The Reading Frenzy: **Giveaway** Showcase Tell Me Again by Michelle Majors

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Giveaway Showcase Tell Me Again by Michelle Majors

One of my very favorite HQN Special Edition authors, Michelle Major also publishes through Montlake and a new one just released yesterday.
So I hope you enjoy this showcase and stick around because Michelle has graciously sponsored a giveaway.
Details below!

Publisher: Montlake Publishing
Release Date: 10-18-2016
Length: 257pp
Buy It: B&N/Amazon/IndieBound/Audible

Overview:

As a teenager, Samantha Carlton used a career in modeling to break free from her painful childhood—walking away from her reckless twin sister, an alcoholic mother, and the boy she loved. Yet she never outran the guilt of abandoning her family. When the past shows up on her doorstep in the form of her late sister’s daughter, Sam opens her home and her heart to the girl she never knew existed. But it’s not so easy to face the man she left behind…

Sam had shattered Trevor Kincaid’s heart, and he’d sought comfort in her sister’s arms. But he’d pledged to shield his daughter, Grace, from the drama that followed the Carlton women. Now Grace has tracked down Sam, and Trevor is forced to deal with the one woman he wanted to forget.

Giveaway is for one print copy of Tell Me Again
And a $10 Amazon Gift Card
Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter
Thanks Michelle!!
Good Luck!

I'm sharing a snippet of my interview with Michelle from 2014

Michelle HI, (waving madly) Welcome to The Reading Frenzy

Hi, Debbie (waving back)!! Thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited to talk to you here at The Reading Frenzy.

Michelle you’re a relative newcomer to the author business.What most surprised you about the entire process from idea to release day?
Three things: self-discipline, self-awareness and self-promotion.

I started writing when my kids were babies and since neither of them were great sleepers, I wrote in fits and starts whenever I could find a minute or drink enough coffee to form a coherent thought. The transition to treating writing like a job was probably my biggest adjustment. There is no substitute or short cut for sitting down every day and getting the work done.

Along with the self-discipline came self-awareness. I had to become a lot smarter about letting things go that weren’t essential to my happiness or what my family needs from me. Again, there are only so many hours in a day (and I’m someone who needs a decent night’s sleep to function!) so I try to pay attention to the things that really matter and not worry about the other stuff.

I’m a pretty introverted person usually, so self-promotion isn’t a natural thing for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love to talk – it just feels odd to talk about myself. But that’s been my happiest surprise of this process. How welcoming and supportive the whole romance community is – from readers to reviewers and bloggers to other authors. It’s like we’re this big, awesome club of people who all love these stories. It’s really fantastic and I’ve so enjoyed getting to know people through the release of my books.

I love the quote on your website, “My family fills my heart and now writing feeds my soul.”Give us a peek at a day in the life of Michelle Major.
Oh, it’s so glamorous – not!! In fact, I got to speak at my daughter’s 2^nd grade career day last year and as a (sort of) joke, I came to school in my pajamas. I think several of the kids decided they wanted to be writers so they could stay in their PJs all day long.

The reality is my day starts around 5:30 am. My husband leaves for work early and I’ve been in the habit of getting up when he does since my kids were babies. Back then that hour was sometimes the only one I had to myself during the day. Now I still enjoy the quiet time to get a jump-start on my writing.

I do most of my writing and editing during school hours. It can be solitary work so I use the internet as my ‘reward’ – a certain number of pages written or edited and I let myself check email or Facebook. It keeps me motivated. I try to get outside every day. We’re lucky in Colorado to have so much sun and my two dogs need the exercise as much as I do.

My son and daughter are still young enough that after school is filled with carpools, sports practices and other activities. I always have my laptop or a notebook with me to use any spare minutes I get. My husband and I didn’t up having family dinners, so that’s become an important tradition for our family. It can be a challenge with all the different schedules (I’m always looking for easy/quick recipes!) but it’s worth it.

Why did you choose to write romance, or was it the other way around?
I think romance and I chose each other. Back when I was working in the corporate world full time, I was in a position where I travelled almost every week for my job. I developed an overwhelming fear of flying and would white-knuckle my way through every plane ride. On a whim, I picked up a romance novel in an airport bookstore (one of the early Julia Quinn Bridgerton books) and I got so carried away by the story that I didn’t even notice the flight taking off or landing. I was hooked and began reading romance obsessively – I had a lot of catching up to do!

Shortly after, I realized that the little vignettes I always had playing in my head were actually the start of romance plots. It felt like coming home - I finally had a good reason to have imaginary people talking to me! I joined RWA and my local chapter and started learning about craft and story structure, along the way meeting women who would become some of my best friends.

Connect with Michelle - Website - Facebook - Twitter

Meet Michelle:

I was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and for as long as I can remember I’ve loved books. Growing up, I wrote stories and plays and graduated with a degree in Journalism from Ohio University.

By then I’d also fallen in love with the mountains. After college I pointed my ancient Honda west until I came to Colorado. I worked on a dude ranch and then spent a month camping through the southwestern part of the state. Technically, I might have been homeless but that hardly seemed to matter while sleeping under the stars.

I settled down to a career in Human Resources and traveled across the country for my job. With my fear of flying, I needed something to distract me on all those planes. I picked up a Julia Quinn novel in an airport bookstore and was hooked. It dawned on me that the stories milling around in my head were actually romance plots. My passion for novel writing was born.

Fast forward a couple of years and I’m now married, a part-time writer and a full-time Professional Wiper (noses, bottoms, tears, scraped knees, pet accidents – you name it, I’ve cleaned it up).

My family fills my heart and now writing feeds my soul.