~ THE ACCIDENTAL GUARDIAN BLOG TOUR ~

~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~
~ BLOG TOUR STOP ~

-- 'The Accidental Guardian'

by Author Mary Connealy --

 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

JUNE: Welcome to 'Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic', Mary. I have enjoyed reading several of your books, and I hear myself laughing out loud throughout each story. Are you known by your friends and family to possess a quick wit or is this a quality which emerges when you are writing?

MARY: Thank you so much for saying that. I appreciate it. I suppose people think I’m funny. Although those closest to me might say all my wit gets old.

JUNE: Were you funny when you were a child and teen?

MARY: Yes, but it pains me to say so because I was also really shy. So, I said funny stuff (or tried to) then started in wondering HOW I COULD SAY SOMETHING SO STUPID?! Lord, deliver us from the mental scars left by the teen years!

JUNE: I think most women of a 'certain age' have nightmares about our teenaged years. Hopefully we can all move past those frightful memories and act like dignified ladies . . . 
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JUNE: One of my favorite stories penned by you is 'Runaway Bride' from the 'With This Ring?' novella collection published by Bethany House in 2016. How do you partner with other authors to collaborate on an anthology?

MARY: Ah, I loved that story. Thank you so much for mentioning it. I love doing novellas rooted in older stories already published and that one touches on the Trouble in Texas series and the Kincaid Brides series. Bethany House has teamed me up with Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings and Melissa Jagears for several four-author collections. We connect the books (with one exception) very loosely, by a theme, like an arranged or forced marriage for With This Ring? Then we talk it over with Bethany to make sure they like an idea we’ve come up with, and we then write our stories independently of each other. A Match Made in Texas is the exception and those stories were pretty tightly connected. We did a LOT of work to make sure the story flowed well and it was so MUCH work, we stopped doing it.
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JUNE: Does the publisher arrange it or do the authors reach out to each other and then present the idea to the publisher? 

MARY: I can’t remember about the first one, one of the authors or our agents might have suggested it, but now Bethany asks if we want to do another. The collections have been very popular. Our most recent is Hearts Entwined which came out January 2018.
 
JUNE: That book is on my TBR list!
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JUNE: Since you write historical fiction, what type of research do you conduct when you are working on a manuscript?

MARY: Most of my research is done online. It is so fun, I can get lost for hours reading old papers (online) and visiting National Monument websites. In fact, I have a New Year’s Resolution to GET OUT FROM BEHIND MY COMPUTER AND GO SOMEWHERE.

JUNE: Are you a history buff as far as visiting historical homes, sites, and museums for your own pleasure?

MARY: I do love museums, historically restored homes, living history museums are fantastic, I just love those. I once touched a mastodon tusk in a museum and I am SERIOUS—A whole story sprang to life, fully formed in my head. And not in like a MYSTICAL way, I just felt such inspiration from touching something so old. That book is coming out in May in a novella collection called Cowboys of Summer. My book is ‘Dr. Tess and the Cowboy’.
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JUNE: Parents, teachers, and librarians are constantly on the look-out for wholesome historical fiction to share with their middle-grade students. Have you ever considered writing historical fiction for this age group?

MARY: I have actually had pretty good response from younger readers. There are a lot of children in my books and the romances are very sweet. I’ve got a fourteen-year-old niece who is a big fan.
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JUNE: You mention in your author's bio on your website you had twenty books on your computer before your first book was accepted for publication. Did any of the twenty stories make their way to publication? If yes, which of your books are from the original batch of twenty?

MARY: I absolutely did get most of them published. I count fourteen of them. Which books…let me think. You want a list? I can probably do that. Besides the published ones I’ve got five contemporary romantic cop dramas I have made into a series, and I might indie publish them someday.

