Must Love Plaque? Ask Shelly Chalmers!

I'm thrilled to have Shelly Chalmers debuting on the Crew today. She's one of my Golden Heart sisters from the Dreamweavers Group. WELCOME SHELLY!

Before we get to the juicy details- Shelly wants you to know she's giving away two 2 ebook copies of MUST LOVE PLAGUE (winner’s choice of platform)

  Please make sure you comment and leave your email address for a chance to win.

MEET SHELLY CHALMERS 

Shelly Chalmers has been writing since before she could properly string words together, and even her first stories were romances (although probably more because she was better at spelling ‘love’ than ‘like.’) A Golden Heart Finalist in 2014, her stories run the gamut from Regency paranormals all the way to contemporary paranormals, but they all include a touch of magic, a dash of humor, and a dab of geek. She currently makes her home in Western Canada where she wrangles a husband, two imaginative daughters, and two nutball cats.

THE STORY BLURB

Spreading disease isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Piper Bane wants nothing to do with her pesky Pestilence bloodline and would give anything to be a Normal. In fact, she put Beckwell--land of the paranormal and home of the weird--in her rear-view ten years ago, and hasn't been back since. Until an invitation to her best friend’s wedding coaxes her back home and reminds her what it means to continue the legacy of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. She receives a typical Beckwell welcome the second she reaches the city limits where she's stalked by a toad and wraps her car around a tree. And is rescued by the one person she most wants to avoid: Daniel Quilan. Town doctor, genuine nice guy, and her ex-fiancé.

Ten years hasn’t been long enough for Daniel Quilan to forget the only woman he’s ever loved. His responsibilities as Beckwell's only doctor keeps his mind off the hole Piper Bane left in his chest when she broke his heart and skipped town all those years ago. His not-so-ordinary patients and his trouble-making twin brother keep Daniel occupied twenty-four-seven, not to mention magic going haywire throughout town. But his plan to stay busy as the town's golden boy is shattered when his latest patient turns out to be Piper. How good she looks isn't his concern. How she still makes fire shoot through his veins isn't his focus. But the fact that someone wants to end the world and will use Piper to do so......that makes her impossible to ignore.

Nan: I cannot wait to read this book!  Such a fun premise. 

READ A LITTLE 

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a magical toad,” Daniel mused aloud as he reached for the door and held it open for her.

“Yeah, well, see how much you like it when it starts stalking you.” She stepped into the school, the yellowed floor tiles and chipped paint on the walls and lockers not much different than she remembered. Even the bright, elementary school artwork did little to alleviate the beige gloom.

Daniel waved at the secretary as they passed, someone Piper didn’t recognize, and she peered into the next-door window that allowed a peek into the energetic room pulsing with knee-high kindergarten kids, splattered with paint and joy.

Ah, kindergarten. The crayon-laden gateway to education hell. Those poor critters in there had no idea yet that they were stuck at Beckwell School until they graduated high school. Probably had no concept of how long that imprisonment would feel.

The children’s happy cries stuck with her, bringing her back to when she’d first started here. How she’d met the girls. Anna, so pale and gaunt, a new arrival in town without parents or friends, and taken in by Ginny’s family like a charity case. Piper had been terrified of her, but shared the Play-Doh anyway. It was in that room Piper, Anna, Nia, and Ginny had first received the slightly uneasy reactions when people first heard the whispers. They were from the horsemen clans. They might end the world.

Nan: Yikes!

Or click here to read a full sample chapter.

BUY THE BOOK

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A LIGHTING ROUND OF Q&A WITH SHELLY CHALMERS

NAN: How often do you get lost in a story?

SHELLY: As often as I can, especially while the kids are watching television and I have the opportunity to open a book and disappear for awhile…usually until they demand food. ;) I love getting lost in a story with characters and plots that are so wild and imaginative, I have to keep reading just to see where the writer will take me next!

Nan: Me too!!

NAN: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?

