CROSS THE OCEAN
By Holly Bush
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Interview:
First up today as part of the Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour I have a fun little Q&A with the author Holly Bush.
Q: If we were to come to your house for a meal, what would you give us to eat?
A: The husband and I often entertain and a typical summer menu will be all ‘picky’ food like dips and cheeses to slice and fruit and salamis. We brew fresh iced tea and chill wine and serve pound cake with strawberries. In the winter, he’ll often make New England clam chowder or stew and have fresh, crusty bread. I like red wines with that and chocolate cake!
Q: Are you a romantic?
A: Yes. Very much so. Love, real romantic love, can be rapturous in our own lives and I think it’s why so many of us are drawn to the romance genre. We like to remember, and maybe even relive, that time before life intrudes and makes us think of things other than each other. Romance novels rarely take us through the sometimes unpleasant tasks of living with another person and all the drama that can ensue when two adults are co-habitating.
Q: Do you listen to music when you're writing?
A: No. I can’t do it. I end up typing the lyrics.
Q: Do you ever read your stories out loud?
A: I always read my books out loud and, in fact, do it several times before I give it to my editor. I can read my books for edits over and over and never catch the errors I find when I’m reading aloud. A writer friend suggested it to me years ago and I’ve done it ever since.
Q: What are your future ambitions?
A: I would love to write for a living. I’ve got more stories to tell but it takes me nearly a year to write a book when I’m working full time. You figure there are 52 weekends and at least some of them, are committed to doing other things and during the week it is very difficult for me to do more than editing. I just can’t get to my writing happy place that quick and then when I do, it’s time for bed!
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BLURB:
1871 . . . Worlds collide when American Suffragette, Gertrude Finch, and titled Brit Blake Sanders meet in an explosive encounter that may forever bind them together. Gertrude Finch escorts a young relative to London and encounters the stuffy Duke of Wexford at his worst. Cross the Ocean is the story of an undesired, yet undeniable attraction that takes Blake and Gertrude across an ocean and into each other’s arms.
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EXCERPT:
Blake went to the stables, had his horse saddled, and rode to Anthony’s estate. Maybe Elizabeth will ask me to stay for dinner, he thought. Then she’ll go to bed, and Anthony and I can drink a bottle of brandy and get stewed. He could stay there if he couldn’t ride home. A room was kept ready for him with a fresh change of clothes. Blake smiled and felt better than he had in days.
As the butler escorted Blake down the hall of Anthony’s home to the drawing room, he heard a loud but feminine . . . snort and Elizabeth’s trill laughter in reply. Damn. He remembered now. A cousin of Elizabeth’s from America, sent as an escort to another cousin, was staying with them. Anthony had described and dreaded the arrival of Cousin Gertrude with horror. A spinster remotely connected to Elizabeth’s father’s side, she was big, bold and here for a month. Her arrival had curtailed Anthony’s visits.
Blake stopped and hissed at the butler. “Think I’ve changed my mind, Jenkins. I don’t want to disturb their company.”
“Quite the coward are we, Your Grace? Leave your life-long friend alone with this Amazon from America.” Jenkins stared as he spoke. “In any case they saw you ride up the drive.”
Jenkins spoke his mind to all including Anthony and Elizabeth. There’d be no expecting servile behavior for him. “I’m sure you did not miss the opportunity to point out my arrival,” Blake said.
“Of course not, Your Grace.” The butler opened the drawing room doors with a flourish. “The Duke of Wexford.”
“Blake,” Anthony said and jumped to pump Blake’s hand. “I am so very happy you are here.”
Blake watched the woman sitting beside Elizabeth stand, and walk across the room to him. She was every inch as tall as he, and Anthony made the introductions. She held out her hand. Blake grasped it and bent to place a kiss there and was surprised when she began to shake it, hitting him squarely in the nose. Blake covered his face with his hand.
“Oh, dear,” Miss Gertrude Finch exclaimed. She threw a look at her cousin Elizabeth.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Holly Bush was born in western Pennsylvania to two avid readers. There was not a room in her home that did not hold a full bookcase. She worked in the hospitality industry, owning a restaurant for twenty years and recently worked as the sales and marketing director in the hospitality/tourism industry and is credited with building traffic to capacity for a local farm tour, bringing guests from twenty-two states, booked two years out. Holly has been a marketing consultant to start-up businesses and has done public speaking on the subject.Holly has been writing all of her life and is a voracious reader of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, particularly political and historical works. She has written four romance novels, all set in the U.S. West in the mid 1800’s. She frequently attends writing conferences, and has always been a member of a writer’s group.
Holly is a gardener, a news junkie, has been an active member of her local library board and loves to spend time near the ocean. She is the proud mother of two daughters and the wife of a man more than a few years her junior.
@hollybushbooks
www.hollybushbooks.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-Bush/247399131941435
Amazon: Cross the Ocean Buy Link
Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/cross-the-ocean/id655238415?mt=11
a Rafflecopter giveaway
My kind of meal, I love eating little bites of things. Thanks for the entertaining interview and good luck to Holly with the release, it sounds like a fun read.
ReplyDeleteI like little bites of things too. I love fingers foods when we have gatherings.
DeleteI like the quiet to concentrate. I can totally understand you saying you'd be writing down the lyrics.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure :)
DeleteGood morning all! Picky meals are the best, Elf2060!
ReplyDeleteI need the quiet to concentrate, Mary. I get lost in other people's conversations or song lyrics or even a TV show in the background and can't focus on writing without some serious quiet.
When can I come over to your house to eat? lol
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Anytime, Rita! The husband's the cook in our house! LOL!
ReplyDeleteAwesome giveaway! I'd pick Amazon!!
ReplyDeleteNice Excerpt and fun interview :)
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late post. I’m playing catch-up here so I’m just popping in to say HI and sorry I missed visiting with you on party day! Hope you all had a good time!
ReplyDeletekareninnc at gmail dot com
I can't even shop if music is playing--I start listening to it too much!
ReplyDeletevitajex(at)aol(dot)com