Here are the published books from among my first twenty I wrote: Petticoat Ranch, Calico Canyon, Gingham Mountain, Montana Rose, The Husband Tree, Wildflower Bride, Clueless Cowboy, Buffalo Gal, and Ten Plagues—a thriller published under the name Mary Nealy.
Novellas: Making Her Match
Novellas—ebook novellas out of print—I might indie publish them someday too, but I feel sorry for people who’ve already read them who might buy them twice: Scent of Heaven, The Sweetest Gift, Safe Haven, and Safe Shelter.
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JUNE: I'd like to send out a special word of appreciation to Mary Connealy for taking the time to answer my questions. If you have not yet read one of her stories, you need to do it soon! They are engaging, entertaining, and enjoyable.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary Connealy writes "romantic comedies with cowboys" and is celebrated for her fun, zany, action-packed style. She has more than half a million books in print. She is the author of the popular series Wild at Heart, Kincaid Brides, Trouble in Texas, Lassoed in Texas, Sophie's Daughters, and many other books. Mary lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her very own romantic cowboy hero.

CONNECT WITH MARY:

website,  facebook,  twitter,  instagram

You can also find Mary at these sites: Seekerville and Petticoats & Pistols

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Title: The Accidental Guardian
Series: High Sierra Sweethearts, Book 1
Author: Mary Connealy
Publisher: Bethany House Publishets
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Genre: Historical Romance /Western

+To Read: Goodreads 

 She's the Only Witness to a Wagon Train Attack. Keeping Her Safe, Though, Means His World Is about to be Turned Upside Down.

When Trace Riley finds the smoldering ruins of a small wagon train, he recognizes an attack by the same group who left him as sole survivor years ago. Living off the wilderness since then, he's finally carved out a home and started a herd--while serving as a self-appointed guardian of the trail. He'd hoped the days of driving off dangerous men were over, but the latest attack shows otherwise.

Deborah Harkness saved her younger sister and two toddlers during the attack, and now finds herself at the mercy of her rescuer. Trace becomes an accidental guardian when he offers the only shelter for miles around and agrees to take them in until they can safely continue their journey. His simple bachelor existence never anticipated kids and women in the picture and their arrival is unsettling--yet enticing.

Trace and Deborah find themselves drawing ever closer as they work together to bring justice to the trail and help the group survive the winter--but every day closer to spring means a day closer to leaving the mountains forever.

PURCHASE A COPY*

Amazon l ChristianBook l Book Depository l Itunes

The next book in the series, THE RELUCTANT WARRIOR,
will be released later this year in October, 2018!

GIVEAWAY:

(1) Winner will win: 

The Cimarron Legacy by Mary Connealy (all 3 print books)

The Accidental Guardian by Mary Connealy (print)

(US/Canada Mailing Addresses Only) Full terms & conditions noted on Rafflecopter form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway   
For the full tour schedule for more giveaway entries, head to JustRead's Launch Page HERE 

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Launch Page @ JustRead

Just Commonly

May 14
100 Pages per Hour
cherylbbookblog
Kathleen Denly
Remembrancy
Stories By Gina
The Write 

May 15
A Simply Enchanted Life
Kat’s Corner Books
Singing Librarian Books
The Christian Fiction Girl
To Everything A Season

May 16
A Nest in the Rocks
Britt Reads Fiction
Daysong Reflections
Faithfully Bookish
the adventures of aimymichelle

May 17
A Baker’s Perspective
Blooming with Books
Book by Book
Heidi Reads…
The Fizzy Pop Collection

May 18
Among the Reads
Bibliophile Reviews
Radiant Light
Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic
Running Through The Storms

Be sure to check out the Bookstagram Tour for The Accidental Guardian starting next week on @JustReadTours on Instagram!

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COMING UP SOON ON 'READING, WRITING & STITCH-METIC':
-- Monday, May 21st: Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday Historical Fiction Feature: 'Beyond the Bright Sea' by award-winning author, Lauren Wolk. Book Spotlight and review.

-- Tuesday, May 22nd: Book Blast for 'Rescue'. Post includes book spotlight, author bio, and $50 giveaway. Event hosted by I Am A Reader. 

--  Wednesday, May 23rd:  Blog Tour Stop for 'Dating the Prince'. This clean romance is a retelling of Mark Twain's 'The Prince and the Pauper'. Post includes book spotlight, excerpt, and a giveaway. Blog Tour hosted by I Am A Reader.

--  Friday, May 25th:  Blog Tour Stop for 'Cowboys of Summer'. This post includes an interview with the author, book spotlight, and a giveaway. Blog Tour hosted by JustRead Publicity.

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