Beaches, Backroads & Books

Best-selling author, Sherry Gloag is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk , England .  She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs "thinking time" and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel.  While out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by. Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office.  She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic. Sherry loves to hear from her readers.  sherrygloag@gmail.com   Sherry's latest novel, Name the Day , is a contemporary Christmas romance released just in time for the holidays.  Blurb: Renowned portrait artist, Samantha Brown is through with men. After dealing with an overbearing father and cheating ex-fiance, Samanth

The Kindle edition of WHEN SWALLOWS FALL is now available on amazon. This is good news, but it means I have now entered the most painful and annoying part of the whole writing process. The part when I worry incessantly that everyone who reads it will hate it and never read another one of my books. I hope that even though it is somewhat different than my other books, it still draws the reader in and keeps her (or him) reading until the end, hoping for a happy ending. 

Bright and early this morning, to fit with the morning I'd already had trying to find a decent pair of jeans to wear on dress down day at work and a bit of bickering with my husband, I opened my inbox to find a rejection from Harlequin. I won't go in to how many daydreams centered around finding an acceptance from Harlequin, because all of that is moot now and no longer matters.  The thing that matters is this. I'm going to keep writing. I probably won't be submitting another book to Harlequin. Why? Because my voice doesn't seem to jive with theirs. It's not my fault. It's not their fault. I just can't seem to write to their specs. That is an assumption, of course, because the rejection was a form letter that just said "not a good fit for us", but that is what I think is the problem. Maybe category romance just isn't my thing. None of my other books would fit into a Harlequin category either. Rejections are a fairly normal part of m

Mackenzie Crowne's newest release, A SONG FOR SOPHIE, is free on amazon this week. Read more about it.  Jobless, practically homeless, and tired of being manless, Sophie Taylor jumps at the chance to be Beaumont Walker’s personal assistant. Six weeks on the road with country music’s bad boy—and, more importantly, his all-male crew—is the perfect opportunity to change her life.  Beau Walker doesn’t need any more distractions. Sophie, with her butt-ugly suits and balls-to-the-wall attitude, shouldn’t be one, but she proves to be distracting and more—even, surprisingly, a friend. So when he discovers her plan to snag a man from his worldly wise crew, he’s determined to protect her from herself. When Sophie realizes Beau is behind her failure to attract even one member of his crew, the last place she expects to find herself is in his bed. But will one night of passion convince her she's woman enough for him? Or will it destroy their friendship and his budding belief

When Swallows Fall  will be released exclusively on amazon on October 28, 2013, and the world wide release will happen on February 7, 2014.  P.S.  In the next few days, I'll be announcing some good news about my back list, so stay tuned.

Welcome to author Barbara Edwards who is here sharing her journey as a writer.  My new release Journey of the Magi made me think about my own journey as a person and a writer. In my new release, Journey of the Magi, Noel is struggling to keep her promise to her children. A blizzard in Minnesota, a broken down car and lack of money halts their journey to a home in Connecticut. When the man of her dreams offers his help and love, can she resist? http://amzn.com/B00ES5DZEQ I’m no longer a single mother, but I do have children and they are the most important people in the world to me. I remember the struggles to keep promises. I managed to keep them clothed and fed during hard times. Although I couldn’t always give them the things they wanted, I tried to give them love. I’ve visited California, been in Minnesota in November where the cold can crack your bones, and gone home to Connecticut for holidays with my children. Journey of the Magi is a sweet romance fr

Today I'm welcoming to Sandra Dailey, author of Twice the Trouble and The Chief's Proposal. Sandra's here to discuss breaking the rules as a writer.   Gloria, thank you so much for allowing me on your lovely blog today. I’m looking forward to returning the favor next week and I hope all your readers will join us there as well. I can’t wait to hear more about what you have in store for us.     Today I’m thinking about the new school year. Now that my children are grown and gone, I spend my time writing. That’s always a learning experience. Can any of us really know enough?   I may look like a nice old lady now, but when I was in school I was known as a trouble maker and rule breaker. I’m going to stir up a little trouble today by talking about breaking rules. Yep, I’ve never kicked the habit. Please – step inside my classroom.   Let me start off by saying, all writers have their own style:   ·          Plotters ·          Pant

Thank to Andrea Downing, author of Loveland and Lawless Love , for joining us today, and congratulations to Andrea on having Loveland nominated for Best American Historical at the 2013 RONE Awards     Tell us a little about yourself and what you write .   I lived most of my life in the UK and returned to live in New York, where I was born, in 2008.    Most of our family vacations were taken out west; my daughter and I have actually now been to about 18 dude ranches and done several long road trips through the west, visiting national parks and other places of interest.   The west permeates everything I do so it is always in my writing, whether contemporary or historical.   My first two books are western historical romances but I also have a contemporary I’m just tidying up, partially set in Texas, and two more in the pipeline also set predominantly out west.   Do you find any recurring theme or idea in your writing?     I seem to write about heroines who are self