Marcia James

Marcia James' Website Posted on by 5

My June Go Pets! interviewee had a scheduling conflict, so–since June is my birth month—I’m interviewing myself. 😉

1. I hear you have rescue pets in your novels.

All of my books have pets in them, and yes, they’re all adopted from shelters or rescue groups. Because pets bring so much unconditional love into our lives, I include them in my love stories. Cats, dogs, and other pets have a way of revealing a soft side to a book’s hero and heroine.

I especially enjoy writing about rescue pets since I’m a “No More Homeless Pets” supporter. I have friends who breed show dogs, and that is very different from the unscrupulous people who run horribly abusive puppy mills. Millions of cats and dogs—along with bunnies, pot-bellied pigs, birds, and other pets—end up in crowded shelters each year. Through my fictional rescue pets, I hope to spread the news that shelters and pro-pet groups have wonderful, adoptable, adorable animals looking for loving homes. Rescue pets aren’t all sad and injured cats and dogs that some television commercials might lead you to believe. So when looking for a pet, “Adopt, Don’t Shop.”


2. Why did you choose a Chinese crested hairless dog as your logo?

 

My first novel, At Her Command, included Smokey, a tiny crested as a DEA drug-sniffing dog. Smokey was the perfect foil for the tough, Alphamale hero and the perfect quirky breed to represent my stories’ mix of humor and heartwarming romance. (My novels feature heroines you can root for, heroes to die for, and funny dogs.) So each of my romances includes a crested as either a main character or a cameo.

 

 

 

3. Tell us about your Klein’s K-9s Service Dogs series.

Klein’s K-9s is my contemporary romance novella series featuring the skilled staff and compassionate volunteers of a NC service dog training facility and the local animal shelter. Is there anything better than a sexy story with a guaranteed happy ending…and dogs? I’m currently writing the fifth novella in the series.

“Racing Hearts” is the first in the series and the first time one of my books made the national and international bestseller lists for all fiction ebooks on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

Stock car legend, Tom “Torque” Tyler, faces a bleak future following a traumatic head injury and seizures. Determined to drag her high-school crush from his self-imposed solitude, service dog trainer, Meg Klein, and a tiny but talented seizure response dog bring Tom hope and love.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1OzgWn9

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/racing-hearts-kleins-k-9s-book-1-marcia-james/1123114796?ean=2940158074172

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/racing-hearts-9

Apple: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/racing-hearts/id1067050913?mt=11&at=11lopo

Print: http://amzn.to/2rdDcjo


4. Rumor has it you enjoy writing Christmas romances.

True. There’s something special about a holiday romance, and so far I’ve written three of them. My first was “Heating Up the Holidays,” a second-chance-at-love story:

Chris Spencer isn’t looking for a second chance with his first love. And the last thing Nicky Paxton needs is her high school heart-breaker. But thanks to a special dog and a lonely child, they might just get their Christmas desires.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2lIKwiI

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heating-up-the-holidays-marcia-james/1112359121?ean=2940014947442

Kobo: http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=FT6Yye4GmCU&subid=&offerid=290193.1&type=10&tmpid=9310&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.kobobooks.com%2Fen-US%2Febook%2Fheating-up-the-holidays-3

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/heating-up-the-holidays/id700356654?mt=11

My second holiday story, “8 Hounds a-Howling,” is a romantic comedy and the second in the Klein’s K-9s series:

Celebrity photographer “Jax” Jackson volunteers to shoot the Klein’s K-9s’ dog-themed “12 Days of Christmas” fundraising calendar. His hidden agenda: Convince past love and calendar coordinator Amy Walters to give him a second chance.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1OkNlPc

B&N: http://tinyurl.com/goockbq

Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/hysgahc

Apple: http://tinyurl.com/j7lzjb6

My third Christmas novella, “Scrooge & the Secret Santa,” is an enemies-to-lovers romance and the fourth in the Klein’s K-9s series:

Police dog trainer Patton Carter is a thorn the size of a tree branch in Faith Harman’s side. In addition to her physical therapist day job, Faith teaches therapy dog classes, which Patton dismisses as unimportant. Then Fate intervenes, and he’s sidelined with a knee replacement. Will spending time with Faith and her therapy dog open his eyes and his heart?

