Interview: Mary Kay Andrews, Author of Christmas Bliss

Tell us about your new novel, Christmas Bliss.

Christmas Bliss is the fourth in my Savannah series, following antique dealer Weezie Foley and inn-keeper BeBe Loudermilk. The story is set the week before Christmas, with Weezie’s upcoming wedding, and the impending birth of BeBe’s first child.

What inspired you to write this story?

My readers kept begging for another book with these characters, who seem to be the most beloved of the many I’ve created over the course of 21 novels.

How would your novel’s main characters, Weezie and BeBe, describe each other? 

BeBe would say Weezie is her best friend, a die-hard junker with a crazy family and a pesky pooch. Weezie would say that BeBe has a heart of gold—although she’s just a little on the cynical side.

You began your career as a reporter. How have those skills helped you write fiction?

Being a journalist teaches you to work on deadline and that there’s no such thing as writer’s block. It’s also a great skill-builder because it teaches you tenacity—and to listen carefully.

Before switching genres, you wrote ten mysteries. Do you want to write another mystery someday?

Actually, I almost always include a mysterious element in my stories, so I really haven’t left my detective days far behind.

Who are your favorite authors?

I was always a huge Elmore Leonard fan, and I totally admire Michael Connelly, along with Laura Lippman and Margaret Maron. For women’s fiction, I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Patti Callahan Henry.

What was the last book you read that you loved?

Easy! Lee Smith’s fabulous new novel Guests on Earth.

What are your favorite holiday traditions?

Decorating my house to the nines in time to host my book club’s Christmas get-together, the night-before night-before Christmas wrapping marathon with my daughter and our neighbors, baking cookies with my four-year-old granddaughter, Molly, and Christmas Eve children’s mass with the whole family.

You have been married to your high school sweetheart for nearly forty years. What is the secret to a long-lasting relationship?

A great sense of humor, plenty of time apart, and the overriding belief in our marriage and family as a team unit. It also doesn’t hurt to have a hot hubby like mine!

As a lifelong “junker,” what has been your most cherished find so far?

Maybe a bunch of vintage glass Christmas ornaments I bought at an estate sale years ago--each box was carefully labelled "bird," "stars," and "blue and silver balls." I keep them in the same boxes they came in and enjoy them all over again when it comes time to bring up the Christmas bins from the basement.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Don't go overboard revising on your first draft. Go all the way to the end of your story and then go back and revise. If you keep revising and rewriting and trying for that first "perfect" chapter, you might never get to the end of your book. Write hard and fast until you finish the story--then go back and polish and hone.

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What are you working on now?

Next summer's book--set in Savannah with a wedding florist as a protagonist.

Thank you!

***Giveaway!!! Please leave a comment sharing your favorite holiday traditions, and you will be entered to win a copy of Christmas Bliss, along with a bookmark, ornament, set of recipe cards, and signed bookplate! Remember to include your email address or social media link, so we can contact you if you win. US residents only. The winner will be chosen at random on Thursday, November 21st. Good luck!***

Mary Kay Andrews is the author of the New York Times bestselling The Fixer Upper, Savannah Breeze and Blue Christmas, as well as Deep Dish, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, Savannah Blues, and Christmas Bliss. She also wrote ten critically acclaimed mysteries, including the Callahan Garrity mystery series, under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck. She claims to know the location of every promising thrift store, flea market, and junkpile in the southeastern United States, plus many parts of Ohio. Trocheck is the mother of two grown children and a proud grandmother. After a brief hiatus in Raleigh, NC, she and her husband moved back to their old neighborhood in Atlanta, where they live in a restored 1926 Craftsman bungalow. They divide their time between Atlanta and a restored beach cottage on Tybee Island, GA. For more information, please visit marykayandrews.com.

 

 

Guest Post by Elise K. Ackers, Author of Ask Me For Tomorrow

Ask Me For Tomorrow is the third novella in my Homeland series published with Destiny Romance. A standalone title about two single parents, this book explores the many responsibilities of family, and the sometimes overlooked responsibilities to self.

Set in a fictional country town in rural New South Wales, Australia, Ask Me For Tomorrow is full of small town personalities, family tradition, and second chances.

Dean Foster and Alice Jaye are both at their wits end. Dean’s kids are acting up and starting fights at school, his business is demanding long hours, and he’s having thoughts about a woman for the first time since his wife died. Alice is working two jobs, trying to be there for her son, and keeping secrets from her new boss, Dean. They’re exhausted, they’re confused, but somehow amongst all the madness of day-to-day life, their long-dormant hearts are stirring again.

Dean and Alice’s story is the tender conclusion to a series about brothers Dean and Ethan, their best friend Cal, and the three women they love. As Dean fights to convince Alice that the world, and all its complications, can wait, the characters who’ve previously stood centre stage in earlier books are all in this one, continuing their stories and supporting Dean’s.

