Candice Sue Patterson - How to Charm a Beekeeper's Heart

Good Monday Morning Readers!

Today, 

Candice Sue Patterson 

visits Lagniappe to discuss her latest release, 

How to Charm A Beekeeper's Heart.

Welcome, Candice!

Tell us a little about How to Charm a Beekeeper’s Heart.

How to Charm a Beekeeper’s Heart is about Huck Anderson, a beekeeper who inherits a building occupied by a bridal boutique. He aims to evict the failing business and open a sporting goods store, until his tenant ends up being Arianne Winters, a woman he’s indebted to from a mistake made years ago.

When a life-threatening injury derails Huck entirely, Arianne offers a compromise to keep her boutique, and her life, out of bankruptcy—she’ll aid in his lengthy recovery if he’ll allow her to remain in his building. But nursing her adversary proves challenging when her adolescent crush resurfaces.

Amidst a battle-of-wills, their lives intertwine in unexpected ways, providing opportunity to overcome their pasts and start anew. Will this confirmed bachelor consider holy-matrimony, or will Huck’s choices sting them a second time?

QUICK ANSWER     

Favorite smell or fragrance?

Country Apple scent from Bath & Body Works

Favorite food?

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Favorite Movie?

Gone With the Wind

  

LIGHTNING ROUND  

Socks or slippers or both?

Slippers

Women’s Fiction or Romance?

Romance (all sub-genres)

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee!

eReader or Paper book?

Paperback

Steel Magnolias or Fried Green Tomatoes?

Fried Green Tomatoes

What is the best WRITING advice you’ve received?

The best writing advice I’ve received is to read. Read books in the genre I’m writing, read books on how to strengthen my craft, read books that challenge and strengthen my faith. Just read. This has helped me find my niche and broadened my perspective.

Give readers your brand/tagline and share how you came up with it.

My brand is “Modern-vintage romance—where the past and present collide with faith.” I chose that because all of my books hold some treasure from the past, whether it’s classic cars and vintage clothing, a modern dilemma that revolves around an important event in history, or restoration of an old house. The past is always present in my contemporary romances.

If you weren't a writer, what would be another dream job?

I would love to be the host of my own travel show so I could see the world without the cost. I’ve also always thought it would be fun to be a character at Disney World that walks around and takes pictures with people. I love making people smile.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

Reading, scrapbooking, baking, and hanging out with my husband and kids.

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?

Leave a positive review. It can even be a simple as “I really enjoyed it.” The more reviews an author has the more it helps us sell.

 What are the biggest misconception people have about your subject/genre?

I think a lot of readers who don’t normally read Christian romance believe if it’s absent of explicit scenes, it’s boring. I also think readers expect that the characters will always do the right thing and the story line will won’t hold their attention because it’s unrealistic. These things are further from the truth. We work that much harder to create a gripping story line that’s also clean. And in reality, as Christians, we don’t always make the right choices. Sometimes we get ourselves into some big messes. Many Christian romances deal with realistic issues from flawed, realistic characters.

What can we expect from you in the future?

My next contemporary romance Preserving Liberty is set to release in 2017. It’s about a Historic Preservation Specialist at the Library of Congress who finds herself on a dangerous treasure hunt with an undercover FBI agent. There’s lots of fun twists and turns. I’m really excited to share this story.

CANDICE'S QUESTION TO YOU:  

What is your favorite setting for a book?

Candice Sue Patterson studied at The Institute of Children’s Literature and is an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives in southern Indiana with her husband and three sons in a restored farmhouse overtaken by books. When she’s not tending to her chickens, splitting wood or decorating cakes, she’s working on a new story. Candice writes Modern-Vintage romance--where the past and present collide with faith. Visit her website at www.candicesuepatterson.com.

Find me at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Candice-Sue-Patterson-Author-420360958035447/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/candicesue_patt

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/CandiceSuePatterson

Purchase

How to Charm a Beekeeper’s Heart

at the following retail outlets!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Charm-Beekeepers-Heart-Candice-Patterson/dp/1611168562/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476800219&sr=8-1&keywords=Candice+Sue+Patterson

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-charm-a-beekeepers-heart-candice-sue-patterson/1123346380?ean=9781611168563

IPG: http://www.ipgbook.com/how-to-charm-a-beekeeper-s-heart-products-9781611168563.php?page_id=21

Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/How-to-Charm-a-Beekeeper-s-Heart/54213058#about

Books-A-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/How-Charm-Beekeepers-Heart/Candice-Sue-Patterson/9781611168563?id=6652182870574

Target: http://www.target.com/p/how-to-charm-a-beekeeper-s-heart-paperback-candice-sue-patterson/-/A-51828503

Pelican Book Group: http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=34&products_id=763

Candice, thanks for sharing!

Readers thanks for stopping by Lagniappe.

I pray you find

"a little something extra"

in each of your days.

Marian

Niki Turner - Santiago Sol

Good Monday Morning Readers!

