Dr. Willow Rider has only ever wanted two things, to become a doctor and to have a home.
Willow should have fought harder, now it was too late. Her sons didn’t need a mother and her husband, well, her husband would be better off with some small-town girl who liked living on a farm. She should let him go. The thought ripped her heart out. Could she let John go?
When John proposes they start dating, Willow had planned to say no. She’d never been able to tell him no, that’s how they ended up with the boys. Even after nearly thirty years, John Harrell was still the sexiest man she’d ever met and the only one she wanted in her bed. But their marriage was more than just how good they were in bed, and that was so good, no, they needed to work on the real problems. So instead of saying no, Willow challenged him. John couldn’t resist a dare or a bet. She’d not meant to put divorce as a condition of the bet. She didn’t want a divorce, did she? But she couldn’t give in and let John win the bet. They needed to talk…but can she lose the bet and win his heart.
A J Andersen, author, happy wife, firefighter mom, book reviewer
Current release: Finding Faye
Upcoming release: Acquiring Analise
I met A J through a Romance Loop on Instagram. I meet
the coolest people online. A J is a debut author of romantic suspense.
Welcome to my Creekside Café. You describe yourself as
a happy wife and firefighter mom…How many years married and tell me who is a
firefighter?
I’m also a firefighter mom, my youngest son is a
volunteer firefighter and first responder, as well as on the water search and
rescue, and land search and rescue teams. We live in a rural area. He’s also a
diver for underwater recovery.
AJ: My husband and
I have been together for 21 years. Married for 16. We have one son and he is
both a volunteer firefighter and first responder with our rural fire department
and a wildland firefighter for the US Forest Service.
Sherri: Your son
is probably like mine, living in a rural community, they have to wear a lot of
hats. Whenever anyone asks for volunteers for more training, my son is one of
the first to step forward. He recently spoke at our local writers’ group and he
is the muse for my upcoming novel, Red Steel.
I just started reading Finding Faye, it is a
fabulous story. I can’t believe this is your debut novel. Tell our readers
about it?
AJ: Finding Faye is the story of childhood friends (with a
large age gap) who become separated due to circumstances beyond their
control. There’s suspense and excitement, as well as love and sexy times
when they find themselves reunited.
Sherri: You write reviews,
how would you review your own story?
AJ: Oh, cheese and crackers! I have such a hard
time writing reviews.
AJ Andersen introduces her K&S
Securities Series with Travis and Faye. Childhood friends despite a significant
age gap. The pair keep in touch into Faye’s teen years when all hell breaks
loose in her world.
One short letter reaches him while
serving active duty overseas, and though he wants to be there for her he can’t
just leave… and by the time he can, he’s too late.
For several years, Finding Faye
becomes his main prerogative, even while building a life out of the military
and a successful business, he does it all with the goal of helping the girl who
he cared about like a little sister.
When they reconnect, their worlds
collide in the best, and scariest of ways. Taken by the mob, Faye needs Travis’
help and this time he swears he will not let her down
Finding Faye is AJ Andersen’s debut romantic suspense, it is a fast
paced, never let you go ride. It sets you up with great supporting characters
that you will want to take the time to get to know!
Sherri: A
very good description, and harder to write than the novel itself.
I love the cover of Finding Faye, did you
design it yourself?
AJ: Talia at Book
Cover Kingdom designed my cover! She is amazing and I highly recommend that
anyone looking for a designer check her out.
Sherri: What
are some of the things you have learned since publishing your first novel that
you had no idea about before?
AJ: Lol! This
whole process was new to me! I didn’t know anything at all! I have been
fortunate to meet some awesome people along the way who were willing to share
their knowledge and that has been everything! The funniest thing I learned is
that I never knew that the rules had changed regarding double spacing after a
period. Let me tell you, finding all those double spaces during my final
edit was a nightmare!
Sherri: You
have a great presence on social media, have you worked in marketing or in the
computer industry?
AJ: NO! I’ve literally been winging it since the day I
discovered there was this thing called bookstagram! I have worked my entire
adult life in healthcare.
Sherri: You
read a lot of books and do reviews on your blog, what are your favorite genres,
your favorite authors?
AJ: I’m pretty
much a sucker for romance. I LOVE a happily ever after, even if getting to it
is painful. I have way too many favorites to list, but I would love to meet
Meghan March and Melissa Foster!
Sherri: Who
or what has been the greatest influence on your own writing?
AJ: This is a hard
one. I would have to just say that reading has been my biggest influence. That
and my relationship with my husband. Times get tough and love is often
the only thing that holds things together.
Sherri: Have
you always been a writer?
AJ: Yep. I
neglected it for a while… years really, but I always said someday I will write
a book. So, I finally did it!
Sherri: What’s
your next creative project?
AJ: I’m currently editing the second book in my K & S Securities Series. For anyone who has read Finding Faye, it will be Ana and Xavier’s story. I have 2 more stories in the series started and notes for at least 2 more. Each story will focus on a different couple, but all / or most of the usual characters will be involved. They DO need to be read in order to get the full story.
Sherri: Where
do you see your writing career in five years?
AJ: I will still be writing. I know that much. I’m having
way too much fun with it to stop. I hope to be at least selling enough of my
books to cover my overhead, but either way I should still be around!
Sherri: Thank
you so much of joining A J and I today at the Café. Check out A J’s social
media sites and don’t forget to look for Finding Faye on Amazon.
Since she was a
teenager AJ Andersen has plotted and planned to write romance, but life got in
the way… until one day the stories in her head woke her up in the middle of the
night and she started writing them down. On her phone. For months. Until she
broke down and bought a laptop of her own.