SHELLY:  Definitely tea, loose leaf preferably, and I’m always on the hunt for the perfect almond tea. An almond rooibos is the closest I’ve come yet. Besides, I need a good excuse for why I have so many teapots. ;)

Nan: I love that teapot. (I just bought a frog teapot!)

NAN:  What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

SHELLY:  I’m a collector. A collector of quirky treasures, juicy swears, teapots, family history, and interesting people. The people part probably sounds creepy, but I mean collecting them as friends / acquaintances, that’s all, I swear! I collect things that I find beautiful, that make me happy or curious, or that need me to remember or protect them. 

Nan: I'm not sure what a juicy swear is?? But the rest is fascinating.

NAN: Why do you write what you do?

SHELLY: I write humorous paranormal primarily because that’s also what I love to read – who doesn’t like a laugh and a bit more magic in our world? I also sometimes find it easier to enjoy and get lost in the story when there’s some kind of fantasy element (this includes historical too) because it’s disconnected from our modern world and the fact that real romance takes real work…and disappointingly doesn’t always end in a happy ending.

Nan: We need more laughter and magic in the world!

NAN:   Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most?

SHELLY: Fashion-wise, I wish we still all had to dress like in the forties and into the early fifties (post-war years when the skirts start to widen again.) Seriously, men are so gorgeous in those suits, and those skirts and women’s suits are gorgeous! I have to content myself now with collecting vintage sparkly jewelry (it’s possible I’m part magpie), and which I always wear at conference. 

Nan: Pretty! And the colors match your book cover!

NAN'S GOTTA ASK: Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

SHELLY'S GOTTA ANSWER:  I’d love to have dinner with Loki. He isn’t the hero in this book (shh, don’t tell but he has to wait until book 4), but when Loki enters a room, everyone notices. He founded my imaginary town of Beckwell on the mouth of a magical vortex where all magical things end up mostly just to see what would happen. I’d probably be pretty tongue-tied since he is gorgeous, but I’d like to ask his side of the story. So often he’s cast as the villain in myth and modern incarnations, but there are curious inconsistencies when it comes to his history, so I’d like to find out the truth. Plus, you know, drool over him a bit.

Nan: LOL!

FIND SHELLY CHALMERS 

Contact: shellychalmers@scchalmers.com

Website: https://shellychalmers.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ShellyC.Chalmers/

Twitter: @scchalmers

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17169147.Shelly_Chalmers

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/shellychalmers5/

Blogs: https://shellychalmers.com

UP NEXT

Right now I’m working on MUST LOVE FAMINE, the second book in the Sisters of the Apocalypse series. Ginny Lack has a sexy-new husband she doesn’t know, a dirty-minded grasshopper who won’t stop talking, and a looming apocalypse to deal with. She’s going to need wine and chocolate. Coming early 2018.

Nan: These books sound like so much fun!!

SHELLY WANTS TO KNOW:     

I love looking for the potential other side of the story, like with Loki. So do you have a favorite myth/ fairytale or paranormal creature you think should have their story told? Maybe even a romance of their own?

Shelly is giving away 2 ebook copies of Must Love Plague (winner’s choice of platform) to  lucky commenters. Make sure you leave your email address!

Abbie Roads is here to RACE THE DARKNESS

I have another Dreamweaver's Golden Heart sister visiting the Get Lost in a Story blog for the first time! Please give Abbie Roads a rousing welcome!  She's here to talk about her debut novel -- RACE THE DARKNESS which releases October 4th. It's been name a PW Top 10 Fall Romance for 2016! (Congratulations!)

Before we get to the good stuff--don't forget to comment below for a chance to win an Advanced Reader Copy of RACE THE DARKNESS. 


MEET ABBIE ROADS

Five Things about Abbie Roads:

1. She loves Snicker Parfaits. Gotta start with what’s most important, right?

2. She writes dark emotional books featuring damaged characters, but always gives her hero and heroine a happy ending… after torturing them for three hundred pages.

