Get Lost With Sherrie Hansen!

Folks, please help me welcome Sherrie Hansen to our blog! I'm so excited because Sherrie is another person who writes about my own favorite place, Scotland. Let's get busy!

WHO IS SHERRIE?

Twenty-three years ago, Sherrie Hansen rescued a dilapidated Victorian house in northern Iowa from the bulldozer's grips and turned it into a bed and breakfast and tea house, the Blue Belle Inn. Sherrie grew up on a farm south of Austin, Minnesota. She has lived in Bar Harbor, Maine, Colorado Springs, CO, and Augsburg, Germany. She attended Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. After 12 years of writing romance novels late at night when she couldn't sleep (mostly because she was so keyed up from working 12 hour days at the B&B), she met and married her real-life hero, Mark Decker, a pastor. Sherrie lives in 2 different houses, 85 miles apart, and writes on the run whenever she has a spare minute. With her Wildflowers of Scotland novels, "Wild Rose" and “Blue Belle”, she has seven books in print. Sherrie enjoys playing the piano with the worship team at church, needlepointing, photography, decorating historic homes, traveling, and going on weekly adventures with her nieces and nephew.

THE STORY BLURB

Isabelle doesn’t want to be found. Michael doesn’t want to be found out. When Damon starts searching for the centuries-old gold he thinks is buried in Tobermory Bay, it won’t matter what walls they’re hiding behind. Rocks will fall. Castles will crumble. No secret will be safe.

 Age-old castles and blue-watered bays,

White sandy beaches and quaint cottage stays.
A rainbow of colors, and chocolates, hand-dipped,
A valley of bluebells, and sheep, freshly clipped.
Legends galore, buried treasure, and more…   
In Tobermory, Scotland, that’s what’s in store.

READ AN EXCERPT!

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SHERRIE?

Contact: sherrie@bluebelleinn.com    
Website: http://www.BlueBelleBooks.com   
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SherrieHansenAuthor   
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SherrieHansen  
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2870454.Sherrie_Hansen
Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/sherriebluebell/
Blog: http://sherriehansen.wordpress.com/  

AND NOW...

Alexa: How often to you get lost in a story?
Sherrie:  I read in spurts, just like I write. In the summertime, I’m lost in my work - entertaining guests at my B&B and Tea House.  In the winter, I’m always lost in a story, either my current work in progress or a book written by one of my favorite authors.

 

Alexa:  Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release? 
Sherrie:  I love Celtic music, and enjoy Secret Garden, Nightnoise, and a favorite Canadian group, The Rankin Family.  Whether a toe-tapping jig or a haunting melody, the music helps me envision the landscape of Scotland and the cadence of the voices. For Blue Belle, you might also listen to the song, Jump for My Love. You’ll understand why when you get to the end.  

Alexa:  I'm right there with you and the Celtic music! What was the first story you remember writing? 
Sherrie:  I used to write plays for my cousins to perform under the trees in the front yard of my Grandma Hansen’s house. We even charged admission, little entrepreneur that I was (and still am) The first one that I remember was a story based on the song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” Let’s just say my cousins weren’t all that thrilled. But the audience did give us rave reviews.       

Alexa:  What’s something you’d like to tell your fans? 
Sherrie:  Please don’t make assumptions about my books until you’ve read one or two. My books and book covers are unique and not easily categorized, so it’s hard to put a traditional label on them. My characters are a little older, and my stories are primarily second chance at love scenarios. They’re romance, but they’re much more than that as well – one reviewer called them “the thinking woman’s romance”. They sometimes have faith and family themes and dilemmas, but they’re not Christian fiction.  Some have steamy scenes. They’re filled with Midwestern-isms and handmade quilts, Victorian houses, B&B’s, quaint European locales, and delicious foods. I’m told they’re sometimes humorous and that they’ll sometimes make you cry, that they’ll keep you up all night reading to see what’s going to happen next. So, if reading this reminds you of someone you know, please recommend my books, or better yet, buy them one for a gift! Thank you.

Alexa:   If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why? 
Sherrie:  It’s the early 20^th century. I’m wearing a long, flowing, blue gown with a fitted waist, my hair dressed in a pompadour, my cheeks as pink as an apple blossom with excitement, my dance card full, surrounded by The Crowd at a Deep Valley High School dance. My favorite books are the Betsy Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace – a Minnesota, Victorian age series similar to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, with a book for nearly every year from kindergarten on up until Betsy was grown up and married. What a grand time it would be to live out one of the scenes I’ve read about so many times.  

Alexa:  What question are you never asked in interviews, but wish you were? 

Sherrie:  Strangely enough, no one ever thinks to ask me if I’ve climbed a mountain, which is a shame, because I have, and I’m very proud of it. The greyer my hair gets and the plumper I get around the middle, the more I think back to the day I scaled Pike’s Peak, a 14, 115 foot peak outside Colorado Springs, where I lived for 11 years. It was one of the most awesome moments of my life. I did it! I really did it!

