Fran: Donna, thank you so much for inviting me to be with you today. It is a pleasure to be here.
Donna: How did you break into publishing?
Fran: The usual way, I guess. I wrote, submitted, wrote, studied writing, wrote, submitted, kept working until I finally got my first book contract a couple of years after I got serious and committed myself to getting a book published. “Montana Match” was my first published novel, released in hardcover by Avalon Books, New York.
Donna: Sounds similar to my road to publication. It takes a lot of persistence, doesn’t it? Tell me about your current book.
Fran: I had two books released in May, one in March this year.
KELLY AND THE CANDIDATE, contemporary romance, was released by Wings ePress in e-book formats in May.
Blurb: When scandal surfaces, Kelly must choose between printing the story of a lifetime and protecting the man she loves.
Buy link: www.wingsepress.com
STOLEN SON, contemporary romance, was released for the first time in paperback and re-released in e-book formats in May.
Blurb: Loving Rafe eases Ella’s mourning for her kidnapped child. Loving Ella complicates everything for Rafe. How is he supposed to reveal what he knows about her “Stolen Son” now?
Buy links: Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Son-Fran-Shaff/dp/1438267827/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272652274&sr=8-9
E-Book: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/13006
MONTANA MAGIC, contemporary romance, was released in March by Wings ePress.
Blurb: Deanna Worthington spends her respite in Montana working on her Master’s thesis until C.R. Whitmore convinces her that all work and no play makes her life a bit too dull.
Buy link: http://wingsepress.com/Bookstore/Montana%20Magic.htm
Donna: How much time do you devote to writing each day?
Fran: When I’ve got a deadline, it might be twelve or more hours, but usually it’s between four and eight, depending on other daily commitments.
Donna: I can see we have a lot in common. Tell us about your other works, books, stories, etc.
Fran: “Kelly and the Candidate” was my fifteenth published novel. My other books range from contemporary romance to historical romance and young peoples’ novels. I’ve also had short stories published in places such as Woman’s World magazine and the Amazon Shorts program at Amazon.com. Complete information can be found at my website: http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff
Donna: What are you working on now?
Fran: Currently I’m working on three main projects. MALE FRAUD is a contemporary romance. (A woman pretends to be a man to get a job as trainer for a pro football team and ends up falling for the coach.) Very funny. CHRISTMAS CRUISE, a light-hearted contemporary romance and FOR LOVE OF MAGGIE, also a contemporary romance, make up the three projects. (Christmas Cruise: A man and a woman on a cruise they never wanted to take find they have a lot more in common than an aversion to the sea.) For Love of Maggie, a serious, emotional romance won awards from readers, writers and reviewers when it was originally released in e-book. Look for it this fall in paperback and in re-release in e-book.
Donna: What type of writer are you? Do you plan ahead/plot or do you simply fly by the seat of your pants?
Fran: I’ve found the only way to stay on track when doing some serious writing is to plan ahead, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make improvements to the plot along the way. When writing just for fun, I might improvise.
Donna: What do you like to do when you aren't writing?
Fran: My husband and I recently bought a camper, something we’ve wanted to do for many years. We are enjoying it immensely. I also am an avid quilter, making all sorts of things for my family and for charity too. Knitting, embroidering, scrapbooking photography, videography are also hobbies I enjoy.
Thanks so much, Donna, for inviting me to be with you and your readers. Anyone who wants more information about my books is welcome to visit my website at: http://sites/google.com/site/fshaff. I’m also on Twitter,
Facebook, MySpace and other social networks.Donna: Do you have an excerpt you'd like to share?
Fran: Yes. Here's the opening excerpt from my book STOLEN SON, winner of Romance Reader at Heart’s Top Pick Award. Readers can visit “Stolen Son’s” web page at: http://sites/google.com/site/franshaffsstolenson to read excellent reviews, and enjoy more excerpts. They’ll also find discount coupons for both e-book and paperback editions at that website.
STOLEN SON: Rafe and Ella meet.
