Author guestblog and giveaway: Sharla Lovelalace and Before and Ever Since

Today I have author Sharla Lovelace over for a guestblog, and there is also a chance to win her new book.

Welcome!

Happy Halloween!!   I hope you are all having a wonderful spooky day!

Since this blog is all about books, I thought I’d talk about some of the stories that inspired and influenced me over the years.  Because they mold and define us, books do.  As a writer, they carved me out of jello and made me the author I am today.

And while it’s easy to wax on about recent reads, let’s go back a ways.  Like deep in a dusty library with old carpet and old librarian ladies and those ‘ka-chug-a’ machines to punch the check-out cards.  (That’s what I called them when I was little.)

I read from the time I could turn pages, and to this day I still remember a little yellowish brown book called GOOD TIMES WITH OUR FRIENDS that had all the wonderful adventures with Dick, Jane, and Sally.  

   I still have that book—found it at my mom’s in a box after she died.  I don’t have to look at it—the photos are still in my memory from reading it so much.  Then I went through every single Little House book, wanting more than anything in the world to live on a prairie and be wild like Laura but have Mary’s hair.

                                                                  (Come on, you did, too!)

I read every one of those red hardcover books that told of Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, James Bowie, Pocahontas, and every other historical figure.  I particularly went for the ones who lived in the woods and wore moccasins, for some reason, and remember getting my mom to buy me moccasins so I could practice my stealthiness.

Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys made their appearances, although I always preferred Nancy’s adventures to the Boys.  That strong woman idea, making its impression, I guess.

                                                           

Later on, I went through a horror stage with Dean Koontz and Stephen King.  I couldn’t get enough of it.  And then I was reading one about sacrificing infants right after I had a baby—and I was done with that.  LOL.

And then I discovered romance books.  

Danielle Steele’s HEARTBEAT hit me at a particular time in my life where that story resonated with me, then Sidney Sheldon’s IF TOMORROW COMES made me fall in love with romantic suspense.  I found Nora Roberts’ THREE SISTERS trilogy, and discovered a love for magical realism in what I was reading…

And then I found humor. 

I was enamored.  The first to hook me on the humor train and make me want to write just like her….was Jennifer Weiner.  I read GOOD IN BED in one night, and decided right then and there that I wanted to write just like that.  I soaked up everything she wrote, and moved on to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series….loving every word.  Mixing it up with some Southern Women’s Fiction was Dorothea Benton Frank’s books like PLANTATION and SULLIVAN’S ISLAND.  (Wanted to move to Sullivan’s Island so badly, I actually researched the possibilities for two weeks. Lol.)  Karen White, Kathryn Magendie, and then Sarah Addison Allen were my inspirations as I discovered my own style of romantic women’s fiction with snarky humor and magical mystical touches.  

So I’m a mish-mash.  A blend, a smorgasbord, a virtual stew of many influences.

What are your favorite authors and influences….going as far back as you dare!

Thanks for having me!

Sharla

Thanks!

Giveaway Details:

Each stop: A random commenter will receive one of Sharla’s customized tote bags, some bookmarks and swag, and a random bestselling author’s book from her collection she accumulated at the RWA Writer’s Conference in Anaheim! (Authors include Larissa Ione, Terry Spear, Tessa Dare, Elizabeth Hoyt, Stephanie Laurens, Barbara Freethy, and Robyn Carr.)

1. Please make sure that you leave your broken up email addy in your  comment in order to be entered into the drawing!

2. Ends check rafflecopter

3. Just Enter

4. Open to everyone

Rafflecopter is at the end of this post!!!!!!!

Grand Prize giveaway tour wide: A random commenter chosen from the entire tour will receive an e-basket: E-book of THE REASON IS YOU, E-book of JUST ONE DAY, $25 e-gift card from Amazon or B&N, $10 Starbucks e-gift card.

Tour Stops:

http://events.litconnect.com/contemporary-romance-before-ever-since-by-sharla-lovelace

The more stops readers comment on, the greater their chances of winning.

Back Cover Blurb: 

Emily Lockwood, your past is showing. 

Emily Lockwood has been sitting on a secret for so long, and buried so deep that she really doesn’t even think of it anymore. Why should she? She has a successful career, an ex-husband who rarely tests her pa­tience, a mother who usually does, and a stubbornly independent grown daughter. Everything is fine, just another crazy kind of normal. 

Until Ben Landry comes back to town. The one person that could change it all. From best friends growing up, to young adults who realize their love in a night of crazy passion, Ben and Emily had an unbreakable bond. Or so she thought. When he then disappeared without explanation for over twenty years, she’d had to pick herself up and accept otherwise. Seeing Ben back again now triggers more than mere memories and a tug at her heart. It rips the cover off an old secret that could hurt the people she loves the most. 

While Emily works to keep her secret safe and her heart safer, her sanity gets a reality check. She’s been seeing things—her past played out like home movies unreeling before her eyes, visions that are making Emily see herself, her family, everyone she knew, and every choice she made, in a revealing new light and a startling new angle. For Emily, seeing her life in rewind makes her realize she has hard choices to make for her future. Choices that may redefine everyone else’s future as well. 

Purchase Links: 

Amazon.com: 

Barnes & Noble: .

Author Bio: 

Sharla Lovelace is the author of THE REASON IS YOU, JUST ONE DAY, and BEFORE AND EVER SINCE. Being a Texas girl through and through, she’s proud to say she lives in Southeast Texas with her family, an old lady dog, and an aviary full of cockatiels. 

Sharla is available by Skype for book club meetings and chats, and loves connecting with her read­ers! See her website www.sharlalovelace.com for book discussion questions, events, and to sign up for her monthly newsletter. 

Connect with Sharla: 

Website: www.sharlalovelace.com 

Twitter: 

Facebook:

Goodreads:

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