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2m6dw5H

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/scrooge-the-secret-santa-marcia-james/1125883824?ean=2940157242763

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/scrooge-the-secret-santa-klein-s-k-9s-book-4

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/scrooge-the-secret-santa/id1211038525?ls=1&mt=11lopo


5. Where can readers learn more about your books and connect with you online?

In addition to my website and monthly newsletter, I’m on social media, and I hope you’ll visit me there. Here are my online links:

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Marcia_James

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marciajamesauthor/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/marciajames/

Amazon Author Central page: https://www.amazon.com/author/marciajames

INVITATION: I hope visitors to this pro-pet blog will share photos of their pets. Each month, I’ll randomly pick one of the pet photos to feature on my social media pages and in my reader newsletter. Go Pets!

 

J. Paulette Forshey

Marcia James' Website Posted on by 10

Paulette Forshey

1. I hear you have a Jack Russell terrier in your novel, Miracles From the Heart. Tell us about the book.

Miracles from the Heart is two heartwarming Christmas stories in one book. The first, “The Christmas Gift,” helps a couple who married for convenience find love, happiness, and the family they’ve always wanted. In the second story, “Magic of the Christmas Flute,” a little girl’s Christmas wish brings more than joyful holiday music to her family.

Buy from Amazon

 

2. Why did you add a dog to Miracles From the Heart?

Belle

I wrote in the Jack Russell Terrier to honor my late dog Belle, a great Jack Russell who brought so much love and laughter in my life.

Dogs have been a part of my life since I was born and adopted. Thanks to my parents, I learned that you don’t have to be of the same blood, or species, to be considered family. My first babysitter was my mother’s dog, a Boxer named Dinah. She watched over me from my bassinet to when I was five. After Dinah passed, it was the beginning of a long list of canine companions through the years. Mutts, Bassett Hounds, Airedale Terriers, an Irish Setter, a Doberman named FooFur, and a Jack Russell named Belle.

Belle came into my life when our two sons were nearly grown (and no longer needing me as much) and my husband was still doing long-distance truck driving. I was feeling a bit lonely and lost when Belle came into my life as a six-week-old puppy.

Belle and I went everywhere together, she fit perfectly in my oversized purse. When not traveling around town, she spent many an hour waiting under our kitchen table on me as I wrote one book after another. Her reward for her patience was a soccer ball and our huge backyard. She’d push that ball with her nose all over the acreage until she’d collapse in

Yvette

a happy pile of fur. Then one day I lost her to a horrible accident. Jack Russells will eat all types of things, and Belle would find, no matter how well we watched her and patrolled ourselves, loose change especially pennies. We believe the copper in the coins poisoned her.

She’d been a huge part of my family and her loss tore a mega hole in my life and heart. When I wrote “The Christmas Gift,” I used the theme of family to bring two lost (spiritually) humans together through the love of a small dog. It was my way to honor Belle and what she’d meant to me. Sappy I know but true.

Later, thanks to a suggestion from an author friend who believes in pet rescue groups, I now have a rescue Papillon named Yvette. She rescued me.


3. What other romances have you written?

I love to write paranormal romance as well as contemporary. I believe vampires, angels, or otherworldlies need love, too.

  

The Tarczal Alliance brings A New Breed of Biter to life. Can a woman with a legendary past and a vampire with a broken heart change the world with their love?

33 Days Till Christmas – Sometimes it takes a human to save an angel! Gabriel is sent to Earth to save a woman and finds himself saved.

  

The Estate, where Cuilean Kelley is about to have his reality and dreams collide. A novella of ghostly love.

If you like something a bit spicier I have a contemporary ménage à trios novel, A Tango Trinity — Where three must become one to find true love. Irena’s Texan knows there is only one way to fully satisfy her…by sharing her with her with another man, her dance partner.


4. Tell us about your book reviews.

Miracles of the Heart- “Two ‘sweet’ stories that never become maudlin or syrupy. Each carries a subtle moral tone that doesn’t preach. Miss Forshey is a superior story teller in the best sense of the word.” — Mary Hungate, reader

The Tarczal Alliance – “Refreshing hot stuff with a twist!” — Elaine Bergstrom, author of Mina and Nocturne

The Estate – “A short paranormal romance. I enjoyed this story. J. Paulette Forshey is a master of paranormal romance!” – Rita, reader

Midnight Magic Reviews says this about A TANGO TRINTY: “What do you get when you combine a sexy Texan, a sensual Argentine, and a beautiful Russian dancer? A steaming hot trinity ménage or more specifically, you get the amazing story- A Tango Trinity by J. Paulette Forshey. Ms. Forshey introduces you to an unstoppable love, where Irena’s Texan knows there is only one way to fully satisfy her…by sharing her with her dance partner. And even though this is a sizzling ménage romance, it has all the other elements to a good story as well. Spend a night with Ms. Forshey’s A Tango Trinity. You won’t be disappointed. We give it 5 Midnight Magic Girls!”