3. By day she’s a mental health counselor known for her blunt, honest style of therapy. At night she burns up the keyboard. Well… Burn might be too strong a word. She at least sits with her hands poised over the keyboard, waiting for inspiration to strike. And when it does—the keyboard might get a little warm.

4. She can’t stand it when people drive slowly in the passing lane. Just saying. That’s major annoying. Right?

5. She loves taking pictures of things she thinks are pretty.

Nan: Love this!

Let's talk about RACE THE DARKNESS

THE STORY BLURB

Cursed with a terrible gift...

Criminal investigator Xander Stone doesn't have to question you-he can hear your thoughts. Scarred by lightning, burdened with a power that gives him no peace, Xander struggles to maintain his sanity against the voice that haunts him day and night-the voice of a woman begging him to save her.

A gift that threatens to engulf them

Isleen Walker has long since given up hope of escape from the nightmare of captivity and torture that is draining her life, her mind, and her soul. Except...there is the man in her feverish dreams, the strangely beautiful man who beckons her to freedom and wholeness. And when he comes, if he comes, it will take all their combined fury and faith to overcome a madman bent on fulfilling a deadly prophecy.

READ A LITTLE

I’m dying.

Tension grabbed hold of his spine. His heart stuttered, stopped, started again.

Those two words, spoken in that female voice, were not a product of The Bastard In His Brain. Those words were an auditory hallucination—another enduring effect of the lightning strike.

            It’d been a long time since that voice had spoken to him. But still, there was only one sane way to deal with it—booze. There was another way to get rid of the voice, but that involved psych meds and a trip to the nut house. And he had a severe nut allergy.

Nan: I can't wait for my copy to show up on my Nook!

PREORDER THE BOOK

Amazon   iBooks   Google Books  Books A Million  Barnes & Noble  Indigo

A LIGHTING ROUND OF Q&A WITH ABBIE ROADS

NAN: How often do you get lost in a story?

ABBIE: My answer now is a lot different than it was before I started writing. Before I started writing I got lost in a story ALL THE TIME! Just about every book captured me. I read everything. But since I’ve started writing, I find myself critiquing everything I read. It’s very difficult for me to shut off that internal editor. But I’ve found a work-around. Audiobooks! I am way more forgiving in audio format than I am in print/digital format. I think that’s because I edit my own manuscript on paper and in the computer, but I don’t edit it by listening. The last audiobook I got lost in was PROMISE OF FIRE by Amanda Bouchet.

 Nan: That's fascinating!

NAN: What sound or noise do you love?

ABBIE:  I love nature sounds. Birds singing on a spring morning. Crickets and tree frogs making their night noises. Cicadas. Bullfrogs. The whisper of wind through pine trees. Waves crashing onto the shore. The silence of a heavy snow.

Nan: I think that comes through in some of the photos you share.

NAN:  What’s your favorite movie of all time?

ABBIE: I’ve got a thing for  The Last of the Mohicans starring Daniel Day Lewis. It’s the only movie I saw more than once in the theatre. I can’t remember exactly how many times I saw it, but it was more than two and less than six. And that’s not counting how many times I watched it on VHS at home. Or how many times I’ve watched it on DVD. I’ve practically got the thing memorized. And I alway always always cry when Uncas and Alice die at the end. Hawkeye was my movie boyfriend. I loved that he would do whatever it took to keep Cora safe. Even when Cora didn’t understand. And call me a bit twisted, but I love a man who’s willing to kill anyone who threatens his woman.

Nan: Oh yeah.

NAN: Who’s your favorite villain?

ABBIE: Hannibal Lecter! Oh, how I love him. Maybe it’s because he’s a psychiatrist and I’m a therapist and it intrigues me that someone in the helping profession could use his ability to twist people. The thing I love the most about Hannibal is that—in the books—he heals Starling. He forces her to confront the ghosts of her past and see them for what they are and deal with them. And somewhere along the way makes her fall in love with him.

