Please welcome my guest, Milou Koenings. Milou is an
award-winning USA Today bestselling author who writes romance because
she believes that, like chocolate, stories with happy endings bring joy to the
world and so make it a better place.
Milou's latest release is The Gift of Yesterday and is the fifth book in
the Green Pines Romance series. The Gift of Yesterday is part of the Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 box set consisting of 14 stand alone stories. She has taken the time to answer a few questions for us.
Tell us something about yourself both writing and not
writing related.
Let's see—writing related... I have way more stories in my
head than I can possibly ever write. It's really hard deciding which ones will
get to see the light of day.
Not writing related—I love working with fellow authors, like
all the amazing writers in this box set. There's something wonderful about
having the support of your tribe!
I couldn't agree more. Do you have a writing routine? Where do you usually do your writing?
I'm an owl. I write best in a dark room with all the blinds
down, or late at night, so my imagination can take flight undisturbed.
Why do you write in the genre/sub-genre that you do? Any plans in the future to write in a
different one?
There's so much violence, darkness and crudeness out there, that I don’t
want to add to it in my writing. I try to create worlds where people still
treat each other with civility, respect and kindness, and I write stories that
focus on the emotional aspects of romance. I want my books to be a pleasant
place for readers to spend their time.
How
do you stay motivated when writer’s block hits or your muse won’t cooperate?
I'm a terrible procrastinator!
If I get stuck writing, I really have to fight the urge to go iron kitchen
towels!
(Laughs) It's nice to know I'm not alone. What’s
the strangest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?
A few years ago, I was writing a
story based in Paris,
where I hadn't been since I was a kid. It wasn't working, because Paris has changed so
much. So I sold some stuff I had around the house to raise the money for plane
tickets, and within a week my kids and I were in Paris, staying with a friend. It was a
totally crazy, spontaneous thing to do, but it was amazing. Book aside, it was
one of the best things we ever did as a family.
Over the years, in the name of
research I've taken drum lessons, interviewed so many interesting people, and
for this latest release, learned to bake French pastry from a professional
baker.
What a great experience for your children. What’s
the best writing advice you were ever given?
Don’t just write what you
know. If you need to do research, do it,
but don't limit yourself to what you're familiar with in your own little neck
of the woods. What you know deep down will come through anyway.
Good advice. What
do you like to do in your leisure time?
Write. Although a few times a
year, I get coaxed out of my lair to play percussion with a student orchestra
at a local conservatory and I totally love that.
Tell us about your current
release in a couple of sentences.
My new release is Sweet
Christmas Kisses 4, a box set of holiday-themed novellas by 14 New
York Times and/or USA Today bestselling or award-winning authors, all of whom write sweet romance.
My novella in the set, The
Gift of Yesterday, is a second-chance love story between a young woman
who has lost so much, and the guy who's loved her since they were kids. She's a
pastry chef, so be warned, the read might make you hungry!
Here's the official line:
When
Bailey returns to Green Pines to open a pastry shop, Joe Hudson sees all his
Christmas wishes coming true—if only he can convince her to risk her heart
again.
Can you tell us a little about
your next project?
Sure. The Gift of
Yesterday is the fifth story in the Green Pines Romance series. So I'm
working on number six, a full-length novel, also set in my favorite fictional
small town in Illinois.
Anything else you’d like to
share?
Thank you so much for hosting me today.
If I may, I'd like to invite everyone here to join us at our
Facebook Launch
Party today, September 26, between noon and 7:30 p.m. We'll be having book
giveaways, prizes, contests and lots of fun!
And to whet your interest a little more, read below to find out about the authors and their stories in Sweet Christmas Kisses 4:
Usher in the holiday
season with 14 heartwarming all-new, stand-alone stories from New York
Times, USA Today, national bestselling, and award-winning authors.
Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 takes you from the Pocono Mountains to sunny Florida, and as far away as Portugal.
Curl up with your
favorite hot beverage and enjoy this sweet romance boxed set that’s sure to put
you in the mood for Christmas.