Ella jumped. The knock at the door nearly made her drop a whole handful of fresh bay leaves into simmering pot of tomato sauce.
“Just a minute.” She set the leaves on a paper towel.
The knock sounded again, louder, harder.
“I’ll be right there.”
She stirred and inhaled her savory brew.
Another pounding on the door stole the last of her normally sweet disposition.
“All right. I’m coming!” She placed the lid on the pot, went to the door and swung it open. “What is the big--” She glanced at her caller and stopped speaking immediately.
Over six feet of broad, lean man inhabited the side entrance to her home. “Miss Mason?”
She shoved an annoying ebony curl away from her forehead. “I’m Ella Mason, and, at the moment, I’m very busy.”
He arched a brow and twisted his mouth. “We, ah...” He cleared his throat. “We had an appointment. I’m Rafe Wallace.”
Ella glanced over her shoulder at the pot on her stove. She also had a cake in the oven. “An appointment?” She looked at him again.
“Yes. My secretary called about a promotion my firm is having. You agreed to let us do some repairs on your house so we could use it as an example of our fine work.”
“Oh, that.” She waved a hand in front of her. “I thought you were coming tomorrow. Your secretary said July 11.”
“Yes, ma’am. Today is July 11--Thursday. It’s nearly four o’clock. Our appointment was at four.”
“Today is the eleventh? But it can’t be. I’m not ready.”
“Ready?” He looked confused. “I can come back tomorrow if that would be more convenient.”
The timer on the stove rang. She glanced over her shoulder then back at Rafe. “Come in.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. “Please, sit at the table. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
He pulled a chair from her ancient gray Formica-covered table. “Miss Mason, I really can come back at a more convenient time.”
Ella went straight to the stove and turned off the timer. “No, no, today is fine.” She lifted the lid on the pot of tomato sauce and gave the mixture a stir. She grabbed pot holders and pulled two thick layers of white cake from the oven. “We’ve got this bake sale at school tomorrow. It’s a festival, really. They call it Summer Fling. I have to bring a cake and a few jars of my famous tomato sauce. The sale is a fund raiser for athletics. Tax crunch and all you know.” She set the pans on the counter and blew on the cakes as if such a waste of effort would make them cool faster.
She could have sworn today was the tenth. She thought she had another two days to finish getting ready for the bake sale. Thank goodness she’d decided to bake the cake a day early. All the goodies were due at the school gym by eight that evening. It would be practically impossible to have the cake cooled and frosted by then, but she’d have to do the best she could.
“Is there anything I can help with?” he asked.
“I beg your pardon?” If an elephant had crawled out of her broom closet she wouldn’t have been more surprised than she was to receive this stranger’s thoughtful offer.
He strode toward her and took the pot holders from her hand. “Can I help you with anything?”
She looked him over from his thick brown hair to the laced-up work boots peaking out from the bottom of his jeans. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?” she asked, focusing on his cobalt blue eyes. “You don’t really know anything about cakes and tomato sauce, do you?”
“I might.” He sent her a hint of a grin. “I think I can at least remove the cakes from the pans.”
She gave him a tentative look.
“You don’t believe me?”
She bobbed her head toward the island. “The cooling rack is over there. Take the cakes out of the pans, but, I’m warning you, those layers had better come out in one piece. I don’t have time to bake another cake.”
Rafe grabbed the round pans with his protected hands. He took the cakes to the island. He set one down and turned the other over on top of the cooling rack. He shook the pan, but nothing happened.
Ella opened a drawer, took out a butter knife and handed it to him. “It helps if you run a knife around the circumference of the pan before you try to empty it.”
He smiled at her. “Okay, now you know. I’ve never baked a cake in my life.” He took the knife, ran it around the edge of the pan and removed the cake. He successfully repeated his actions with the second layer. He turned his attention back to Ella when he finished. “Mind you, I’ve eaten tons of cake, but I’ve never baked one.”
His light tone and ability to make jokes about himself put Ella at ease in the middle of her turmoil. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to end up liking Mr. Rafe Wallace.
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