Alexa:  Which of your characters would you most like to invite to dinner, and why? 
Sherrie:  I would invite Anders from Night and Day or Tommy Love from Love Notes to an intimate, candlelight dinner for two. Dinner with Anders would be very brief, and might go half-uneaten. Tommy Love would hopefully serenade me with love songs in front of the fireplace while I snuggled under a quilt and watched the flames dancing around the logs. 

Alexa:  What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing? 
Sherrie:  I find it a real honor when people read my books. It somehow says to me that what I think, and the words that I say are worthy of someone’s time and attention. I feel like people really come to know me when they read my books, and if they enjoy what they read and are somehow enriched by my words - it’s an incredible high. I have no children, so in a very real way, the books I write are my legacy.

Alexa:  Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most? 
Sherrie:  I totally detest being trussed up in a corset, girdle, or any kind of tight, restrictive clothing.  I love the loose, unfitted styles of the 1920’s – think Downton Abbey’s post war seasons – and the adorable hats the ladies wore during the same era. Totally me.

Alexa:  Describe an absolutely perfect day. 

Sherrie:  Morning:  Sleep late, wake up to a cool breeze coming in the window and breakfast in bed (my husband makes the absolute best scrambled eggs).  Afternoon:  No appointments, no meetings, no phone calls – doing whatever I want to do in my nightgown. Maybe a massage sometime late that afternoon. Evening:  Dinner at a favorite restaurant with my family and favorite friends from everywhere in the world. Calories would be conveniently non-existent, and my nephew, Cole, and his wife, Kayla, would provide musical entertainment. The evening would end with some honest, open conversation, a little dancing, and a lot of hugs.  Nighttime:  A memory foam mattress, my husband, a beautiful view of the countryside, peace, quiet, stars… you’ll have to use your imagination for the rest.   

 Alexa: What’s up next for you, Sherrie?

Sherrie: I’m 3/4 of the way done with Shy Violet, my third Wildflowers of Scotland novel. Readers can look forward to seeing a dashing bagpipe player, some scruffy pirates that are smuggling whiskey, Eilean Donan Castle, and some major interactions with Rose, Ian, and Lyndsie from Wild Rose, and Isabelle from Blue Belle.  You can read the first chapter at the end of Blue Belle.

Alexa: Do you have any questions for your fans?

Sherrie: Which wildflower of Scotland do you most identify with and why? Thistle Down (a bit prickly)?  Wild Rose (always getting into trouble)? Blue Belle (not feeling very perky for one reason or another – even a bit downtrodden)? Shy Violet (have trouble speaking your mind or standing up for yourself even when you know you should)?

Folks, be sure to leave a comment! Sherrie will be giving away an ecopy or print copy of Blue Belle to one lucky commenter! Sherrie, thanks so much for joining us today!

Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

Catherine Gayle's Old Maids' Club is Brimming with Romance

PARIAH
Catherine Gayle
Second Wind Publishing


After selling his major’s commission in the Dragoons, Lord Roman Sullivan wants nothing more than a calm, sedate life in the country where he’s agreed to act as steward over his father’s estate. Society is no place for a man who can’t sleep without fear of attacking an innocent in the night, after all. But upon his arrival, madness lands in his path in the form of a secret-keeping pixie of a lady, a precocious boy, a lady in the throes of dementia, and a band of rabidly loyal servants, who combine to capture both his attention and what’s left of his heart in one fell swoop.

Bethanne Shelton keeps a great many secrets, most of which are not hers to reveal. Keeping them close to her chest is the one sure way to make certain her life remains as normal as possible. Even her family can’t discover the truth, lest Finn be taken away from her. In order to protect him, she ignores the whispers of pariah and worse. But her Aunt Rosaline’s health is rapidly declining, and Roman is the only one able to calm her. He’s getting too close, and if he unveils Bethanne’s mysteries, she’ll lose her family. One thing is certain: no matter what happens, she is bound to lose her heart.

Getting to know Catherine Gayle 

Catherine Gayle has been an avid reader of romance novels (and almost anything else she can legally get her hands on) for as long as she can remember. Her mother might say it started in the womb. When she is not writing or reading, she can often be found buried beneath one of her sleeping cats or chasing the Nephew Monster.

Jillian: The Old Maid series is inspired by an unusual supporting character, Lady Rosaline Shelton. Can you tell us more about her ?
Catherine: Lady Rosaline Shelton was a bluestocking who chose to be an old maid. She believes women are the equals of men. She smoked cheroots, she rode astride, and she carried on illicit affairs with any man she chose, regardless of what the ton thought about it. She loves fiercely and doesn’t care who knows it. And, it just so happens, she is adored by three of her nieces to the point they seek to emulate her. By the time the series begins, however, Lady Rosaline is suffering from dementia. While she doesn’t always remember who her nieces are, they can never forget the woman she has always been.

Jillian: I found Lord Roman Shelton to be a very intriguing character. A troubled soldier and misunderstood gentleman, what a great combination! I'd love to know more about how you came to invent your hero.
Catherine: When I started working on my plans for this series, everything revolved around my heroines. I knew that Bethanne would be struggling with the care of her aunt. Her hero had to be a man who could not only assist in that care, but who could really relate to Lady Rosaline in a way that no one else could. I couldn’t give him dementia—that wouldn’t work for a hero!—but I felt it was important for him to have some similarities to the lady. After a good deal of research into mental disorders, I settled upon what would in modern terms be considered PTSD: post-traumatic stress disorder. From there, his history fell into place, having served in the Napoleonic wars and not feeling like he could live a normal society life upon his return because of the horrors he’d seen, which continued to haunt him. I was actually a little surprised, as I wrote, by the bond that grew between Roman and Lady Rosaline. I knew it would be there, but it had far more facets than I expected.