Mona Risk, In Time
for Christmas
Dr. Sylvia Reynolds
promised to be at her parents’, in time for Christmas dinner, but her
priorities change after she meets a motherless baby and her gorgeous uncle.
Beate Boeker, Unique Christmas
Chiara hopes to spend
a solitary Christmas all by herself. But when a man jumps through her office
window to save her from an accident, things spin away—beyond her wildest
dreams.
Christine Bush, Christmas with the Cat Lady
Carly is happy living
alone in her mountain house with her cats. Can the handsome author who rents a
room over the Christmas holidays change her mind?
Lyn Cote, Loving Winter
At her cousin’s
wedding, Winter Woodard, owner of her family’s garden center, isn’t expecting
to meet her match in local football coach, Clay Dixon, (she isn’t IN to
sports!) but he stands by her through a holiday season fraught with unexpected
setbacks.
Denise Devine, Once Upon a Christmas
Small town girl
returns home to find love and success, but can she outlast the mistakes of her
past?
Raine English,
Christmas in Walnut Creek
Will a Christmas
blizzard reunite a couple and give them a second chance at love?
Jean C. Gordon, A
Team Macachek Christmas
Sparks fly from a Christmastime reunion of
motocross racer Jesse Brewster and his ex-girlfriend Lauren Cooper. But is it
the wrong time for their love?
Shanna Hatfield,
Saving Mistletoe
A stubborn cop, a
hotshot attorney, and a little girl determined to spend Christmas with her
father need a miracle to make this holiday season jolly and bright.
Milou Koenings, The
Gift of Yesterday
When Bailey returns to
Green Pines to open a pastry shop, Joe Hudson sees all his Christmas wishes
coming true—if only he can convince her to risk her heart again.
Josie Riviera, A
Portuguese Christmas
The holidays—like
love—can sneak up on you. And sweep you away like a riptide.
Roxanne Rustand, A Christmas in Montana
Kristen Weatherby goes
to Montana to
get her late grandmother's house ready to sell, but finds much more than she
bargained for: a house she can't let go, a charming mountain town, and a
handsome veterinarian who just might steal her heart.
Magdalena Scott, A Cowboy for Christmas
Hannah Kincaid is in
love with Jacob Hollingsworth, and will overcome her fear of horses and his
bossy brother Michael to get a Christmas happily-ever-after with the cowboy of
her dreams.
Kristin Wallace,
Loving You at Christmas
Annaliese Matheson is
convinced she’ll never love again. This Christmas will become the opening act
for her holiday happily ever after.
Merrillee Whren, Puppy Love and Mistletoe
Can a little girl and
a fluffy black dog bring a reluctant couple together in a Christmas miracle?
Pre-order your copy
today for just 99 cents!
Kindle: http://a.co/9TxNMzz
Nook: http://bit.ly/2g8xyO8
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2xgU0sG
Google: http://bit.ly/2viH7g4
And don’t forget to
connect with the Authors at Sweet Romance Reads:
Website/Blog: http://SweetRomanceReads.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/SweetRomanceReads
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SweetRomanceRds
~*~
Author Bios:
Mona Risk
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author,
Mona Risk, received an Outstanding Achiever Award from Affaire de Coeur
Magazine. She's a two time winner of Best Contemporary Romance of the Year from
Readers Favorite; a winner of Best Romance Novel of the Year from Preditors
& Editors Readers Poll; and an EPIC Award finalist. Her books have garnered:
Top Pick, Outstanding Read, Sweetheart of the Week, and Best Book of the Week
from various reviewers, and received two mentions in Publisher's Weekly.
Mona lives in South Florida and has traveled to more than eighty
countries on business or vacation. She writes contemporary romances, medical
romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal fantasy. Sprinkled with a good dose
of humor, her stories are set in the fascinating places she visited or more
simply at home.
Beate Boeker
Beate Boeker is a USA
Today bestselling author with a passion for books that brim over with
mischief & humor. She writes sweet sophisticated romantic fiction and cozy
mysteries, many of them set in beautiful Italy. While 'Boeker' means
'books' in a German dialect, her first name Beate can be translated as ‘Happy’
. . . and with a name that reads ‘Happy Books’, what else could she do but
write novels with happy endings?