As a reader, I’ve always been drawn to series, I love revisiting characters I’ve connected with to see them in different stages of their lives; so as a writer it was important for me to do each character justice as the Homeland series reached its third installment. Ask Me For Tomorrow can be read without having read the first two, but it’s richer in their company.

One of the challenges of writing this series was properly capturing the passing of time. There is approximately a year between the first and second novella, and almost the same between the second and third. This was necessary, especially in Dean’s case because it allowed for distance between the loss he suffers in Ask Me To Stay, and the love he allows himself to feel in Ask Me For Tomorrow.

This is my first series, but it won’t be my last. It’s been a delight to remain so long with these characters, and I’m thrilled to be celebrating the release of Dean’s story. He’s been on my mind for a long time, and I was very happy to have the opportunity to give him a second chance at a happy ever after. All three novellas are available from Destiny Romance.

Book Description

Three years after losing his wife, Dean Foster feels like he's living in a daze. When he finds himself attracted to his new employee, it comes as quite a shock. Single mum, Alice Jaye, is struggling to make ends meet. She's too tired to flirt with her gorgeous new boss and firmly maintains a professional distance. But when their children bring them into close contact, keeping their relationship strictly business isn't easy. As Alice and her son spend more time with his family, Dean's heart begins to open once more. But can he risk starting all over again? This eagerly anticipated final book of the Homeland series is a tender, heartwarming story about letting go of the past and giving love a second chance. 

About the Author

Elise K. Ackers is from Melbourne, Australia. She writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense and is published with Destiny Romance and Escape Publishing. Elise is an animal foster carer, a magnet for unusual accidents, and an enthusiastic couch commentator. Ask Me For Tomorrow is her sixth book. 

New Release: Zoey & The Moment of Zen

When coffee shop owner Zoey Everwood takes her obsession with ex-boyfriend Braden too far, everyone—except Zoey—is convinced a bit of fun in the sun at the Moment of Zen Wellness Resort will help her get over him once and for all. But Zoey's relaxing vacation turns out to be anything but peaceful when she meets Shane Lawson, a resort guest who bears a striking resemblance to Braden. And things get even more complicated when the resort's owner starts spilling secrets about Zoey’s aunt Nessa, the woman who raised her. Add a snarky Wellness Coordinator and Nate Holmes—Shane's grumpy friend—to the mix, and you've got the recipe for a perfect tropical storm. When Zoey comes back home with a new husband instead of tacky souvenirs, she must convince everyone she hasn't completely lost her mind. As Zoey and Shane struggle to keep the magic alive outside the resort, Zoey discovers that she isn't the only one having trouble letting go of the past. And when Nate drops a bombshell that changes everything, Zoey must decide if the old saying is true—what happens at the Moment of Zen stays at the Moment of Zen.

New Release: Christmas at the Beach (Novella)

The ladies from Ten Beach Road and Ocean Beach are back in an all-new holiday novella.

When Madeline Singer, Avery Lawford, and Nicole Grant first gained ownership of Ten Beach Road, they didn’t realize that remodeling the house would not only bind their fates together but give them a second chance at rebuilding their lives.

Now they’re gathering at the newly sold Bella Flora for one last Christmas. Kyra, Madeline’s daughter, is hoping to get a brief respite from the paparazzi that constantly hounds her and the son she had with famous actor Daniel Deranian. But when a string of bad news threatens to disrupt her happy holidays, Bella Flora’s sanctuary may be threatened for all of the women who call it home.

Coming Soon: American Honey

I am thrilled to announce my second novel, American Honey. It will be published by my small press, Bloomwood Books, very soon! If you've read my debut novel, True Love Way, my novelette Cupid On Deck, and/or my short story in the Sunlounger anthology, you'll notice that American Honey is a departure from my previous work. The characters are much younger, and it's the first time my main characters originate from somewhere other than the West Coast. It's my first story set in the South. I'm really excited to share it with you! I've been working on it for over two years. I think American Honey is best described as a cross between the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally and ABC’s Nashville. 

Book Description

After graduating high school, Olivia “Ollie” McKenna leaves her small town roots in Summerville, Georgia, to pursue her dream of becoming a professional singer. With her best friend and older sister in tow, wholesome Ollie travels to the big city to compete in singing contest Atlanta Idol. There she meets nineteen-year-old Jack Bradley, a fellow country singer who quickly becomes a close friend. The connection between them is magnetic and an opportunity to sing together could change their lives forever. But what about Ollie’s mama’s fear of the music business? She’s been burned by the lures of the bright lights before and doesn’t want Ollie anywhere near that world. And Ollie’s growing feelings for Jack as more than just a pal could ruin everything. Despite her own doubts, Ollie is determined to win. Can she make her dream come true or will she return to her hometown empty-handed and brokenhearted?