AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT - Allison Merritt

I am getting back in the groove and have some great authors lined up for the next several weeks. We are kicking of the Author Spotlight 2015 with a recurring author, Allison Merritt. Last we visited with Allison, she introduced us to Wynstan. This time she brings us a more modern cowboy Good Ride from the boxed set -  COWBOY UP2.

Before we get into the story, I asked Allison five writing-related questions. She offers up some great tips!

Welcome, Allison Merritt!

1) Why do you write?

Because I'm bad at math. No, really, I think the main reason is because it gets me away from the day-to-day problems like gas is high or groceries are expensive or the world can be a terrible place. In fiction, I can create anything from horrible problems for the characters to solutions that end in happily-ever-afters.

2)  What is your ‘Daily Mantra’ for writing? What gets you to your keyboard above other activities? “They are waiting.” I try to leave off at a chapter end so I can propel myself forward into the next scene, but sometimes that's not possible. Sometimes I have no idea where the story is going, but it's important to remember these characters—who often take over everything in my brain—are waiting for me to sit down so they can tell me where they're going next.

3) What is the best writing advice you ever received?

Penmonkeys love to write, not to get published. That's Chuck Wendig. He's extremely foul-mouthed, so take care when you're reading his blog, but the man is a writer encouraging genius. Erm, and I am published, but he has a point. The writing thing isn't about what comes after I've finished the story, it's about the build up while I'm writing it and the satisfaction when I can close a document and say, I finished something I thought I'd never get through.

4) What is your favorite genre to write and why?

Romance, over everything else. I need that happily-ever-after. There's nothing more satisfying to me than knowing two characters can overcome serious odds and make it through. It gives me hope, not just in my own love life, but in everything.

5) What is the one key career you remember from your childhood of wanting to be when you grew up? I seriously wanted to be an oil baron. I don't know how I thought I was going to get an oil field, but I was thinking, gee, you could make a lot of money doing that. On a more realistic note, I wanted to be a writer from the time I was 12, and that's worked out pretty well. Not quite as lucrative as an oil baron, perhaps, but definitely satisfying.

Here's the blurb for the box set, Cowboy Up 2, coming March 1, 2015.

Saddle Up with the best-selling authors who brought you Cowboy Up... And fall for six more Cowboys ready to steal your heart!

Authors in this box set: Allison Merritt, Leslie P. Garcia, Melissa Keir, Autumn Piper, Sara Walter Ellwood and D’Ann Lindun

And from Good Ride, Cowboy:

Thanks to her ex-boyfriend, Sommer Allen's life is in shambles. She's headed home to Courtland, Texas for her sister's wedding, but when a quick stop at a gas station ruins her plans, she's left stranded and at the mercy of a handsome cowboy.

Perry Glidewell is on his way back to Texas after winning another championship in the arena versus a bull. When he finds Sommer having a meltdown in the middle of a parking lot, he knows he can't leave her alone. Since her hometown is near his, it makes sense to hit the road together.

Sommer never imagined falling for a cowboy. His manners and gallant attitude win her over quickly, but with her future uncertain, she's not quite willing to give her whole heart to Perry. He'll do whatever it takes to break the walls around Sommer's heart, because beneath her tough-talking exterior, he sees she's the type of Texas girl he's always dreamed of.

Excerpt:

Perry opened the door. “What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to steal my truck?”

She glowered. “Of course not. You snore. I thought I'd be able to sleep out here. I was asleep, until I  turned a little and set off the alarm. I'm so sorry.” She handed him the keys and knocked something off the dash.

A lacy bra landed on his bare feet. His gaze shot straight to her chest. Sommer's t-shirt was tight around her breasts and her nipples made perky bumps in the material.

Perry clenched his teeth. Of all the damn things to notice. He bent down and picked the bra up by the strap. “Think you lost something.”

She snatched the bra out of his hand. “You try sleeping in one of these.”

“Not really my style, sweetheart.”

You can follow Allison Merritt through her:

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT - A Review

 Note: I offer an apology to Allison Merritt for my oversight last week. This review was suppose to run on Wednesday of last week. I dove into a deep cleaning frenzy around the house before my husband got home (he'd been gone 21 days) and I totally spaced doing any computer work last week.

WYSTAN Book 1 of The Heckmasters

The cool thing about reviewing books is often times you will be asked (or in this case offer) to review books out of your normal genre or comfort zone. WYSTAN was one of those books for me. While I read Western Historicals and Romance, I am not a demon kind of girl. Okay.. I did make the exception for the reaper series by Lisa Medley. What I have found out in both instances is that if the author gives you a well-crafted story, genre may not be an issue. After all, aren't we all just looking for a GREAT READ?

Author, Allison Merritt gives the reader everything they could want in a story. From the Heroine with a problem and the Hero with issues to overcome. There are secondary characters that while not the focal point of the story, do play key roles in how the Hero and Heroine find their way to one another. In this case, even if it means stepping over the remains of a barghest (you'll have to read the book to find out what that is) or living in close proximity to half-demons. 

I found the story a book I could not put down until the very last word. I am waiting anxiously for Tell and Eban's stories... and by the time you've finished WYSTAN, you will too. 

You can purchase your copy at:

Samhain

Amazon

B&N 

Google Books 

Allison loves to hear from readers:

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT - Allison Merritt

Today, I am pleased to be one of the stops on The Heckmasters Blog Tour and to introduce you to a talented author from my local group, Ozarks Romance Authors. If you've not read her books yet, make sure you click on the buy link at the bottom of this post and be prepared for an enjoyable read! Also, Allison has brought an awesome Rafflecopter along.