Christine Bush
Christine Bush has
been a storyteller all of her life. Always a lover of romance, mystery, and
happy endings, it is no surprise that her novels have a lively mix of all three
ingredients! Christine is a women's advocate, and believes with all her
heart that women can face the problems in their lives with courage, creativity (and
often humor) and make a difference in the world.
Lyn Cote
USA Today bestselling author, Lyn Cote has written
over 45 books. A Romance Writers of America RITA finalist and an American
Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, Lyn writes contemporary romance,
romantic suspense and historical novels. No matter which kind of story, her
brand “Strong Women, Brave Stories” comes through. Her most recent achievement
is being added to Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll for bestselling
authors.
Denise Devine
Denise Devine is a USA
Today bestselling author who has had a passion for books since the second
grade when she discovered Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
She wrote her first book, a mystery, at age thirteen and has been writing ever
since.
Raine English
USA Today bestselling author Raine English always
wanted to be a writer. She began her career as a journalist, but writing romance
novels was her passion. Her books have won many awards, including finalling in
the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart and winning the Daphne du Maurier
Award. When not behind her computer, you can usually find her reading.
She lives in New England with her family and
two French bulldogs, Bailey and Dolly.
Jean C.
Gordon
For sweet romance
author Jean C. Gordon, writing is a natural extension of her love of reading.
From that day in first grade when she realized t-h-e was the word “the,” she’s
been reading everything she can put her hands on. A professional financial
planner and financial writer, Jean is as at home writing retirement- and
investment-planning advice as she is writing romance novels, but finds novels a
lot more fun.
Shanna Hatfield
After spending her
formative years on a farm in Eastern Oregon,
hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet
historical and contemporary romances filled with sarcasm, humor, and hunky
heroes.
When this USA
Today bestselling author isn’t writing or covertly hiding decadent
chocolate from the other occupants of her home, Shanna hangs out with her
beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.
Milou Koenings
Milou Koenings is an
award-winning USA Today bestselling author who writes romance because
she believes that, like chocolate, stories with happy endings bring joy to the
world and so make it a better place. The Gift of Yesterday is the fifth book in
the Green Pines Romance series.
Josie Riviera
Josie Riviera is a USA
Today Bestselling Author of contemporary, inspirational, and historical
sweet romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC,
area with her wonderfully supportive husband. They share their home with an
adorable Shih Tzu who constantly needs grooming and an old house forever
needing renovations.
Roxanne Rustand
USA Today best-selling author Roxanne Rustand has
written over thirty-five novels. She writes inspirational romantic suspense and
inspirational romance For Love Inspired, and also writes sweet romance for the
indie market. She lives in the country with her family, plus a menagerie of
pets that sometimes find their way into her books.
Magdalena Scott
USA Today bestselling author Magdalena Scott writes
sweet romance and women's fiction with small town settings.
Kristin Wallace
Kristin is a USA
Today Bestselling author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance
filled with “love, laughter and a leap of faith”. Growing up she devoured books
like bags of Dove Dark Chocolate. Her first Golden Book led to Laura
Ingalls Wilder, Nancy Drew, C.S. Lewis and the Sweet Valley High series.
Later, she discovered romance novels and fell in love all over again. It’s no
surprise that Kristin would one day try her hand at writing them. She is
the author of two bestselling series, Covington Falls Chronicles
(inspirational romance) and Shellwater Key Tales (contemporary romance).
Merrillee Whren
Merrillee Whren is an
award-winning, USA Today bestselling author who writes inspirational
romance. She is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award for best
inspirational romance manuscript presented by Romance Writers of America. She
has also been the recipient of the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award and the
Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award. She is married to her own personal hero,
her husband of forty- plus years, and has two grown daughters. She has lived in
Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Chicago and Florida but now makes her home in the Arizona desert. She spends her free time
playing tennis or walking while she does the plotting for her novels.