Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
In case you were wondering why I’ve been a bit quiet this last half of February – it is because I’ve been fighting a severe Winter cold and had an equally difficult migraine to contend with as well. I’ve been taking a break from reading, blogging and being online whilst I battle my way through both afflictions. Therefore for those of you who have been visiting with me and have been enjoying my latest posts – I thank you for your visits! It was lovely to know despite my poor health at the moment some of my content was resonating with my readers. It was a bit of a struggle to write the previous reviews and I was thankful they were still gaining a bit of traction with my followers – hopefully some of you found some wicked new authors to read.
Today I have the joy of interviewing an Indie Author whose written a Contemporary INSPY Realistic novel which showcases two characters at a bit of a crossroads in their lives – neither of them thinking they would have the chance to embrace a moment of love & romance nor thinking that they might be able to find the ‘one person’ who would not just understand them but would truly have something to bring into a relationship that was absent in others. What I love about finding convincting romances like this one is the power of grace and mercy in the lives of the two lead characters.
In lieu of a print copy being available for review on this lovely blog tour – I opted instead to interview the author who has the joy of moving between different genres of interest and actively publishing from the Indie side of the ledger. I love being a book cheerleader for Indie Publishers & Press as well as authors who are publishing independent from Major Trade – as each New Year, I love seeking out Indies in all varieties and seeing what is currently available to be read and found. This was truly a joy to be able to host Ms Elliot and gain her perspective on what she loves about writing under different genres (a passion I share with her) whilst finding there is a certain level of freedom in being an Indie Author overall (which of course I concur and support).
As you read through our conversation, I hope you ‘ll find a new author to read and a lovely new story to seek out. This one has a beautiful heart inside it whilst it also is giving back to people who deserve not only our recognition for their sacrifaces but for the duty they give our country. It is an uplift of joy to highlight an author who gave proceeds of her book to charity as it is something I think more of us who are seeking publishing via the Indie route should consider as it is one way we can each make a small difference in the lives of others. It is one route of social conscience commerce I love supporting and/or championing once I’ve found it.
Brew yourself a lovely cuppa
and enjoy what is soon revealled about “No Chance Meeting”!
Converse via: #NoChanceMeeting, #INPSYRomance + #Contemporary Romance
Published: 11th February, 2020 | ISBN: 978-0983774099
Alex Jennings is done with life. After losing her brother in Afghanistan, everything has collapsed around her. Getting laid off from her day job and failing in her art career, she has nowhere left to turn. She once had faith to believe that all things would work together for good, but that faith died with her brother. Now she just wants the pain to end.
Riley Conrad served thirteen years in the military until three bullets sent him home. After a year and a half of physical therapy and scraping together a living, all he wants is to live a simple life and perhaps even open the coffee shop he dreams about. However, the weight of failing his parents’ expectations doesn’t make it easy, and working as a bartender isn’t getting him anywhere fast.
Could a “chance” meeting between Alex and Riley
set them both on the path God always intended?
What inspired the story behind “No Chance Meeting” and how did you select the charity foundation Might Oaks to donate the proceeds off the first month book sales? (as pre-orders count in those numbers)
Elliot responds: No Chance Meeting came as a complete surprise to me. I used to say I couldn’t write a contemporary romance to save my life. I can’t even really remember exactly how the story came about. I know I was watching the TV show Leverage at the time and fell in love with Eliot, who became the inspiration for Riley. This was also only about a week before NaNoWriMo 2016. I had never done NaNoWriMo before and thought I would try it with this story. I never actually thought I’d write the full 50,000 words, but I ended up with over 60,000 by the time the month was over and quickly went on to finish the book within the next couple of months.
Choosing Mighty Oaks came after a lot of research. I knew for sure that I wanted a military charity. There’s a strong military theme in No Chance Meeting and the struggles that military men and women face once they are back at home is something that pains me. Secondly, I really wanted to find a faith-based charity that would minister to veterans not just physically and mentally, but spiritually as well. When I came across Mighty Oaks, I was impressed by their work and faith statement. Reading the amazing testimonials on their Facebook page sealed the deal for me.
Alex is at a cornerstone in her life – where her choices will ultimately lead her down a path she has to reconcile as the one she chose; what was most challenging about showing her start to spiral away from hope and embraces a void of despair?
Elliot responds: Writing about depression is a big challenge itself. It’s such a hard topic to address. Any mental illness is, and it’s something, as a writer, you really want to get right. I’ve personally had my own struggle with depression, but everyone is different. It’s a huge challenge to write something so personal in a way that will resonate with a wide audience.