NAN:  Describe an absolutely perfect day.

ABBIE:  Sleeping in. Not having to go anywhere. Not having to do anything. Just being with my husband and my dogs.

Nan: Sounds lovely.

NAN: What’s your favorite rerun?

ABBIE: Golden Girls! I love Rose, Blanche, Dorothy, and Sophia. I remember watching them when I was growing up. They made me laugh then and still make me laugh now. Every once in awhile I binge watch a bunch of episodes and even though I know what’s going to happen, I can’t help but laugh. It’s one of those shows that puts me in a good mood for watching it. Not like Little House on the Prairie reruns. Every time I watch one of those I end up crying at the end. I didn’t realize what a sad show it was until I watched it as an adult!

NAN'S GOTTA ASK:  What’s the last show you binge watched?

ABBIE'S GOTTA ANSWER: I’m binge watching Shameless right now. The show makes me laugh, makes me sad, makes go OMGOMGOMG—I can’t believe what I just saw!

Nan: I might have to check that one out!

UP NEXT --- HUNT THE DAWN

Fatal Dreams Series Book 2

Out of darkness and danger
You can't hide your secrets from Lathan Montgomery-he can read your darkest memories. And while his special abilities are invaluable in the FBI's hunt for a serial killer, he has no way to avoid the pain that brings him. Until he is drawn to courageous, down-on-her-luck Evanee Brown and finds himself able to offer her something he's never offered another human being: himself.

Dawns a unique and powerful love
Nightmares are nothing new to Evanee Brown. But once she meets Lathan, they plummet into the realm of the macabre. Murder victims are reaching from beyond the grave to give Evanee evidence that could help Lathan bring a terrifying killer to justice. Together, they could forge an indomitable partnership to thwart violence, abuse, and death-if they survive the forces that seek to tear them apart.

Nan: Thanks for joining GLIAS and telling us about the launch of your debut!

FIND ABBIE ROADS

Contact: abbieroads@yahoo.com

Website: www.abbieroads.com 

Facebook: facebook.com/AbbieRoadsAuthor 

Twitter: twitter.com/Abbie_Roads.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8179024.Abbie_Roads?from_search=true

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/abbieroads/

Dangerously Dark Darlings Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DangerouslyDarkDarlings/

Newsletter: http://abbieroads.us11.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=331b26be376a5d1edd025d27c&id=da9b55abce

Blogs: http://abbieroads.com/blog-2/

ABBIE WANTS TO KNOW: What rerun do you love to watch?

One lucky commenter will win an Advance Reader copy of RACE THE DARKNESS. (North America only please.) 

Please remember to leave your email address.

Get Lost with Debut Author Sheri Humphreys and A HERO TO HOLD!

I'm so excited to have debut author and one of my Golden Heart finalist friends joining the crew today! Please welcome Sheri Humphreys. She's here to talk about A HERO TO HOLD, which just received a starred review from Kirkus!  (That's fabulous!!) Here's a quote from the review--An enthralling, nontraditional romance accented with a little mystery.  Whoo hoo!

Before we get too far--I want to make sure you know that Sheri is giving away an ebook copy of A HERO TO HOLD. So keep reading!



MEET SHERI HUMPHREYS

After a satisfying career as an Emergency Room nurse, Sheri Humphreys closed the book on her diverse nursing experiences and followed a lifelong love for writing and historical romance to a new vocation as a writer. She lives with a Jack Russell mix rescue, Lucy, in a small town on the central California coast.




Let's find out more about A HERO TO HOLD.


THE STORY BLURB

Viscountess Charlotte Haliday has lost her illusions. Scandal took her position in Society and the husband she thought she loved, and his mysterious murder followed shortly thereafter. But now is the time to return to London, time to find whatever small portion of happiness remains to her.