Today, Niki Turner visits 

Lagniappe to discuss her 
latest release, Santiago Sol.

Welcome, Niki!

Tell us a little about SANTIAGO SOL:

I was able to take three trips to Chile, and fell in love with the nation. When Pelican’s call for submissions to the Passport to Romance collection included a story set in Santiago, I decided to take the challenge, which included finding a way to tie three plot elements into the tale. For Chile, the items were a party dress, a diary, and a walking stick.

At the time, I was in a writing funk, and about ready to give up. Again. (Haven’t we all tried to ‘quit’ writing at least once?) Having a fresh project with some prompts was just what I needed.

In Santiago Sol, heroine Tansy Chastain steps outside her comfort zone to fulfill the request of an elderly friend and finds herself on the other side of the world in Chile, at the mercy of handsome and wealthy Sebastian, who’s hiding his real identity. Tansy’s quest endangers her life, and brings her to a new place of faith. Sebastian will be challenged to forgive, and to seek forgiveness as Tansy’s quest collides with his hope for the future.

Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what's on your writing playlist these days?

It depends on the story for me. When I write contemporary I don’t need music, but I find that for historical fiction listening to the music of the era helps me get a better feel for my characters. Thank God for the Internet, and access to music we might otherwise never hear!

What is the best WRITING advice you’ve received?

“If you’re writing a romance, the romance IS the plot.” ~ Paula Moldenhauer.

If you weren't a writer, what would be another dream job?

Honestly, being a writer IS my dream job, since I was a teenager and wrote my first romance on a 1940s-era typewriter. However, my ideal writing life included a high-rise apartment in Manhattan… the budget is not there yet.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

I fight the same battle with my stories that I fight with my body: the dreaded sagging middle. Every story I’ve completed has had several thousand words of blubber in the middle that get cut sometime in the writing process. I wish it were as easy to hit “delete” on my muffin top!

What was one of the most surprising things you've learned while writing your books?

I researched the history of women’s skiing for The Skiing Suitor (Forget-Me-Not Romances) and was genuinely horrified to find out that women were not allowed to compete in Olympic ski jumping until 2014, even though they’d been jumping competitively almost as long as men.

What can we expect from you in the future?

My next two novellas are due to the publisher in January and April. Fully Persuaded will be part of volume 2 of the Austen in Austen series from Whitefire Publishing. First Comes Pie will be one of nine stories in the Blue Ribbon Brides collection from Barbour. I’m looking forward to writing these two stories!

Please include buy links and your website/FB/Twitter etc links.

Buy link: http://bit.ly/SantiagoSol

(if I get the Amazon/B&N links before Thursday I’ll get them to you)

website/blog: http://www.nikiturner.net

Facebook: facebook.com/niki.turner
Twitter:@NikiTurner716

Goodreads: goodreads.com/niki716

Pinterest: pinterest.com/niki_turner/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/niki716/

LIGHTNING ROUND   

Biscuits or Dinner Roll? Dinner roll, because of “Heidi,” and how she hid her soft, white dinner rolls in her pockets for her friend.

Nora Roberts or Diana Gabaldon?

AHHH!!! Impossible choice! But if I could only read one for the rest of my life, it would be Diana Gabaldon. Why? Well, the characters, but also because I learn so much real, practical information. I was looking for edible plants on my last hiking trip!

Superman or Batman?

Batman, because he’s a superhero in spite of himself, in spite of his past baggage, and the fact he doesn’t actually have any superpowers… just his brains and his brawn. And I like black.

Vacation: Beach or Mountains?

I live in the mountains, so that’s not a vacation. Definitely the beach. I crave the beach.

Women’s Fiction or Romance?

LOL. We’ve talked about this. Romance, but as I get older I like to see more women’s fiction elements in the story. I’d really like to see romances with older heroines! We middle-aged ladies need hope and inspiration, too! 

Niki Turner is a novelist, journalist, blogger, and the production manager for the Rio Blanco Herald Times weekly newspaper, one of the oldest continuously operating newspapers in Colorado. Her first completed manuscript earned second place in the Touched By Love 2009 contemporary category romance contest. She also blogs at www.nikiturner.net and is a co-blogger at www.inkwellinspirations.com.

Niki is a Colorado native who grew up in Glenwood Springs—home of the world’s largest hot springs pool. She married her high school sweetheart 25 years ago. They have four children, four grandchildren, and two West Highland White Terriers.

In 2014, she published “Sadie’s Gift” as one of the Christmas Traditions novella collection with eight other authors.  The Skiing Suitor, one of the Love’s Sporting Chance series published by Forget-Me-Not Romances, released in August 2015. Her most recent project, “Santiago Sol,” was published by Pelican Book Group as part of the Passport to Romance novella collection. She’s currently working on a new novella for Whitefire Publishing and another one for Barbour House.

Niki, thanks for sharing!


Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe.

Niki's questions for you:

What’s the farthest from home you’ve ever traveled? 

How did it change you? 

I pray you find 

"a little something extra" 

in each of your days.

Marian