5. How do you promote your books?

Facebook, reviews on various sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, GoodReads, etc.


6. Where can readers learn more about your books and connect with you online?

My web page: www.jpauletteforshey.com
Facebook: paulette.forshey@facebook.com
Twitter: @ForsheyJ
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/J.-Paulette-Forshey/e/B004YPN0LI/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Thank you, Paulette, for sharing your books and your memories of your many canine companions! I enjoy your books and look forward to reading many more.

I hope visitors to this pro-pet blog will share photos of their pets. Each month, I’ll randomly pick one of the pet photos to feature on my social media pages and in my reader newsletter. Go Pets!

Stacy McKitrick

Marcia James' Website Posted on by 22

1. I hear you have a chocolate lab in your romance novel, Ghostly Liaison. Tell us about the book.

Ghostly Liaison is about a woman (Bridget), who discovers a ghost-seeing “talent” she inherited after a near-death experience, and the ghost (Charlie) she’s currently roommates with. Charlie’s brother, Rob, thinks she committed suicide via a drug overdose, because that’s how her killer set it up. Bridget decides to help prove Charlie had been murdered, but unsure how to go about it without sounding like a loony-tune or becoming the killer’s next target. Here’s the book blurb:

When Rob’s sister passed away, she left him her dog and her house. He can handle the dog part, but he doesn’t need another home. Especially a fixer-upper the neighbor swears is haunted. Then he meets Bridget, who’s working on getting her life back together after a car accident left her scarred in more ways than one. She can’t pass up Rob’s offer of free lodging, regardless of the shape it’s in. Or the roommate that’s part of the package. She’s never believed in ghosts, but now she’s living with one who wants Bridget’s help in catching a killer. There’s only one problem: the killer has unfinished business…

Buy Links
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2k6ylAF
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2hCjSLZ
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2xF6vic
iBooks: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781370959129
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2yJRprV

2. Why did you add a dog to Ghostly Liaison?

I’ve never included pets in any of my other stories, but thought a dog would do great in this one because I always think dogs can see more than we can. And I picked a chocolate Lab because it’s a dog I wouldn’t mind owning. (Unfortunately, having a pet in this time in our lives isn’t feasible or fair to the animal.) Barnaby (who I named as a tribute to our late cocker spaniel, Barney) is more than just a pet, though. He’s a real character in the story because he can see ghosts all the time, whereas Bridget can only see ghosts if she’s alone or with another ghost-seer. I had a lot of fun writing Barnaby and wish he were mine in real life. And maybe one day I’ll get my own chocolate Lab. They are just the cutest!

3. What other romances have you written?

Besides the Ghostly Encounters series (which book 2 is now available!), I also have the Bitten by Love series, which features vampires. In fact, the hero vampire from Bite Me, I’m Yours, makes a cameo appearance in Ghostly Liaison (both books are set in Dayton, Ohio). My vampires blend in with the “real world,” and I thought it would be fun to actually show that. No one in Ghostly Liaison knows that vampires exist, and neither would the reader unless they read my vampire series. Both series are set in the same “world,” but I haven’t made an effort to cross the series because not all my ghost-loving readers like vampires. Maybe one day they’ll give them a chance, because my vampires are nice.

4. How do you promote your books?

Promote? I gotta promote? Just kidding. Although… Promotion and I don’t get along so well. It’s why I hired Barclay Publicity for my latest release (Ghostly Interlude, Book 2 in the Ghostly Encounters series). I still have a lot to learn, but think in the end the best promotion is the next book. I just wish I were a faster writer, but it is what it is and I’m not going to force it.

5. Where can readers learn more about your books and connect with you online?

I’ve got a blog I update fairly regularly and a Facebook page (links listed below). No Twitter, though (I just don’t have the patience for that one). I send a newsletter out once a month (or try to), where I tend to give away books and swag I’ve gotten at various conventions.