The first step will be proving she is her own person, unafraid of the lies and deceit that came before. Then she will defy her father and all others who try to take away her independence. Never again will Charlotte have a husband or seek the perfect marriage of her best friend Jane, but perhaps she will dare the wrath of the gossip-mongers and indulge her tiniest desire. To do so will bring her face to face with a stranger in an alcove. It will lead to learning Mr. David Scott is not only a war hero soon to be awarded the Victoria Cross, but also the most formidable man she has ever met. Broken in every way except the ones that count, he just might make her believe in love. And only she can show him that he is not alone.

Nan: I've only just gotten past the alcove scene and already love the characters!

READ A LITTLE

David’s heart lurched as the viscountess collapsed. “Chetney!” he barked. His secretary jumped, dropped the envelope he held, caught Viscountess Haliday and laid her down on the small, upholstered divan. David watched, never more aware of his inability to stand and capture the lady himself. Even after nearly two years, he wasn’t fully accustomed to others acting in his stead.

“Get some water,” David instructed as he wheeled himself to the divan.

She seemed unnaturally pale. He removed her hatpin and hat and brushed wavy dark hair from her forehead. Her cold, clammy skin worried him. He’d seen bleeding men shiver, seen their teeth chatter, and associated such pale, cold skin with serious infirmity. He glanced at her narrow waist, wondered if he should loosen her corset. To do so would necessitate removing her bodice, and he certainly didn’t want to do that.

Her eyelids fluttered and relief eased his tenseness. They lifted, revealing her incredible violet eyes. In the days since the ball, he’d convinced himself he must have imagined their color, since he’d never seen anything like them. But they were just as beautiful as he recalled. They were also a bit hazy and unfocused.

He tugged off one of her gloves and found her skin dry, though it remained cool. He held her hand and rubbed his thumb across her palm. “Lady Haliday?”

As if following the sound of his voice, her head turned toward him.

“Ma’am? Are you all right?”

Her chest rose; her fingers wrapped around his thumb. “I feel so silly,” she murmured. “I didn’t eat today. My stomach was just too jumpy.” She blinked and gradually her expression sharpened. Her gaze rose to his face, fell to his wheelchair, and returned to his features.

She’s too shocked to hide her feelings, he thought, and clamped his teeth together. Her fingers grew lax and released his thumb. She sat up, swinging her feet down in the same motion. 

“You’ve been injured?” she asked.

He hadn’t been in his chair at the ball. Slowly, he shook his head. “It happened two years ago. I’m unable to stand or walk.”

He caught a glimpse of stark pain before her gaze dropped. Her fingers, trembling, pressed against her mouth. Silently, he swore. He’d yet to sicken a female with his useless legs, but Lady Haliday appeared to be the exception. He remembered the hunger of her mouth on his. This woman had populated more than one of his dreams since then.

“Chetney,” he yelled. Where in hell was the man?

Chetney hurried in, a glass in one hand and what looked to be brandy in the other. They exchanged looks.

“I don’t know where you got it, but it’s not a bad idea. See if you can locate a biscuit or two also, would you?” The brandy should get her blood flowing and warm her up. David took the glass from Chetney and offered it to the viscountess.

“Drink a little of this. It should make you feel a bit stronger.”

She took the glass and obligingly swallowed a sip. “I’m sorry to cause such bother.” Her eyes lifted and the compassion he saw in their purple depths almost knocked him over. She took another drink—a larger one this time—and coughed.

Anger gripped him and he rolled his chair back, putting a couple of feet between them. The first woman who’d breached his defenses, and she pitied him. How dare she—how dare she pity him? “What are you doing here?”

“If you’re Mr. Scott, then I’m to work for you.”

Nan: Nice way to force them together!

BUY THE BOOK
Available Now: ARe | Amazon | B&N |iBooks | Kobo | Smashwords |

A LIGHTING ROUND OF Q&A WITH SHERI HUMPHREYS

NAN: How often do you get lost in a story?

