[Book Tour] There Goes the Groom by Jana Richards, Interview, Plus #giveaway

There Goes the Groom

by Jana Richards

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BLURB:

Eight years ago Tony left Olivia at the altar. He was sure she didn't really want to marry him. Now he's back, and they're forced to work together.

Coming home isn't easy for Tony, because his father wanted him to work at a trade instead of going off to college. Their relationship is still unsteady. Even before Tony's return, Olivia began questioning the depth of her love for her fiancé, a man she chose because he was safe and reliable. Yet the last thing she wants is a loveless, faithless marriage like the one her parents suffered through.

When Tony, who never stopped loving her, insists her fiancé is the wrong man for her, Olivia sets out to prove him wrong. But the sexual chemistry between them is still strong, and so are her feelings for him. Even so, how can she break her engagement, hurt her fiancé as she was once hurt? And how can she trust Tony not to abandon her as he did before?

If anyone does the jilting this time, she will.

A black Mercedes pulled into a visitor parking stall beside Liv's car. Liv's mother stepped out of the luxury vehicle, appearing as elegant as ever. Tony could tell the instant Mrs. Taylor recognized him. Her expression first registered shocked surprise and then anger.

"Tony DiPietro." Grace Taylor's tone dripped with sarcasm. "I never thought I'd see you again. What on earth brings you back here?"

"Mom, Tony's helping with an important exhibit for the museum." She gave her mother the Reader's Digest version of events. "It's only for three months."

"I'm just here to do a job, Mrs. Taylor." Tony slung his backpack over his shoulder and picked up the suitcases. "Thanks for the ride, Liv…Olivia."

"We have a lot of work to do, Olivia," Grace Taylor said. "A lot of decisions have to be made about your wedding."

Tony stopped cold. Her wedding?

Mrs. Taylor glared at him triumphantly. "Haven't you told Tony about your engagement, Olivia?" She lifted her daughter's left hand into Tony's face and for the first time he noticed the engagement ring on her third finger. "Stuart gave Olivia his family heirloom ring. It belonged to his great-grandmother. I'd say that shows how deeply committed he is."

"Mom, please."

"Congratulations Olivia." A torrent of questions whirled in Tony's brain. Who was this Stuart guy? Where was he from? Was he good enough for her? "I hope you'll be very happy."

She lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eye. "We already are."

He lugged his belongings into the rented condo, his gut twisting and his mind reeling. News like this shouldn't surprise him, nor should it give him the stab in the heart he'd just experienced. But still it did.

The worst part was knowing that another man could make Liv happy when he couldn't. 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to full-length paranormal suspense and romantic comedy.  She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious side.  She believes there’s nothing more interesting then peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them tick.

When not writing up a storm, working at her day job as an Office Administrator, or dealing with ever present mountains of laundry, Jana can be found on the local golf course pursuing her newest hobby.

Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren, and a highly spoiled Pug/Terrier cross named Lou. You can reach her through her website at http://www.janarichards.net

http://janarichards.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor

http://www.amazon.com/author/JanaRichards

http://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_  @JanaRichards_

Buy link:  www.uncialpress.com/There-Goes-The-Groom.html

Flirting Quickies:

Facial hair or clean shaven?   Clean shaven

Planner or Panster?  Mostly a planner

White wine or red?  White

Coffee or tea?   I do not discriminate against any form of caffeine.

Vanilla or chocolate?  Both

Sweet or salty?   Salty

Sleep in or get up early?  Get up early. I wish I could sleep in!

Winter or summer?  Summer

Cat or dog?  At the moment dog. Wanna see a picture of my dog Lou?

City or Country?  City

Backpacking or luxury hotel?  Luxury hotel all the way!

Morning or night person?  Definitely a morning person.

Christmas or Halloween?  Christmas

Optimist or pessimist?  Sadly, my family will tell you I’m a glass-half-empty kind of girl!

What type of book have you always wanted to write?

I’ve always wanted to write a book that combines many of the romance genres I love – contemporary, historical, and paranormal, with a bit of mystery thrown in. So to that end, I’m currently working on a new series. To enter Heaven and earn his wings as an angel, a man must accomplish three tasks. He must help to give three other mortals a second chance at love by going back in time and correcting the mistakes they made in the past. By helping others, this man will give himself a second chance at love, if he’s daring enough, and wise enough, to take that chance.

This series is in its infancy at the moment, but I’m excited about it already!

How did you get the idea for this particular novel?

For the ‘Left at the Altar’ series, I read something (or perhaps I saw a show on TV, I can’t remember) about the surprising number of engagements that end before the wedding actually takes place. Sometimes the dress has been purchased, the venue booked, the plans in place. But one half of the couple will say “Wait a minute. Do I really want to do this?” If the answer is no, all those plans go up in smoke, and one person is left devastated. It’s happened a few times in my own extended family.   

