It's Read-a-Romance Month!

Long Time, No Blog! Something Wicked this Way Comes...

It's Read-a-Romance Month!

<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">First of all, let me say thank you to Bobbi Dumas, Lorraine Heath, and Katharine Ashe for including me in this wonderful event. It's a pleasure to join in the fun! </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></b><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">My name is Erin Knightley, and I peddle happily ever afters :)</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I’ll never forget the time back in seventh grade, when five fellow students and I were clustered around one of the round tables in the lunchroom shortly after we had turned in our book reports on The Outsiders. With elbows resting on the dingy white melamine tabletop, we discussed the book, which was the most grown-up novel we’d ever been compelled to read. Several liked the book, thinking it gritty and heart wrenching. Others couldn’t have cared less—they didn’t like reading or books, and never would. I was the only one at the table who vehemently disliked the book. Why?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Because I wanted a happy ending.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I argued with the other kids at length: Yes it was compelling, yes it was an interesting story, but if I walked away feeling worse than when I started it, why would I want to read it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even at that age, I knew what was important to me. There was enough bad stuff in the world. Why would I want to read about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i> bad stuff? I read to escape and experience different times and places, but most of all, I read for enjoyment. I read to feel better about life, and love, and all the possibilities for finding joy and excitement. A book could lead me on a merry chase, making me cry even, but at the end, I wanted a big, goofy smile that would stay in place for days. Was that too much to ask?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">So, is it any wonder I turned to romance? Is it any wonder that I was willing to lose myself in an emotional book that might bring me to the highest highs and the lowest low, but that I could absolutely count on to leave me hopeful and happy? To me, there is no greater thing on earth than love. I choose to read books that celebrate that, that show the struggles and triumphs, the compromises, the passion, and all those emotions humans have experienced throughout history. I’m happy to lift up the most positive thing of all in a world full of negatives.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">From time to time, I do branch out and read literature and mainstream fiction, and yes, I do enjoy them. But I always find my way back home to romance. And it is my promise to you, dear readers, that when you read my books, you can always rely on that wonderful, elusive thing: a happily ever after :)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> Now - onto the 3 Questions past of the blog!</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">1 - Describe the most daring, adventurous or inspiring thing you ever did. </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qBEEYfEpUyo..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qBEEYfEpUyo..." height="149" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When I was 19, I went to live in Russia for the summer, working on an international drilling project in Siberia. I was with 2 other American students, but other than that, we were completely on our own. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talk about a culture shock! It was a life changing experience for me to see how another culture literally halfway across the world lived, loved, worked, and played. Remarkably, I came away with the realization that no matter how different we may look or sound, deep down we are all the same<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>:-)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2 - Tell us about your journey to becoming a writer. (How did you decide to get started? Did you always know or was there a specific moment when you knew?)</span></b></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0NqDqAYuIU0..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0NqDqAYuIU0..." height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me when I got The Call :)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I’ve always loved to write—won the Young Authors competition in 4<sup>th</sup> grade, in fact!—but it was something I had set aside when I graduated college and entered Real Life. For the next six years, I worked diligently during the day and read voraciously every night. At one point, my work started to get overwhelmingly stressful, and I decided to escape with writing again. I was rusty at first, but before long, I found myself with a completed novel! Believe it or not, I actually sold that book. MORE THAN A STRANGER came out in June 2012, and it’s been a wild, wonderful ride ever since.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I am currently writing my sixth book (tenth book if you include novellas!), which is the third in my Prelude to a Kiss series set at a music festival in Bath.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">3 - Tell us about The (or A) Book That Changed Your Life. (Why?)</span></b></div>This may sound corny, but it was actually the Serendipity children’s book series that was <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>mailed to my house once a month when I was around four or five. I was the youngest of three kids, and one-on-one time with my parents was highly coveted. Every month when the newest book arrived, my mom would cuddle up with me in my parents’ big bed and read the newest adventure. The pictures were vivid, the stories compelling, and my mom’s attempts at voices predictably laughable. It was a precious escape for me, and led me to cherish those books and the special time they afforded with my mother.<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E5XzIObbA5s..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E5XzIObbA5s..." height="200" width="125" /></a></div>Thanks so much for joining me today! If you’d like to try one of my books for free, you’re in luck! For a limited time, I’m offering RUINED BY A RAKE, the first in the All’s Fair in Love novella series, free! To download, simply follow the link for you format of choice: </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ruined-Rake-Nov... | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ruine... and Noble</a> | <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...| <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/ruin... class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Recommendation: Looking for someone new to love?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d love to recommend <a href="http://heathersnowbooks.com/">... Snow</a>, who has Regency smarty-pants heroines down to an art, and <a href="http://www.catherinegayle.com/"&... Gayle</a>, who writes hockey romance that require a minimum of a handful of tissues to read </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I hope you’ll enjoy these ladies’ books as much as I do!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bio:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Despite being an avid reader and closet writer her whole life, Erin Knightley decided to pursue a sensible career in science. It was only after earning her B.S. and working in the field for years that she realized doing the sensible thing wasn't any fun at all. Following her dreams, Erin left her practical side behind and now spends her days writing. Together with her tall, dark, and handsome husband and their three spoiled mutts, she is living her own Happily Ever After in North Carolina.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.erinknightley.com/"&g... style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>|<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/erinknightley... style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>|<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/erinknightley&...

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Published on July 24, 2014 12:40

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