Darlene Franklin, Historical Romance Novella

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WEEKLY BOOK GIVEAWAY

Leave a comment on THIS post through Tuesday, February 14, 2017 to be entered in the DRAWING for a copy of the book below. If you mention in your comment that you’re a follower (see in the right sidebar “Join This Site” and “Follow by Email”), I'll add your name a second time in the drawing. U.S. mailing address required to receive a paper book. I may or may not have read books offered for giveaways. The mention and giveaway of books on my blog do not in any way indicate any manner of my endorsement of said books. Read book giveaway details at Disclaimers. To provide you security, please leave your email address like this: johnATyahooDOTcom. Winner announced in next Thursday's blog post. 

COLORADO COLUMBINE

by Darlene Franklin

Best-selling hybrid author Darlene Franklin's greatest

Darlene Franklin

claim to fame is that she writes full-time from a nursing home. This year she expects to reach fifty unique titles in print and she’s also contributed to more than twenty nonfiction titles. Her column, “The View Through my Door,” appears monthly in Bookfun Magazine. Her most recent titles are Colorado Columbine and Love's Turning Point.


Welcome, Darlene. What is your favorite dessert? 
Let’s see. A tossup between pie—blueberry or pecan, please—or an ice cream sundae. Favorite: turtle sundae on peanut butter cup ice cream.

Do you believe in writer’s block? If so how often do you get it? How do you fix it?
“Professional” writers can’t afford writer’s block. We sit down and write. If we don’t like what we write, we fix it.

Having said that, I do have times when I sit and stare into thin air. What do you do when you discover you’ve written two almost identical chapters? How do you describe a stiff back posture that indicates someone is proud or scared or determined? 

But that thinking time counts as writing. When I’m writing my rough draft, I don’t worry about getting it right. I just spill the words on paper. Most of the time, it’s pretty good.

What was the main inspiration for the new book? Had the idea been on your mind for a while or just popped into it one day?
The Colorado Columbine story is one of my favorites. I’ve become a fan of word search puzzles. When I worked on a page about state flowers, I thought, “that would make a fun book series.” My publisher, Forget Me Not Romances, has since published nearly 30 books in the American State Flower series.

I chose Colorado for two reasons. First of all, Colorado is the home of my heart. Second of all, I lived in Denver at the time of the Columbine shootings. I considered writing a novella centered around that, but decided to go with a historical story. Colorado school children chose the blue columbine as the state flower in 1899. I decided to make my heroine one of those school children. Then I looked at events in Colorado’s history from 1900-1910 and discovered a children’s home, which once helped my family was founded at that time. Voila!  In some ways, it’s a very personal story.

Lighting Round:
Vacation: Beach or Mountains?
Mountains! I moved from the ocean (Maine) to the mountains (Colorado) with stops along the way. They both do similar things for my spirit, reminding me of how great God is. For geography, give me the rocky coast or the majestic Rockies, and not Oklahoma’s flat plane where I now live. (However, Oklahoma has something even more important: GRANDCHILDREN.)

Please tell us a little about your novel, Colorado Columbine.

THE RICH MAN AND THE ORPHAN 

Garnet Harvey graduates from an orphanage and lands a job as a nanny for three motherless girls. Chester Paul, a wealthy businessman, lost his wife in childbirth. After a long period of mourning, he hires a nanny to take care of his children while he works in the city. He remains

involved in the girls’ daily lives, and comes to care for their new caregiver. When Garnet’s guardian discovers the situation, she insists on a trial separation. If their feelings remain strong, how can

Garnet be introduced to Chester’s social circle? How will secrets from Garnet’s past affect their growing love for each other? Is it strong enough to grow as beautiful as the Colorado Columbine?

To the right is a picture Darlene colored of her story's heroine in a fancy dress inspired by the colors of the Columbine.

Where can readers find you online?
Website and blog
Facebook
Amazon author page
Twitter: @darlenefranklin

Where can readers purchase Colorado Columbine? 
Amazon

Any parting comment? 
Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog today, Jo! 

Leave a question you’d like readers to answer. (Commenters are not required to answer to be entered in the book drawing.)
What’s your state flower?

Darlene, thanks for visiting with my readers and me. Darlene is offering an eBook copy of Colorado Columbine to one commenter to this blog post.

Commenters, to enter the book drawing please leave your comment on this post through February 14, 2017 and remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you’re the winner.


The winner of last Thursday’s blog post for a copy of Second Chance Love by Pam Meyers is Melanie. I’ll email you. Thanks all for commenting. Watch for more book giveaways.

Till next time … keep on smiling. 

You can keep up to date with my writing by signing up for my mailing list. You'll receive a free quarterly e-newsletter and timely announcements about happenings of interest. I have a monthly drawing among those who sign up for my mailing list for the first time, and the winner receives a free eBook copy of their choice of one of my books.

On my website, you can read the first chapters of all my novels and novellas.