Author Guest Post | James Eric Richey, author of Two Hearts!

I love being able to host special guest author features which compliment a blog tour, as I tend to have a felicity attachment to ‘knowing more’ than what the novel can give to us as a reader. I love to cosy up inside an author’s mind whilst ferreting out a bit of what inspires them to create the stories which give us such a pleasure to read! There are moments where I vacillate between wanting to offer an interview or a guest post – as each guest feature has it’s own advantages; as I contribute the questions for the conversations and the topics for the essays! It sometimes boils down to what makes me the most curious at the time in which I am in the moment of deciding which feature to offer an author, and this is how I settled on asking Mr Richey for an essay compliment to my review!

I wanted to delve a bit deeper into the context of the romance itself – to the very structure of how Mr Richey was able to give us such an inspiring portrait of an honest romance between two people who had such a lot on their plates to overcome! It was a topic that spun itself into my mind nearly at the same moment I signed up to review the novel! I am thankful to be able to share the author’s response and allow his own words to speak for themselves.

Book Synopsis:

Jaxon Tagget is a cattle-rancher’s son, born and raised on the Double T, just outside of Dillon, Montana. In love with his high-school sweetheart, Annie, Jaxon proposes on graduation night, presenting her with a wedding ring made from gold he mined himself. Annie accepts immediately, to the horror of her bitter, man-hating mother.

Jaxon’s a wonderful husband, but the warnings of Annie’s mother linger in the young bride’s ears. And it doesn’t help that women continue to fall all over the markedly handsome Jaxon.

Unaware of his wife’s persistent doubts, Jaxon is struggling with his own troubles when he finds out his dad is sorely in need of money to save the ranch. But hope glimmers gold when he rediscovers the old mine on the Double T.

While Jaxon travels to verify the mine’s productivity, Annie grows increasingly suspicious. Is Jaxon’s absence what it seems, or does he have another, less faithful reason for his travels? When Annie sees a picture of the beautiful laboratory owner whom Jaxon is visiting, she’s sure the only gold he’s interested in is long, blond hair. Is Annie right, or will it be her doubts that forever sever their Two Hearts?

Proposed Topic: Two Hearts is an epic romance spanning not only personal strife and adversity, but the kind of hardship that can break most families apart, as there is a questionable future in regards to the family ranch. How did you approach knitting together a love story anchoured by realistic tribulations whilst grounding your characters in a strength of resolve that would give the reader balance to read through the worst bits whilst appreciating the bond Jaxon and Annie share? How did Jaxon and Annie help propell the story forward through everything that they had to face?

James Eric Richey’s response:

Mr Richey began his essay by featuring two quotations he especially is fond of referencing to solidify his point throughout his guest feature. As I was not entirely sure how to vet permissions to include these quotes on my blog in time for my tour stop, I yielded to hopping on social media and found (quite happily) these are quotations which others appreciate sharing as well! I was quite thrilled to find ‘who’ was behind the tweets and I suggest you visit their feeds for more inspiring content!

I love this quote.

I believe in the immeasurable power of love; that true love can endure any circumstance and reach across any distance.

— Dr. Steve Maraboli (@SteveMaraboli) July 6, 2015

Here is another quote I like.

 

Life throws challenges and and every challenge comes with rainbows and lights to conquer it. – Amit Ray pic.twitter.com/eI1f8DsNcH — Inner Light (@InnerLightBooks) August 21, 2014

We live in a disposable society—if something is broken we throw it away. This same philosophy is applied to marriage—divorce is the first answer for any little problem that comes up. At the beginning of Two Hearts Jaxon digs for months to find enough gold to make Annie a wedding ring. He could have purchased a ring for her, but that was the easy way. Jaxon wanted to work for it, to show to Annie what kind of man he was. Jaxon was willing to do anything for her. He knew of her past and knew the challenges she carried with her, and yet, he still wanted to marry her. For Jaxon, they could work together and solve any problem that came their way. No matter the size of the trial, Jaxon wanted to work together side by side with Annie to face life’s challenges. Facing trials could become boring and mundane, but adding a bear attack, finding a gold mine, suspected infidelity, hired killers, and plane crashes adds spice to the story to keep readers turning the page. I think with all of the things that Jaxon and Annie faced, their undying love for each other helped to propel the story forward. Jaxon never faltered. Annie struggled with trust due to her being raised by a mother who hated men. Annie struggled, but in the end she stayed true to Jaxon and the vows she made at marriage. Ultimately their love grew stronger because of the trials they suffered together. They battled the storms and survived. Reading stories about other peoples’ struggles and successes gives us each hope and strength to endure our own trials.

I will admit, when I first read this response, initially I was a bit worried in which direction Richey might have taken his reply; however, I, too have noticed that divorce has become quite rampant in recent decades moreso than throughout the early to mid 20th Century. Divorce was something I became familiar with at a young age, not because of my own family (as there is longevity in marriage) but on behalf of my classmates families; the brokenness they felt and lived through was sometimes affecting how they were able to cope in class. My heart went out to them, as I knew too often how many of my peers were living with extended relations or being raised solely by their grandparents; this in of itself wasn’t the sad part, as many of them thrived under the guidance and love of their guardians, but it was how their families were spilt apart that was the difficult pill to swallow. I, do agree divorce is used as a quickfire solution in ‘some’ instances but for the most part, I do agree with a couple’s right to separate and divorce if their equal partnership has dissolved and/or there are extenuating circumstances that warrant a separation. I am never one to judge another life nor a reason why a family ends in divorce; there was too many gray areas whilst I was growing up in both public and private schools to even contemplate the myriad sea of why and how a couple exits their marriage. I never felt they should stay for the children, because over time, I saw the negative effect this had on the children but rather applauded the parents who elected to co-raise their children amicably. I loved how Richey spoke about how through the trials and tribulations both Annie and Jaxon endured enabled them to seek solace and companionship in a marriage built on faith and the strength of their love. These are the types of relationship-based Romances I love to read, as they knit together a hearty realistic view of marriage against the back-drop of an epic love story you have a keen sense you will appreciate reading! We all need a good lift of spirits when it comes to Romance and the strong characters who ignite a heap of hope by celebrating the joys of a marriage where both partners are equal not only to the task of supporting each other without conditions but to accept the flaws and the obstacles that sometimes can arise when two lives are united together as one! This author guest post is courtesy of: iRead Book Tours Click through via the badge to find out what else awaits you! Lateron today I shall be sharing my ruminations on behalf of the novel! See what I am hosting next on my Bookish Events! Kindly leave your thoughts, comments, & reactions for Mr Richey in the comments section! Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. {SOURCES: Cover art of “Two Hearts”, author photograph of James Eric Richey, author biography and the tour badge were all provided by iRead Book Tours and used with permission. Writerly Topics banner created by Jorie in Canva. Comment Box Banner made by Jorie in Canva. Tweets embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.} Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2015.