She is a sucker for
nice guys and the women who love them! There are enough jerks out here in the
real world and she just doesn’t want to give them any space in her writing. The
bad guys get to be jerks, her heroes will always be good men who will go to any
lengths to love and protect the lovely women they give their hearts to.
When she isn’t writing, AJ is busy traveling with her husband of 21 years, caring for her menagerie of farm animals and tending her garden and a jungle of house plants in the Pacific Northwest.
Today I have the great
honor of welcoming Andie Wood, the founder of The New Romance Café Facebook
Group and the heart behind the spring and summer anthologies, “Love in Bloom”
and “Hot Summer Nights.” Welcome to North Carolina and Creekside Café.
Andie: I’ve never been to the States. I have many friends there and
would love to visit one day soon.
Sherri: It means so much to have you here today. I am so honored to be
included in the “Love in Bloom” spring anthology. Is this the first time you’ve
coordinated an anthology?
Andie: When I started the group (The New Romance Café), I wanted to
help empower and provide a platform for aspiring and unpublished writers, as
well as connecting them with their readership. More established authors joined
as well, and I felt this led to a greater sense of community and purpose. Since
it is a romance focused group, it felt natural that the output should be a
romance collection or anthology. This also led to the idea that the profits of
this should all go to charity.
I’m very excited that The Romance
Café will be launching its first anthology of short stories created by author
members. I see the anthology as the first step in generating as much exposure
for them as possible, all towards a great cause: breast cancer research and
care. Several members’ lives have been affected by cancer one way or
another. Many are survivors themselves. We’re honoring all those whose lives
have been touched by cancer.
Sherri: That is one of the things that attracted me to the anthology. Eastern
North Carolina has one of the largest groups of death by cancer in the United States.
Where are you from?
Andie: I’m originally from Romania but I’ve lived all over the place. I
lived in the UK (United Kingdom) for 11 years, had a stint in Spain and
Gibraltar, and for the past 2 years I’ve been in the other side of the world,
in New Zealand.
Sherri: I’m so jealous. I’ve never been anywhere except the US and
Mexico. I traveled some before David and I married, but haven’t had much chance
to travel since. Are you married? Do you have children?
Andie: I’m married, I have a 3-year old
son and I’m currently 32 weeks pregnant, expecting a baby girl in April.
Sherri: That’s exciting. I had all boys, six of them but I’ve been
lucky to have great daughters-in-law and some awesome granddaughters.
You are so active in The
New Romance Café, do you work full-time?
Andie: By
day, I roam the virtual streets of digital marketing. By night, I’m a voracious
romance reader.
Sherri: I
love to read but have less chance to do so now with trying to publish and at
the moment I’m eye-ball deep in conference preparations. Who are your favorite authors,
what genres do you like to read?
Andie: I love romance and gentle crime. In terms of authors, I
have to mention Alexander McCall Smith, Sarah MacLean, Nora Roberts, Tessa
Dare, and Jayne Ann Krentz and her alter egos. It’s a long list.
Sherri: I’m not familiar
with Alexander McCall Smith, but the others you mentioned are some of my favorites.
I’ll suggest Sabrina Jeffries, she writes Regency Romance.
Besides reading, what are your other passions?
Andie: I love reading, of course. My other big love is Pokemon. If you
watch any of my Facebook Live sessions, you’ll notice I have an impressive
collection of Pokemon mugs.
Sherri: I’m a big fan
of Minions. They crack me up. I’ve even made a minion of me.
One of my passions is cooking though I have very
little time to do it with work and writing. Do you like to cook?
Andie: In terms of my cooking, I have a mantra: if it’s not
ready in 45 mins max, I’m not making it.
Sherri: I watch a lot
of cooking shows but mostly dream about cooking. Do you have a favorite recipe
or a favorite food?
Andie: I’m a big pizza fan, ideally with a thin crust. I
remember the first time I saw a pizza, it was being eaten by the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles! I must have been quite young and it’s left an impression on me.
Sherri:
Pizza is one of my favorite things to eat, I’m not good at making it. My first
memory of pizza was when we lived in Hampton, Virginia we’d pick up pizza from
the Giant Open-Air Market and carry it home. The aroma of pepperoni and bell peppers,
spicy sauce and yeast still wafts around in my brain like a ghost. I couldn’t
have been more than seven or eight.
The bad thing about pizza, for me
anyway, is the calories. I need to start dieting and exercising? My youngest son
and his wife are big on going to the gym and running. If I’m running, don’t ask
questions just keep going. Are you an athlete or into fitness?
Andie: I’m
afraid the most taxing exercise I do is yoga.
Sherri: You talked about
having friends all over the world. Do you keep in touch with them? It must be
difficult with the different time zones.
Andie: I
try to make myself as available as possible to my friends, particularly as
distance and different time zones make it difficult to have set times.
Sherri:
You are the founder and host of several online
writing and reading groups, tell us about them.
Andie: Even
though romance is THE most sold book genre, it has a stigma attached to it, as
well as to those who read it. I created The Romance Café in mid 2018 because I
felt that romance readers and aspiring writers were lacking safe,
non-judgemental places online where they could discuss their favourite books
and authors. Join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/292243634861501.
Sherri: Thank you Andie for joining me at Creekside Café, I’ve enjoyed our chat. Don’t forget our spring anthology, Love in Bloom goes on sale March 8th, you can preorder your copy. I ordered mine from Amazon US. The proceeds will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation #BCRF, a US based company that works globally. For more information about the charity, go to their website https://www.bcrf.org/
sherrilhollister.com/Suspense She Writes Bookstore Dismiss
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