in my Left at the Altar series. Book one in the series, “Her Best Man”, is currently available from Uncial Press, and the third book, “Always a Bridesmaid” will be released in the spring of 2014. Each book begins with someone being left at the altar.

 

What were your inspirations for the story?

In my own extended family, a few engagements have broken up, some quite close to the date of the wedding. The dress had been bought, flowers purchased, hall booked. And then one member of the couple decided he or she could not go through with the marriage. It’s very upsetting and sad for everyone concerned when this happens. However, my devious writer’s mind wanted to take the idea of a broken engagement one humiliating step further. What if this breakup happened very publicly at the front of the church on the day of their wedding? (Think Lady Edith of “Downton Abbey” getting dumped at the altar at her wedding). How would the person who’d been dumped get over such a trauma? Could they learn to trust again?

 

In the case of Tony and Olivia in “There Goes the Groom”, Tony left Liv at the altar, thinking she really didn’t want to marry him. Eight years later he’s back and still in love with her. Can she get over what happened and trust him again?

 

Please share your setting for “There Goes the Groom”.  Have you ever lived or visited there? If so, what did you like most?  

The book is set in Ottawa, Canada, and aside from a cruise in the Caribbean in “Her Best Man”, the whole series is set there. I haven’t lived in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, but I’ve visited many times. It’s one of my favorite cities. It’s got beautiful parks, art galleries and museums, great restaurants and sidewalk cafes (at least in the summer). It’s got a vibrant downtown area with a really neat market called the Byward Market. It’s an open air market in the summer and you can buy vegetables, fruits and flowers, plus a plethora of other things. The Market heads indoors in the winter, and I remember buying a woolen toque (knitted hat) there. In the winter the Rideau Canal freezes and becomes one giant skating rink, complete with kiosks where you can skate up and purchase hot chocolate and a beaver tail, which is fried dough dusted with powdered sugar. It tastes a lot better than it sounds!

 

When did the writing bug first bite?

I think I’ve always been interested in writing. Back in high school and university I thought about going into journalism, but unfortunately that career never panned out for me. But I was always a voracious reader. In fact, I remember reading Leon Uris’s “Trinity” in university when I should have been studying for final exams. I simply couldn’t put it down!

 

I never really thought I could write fiction. Back then I thought literary fiction, like some of the stuff I studied in English classes, was the only type of fiction there was, not counting writers like Leon Uris. I didn’t think I could write like any of those writers in a million years.

 

Then we went on holiday and I ran out of things to read. The only books available in the resort town were romance novels. I tried one and I was hooked. It was like a light went on in my creative soul. Of course it took me a long to get proficient enough to be published.

 

Who are you favorite authors, book/series?

Nora Roberts has written so many series it’s hard to choose, but I think one of my favorites is her Chesapeake Bay series. I love Suzanne Brockman’s writing, and her Navy Seals are to die for. I particularly like her Troubleshooters series. I really enjoy Susan Wigg’s small town Lake series. I like pretty much everything historical writers Mary Balogh and Jo Beverley come out with. Mary Balogh’s Simply series is wonderful. I think I’ve read all of Rosamunde Pilcher’s books. “The Shell Seekers” and “Coming Home”, are two of my all time favorites. As someone fascinated with the history of World War Two, I really connected with these books. I still remember crying my eyes out as I read them!

 

If you could have an author roundtable discussion with any authors, who would you invite?

I think it would be great fun to get the above-mentioned authors together to talk about their writing. I think what I love about these writers is how they manage to elicit such emotion in me, the reader. I’d love to pick their brains and find out how they do it. And you never know, maybe being around such successful authors will rub off on me!

 

Do you have any hobbies or special things you like to do in your spare time? 

What spare time? Between writing, a part-time day job, and everything that needs to be done to get my name out in the marketplace, there’s not a lot of time left. But when we can, my husband and I like to travel, and I play golf with him, very badly. I like to go to movies and concerts and the occasional sporting event. And reading of course. Although these days a lot of my reading is for research purposes rather than for pleasure.

 

Thank you for having me! I’m celebrating the release of “There Goes the Groom” by awarding one lucky commenter on this blog tour a $20 Amazon gift certificate. In addition, I’m giving away a PDF copy of my romantic comedy “Rescue Me” to anyone who signs up for my newsletter. You can read an excerpt from “Rescue Me” on my website. Good luck!

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to full-length paranormal suspense and romantic comedy.  She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious side.  She believes there’s nothing more interesting then peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them tick.

 

When not writing up a storm, working at her day job as an Office Administrator, or dealing with ever present mountains of laundry, Jana can be found on the local golf course pursuing her newest hobby.

 

Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren, and a highly spoiled Pug/Terrier cross named Lou. You can reach her through her website at http://www.janarichards.net

 

http://janarichards.blogspot.com

 

http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor

 

http://www.amazon.com/author/JanaRichards

 

http://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_  @JanaRichards_

 

Buy link:  www.uncialpress.com/There-Goes-The-Groom.html