The winner of the Donna Marie Rogers book and Amazon gift card is Cindy P. Congratulations! I’ll be in touch.
Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog. I have some great guest authors coming up in the second half of the month, including Stacey Joy Netzel and Mia Marlowe. Be sure to stop by!
I’m very pleased to be featuring a friend of mine on the blog today. Donna Marie Rogers writes award-winning, small town contemporary romance. I’ve read Donna’s books and they’re just lovely. She’s joining us today for an interview and giveaway, so let’s get to it!
You excel at writing small town romance, Donna. Why do you think small town contemporary romance is currently so popular?
Wow, thank you. What a wonderful compliment. I love small town romance, and thankfully, I’m not alone. The close-knit communities, the quirky characters, the homespun charm. I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago, and my best friend’s family owned a cottage by the lake up in Southern Wisconsin. I was thrilled when they would invite me along. I remember walking to the Piggly Wiggly, going to the Tobacco Days parade, riding our bikes down these incredibly steep hills right into the lake…LOL I loved everything about small town living, and I still do. 🙂
What’s the basis and setting for your Jamison Series?
There’s Only Been You is the first book in my Jamison Series, and I don’t know that I have a particular basis for writing it other than I was ready. I had tried my hand at writing years earlier, but after filling numerous notebooks with half-written stories, I became frustrated and quit. Then my husband and I moved up to Green Bay (from the south suburbs of Chicago) and started a family. It wasn’t until after my second daughter was born that the bug bit me again, and I sat down at the computer and gave it another try. Eight months later, There’s Only Been You was born. I set the series in Green Bay because I love this beautiful city. Particularly, the 83 year-old school house we live in.
What can you tell us about There’s Only Been You and Meant To Be You?
I fell in love with the Jamison clan immediately. As soon as I finished There’s Only Been You, I knew Garrett had to have his own happily-ever-after. Sara’s brooding, hot-tempered oldest brother stole my heart…and everyone else’s as well. Here are the blurbs for both books…and yes, I like cop heroes…LOL:
THERE’S ONLY BEEN YOU – (Jamison Series, Book 1)
Lies destroyed their past–will the truth end their chance at a future?
Sara Jamison has no clue where Mike Andrews’ been all these years, but she knows where she’s been–busy raising their son. Two weeks after he accused her of cheating and disappeared from her life, Sara discovered she was something she never expected to be–an unwed pregnant teenager.
But with the love and support of her annoyingly alpha-male family, she’s managed to make a good life for herself and her young son. She even owns her own business, Sara’s Bakery, which she’s built into a thriving success. Sure, she works too hard and her social life is nonexistent, but for the most part, she’s content.
Until the day Detective Mike Andrews walks into her bakery and back into her life…
MEANT TO BE (Jamison Series, Book 2)
She’s running from her past, he’s unsure about his future. Maybe together they can figure out what was MEANT TO BE…
Officer Garrett Jamison is at the lowest point in his life. He’s lost faith in his ability as a police officer after unwittingly setting his sister up with a dirty cop. Garrett ended up getting shot, and his sister’s son kidnapped right out of his own bed. He takes a leave from the force, in need of some time to make a decision about his future. Too bad he can’t get a decent night’s sleep thanks to his sexy new neighbor and her howling cat.
Jessica McGovern moves halfway across the country to start a new life in Green Bay, Wisconsin after her ex-husband is convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of their young son. Her new neighbor is as infuriating as he is handsome, but when her ex is released from prison early and shows up in town, Jessica discovers she’s never needed anyone more.
What’s next in Donna’s writing life?
I’m working on the first book in a new series (Lake Shelbyville Series), that’s set in Central Illinois and has a paranormal twist. The hero is Jack Sutton, who you meet in Meant To Be, so the two series are related. The heroine is a healer/witch. I’m very excited & already have several stories planned. 🙂
Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment about why you enjoy small town romance for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift certificate and a download of There’s Only Been You.
The winner of Robyn DeHart’s book is LaRonda Atchison. Congratulations! I’ll be in touch.
Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog. Drop by tomorrow to meet contemporary romance author Donna Marie Rogers.
The winner of yesterday’s e-book contest is Cate Sparks. Congratulations, Cate! You’ve won the first two books in Stacey Joy Netzel’s and Donna Marie Roger’s small town series, Welcome To Redemption. I’ll be in touch with you soon.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the blog on Wednesday. And please stop back tomorrow. I’m featuring the wonderful Alix Rickloff, who writes dark and sexy historical paranormal romance for Pocket Books. We’ll be talking about her upcoming release, Lord of Shadows, and doing a giveaway.
See you tomorrow!
Welcome to Redemption, the charming town in Wisconsin created by two talented authors, Stacey Joy Netzel and Donna Marie Rogers. I’m really happy to showcase Stacey and Donna because, as critique partners, they’ve created a unique, interlinked series of wonderful stories about life and love in a small town in America’s heartland.
Like many romance readers today, I love small town contemporaries. The evocation of a quieter, gentler life, founded on deeply felt relationships between families and friends who’ve all know each other forever is deeply appealing in the fast-paced and often fractured world of modern society. When life gets us down or feels a little two frantic, there’s nothing like a small town contemporary to ease the tension and bring some warmth and sanity back into our reading lives.
And that’s exactly what the Welcome To Redemption series does. These are truly lovely, warm-hearted stories about ordinary men and women in this great little town, who fall in love and overcome life’s challenges to find their HEAs. Here’s what Jane Toombs, the multi-published award winning author had to say about the first set of stories in the series:
“Welcome to Redemption by, Donna Marie Rogers and Stacey Joy Netzel offers four refreshing and heartwarming stories. These stories bring readers right into the heart of this town, and the lives of its people, with four happy and romantic endings. Reading this book was a real pleasure.”
The Romance Studio gave Welcome To Redemption 5 hearts, and called it “a marvelous book.” And it is a marvelous book – I’ve read it and I loved it, and I’m a real fan of Stacey’s and Donna’s writings. I also love the fact that the series is a collaborative effort that interweaves the talents of these two writers into a seamless collection of four tales.
Both Stacey and Donna have garnered critical acclaim for their other books, too. Stacey’s Mistletoe Rules was the winner of the 2010 Wisconsin Write Touch Contest, and also received a Top Pick from Night Owl Romance and was nominated for Best Book of 2009 at Long and Short Reviews. And Donna’s contemporary romance, Meant To Be You, took second place in the prestigious Bean Pot Award and was also a finalist in the Wisconson Write Touch Contest in 2010.
For their next collaborative effort, Stacey and Donna have returned to the world of Redemption. They obtained the rights back to their orginal WTR anthology, re-edited all four stories, and added additional contents to Books 1, 3, and 4. Then, they each wrote two brand NEW stories to continue the series with Books 5 and 6. I’m really thrilled for them, and very much looking forward to revisiting the inhabitants of the lovely small town of Redemption, Wisconsin.
On Thursday of this week, all six books in the series will be available as digital reads on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and for other eReaders. And to kick-start the newly edited series, Stacey and Donna will be giving away some of the new books for free. Be sure to check their websites on Thursday for all the details.
But I also want to celebrate the release of the new Redemption books, so I’m doing a giveaway today. Just tell me what you most like (or don’t like) about small town contemporary romance. One person who comments will win the first two books in this truly lovely series.
