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WELCOME, HOLLY!

I am so happy to have you here today.  I am absolutely thrilled to be hosting CROSS THE OCEAN today. It sounds like Ms. Gertrude really has her hands full in this one.  How about a few author questions?

1. What part of the writing process do you dread?

The middle of the book. The beginning is probably the easiest part and the end is usually pretty clear in my head. But that middle, where the all the things happen that makes our characters do what they do, can be tricky. And if you’re writing to a certain word count, which lots of authors are doing to fulfill a publisher requirement, it’s very easy to start writing the mundane details of a heroine’s life. Like: “Milly got everything out of her refrigerator to make macaroni and cheese for Billy because she knew it was his favorite. She grabbed the cheddar cheese with the oldest Sell by date. But then she realized she needed milk and looked at her grocery list. Did she need tampons too?”

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2. What is your favorite Joke?

I sure don’t want to offend any of my western Pennsylvania friends, especially as I spent the majority of my life there and loved the area and still do, but . . . There were 3 guys standing at the Gates of Heaven. Saint Peter came to greet them and says to the first one, “My son, tell me where you are from?” The first man says, “New York.” Saint Peter replies, “Tell me about your life there and why you should go through the gates to heaven.” The first man says, “I studied very hard and became a doctor and saved many lives and relieved suffering.” Saint Peter said, “Come in, my son.”

He turns to the second man and says, “My son, tell me where you are from?” The second man says, “Atlanta.” Saint Peter replies, “Tell me about your life there and why you should go through the gates to heaven.” The first man says, “I worked very hard and had a successful business. I helped feed and clothe the poor and hungry in my community.” Saint Peter said, “Come in, my son.”

Saint Peter says to the third man, “My son, tell me where you are from?” The third man says, “Western Pennsylvania.” Saint Peter replies, “Did you get your deer?”

I’m not sure why this makes me laugh so hard but it does. I guess you just have to be from the hills of western Pennsylvania to get it!

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3. Where do you get your best ideas?

I wish I knew. I wish I could pin down when and how a character shows up in my head. But I can’t. They just arrive there and lodge themselves in my brain till I tell their story.

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4. What do you do to relax?

Read. I love to read! I always take stacks of books on vacation to the beach or wherever we’re going but now I just load them up in my Kindle! But I don’t read as much as I used to because I’m doing so much writing. I can’t write my books while I’m reading others, especially romances. I end up sounding just like the author I’m reading. Today, a moderator for one of the groups I belong to on GoodReads sent an email to vote for next month’s group read. I checked the blurbs for all the choices and found some books I’d really like to read, but I can’t! That’s part of the reason I often read non-fiction.

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5. Do you write about what turns you on?

Yes. But then my books are dialogue heavy because when a man is listening, really listening and talking to us, it’s the sexiest thing in the world!

BLURB:

1871 . . . Worlds collide when American Suffragette, Gertrude Finch, and titled Brit Blake Sanders meet in an explosive encounter that may forever bind them together. Gertrude Finch escorts a young relative to London and encounters the stuffy Duke of Wexford at his worst. Cross the Ocean is the story of an undesired, yet undeniable attraction that takes Blake and Gertrude across an ocean and into each other’s arms.

Excerpt

Blake found his guests in the music room listening to Melinda play the pianoforte. “Miss Finch, may I beg a moment of your time?” he asked as he touched her elbow.

The two of them retreated out of hearing distance from the rest.

“Yes?” Miss Finch clipped off and folded her hands at her waist.

“I find I do owe you an apology,” Blake began.

“And every other woman in the room as well,” she replied.

“I am not concerned with every other female in the room.” Blake stood tall. “I have many faults, but hurting a guest’s feelings cannot be one of them.”

“I agree with you there,” Miss Finch said and clapped politely.

“Agree with what?” he asked.

“You have many faults. The least of which are poor manners.”

“Yes, well, in any case, I apologize for what I said.” Blake looked away ashamed. “I was wrong. You are really quite attractive.”

Gertrude Finch put her hands on her hips, and her voice rose with each word. “I could care less what you think of me.”

“Now, now, no need to call attention our way,” Blake said and glanced at the assembly listening to Melinda. “No need to be defensive, either. I am aware of the tender sensibilities women associate with how attractive they are. My own mother made us all kiss and coo over Aunt Constance, and she had whiskers longer than . . .”

“Listen to me, Sanders. I meant what I said. I couldn’t care less whether you think I’m attractive or not. You dismiss ideas and brains for the lack of a pretty face. I think you’re a pompous idiot. What do you think of them apples, Your Highness?” she said.

Blake held his hands behind his back, and a muscle twitched below his eye. “Miss Finch, the title ‘Your Highness’ is reserved for the royal family. You Americans bandy about titles as if a one of you could trace a history further back than the last mule you shoed.”

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Holly Bush was born in western Pennsylvania to two avid readers. There was not a room in her home that did not hold a full bookcase. She worked in the hospitality industry, owning a restaurant for twenty years and recently worked as the sales and marketing director in the hospitality/tourism industry and is credited with building traffic to capacity for a local farm tour, bringing guests from twenty-two states, booked two years out.  Holly has been a marketing consultant to start-up businesses and has done public speaking on the subject.

Holly has been writing all of her life and is a voracious reader of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, particularly political and historical works. She has written four romance novels, all set in the U.S. West in the mid 1800’s. She frequently attends writing conferences, and has always been a member of a writer’s group.

Holly is a gardener, a news junkie, has been an active member of her local library board and loves to spend time near the ocean. She is the proud mother of two daughters and the wife of a man more than a few years her junior.

@hollybushbooks

www.hollybushbooks.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-Bush/247399131941435

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Cross-the-Ocean-ebook/dp/B00D381HR6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369907100&sr=1-1&keywords=Cross+the+ocean

Itunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/cross-the-ocean/id655238415?mt=11

THE PRIZE

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