Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you! Today, I’ve got Misty Parker as a guest and she’s telling us a little about herself and sharing her new release with us. So here’s Misty!🙂
- Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process? Every story begins with a loose outline so that I can get my thoughts together and keep track of what comes next. I say loose because very often the characters take me somewhere completely unexpected, so it can definitely change as we go along. I guess I’m somewhere between a pantser and planner. I can pretty much write anywhere, but my favorite places are at home when the kids are in school or at my local coffee shop. Oh, and coffee…that is a necessity!!
- What inspires you to keep writing? My kids. I want to show them that perseverance and hard work pays off, that we don’t just give up when the going gets tough. And it does get tough. But I want to set a good example for them so they learn to keep working hard even when they’re not seeing results they expect.
- What advice would you give an aspiring author? Read a lot and write a lot. Get critiques from people who know your genre, and learn to accept criticism so you can grow.
- Who inspired you to keep writing? Oddly, my mom, even though I didn’t start my writing career until about six years after she passed. She used to tell me, “Can’t never could do anything.” That advice has come to mind every time I want to give up, and it keeps me going. Thanks, Mom J
- What genres do you read? Whatever looks interesting. I most enjoy romance, speculative fiction, horror, steampunk, historical nonfiction and fiction. I’m pretty eclectic in my tastes.
- If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? Less gun violence in our country. The rising incidents of not only mass murders, but single killings in our area alone are terrifying. As a mother of three, I long to send my kids out into a world where they don’t have to fear going to the movies or to church or school. My hope is that someday, we can find solutions and work together to make things better.
- If you could sit down to dinner with one author, who would it be? And why? What would you ask him or her? I’d love to talk to the late Eleanor Hibbert (aka Victoria Holt & a bunch of other pen names). I devoured her romantic suspense and historicals when I was a teen. She wrote all these back in the days before computers and internet. And the details were amazing. I’d love to ask how she researched all these things and how she wrote such a HUGE amount of material. I can barely crank out a book or two a year most of the time J
- What is your ideal vacation spot? Ft. Myers, Florida at the Lovers Key National Park. Beautiful, quiet beaches teeming with wildlife like manatees. It’s amazing.
- Do you have any writing quirks that help you write? Music. I love to play music as I write, and very often, I start making playlists of songs that help inspire scenes. The Tallenmere series is definitely musically inspired! You can find my playlists on http://www.mystiparker.com.
- What is your favorite time of day to write? Any time I get a chance and have the motivation🙂
After losing her husband and only child to the ravages of the Civil War, twenty-five-year-old Portia McAllister is drowning in grief. When she sees an ad for a live-in tutor in another town, she leaves everything behind in hopes of making a fresh start. But as a Confederate widow in a Union household, she is met with resentment from her new charge and her employer, war veteran Beau Stanford.
Despite their differences, she and Beau find common ground and the stirrings of a second chance at love—until his late wife’s cousin, Lydia, arrives with her sights set on him. Burdened with a farm on the brink of bankruptcy, Beau is tempted by Lydia’s hefty dowry, though Portia has captured his heart.
In another time and another place, his choice would be easy. But love seems impossible amid the simmering chaos of Reconstruction that could boil over at any moment into an all-out battle for survival. Will Beau and Portia find their way into each other’s arms, or will they be swept away by raging forces beyond their control?
Mysti Parker is a wife, mother, and shameless chocoholic. While her first love is romance, including award-winning historical and fantasy romances, she enjoys writing flash fiction (the weirder the better) and children’s stories. She resides in KY with her husband, three children and too many pets.
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