#SaturdaySpotlight: Joanne Tropello & Mr. Shipley's Governess

Good Morning!

I am off on an adventure with a friend in Lafayette, Louisiana today but wanted to take a moment to say hello and to welcome you and my guest Joanne to the spotlight.

Joanne Troppello is an author of inspirational and romantic suspense novels. She and her husband are Network Marketing Coaches and owners of Mustard Seed Marketing Group, LLC. They have several active blogs and readers are encouraged to visit their Author's Corner Blog, a place for authors and readers to connect. They host various blog parties throughout the year and many guest authors stop by to meet with readers. Connect with Joanne at the following places! Website  The Author's Corner Blog  Connect on Twitter  Connect on Facebook Connect on Goodreads

Sophie Baird is looking for a way to escape the painful reality of her parents' deaths. Unable to live in their home any longer, she takes a job as a live-in tutor to Anastasia Shipley to remove herself from her painful memories and the feeling that God has abandoned her.

Anastasia has an illness that has prevented her from ever attending school and makes her father, Sebastian, over protective.

When Sophie first meets Sebastian, she cannot deny the intense attraction she feels toward him. When an unexpected romance begins between them, she starts to rebuild her relationship with God, with the help of a certain little girl.

Excerpt: 

Sebastian leaned against the doorframe of the library, amused that Sophie continued reading, oblivious to his intrusion.  He watched her scrunch up her face in consternation, engrossed in the book.  “So, who do you like better, me or Mr. Knightly?”  He heard her sharp intake of breath.  She nearly dropped the book as she turned to look at her intruder.

“Definitely, that would be Mr. Knightly; he doesn’t have the habit of sneaking up on me.”

Sebastian sauntered into the room and sat in the chair opposite her.  “Yes, he’s so charming.  I hope to someday be like him.”

“Hey, don’t make fun.  He is the epitome of the perfect gentleman.”

“Actually, I’m serious.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve read the same book as you.  It must be a coincidence.”

Sophie smiled.  “Really…you’re just trying to get on my good side.”

He leaned forward in mock surprise.  “Huh, I thought I was on your good side already.”

“That depends on my mood.”

“I see.  You’re all about a woman’s prerogative.”

“Yes, I live by that rule.”

He played along, enjoying the playful banter.  “Oh, so you’re one of those.”

“You’d better believe it.  It’s my prerogative to change my mind whenever I want.”

He fluidly maneuvered his way to the ottoman where her feet rested and he sat down.  “I hope you don’t change your mind about me.”

“Well, that all depends on you.”

“I’d better be on my best behavior then.”

Sophie got up quickly and before he realized it, she walked across the room to the bookshelf.  “So, you really read Emma, too.  That’s still surprising and sweet.”

He followed her.  “You’re avoiding any serious conversation, young lady.”

She moved away, running her finger along the spines of the books.  He kept following, backing her into a corner.  She leaned her hands against the windowsill and backed up as far as possible.  She laughed nervously.  “So, tell me again why you interrupted me.”

“I did it because I’ve wanted to do this for a long time now.”  He cupped her face, tracing the outline of her lips with his thumb.  Then he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her gently, at first, but soon his fervor matched hers.  She put her arms around his neck and moved in closer.  Finally, they pulled away from each other, both breathless.  “I…I’m sorry.”

She touched his cheek.  “Don’t be.  I’ve wanted you to do that for a long time, too.”

He squeezed her hand. “I should get back to work.  David’s going to wonder what happened to me.”

Sophie gave him a flirty smile. “Oh, I’m sure he knows.”

“Now try not to compare me too much to Mr. Knightly because there’s no contest, really.”

As he walked out of the room, he still felt the warmth of her lips on his and the softness of her body in his arms.  He chided himself.  “Shake it off, man.”  Then he walked down the hall in search of his brother.

Mr. Shipley's Governess can be purchased from Amazon in Print and on Kindle!

Well friends, hope you've enjoyed this spotlight. Beginning tomorrow we'll welcome my dear friend and fellow PBG author, Clare Revell for a week-long visit so stay tuned!

Until later...Take care, be Blessed and remember.... life is too short for anything less than total peace and unconditional love.

Something to think about!
"Inspirational with an Edge! ™

COTT Blog Alliance - Guest Post by Gail Pallotta

* Guest post by Gail Pallotta

MEET OUR PARTNERS

After an early morning workout Joanne Troppello sits at her computer near two big windows. Working from an office in her home in the northeast, she “loves getting plenty of sunshine.” She munches on her breakfast as she starts one of five weekly blogs. Her focus is “to connect authors and readers.”
This prolific writer also schedules giveaways and one-time events.  Past specialties include two internet festivities, The Royal Wedding and Summer Blog parties. On the books—a Christmas Blog Party. Get ready for the fun.
Joanne likes to spotlight newer, unknown authors in addition to networking with all authors.  Writers’ opportunities include Monday interviews and mid-week guest blogs. Two Fridays out of the month she does book reviews. The other two she interviews guests in her Reader’s Corner. One of her favorite things is hearing from readers. She says, “They are who we write for, and we want to write stories that appeal to them with characters that stay with them for a long time.” Joanne says her readers “really like commenting on blog postings and hearing back from authors.”
An author of two books, All Romance ebooks best seller Mr. Shipley’s Governess and Shadowed Remembrances, Joanne writes in the mystery and inspirational genres. When she isn’t at her computer, she loves spending time with her husband and family.
To discover lots of fun activities for writers and readers visit Joanne at http://joannetroppello.weebly.com/

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Artist, writer and blogger Carrie Lewis paints portraits for her day job and in her leisure time. Her favorite subject is horses. Easels, paintings and portraits-in-progress abound throughout her Kansas home, including some in her office.
She’s written for as long as she can remember, finishing her first complete manuscript in eighth grade. She says, “I’ve been dividing my time between the studio and the writing desk, and God has seen fit to keep me at home.”
Saving Grace, Carrie’s WIP, “…is a cross between speculative fiction, suspense and Old Testament prophecy.” As far as the WIP and what Carrie normally writes, she says, “It’s so far outside the box....I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get back into that box.”
An active blogger, Carrie posts three times a week. Her topics include writing tips, reports on stories she’s working on, the way we write, and the things we write about. She recently started putting up a weekly writing prompt. It’s “been fun and uses images, colors, sounds, all sorts of things.” For her readers she hopes to share what she’s had to “learn the hard way so that those who follow might not have to learn the same way.” She wants to “encourage writers to heed the promptings of the Holy Spirit when deciding what to write, especially if the story they have to tell is outside what most of us think of as popular fiction.”
When we stop by Carrie’s blog, I imagine we’ll see some of her horse paintings as well as her writings! What a treat. Visit her at http://writing-well.carrie-lewis.com/

* A COTT Blog Alliance Correspondent, Gail Pallotta recently published her first romance, Love Turns the Tide. When she isn't writing she likes reading, swimming, and getting together with friends and family. Gail wants to write books of faith that show God's love.

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           Get ready ...