Welcome, Allison!


You write in several sub-genres romance. Do you have a favorite?
Historicals have been my first love since I read my first one. I picked up Roseanne Bittner's In the Shadow of the Mountains when I was a teenager and I've been hooked on historicals ever since. But it's pretty clear I love adding wackiness to the Old West.

I’m always asked where I get my ideas. Where did you get the idea for WYSTAN?
This is my favorite where-did-it-come-from ever. In 2012, I was with my mom and brother at Northpark Mall in Joplin, MO when I saw a kiosk selling tombstones (that's so weird). There was one kind of sitting by itself and the name on it was HECKMASTER. I just knew the guy buried under that headstone was a serious badass. Not only that, but he was probably a demon-slaying hottie.  

If WYSTAN were to be made into a movie, who do you see a the Hero and Heroine?
You better believe I've thought this through. Henry Cavill would make the perfect Wystan and Anne Hathaway is my pick for Rhia.

Every good movie needs popcorn. Pick one – extra butter, caramel, kettle?
Extra butter!

You’ve had the experience of various publishing avenues and I’m sure you’ve come away from each with something different. What do you feel has been your most valuable lesson overall?
You actually have to make the attempt to get anywhere. I started out self-publishing, but was dumb chance that led me to Lyrical. A friend had an editor taking pitches on her blog, so I just wrote up a 3-line pitch for a book and threw it out there. I waited until Breathless was having a 5 page chapter critique, and submitted a book I'd written for them and the editor loved it. I entered Wystan in a contest and—surprise!—the editor wanted it. Take a chance.

When you began writing fiction, what was your main GOAL and have you achieved that goal?
Don't get me wrong, I love being on a best seller list and watching those numbers rise, but the main thing I always wanted was just to entertain. When The Wrong Brother's Bride came out, I did a review tour to promote it. The things people said in the reviews blew me away. Even the bloggers who didn't regularly read historical romance were saying things like 'I don't usually read this genre, but this book made me re-think my TBR list'. Knowing you've satisfied a reader is worth all the trouble of writing a book.

Do you have a writing mantra?
One hundred more words. One hundred more words. I took that from something I read when I used to run. Ten more steps, then you can finish. Works great for writing too.

What’s next on your writing agenda to close out 2014?
I've absolutely, positively got to finish Tell (The Heckmasters). Wystan's releasing, Eban is on the schedule for April 2015, and I've got to get their little brother finished. I have a good start to it though, so I'm not worried. Erm, much. I better get serious about NaNoWriMo this year.

Thank you, Allison. Here's a blurb from Wystan's story - the first book in The Heckmasters Series:

Blurb:

Her search for safety lands her in a totally new kind of danger.

The Heckmasters, Book 1

Certain that an ad for a job in a small New Mexico Territory town is the answer to her prayers, Nebraska schoolteacher Rhia Duke packs her sister into a rickety wagon and heads west.

Except when they reach the near-deserted town, she learns the truth. There is no job, no future, and no welcome in the bleak blue eyes of the handsome sheriff.

The minute Rhia’s runaway team thunders into town, Wystan Heckmaster feels the change in the air. One of three sons of a demon who dared love a human, he keeps watch over a Pit guarded by seven seals, and slays any Hellbound demon that attempts to free the master imprisoned within.

With a gut full of regret and a forgotten town filled with reformed demons, Wystan is certain of one thing: he can’t be the man Rhia needs. But when the truth behind Rhia’s flight from Nebraska comes to light, Wystan must open his soul—and pray there’s enough love between them to overcome the darkness rising from the Pit.

Warning: Contains a take-no-prisoners sheriff, a woman who can’t outrun her supernatural secrets, and a dusty town where hope is as thin as dust in the wind. Author recommends keeping a glass of cool spring water at your elbow while reading.

Excerpt:

Something changed in the air the moment the wagon crossed the town’s border. Too

early to be a supply train, and there was no way in hell it was visitors. Berner didn’t host

town fairs, theatre troupes, peddlers, or bible thumpers.

Wystan Heckmaster slapped his battered Stetson on his head, collected the keys to the

jail, then stepped out the door. The first thing he saw was a pretty woman with hair the color

of maple sugar—a rich brownish-blonde. The frown on her face spoke volumes, and the air

around her pronounced trouble. She made a straight path for him.

“Mr. Heckmaster. Or should I call you Sheriff? Or Mayor? I need to discuss the ad in

the Lancaster County Republican with you. Someone placed an ad, but your brother tells me

there is no school here. I’m sure there has to be a mistake. There’s only one Berner in New

Mexico Territory. I’m very capable at reading maps. If I wasn’t, I would be ashamed to call

myself a teacher.”

He doubted she had taken more than two or three breaths during the speech. If she

made talking in rambling paragraphs a habit, no wonder she looked so peaked.

“Teacher?” He glanced along the street, but it was deserted as usual. “Lady, we don’t

have a school here. Certainly no need of a teacher.”

Buy links:

Samhain  

Amazon  

B&N 

Google Books 

About the Author:

A love of reading inspired Allison Merritt to pursue her dream of becoming an author who writes historical, paranormal and fantasy romances, often combining the sub-genres. She lives in a small town in the Ozark Mountains with her husband and dogs. When she's not writing or reading, she hikes in national parks and conservation areas.

Allison graduated from College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri with a B.A. in mass communications that's gathering dust after it was determined that she's better at writing fluff than hard news.

You can follow Allison on her various Social media links:

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