How did you want to juxtaposition the differences between Alex’s hopelessness and Riley’s inner will of courageous hope to see the good even when life’s adverse circumstances try to hold him down? Where Alex turnt away from life and living; Riley rallied to regain a chance to prove everyone wrong. What was most important in showing their differences as they each moved through their own transitions?
Elliot responds: I think the biggest difference between them is that Riley is a soldier. He is used to fighting no matter what the opponent is, whether it’s physical or just the circumstances of life. Alex, on the other hand, lived most of her life relying on others. As Riley tells her at one point in the book, her brother was her security blanket. Once she lost him, her life spun out of control. I wanted through the book for Alex to learn to trust God more than people and circumstance and for Riley to learn that he can lean on others and doesn’t have to be the one taking care of everything all the time.
Chance meetings, meet-cutes and serendipitous encounters are some of my favourites within Romance & Sweet Romance – how did you want readers to react to the one you’ve given Riley & Alex? What did you love about setting the scene itself and giving a first look at how your life’s trajectory can alter itself in one singular moment?
Elliot responds: The first meeting between Alex and Riley isn’t the cute, swoon-worthy or funny meeting that a lot of romance novels have. Alex is at the lowest point in her life. It’s absurd to her that she, a girl who’s never been on a date in all her near-thirty years, would meet someone right then. But I love it because it shows that God is working even when we think our lives have hit a dead end. He can bring people and things into our lives right when we need them most, even if, in our human minds, the timing seems ridiculous. The whole theme of the book is that things don’t happen by chance. They are part of God’s plan.
What can you share about the setting and scenery of the novel “No Chance Meeting”? What season do we first arrive in and what is the timeline of the novel in regards to seasonal changes, holidays, etc which give the reader a bit of background aesthetic to look forward to seeing?
Elliott responds: The book is set in a small, fictional tourist town just south of Boulder, Colorado. While I’m a Wisconsin girl, it was my dream during my teen years and early twenties to live on a ranch out West, so I’ve always been drawn to states like Colorado. The book begins mid-August, though most of the story takes place in the fall and winter months. Thanksgiving and Christmas have a prominent place in the book. It’s not a holiday romance, but it certainly has that feel in parts.
What is your favourite part about being an Indie Author and what do you enjoy the most about straddling both genres of Fantasy and Romance? As you’ve divided your space online with two distinct pen names to promote both genres.
Elliot responds: My favorite part about being indie is the creative freedom, especially getting to hop around to different genres like I am. Writing in a genre other than fantasy is still really new to me, but I’m excited about the potential in reaching an entirely new audience.
When not researching and writing your novels what uplifts your spirit the most?
Elliot responds: I spend a lot of time with my family. I live just down the road from my parents, and being the single girl that I am, I’m over there at least a couple times a week. I also get a huge boost from hanging out with friends from church or messaging my writer friends.
About Jaye Elliot
Jaye Elliot is an award-winning author, country girl, and hopeless romantic at heart. She loves a good hero and will always sigh happily during the lights scene in Tangled. She writes from her home in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, which she shares with three cats she considers her kids. When not writing romance novels, she pens fantasy and adventure stories as Jaye L. Knight.
This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
Be sure to visit the blog tour route by clicking this banner to see what else awaits you on this lovely tour! Including reviews and more guest features – as well as a giveaway!
NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. 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. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “No Chance Meeting”, synopsis, the author’s photo (for Jaye Elliot) and biography as well as the blog tour banner and The Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the bookish banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
👏1 of 2 Author Convos via #JLASblog👏
This morning I have two new interviews to share:@jayeelliotbooks whose #amwriting #ChristFic Realistic Contemporary – find out how she's writing outside Fantasy w/ this behind-the-book Q&A✍️#WritingCommunityhttps://t.co/cwV5NThTQc
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) February 26, 2020
Thank you so much for being part of the tour!
Hallo, Hallo Ms Elliot,
The joy was mine truly! :) I love finding new authors of INSPY who are writing the stories I want to be reading as a reader. I was truly inspired by the conversation we shared and I loved being able to promote this novel as like I said, its the kind of story I gravitate towards the most. I also felt it was interesting how you tackled the finer points of the character’s struggles, how you kept the story rooted in modern realism (especially as these are characters you can visually see as composites to everyday people) and how uplifting it felt overall as you had a lot of light and hope underscoring the dramatic bits. I intend to request this at my library to see if they can add it to their catalogue. I’ll have to update you on the process of my request.
Thank you for giving me such a wonderful guest feature to showcase!!