SHERI:  I’m a voracious reader. I’m single and retired, which leaves me with lots of time to indulge. I usually read romance, although I sometimes read nonfiction and general fiction. I keep track of my reads and want-to-reads on Goodreads. In 2015, per Goodreads, I read 179 books. That doesn’t include all the books I re-read, so the number must have been closer to 200.

I usually read in the living room on my easy chair, legs on the ottoman, dog Lucy cuddled beside me. Here I am (still) in my pajamas, Lucy dozing beside me. Note all furniture is Lucy-protected. During the day I’ve got a laptop. At night I switch to my Kindle. :D

Check out the view from my easy chair. I look right out my ceiling-to-floor windows at a magnificent oak tree that must be over a hundred years old. I call it my zen tree. Everyone who sees it is amazed and awed. Last year I had some special lighting installed, so I can enjoy the tree at night, too.

Nan: Love this tree!

NAN: What was the first story you remember writing?

SHERI: I started writing poetry in first grade. By fifth grade I was trying to write novels. These examples survived. Even then I was writing historicals! You can see I was into self-publishing. LOL

Nan: Can you say hybrid author?

NAN: What’s the first book you remember reading?

SHERI:  The first? Maybe The Little Princess (Sara Crewe). When I dug into the cedar chest to retrieve my early writing efforts for you, I found these two beauties. Like many girls of my era, I read the Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames series.

Nan: Ahhh The Little Princess. Love it.

NAN: What’s next on your reading list?

SHERI: : I have 350 books on my Goodreads “to-read” list! But ones I’ve purchased and are near the top: The Empty Throne, Bernard Cornwell; What We Find, Robyn Carr; Into the Whirlwind, Elizabeth Camden; The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins); The American Earl, Joan Wolf. I’m also planning on a re-read of Anything for You by Kristan Higgins. (I’ve actually been thinking about doing a marathon re-read of ALL Kristan’s books!) Book I just finished: Reaper’s Fire by Joanna Wylde.

Nan: I re-read books and series ALL THE TIME!

NAN: How do you come up with ideas for your books?

SHERI:  I worked for thirty-seven years as a nurse, twenty-five of those in the Emergency Department. And there’s always something of that part of me in every story.

In my upcoming Nightingale Series, all the heroines are former Florence Nightingale nurses, who worked in the British military hospital in Turkey during the Crimean War. There are numerous patient stories in each book.

 A Hero to Hold isn’t about a nurse, but the patient advocate part of me is alive and well in the story. Because the hero is disabled. I wanted to portray a disabled man as capable, sexy, attractive, wonderful. I wanted the reader to forget he was disabled and find him thoroughly desirable. To regard him exactly the same as they would any able-bodied man. The day I wrote, “David strode to the door,” I knew I’d succeeded. I’d forgotten David couldn’t walk! There’s also a medical crisis in the book—I just can’t keep them out!

Nan: I love the premise of the next series!

NAN: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?

SHERI: Story-telling. Definitely. It’s funny you asked, because I recently gave this some thought. Have you ever read a beautifully written story, full of gorgeous prose, that was…well…boring? And have you ever read a story that had almost terse writing that you raced through and loved? I have. I think my first example is a book by a writer who is not much of a story-teller. And the second writer is a story-teller who doesn’t add much description or anything unnecessary to the story.

I think I’m more of a story-teller. But I spend lots of time futzing with the writing. I want my books to be yummy—brimming with wonderful prose, emotion, and story. 

FIND SHERI :

Contact: sheri@sherihumphreys.com

Website:   http://sherihumphreys.com 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SheriHumphreysAuthor

Twitter: @Sheri_Humphreys

Goodreads: Goodreads

Blogs: Sheri’s Blog

UP NEXT

The Unseducible Earl, first book of the Nightingale Series, should be available from Boroughs Publishing Group, Fall 2016.  Two more will follow in short order: By the Light of a Christmas Moon and The Seduction of Cameron MacKay.

SHERI WANTS TO KNOW:  

What’s the last book you read that you’d recommend? One lucky commenter will win an eCopy of A HERO TO  HOLD.