As the date of the wedding grows nearer, the person with doubts feels more confused and more guilty. A lot of money has been spent and everyone is expecting them to get married, but this person is not feeling the love any more. Eventually the pressure builds to the point that they must leave. Fortunately, most of these engagements end before the point of walking down the aisle. But as a writer, I thought, where’s the fun in that? I wanted to subject my characters to the maximum dose of humiliation and heartache. I wanted to turn their lives upside down and see what happens.

Is it possible to trust in love again after you’ve been left at the altar?

What is your favorite scene in your new release?

One of my favorite scenes in “There Goes the Groom” is when Tony and Olivia are interviewed on a local morning television show to advertise the exhibit they’re working on at the museum. As public relations director, Olivia is concerned about acting in a professional manner. But when the blonde host of the show keeps mangling her name and makes a pass at Tony on air, Olivia’s own professionalism is forgotten:

“I think the people at home would be much more interested in hearing about you, Dr. Dipietro. You’re a real live Indiana Jones, searching for ancient artifacts! How exciting!”

Olivia nearly exploded from her chair. How dare this blonde dimwit hijack the interview?

 

“I think your viewers would be very interested in the Haida exhibit at the National Museum,” she said. “It represents the culmination of many years of research on the study of the Haida people, and contains not only ancient artifacts obtained by Dr. Dipietro and Dr. Derek Peterson from Simon Fraser University, but also a display of modern Haida life.”

“That’s all very fascinating Olive, but as I said, our viewers can get all that information from our website. But it’s not every day we have a man like Tony in our studio.”

She placed her hand on Tony’s thigh, letting it linger there suggestively. By the time she removed her hand, Olivia wanted to rip out every strand of Melissa’s bleached blonde hair.

“Actually Melissa,” Tony said with a charming smile, “the Indiana Jones movies are highly fictionalized depictions of what archeologists do. Because they’re meant to entertain, they have a fantasy element to them. A lot of what I do is painstaking and tedious. We might shift through tons of dirt before we find one small item of any archeological value.”

Melissa’s smile dimmed slightly. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” Tony kept his voice calm and professional. “The really exciting part is when all the pieces come together in an exhibit such as the one we’re mounting on the Haida. It’s only then that a true picture of life hundreds of years ago can emerge. I’m sure your viewers would be very interested in seeing this exhibit.”

Melissa sighed, relenting. “What are the dates and times the exhibit will be showing?”

Tony cheerfully provided all the information Olivia had drilled into his head. She was proud of him but so angry she wanted to hit something, or someone.

“Thank you for dropping by today, Dr. Dipietro,” Melissa said in closing. “I’m sure your exhibit will be a great success. I’d love to see you again...on my show.”  She laid her hand on Tony’s thigh once more, this time a little higher, before throwing Olivia a smug glance. “Oh, and thank you too...Olive.”

That did it.

Olivia jumped to her feet. “You are the most unprofessional, scheming, narcissistic, phony blonde I’ve ever met in my life. How dare you treat Dr. Dipietro like some kind of sex object?  If you’d taken the time to do any research at all you’d know that he holds three degrees and has lectured at some of the most prestigious universities in North America and published articles in several scholarly journals. You’re lucky to have a man of his qualifications on your rinky-dink little show.”

Tony got to his feet and stood between her and Melissa, who looked like she wanted to take a swing at her. He put an arm around Olivia’s shoulders and whispered in her ear. “It’s live television, remember?”

Do you plan all your characters out before you start a story or do they develop as you write?

A little of both. Before I begin, I usually do some character sketches to get an idea of who my main characters are, what their goals are, what motivates them. But during the writing process I really get to know them. I learn more things about their background and greater details about what they want. Most of the time the basic story I’ve created for them remains, and as I write I gain a deeper understanding of the character. But sometimes a character will rebel against the world I built for them and demand that I listen to the story they want to tell. That’s when I have to abandon my preconceived ideas and listen to what they want.

One of your favorite quotes.

Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. – Yoda from Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back

I love this quote because it reminds me not to be wishy-washy. I’m either going to write that novel or I’m not. I’m not going to give myself a way out by saying “I tried, but it was too hard.”

Thanks for having me here today. I’m celebrating the release of “There Goes the Groom” by picking the name of one lucky commenter on this blog tour and awarding them a $20 Amazon gift certificate. In addition, I’m giving away a PDF copy of my romantic comedy “Rescue Me” to anyone who signs up for my newsletter.  You can read an excerpt from “Rescue Me” on my website. Good luck!

Jana will be awarding a $20 Amazon gift certificate to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Be sure to leave your email in the comments below!

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