Stacy’s Links:
Website: www.StacyMcKitrick.com
Blog: www.stacysrantings.blogspot.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6564751.Stacy_McKitrick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StacyMcKitrickAuthor/
Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/stacymckitrick
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bCN0Oz

Thanks, Marcia, for featuring me on your blog! I love dogs and cats, and it’s fun when they’re featured in a book as an actual character (instead of a “thing” in the character’s life). I’m going to feature a parrot in my next Ghostly book (whenever I get to that one). My friend has a parrot who does these really neat things, and I just have to use him. He’ll be my comic relief.

Thank you, Stacy, for sharing your books and links! I can’t wait to read your Ghostly Encounters series! I was always a fan of happy ghost stories growing up, including The Ghost & Mrs. Muir.

I hope visitors to this pro-pet blog will share photos of their pets. Each month, I’ll randomly pick one of the pet photos to feature on my social media pages and in my reader newsletter. Go Pets!

Janie Mason

Marcia James' Website Posted on by 17

For my inaugural interview with a pro-pet author, I am happy to present romance author, Janie Mason. Janie and her – as she puts it – “amazingly supportive husband” have two grown children and live in central Ohio.

1. I enjoyed reading about Wink, the dog in Risking Love, your 1850s Americana historical romance. Tell us about the book.

Risking Love is set in southern Ohio and is the story of widowed farmer, Lucy Neels, who inadvertently ends up hiding a family of runaway slaves in her barn. Tensions are high as there are slave catchers hot on their trail. Lucy has also caught the eye of Renzo Ross, the new town deputy, who prevents the unscrupulous men from searching her place. But the law is clear about what she’s doing, and she could lose her farm for her involvement. Even though he’s stolen her heart, she can’t risk trusting Renzo with her secret.

Risking Love is the first in the New Beginnings trilogy.

 Kindle   Nook   Kobo   iTunes

2. Why did you add a dog to Risking Love?

My husband and I have always been “dog people.” We both grew up with dogs for pets and have had three of our own since we married: Emma, Abe, and Bonnie. Dogs love unconditionally and become immediate family members on day one. My heroine in Risking Love is a widow, and the companionship of her big russet-colored dog is what has helped her survive her difficulties.

I’d never given it much thought before this interview but looking back at all my books, a number of them contain a hero or heroine with a pet. I guess my love for animals transferred to the characters I’ve created.

3. What other historical romances have you written?

The second book in the New Beginnings trilogy, Trusting Love, begins in Philadelphia and travels to the fictional town of Endless, Texas.

Kindle   Nook   Kobo   iTunes

The last of the series, Healing Love, is my current work-in-progress.

If you’re a fan of quick reads, I also have shorter work entitled, “The Secret Riddles of Adeline Smith.” It is a sweeter story also set in Endless, Texas.

Kindle   Nook   Kobo   iTunes

4. Tell us about your contemporary romances.

I have four contemporary novellas available online. “Servicing Rafferty” is a friends-to-lovers story about co-workers Heidi and Rafe and holds a special place in my heart, because it was my first published work.

Kindle   Nook   Kobo   iTunes

“Redhead Blitz” grew from secondary characters in that first book and is the story of Heidi’s outgoing friend, Gigi, and Sean, a hunky teacher/high school football coach.

Kindle   Nook   Kobo   iTunes

“Worth the Wait” is another spin-off from “Servicing Rafferty” and my first (but not the last) story with a hero and heroine of more mature years.

Kindle   Nook   Kobo   iTunes

Lastly, “Model Behavior” is a stand-alone story featuring Scott, Molly, and her fictional twin sister, Mary.

Kindle   Nook   Kobo   iTunes

5. Where can readers learn more about your books and connect with you online?

Readers can learn more about my books and me by visiting my website  and looking for me on Facebook.

I would also like to thank you, Marcia, for inviting me to be part of your new Go Pets! Blog. Romance readers are hooked on true love and that includes our pets!

Thank you, Janie, for helping me kick off my new blog! I hope visitors to this pro-pet blog will share photos of their pets. Each month, I’ll randomly pick one of the pet photos to feature on my social media pages and in my reader newsletter. Go Pets!

 

 

Marcia James' Website