Jillian: Your approach to historical romance is an interesting melange, especially some of the hardship and real life issues. For instance, your heroine is an unmarried woman with a child. Dickens and Catherine Cookson come to mind in the Victorian period. Tell us more about why this kind of love story inspires you.
Catherine: Life happens, and there’s not much we can do to stop it. I can’t stand a perfect story with perfect characters where everything perfectly falls into place—it doesn’t feel real to me, because it has not been my reality. While I love the backdrop afforded by the Regency era, where the heroes and heroines are wealthy and seem to have all the best life has to offer at all times, I think it is too easy at times for authors to ignore the darker side of life.

At every point in history, people have been subjected to hardships, violence, disease, addictions, sexual abuse, and so much more. Life isn’t pretty and perfect all the time, but that doesn’t mean something beautiful can’t come from the ugliness. In my own life, I’ve seen far more of the darker side of things than I’d care to see, but it hasn’t diminished my belief that life is what you make of it. You can always take the hardships you’ve experienced and turn them into a source of strength. That’s what I try to find within myself, and it is something I try to extend to my characters.

Jillian: What is more difficult to write: an intense sexual scene or a heart-wrenching emotional scene? Why?
Catherine: Far and away, the heart-wrenching emotional scenes are harder for me to write. When I really get them right, it comes from a place that is deep within me, and it is like pulling a piece of my soul out and slapping it on the page. Even if I haven’t been through the exact situation the characters are experiencing, I still pull the emotions from my own life. In a way, writing those scenes is like reliving some of the best and worst moments I’ve been through. Intense sexual scenes tend to fly from my fingers, on the other hand. (But both leave me drained afterwards!)

Jillian: Is SHELVED released yet? If so, please share a brief blurb and cover art please!

Catherine: SHELVED will be released in late fall, 2012 or early winter, 2013. At this point, I don’t have an exact release date.

Blurb: Miss Josephine Faulkner refuses to come in second to anyone—not even to a husband. Oh, sure, Duncan Ramsey, the Earl of Leith, has been owner of her heart since she was a girl, chasing after him and her older brother when they tried to leave her behind. And while it is true she once gave herself to Duncan completely, when she was only offered marriage in return (and therefore, second class status within the relationship), she told him in no uncertain terms where he could put his blasted chivalry. Now he needs an heir to prevent his ne’er-do-well cousin from one day inheriting his father’s marquessate, but having sulked over the mistakes he’s made with Jo for over a decade, he can’t imagine anyone else being suited for the job. Somehow he must convince her that a life at his side will be more worthwhile than a life of stubborn independence.

Jillian: Are there more books in The Old Maid Series or are you moving on to something new? What's next from Catherine Gayle?
Catherine: SHELVED will be the final installment of the Old Maids’ Club series. I’m also working on another novella for an anthology releasing this fall, A SEASON TO REMEMBER, with Ava Stone, Jerrica Knight-Catania, and Jane Charles. These novellas are connected to the ones we wrote for the SUMMONS anthologies, and for THE BETTING SEASON. I’m also working on a new series set in the Regency in which I’ll take a bit of a darker path than I’ve traveled before, dealing with suicide, murder, kidnapping…all sorts of good things. LOL. I can’t reveal any more about that series at this point in time, but I hope I’ll be able to do so someday in the not too distant future. Also, I’ve got other additions to my Lord Rotheby’s Influence series in the works.

Quick Questions, Quick Answers:

Jillian: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?
Catherine: Tweet about it. I’m addicted to Twitter. It’s a sickness.

Jillian: Coffee or Tea? And how do you take it?
Catherine: Coffee. Every day. I can’t get through the day without at least two cups, with creamer and sweetener. I drink iced tea most days, too, but the coffee is a necessity.

Jillian: What's your favorite fairy tale?
Catherine: You can’t go wrong with Cinderella.

Jillian: What's the first book you remember reading?
Catherine: Green Eggs and Ham, and it is still one of my favorite books to read.

Jillian: What reality TV show are you watching right now?
Catherine: I’m watching the new seasons of both So You Think You Can Dance and Food Network Star. Believe it or not, I took the spring off from reality TV. I’m still shocked that I survived it.

Commenters: Have you ever loved someone suffering from mental illness? I’ll send an autographed copy of Wallflower, the first book in the Old Maids’ Club series, to each of two commenters. Sorry, but I can only send to U.S. mailing addresses. (I would offer copies of Pariah, but my publisher hasn’t finished putting it in print yet!)

Catherine Gayle's Contact and Purchase links:

Website: catherinegayle,com

Blog: timelessquills.com

Facebook: Catherine-Gayle

Twitter: Catherine_Gayle

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

 

***Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America  addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.