Showing posts with label women writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women writers. Show all posts

Monday, October 12, 2015

Taking A Chance on Love



I'm  pleased to introduce fellow Clean Reads Author Rachel Jones featuring her new release Taking a Chance on Love.




TAKING A CHANCE ON LOVE





TAGLINE:  A touchdown for the coach when the music teacher accepts his love              


BLURB:
From childhood, Virginia Manning has planned for a career as a concert clarinetist. Blindsided by family circumstances, her plans are interrupted, taking her down a path she would never have chosen. As a music teacher, Virginia’s relationship with the football coach goes from problematic to romantic. After Blake’s brush with death, a scared Virginia runs away looking for the contentment music has always brought to her life.
Because Blake Oliver has experienced disappointment and pain, he opts for a fresh start in a small New England town. Accepting the position of football coach, he isn’t looking for love when it finds him. But when Virginia leaves to pursue a performance career, Blake realizes it’s not where you live but having someone to love that matters. His only problem is making her understand that as well.
 EXCERPT:
She pulled her arms across her chest in an attempt to calm her shivering. Bright lights reflected from her rearview mirror, the only headlights she had seen since she had stopped on the side of the ride. Releasing a sigh of relief, she waited for flashing blue lights to interrupt the blackness surrounding the car. No blue lights. Her heart began racing at hearing a car door slam. She was alone, on a deserted highway. Checking the locks on her doors, she thought about driving away, but how far could she go with a flat tire?
A tap on the passenger window made her jump. “Hey.”
The dark night made it impossible to see the face outside the passenger window. Fear made it impossible to move.
“Come on, Gin. It’s wet out here.”
No one else called her Gin. She hit the automatic button releasing the lock and Blake pulled the door open. Relief flooded her body and was replaced by anger.         
“Blake — you nearly scared me to death.”
“Not the best time for a flat tire. You’re soaked.”
“You’re not so very dry yourself.”
“Where are you headed?”
“I was on my way home. I had an early dinner with my family before they left for the weekend. Staying to play my piano wasn’t a bad idea — I just got caught up in my music.” She loved how her music could take her away from everything, but the downside was eventually she had to come back to reality. “Anyway, I was going through my options when you drove up.”
“Your spare is lying in the mud.”
“I was going to try changing it, but when the lightning started, I chickened out.”
“Well, you can’t drive all the way to Boston soaked to the skin. And I really don’t want to change a tire in this downpour.”
“So what do you suggest I do?”
“Let me take you back to your sister’s house. You can stay the night and deal with the tire in the morning.”
Virginia didn’t respond, didn’t want this moment to end. He was here, beside her and the intensity of how much she had missed him came crashing down upon her like tumultuous waves hitting a jagged rock wall along the seashore.
“Gin?”
She looked up. “That sounds good.”
As he leaned over and pulled the keys from the ignition, it took all Virginia’s willpower to keep from pulling him close.

AUTHOR BIO:
It was thoughts of what she would do after retirement from a twenty-eight-year career in healthcare that spurred Rachel to begin writing her first manuscript in March of 2012. Needing guidance and support with her new endeavor, she joined local and national writing groups.
Rachel signed her first contract in 2013 and her debut novel, To Dance One More Day was released in June of 2014. She is eagerly awaiting retirement to write full time.
A music enthusiast for decades, Rachel resides in Kennesaw, Georgia with her husband of thirty-seven years and a spoiled Labrador retriever. She is a member of Georgia Writers Association, Georgia Romance Writers and is a PRO member of Romance Writers of America.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
https://twitter.com/RJonesAuthor



Amazon Buy Link  

Friday, July 17, 2015

Spolight Author Gwendolyn M Plano










  You have asked me, "Who or what inspires me?"
  May Angelou will always hold a special place in my heart, because she gave me permission to write about the struggles that I held secretly within my soul. She opened the doors behind which sexual abuse and domestic violence thrive, and with her courage she paved a path of monumental change. Though I was not fortunate to meet her, she will always be my mentor.

  Poet Mary Oliver's verses speak to my spirit. Her ponderings draw me into mystery, where I am brought to a deeper level of understanding. Inevitably her choice of words guides my own. For instance this comment left me speechless: "Someone I once loved gave me a boxful of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift." How extraordinary!

   Oriah Mountain's Dreamers is of similar quality to that of Mary Oliver--it is honest, pure. loving, and transformative. She knows pain and sorrow and yet found joy. She is like the sister I have never met, a friend who by her life teaches me how to live.

    In addition to the works of the authors mentioned above, there are many other writers who are  part of my life. Authors Nonnie Jules, Nicholas Rossis, and Robin Chambers are just few of who crowd my bookcases and inspire me to write. They open the doors of the heart through their choice of words and their characters. And, they help to reframe the worlds both seen and unseen.



 Author Bio

Gwendolyn M Plano spent her professional life in higher education. She taught and served as an administrator in colleges in New York, Connecticut and California. She has multiple academic degrees, including on in Theology, and one in Counseling. Recently Gwen retired, and she now devotes herself to writing, travel, her volunteer work, and her beautiful grandchildren.
Book Link

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K7WYTW6/
Gwen online!
Twitter: @gmplano
Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/GwendolynMPlano
Website: www.gwenplano.com